UT faculty members lament destruction of temples in Syria

September 8, 2015 at 1:00 a.m. | Updated September 8, 2015 at 4:12 a.m.

by The Knoxville News Sentinel

University of Tennessee lecturer in ancient art Robert Darby visits the ruins at Palmyra, Syria, in July 2009. Darby and his wife, Erin, an assistant professor of religious studies, are following with concern the reports of the ongoing destruction and executions by ISIS at Palmyra.
University of Tennessee lecturer in ancient art Robert Darby visits the ruins at Palmyra, Syria, in July 2009. Darby and his wife, Erin, an assistant professor of religious studies, are following with concern the reports of the ongoing destruction and executions by ISIS at Palmyra.

In roughly a week, ISIS fighters destroyed the Temple of Baal Shamin and the Temple of Bel in the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria. The two well-preserved temples, from the first through second centuries AD, became part of the ongoing destruction wreaked by Islamic fighters.

Some 6,300 miles away, at the University of Tennessee, faculty members Robert and Erin Darby followed the reports with concern.

The pair visited Palmyra and know the area's significance. They conduct research in the region, and they have friends and colleagues there.

Read more at our news partner's website, knoxnews.com.

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