2008 World Monuments Watch


The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York-based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund that calls international attention to cultural heritage around the world that is threatened by neglect, vandalism, conflict, or disaster.

Selection process

Every two years, it publishes a select list known as the Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites that are in urgent need of preservation funding and protection. The sites are nominated by governments, conservation professionals, site caretakers, non-government organizations, concerned individuals, and others working in the field. An independent panel of international experts then select 100 candidates from these entries to be part of the Watch List, based on the significance of the sites, the urgency of the threat, and the viability of both advocacy and conservation solutions. For the succeeding two-year period until a new Watch List is published, these 100 sites can avail grants and funds from the WMF, as well as from other foundations, private donors, and corporations by capitalizing on the publicity and attention gained from the inclusion on the Watch List. Since the Watch List was launched in 1996, more than 75 percent of the enlisted threatened sites have been saved.

2008 Watch List

The 2008 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites was announced on June 6, 2007 by WMF President Bonnie Burnham. The 2008 Watch List highlights three critical man-made threats affecting the world's cultural heritage: political conflict, unchecked urban and industrial development, and global climate change.

List by country/territory

NumberCountry/TerritorySiteLocationPeriod
1AfghanistanBuddhist Remains of BamiyanBamiyan Valleyca. AD 600
2AfghanistanMurad KhaneKabul18th century-1920
3AfghanistanTepe NarenjKabul5th-9th Centuries AD
4AlgeriaMedracen and el-Khroub Numidian Royal MausoleaConstantina and Batna Region4th-3rd Centuries BC
5AntarcticaScott’s Hut and the Explorers’ Heritage of AntarcticaScott's Hut, Cape Evans, Ross Island1899-1917
6ArgentinaBrener SynagogueMoises Ville1909
7ArmeniaKumayri DistrictAlexandrapol, Gyumri19th-20th Centuries
8AustraliaDampier Rock Art ComplexDampier Archipelagoc. 10,000 BC-Present
9AzerbaijanKhinalyg VillageGuba Region17th-19th Centuries
10BangladeshSonargaon-Panam CitySonargaon15th-19th Centuries
11Bosnia and HerzegovinaSarajevo City HallSarajevo1892-1894
12BrazilPorangatu Historic DistrictPorangatu18th-early 20th Centuries
13BulgariaNovae Archaeological SiteSvishtovAD 49-700
14Burkina FasoLoropeni RuinsPoni Province18th Century
15CanadaHerschel IslandYukon Territory1890-1907
16ChileMontemar Institute of Marine BiologyViña del Mar1941-1945; 1956-1969
17ChinaModern ShanghaiShanghai1920-1949
18ChinaXumishan GrottoesNingxia Hui Autonomous Region4th-10th Centuries AD
19CyprusFamagusta Walled CityFamagusta3rd Century BC-19th Century AD
20EgyptBlue Mosque Cairo14th-17th Centuries
21EgyptShunet el-ZebibAbydosc. 2750 BC
22EgyptWest Bank of the NileLuxorPaleolithic to Modern; Main Period: New Kingdom, 1540-1075 BC
23EritreaDerbush TombMassawa16th Century
24EthiopiaMohammadali HouseAddis Ababac. 1900
25FranceEpailly Chapel of the Order of the TempleCourban1200-1330
25GeorgiaGelati Monastery and AcademyKutaisi12th-14th Centuries
26GhanaThe Wa Naa’s PalaceWa19th Century
27GreeceLesvos Historic ChurchesLesvos5th-19th Centuries
28GreecePella Macedonian TombsPella4th-2nd Centuries BC
29GuatemalaCeibal Archaeological SiteSayaxche300 BC-AD 250; AD 830-950
30GuatemalaCapitanes Generales PalaceAntigua Guatemala1549-1773
31IndiaAmber TownRajasthan11th-18th Centuries
32IndiaChettinadKarraikudi, Tamil Nadu19th Century
33IndiaJantar Mantar Jaipur, Rajasthan1729; 1901 Reconstructions
34IndiaLeh Old TownLadakh Region, Jammu & Kashmir15th-17th Centuries
35IndiaSrinigar Heritage ZoneSrinagar, Jammu & Kashmir14th-19th Centuries
36IndonesiaKotagede Heritage DistrictYogyakarta Special Territory16th Century
37IraqCultural Heritage Sites of IraqVarious LocationsPrehistoric-Present
38IrelandTara HillCounty Meath3rd Millennium BC-12th Century AD
39IrelandVernon MountCounty Cork1780s-1950
