U.S. troops accused of damaging Babylon's ancient wonder

7-31-09
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/31/iraq.babylon.damage/

The U.S. military did major damage to the site of one of the wonders of the ancient world while converting it into a base, the United Nations said in a new report.

The site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was converted into Camp Alpha shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

The troops and their contractors caused "major damage" by digging, cutting, scraping and leveling while they were revamping the site to meet military standards, the U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, said in a report.

"Key structures that were damaged include the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way," the report added.

The Ishtar Gate, an entrance to the northern part of the city, is decorated with animals that portray the symbol of the god of the city of Babylon.

The United States has agreed to pay $800,000 to help rehabilitate the Babylon site, an Iraqi official said.

"We were very disappointed when multinational forces took over these ancient sites as bases although they knew how important these sites are to Iraqis and to the entire world," said Abdulzahra al-Talaqani, spokesman for the ministry of tourism.

Plans are under way to clean up the area in August with the help of hundreds of volunteers, according to al-Talaqani.