Lebanon: Residents and activists Friday gathered at the steps of the Temple of
Bacchus in the east Lebanon city of Baalbek to protest the poor
restoration by archeologists of local heritage sites ("
“The restoration efforts by the Council for Development and Reconstruction have been done in a careless way,” Issam al-Rifai, a local activist, said as she read a joint statement from several civil society groups. “It was apparent that there was grave damage that was the result of the detrimental methods used in the reconstruction process. This has been confirmed in a report by specialized architects.”
Baalbeck Gov. Bachir Khodr spoke to local press in response to civil society’s protests, condemning the damage to the ancient Temple of Bacchus complex that dates from the second or early third century. It was classed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.
The governor said the restoration efforts had been done in a “primitive” way and acknowledged that it had resulted in “deformities” and the removal of inscriptions.
Khodr also said that the municipality filed a complaint to the Culture Ministry several months ago regarding the quality of restoration work. “Former Minister Raymond Areiji immediately responded and took action,” Khodr said. “But the committee that was sent to evaluate the situation covered up the crime.”
This is typical of the manner in which archeologists treat criticism.
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