News

Medieval site in Gaza added to the List of World Heritage in Danger

The early medieval archaeological site of Tell Umm Amer in Gaza, which includes the Monastery of Saint Hilarion, has been named to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. It was also simultaneously added to its List of World Heritage in Danger.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is currently meeting in India, where they are deciding which of this year’s proposed sites will be added to the World Heritage List as well as offer support to sites that are at risk.

In a statement, UNESCO explained, “In view of the threats to this heritage site posed by the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, the World Heritage Committee used the emergency inscription procedure provided for in the World Heritage Convention.

“In accordance with the terms of the Convention, its 195 States Parties are committed to avoid taking any deliberate measures likely to cause direct or indirect damage to this site, which is now inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to assist in its protection.”

Tell Umm el-ʿAmr, which is located south of Gaza City, was an important Christian site between the 4th and 8th centuries. It was here that Hilarion the Great (291–371) founded a monastery. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a church, cloister as well as buildings and baths for visitors.

The renewed outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel has left much of Gaza heavily damaged, and several historical sites have been harmed. According to media reports, this Tell Umm el-ʿAmr has been struck too.

Inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger allows UNESCO to provide technical and financial assistance to help protect and rehabilitate of the site.

The French government has come out in support of UNESCO’s move. “That decision offers a ray of hope amid the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” they Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “It recognizes the extraordinary value of this monastic site, one of the oldest in the Middle East, and will open the door to enhanced international protection at that site. The inclusion of the site also reminds us of the importance of protecting Gaza’s Palestinian cultural heritage, which is seriously threatened by the current war.”

Top Image: Floor mosaic inside the monastery of Saint Hilarion. Photo courtesy UNESCO