Salamis sends out an SOS
March 12, 2017The Cyprus Weekly
By Kyriacos Kiliaris
The ancient town of Salamis is under threat as experts stress that restoration works must take place urgently.
Experts say that the walls in the Hamam-Gymnasium complex are in danger of collapsing and the mosaics on the floor are in danger of fading away.
Salamis was an ancient capital for many civilisations in the past in Cyprus but is now facing serious problems regarding safety and organisation.
The issue was brought to light by the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kibris which talked to restoration expert Dr. Ege Uluca Tumer.
Tumer said that many structures discovered in the period between 1952 and 1974 by excavations made by the Antiquities Department are in need of urgent restoration.
He also said that after the closing off of the city of Varoshia, artefacts which were located in the Famagusta District Museum were moved to other local museums with some being stored in warehouses. “About ten big statues could not be removed from the museum and are still there”, said Tumer.
During the years 1998-2012, the archaeology and cultural artefacts department of the Near East University (DAU) in collaboration with Ankara University have carried out excavations in the site. According to Tumer, five big statues along with smaller artefacts were uncovered and stored in warehouses for safeguarding as the site was deemed unsafe.
Tumer stressed that there is an issue of security, as the site is not guarded on a 24-hour basis. “This leaves room for illegal excavations and looting of sites in which excavations have not yet been completed,” warned Tumer.
He also warned that an around the clock security of the site is necessary as there have been cases were people entered the site and caused damage either by graffiti or climbing on the structures.
Tumer stressed that only a part of the site that had been brought to light during the excavations in the years 1998-2012 (fish market, west hamam) has been restored. Many parts of the site have been left unattended, without the necessary reinforcing works and are in danger of collapsing. Also these parts of the site are subject to the weather and environmental conditions, slowly fading away.
There are mosaics which were uncovered both before 1974 and during the excavations between 1998-2012, which have not been covered and are fading away due to weather conditions (sun, rain) and visitors walking over them. Tumer said that some visitors take parts of the mosaics with them as souvenirs. “These mosaics need to be covered immediately and a construction must be built so as to prevent visitors from walking over them,” urged Tumer.
He also touched on the issue of the damage caused by wild weed and small trees growing on the premises of the ancient city. Tumer said that wild vegetation is causing serious damage to the site.
He said the necessity of the site being cleared of wild weeds and small trees before more damage is caused.