The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced earlier this month, the 2016 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The annual list spotlights important examples of the nation’s architectural and cultural heritage that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage. The list has included more than 270 sites which have been placed on the list over its 29-year history, and in that time, fewer than five percent of listed sites have been lost as reported by the Trust.

The National Trust’s 29th annual list includes historic places in America’s urban areas at a time when cities across the U.S. are experiencing a resurgence. Over the last few decades, millions of Americans especially younger generation, have chosen to relocate to urban areas, with many choosing to live in distinctive, character-rich older and historic neighborhoods. Preservation is playing a key role in this trend, and Trust’s research suggests that older buildings are one of the most powerful tools in revitalization of nation’s urban centers.

The attention that comes from being on the list — along with the community support required to be included on it, can save a site and as a result it is important for the National Trust to place these names on its list.

Here are the 11 most endangered places for 2016 (in alphabetical order):

1. Azikiwe-Nkrumah Hall at Lincoln University, Lincoln, Pennsylvania
2. Bears Ears, Southeastern Utah
3. Charleston Naval Hospital District, North Charleston, South Carolina
4. Delta Queen, Houma, Louisiana
5. El Paso’s Chihuahuita and El Segundo Barrio Neighborhoods, Texas
6. Embarcadero Historic District, San Francisco, California
7. Historic Downtown Flemington, New Jersey
8. James River, James City County, Virginia
9. Lions Municipal Golf Course, Austin, Texas
10. Mitchell Park Domes, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
11. The Sunshine Mile, Tucson, Arizona

A new exhibition was opened in The National Museum of Afghanistan on 29th April 2012. This exhibition that is entitled “Buddhist Heritage of Afghanistan” is depecting a very important part of our history, the Buddhism which has been practiced in Afghanistan for more than 1000 years. Buddhism in Afghanistan trace back to the middle of 3rd century CE and started fading with the arrival of Islam in the 7th century AD. During that long period Buddhism was practiced in Afghanistan along with other native religions. However, Buddhism had the largest number of followers, and sometimes was supproted by some kings of different dynasties that ruled Afghanistan.

Photographs by Farzad Arian

Woman on Chariot wheel

The image of a woman on the  middle of a chariot wheel dated from the Haxāmanišiyan Empire. 550–330 BC.

Winged Human in Pasargad

The royal figure carved on a stone pillar stands before a palace in Pasargad. It is believed that the figure belongs to Cyrus the Great. The figure wears an Elamite dress, an Egyptian crown, and 4 Assyrian wings- all member countries of the the Haxāmanišiyan Empire. 550–330 BC.

A recent repair and renovation work to the Great Wall of China,  a UNESCO World Heritage Site has created a lot of questions and concerns over how preservation of heritage sites are being done in China.  Chinese officials are being questioned over renovations to a crumbling section of the 700-year-old section of the Great Wall of China.  Many experts even in China are calling the work “ridiculous” and sub-standard.

It has been reported that the widely mocked project has involved five miles (8km) of the un-restored Xiaohekou section of the wall.  Defensive work and guard towers were knocked flat as part of the restoration project which was officially launched to prevent further deterioration caused by the natural elements.  However, the reports show that rather than using correct restoration and preservation techniques, sand and other materials were poured on top, protecting the wall but giving it the appearance of “an elevated bike path” according to some experts.

The head of the Liaoning provincial antiquities bureau, Ding Hui, was quoted by the newspaper, Beijing News that the work was completed two years ago, over the course of three months, as part of a government restoration plan.  It has been reported by several news agencies that the government’s culture bureau in Huludao city, which oversees Suizhong, has said that the restoration plan had been approved at central government level by the State Administration of Cultural Relics.  The officials have also said that the old wall was badly damaged over a long period of time and the restoration work was aimed at preventing it from falling apart and being washed away by the rain or becoming a safety concern. 

Many experts, however, are concerned that the work was done with major inconsistency, with different materials, including lime, mortar and concrete, used in different places and several news outlets have reported that Dong Yaohui, vice-chairman of the Great Wall Studies Society, called the restoration work “basic and crude” further adding that  “This sort of repair work harms the people’s appreciation of the Great Wall’s history and culture, severing a channel of dialogue between the people and cultural heritage”, Mr. Dong was quoted as saying by the Beijing News.

The section of the wall, built in the Ming dynasty in 1381, lies in Liaoning’s Suizhong county, along the border with Hebei province.  The wall dates from 220BC, when China joined existing walls and fortifications to defend against invasions from northern tribes.  Construction continued up to and through the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) until the wall became the world’s largest military structure.  Estimates of its overall length vary, but according to UNESCO, which named it a world heritage site in 1987, it once ran for more than 12,500 miles (20,000km).

