Επιστολή του ΔΣ του ΣΕΑ στο Mediterranean Exchange of Archaeological Tourism, που στις 31.10.2025 θα απονείμει στην ανασκαφή της Παπούρας το βραβείο «International Archaeological Discovery Award ‘Palmyra’», που είναι αφιερωμένο στη μνήμη του αρχαιολόγου Khaled al-Asaad που έδωσε τη ζωή του για τις αρχαιότητες της Παλμύρας, αλλά και το βραβείο ‘Special Award’ (βραβείο κοινού) του Mediterranean Exchange of Archaeological Tourism.
Egregi Signore e Signori,
Con la presente desideriamo esprimere i nostri più sentiti ringraziamenti per il conferimento del Premio agli scavi della Soprintendenza delle Antichità di Herakleion (Creta), condotti nel sito di Papoura, presso Kastelli Pediada durante la construzione del nuovo aeroporto. Si tratta di una scoperta di straordinaria rilevanza scientifica, che contribuisce in modo significativo all’ampliamento delle conoscenze sull’archeologia preistorica dell’Egeo e del Vicino Oriente.
Tuttavia, prima ancora che gli scavi siano giunti a conclusione, il monumento scoperto – unico nel suo genere – si trova purtroppo esposto a grave rischio, a causa delle decisioni assunte dal Ministero della Cultura e dal Ministero delle Infrastrutture della Repubblica Hellenica, relative all’installazione del sistema di radioassistenza del nuovo aeroporto. In particolare, se nel 2024 il Ministero della Cultura aveva richiesto lo spostamento del radar in altra posizione, nell’agosto 2025 è stata emanata una nuova decisione che prevede la collocazione delle ingombranti strutture del sistema radioassistenziale vengono collocate ai lati del monumento, a una distanza di soli 35 metri dal suo perimetro.
L’Associazione degli Archeologi Greci, il Comune locale, i residenti dell’area e gli esperti di archeologia minoica di tutto il mondo (v. lettera allegata) si stanno adoperando con ogni mezzo affinché tale decisione venga revocata e sia garantita la piena tutela del monumento e del suo contesto ambientale, che comprende ulteriori testimonianze di uso preistorico, come la grotta di Afendi Christos.
Grazie per l’attenzione. I nostri sinceri ringraziamenti vengono nuovamente inviati.
Con viva considerazione,
Il Presidente La Segretaria
Kostas Paschalidis Eva Giatroudaki
Lettera Allegata
INTERVENTION
The excavation on Papoura Hill, carried out during the construction of the New Heraklion International Airport, has revealed an exceptionally rare circular structure with a diameter of 48–50 m, a unique discovery in the Aegean. It is an extremely precisely constructed work of architecture, featuring a labyrinthine arrangement of successive stone rings set at different heights. Its construction as a whole presupposes an advanced understanding of geometry, overturning our current knowledge of Crete in the 3rd millennium BC. The monument’s importance is indicated by the fact that it has been erected in a prominent position on the hilltop, overlooking the whole of the Kastelli plain, the Lasithi Mountains, Mt Juktas, and Mt Kophinas to the south.
The excavation data indicate that it was used from the Minoan Prepalatial to the Protopalatial period (3200-1800 BC) and reused in Archaic times (7th c. BC). Besides the labyrinthine structure on the hilltop, there is an ancient path, a Minoan building complex and a sacred cave on the slopes. A first reading of the data suggests ritual and socio-religious use of the monument. It is certainly an unprecedented community project.
The «Heraklion International Airport of Crete» management company intends to install the radio navigation facilities of the new airport (over-height radar, control towers and auxiliary buildings) on Papoura Hill, with extensive reconfiguration and levelling of the hill. This will cause irreversible damage to the monument itself and the surrounding area, disrupting the vital relationship between the two, violating flagrantly the provisions of the Greek
Archaeological Law 4858/2021 and destroying the authenticity of the cultural landscape, as it is mentioned in the international conventions binding Greece.
It is self-evident that, given that the investigation has not yet been completed, it is morally and legally unacceptable for any decisions to be made on the fate of the important Papoura Hill which would devalue it and damage the monuments to which it is home.
The Association of Greek Archaeologists, the local Crete Branch and all of us who fight for the preservation, interpretation and promotion of the ancient monuments and sign this letter of protest, condemn the attempted complete degradation and, in fact, destruction of this iconic monument, a unique landmark in the cultural heritage of Crete and indeed the whole of Greece, and we ask that the whole hill, as the site of a monument of major significance, must be left entirely free and untouched by any direct or indirect damage and to be declared as an archaeological site demanding protection of the highest level.
321 signatures following
