The island’s ancient theater was restored [Εικόνες] – 2024-04-23 00:01:40

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 the ancient city of Thassos (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 following its first excavation ( 1921) the French Archaeological School, revealing the nave, the orchestra, the parodes and part of the stage.

Thassos – Ancient Theatre

The work of restoring this monumental theater was perhaps one of the most difficult technical projects carried out in recent years by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kavala – Thassos, under the supervision of archaeologist Constantina Panousis. In fact, the hollow of the theater was excavated from foundations in order to restore past damages, to provide a solution to static issues, to complete important infrastructures that would ensure its rescue and ultimately contribute to its modern function as a space that can host once more cultural and artistic events.

By rendering the theater to 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, Kostas Hadjiemmanouil, who insisted on restoring the hollow of the ancient theater to its original marble form, is satisfied.

With the undivided support of the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the leadership of the Ministry of Culture that 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 Culture (EDEPOL), the restoration of the ancient theater is a reality despite the many and great difficulties that had to be 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 on the hollow turned out to be extremely problematic and much more extensive than originally anticipated,” explains the project supervisor, archaeologist Constantina Panousis, speaking to APE-MBE, 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”.

Among the most important tasks to be done was the recording and identification of the ancient members of the theatre, which were re-installed. Broken ancient pews were supplemented 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!

Thassos: The 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, came to an end thanks to the Ephorate of Antiquities of Kavala-Thassos and the Ephorate of Antiquities Stavroula Dadakis, 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 once more 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.

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