Albania World Heritage Site in 'Damage' Row

Tirana

Butrint greek Theater

Heritage experts have visited an ancient city in Albania amid claims the construction of a new road has damaged the historical site.

The two top experts from UNESCO and the International Council of Monuments and Sites, ICOMOS, are to compile a report on their findings after visiting Butrint to determine whether the archeological park had suffered any damage.

The mission, headed by Simica Simsic for UNESCO and Giora Solar from ICOMOS, came after local and international experts accused the government of taking poor care of the UNESCO world heritage site, in breach of its obligation under the 1975 World Heritage Convention.

Solar an Israeli perseveration architect, did not disclose any details of the report to UNESCO.

But he told Balkan Insight on Wednesday: “I was personally impressed by the sincerity and goodwill of all involved.”

Butrint is considered one the most significant Classical archaeological sites in the Mediterranean.

Dating back at least as far as the 10th century BC, it has been a Greek presence, and Byzantine bishopric before being deserted in the late Middle Ages, after which its magnificent buildings sank into the marshes.

Serious excavation of the site began in the late 1920s, under Italian auspices.

Still largely unknown to the outside world before the fall of the Stalinist regime of Enver Hoxha, the site now receives tens of thousands of visitors every year.

It is managed by the Albanian authorities with the assistance of the London-based Butrint Foundation – which until recently has been hailed by observers as an example of fruitful collaboration between local and foreign expertise and money.