Greek economic crisis hurts conservation workers

by Sean McLachlan on

When Greek Minister of Culture and Tourism Pavlos Geroulanos visited the Acropolis in Athens last week, he was met by a hundred booing employees.

The heritage workers are contracted professionals who are protesting late wages and planned firings. Some haven’t been paid in 16 months and many worry their contracts won’t be renewed next year.

Greece is undergoing a serious financial crisis and struggles under a huge national debt. It recently received a 110 billion euro ($136 billion) bailout from other European Union countries and the International Monetary Fund. The first installment came just in time to keep Greece from defaulting on its latest debt repayment.

Mr. Geroulanos promised action on the overdue pay.

The workers are some of the many government workers who don’t have a full-time job, but rather work on a contract basis. It is unclear how many will be fired because of the crisis, but the long restoration project at the Acropolis will continue, a third of it with EU funding.

Questions are also arising over archaeological and restoration projects all over the country. Sixteen percent of Greece’s GDP comes from tourism, yet serious cuts will have to be made in government spending to stabilize the economy. Greek’s current national debt is 115% of its GDP.

Image courtesy Thermos via Wikimedia Commons.

Controversy over Wal-mart on Civil War battlefield

by Sean McLachlan on

A proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter on the site of one of the Civil War’s bloodiest battles is being challenged by local preservationists.

The case has gone into a new phase as a local court ruled that opponents to the Wal-Mart have the right to bring the company to trial, reports Civil War News.

When the Orange County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors approved the construction of a 138,000 square-foot Wal-mart Supercenter at the edge of the Wilderness Battlefield, part of a National Battlefield Park, two preservation groups and six local residents sued. They say that the location is too close to the battlefield and will ruin its atmosphere.

The Battle of the Wilderness on May 5-7, 1864 was a brutal slugfest between the armies of Grant and Lee that left tens of thousands of Americans dead or wounded. Many historians see the battle as the start of a long war of attrition that bled the Confederacy to death.

The Board of Supervisors challenged the opponents’ right to sue, but a court said that they do, indeed, have a vested interest in the area and may bring Wal-Mart to court. This will delay Wal-Mart’s final purchase of the land and application for building permits.

This case is similar to one concerning the Gettysburg casino, pitting historians and preservation groups against the interests of big business.

Wilderness battlefield photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

All U.S. national parks free next weekend

by Kraig Becker on

While the U.S. celebrates a long, three-day weekend this week, the National Park Service is giving us all something to look forward to next weekend as well. The NPS has announced that it is continuing its very popular free admissions program, and on June 5 and 6, more than 100 parks will throw open their gates and waive the entrance fee to all guests.

The complete list of parks that will be free next weekend can be found by clicking here, and there are certainly some great places to visit on the list, no matter what part of the country you are in. For example, if you’re in California, Yosemite is always a great place to explore, although the crowds might be a bit smaller in Death Valley. Similarly, Yellowstone is an amazing place to visit as well, but it is one of the most popular parks in the system. If you’re in that area, you might find Big Horn Canyon offers more seclusion.

So, while we’re enjoying the Memorial Day holiday this weekend, which generally marks the unofficial start of the summer, it is never too early to start making plans for next weekend as well. With the entry fees waived, there are no excuses to not go outside and play in one of these great parks.

[Photo Credit: The National Park Service]

Colosseum to open underground tunnels

by Sean McLachlan on

Archaeologists have almost completed a $28 million project to preserve the basement of the Colosseum so it can be opened to the public.

Underneath the famous building is an underground network of cells and corridors that housed gladiators, wild animals, and prisoners as they waited for their turn to go out on the sands and offer a day’s entertainment to 50,000 screaming fans.

The Colosseum is already an atmospheric place, but when these chambers open to the public it will be even more so. Imagine what it must have been like to be a gladiator looking up at the stone vaults, hearing the distant roar of the crowds, and wondering if you’d ever stand under another roof again.

Archaeologists have shored up the walls and are adding walkways so that the millions of tourists who visit Rome’s iconic building won’t damage the remains. It’s not clear exactly when it will open, but the archaeologists have said their work is nearly done. Stay tuned.

BBC news cameras got a sneak peak at what’s sure to be a prime stop on any tour of Rome. You can see the clip here.

Image courtesy Dilif via Wikimedia Commons.

The other pyramids of Africa

by Sean McLachlan on


This desert land was once home to a great empire that built giant temples in honor of strange, animal-headed gods and memorialized their rulers with pyramids. It had one of the most advanced civilizations of its time and was known throughout the ancient world.

Egypt? No, Sudan.

The Kingdom of Kush in what is now Sudan built great cities and traded the products of its large and expert iron industry as far away as India and China. It lasted from about 1000 BC to 350 AD before finally being conquered by the Empire of Axum in Ethiopia. For almost a hundred years from 747-656 BC, the Kushites ruled Egypt as the twenty-fifth dynasty.

A new exhibit at the Louvre in Paris is the first to focus on Meroë, the capital of Kush in its later period and home to more than two hundred pyramids, some of which are shown in this photo. Meroe: Empire on the Nile showcases works of Meroitic art that help us understand the daily life, religion, and social structure of this often-overlooked empire.

Meroe: Empire on the Nile runs until September 6, 2010. Many of the objects are loans from the Museum of Khartoum, so if you can’t make it to Paris before September, you can always go to Sudan and the see the objects, and the pyramids, for yourself. Last year The Wall Street Journal listed the country as one of the top five destinations for the super adventurous.

Image courtesy Sven-steffenarndt via Wikimedia Commons