Friday, March 23, 2018

Repairs begun on the (traditional) Tomb of Nahum

RENOVATIONS: Hebrew prophet's tomb in Iraq saved from collapse (Judit Neurink, Al-Monitor).
Al-Qosh, on the Ninevah Plains, is home to several historic monasteries and churches as well as the synagogue, which houses the tomb of Nahum, the prophet who in 615 B.C. correctly predicted the downfall of the Assyrian kingdom. While the town's churches have been well maintained due to the efforts of the Christian community, the synagogue — despite Nahum being regarded as a prophet by the three major monotheistic religions — was allowed to crumble after the last Jews left town for Israel in 1951.

The good news is that after years of aborted attempts to save the building, a US organization — ARCH, the Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage — was finally able to send a team of engineers to secure the building in January before it fully collapsed. Some of the walls and part of the roof had already collapsed, and columns with Hebrew inscriptions are barely standing, endangering the tomb, which lies beneath a green covering.
This is good news indeed. The poor condition of the synagogue has been a matter of concern for some time.

Background on the (traditional) Tomb of Nahum is here and links.

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