Palmyra after Isis: The Lion of al-Lat

2008. Photograph: Alamy

2016. Photograph: New York Times/Redux/eyevine

Dedicated to a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess, this 15-tonne, 2,000-year-old statue was too heavy to move when curators at Palmyra museum evacuated some artefacts before Isis arrived in May 2015. The lion's nose broke off when militants knocked the statue over but it escaped total destruction. Other artefacts left at the museum were also desecrated.