By Linda Hall • Published: 11 Dec 2020 • 22:55
BARIA: Occupied first by Phoenicians and later by Romans Photo credit: Guia del Levante Almeriense
LAND earmarked for development on the site of the ancient Phoenician city of Baria in Villaricos has changed hands. New Madrid-based proprietors have re-started work, the local Spanish media reported, with diggers operating where work stopped two years ago. Plans to build 24 homes are viewed with suspicion by residents, many of whom fear that the development will affect buried archaeological remains that have been protected since 2005. According to the Asociacion Medioambiental Graeca quoted in La Voz de Almeria, archaeologists contracted by the developers were seen filling plastic bags with objects, including the lid and looped handle of a pottery jar, from the zone adjoining the Roman fish-processing plant. The Graeca association asked the regional government’s Culture delegation and the Guardia Civil’s environment protection unit, Seprona, to visit the site without delay to ensure that the remains are not threatened. When the site was first excavated in 1987, archaeologists found the vestiges of a city first occupied by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. “This is an almost unique location for studying the Phoenician, Carthaginian and Roman cultures,” said Jose Luis Lopez Castro who took part in the initial excavations.
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Originally from the UK, Linda is based in Valenca and is a reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering local news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
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