UNESCO’s 24 new additions to the World Heritage Site roster

The United Nations’ UNESCO agency recently announced 24 major additions to its list of World Heritage Sites. It’s a designation that helps preserve landmarks and places — some 1,223 of them in 168 countries — that are of such cultural, educational or scientific importance, they “belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located,” the agency says.

The sites added to the list this year include architectural marvels, biodiverse lagoons and archaeological sites that date back 162,000 years. It’s a fascinating list that includes everything from Nelson Mandela legacy sites in South Africa to the northern frontier of the Roman Empire in what is now Romania, an area that includes ancient fortresses, watch towers and encampments and buildings in the Roman province of Dacia.

The Flow Country — a vast bog peatland — in Northern Scotland made the list, as did the stunning Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia and a Malaysian cave complex in Niah National Park.

Find the full list and more information about what makes these places so significant at https://whc.unesco.org.

24 newest UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Beijing Central Axis, China

Brancusi Monumental Ensemble of Targu Jiu, Romania

Cultural landscape of Kenozero Lake, Russia

Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Romania

Hegmataneh, Iran

Nelson Mandela legacy sites, South Africa

Melka Kunture and Balchit, Ethiopia

Moidams, India

Phu Phrabat Bat Historical Park, Thailand

Royal Court of Tiébélé, Burkina Faso

Sado Island Gold Mines, Japan

Saint Hilarion Monastery / Tell Umm Amer, Palestine

Schwerin Residence Ensemble, Germany

Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex, Malaysia

Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area, Saudi Arabia

Pleistocene Occupation Sites, South Africa

Historic Town and Archeological Site of Gedi, Kenya

Umm Al-Jimāl, Jordan

Via Appia, Italy

Badain Jaran Desert, China

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil

The Flow Country, UK

Vjetrenica Cave, Ravno, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Te Henua Enata, The Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia