What works of art or wonders have been destroyed?

plenty
it’s a little sad

The destruction by fire of the great library at Alexandria in 48 BC.

@ARE_you_kidding_me used the same references I was going to use.

Many great works have been stolen, cached somewhere and lost to public viewing. Whether or not they have been destroyed in the ensuing wars, by accident, by fire as @Jeruba mentions above, is anybody’s guess.

You might say that Venus de Milo was destroyed. She has no arms. I’m sure that wasn’t Alexandros of Antioch’s original intention. There was an Italian guy who was arrested by the Nazis during WWII for trying to sell her right elbow to Herrmann Goering. LOL. It didn’t end well for him.

Many works have been stolen and forged so many times that the museums really aren’t sure whether or not they possess the true originals. Especially when it comes to van Gogh. He’s the most forged artist in history.

The theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911 is one many aren’t sure of. And a great story of forgery. It is said the Louvre’s basement is full of her forgeries.

Human history is full of such stupid incidents where invaders have destroyed art, cultural marvels created by other civilizations. Not only that they burnt down ancient universities like Taxila and Nalanda in ancient india which are supposedly 1st Universities in the world.

The destruction of the Chinese emperor’s summer palace in 1860. “You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the places we burnt. It made one’s heart sore to burn them; in fact, these places were so large, and we were so pressed for time, that we could not plunder them carefully. Quantities of gold ornaments were burnt, considered as brass.”

Recently, the destruction of the giant Buddha statues of Bamiyan by the Taliban.

The destruction of the museum in Mosul by ISIS.

Destruction in Rome by the Goths and the Visigoths.

Destruction of “Degenerate” art by the Nazis.

Looting of the Pyramids.

The taking of the “Elgin” marbles from the Parthenon..

Also, The Colossus of Rhodes which was destroyed by an earthquake.

@janbb The man who ordered the destruction of the summer palace was the son of the Lord Elgin who took the “Elgin” marbles. It must run in the family.

@flutherother Oh – those Brits!

The Brits and the French on this occasion.

“One day two bandits entered the Summer Palace. One plundered, the other burned. Victory can be a thieving woman, or so it seems. The devastation of the Summer Palace was accomplished by the two victors acting jointly. Mixed up in all this is the name of Elgin, which inevitably calls to mind the Parthenon. What was done to the Parthenon was done to the Summer Palace, more thoroughly and better, so that nothing of it should be left. All the treasures of all our cathedrals put together could not equal this formidable and splendid museum of the Orient. It contained not only masterpieces of art, but masses of jewelry. What a great exploit, what a windfall! One of the two victors filled his pockets; when the other saw this he filled his coffers. And back they came to Europe, arm in arm, laughing away. Such is the story of the two bandits.
We Europeans are the civilized ones, and for us the Chinese are the barbarians. This is what civilization has done to barbarism.” Victor Hugo

Too many to count it is a shame ! !