Two more walls collapse in Roman ruins of Pompeii

[News_Editor]

Two more walls collapse in Roman ruins of Pompeii

2010-12-02 07:22:51 GMT+7 (ICT)

ROME, ITALY (BNO NEWS) -- Two more walls on Wednesday collapsed in the Roman ruins of Pompeii, the second incident this week as condemns on the Italian government's defense of its heritage continue.

Officials said that the two walls had no artistic value and that the collapses were apparently caused by the heavy rains that have struck the region. The two walls fell along one of the ancient city's main streets, the Via Stabiana.

On Tuesday, a garden wall surrounding the House of the Moralist collapsed. The 12-meter section of the wall crumbled on several points but the residence was not affected by the debris and archeologists said it is not in risk. The first incident occurred as the famous House of the Gladiators collapsed in early November.

The recent collapses has caused embarrassment to the Italian government, led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, after several accusations of neglecting Italy’s archeological sites as well as mismanagement of funds.

"There is a continuous emergency because Pompeii is fragile. We have to realize that it is an ancient town with some problems. We do need to intervene and that is what we are trying to do," said Jeannette Papadopoulos, Pompeii’s archaeological superintendent.

Italian Culture Minister Sandro Bondi has rejected the calls for his resignation but admitted the need of taking urgent measures to preserve the historic site and avoid more incidents.

Bondi also remarked that other collapses were registered earlier this decade and did not occur when Berlusconi center-right party was in power.

The ancient city of Pompeii was destroyed in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted suddenly and buried the city in ash. Pompeii was not uncovered until the 18th Century and is on the UN's list of protected World Heritage sites.

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