Prolific Slog tipper Greg sends this story of a contractor bulldozing a huge and ancient Mayan temple called Noh Mul for road fill:
Noh Mul. Its name means the Big Hill but it’s not so big any more, this once towering and stout ceremonial center in San Jose/San Pablo has been whittled down to a narrow core by excavators and bulldozers. Whodunnit? Contractors who’re using the rich gravel and limestone content to fill roads in nearby Douglas Village.
Now, this was the main temple, the ceremonial center for Noh Mul, at about 20 metres among the tallest buildings in Northern Belize - and it’s not centuries old, it’s millennia, thousands of years old and the thought that its rich limestone bricks cut with stone tools in the BC era, the thought that this could be used for road fill is a manifest outrage...
Meanwhile, the Tibet Post reports that Chinese interests are tearing down ancient Buddhist temples and monuments in Lhasa to make a tourist attraction:
Ignoring both religious freedom and the outcry of the Tibetan people, the Chinese authorities have begun demolishing the ancient capital of Lhasa, including one of the most important Buddhist sites of the city, Tibet's holiest Jokhang Temple.
Chinese authorities are planning to destroy the ancient Buddhist capital of Lhasa, and replace it with a tourist city...
Business Insider reports that the Chinese government is trying to sweep news of the destruction under the digital rug, courtesy of its censors:
“Lhasa is being destroyed by excessive commercial development,” Tibetan writer Tsering Woeser, who lives in Beijing but grew up in the capital, wrote in a letter after visiting the area. “Please save Lhasa.”
Li notes that the post received thousands of comments and shares on the social network Weibo before Chinese censors took it down.
Remember back in 2001, when the Taliban destroyed ancient Buddhist statues for religious reasons and the world went nuts? I wonder if the world will do the same about ancient religious sites being destroyed for commercial reasons.
