At the end of June it was announced that for the first time in more than 25 years there would be no excavation campaign at the site this year.
Now the Government has confirmed that its shelved plans to buy land to build an Underwater Archaeological Research Centre and a Pol·lèntia Museum on the Sa Tanca de Can Domènech Estate.
Archaeology Experts have been waiting for years for a Research Centre equipped to recover wreckage and underwater remains from the Majorcan coast.
Notary
Alcudia City Council and the property owners were poised to sign the deeds for the sa Tanca land for 1.2 million euros, which the Consell promised to finance with Tourist Tax money back in 2018.
The Sa Tanca de Can Domènech Estate is located in front of the Pol·lèntia site and is separated from the residential district of Sa Portella by the cemetery road.
Preliminary results from geophysical surveys that were conducted in recent years revealed anomalies that suggest not only the continuity of the residential neighbourhood, but also of the Polymnia home.
The purchase of the land would have resulted in the expansion of the Pol·lèntia protection zone and laid the groundwork for the Research Centre.
The existing modern buildings in Sa Tanca de Can Domènech and the land in the northern part of the estate where the natural rock emerges could be used to create an Underwater Archaeological Research Centre and a Pol·lèntia Museum at a cost of around 3 million euros.
The current Health and Economic emergency has forced the Ministry of Tourism to drop some of the projects that were to be funded with Tourist Tax money this year. It was confirmed weeks ago that the purchase of Castell de Alaró had fallen by the wayside and now the purchase of sa Tanca de Can Domènech has also been cancelled.
"It's a great pity, but they tell us that at the moment there is no funding," said Alcudia Mayoress, Bàrbara Terrassa, “but I will not give up and we will continue to fight because the Administration has to make a serious commitment so that Pol·lèntia gets what it deserves."
Council sources insisted “the project is not completely lost, it will be raised again in the future and alternative funding is being sought.”
2 comments
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It’s great that the local city council care so much about this project. This is important stuff. Perhaps they could add to their list some of the crumbling houses and half finished ‘eye-sore’ buildings in Alcúdia old town. Tourists come to wander down the picturesque streets and some of the building is shocking - concrete block walls spring to mind. Come on Alcúdia get your planning act together!
As important as it is, this is tourist tax money and buying land with it is not helping improve the infrastructure or facilities to enhance the island for all. Archeological funding can surely be sourced elsewhere and perhaps from the private sector too. These are straightened times and present survival is the priority, not past preservation.