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The article presents a passage from Revelation 18:2 on the fall of Babylon.

A video and photos on the conservation project at the ruins of Babylon, and a report on the At War blog about the restoration of sites across Iraq. nytimes.com/design [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

JIMIJMA, Iraq -- The damage done to the ruins of ancient Babylon is visible from a small hilltop near the Tower of Babel, whose biblical importance is hard to envision from what is left of it today. Across the horizon are guard towers, concertina wire and dirt-filled barriers among the palm trees; encroaching farms and concrete houses from this village and others; and the enormous palace that Saddam Hussein built in the 1980s atop the city where Nebuchadnezzar II ruled. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The most immediate threat to preserving the ruins of Babylon, the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is water soaking the ground and undermining what is left in present-day Iraq of a great city from the time of King Nebuchadnezzar II. It is also one of the oldest threats. The king himself faced water problems 2,600 years ago. Neglect, reckless reconstruction and wartime looting have also taken their toll in recent times, but archaeologists and experts in the preservation of cultural relics say nothing substantial should be done to correct that until the water problem is brought under control. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author comments on the apparent myths about the role of coalition forces in the damage sustained by the heritage of Iraq. The coalition forces have been blamed for the looting of the National Museum in Baghdad and the neglect of ancient sites such as that of Babylon. According to the author, much of the looting at the museum occurred during the time of then President Saddam Hussein. Archeologists who visited the ancient sites in 2008 contend that little damage has been sustained the sites.

American troops and contractors in Iraq inflicted serious damage on the archaeological site of Babylon in Iraq, driving heavy machinery over once-sacred paths, bulldozing hilltops and digging trenches through the terrain, Unesco experts said Thursday. ''The use of Babylon as a military base was a grave encroachment on this internationally known archaeological site,'' said a report that the United Nations cultural agency presented in Paris. Unesco officials stressed that the damage had not begun with the American military nor fully ended after it left the site. Archaeologists in the 19th century took away some of Babylon's finest treasures, Saddam Hussein embellished the site with his own structures, and looters returned when the Americans handed the site back to the Iraqis 21 months after the March 2003 invasion. Unesco aims to make Babylon, a 4,000-year-old city, fit for the coveted title of World Heritage site. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

After decades of dictatorship and disrepair, Iraq is celebrating its renewed sovereignty over the Babylon archaeological site -- by fighting over the place, over its past and future and, of course, over its spoils. Time long ago eroded the sun-dried bricks that shaped ancient Babylon, the city of Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar, where Daniel read the writing on the wall and Alexander the Great died. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

After years of neglect, misuse and haphazard reconstruction of the ancient city of Babylon, a master plan is being developed to restore this Mesopotamian site, in present-day Iraq. The project, called ''The Future of Babylon,'' was announced in a news release by the World Monuments Fund, which will collaborate with Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. Babylon endured numerous restoration and reconstruction projects during the reign of Saddam Hussein. It was heavily plundered after his fall (a recovered artifact is above), and used as the site of an American military base. The Babylon project, financed by a $700,000 grant from the State Department, will map the city's archaeological sites, develop conservation plans and pursue possibilities for tourism and education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reports on the damage caused by the American-led troops to the artifacts at the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon. Destruction of 2,600-year-old brick pavement and archaeological fragments by military vehicles; Cooperation the foreign forces with the Iraqi authorities to protect the site.

Describes the palace rebuilt by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Babylon, Iraq.

Provides information on the social and economic conditions in Babylon, Iraq in 1998. Historical background on Babylon; Sanctions imposed by the United Nations (UN) on Iraq after it invaded Kuwait in 1990; Impact of the UN sanctions on Iraq.

Focuses on the historical ruins of Babylon and its restoration by Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, whose name has been chiseled into some of the bricks used in the city's restoration. Reference to Nebuchadnezzar; Background information on Hussein and Iraq; Parallel of Hussein and historical ruins; Comments from key persons.