Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is outraged Islamic State extremists have destroyed a significant Roman-era temple in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra.
IS took hold of Palmyra, regarded as one of the world's archaeological jewels in the Syrian desert northeast of Damascus, in May.
Satellite imagery shows the world-renowned Temple of Bel was blown up on August 30.
It's one of the most important religious edifices of the first century in the Orient, according to the UN's cultural watchdog.
"This is a crime against humanity," Ms Bishop told Radio 2GB.
"This strikes at the very heart of who we are as a civilisation."
Ms Bishop previously met with UNESCO director Irina Bokova to discuss ways to stop terror groups from raising money through the sale of antiquities on the black market.
Extremists were obliterating history in order to impose their sick ideology over the region, she said.
Ms Bokova has expressed her profound dismay.
"The destruction of Palmyra constitutes an intolerable crime against civilisation but 4,500 years of history will never be erased," she said in a statement.
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