40Israel, Jordan, Palestinian Territories & SyriaJordan River Cultural LandscapePrehistoric-AD 1516
41ItalyFarnese NymphaeumRome1565-1635
42ItalyFenestrelle FortressFenestrelle, Turin1728-1850
43ItalyTranshumance Cultural LandscapeMolise Region3rd Century BC-1945
44ItalyViscontian Bridge-DamValeggio sul Mincio1393-1397
45JamaicaFalmouth Historic TownFalmouth1770s
46JordanKhirbet et-TannurTafilah, Ma'an Governorate1st Century BC-2nd Century AD
47JordanQusayr ‘AmraAl-'Azraq Municipality8th Century AD
48LibyaWadi Mathendous Rock ArtFezzan8000-3000 BC
49MacedoniaHoly Mother of God Peribleptos ChurchOhrid1295-1767
50MadagascarFianarantsoa Old CityFianarantsoa19th Century
51MaltaFort St. ElmoValletta1552-1565; 1689-1877; 1900-1945
52MauritaniaChinguetti MosqueChinguetti13th Century
53MexicoChihuahua MissionsChihuahua16th-19th Centuries
54MexicoHuaca Historic NeighborhoodVeracruz1870-1912; 1940-1950
55MexicoMonte Albán Archaeological SiteOaxaca500 BC-AD 850
56MexicoTeuchitlán-Guachimontones Archaeological ZoneTeuchtitlán, Jalisco400 BC-AD 600
57MoroccoAl-Azhar Mosque Fez12th Century
58NigeriaIkom Monoliths of Cross River StateIkomBefore 2000 BC
59PakistanShikarpoor Historic City CenterSindh17th-18th Centuries
60Palestinian TerritoriesChurch of the Holy NativityBethlehemAD 330-Present
61PeruLaraos TerracesLaraos1440-Present
62PeruLima Historic City CenterLima17th-19th Centuries
63PeruMachu Picchu Historic SanctuaryUrubamba Valley15th Century
64PeruMacusani-Corani Rock ArtMacusani and Corani5000-2000 BC
65PeruSan Pedro Apostol de Andahuaylillas ChurchAndahuaylillas1570-1629
66PeruSanta Catalina MonasteryArequipa16th-18th Centuries
67RussiaChurch of the Icon of the Mother of God of the SignTeplovoc. 1797
68RussiaMendeleev TowerSt. Petersburg1902-1950s
69RussiaSt. Petersburg Historic SkylineSt. Petersburg1703-1950s
70SenegalIle de Saint-Louis Saint-Louis18th-19th Centuries
71Sierra LeoneFreetown Historic MonumentsFreetown17th Century
72SlovakiaBanská Stiavnica Calvary ComplexBanská Stiavnica1744-1751
73SomaliaLas Geel Rock ArtLas Geel District4000-3000 BC
74SpainJoan Miró FoundationBarcelona1975
75Sri LankaKandy Sacred CityKandyc. 1470-1815
76SwedenLjungberg HallBorlänge 1897-1898
77SyriaCyrrhus Azaz230 BC-13th Century AD
78SyriaOld DamascusDamascus3000 BC-Present
79TanzaniaKilwa Historic SitesKilwa200 BC-AD 600; AD 700-1600; 18th-20th Centuries
80TurkeyÇukur HanAnkara16th-17th Centuries
81TurkeyHasankeyfHasankeyfPrehistoric-14th Century
82TurkeyIstanbul Historic WallsIstanbul5th-15th Centuries
83TurkeyMeryem Ana ChurchGöreme, CappadociaEarly 11th Century
84TurkeyRed ChurchGüzelyurt, Sivrihisar, Cappadocia6th Century
85UkrainePidhirtsi CastlePidhirtsi17th-18th Centuries
86United KingdomMavisbank HouseMidlothian, Scotland1720-1750
87United KingdomRichhill HouseCounty Armagh, Northern Ireland1655-1698
88United KingdomWilton’s Music HallLondon1858, with earlier fabric dating from the 1720s
89United KingdomSt. Peter’s College, CardrossCardross, Scotland1960s
90United States of AmericaFlorida Southern Historic CampusLakeland, Florida1938-1950s
92United States of AmericaHistoric Neighborhoods of New OrleansNew Orleans, Louisiana18th-20th Centuries
93United States of AmericaHistoric Route 66Various Cities, Towns and Villages between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California1926-1970
94United States of AmericaMain Street ModernVarious Locations1945-1975
95United States of AmericaNew York State PavilionFlushing, New York1964
96United States of AmericaSalk InstituteLa Jolla, California1959-1965
97United States of AmericaTutuveni Petroglyph SiteCoconino County, Arizona1200-Present
98UzbekistanAyaz KalaKarakalpakstan4th Century BC-7th Century AD
99UzbekistanMadrasa RashidBukhara15th-18th Centuries
100ZimbabweBumbusi National MonumentMatabelandPrehistoric; 18th-19th Centuries AD

Statistics by country/territory

The following countries/territories have multiple sites entered on the 2008 Watch List, listed by the number of sites:
Number of sitesCountry/Territory
7United States of America
6Peru
5India and Turkey
4Italy, Mexico and United Kingdom
3Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Russia and Syria
2China, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Palestinian Territories and Uzbekistan