2008 World Monuments Watch
Introduction The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York-based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund (WMF) that calls international attention to cultural heritage around the world that is threatened by neglect, vandalism, conflict, or disaster.
Selection process Every two years, it publishes a select list known as the Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites that are in urgent need of preservation funding and protection. The sites are nominated by governments, conservation professionals, site caretakers, non-government organizations (NGOs), concerned individuals, and others working in the field. An independent panel of international experts then select 100 candidates from these entries to be part of the Watch List, based on the significance of the sites, the urgency of the threat, and the viability of both advocacy and conservation solutions. For the succeeding two-year period until a new Watch List is published, these 100 sites can avail grants and funds from the WMF, as well as from other foundations, private donors, and corporations by capitalizing on the publicity and attention gained from the inclusion on the Watch List. Since the Watch List was launched in 1996, more than 75 percent of the enlisted threatened sites have been saved.
2008 Watch List The 2008 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites was announced on June 6, 2007 by WMF President Bonnie Burnham. The 2008 Watch List highlights three critical man-made threats affecting the world's cultural heritage: political conflict, unchecked urban and industrial development, and global climate change.===List by country/territory===The colossal Buddha statues of Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 after branding them as "un-Islamic". Since then, conservators have carried out emergency work to document and conserve the statues' surviving fragments ''in situ''.Explorer Robert Falcon Scott's hut serves as a mute testimony to the heroic age of Antarctic exploration during the early 20th century. Unprecedented buildup of snow and ice, thought to be due to climate change, imperils this monument.The Theban Necropolis on the Nile's West Bank is famed for its pharaonic remains, but also features sites dating back to Paleolithic times.Jaipur's Jantar Mantar is one of the five sites from India to be included on the 2008 Watch List.A planned motorway threatens the Iron Age site of Tara Hill in Ireland, leading to its inclusion on the 2008 Watch List.civil unrest in the locality.Uncontrolled development and environmental mismanagement brought about by increased tourism activity has led to the inclusion of Peru's Machu Picchu on the Watch List.Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, was once known as the "Athens of West Africa. "Built in 1975, the Joan Miró Foundation is a product of late-Modern architecture and is the "youngest" site on the 2008 Watch List.The Island of Saint-Louis in Senegal has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.Ukraine's Pidhirtsi Castle was severely damaged during the Polish-Soviet War (1919-21). The structure was also damaged by a fire caused by a lightning strike in 1956.Scotland's greatest post-WWII building by the architecture magazine ''Prospect''.The New York State Pavilion is a remnant of the 1964 New York World's Fair. Forty years later, it is in imminent danger of collapse as its foundation starts to decay. Number Country/Territory Site Location Period 1 Afghanistan Buddhist Remains of Bamiyan Bamiyan Valley ca. AD 600 2 Afghanistan Murad Khane Kabul 18th century–1920 3 Afghanistan Tepe Narenj Kabul 5th–9th Centuries AD 4 Algeria Medracen and el-Khroub Numidian Royal Mausolea Constantina and Batna Region 4th–3rd Centuries BC 5 Antarctica Scott’s Hut and the