The damage to one of the towers of Cembalo, the Genoese fortress in the Crimean city of Balaklava, was caused by heavy rains that lasted throughout the night, said Dr. Nikolai Alekseenko of the Sorbonne, the head of the Cembalo Branch of the National Chersonesos Taurica Preserve, as reported by Korespondent . Alekseenko, who is a member of a commission of inquiry into the causes of the damage to part of the fortress’s tower, said that on the night of July 17, one-third of the upper section of the tower collapsed. Cembalo Fortress is the main symbol of Balaklava.
“The cracks that are appearing on the walls of this monument are becoming deeper, and in the final analysis they are destroying this structure. Unless it is restored in a timely fashion, we may lose this historical monument,” Dr. Alekseenko said. At the same time, he has not ruled out the possible negative effects of the blasts taking place in the Balaklava quarry, the proximity of heavy freight trains, and the minor earthquakes that have been recorded in the past couple of years.
However, he resolutely denied the possibility of any negative effects resulting from the construction work being done by Aqualine Plus on the shores of Balaklava Bay. In the past year this company has been restoring the former summer home of the actress Sokolova, where in 1907 Ukraine’s preeminent poetess Lesia Ukrainka rented the upper wing. Aqualine Plus also intends to restore three other valuable architectural structures that are officially listed as heritage sites.
“We are constantly tracking the activity of this company; we are conducting archaeological monitoring. No demolition work involving explosive charges has been carried out here. Although it’s true that there is some vibration when special cliff-drilling equipment is used, it couldn’t possibly have reached the fortress tower, which is quite far away. In fact, the near towers and the wall that are standing on the cliff next to Aqualine Plus should have suffered, but they didn’t,” said Dr. Alekseenko.
The scholar went on to explain that a restoration plan has already been drafted, and the Ukrainian government has allocated nearly one million hryvnias, so the monument will be saved. Aqualine Plus wants to take part in the restoration project. Its executive director Serhii Nebutov says his company, in collaboration with the National Chersonesos Taurica Preserve, plans to survey and restore some 300 meters of Cembalo’s damaged wall. State-of-the-art technology will be used, and Aqualine will foot 90 percent of the bill.
Cembalo Fortress is part of the National Chersonesos Taurica Preserve. In the past few years its personnel have been shoring up the surviving fortifications of one of the Crimea’s major heritage sites, dating to the 14th-15th centuries.
