In rebuilding after an earthquake, Albania destroys archaeological treasures

The 2019 earthquake killed 51 people and displaced hundreds of families. But she wasn’t the first to hit Durres, who was repeatedly ravaged by earthquakes in his long history and rebuilt on top of rubble. Below the present city lie the remains and wealth of ancient buildings dating back to the Greek, Roman and Ottoman periods.

The law requires that redevelopment be monitored by the Albania Archaeological Institute or by private, licensed archaeologists.

The Residential Building at Number 14, Deira Boulevard, was built in the 1980s as community housing, but was classified as uninhabitable after the 2019 earthquake and demolition.

In June of last year, the Institute of Archeology wrote to the Ministry of Culture and the municipality of Durrليطs to highlight the archaeological potential of the site, citing previous studies that found traces of two archaeological buildings in the area, according to information obtained through the Freedom of Information request.

The institute requested permission to dig, but received no response.

“There was plenty of time to do archaeological research,” said Shkodra, who works at the Institute of Archeology. “Construction work didn’t start until January 2021, so there were months available for research.”

Double standards

The Albanian Development Fund, a government agency, is expected to start construction work on 780 family homes and 269 apartment buildings, all of which were destroyed by the earthquake. The fund is also the contracting authority to rebuild 30 schools and other educational items.

One of these is “Shaqe Mazreku” Primary School in the center of Durres.

In 2004, during construction of a nearby apartment building, archaeological remains were uncovered, including elements of monumental buildings, a Byzantine tower and fragments of a black and white mosaic.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama inspected construction work at the school on July 11, 2020. The video showed that the construction had reached the second floor, however an agreement was signed between the Albanian Development Fund and the Antiquities Institute to monitor the site after only a few days.

The situation is slightly different from the reconstruction projects funded by European Union grants and implemented by the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Development Program. BIRN looked at eight such projects, all of which were educational, and found that in each case, the United Nations Development Program had contracted archaeologists to investigate the sites and monitor the work.

In a letter dated October 29, 2020, the National Council for Cultural Material Heritage of Albania instructed the Albanian Development Fund – a government agency that funds part of the post-earthquake reconstruction work – to contract with the Institute of Archeology and the National Institute of Cultural Heritage, NICH, to carry out the monitoring.

Four days later, the municipality issued a building permit, but the work began without any archaeological control, despite the area being classified as a Class A archaeological area.

The Institute of Archeology told BIRN that the fund had not been contracted, as required by law. The NICH did not explain why it had failed to stop construction work.

NICH said in a written response to BIRN: “Currently there is no signed contract, therefore our specialists cannot implement monitoring, which can only be performed on the basis of a contract.”

The District Protection Inspectorate in Durrs municipality said it was unable to intervene because the building had valid permits.

She also confirmed that the National Council for Tangible and Cultural Heritage had instructed the fund to involve the Institute of Antiquities in monitoring antiquities, but he did not explain why no contract was signed.

For his part, the Albanian Development Fund said that the construction did not require any archaeological permit, because “the new building will be part of the impact of the former and will not go deeper than its foundations.”

Destruction of a “very important monument”

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