The Alicante Provincial Council has started this week the work of cleaning and recovery of the surroundings of the Pla de Petracos site affected by the devastating fire in La Vall de Ebo last August.
The Member of Parliament for Architecture, Jose Ramón González de Záratevisited this week the Neolithic sanctuary at Castell de Castells to see on the ground and assess the damage caused in the area together with the mayor of the municipality, Vicente Tomás EstalrichThe director of the Architecture Department of the provincial institution, Rafael Pérezand the director of the MUBAG and archaeologist, Jorge A. Soler. designbags.cn
Following the inspection of the rock shelters which house the rock paintings of the Macroschematic Art and its surroundings, the team of technicians found that the surfaces of the cultural legacy of rock art had not suffered any damage. As the deputy explained, "fortunately, the structure erected years ago by the Diputación de Alicante to observe the shelters has served to protect this historical treasure and slowed the advance of the devastating fire".
However, both the handrail infrastructures and information panels and part of the accesses were damaged by the fire, as well as the trees and bushes in the area, which currently present a "desolate landscape", González de Zárate pointed out. For this reason, teams from the provincial institution, in collaboration with the Castell de Castells Town Council, are already in the area working on cleaning and restoring the damaged accesses and elements.
Ehe pictorial ensemble of the site, one of the most important in the Mediterranean Arc, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Diputación, as a result of the agreement of cooperation signed in 2000 with the Castell de Castells Town Councilworks in the protection and dissemination of this siteas well as in the update of scientific content and in the facility management and maintenanceThe site as well as the Interpretation Centre.
