After eleven full years of being closed, the ancient theater of Thassos, one of the oldest in Greece, reopens to the public in mid-May, following the completion of extensive works restoration and restoration of the hollow (which started in 2018 and were completed a few months ago). The final result really impresses the visitor as it was completely clad in the famous white marble mined in the island’s quarries. It is noted that the theater was restored to the phase it was in during Roman times.
Built in the 4th century BC. on the slopes of a hill to the east of its ancient city I’ll (of the current capital of the island, Limenas), the ancient theater with its unparalleled view of the sea, is preparing to enter a new period of operation, almost a century after the first excavation carried out (1921) by the French Archaeological School, revealing the hollow , the orchestra, the parades and a part of the stage.
The project of restoring this monumental theater was perhaps one of the most difficult technical projects implemented in recent years by Ephorate of Antiquities of Kavala – Thassosunder the supervision of the archaeologist Konstantinas Panousis. In fact, the hollow of the theater was excavated from foundations in order to restore past damages, to solve static issues, to complete important infrastructures that would ensure its rescue and ultimately contribute to its modern function as a space that can host again cultural and artistic events. With the performance of the theater for the residents and the thousands of visitors of the island, a great request of the local community of Thassos and personally of the former mayor of the island municipality is satisfied Costa Hadjiemmanouilwho insisted on restoring the hollow of the ancient theater to its original marble form.
With her undivided support Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thraceof his leadership Ministry of Culture which included the project in its co-financed programs, the staff of the Special Program Management Service “Eastern Macedonia-Thrace” and the staff of the Staff Structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (EDEPOL), the restoration of the ancient theater is a reality despite the many and great difficulties that had to be to overcome. The total cost of restoring the hollow of the ancient theater amounted to 3,500,000 euros.
The benches were restored with white marble from the island’s quarries
“The restoration work of the hollow turned out to be extremely problematic and much more extensive than initially foreseen”, explains, speaking to APE-MBE, the supervisor of the project, the archaeologist Constantina Panousis, and continues: “in order to carry out the above works , the initial restoration study had to be modified, which required time. Subsequently, a static study, a rainwater management study and a modification of the architectural study were prepared. All of the above significantly increased the physical scope of the restoration, as 29 rows of infrastructure were rebuilt instead of the 13 originally planned, 177 ancient pews were worked on in the upper undisturbed zone, and 622 modern and ancient pews and 147 modern steps were placed in the main zone. restoration, which occupies 29 rows of seats in eight stands separated by seven steps. The final set of interventions in the hollow of the ancient theater of Thassos concerns 1,039 architectural members”.
One of the most important tasks that had to be done was the recording and identification of ancient members of theater, which were repositioned. Broken ancient pews were filled in with cast material and where there was no ancient material, members made of all-white island marble were placed.
“Admittedly, what we had to face in the ancient theater of Thassos was a big challenge, especially in terms of the supply of marble”, underlines Ms. Panousi, speaking to APE-MPE, and adds: “The analysis of the material that was made in the ancient benches he showed us the type and composition of the marble used in antiquity, and based on this, a similar marble was ordered from a quarry on the island. We must praise the excellent cooperation we had with the contractor in this particular part of the project, Mr. Bayraktari, who undertook not only the procurement but also the carving and processing of the marble seats, in order to achieve the necessary symmetry and curvature, so that place the modern benches in the hollow of the theater. The completion of all the work needed to restore the hollow of the ancient theater is due to the project staff who worked under extremely difficult conditions, often overdoing themselves.”
It is a fact that the corona virus pandemic and the lack of labor force on the island greatly hampered the smooth execution of the works. The case of the project of improving the stone-built stepped path that leads to the ancient theater is typical. Only one offer was submitted in the relevant call for expression of interest, however the sole contractor subsequently resigned because he was unable to find builders!
Work continues
In the next period of time, it is expected that the crane, with the help of which the seats were placed, will be removed from the interior of the ancient theater, so that the work of coating the orchestra can then be completed. The ancient theater will be partly open to visitors, mainly in its hollow, since the work will continue inside it, however visitors will have the opportunity to admire the restoration work done up close.
The complete and sufficient electrification of the ancient theater is one of the pending tasks in the overall project of the restoration of the monument, in order to be able to carry out modern theatrical performances in it. As Mrs. Panousi explains, in the next period it is expected that the procedures for the complete restoration of the network, which presented issues with interruptions throughout the project, will proceed.
It should be noted that until 2013, when the theater was permanently closed in order to start the work, the theater seats were wooden, resting on metal platforms, which were installed in the 1990s. The ancient theater of Thassos, all the previous years went through several phases of maintenance, until in November 2018, the final works of the complete restoration of the hollow began. In the past, however, it hosted large and important cultural events, such as the events within the Philippi – Thassos Festival.
The former mayor of the island, Kostas Hadjiemmanouil, who spearheaded the restoration of the ancient theater in its original marble form, speaking to APE-MPE, does not hide his satisfaction at the completion of the work. “I feel vindicated”, he emphasizes in his statements, “as a multi-year effort that began in 2011, and a personal struggle, has come to an end thanks to the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kavala – Thassos and the Ephorate of Antiquities Stavroula Dadaki, who matured the required procedures, clarifying all those points which are necessary to develop a study into a project”.
“I feel”, continues Mr. Hadjiemmanouil, “that I won a personal “bet” and fulfilled a commitment I made to the world of Thassos, when in 2010 I promised that I would throw away the rotten plywood from the ancient theater of the island and replace it with all-white Thassos marble. I also want to highlight the unanimous decision of the KAS for the marble restoration of the monument. A decision that was based on the excellent impression of the excellent archaeologist and architect Toni Kozeli, who lives permanently on the island offering an important project”.
The reopening of the ancient theater caused feelings of satisfaction in the municipality of Thassos. Mayor Lefteris Kyriakidis, speaking to APE-MBE, considers the fact that the monument will now be open to visitors very important and notes that the intention of the municipality’s administration is to host events there, when conditions allow.
The ancient theater of Thassos is once again ready to “speak” to the thousands of spectators, conveying its history, adventures and the path it has taken over time. It is this story that the ancient names of dozens of people and families of the island, which are engraved on the marble benches of the hollow, bear witness to the continuous progress of the monument through the centuries.
Source: Athens News Agency
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