Greek Secret Opens Up to Tourists

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine -- Nestled between a harbor crammed with gunboats and a pebbled coast lined with resorts for retired officers, the ancient Greek city of Khersones has long been taboo for archaeologists and tourists.City authorities in Sevastopol, headquarters of the former Soviet Union's Black Sea Fleet and a closed city for almost 50 years, finally are allowing outsiders to see one of its best-kept secrets.Khersones, a 2,500-year-old site in western Sevastopol, was the most important Greek settlement on the Crimean peninsula. The name Sevastopol comes from the Greek "sebasto," meaning glory, and "polis," or city.Sevastopol officials hope UNESCO, the UN cultural organization, will register Khersones on the world heritage list to halt further damage to the crumbling remains of the ancient city-state, which was finally destroyed by Mongol invaders at the end of the 14th century.Neglect, the strict exclusion of foreign experts and the priority given to the Soviet Navy over those trying to protect the unique site have taken a heavy toll on Khersones. North of the site's imposing walls, convoys of military trucks trundle to a base built above the unexcavated remains of the city's necropolis, a 30-acre labyrinth of graves."The military has a different set of objectives from ours," said Stanislav Redhoz, chief archaeologist of Khersones, shaking his head.The first foreign team of experts has been granted permission to excavate the site. Seven archaeologists from England, Holland, the Czech Republic and the United States are scheduled to start digging Wednesday.The team leader, Professor Joe Carter of the University of Texas at Austin, describes Khersones and the surrounding territory that made up the city-state as "unique in the world."He said the potentially explosive political situation in Crimea was worrisome. The specter of war between pro-Russian separatists on the peninsula and Ukraine could postpone the project.Redhoz regrets that in his 20 years in Khersones he has met only three groups of foreigners. "Being in a closed zone has meant few contacts with the outside world and scant opportunity to appeal for help," said Redhoz.Redhoz hopes greater international awareness will help prevent the military and property developers from further damaging Khersones and attract funds to stop another threat: the classical site's slide into the sea.High winds and pounding waves are eating into the remains of Khersones, which faces the sea. The city's sea walls have all but vanished into the water, along with a section of the baptistery foundations of a sixth-century Byzantine cathedral. Plans exist for a breakwater that would substantially halt further erosion, but funds are scarce.The future of Khersones is further complicated by renewed claims on the land by the Russian Orthodox Church. Restoration work has begun recently on the burnt-out shell of an Orthodox cathedral overlooking Khersones. Archaeologists argue that church authorities should not be entrusted with the preservation and development of the site.