From Today’s Zaman:
Excavations on some historical sites are not being carried out properly and the Culture and Tourism Ministry is not even sure if excavations are still continuing on others, the head of the ministry has said.
“If the excavation heads and professors who are not excited about the excavations any longer or are just carrying on their duties in a monotonous manner will let us, we will look for excavation heads who are more excited and enthusiastic to improve the conditions at the excavation sites both physically and scientifically,” Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay told the Anatolia news agency.
Noting that he has visited many excavation sites, the minister said he respected excavation leaders who care for their excavations and the antiquities they find like children and who attempt to improve the situation of their sites.
There are currently 134 excavation projects being carried out in Turkey — 90 by local teams and 44 by foreign teams. More than 100 surface research projects are under way.
In the excavation projects carried out by Turkish teams, the majority of the excavation heads are professors from İstanbul University and Ankara University. Currently most excavation heads are from Ankara University.
The story continues here.
HT: Explorator
