2006 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 is dedicated to preserving the historic, artistic, and architectural heritage around the world.

Selection process

Every two years, it publishes a select list known as the Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites that is 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.

2006 Watch List

The 2006 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites was launched on June 21, 2005 by WMF President Bonnie Burnham. It marked the first time that an entire country was placed on the Watch List. Iraq, long considered as the "cradle of human civilization" and within whose borders lie an estimated 10,000 archaeological sites, has been left vulnerable to widespread looting, vandalism, and other acts of violence in the wake of the 2003 military invasion.
On October 6, 2005, nearly four months after the publication of the 2006 Watch List and more than a month after the significant devastation brought about by Hurricane Katrina on America's Gulf Coast, the WMF, together with partners American Express Foundation and National Trust for Historic Preservation, decided to place the Gulf Coast and New Orleans as the 101st endangered site on the 2006 Watch List.

List by country/territory

NumberCountry/TerritorySiteLocationPeriod
1AfghanistanHaji Piyada MosqueBalkh9th century
2AntarcticaSir Ernest Shackleton's Expedition HutCape Royds, Ross Island1908
3AustraliaDampier Rock Art ComplexDampier, Burrup Peninsula10,000 BC–present
4BangladeshSonargaon-Panam CitySonargaon15th–19th centuries
5Bosnia and HerzegovinaMehmed-Pasha Sokolovic BridgeVisegrad1571–1577
6BrazilConvent of San Francisco and Historic OlindaOlinda, Pernambuco1535–1827
7CameroonBafut PalaceBafut1907–1910
8Cape VerdeTarrafal Concentration CampTarrafal1930s
9ChileTulor VillageAntofagasta500 BC–AD 300
10ChileCerros PintadosTarapacá500–1450
11ChinaCockcrow Post TownCockrow Post, Huailai1420
12ChinaLu MansionDong Yang15th–19th centuries
13ChinaQikou TownShanxi Province18th–19th centuries
14ChinaStone Towers of Southwest ChinaVarious Locationsca. 1000–1500
15ChinaTianshui Traditional HousesTianshui, Qincheng, Gansu1644–1929
16ChinaTuanshan Historical VillageYunnan Province15th–19th centuries
17CroatiaNovi Dvori CastleZaprešićMid–19th century
18CroatiaSaint Blaise ChurchDubrovnik1707–1717
19CubaFinca Vigia San Francisco de Paula1886
20EgyptSabil Ruqayya DuduCairo1761
21EgyptTarabay al-SharifyCairo16th century
22EgyptWest BankLuxor1540–1075 BC
23El SalvadorSan Miguel Arcangel and Santa Cruz de RomaPanchimalco & Huizucar1730–1740
24EritreaAsmara Historic City CenterAsmara1916–1941
25EritreaKidane-Mehret ChurchSenafe12th century
26EritreaMassawa Historic TownMassawa16th–19th centuries
27FinlandHelsinki-Malmi AirportHelsinki1930–1938
28GeorgiaJvari MonasteryMtshektaca. 600
29GreeceHelike Archaeological SiteAchaiaBC 2500–500
30GuatemalaNaranjoEl Petén600–900
31IndiaDalhousie SquareCalcutta1600–1699; 1900
32IndiaDhangkar GompaHimachal Pradesh15th–16th centuries
33IndiaGuru Lhakhang and Sumda Chung TemplesSumda Chung11th–14th centuries
34IndiaWatson's HotelMumbai1867–1871
35IndonesiaOmo HadaNias Island1715
36IranBamBam10th–18th centuries
37IraqIraq Cultural Heritage SitesCountry-widePrehistoric–present
38IrelandWonderful BarnKildare1743
39ItalyAcademy of Hadrian's VillaTivoli2nd century
40ItalyCimitero AcattolicoRome1776 first burial
41ItalyCivita di BagnoregioBagnoregio12th–15th centuries
42ItalyMurgia dei TrulliMurgia dei Trullica. 800
43ItalyPortici Royal PalaceNaples1740–19th century
44ItalySanta Maria in Stelle HypogeumVerona3rd–5th centuries
45ItalyTemple of PortunusRomeLate 2nd–1st centuries BC
