Skellig Michael was made a World Heritage Site in 1996.[57] The International Council on Monuments and Sites (an advisory body of the World Heritage Committee) described Skellig Michael as of "exceptional universal value", and a "unique example of an early religious settlement", while also noting the site's preservation as a result of its "remarkable environment", and its ability to illustrate "as no other site can, the extremes of a Christian monasticism characterising much of North Africa, the Near East and Europe".[57]