Wikipedia

List of World Heritage Sites in Libya

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.[1] Cultural heritage consists of monuments (such as architectural works, monumental sculptures, or inscriptions), groups of buildings, and sites (including archaeological sites). Natural features (consisting of physical and biological formations), geological and physiographical formations (including habitats of threatened species of animals and plants), and natural sites which are important from the point of view of science, conservation, or natural beauty, are defined as natural heritage.[2] Libya accepted the convention on 13 October 1978.[3] There are five World Heritage Sites in Libya, with a further three on the tentative list.[3]

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Location of World Heritage Sites in Libya

The first three sites in Libya were added to the list in 1982 and the most recent one in 1986.[3] All five sites are listed due to their cultural significance. Since 2016, all five sites have been listed as endangered because of the instability due to the Libyan civil war.[4]

World Heritage Sites edit

UNESCO lists sites under ten criteria; each entry must meet at least one of the criteria. Criteria i through vi are cultural, and vii through x are natural.[5]

  † In danger
World Heritage Sites
Site Image Location (district) Year listed UNESCO data Description
Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna†   Murqub 1982 183; iii, v vi (cultural) Leptis Magna was founded as a Phoenician settlement LPQ and came under the Romans in 46 BCE. It was the birthplace of the Septimius Severus. After becoming the Emperor in 193, he rebuilt and enlarged the city and made it one of the most beautiful cities of the Roman world. It is one of the best examples of Roman urban planning. It was pillaged in the 4th century, reconquered by the Byzantines, and was finally abandoned following the Arab invasion. The ruins of the Roman theater are pictured.[6][7]
Archaeological Site of Sabratha†   Zawiya 1982 Cultural (iii) A Phoenician trading-post that served as an outlet for the products of the African hinterland, Sabratha was part of the short-lived Numidian Kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.[8]
Archaeological Site of Cyrene†   Jabal al Akhdar 1982 Cultural (ii) (iii) (vi) A colony of the Greeks of Thera, Cyrene was one of the principal cities in the Hellenic world. It was Romanized and remained a great capital until the earthquake of 365. A thousand years of history is written into its ruins, which have been famous since the 18th century.[9]
Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus†   Ghat 1985 Cultural (iii) On the borders of Tassili N'Ajjer in Algeria, also a World Heritage site, this rocky massif has thousands of cave paintings in very different styles, dating from 12,000 B.C. to A.D. 100. They reflect marked changes in the fauna and flora, and also the different ways of life of the populations that succeeded one another in this region of the Sahara.[10]
Old Town of Ghadamès†   Ghat 1986 Cultural (v) Ghadamès, known as 'the pearl of the desert', stands in an oasis. It is one of the oldest pre-Saharan cities and an outstanding example of a traditional settlement. Its domestic architecture is characterized by a vertical division of functions: the ground floor used to store supplies; then another floor for the family, overhanging covered alleys that create what is almost an underground network of passageways; and, at the top, open-air terraces reserved for the women.[11]

Tentative List edit

Site Image Location Criteria Area
ha (acre)
 Year of submission Description
Archaeological site of Ghirza   Misrata District Cultural (ii) (iii) 2020 [12]
The Archaeological Site of Ptolemais   Marj District Cultural (ii) (iii) (iv) 2020 [13]
Haua Fteah Cave   Derna District Cultural (iii) (iv) (v) 2020 [14]

References edit

  1. ^ "The World Heritage Convention". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Libya". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Libya's five World Heritage sites put on List of World Heritage in Danger". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  5. ^ "UNESCO World Heritage Centre The Criteria for Selection". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna, Advisory Body Evaluation (ICOMOS) / Évaluation de l'organisation consultative (ICOMOS)". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Archaeological Site of Sabratha". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2023-11-20.  Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO (CC BY 3.0 IGO) license.
  9. ^ "Archaeological Site of Cyrene". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2023-11-20.  Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO (CC BY 3.0 IGO) license.
  10. ^ "Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2023-11-20.  Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO (CC BY 3.0 IGO) license.
  11. ^ "Old Town of Ghadamès". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2023-11-20.  Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO (CC BY 3.0 IGO) license.
  12. ^ "Archaeological site of Ghirza". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  13. ^ "The Archaeological Site of Ptolemais". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  14. ^ "Haua Fteah Cave". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
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