UNESCO Adds 14 New World Heritage Sites

The 45th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO is scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the dates of 10 September to 25 September 2023. During the course of this meeting, representatives from 21 different member nations came to an agreement about the expansion of recognition to many already recognized sites as well as the inclusion of 14 new sites to the World Heritage List.

As a result of these additions and expansions, historically important or unique sites in nations such as China, India, Ethiopia, Iran, and Azerbaijan, as well as the Palestinian area of the West Bank, will be afforded legal protection. In addition, the committee has included a number of locations in Kyiv and Lviv, Ukraine, on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Gedeo Cultural Landscape, Ethiopia

Gedeo is an area in Ethiopia that is found on the eastern side of the major Ethiopian Rift Valley and features steep slopes in the Ethiopian highlands. Gedeo is also the name of the region. Farmers in this area use a multi-layered cropping approach known as agroforestry. In this system, huge trees are used as rootstocks for other plants, such as intercrops, coffee, and shrubs. The Gedeo people, who live in an area with a high population density, have a long history of forest management and keep holy woodlands intact for religious ceremonies. Megalithic monuments, which symbolize a one-of-a-kind cultural and natural landscape, are treasured by the community and protected by the elders. These monuments are located along the ridges.

KOH KER, Cambodia

KOH KER, AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE IN THE COUNTRY OF Cambodia. Koh Ker is a religious complex that is home to a wide variety of monuments, including temples, shrines, sculptures, inscriptions, murals, and relics. This architectural masterpiece, which was constructed over the course of 23 years, was one of the two rival capitals of the Khmer Empire; the other was Angkor. Under the reign of King Jayavarman IV, the city of Koh Ker was the only seat of government from the years 928 to 944 CE. It is thought that the layout of the city was constructed in line with old Indian religious concepts concerning the universe. This would have resulted in the city having a more cosmopolitan feel. The city is distinguished for its creative urban design, artistic expression, and building techniques, particularly the utilization of enormous monolithic stone blocks.

Tr’ondëk-Klondike, Canada

The Tr’ondak Hwch’in First Nation calls the region of Tr’ondak-Klondike, which is situated in the northwest corner of Canada, their traditional territory. This location, which is situated along the Yukon River in the subarctic zone, is home to a variety of archeological and historical sites that throw light on the ways in which indigenous groups adapted to the significant changes brought about by the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 19th century. These locations give insight on the adaptation techniques that the Tr’ondk Hwch’in adopted to react to the introduction of white settlers and include regions where interactions occurred between indigenous residents and white settlers.

Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er

Beginning in the 10th century and continuing throughout the millennium that followed, members of the Blang and Dai ethnic groups in southern China painstakingly constructed the cultural environment of Jingmai Mountain. This region is known as a hub for the production of tea, and it has traditional villages that are encircled by centuries-old tea orchards, woods, and plantations. The indigenous people who live in this area continue to use a time-honored manner of growing the understory vegetation. This approach has melded inconspicuously with the mountain ecology and the subtropical monsoon climate that the mountains represent. The belief in the tea ancestors is at the heart of this cultural heritage.

This tradition holds that the tea estates, as well as the natural flora and wildlife, are home to spirits that have been passed down through the generations. This idea serves as the foundation for the rites and celebrations that take place in the area.

Santiniketan, India

In 1901, the well-known poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore established Santiniketan in West Bengal as a rural boarding school and arts center. Santiniketan was named after him. Later, in 1921, he founded it as a ‘global university’ named Visva Bharati with the intention of promoting human oneness across different civilizations. Santiniketan’s architectural style and educational approach were distinct from those of British colonialism and European modernism. These differences reflected an innovative vision of pan-Asian modernism that was inspired by the ancient, medieval, and folk traditions of the area.

Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan

Tell es-Sultan is a hill with an oval shape that is located in the Jordan Valley. It is where archeological artifacts that date back to the 9th to 8th millennia BC may be found. The presence of sculptures and bones at the site is evidence that the Neolithic residents participated in religious activities. The artifacts from the Early Bronze Age provide evidence of urban planning, whilst the ruins from the Middle Bronze Age indicate Canaanite city-states that were enormous and well developed.

Deer Stone Monuments and Related Bronze Age Sites

Bronze Age sites in Mongolia, including the Deer Stone Monuments and Related Locations.
These ancient deer stones, which can be found in the center of Mongolia on the slopes of the Khangai Ridge, were used as the place for ceremonial and mortuary ceremonies at some point between 1200 and 600 BC. Their roots may be traced back to this time period. These stones, some of which were as tall as four meters, were placed vertically into the ground, most often individually or in small groups. Typically, they are found as part of larger complexes that also include significant burial mounds known as khirgisuurs as well as specialized sacrifice platforms.

