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Archaeologists fight construction

Groups call city circuit project a threat to historic artifacts

By Ondřej Bouda
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
July 2nd, 2008 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
The Špejchar intersection on Letná is part of the northeast sector.
Northeast sector, at a glance



Start date: February 2007
Completion date: October 2011
Length: 5.5 kilometers
Estimated cost: 25 billion Kč
Volume of earth moved: 2,214,000 cubic meters

Source: Prague City Hall

If all goes as planned, motorists will be able to use a new section of the Prague city circuit in three years’ time. Called the northeast sector of the inner circuit, this portion of underground tunnel leading from Břevnov, beneath Prague Castle and all the way to Trója has been in the works since the 1970s. It suffered many setbacks before the current City Hall administration finally decided to build the road.
“Both the internal and the external circuits are key factors for the future development of the city,” said Prague Mayor Pavel Bém. “It took us 10 years to finalize the northeast part of the project, which should ease traffic in Prague 6 and 7 and thus provide a quieter, safer and healthier environment.”
But those plans are being fought by environmentalists and archeologists, who have been challenging construction since it began in 2007.
Archaeologists are mostly concerned that the work could destroy unknown artifacts from all eras of human settlement in Prague. The underground highway passes only a few hundred meters from Prague Castle and the area is littered with history.
“Two years ago, while reconstructing the Riding School of Prague Castle, we discovered a decorated mammoth tusk,” said Jan Frolík, head of emergency excavations at the Archaeological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. “Since the area is mostly unexplored, there could be many more artifacts just lying around.”  
Such concerns were reinforced last fall when construction workers found a 9th century burial ground at the Břevnov end of the tunnel. It is safe for the moment as construction there has been delayed. But unless immediate action is taken it could soon fall victim to urban development. “We’d like to get a head start on excavations so that we do not delay the construction any more than necessary. We are trying to make things easier for the construction company, but they continue to ignore our requests,” Frolík said.
The law calls for every development project to conduct an archaeological excavation before starting construction, and Frolík pointed out that City Hall had done nothing in this regard before work on the tunnel began.
“We have tried to contact City Hall and the construction company on several occasions, but they just ignore us,” he said.
According to City Hall spokesman Jiří Wolf, the matter is well in hand. “This is standard procedure and there is nothing that poses a threat to potential archaeological findings. If workers uncover anything, they will alert the relevant authorities and an excavation will be conducted.”
However, construction workers are not qualified to recognize historic finds, and heavy machinery is ill-suited for the delicate work of handling fragile artifacts.
“Archaeological excavations are a hassle and slow us down,” commented an off-duty digger who worked at a site in Prague 6. “The other day I found some strange pots, but I simply smashed them so we could go on working.”
A green conflict
When the communists decided to build a tunnel beneath Stromovka Park in 1989, Prague citizens protested and managed to save the park from destruction.
But the fight against the project is not over, as environmentalists are currently challenging the planned city circuit tunnel beneath the park, which is a protected nature area.
“Building highways through the city center was an idea developed by the communists, but, as can be seen on the Magistrála expressway, it only causes more problems,” said Jan Losenický, spokesman of environmental NGO Arnika. “The project’s environmental impact was never assessed and authorities seem happy to ignore the subject altogether.”
Wolf responded, saying, “Of course some damage will be done, but we are trying to save as many trees as possible and replace the ones that cannot be saved.”
But Losenický is unimpressed by such pledges, pointing out that “917 trees, 35 bushes and more than 40,000 square meters of green areas are going to disappear. City Hall boasts that it is going to save 29 trees, but that is an absurd number and cannot be considered a success by anyone.”
Green activists were further shocked when, due to tunnel construction, a 20-meter area of Stromovka Park collapsed May 20.
“Things like that happen. It was raining at the time,” Wolf said.
Arnika was angered by such a response from City Hall. “The hole appeared about 20 meters from a playground. Thankfully, it happened early in the morning and the park was empty, but just a few hours later it could have been a tragedy,” said Losenický. Arnika has decided to file a lawsuit for endangering the public.
The only success that environmentalists have achieved is that Letná Park will not fall victim to construction. “Originally, a temporary road was supposed to be built through the park as a detour around the construction site, but, after many complaints, it will be much closer to the construction,” Losenický said.
Despite all complaints, though, City Hall maintains that the circuit will provide a better environment for citizens and plans to finish it as quickly as possible. “We will be able to judge the effect the circuits have on transport only after they are completed. I believe that, thanks to the effort of my administration, we will see fruition of the project soon and fix the mistakes of the past decades,” Bém said.

Ondřej Bouda can be reached at news@praguepost.com


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