The decision came during the United Nations cultural agency’s ongoing session in Istanbul, Turkey on July 15.
Advertisement
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee inscribed five new sites on its World Heritage List-including the historic archaeological site of Ani-during its 40th session taking place in Istanbul July 10-20.
India had “pulled out” Delhi from the race for the UNESCO Heritage List, arguing that such a prestigious tag for the city will put “a lot of restrictions” on carrying out infrastructure works in the national capital. It was earlier an acclaimed large Buddhist monastery in the ancient kingdom of Magadha.
“Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) comprises the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution dating from the 3 {+r}{+d} century BCE to the 13 {+t}{+h} century CE”, it said.
The Ani Ruins are located in the Kars province.
Sitting on a plateau in northeast Turkey near Armenia, the medieval city of Ani was built up over successive Christian and Muslim dynasties and had its heyday in the 10th and 11th centuries.
The Zuojiang Huashan site, covering over 6,621 hectares, is home to more than 1,900 well-preserved drawings on the face of the Huashan mountains along the Zuojiang River, Chongzuo.
They joined seven other sites including in Iran, India, China, Micronesia and Spain in being added to the World Heritage list at the meeting of UNESCO in Istanbul.
The Zuojiang Huashon rock art cultural landscape dates back to the 5th century B.C. and straddles steep cliffs in southwest China.
The Greek archaeological site of Philippi, founded in 356 B.C.by the Macedonian King Philip II, lies in the present-day region of eastern Macedonia and Thrace.
The site in Iran is an example of an ancient water-supply system – known as qanat – suited for the most arid areas. It later became an important Christian site, following the visit of Apostle Paul, UNESCO said.
Advertisement
Among the sites added are the natural sea caves known as Gorham’s Cave Complex, or the Neanderthal Caves, in Gibraltar; the Dolmes de Antequera, in Antequera, southern Spain; and the monumental mediaeval tombstones called Stecak (or Stecci in plural) in Stolac, 160km south of Sarajevo, Bosnia.
