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Babylon was the capital of ancient Babylonia, an early civilisation that existed from around 1800 BCE until 600 BCE.
Nebuchadrezzar II (reigned 605-562 Bc) built its most famous hanging gardens, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
"We already asked Bremer in June to request that an immediate end be put to these activities, but nothing happened"
Mufid al-Jazairi,
Iraq's US-appointed interim Culture Minister
Large parts of it were reconstructed and restored to its former glory by Iraq's former president Saddam Hussein in an attempt to restore ancient
historical sites preserving Iraq's rich and diverse history.
Describing anecdotal accounts of the damage, al-Jazairi said ancient roofs and walls had collapsed while other buildings had been destroyed or badly
damaged over a period of time.
He also said workers employed by US contracting firm Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) had been digging and building in the area around Babylon, causing
further damage.
Al-Jazairi said he did not know what the digging was for and that his department had not been informed about it.
Polish commanders and representatives of KBR were not immediately available for comment.
Iraqi officials raised the issue of damage to Babylon in June with the former US occupation governor in Iraq, Paul Bremer, and the former US-led
forces commander, Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, who issued a statement saying they were aware of the complaints.
The minister said their complaints and suggestions fell on deaf ears.
"We already asked Bremer in June to request that an immediate end be put to these activities, but nothing happened," al-Jazairi said.
"We again ask the multinational forces to put an immediate end to such activities. We can't ignore any more what's going on at the site and the
harm that is being done."
The Polish military contingent consists of about 8000 multinational troops operating in the southern-central region of Iraq, with many of them based
around Babylon.
So the question is, what are they digging in Babylon for?
- Was
[edit on 7-8-2004 by Wassabi]
[edit on 7-8-2004 by Wassabi]