It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news.
New satellite images show that further destruction has occurred at Palmyra since the ancient Syrian city was retaken by ISIS last month. The UNESCO World Heritage site northeast of Damascus reached its peak between the 1st and 3rd centuries A.D.
Satellite imagery snapped on Dec. 26, 2016, showing the Tetrapylon and Roman theater prior to the recent damage in Palmyra.
Images of the same area from January 2017 showed significant damage to two of the site's major monuments, the Tetrapylon and the Roman theater, according to the Cultural Heritage Initiatives (CHI) of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR).
New war crime
(Image credit: ASOR and DigitalGlobe)
UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova called the destruction "a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity."
Tetrapylon
(Image credit: Antomie2013 / Shutterstock.com)
Most of the towering columns of Palmyra's Tetrapylon, shown in the foreground here, are now demolished.
Deliberate destruction
(Image credit: nikidel / Shutterstock.com)
ASOR researchers say that the monument intentionally destroyed using explosives.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
Theater of war
(Image credit: seb001 / Shutterstock.com)
The Roman theater, where ISIS has conducted several executions, also showed signs of fresh damage.
Megan has been writing for Live Science and Space.com since 2012. Her interests range from archaeology to space exploration, and she has a bachelor's degree in English and art history from New York University. Megan spent two years as a reporter on the national desk at NewsCore. She has watched dinosaur auctions, witnessed rocket launches, licked ancient pottery sherds in Cyprus and flown in zero gravity. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.
Live Science Plus