These deer stones, which are adorned with intricate, stylized, or representational carvings of deer, are the most significant surviving structures associated with the culture of the Eurasian nomads who lived during the Bronze Age. This culture flourished during the transition from the second to the first millennium BC, but then began to slowly decline after that time period.

Jewish-Medieval Heritage of Erfurt, Germany

This complex encompasses three historic landmarks: the Old Synagogue, the Mikveh, and the Stone House. It is located in the historical core of Erfurt, which is the capital of Thuringia. These constructions give insights into the life of the local Jewish population and its relations with the Christian majority in Central Europe throughout the Middle Ages, which ran from the late 11th century to the middle of the 14th century. The Middle Ages began in the late 11th century and ended in the middle of the 14th century.

Kuldīga Old Town, Latvia

An example of an ancient urban village that has been extremely well maintained may be seen at Kulda, which is located in Latvia. During the 16th to 18th centuries, it grew from a little town in the middle ages into an important administrative hub for the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. The urban structure of Kuldga has remained mostly unchanged since this time period in history. It is characterized by a mixture of traditional log cabin architecture and styles inspired by foreign artists who engaged with local craftsmen from the area around the Baltic Sea.

Up until the 19th century, these architectural influences and artisan methods, which date back to the period of the duchy, continued to be practiced.

Viking Age Ring Fortresses, Denmark

The five archaeological sites that make up this collection are huge circular fortresses that were constructed by the Vikings in a very short period of time between 970 and 980 CE. These forts were built in a standard fashion; yet, their defensive role was made clear by the fact that they were placed in strategic locations along vital land and sea routes. These constructions not only provide as concrete proof of the Jelling dynasty’s domination and centralized power, but they also represent the dramatic social and political shifts that took place in Denmark toward the end of the 10th century.

Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor

ZARAFSHAN-KARAKUM CORRIDOR (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) is part of the SILK ROADS network. The Zarafshan-Karakum corridor, which is located in Central Asia and runs for 866 kilometers along the Zarafshan River, was an extremely important part of the Silk Road network. From the second century B.C. to the sixteenth century C.E., this historic trade route linked the East with the West, therefore facilitating the flow of a wide variety of products as well as cultural practices. The interaction of people from all over the globe who traveled, settled, and traded along this route turned it into a melting pot of many cultures, faiths, scientific theories, and technological advancements. As a result, it was a melting pot.

Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and “Köç Yolu” Transhumance Route

The Khinalig people are a semi-nomadic people that live in the northern regions of Azerbaijan. Their home is the Khinalig cultural landscape, which is situated in the rough terrain of that region. This group of people has established a culture and manner of life that is uniquely their own, and it is based on the seasonal variations that occur between summer pastures and winter pastures.

The “Koec Yolu” or migration route is the course that these treks take, which is around 200 kilometers in length. The settlement of Khinalig, high-altitude summer pastures, and agricultural terraces may be found tucked away in the huge mountains of the Great Caucasus as part of this cultural landscape. On the other hand, winter pastures are found in the low-lying plains of central Azerbaijan, and the Koec Yolu serves as the connecting river between these two major components.

Gaya Tumuli, South Korea

The Gaya Confederacy was a historical entity in southern Korea that existed from the 1st century CE to the 6th century CE. This site has a collection of archeological burial sites including burial mounds that were originally assigned to the Gaya Confederacy. The specific political structure of the Gaya Confederacy may be inferred from the arrangement of these cemeteries, the particular characteristics of the surrounding environment, the numerous burial customs, and the grave goods that were discovered. Within this political framework, multiple groups coexisted on an equal footing and shared a similar cultural legacy.

In addition, the development of different burial styles and the increasing significance of hierarchical components in these mounds are reflective of the societal shifts that the Gaya Confederacy went through throughout the course of their history.

The Persian Caravanserai

Caravanserais were places that provided protection for nomadic people, as well as nourishment, food, and water for caravans, pilgrims, and other travelers. They were placed there deliberatively, with consideration given to the accessibility of water, the geography, and the many facets of safety. The 54 caravanserais that are included on this page are only a small sample of the many caravanserais that have been constructed along ancient trade routes in Iran.

In the realm of Iranian caravanserais, these examples have a tremendous amount of importance since they illustrate a variety of architectural styles, adaptations to a variety of climatic circumstances, and the use of a variety of construction materials.