A new U.N. report reveals some disturbing news about a site of archaeological significance — the U.S. military did some rather extensive damage to Babylon when it was used as a base in Iraq in 2003 and 2004.

Babylon was one of the first civilizations on Earth, and a very cultured one at that. The Code of Hammurabi, the famous ancient code of law, originated in Babylon, although it’s now in the Louvre. And the city-state gave us one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as well — the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, whose name I greatly enjoy saying).

The Ishtar Gate is one of the more well-known landmarks of Babylon. Adorned with glazed tiles and decorated with lions, dragons and wild oxen, the gate was dedicated to the goddess of the same name. The actual ruins of this site, a great archaeological discovery, are in a Berlin museum, so you can see the plundering started before ’03.