One of the most important ancient sites in the nation was submerged by the same floods that claimed hundreds of lives in the Libyan city of Derna, endangering the collapse of its UNESCO-listed monuments, according to a recent visitor and a renowned archaeologist.
Floodwaters remain trapped amid the ruins of ancient Cyrene, raising fears for the UNESCO-listed monuments of one of Libya's premier ancient sites
The Temple of Zeus from the second century AD, which was larger than the Parthenon in Athens, sustained relatively minor immediate damage, but the water circling around their foundations poses a threat for future collapses, according to Vincent Michel, the head of the French archaeological mission in Libya.
Cyrene, which was founded from the Greek island of Santorini approximately 600 BC, was one of the major Classical centers for almost a thousand years before it was largely abandoned in 365 AD due to a significant earthquake.
Floodwater remains trapped around some of Kyrene's main monuments raising concerns for the integrity of their foundations
Cyrenaica, the old name for eastern Libya, bears its name.
In 1982, UNESCO designated the area's remaining monuments as a World Heritage Site. In 2016, after years of strife and neglect following the NATO-backed rebellion that toppled longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi, UNESCO listed the location as part of its World Heritage in Danger list.
A large portion of the area is still flooded days after the massive rains brought on by Storm Daniel on September 10–11, according to Claudia Gazzini, a Libya expert with the International Crisis Group think tank, who recently visited the location.
Fallen boulders block the main street connecting the upper and lowers levels of the ancient city down which rainwater would normally drain off
The enormous site, which also has a necropolis outside its walls that is as large as the city itself, has some ancient walls that have collapsed, obstructing the water courses that would typically drain the area.
"There's a street lined by ancient walls that connects the upper and lower levels down which rainwater would normally escape but large boulders have fallen in, blocking the flow", Gazzini told AFP by telephone from Libya's main eastern city of Benghazi.
"On the lower level, there's also dirty water continuously bubbling out of the ground in the middle of the ruins," she added, adding that neither locals from the nearby village of Shahat nor a representative from the local antiquities division, whom she met there, could explain where it was coming from.
Blocks of marble that formed part of the auditorium of Cyrene's ancient amphitheatre lie strewn on the gound after being dislodged by the torrential rains that accompanied Storm Daniel
"If water continues to flow in and remains trapped in the site, the retaining wall could collapse, taking with it a large chunk of the ruins," she said.
Weakened foundations
The French archaeologist Michel, who has spent ten years working in another section of the region and is quite familiar with the location, claimed to have been able to analyze photographs of the monuments taken after the floods.
"For the moment, there's no major destruction at Cyrene -- the monuments are still standing," he said.
"But the torrents of water, earth and rock have created gullies in the ancient streets, particularly the Royal Road, and the main damage is still to come as the water has spread over a wide area and has weakened the foundations of the monuments. Since the stone in the region is of poor quality, the monuments risk falling apart due to lack of good foundations," he added.
He continued, "hundreds of cubic metres of water which has shifted and submerged some of the tombs" in the nearby necropolis.
The accumulation of water behind the site's ancient retaining wall has raised fears it may give way, triggering the collapse of monuments in a landslide
Following the floods, which claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless, Michel said he was especially concerned about the risks of looting.
Visitors frequently come to this location in the Jebel al-Ahkdar mountains, inland from the Mediterranean shore, for its expansive views. But in the wake of the devastating floods, Libyans are more concerned than ever.
The quick mobilization of Libya's antiquities department, which had already enlisted assistance from the Italian archaeological mission to save Cyrene and the French mission he leads to safeguard two nearby sites, Michel added, had somewhat allayed his fears.
The aim is to "join forces with the local authorities in coordination with UNESCO to raise the main points of weakness in the monuments and record any deterioration," Michel said.
The site's drainage should then be fixed, and the monuments' foundations should be strengthened.
