Tender completed for ‘Phaleron Captives’ site

The tender to pick a contractor to build a protective shell around the site of the so-called “Phaleron Captives” has come to an end, with the government’s Diavgeia platform listing MT ATE as the winner of the first phase of the process.

The site consists of an ancient mass grave of shackled skeletons found during excavations for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center at modern-day Faliro on Athens’ southern coast in 2016.

The 78 chained human skeletons have been dated to the 7th century BC but archaeologists have not been able to pinpoint their story. Since being discovered in 2016, the mass grave had effectively been open to the elements. In 2023, the finds were moved to a different location where they could be protected and studied in a controlled setting, but the task of settling them in a permanent location and ensuring their constant preservation remains pressing.

The next step now is for MT ATE to submit all the papers needed in order for the Auditing Council to approve the tender and then sign the relevant contract with the Culture Ministry so that it can submit the subsequent study for the site and move ahead with construction once all the procedures are completed. The project has a budget of 6.3 million euros, which is coming from the EU-backed Recovery Fund, and a completion date within 2025.

Based on the preliminary study for the project, the museum/shelter will consist of a 450-square meter underground area where the skeletons will be returned to the initial site of their discovery but in a protected setting, and an above-ground area of 425 square meters containing the infrastructure for the site’s operation and the visitor services areas.

In another interesting development, meanwhile, the archaeological museums of Nicopolis (Nikopoli), Arta, Igoumenitsa and Ioannina became the first such state-owned institutions to get the seal of approval under the Culture Ministry’s recently introduced Museum Recognition and Certification System.

Following a lengthy process that began in 2021, and included a series of tasks such as creating a precise record of the museum’s collections, upgrading their services, improving outreach, strengthening compliance with internal regulations etc, the four museums in Epirus, northwestern Greece, are blazing a trail for the 200 or so that come under the ministry’s jurisdiction and are slated for certification. The program will continue with Western Macedonia and Eastern Macedonia-Thrace.