Just days after officials agreed to pause all actions pending talks on alternative radar locations, the Greek Infrastructure Ministry quietly signed a ministerial decision allowing excavation and levelling works on Papoura Hill, a site already recognized as one of the island’s most significant prehistoric discoveries.
Mayor Vassilis Kegkeroglou of Minoa Pediada announced that the municipality will now file an appeal to the Council of State (ΣτΕ) to block both the Infrastructure and Culture Ministries’ decisions, calling the government’s action a betrayal of trust.
“We agreed not to take legal steps until our alternative sites were examined,” Kegkeroglou said, “but the Ministry signed the order the next day. They left us no choice but to appeal.”
Athens Says “Humiliation Works”; Crete Says “Humiliation, Period.”
The decision authorizes “earth-lowering” (ταπείνωση) operations to accommodate aeronautical systems and environmental landscaping, alongside protective and stabilizing measures for the excavated remains. In bureaucratic terms, it sounds responsible. In archaeological terms, it sounds like bulldozing a temple to install Wi-Fi.
Only days before, on October 12, Athens had hosted a public event celebrating Papoura’s archaeological identity, led by the head of excavations, who described the circular Minoan complex as “a revelation of Prepalatial Crete’s intellectual maturity.”
While archaeologists were still applauding, the Ministry was already signing construction orders.
“History Cannot Be Buried in the Name of Progress”
SYRIZA MP Haris Mamoulakis, visibly enraged, called the decision “an unforgivable provocation” and a direct insult to Cretan heritage.
“This is not a technical issue,” Mamoulakis said. “It is a matter of cultural ethics and political will. History cannot be buried in the name of progress.”
Mamoulakis demanded:
- Immediate suspension of all works and revocation of the radar installation decision.
- Transparent review of all technical alternatives outside the archaeological zone.
- Official designation of Papoura Hill as a major archaeological site, under maximum state protection.
- Full preservation and public promotion of the monument as a place of memory, knowledge, and cultural pride, not as collateral damage of technocracy.
“Crete will not tolerate more insults,” he warned. “The hill belongs to history, not to contractors.”
Political Backlash — And a Bitter Irony
Adding to the chorus, PASOK MP Fragkiskos Parasyris accused the Infrastructure Ministry of political brinkmanship, noting that while hundreds of millions are delayed or mismanaged across Greece’s infrastructure projects, Papoura Hill somehow received express processing for destruction.
“While extensions and contractor compensations balloon the VOAK budget, and Recovery Fund projects stagnate, the Ministry rushes to flatten Papoura,” he said.
Parasyris also pointed out a stinging irony: in just two weeks, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni is scheduled to travel to Paestum, Italy, to receive the International Archaeological Discovery Award “Palmyra”—along with a Special Public Prize for the Papoura excavation.
“Perhaps they should photograph the hill before the scaffolding goes up,” Parasyris remarked sharply.
He concluded that unless the government respects its promise to hold the October 22 meeting with all stakeholders and consider alternative radar sites, the Council of State appeal remains the only path forward — one he pledged to fully support.
Between Faith and Fury
Papoura Hill, once a quiet mound overlooking the fertile plain of Kastelli, has become the stage of a modern Greek tragedy — where politics, archaeology, and public faith in governance collide.
The soil that once sheltered a Minoan sanctuary now trembles under the weight of ministers’ signatures and local defiance. And if there is one thing Crete has never taken lightly, it is the desecration of its stones — especially when they remember who we once were.