46KenyaMtwapa Heritage SiteKilifi, Mtwapa1100–1199
47LaosChom Phet Cultural LandscapeLuang Prabang19th century
48LatviaRiga CathedralRiga13th–19th centuries
49LebanonChehabi CitadelHasbaya12th century
50LebanonInternational Fairground at TripoliTripoli1963
51MacedoniaTreskavec Monastery and ChurchTreskavec12th–15th centuries
52MauritaniaChinguetti MosqueChinguetti13th century
53MexicoChalcatzingoMorelos800 BC
54MexicoMexico City Historic CenterMexico City15th–20th centuries
55MexicoPimería Alta MissionsSonora1700–1799
56MexicoSan Juan Bautista CuauhtinchanPuebla1528–1544
57MexicoSan Nicolás ObispoMorelia, Michoacán16th–18th centuries
58NepalPatan Royal Palace ComplexPatan17th–19th centuries
59NigeriaBenin City EarthworksEdo State1240–1460
60NorwaySandviken BayBergen18th–19th centuries
61PakistanMian Nasir Mohammed GraveyardDadu District18th century
62PakistanThatta MonumentsThatta14th–18th centuries
63Palestinian TerritoriesTell Balatah Nablus, West BankBC 1699–AD 1600
64PanamaPanama Canal AreaPanama City, Chagres River1882–1914
65PeruCajamarquillaLima500–1200
66PeruPresbítero Maestro CemeteryLima1805–1808
67PeruQuinta HeerenLima1888–1930
68PeruRevash Funerary ComplexSanto Tomas de Quillay10th century
69PeruTúcume Archaeological SiteLambayeque9th–15th centuries
70PolandJerusalem Hospital of the Teutonic OrderMalborka14th century; 17th century
71PolandMausoleum of Karol ScheiblerŁodz1885–1888
72PortugalTeatro CapitólioLisbon1925–1931
73RomaniaOradea FortressOradea17th–18th centuries
74RussiaMelnikov's House StudioMoscow1929
75RussiaNarkomfin BuildingMoscow1928–1930
76RussiaSemenovskoe-OtradaMoscow Region1774–1850s
77SamoaPulemelei MoundPalauli, Letolo Plantationca. 1000–1500
78Serbia and MontenegroPrizren Historic CenterPrizren1200–present
79Serbia and MontenegroSubotica SynagogueSubotica1902
80Sierra LeoneOld Fourah Bay College BuildingFreetownMid–19th century
81SlovakiaLednické-Rovne Historical ParkLednické-Rovne18th century
82South AfricaRichtersveld Cultural LandscapeNorthern Cape ProvincePrehistoric–present
83SpainSegovia AqueductSegovia1st century
84SudanSuakinSuakin Island17th–18th centuries
85SyriaAmrit Archaeological SiteAmrit300–230 BC
86SyriaShayzar CastleShaizar12th century
87SyriaTell Mozan Tell Mozanca. 2200–1500 BC
88TurkeyAphrodisiasAphrodisias150 BC–AD 1200
89TurkeyLittle Hagia SophiaIstanbul527–536
90United KingdomSaint Mary's Stow ChurchStow, Lincolnshire975 AD; 11th–15th centuries
91United KingdomSt. Vincent Street ChurchGlasgow, Scotland1857/59–1904
92United States of America2 Columbus CircleNew York City1964
93United States of AmericaBluegrass Cultural Landscape of KentuckyCentral KentuckyLate 18th–Early 19th centuries
94United States of AmericaCyclorama CenterGettysburg, Pennsylvania1958–1961
95United States of AmericaDutch Reformed ChurchNewburgh, New York1830
96United States of AmericaEllis Island Baggage and Dormitory BuildingNew York, New York1908–1913
97United States of AmericaEnnis Brown HouseLos Angeles, California1924
98United States of AmericaHanging FlumeMontrose County, Colorado1887–1890
99United States of AmericaMount Lebanon Shaker VillageNew Lebanon, New York1860
100VenezuelaLa Guaira Historic CityVargas1589
101United States of AmericaGulf Coast and New OrleansMississippi and Louisiana18th–20th centuries

Statistics by country/territory

The following countries/territories have multiple sites entered on the 2006 Watch List, listed by the number of sites:
Number of sitesCountry/Territory
9United States of America
7Italy
6China
5Mexico and Peru
4India
3Egypt, Eritrea, Russia and Syria
2Chile, Croatia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Poland, Serbia & Montenegro, Turkey and United Kingdom