Johannesburg, South Africa ? A war-wrecked bridge whose reconstruction raised hopes that Bosnia could rebuild a multiethnic society and biblical remains in Israel were among 17 cultural wonders added to the U.N. list of protected World Heritage Sites, officials said Saturday.

The additions were made at the 29th session of the U.N. Environmental, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s World Heritage Committee taking place this week in Durban.

The ancient stone bridge known as Stari Most – or Old Bridge – survived centuries of conflict, including two world wars, before shells shattered it in 1993.

The span built under the Turkish Ottoman empire gave Mostar its name, and its destruction became a symbol of the senseless brutality of Bosnia’s war. It was rebuilt and many of the surrounding buildings restored with the help of a scientific committee set up by UNESCO.

“The reconstructed site is a symbol of reconciliation, international cooperation and of the coexistence of diverse cultural, ethnic and religious communities,” the 21-member heritage committee said in a statement Saturday.

In Israel, more than 200 tells – prehistoric settlement mounds – dot the landscape. The three selected for inscription – Megiddo, Hazor and Beer Sheba – contain the remains of cities with biblical connections.

Four Israeli towns along the ancient incense route also were added to the list. Haluza, Mamshit, Avdat and Shivta, along with their associated fortresses and agricultural landscapes, are located in the Negev Desert.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is responsible for implementing the 1972 U.N. Convention on the protection of cultural and natural sites around the world. Forty-two new sites were proposed for inclusion on the World Heritage List at this week’s meeting.

Seven natural wonders were added Thursday. Friday’s additions bring the total number of protected sites to 812. They include 628 cultural, 160 natural and 24 mixed sites in 137 countries.

Also inscribed Friday was the historical Chinese center of Macao. A lucrative port, it was under Portuguese administration from the mid-16th century and only returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1999. The site represents a meeting of cultural, aesthetic, architectural and technological influences from East and West.

The only African cultural site added this year was Osun Sacred Grove, on the outskirts of the southern Nigerian city of Osogbo. Regarded as the abode of the Yoruba goddess of fertility, Osun, the grove and its meandering river are dotted with sanctuaries and shrines, sculptures and art works. It is probably the last surviving sacred grove in Yoruba culture.

Other sites inscribed Friday include the French city of Le Havre, rebuilt by Auguste Perret after it was bombed in World War II, the Cuban colonial town of Cienfuegos, and the Iranian city of Soltaniyeh with its early 14th-century mausoleum.

The committee, which meets until Sunday, is now reviewing the state of conservation of World Heritage Sites and could add some of them to its endangered list to help overcome obstacles to their conservation.