ARCHAEOLOGIST and historian Anna Marangou said yesterday she was hopeful that works for the construction of the new city hall at the old municipal market in Nicosia would be put off for more than a year until scientists complete their research into the findings of mediaeval remains at the site.
Work on the construction of the town hall ground to a halt last summer, when bulldozers breaking ground for the project’s underground car park stumbled on the remains of a mediaeval church.
Since then, there has been a war of words between Nicosia Mayor Michalakis Zampelas and a group of concerned citizens and archaeologists, backed by the Green Party, who demand that the findings be preserved and the city hall constructed in another location.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail after a House Environment Committee meeting on the issue yesterday, Marangou said she was hopeful the extension would archaeologists time to complete their research and convince the Department of Antiquities to declare the find a protected heritage site, thus putting an end to the construction work.
“If the Department of Antiquities declares the site as protected, then there is no way the city hall can be constructed there,” she said.
“We are hopeful that now that the Department of Antiquities has ordered that no work should be carried out until the research is completed, ample time can be given for archaeologists to prove their point.”
But speaking to Nicosia Mayor Michalakis Zampelas insisted the remains and the new city hall could co-exist.
“We have had experts over from Italy and Rhodes to look at the site and they assured us that the two could co-exist,” he said.
“The works will only be delayed for a month, because that’s how long the archaeologists will need to complete their research.”
The issue of the relocation of the city hall and the protection of the vestiges sparked a heated debate at the House between the Archaeologists’ Association and the mayor, as well as Green Party deputy George Perdikis.
Perdikis blasted the municipality for the way the site had been by bulldozed without first allowing archaeologists to survey the area.
“Many archaeological findings have been unearthed from the dig until today, but despite pleas by organisations, associations, parties and the House of Representatives to stop the works until the necessary archaeological research was carried out, it seems that decisions were taken without informing the House Environment Committee,” he said.
Antiquities Department Director Sofocles Hadjisavvas said it was initially thought that the excavation could be completed by the end of September, but after finding significant remains they decided to extend the excavation site; he expressed the hope that the excavations would be completed in a month’s time.
Archaeology Professor Demitris Triantafillopoulos blasted the municipality for not stopping the works the moment the first vestiges were unearthed.
“We had to rush to the site and stop the works under threats that we would be run over by the bulldozers, and they did not stop until we called the media,” he said.
“We are hopeful that the mayor will show us that he actually cares about this city’s heritage for once in his term in office.”
