Almost 2000 years old, the Roman Triumphal Arch of Palmyra. DESTRUCTION. The Islamic State (Daesh) has pulverized the monumental Roman triumphal arch in Palmyra, the ancient desert oasis, located 200 km northeast of Damascus. Built on the 2 th century of our era, it was one of the most famous buildings of the ancient city. "I was alerted to this new drama yesterday evening, Sunday, October 4" confirmed to us, Maamun Abdulkarim, the director general of Syrian antiquities, joined this morning in Damascus, the capital. "This is sad news, they absolutely want to destroy everything" , confided to us, distraught, the one who had granted us an exclusive interview last week. The monumental arch stood at the entrance to the famous colonnaded lane. After the destruction of the Temple of Baalshamin, that of Bel and the heinous assassination of Khaled Asaad the former director of heritage of Palmyra, it seems that Daesh, which took possession of Palmyra on May 21, 2014, wants to continue its methodical destruction of the site listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. "If Palmyra remains in the hands of these barbarians, we will lose it completely. Before it is too late, the international community must help us save Palmyra".