TYRE (SOUTH LEBANON), DECEMBER 11 – Last week, UNIFIL Sector West Commander Brigadier General Stefano Lagorio cut the ribbon of a project funded by the Italian peacekeepers to rehabilitate a major Lebanese archeological site in Tyre, south Lebanon.
Implemented at the request of local authorities, the project, which included – among other things – the installation of solar-powered spotlights and the maintenance of existing photovoltaic cells for better lighting, aimed to preserve the historically significant Al-Mina Archeological Site.
UNIFIL’s support, starting on October 26, was extended to all three locations of the archeological site.
Al-Mina (in Arabic ‘port’) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It comprises important archaeological ruins, a great part of which are under water. The most noteworthy structures are the remains of an unusually large public Roman bathhouse from the 2nd or 3rd century AD, two palestras, a 4th-century rectangular arena that would have held up to 2000 spectators perhaps to watch some sort of ancient water sport, a colonnaded Roman road, a residential quarter, as well as the remains of the cathedral built in 1127 by the Venetians and some of the walls of an ancient Crusader castle.
UNIFIL peacekeepers have long been supporting its rehabilitation, starting in 2010 with the construction of a walkway in the area of the gymnasium. In 2019, they launched a project to construct staging areas at the site.
Between their core operational duties, UNIFIL peacekeepers regularly implement projects in the mission’s area of operations as requested by and for the benefit of host communities. (@OnuItalia)
