A wall of an ancient military citadel unearthed in Košice. (source: TASR)
AT THE beginning of February remains of stone walls were found underneath Liberators’ Square (Námestie osloboditeľov) in Košice during trenching work for a future Aupark business and relaxation centre. Aupark’s investor said the archaeological finding does not threaten construction of the centre in any way and preliminary assessment is that the findings could be fragments of the foundation of a military citadel.
Roman Karabelli, spokesman for the developer HB Reavis Slovakia, said the archaeological finding was to be expected in this locality and the site is being further researched under the auspices of the Regional Conservation Office. “We are glad that during the construction works we managed to find the anticipated foundation of a military fortification. Alarming news reports about the investor using this information to withdraw its investment are a mere conspiracy theory,” said Karabelli.
The spokesman said it is inappropriate to compare this situation with that of another investor who gave up a construction project in Trenčín after historical artefacts were found during construction, citing the archaeological finding as the main reason. “We declare our support for the archaeological team and the Conservation Office but we will stick to our public commitment to build Aupark and a four lane road for Košice residents on time and to treat the archaeological findings exactly according to instructions from conservationists,” said Karabelli.
