It seems that
nowadays only a handful of tourists wander around the imposing ruins of Cyrene in eastern Libya. I honestly envy them, having
the site all to themselves, although when I visited this landmark before the
outbreak of the Arab Spring, I was not bothered by many visitors either (see: Cyrene, founded by the Greeks).
However, these
were still the days of Muammar Gadaffi
and the country knew at least some structure and form of control. Soon after
the Revolution, everybody made his own laws and even today there is no firm
government in place to reinforce law and order. This was and is the case all over
Libya, with its rich Roman
heritage both in the western Tripolitania with cities like Sabratha, Oea (Tripoli) and Leptis Magna, and in the eastern Cyrenaica where
the main town is Cyrene. Basically, Libya still has
laws in place to protect its ancient heritage but in today’s political
situation they have little or no effect. Besides, the fines and prison sentences
are minimal and don’t refrain anyone from trying.
The heart of
ancient Cyrene
that has been largely excavated by the Italians under Mussolini is fenced off to mark the protected area. However, as
always the ancient town spreads further outside these borders where it is very
difficult, even under the best of circumstances, to protect the ruins.
The residents of
nearby modern Shahat are taking the
matters in their own hands and have decided to take possession of these border
lands that are actually held in trust by the state. Some areas are being
invaded by treasure and fortune-seekers, whose intention is solely to sell the
looted artifacts abroad. They don’t hesitate to use bulldozers to dig up
whatever they can and divide the booty among them. Other parcels are simply seized
and sold on to the property developers who build their housing blocks right on
top of these priceless remains. It is estimated that at least 30% of the
ancient city has been built on!
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Nobody has any
idea of the extent of damage and of the number of artifacts that disappeared
forever. In this unstable war and peace situation, it is understandable that
people have more important worries than to protect their heritage. They feel
this is their land and that they are free to exploit it any way they wish. As
an example, Shahat with its 50,000
inhabitants experiences a pressing need for housing, which takes priority over
everything else.
Besides the
unofficial digs and to make the situation worse, there is a serious disfiguration
of the ancient buildings with graffiti. The problem is the same everywhere
(see: Still hope, though scant, for Libya’s
cultural heritage). Museums can somehow protect their treasures but not
the many archaeological sites that still hold so many hidden treasures.
