Heritage destruction by IS 'unprecedented'

A Melbourne researcher says the destruction of ancient heritage sites in Iraq and Syria by IS is unprecedented in human history.

A still from a video purporting to show the destruction of Nimrud

A Melbourne researcher says the destruction of ancient heritage sites being carried out across Iraq and Syria by IS is unprecedented in human history.

This week, IS released a video showing the group destroying artefacts in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq before blowing up the site.

The ruins of the city founded in the 13th century B-C were one of the most famous archaeological sites in a country often described as the cradle of civilisation.

Dr Benjamin Isakhan from Deakin University in Melbourne has been mapping the destruction of heritage sites in Iraq since the US led invasion of 2003.

He's told Santilla Chingaipe, he's now collecting data of heritage destruction taking place in Iraq and Syria.

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