The World Heritage
Committee, meeting for its 40th session since 10 July, this morning
inscribed four new sites in China, India, Iran and
Micronesia on the World Heritage List. Nan Madol: Ceremonial Centre of Eastern
Micronesia in the Federated States of Micronesia was inscribed both on the
World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The new sites, in the
order of their inscription are:
Zuojiang
Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape (People’s Republic of China) – Located
on the steep cliffs in the border regions of southwest China, these 38 sites of
rock art illustrate the life and rituals of the Luoyue people. They date from
the period around the 5th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. In a
surrounding landscape of karst, rivers and plateaux, they depict ceremonies
which have been interpreted as portraying the bronze drum culture once
prevalent across southern China. This cultural landscape is the only remains of
this culture today.
Archaeological
Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) at Nalanda, Bihar (India)
– The Nalanda Mahavihara site is in the State of Bihar, in north-eastern
India. It comprises the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic
institution dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. It includes
stupas, shrines, viharas (residential and educational buildings) and important
art works in stucco, stone and metal. Nalanda stands out as the most ancient
university of the Indian Subcontinent. It engaged in the organized transmission
of knowledge over an uninterrupted period of 800 years. The historical
development of the site testifies to the development of Buddhism into a
religion and the flourishing of monastic and educational traditions.
The Persian
Qanat (Islamic Republic of Iran) – Throughout
the arid regions of Iran, agricultural and permanent settlements are supported
by the ancient qanat system of tapping alluvial aquifers at the heads of
valleys and conducting the water along underground tunnels by gravity, often
over many kilometres. The eleven qanats representing this system include rest
areas for workers, water reservoirs and watermills. The traditional communal
management system still in place allows equitable and sustainable water sharing
and distribution. The qanats provide exceptional testimony to cultural
traditions and civilizations in desert areas with an arid climate.
Nan Madol:
Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia)
– Nan Madol is a series of 99 artificial islets off the south-east coast of
Pohnpei that were constructed with walls of basalt and coral boulders. These
islets harbour the remains of stone palaces, temples, tombs and residential
domains built between 1200 and 1500 CE. These ruins represent the ceremonial
centre of the Saudeleur dynasty, a vibrant period in Pacific Island culture.
The huge scale of the edifices, their technical sophistication and the
concentration of megalithic structures bear testimony to complex social and religious
practices of the island societies of the period. The site was also inscribed on
the List of World Heritage in Danger due to threats, notably the siltation of
waterways that is contributing to the unchecked growth of mangroves and
undermining existing edifices.
The 40th session of
the World Heritage Committee began on 10 July and will continue until 20 July
in Istanbul, Turkey. It is chaired by Ambassador, Director General of Cultural
Affairs and Promotion Abroad of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lale
Ülker.
