Preserving cultural heritage and developing a modern city: the difficult case of Euesperides

Abstract

AbstractThis note reports on a paper presented at the American Institute of Archaeology 107th Annual Meeting (Montreal January 2006). The theme of the American Institute of Archaeology Annual meeting was ‘Management and Preservation of Cultural Heritage’. The Euesperides Project presented a paper on Euesperides (Sidi Abeid, Benghazi), the Archaic Greek settlement founded in the sixth century BC. Although the site was declared a protected area for its historical and archaeological importance, it still lacks effective protection. The site, important also from a naturalistic point of view, is used as an illegal rubbish dumping area and is awaiting a long-promised wall to prevent indiscriminate access to it.The paper stressed that many sites in Libya are in need of preservation and protection, even more so after the opening of the country to tourism. The need to develop new infrastructure, if not carefully planned in respect of the cultural heritage, may result in indiscriminate development, as witnessed at Apollonia, where a harbour was being built near the site, obliterating the ancient port. The paper discussed also the Project's proposal presented to the local authorities, concerning the realization of an archaeological park and museum of the history of Benghazi. These projects are important not only to attract tourists, but above all for the local schools and educational programmes directed to inform the younger generations about the importance of their past.