By Allison Kaplan Sommer - Israel 21c
This summer, the number of sites in Israel recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage sites grew considerably. At the 29th UNESCO World Heritage Conference, several new archaeological destinations made it onto the list, which includes 812 world heritage sites in total.
The new 2005 additions include the biblical archaeological sites of Tel Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheva, and the desert cities of Haluza, Mamshit, Avdat and Shivta, which are part of the ancient Incense and Spice route. They join the other three Israeli world heritage sites of Masada and the Old City of Acre, which were chosen in 2001 and the White City - Bauhaus and modern movement of Tel Aviv - which made it onto the list in 2003.
Prof. Michael Turner, and dedicated volunteers like him who are committed to preserving the country's heritage and having it recognized internationally, have been the driving force behind the achievement of getting these sites on the list. Turner, a professor of architecture at Bezalel Academy, has been active in the conservation and preservation movement in Israel for many years. A veteran immigrant to Israel from Great Britain, he serves as the chairman of the Israel World Heritage Committee, which decides each year which sites will be submitted to UNESCO for consideration.
The World Heritage Convention has existed since 1972, but Israel became a member only in 1999. In order to sign onto the convention in 1999, Israel was required to prepare a list of 25 sites with 'outstanding universal value.' For that purpose, the Israeli World Heritage Committee he chairs was formed, which includes representatives of the Education, Foreign and Tourism Ministries; the Antiquities Authority, Nature Reserve and Parks Authority, and Government Tourism Office. Turner said he was extremely pleased by how far Israel has come in such a short amount of time. "Israel is so well-positioned at this point that we've put ourselves up for nomination for the international World Heritage Committee. There are 21 countries on the committee which has a rotating membership, and the elections will be held next month," he said.
Getting a site on the UNESCO list is not a simple matter - it literally takes years of effort. Once Israel was accepted to the convention, it became the committee's job to choose each year which sites to submit for inclusion. In order to do so, they need the cooperation, dedication and enthusiasm of local and national officials who oversee the care of the site, since becoming a member of the list involves making a commitment to its preservation and safeguarding for future generations to come, and investing a great deal of effort in the nominative process.
The sites chosen this year were selected for the information and insight they provide the world on its early civilizations. The tels are pre-historic settlement mounds, and more than 200 exist in Israel. The three that were chosen by UNESCO - Megiddo, Hazor and Beer Sheba contain substantial remains of cities with biblical connections.
The three tels also present some of the best examples of life in the Iron Age, underground water collecting systems, created to serve dense urban communities. Their traces of construction over the millennia reflect the existence of centralized authority, prosperous agricultural activity and the control of important trade routes.
They "represent an interchange of human values throughout the ancient near-east, forged through extensive trade routes and alliances with other states and manifest in building styles which merged Egyptian, Syrian and Aegean influences to create a distinctive local style," according to UNESCO. Because they were mentioned in the Bible, they also "constitute a religious and spiritual testimony of outstanding universal value."
Carefully excavated and tended by the Israeli government, the three tels have yielded many treasures that shed light on the history of the different nations that inhabited the area at various times.
The other group of sites which was selected - the four Nabatean cities of Haluza, Mamshit, Avdat and Shivta, along with associated fortresses and agricultural landscapes in the Negev Desert - are spread along routes linking them to the Mediterranean end of the Incense and Spice route. The full route stretched from Yemen via Saudi Arabia and Jordan through the Negev to the Mediterranean Sea and on to Europe, was used for transporting and trading spices, jewelry, gold, silver and expensive fabrics. The hugely profitable trade in frankincense and myrrh from south Arabia to the Mediterranean, flourished from the 3rd century B.C. until to 2nd century A.D.
The Israeli cities include remains of sophisticated irrigation systems, urban constructions, forts, and they bear witness to the way in which the harsh desert was settled for trade and agriculture. They won inclusion, according to UNESCO for their "eloquent testimony to the economic, social and cultural importance of frankincense to the Hellenistic-Roman world. The routes also provided a means of passage not only for frankincense and other trade goods but also for people and ideas." In addition, the "remains of towns, forts, caravans and sophisticated agricultural systems strung out along the Incense route in the Negev desert, display an outstanding response to a hostile desert environment and one that flourished for five centuries."
Turner said that the next three Israeli sites that will enter the process of applying for inclusion on the list are the migratory bird flyways crossing Israel, the triple arch at Tel Dan which is the first known use of an arch in the world, and the Baha'i holy places in Haifa.
Courtesy http://www.israel21c.org/