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YANI YANEV: “SPECIAL LEGISLATION IS NEEDED FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS”

09 September 2022



"Special legislation is needed for the management of archaeological monuments in the country", commented Yani Yanev, vice president of Varna Free University. He was the moderator of the round table "Archaeological Reserves: Current Status and Management Models. The management of Antiquities - an Unsolved National Problem", which was held at the university. The round table was organised within the framework of the 12th international conference of the Bulgarian Scientific and Technical Union of Civil Engineering in Bulgaria. The event was carried out under the banner of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Varna Chalcolithic necropolis and 40 years of the discovery of the Thracian tomb in Sveshtari.

Special guests at the event and participants in the discussion were Mariela Modeva - Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arch. Petar Petrov, director of the National Institute for Immovable Cultural Heritage, Prof. Diana Gergova - who studies the Thracians and is a specialist in Thracian archaeology, Prof. Yachko Ivanov - vice-chairperson of the Bulgarian Scientific and Technical Union of Civil Engineering, Prof. Ivan Kabakov - leading lecturer on cultural policies, cultural heritage and diversity, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Lachezar Hrischev, Chairperson of the Board of the Bulgarian Scientific and Technical Union of Civil Engineering and head of the Department Technology and Mechanization of Civil Engineering at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy and Martin Zaimov - financier and national coordinator of the 100 National Tourist Sites movement.

"Bulgaria fails to present its extremely rich cultural and historical heritage to the world in the best possible way," said Yani Yanev. According to him, this also applies to the way the sites are run and used, especially the national architectural reserves, which should be reconsidered, because at the moment they are in deficiency and have no chance to self support, they are not provided with means for preservation and presentation.

According to Yanev the management model of the cultural and historical heritage must be changed. Also special legislation should be developed and adopted to allow the various sites to be more independent, because it is clear that the state and the municipalities do not have the necessary financial means. Since there are special legal regimes for joint-stock and water companies, there can be also such laws for specific sites, such as cultural and historical landmarks. He added that such a step would give a chance for them to be properly managed and developed, and this would apply not only to the large archaeological monuments.