Mayan Temple Irreparably Damaged by Doomsday Partiers

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An ancient stone temple in Tikal, Guatemala, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was significantly damaged by party-goers celebrating the "end of the world." Climbing the temples is prohibited, yet many tourists disregarded this rule, leading to what experts describe as "irreparable" damage. The discussion reflects a mix of outrage over the destruction of cultural heritage and indifference from some participants who express a lack of interest in historical preservation. The incident has sparked debates about the respect for ancient sites and the consequences of reckless behavior by visitors. Additionally, comparisons are made to other instances of cultural heritage damage, highlighting ongoing concerns about the preservation of historical artifacts.
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This is outrageous.

An ancient stone temple in Guatemala suffered significant damage from "end of the word" party goers earlier this month.

Tikal, where the temple is located, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and, according to AFP, "the largest archaeological site and urban center of the Mayan civilization."

"Sadly, many tourists climbed Temple II and caused damage," said Osvaldo Gomez, a technical adviser at the site told AFP. It is forbidden to climb the temples. The nature of the damage was not described, but Gomez said it's "irreparable."

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blog...world-parties-173634842--abc-news-travel.html
 
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That's terrible. Damn idiots...
 
For some reason, I don't care. I am not really interested in the past.
 
tahayassen said:
For some reason, I don't care. I am not really interested in the past.

Blasphemer! Awaken Osiris!
 
tahayassen said:
For some reason, I don't care. I am not really interested in the past.

It happened in the present to buildings that exist right now. And I could argue that the destruction of anything was a destruction of the past.
 
tahayassen said:
For some reason, I don't care. I am not really interested in the past.

Heh. Too bad, you'll be stuck in the refresher course :smile:

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- George Santayana
 
tahayassen said:
For some reason, I don't care. I am not really interested in the past.

Without the past, there wouldn't be a present. :)
 
tahayassen said:
For some reason, I don't care. I am not really interested in the past.

You got five quotes in a row for this statement, it must be controversial.
 
An ancient stone temple in Guatemala suffered significant damage from "end of the word" party goers earlier this month.

so? :confused: it's not exactly the end of the world, is it? :wink:

(in the beginning was the word o:))
 
  • #10
Elementary. Jose Arguelas (he came up with the 2012 thing) confused the end of the world with the destruction of the temple. Could happen to anybody. So his prediction was dead on.

Having seen a few ancient temples, often they are dirt enclosed by brick. If the brick is damaged the thing can avalanche and cost too much to repair.
 
  • #11
Morons. Kill 'em all, I say.
 
  • #12
Pythagorean said:
You got five quotes in a row for this statement, it must be controversial.

It's always fun to gauge how controversial a post can be by looking at the number of people who took the time to reply to some guy on the internet. Relevant XKCD: http://xkcd.com/386/
 
  • #13
Its sad. Just because I am not a doomsday believer, I don't have the privilege to damage a Mayan temple.
 
  • #14
tiny-tim said:
so? :confused: it's not exactly the end of the world, is it? :wink:

(in the beginning was the word o:))


Word! :biggrin:


I know my reply's late, but why let that stand in the way of a nice riposte?
 
  • #15
Priceless Egyptian artefacts including mummies were damaged in the Cairo museum during riots as well. Always sad to see people so disrespectful of ancient heritage, especially wen it's from something stupid like a party.
 
  • #16
There's damage and then there's damage. http://news.yahoo.com/builders-bulldoze-big-mayan-pyramid-belize-225012836.html. It's incredible what some people will do.
 
  • #17
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  • #18
ImATrackMan said:
At least it wasn't another case of a peruvian developer destroying the Nazca Lines...

Shame, too. They were on my bucket list.

What??! I've always wanted to see them, too.
 

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