On the walls of Tocra, the ancient coastal city of Tocra, journalist Khalil Al-Barghathi and a group of young men remove the mud, clay and wood that spread across the area when Storm Daniel made landfall on the northeastern coast of Libya in September. .
It is one of many historic monuments that dot the Green Mountain, in the Al Jabal Al Akhdar region of Cyrenaica, which extends approximately 230 km east to Derna.
The region was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.
“We grew up within the walls of this fortress,” said Mr. Al-Barghathi, 35. The National as he looked towards the city’s only archaeological museum, Al-Agouria, which houses more than 300 antiquities from Byzantine-era collections and excavations in the region.
Located in Al-Marj district, 70 km east of Benghazi, Torca, known in Arabic as Al-Agouriya, was founded around 631 BC, during the Greek era.
“We were raised on the importance of preserving and protecting this history from theft and vandalism, so it saddens me to see the extent of the damage caused by the floods,” he said.
According to the Libyan Antiquities Authority, the archaeological sites extend over several hectares and include monumental Greek temples (including the Temple of Zeus, the largest in Africa), stoas (covered passages), theaters, baths public and sumptuous residences.
The city is also surrounded by the Cyrene Necropolis and is protected by an outer wall built in the first and second centuries AD.
The area’s churches date back to Byzantine times.
An important tourist destination in Libya, this area was accessible by steep slopes and narrow roads, allowing only one car at a time to enter or exit it.
When Storm Daniel struck, destroying two major dams, large quantities of water poured into the already flooded region, killing more than 4,300 people and displacing 40,000, according to figures released in October by the United Nations Office United Nations for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha).
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“When the powerful floodwaters poured over the mountains, they caused soil erosion up to five meters deep in parts of Cyrene,” said Anouji Al-Urfi, head of the Cyrene Crisis Committee. Libyan Antiquities Authority. The National.
Cyrene is one of five ancient Greek cities in the Cyrenaica region, near today’s Green Mountain.
“These (floods) also caused the collapse of parts of the Grand Theater and drowned several parts of the Apollo complex, Wadi Ghadir Street and Ain Al-Hufrah, among others, in mud, clay and water. The water washed away ancient pottery, minted coins and small statues.”
Mr Al-Urfi said part of the Wadi Al-Kuf Bridge, built in the early 1900s to connect the mountain towns of Al Marj and Al Bayda, was also destroyed.
“The bridge was built near the Wadi Al-Kuf caves, which were historically inhabited by ancient Libyan tribes but are known as the base of anti-colonial resistance against the Italian occupation led by the martyr Sheikh Omar Al-Mukhtar and his fighters,” Mr. Al.-Urfi said, noting that until the storm hit, families were going there to take photos near the Al-Mukhtar monument.
While the damage to the city of Cyrene threatens some ancient structures, erosion has also revealed new archaeological sites, according to Adel Boufjra, antiquities inspector for the Shahhat district in the Green Mountain.
“The heavy flooding uncovered new archaeological layers and water channels, including a water drainage system dating back to Roman times, consisting of approximately 400 meters of channels from the heart of the mountain to at the Greek baths of Cyrene,” Mr. Boufjra said. The National.
Mr Al-Urfi said the floods revealed parts of the ancient city wall of Darnis (now Derna), founded by the Greeks between 330 and 323 BC, as well as archaeological caves dating back perhaps be in prehistory.
Urgent action
The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Icesco has expressed its willingness to finance the restoration of damaged heritage sites, Al-Urfi said. This includes Ottoman-era mosques and the 11th-century Sahaba Cemetery, which is said to have housed the remains of 73 companions of the Prophet Muhammad.
We must act now to contain the impact of this natural disaster
Hafeez Al-Walda, university professor
“The Libyan Government of National Unity (based in Tripoli) has also formed a crisis committee comprising the Libyan Antiquities Authority and several other government institutions, to assess the damage caused to these sites,” Mr. Al said -Urfi.
With the help of several foreign missions – Italian, French, Dutch, American and Greek – he added, the government will take steps to restore these sites.
“Even though the damage was not completely devastating, rapid measures must be taken to prevent it from getting worse,” said university professor Hafeez Al-Walda, who is also a member of the Authority of antiquities in Benghazi, the second largest city in northern Libya. -East.
“Damage will accumulate over time due to soil erosion, collapse of some sites and deposits of mud and clay at other sites in Tolmeitha, Tobruk and Susah,” said Mr. Al-Walda. The National.
“The affected sites include mosaics, fortresses and water reservoirs, some of the largest in North Africa dating from Greek times,” he said.
“We must act now to contain the impact of this natural disaster. »
This article was published in collaboration with Egab.
Updated: December 1, 2023, 6:00 p.m.