Explorers’ Heritage of Antarctica Scott's Hut, Cape Evans, Ross Island 1899–1917 6 Argentina Brener Synagogue Moises Ville 1909 7 Armenia Kumayri District Alexandrapol, Gyumri 19th–20th Centuries 8 Australia Dampier Rock Art Complex Dampier Archipelago c. 10,000 BC–Present 9 Azerbaijan Khinalyg Village Guba Region 17th–19th Centuries 10 Bangladesh Sonargaon-Panam City Sonargaon 15th–19th Centuries 11 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo City Hall Sarajevo 1892–1894 12 Brazil Porangatu Historic District Porangatu 18th–early 20th Centuries 13 Bulgaria Novae Archaeological Site Svishtov AD 49–700 14 Burkina Faso Loropeni Ruins Poni Province 18th Century 15 Canada Herschel Island Yukon Territory 1890–1907 16 Chile Montemar Institute of Marine Biology Viña del Mar 1941–1945; 1956–1969 17 China Modern Shanghai Shanghai 1920–1949 18 China Xumishan Grottoes Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 4th–10th Centuries AD 19 Cyprus Famagusta Walled City Famagusta 3rd Century BC–19th Century AD 20 Egypt Blue Mosque (Aqsunqur Mosque) Cairo 14th–17th Centuries 21 Egypt Shunet el-Zebib Abydos c. 2750 BC 22 Egypt West Bank of the Nile Luxor Paleolithic to Modern; Main Period: New Kingdom, 1540–1075 BC 23 Eritrea Derbush Tomb  Massawa  16th Century 24 Ethiopia Mohammadali House  Addis Ababa c. 1900 25 France Epailly Chapel of the Order of the Temple Courban 1200–1330 25 Georgia Gelati Monastery and Academy Kutaisi 12th–14th Centuries 26 Ghana The Wa Naa’s Palace Wa 19th Century 27 Greece Lesvos Historic Churches Lesvos 5th–19th Centuries 28 Greece Pella Macedonian Tombs Pella 4th–2nd Centuries BC 29 Guatemala Ceibal Archaeological Site Sayaxche 300 BC–AD 250; AD 830–950 30 Guatemala Capitanes Generales Palace Antigua Guatemala 1549–1773 31 India Amber Town Rajasthan 11th–18th Centuries 32 India Chettinad Karraikudi, Tamil Nadu 19th Century 33 India Jantar Mantar (The Observatory) Jaipur, Rajasthan 1729; 1901 Reconstructions 34 India Leh Old Town Ladakh Region, Jammu & Kashmir 15th–17th Centuries 35 India Srinigar Heritage Zone Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir 14th–19th Centuries 36 Indonesia Kotagede Heritage District Yogyakarta Special Territory 16th Century 37 Iraq Cultural Heritage Sites of Iraq Various Locations Prehistoric–Present 38 Ireland Tara Hill County Meath 3rd Millennium BC–12th Century AD 39 Ireland Vernon Mount County Cork 1780s–1950 40 Israel, Jordan, Palestinian Territories & Syria Jordan River Cultural Landscape  Prehistoric–AD 1516 41 Italy Farnese Nymphaeum Rome 1565–1635 42 Italy Fenestrelle Fortress Fenestrelle, Turin 1728–1850 43 Italy Transhumance Cultural Landscape Molise Region 3rd Century BC–1945 44 Italy Viscontian Bridge-Dam Valeggio sul Mincio 1393–1397 45 Jamaica Falmouth Historic Town  Falmouth 1770s 46 Jordan Khirbet et-Tannur  Tafilah, Ma'an Governorate 1st Century BC–2nd Century AD 47 Jordan Qusayr ‘Amra  Al-'Azraq Municipality 8th Century AD 48 Libya Wadi Mathendous Rock Art Fezzan 8000–3000 BC 49 Macedonia Holy Mother of God Peribleptos Church Ohrid 1295–1767 50 Madagascar Fianarantsoa Old City Fianarantsoa 19th Century 51 Malta Fort St. Elmo Valletta 1552–1565; 1689–1877; 1900–1945 52 Mauritania Chinguetti Mosque Chinguetti 13th Century 53 Mexico Chihuahua Missions Chihuahua 16th–19th Centuries 54 Mexico Huaca Historic Neighborhood Veracruz 1870–1912; 1940–1950 55 Mexico Monte Albán Archaeological Site Oaxaca 500 BC–AD 850 56 Mexico Teuchitlán-Guachimontones Archaeological Zone Teuchtitlán, Jalisco 400 BC–AD 600 57 Morocco Al-Azhar Mosque (Ain Khail Mosque) Fez 12th Century 58 Nigeria Ikom Monoliths of Cross River State Ikom Before 2000 BC 59 Pakistan Shikarpoor Historic City Center Sindh 17th–18th Centuries 60 Palestinian Territories Church of the Holy Nativity Bethlehem AD 330–Present 61 Peru Laraos Terraces