The Hindu : Other States / Pondicherry News : Rome mulling funding for Arikamedu project

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Monday, Oct 18, 2004

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Rome mulling funding for Arikamedu project

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, OCT. 17. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is studying the Arikamedu project in Pondicherry for funding approval, Italian Ambassador to India Antonio Armellini has said.

Inaugurating a conference on `Arikamedu Archaeological heritage: its cultural and technological features' organised jointly by Pondicherry Administration and Embassy of Italy, New Delhi here today he said the Italian Government had always given high priority to conservation of cultural heritage, be it in Italy or elsewhere. Several Italian experts had helped out with projects for conservation of monuments and archaeological sites in India. The Ambassador said that there were also several initiatives and projects being undertaken now which included transfer of innovative technologies.

The Arikamedu project had been identified by the Administration and Italian Embassy to promote the potential of Pondicherry in tourism and culture. It would seek the collaboration of the Italian Institute for African and Oriental Studies for archaeological excavation and restoration works.

Arikamedu is one of the best-known archaeological sites on the southeastern coast of India and provided important evidence of commercial relations with the Romans in the past.

A great deal of information had now come to light about importance of the economic and commercial exchanges between India and the Roman world from first to sixth centuries A.D.

The Ambassador said that the conference would offer an opportunity for the participants to launch study projects to open a window into the past on the links that existed between India and Italy in antiquity.

Education and Tourism Minister K. Lakshminarayanan said the Italian government was extending full cooperation in providing technical and scientific support in excavation programmes at Arikamedu village, in Ariankuppam panchayat limits on the Pondicherry-Cuddalore route.

He said that Arikamedu was a vibrant trading centre with commercial and trade links with Rome several hundreds of years ago.

He said that it would be developed into a tourist spot. The Administration was also keen to include the site in the World Heritage Map maintained by the UNESCO.

ASI control

It was pointed out that the ASI was maintaining the site since 1982 and after excavations it had been decided that all excavated sites should be open to study by scholars. In the next phase, further excavations would be done to find out if there were any other structures worth conserving.

The 34.57-acre site had already been acquired by the ASI and a master plan would be formulated Later talking to newsmen the Ambassador said that the Scientific Attache of the Embassy would hold talks with the Pondicherry University to promote cultural relations between Pondicherry and Italy.

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