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33 J. Art Crime 23 (2025)
Ruins of Identity: The 2024 Cultural Heritage Crisis in Lebanon

handle is hein.journals/jartcrim33 and id is 28 raw text is: Ruins of Identity: The 2024 Cultural Heritage Crisis in Lebanon Alia Fares and Hanan Charaf Abstract The 14-month conflict in Lebanon (October 8, 2023 - November 27, 2024) caused widespread devastation of the country's cultural heritage. Airstrikes and ground military operations have directly targeted archaeological sites, historical monuments, religious sites, urban centers, and entire rural villages, inflicting severe damage on Lebanon's historical fabric. World Heritage Sites, including the ancient Roman ruins of Baalbek and Tyre, have suffered both direct and collateral destruction, raising warning over the irreversible loss of Lebanon's cultural assets. In response, the Lebanese Ministry of Culture dispatched in November 2024 an official delegation to UNESCO in Paris and requested enhanced protection for 34 critically endangered sites (Berro 2025; The Art Newspaper 2025; UNESCO 2025). However, even after this appeal was made, additional destruction continued relentlessly. Beyond internationally recognized landmarks, numerous regional and local heritage sites including religious landmarks, churches, mosques, and maqams were obliterated, deepening the loss of Lebanon's cultural landscape. Urban centers, particularly in Beirut's southern suburbs and South Lebanon, have suffered the destruction of heritage-rich districts, including Ottoman-era souks and traditional residential quarters, erasing the spatial memory and cultural character that defined these communities. The destruction has also not spared the intangible part of culture. Ancient agricultural traditions linked to olive or tobacco were affected by fields set on fire during the conflict, and long-standing communal festivals have been disrupted, creating both cultural and environmental crises. The destruction of agricultural landscapes and natural reserves, essential to Lebanon's ecological and cultural heritage, further compounds the loss. This deliberate elimination of Lebanese identity demands urgent international intervention to protect and restore the nation's cultural heritage. Advocating for a more inclusive and sustainable approach to heritage preservation should involve local stakeholders. As governmental assessments and documentation efforts unfold, future protection strategies must integrate educational programs that engage local society and municipal authorities guaranteeing their active role in safeguarding Lebanon's heritage for future generations. Keywords: Lebanon, armed conflict, cultural heritage destruction, identity, intangible, resilience, post-conflict reconstruction, documentation, cultural protection. 23

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