Laraos 1440–Present 62 Peru Lima Historic City Center Lima 17th–19th Centuries 63 Peru Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary Urubamba Valley 15th Century 64 Peru Macusani-Corani Rock Art  Macusani and Corani 5000–2000 BC 65 Peru San Pedro Apostol de Andahuaylillas Church Andahuaylillas 1570–1629 66 Peru Santa Catalina Monastery Arequipa 16th–18th Centuries 67 Russia Church of the Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign Teplovo  c. 1797 68 Russia Mendeleev Tower St. Petersburg 1902–1950s 69 Russia St. Petersburg Historic Skyline St. Petersburg 1703–1950s 70 Senegal Ile de Saint-Louis (St. Louis Island) Saint-Louis  18th–19th Centuries 71 Sierra Leone Freetown Historic Monuments Freetown  17th Century 72 Slovakia Banská Stiavnica Calvary Complex Banská Stiavnica 1744–1751 73 Somalia Las Geel Rock Art Las Geel District 4000–3000 BC 74 Spain Joan Miró Foundation Barcelona 1975 75 Sri Lanka Kandy Sacred City Kandy c. 1470–1815 76 Sweden Ljungberg Hall Borlänge (Kvarnsveden) 1897–1898 77 Syria Cyrrhus (Nebi Houri) Azaz 230 BC–13th Century AD 78 Syria Old Damascus Damascus 3000 BC–Present 79 Tanzania Kilwa Historic Sites Kilwa 200 BC–AD 600; AD 700–1600; 18th–20th Centuries 80 Turkey Çukur Han Ankara 16th–17th Centuries 81 Turkey Hasankeyf Hasankeyf Prehistoric–14th Century 82 Turkey Istanbul Historic Walls Istanbul 5th–15th Centuries 83 Turkey Meryem Ana (Mother of God) Church Göreme, Cappadocia Early 11th Century 84 Turkey Red Church Güzelyurt, Sivrihisar, Cappadocia 6th Century 85 Ukraine Pidhirtsi Castle Pidhirtsi 17th–18th Centuries 86 United Kingdom Mavisbank House Midlothian, Scotland 1720–1750 87 United Kingdom Richhill House County Armagh, Northern Ireland 1655–1698 88 United Kingdom Wilton’s Music Hall London 1858, with earlier fabric dating from the 1720s 89 United Kingdom St. Peter’s College, Cardross Cardross, Scotland 1960s 90 United States of America Florida Southern Historic Campus Lakeland, Florida  1938–1950s 92 United States of America Historic Neighborhoods of New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana 18th–20th Centuries 93 United States of America Historic Route 66 Various Cities, Towns and Villages between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California 1926–1970 94 United States of America Main Street Modern Various Locations  1945–1975 95 United States of America New York State Pavilion Flushing, New York 1964 96 United States of America Salk Institute La Jolla, California 1959–1965 97 United States of America Tutuveni Petroglyph Site Coconino County, Arizona 1200–Present 98 Uzbekistan Ayaz Kala Karakalpakstan 4th Century BC–7th Century AD 99 Uzbekistan Madrasa Rashid Bukhara  15th–18th Centuries 100 Zimbabwe Bumbusi National Monument Matabeland  Prehistoric; 18th–19th Centuries AD
Statistics by country/territory The following countries/territories have multiple sites entered on the 2008 Watch List, listed by the number of sites: Number of sites Country/Territory 7 United States of America 6 Peru 5 India and Turkey 4 Italy, Mexico and United Kingdom 3 Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Russia and Syria 2 China, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Palestinian Territories and Uzbekistan
Notes A. Numbers list only meant as a guide on this article. No official reference numbers have been designated for the sites on the Watch List.B. Names and spellings used for the sites were based on the official  2008 Watch List as published.C. The references to the sites' locations and periods of construction were based on the official  2008 Watch List as published.D. Tally includes the transfrontier site of ''Jordan River Cultural Landscape''.
References
External links * Official website of the World Monuments Fund* World Monuments Watch home page* The 2008 WMF Watch List