More than a decade after thieves stole the Dutch Golden Age paintings from the Westfries Museum, the artworks have finally been returned to their home.  It has been more than a decade after they disappeared into what experts believe has been the illicit underground art market.  The art pieces belong to the Westfries Museum, located in the Dutch maritime town of Hoorn, and where they will be unveiled on October 7 again.

It was reported that in January 2005, thieves had hidden inside a coffin on display inside the museum before disabling the security system and taking off with 24 paintings and 70 pieces of silverware. It has been reported that the stolen pieces were the bulk of the museum’s 17th and 18th century collection, worth approximately 1.3 million euros ($1.45 million).  Since there were no solid leads, and no information about who the thieves were, it was feared for over a decade that the paintings would never be found. 

However, in July 2015, the museum’s director, Ad Geerdink, received word that someone from a Ukrainian militia force, a man named Borys Humeniuk, had made contact with the Dutch embassy in Kiev as reported by CNN.  It was then reported that the paintings were found far away in Ukraine, where the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists had claimed to have found the paintings, and said that they were willing to transfer them to the Dutch Museum. 

It is still not clear who the thieves were and/or how the 5 paintings had got to Ukraine from the small Dutch city.  What is for certain as reported here on WCHV website,  stolen artwork from around the world are sold in private and underground markets for years after they are stolen from their rightful owners. 

Recent discovery of Roman coins in Japan has baffled archaeologists as reported by several news outlets. The four Roman copper coins were retrieved from soil beneath Katsuren Castle on Okinawa Island. Even though the designs on the coins are difficult to decipher as they have been eroded over time, the x-ray analysis done later revealed several of the relics bore the image of Emperor Constantine I. It has also been reported that since excavation on the site began in 2013, researchers have also found six more coins which may date back to the Ottoman Empire in the late 17th century. The Roman coins appear to be much older, dating back to at least 400AD according to estimates.

The board of education in the Japanese city of Uruma announced the discovery, and said the story of how the coins came to arrive in Japan still remain a mystery. Katsuren Castle was known to have been the focal point of trading partnerships with China and other Asian countries, but ties to Europe were not evident until the recovery of the coins. The archeologists and experts are asking if there were more extensive trading relationships with Europe in that region or if the coins were brought there by merchants. The experts do not believe that there was any direct link between the Roman Empire and Katsuren Castle, but the discovery confirms how that region had trade relations with the rest of Asia.

The ruins of the castle were registered in 2000 on the UNESCO World Heritage list as part of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu.
The coins will be analyzed further and displayed at Uruma City museum on Okinawa until the end of November 2016.

On September 4, 2016, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress on honored Heritage Heroes in Hawaii, USA in a ceremony. The Director of World Heritage Centre,  Dr. Mechtild Rössler congratulated all three World Heritage Hero nominees from Virunga National Park (DRC), Western Caucasus (Russian Federation) and Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (India). Mr. Bibhuti Lakhar was the people’s choice Heritage Hero, for his dedication to the conservation of India’s Manas Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Heritage Heroes Awards also recognize Bantu Lukambo and Josué Kambasu Mukura jointly for their work in protecting Virunga National Park in DRC, as well as Yulia Naberezhnaya and Andrey Rudomakha for their joint actions in the Western Caucasus in Russia.

The result of the online voting was announced at the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress. Dr. Rössler welcomed the immense commitment and dedication of young people around the globe for World Heritage conservation.
Supported by the MAVA Foundation and Star Alliance’s Biosphere Connection, the Heritage Heroes project was implemented by IUCN’s World Heritage Programme in collaboration with the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.

One of the recent reports outlines the impact of oil and gas extraction and mining in various areas of Canada which accounts for 31% of threats against natural and cultural sites since 1985. It is very alarming that Mining and oil and gas extraction account for nearly a third of threats to UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada over the last 30 years, according to the international organization.  In fact,  it has been reported that a total of 75 threats against nine designated natural and cultural sites have been documented by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s State of Conservation database since 1985.  The next most common threat types are management and institutional factors (13), service infrastructure (10), transportation infrastructure (8) and buildings and development (7). It has been reported that most of the threats occurred between 2000 and 2013.  The threats against Canadian heritage sites were identified in a series of 41 UNESCO reports since 1985.
Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta was the subject of the greatest number those reports, with nine in total, followed by the Historic District of Old Québec and Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, which each had eight.
Number of threat reports:
Wood Buffalo National Park: 9
Historic District of Old Québec: 8
Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks: 8
Gros Morne National Park: 5
Nahanni National Park: 5
Waterton Glacier International Peace Park: 2
Dinosaur Provincial Park: 2
Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek: 1
Miguasha National Park: 1

In 2015, UNESCO reported on the Wood Buffalo and expressed concern for the environmental impacts on the Peace-Athabasca Delta from hydro-electric dams, oil sands development, and proposed open-pit mining in the vicinity of the property, which could negatively impact its outstanding universal value.