Show AS — The Herald Journal Logan Utah Sunday September IS 2002 Ancient Athens could stymie Olympics ATHENS Greece (AP) — Athens’ links with antiquity helped it win the 2004 Olympics Now that rich past could add to its present challenge: building the Summer Games' sites on time It is a problem in Greece generally Wherever you dig you find antiquities" said Tilemahos Hiliris the govern- ment’s 2004 Olympics spokesman So far Olympics organizers have been spared major com- plications to their race against the clock No important ruins or finds have canceled venue plans But some discoveries — including the remains of 4000-year-ol-d dwellings unearthed last month — 'show that any new excavation could strike a buried treasure Some archaeologists wonder if artifacts could be steam- -' rolled in the dash to overcome ' years of construction delays ’ ’To go the fast way in a way that will destroy the is not right That antiquities is wrong and it is prohibited” said Irene Gratsias an archaeologist from the Hellenic Society for the Preservation of the Environment and Cultural Heritage “Some things will be destroyed out of necessity " because you cannot stop the development of the city and of life but a very good systematic study must take prece- ter at the time of the Athenians’ famed victory over the Persians at Marathon — a claim challenged by the discoveries Archaeologists are working hard to keep up with the work at some sites “If antiquities present them- selves the work will stop so that the excavation can start” said Nicoletta Valakou the head of prehistoric and dassi- cal antiquities department of the Culture Ministry The possibilities for an ugly round-the-clo- showdown — tight deadlines versus strict protection laws — are a product of the delays critics say “We could have avoided all this if there had been planning that was on time” said Mano- lis Kefaloyiknnis parliament deputy for New Democracy the main opposition party Dealing with antiquities is the price of doing construction work in Greece Sometimes it adds history Pottery ancient ceramic pipes and even an entombed skele- ton are on display in Athens’ subway Other times it creates mote work A planned museum at the foot of the Acropolis had to be redesigned after ruins were found spanning 1400 years from Athens’ Golden Age to Byzantium And finally there are places where crews simply packed up to 1997 contrac- tors found ruins believed to be the lyceum or school where Aristotle taught nearly 200 years ago It blocked plans for a museum designed by afehi- - tectlM Pei r— Workers dig at an archaeological excavation site at the Olympic row- where they ing center in Schinias northeast of Athens on Thursday 4000-year-o-id of dwellings two foundations have uncovered dence" At the planned Olympic equestrian center in about nine miles southeast of Athens crews last winter uncovered what archaeologists believe is a 2500-year-ol-d shrine to the love goddess Aphrodite that may have also served as a brothel Although the discovery did not seriously delay construction any new ones could throw the project behind schedule The Olympics’ latest collision with antiquity is more Mar-copoul- os ' highly charged The foundations of two early Bronze Age dwellings were discovered at the site of the rowing center in Schinias about 18 miles northeast of ’Athens A government archaeologist said the finds woe not significant but construction in the area has been halted pending a survey Environmental groups and archaeologists had strongly opposed building the rowing center They claim the facility will endanger birds fish and a rare species of piiie and will encroach on the site of the 490 BC Battle of Marathon after which the modem race is named Olympics organizers and the government insist no harm will come to the delicate marshland ecosystem They also say the site was ilnderwa- - I Quake kills two in india NEW DELHI India (AP) — A strong earthquake hit India's southeast early Saturday lulling at least two people and damaging some homes on the Andaman islands officials Said The epicenter of the magnittremor was in the sea some 1500 miles southeast of the Indian capital said JL Gautam nn official at the New Delhi Meteorology Department The first tremor was at 3:59 am and was followed by several aftershocks Two people were killed when a wall collapsed to the Andaman Islands and a jetty at Ariel Bay on Middle Andaman island was dam- aged said Jaidev Sarangi a liaison offiNew Delhi-base- d cer for the islands The tremors that lasted for about two minutes set off a tidal wave and damaged sev- eral shops and houses near the jetty according to shipping officials in the southern coastal city of Madras The region a string of more than 300 fortsted tropical islands with a population of more than 340000 people is ude-6 - highly prone to earthquakes Strong tremors were also felt in Smith Island Ross Island and Kalaghat Baratang but they were mild in Mayabunder and Port Blair — the gateway to the islands s t |