Ancient past could haunt Athens' bid

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Athens' links with antiquity helped it win the 2004 Olympics. Now, that rich past could add to its present challenge: building the Summer Games' sites on time.

"It is a problem in Greece generally. Wherever you dig, you find antiquities," said Tilemahos Hitiris, the government's 2004 Olympics spokesman.

So far, Olympics organizers have been spared major complications in their race against the clock. No important ruins or finds have canceled venue plans. But some discoveries -- including the remains of 4,000-year-old dwellings unearthed last month -- show that any new excavation could strike a buried treasure.

Some archaeologists wonder if artifacts could be steamrolled in the dash to overcome years of construction delays.

"To go the fast way, in a way that will destroy the antiquities ... is not right. That is wrong and it is prohibited," said Irene Gratsias, an archaeologist from the Hellenic Society for the Preservation of the Environment and Cultural Heritage. "Some things will be destroyed out of necessity because you cannot stop the development of the city and of life, but a very good systematic study must take precedence."

At the planned Olympic equestrian center in Marcopoulos, about nine miles southeast of Athens, crews last winter uncovered what archaeologists believe is a 2,500-year-old shrine to the love goddess Aphrodite that may have also served as a brothel. Although the discovery did not seriously delay construction, any new ones could throw the project behind schedule.

The Olympics' latest collision with antiquity is more highly charged.

The foundations of two early Bronze Age dwellings were discovered at the site of the rowing center in Schinias, about 18 miles northeast of Athens. A government archaeologist said the finds were not significant, but construction in the area has been halted temporarily until researchers finish a survey.

Environmental groups and archaeologists had strongly opposed construction of the rowing center. They claim the facility will endanger birds, fish and a rare species of pine, and will encroach on the site of the 490 B.C. Battle of Marathon, the namesake for the modern race.

Olympics organizers and the government insist there will be no harm to the delicate marshland ecosystem. They also say the site was under water at the time of the Athens' famed victory over the Persians -- a claim challenged by the discoveries.

Archaeologists are working hard to keep up with the round-the-clock work at some sites.

"If antiquities present themselves, the work will stop so that the excavation can start," said Nicoletta Valakou, the head of prehistoric and classical antiquities department of the Culture Ministry.

The possibilities for an ugly showdown -- tight deadlines versus strict protection laws -- are a product of the delays, critics say.

"We could have avoided all this if there had been planning that was on time," said Manolis Kefaloyiannis, parliament deputy for New Democracy, the main opposition party.

Dealing with antiquities is the price of doing construction work in Greece.

Sometimes it adds history. Pottery, ancient ceramic pipes and even an entombed skeleton are on display in Athens' subway.

Other times it creates more work. A planned museum at the foot of the Acropolis had to be redesigned after ruins were found spanning 1,400 years from Athens' Golden Age to Byzantium.

And, finally, there are places where crews simply packed up. In 1997, contractors found ruins believed to be the lyceum, or school, where philosopher Aristotle taught nearly 2,500 years ago. It blocked plans for a museum designed by the renowned architect I.M. Pei.

Denis Oswald, head of the International Olympic Committee's coordination team for Athens, has warned there can be no any "unpleasant surprises" such as earthquakes, labor strikes or finding ancient ruins.

Athens organizers said they trust the government and its archaeologists to preserve any important finds.

"The responsible archaeological agencies have stated over and over again that any archaeological findings unearthed at any Olympic Games construction site will be protected and preserved," organizers said in a statement. "We believe the government can still construct the sites and preserve our national treasures."

But the recent finds in Schinias have set off a public debate about the struggle to deliver the 2004 venues on time and to still respect Greece's history.

"There are some serious concerns that some of the finds have already been irreparably damaged. ... There is still the crucial issue of protecting the other archaeological finds that may still lie buried," said an editorial in the daily Kathimerini newspaper. "Setting aside all responsibilities and egos, Marathon is the property of Greece's national history, not of the 2004 Olympics."

 

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