A judicial investigation was launched into encroachments on the archaeological site of Nahr al-Kalb, holding the offenders accountable before the judiciary.
The case addresses violations and encroachments on the Roman bridges in the archaeological site of Nahr al-Kalb, by the owners and investors of the “Palms the Legend” restaurant, who manipulated legal loopholes to obtain investment permits without meeting the minimum legal requirements and necessary approvals.
The archaeological site of Nahr al-Kalb River has been listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 2005 and is currently on the tentative list of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites since 2019. This site encompasses 22 archaeological works dating from the 13th century BC to the 2nd millennium AD, including a bridge listed in the general inventory of archaeological buildings (Decision No. 166, March 5, 1937), as well as Roman bridges along the course of Nahr al-Kalb on its northern bank.
Recently, inspectors from the General Directorate of Antiquities, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, were flabbergasted, as were Lebanese citizens, by massive constructions encroaching upon the riverbed and the bridge, desecrating all the existing Roman bridges.
Although the trespasser claims to have obtained an investment license from the Ministry of Energy, they fail to recognize that encroaching on the bridge and the Roman archaeological vestiges and monuments constitutes a crime punishable by Lebanese Penal Law and relevant procedural laws.
The report added that they “hereby report and request the opening of a judicial investigation into the aforementioned violations and encroachments, summoning all the perpetrators, whether actors, partners, instigators, or investors, interrogating and arresting them, charging them, and referring them to the competent court, sealing the illegal constructions, halting site works, and forcing them to remove the encroachments, while preserving the rights of the ministry and the Lebanese state to demand compensation for all damages incurred.”
