According to the Oxford Dictionary, ruins are the, “the downfall or decay of a person or society; complete loss of resources, wealth, moral or social standing, well-being, etc.” While this definition of ruins does holds true, it fails to recognize the vast array of types of ruins, whether in the differing levels of destruction, the specific perpetrator of the ruins, or the ultimate contribution the ruin has to the modern world. Ruins must be analyzed according to the causes of their downfall. Natural disasters have occasionally led to ruins that preserve instead destruct the history and culture of a certain era or group of people. Pompeii represents one of the most significant examples of this ironic oxymoron, “preservative ruin”. In the year 79 A.D., the devastating eruption of Vesuvius unexpectedly buried the city of Pompeii in a thick layer of ash and lava. The scale of the tragedy was appalling: in what had been one of the most active and splendid Roman centers, life immediately came to a permanent standstill. Yet what was undeniably a catastrophe for the Pompeians has ultimately evolved into a miraculously preserved slice of Roman civilization for the modern world, offering a unique window on the ancient world and on the arts, customs, trades, and everyday life of the past.
Ruins perpetrated by mankind, however, are another topic altogether. The Syrian Civil War between the rebel force opposition and the government of Bashar al-Assad represents a gruel example of the extent of destruction mankind can have, mercilessly turning infrastructure into ruins and taking the lives of countless innocent men, women , and children.
Syria is just one example of the reckless destruction of mankind. History has been speckled with various incidents, including the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the countless wars that have ravaged diverse frontiers. It is not to say that Nature has not had its fair share of deft destruction. Yet ultimately, while we can do little to control natural disasters, the destruction enacted by mankind is indeed in our own hands.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |