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2002 List of 100 Most Endangered Sites Announced October 11, 2001

Photographs courtesy the World Monuments Fund

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The 2002 list ranges from the Great Wall of China to Brooklyn's St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church.

The World Monuments Fund, a nonprofit organization whose goal it is to protect and spread awareness of cultural heritage in peril around the world, has just released its WMW List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites, 2002. Archaeological sites, historic town centers, and well-known monuments make up the Watch's list, which hopes to preserve the threatened sites and bring them to international attention.

"Again the Watch program has turned up an astonishing array of cultural sites in peril," says WMF vice-president of programs John Stubbs. "We can only hope that our success rate in helping the sites on the new list will be as great as in past years."

The World Monuments Watch added an unprecedented 101st site--Historic Lower Manhattan--as the list went to press in the wake of the World Trade Center destruction.

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Lower Manhattan includes 65 landmarks and six historic districts in its 1.5-square-mile area, making it one of the most historic areas in the United States.

Among the most ancient sites on the list for 2002 are the following:
(Links to photographs where available)

  • Temple of Khasekhemwy, Hierakonpolis, Egypt
  • Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt
  • White and Red Monasteries, Sohag, Egypt
  • Palaikastro, Greece
  • Piedras Negras, Guatemala
  • Erbil Citadel, Iraq
  • Nineveh and Nimrud Palaces, Iraq
  • Bet She'arim, Israel
  • Petra, Jordan
  • Enfeh, Lebanon
  • Mnajdra, Malta
  • Yaxchilan, Mexico
  • Sri-Ksetra Temples, Myanmar
  • Uch Monument Complex, Pakistan
  • Karelian Petroglyphs, Russia
  • Citadel of Aleppo, Syria
  • Damsacus Old City, Syria
  • Ani, Turkey
  • Ankara, Temple of Augustus, Turkey
  • Merv, Turkmenistan
  • Ancient Chersonesos, Turkey
  • Brading Roman Villa, United Kingdom

* See www.wmf.org for more on the World Monuments Fund and the complete World Monuments Watch 100 Most Endangered Sites 2002 list.

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© 2001 by the Archaeological Institute of America
archive.archaeology.org/online/news/wmf02/

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