The fate of the temple of Bel is a symbol of the tragedy engulfing Syria | Tom Holland

The temple was a treasure of incalculable value that stood as a monument to religious accommodation. No wonder Isis hated it

Something incalculably precious has been wiped off the face of the Earth. Satellite photos have confirmed that the temple of Bel, a monument that for almost 2,000 years had stood resplendent amid the ruins of Palmyra, is no more. Scholars had been dreading the worst since the fighters of Islamic State annexed the ancient city back in May.

Few had put much faith in the initial assurances of the conquerors that they would spare the archaeological site: too much ruin had already been visited on the antiquities of the territory under their control for that. And sure enough, at the end of June, the militants demolished the iconic statue of a lion sacred to Allat - a goddess who had suffered the signal misfortune of being condemned by name in the Qur'an. Then last month they destroyed a temple dedicated to Baal Shamin, a deity often paired with Allat. That was tragedy enough.