On November 1, 2025, in the historic Italian city of Paestum, Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni stood to accept a prestigious international honor: the “Palmyra Archaeologist” award. It was given for the “best archaeological discovery of 2024″—the monumental, 4,000-year-old Minoan “Labyrinth” unearthed on Papoura Hill in Crete. Greek media outlets celebrated the news with patriotic fervor, dutifully transcribing the Minister’s triumphant quotes about the “exceptional excavation” and the “international fame” of the event.
But this blaze of celebratory, state-sanctioned publicity concealed a dark and deafening silence. Missing from every single mainstream report was the story’s true context: a months-long, bitter controversy and a catastrophic decision, approved by the very Ministry taking the bow, to build a high-power radar station mere meters from the monument’s edge. This is the story of the Papoura paradox: a treasure of global significance that has been honored abroad and betrayed at home.
The Discovery: A “Labyrinth” for the 21st Century
The story began in June 2024, not with a planned archaeological dig, but as an accidental byproduct of a massive infrastructure project: the new Heraklion International Airport at Kasteli. During groundwork on the summit of Papoura Hill—a site already chosen for its strategic height to host the airport’s primary surveillance radar—workers struck stone.
A large structure, 48 meters in diameter and covering 1,800 square meters, was uncovered in Crete. Dated to the Minoan period (2000-1700 BCE), the building consists of eight concentric stone rings connected by a complex network of small rooms and passages. Archaeologists from the Heraklion Ephorate of Antiquities, who led the excavation, identified it as “unique” and of “exceptional importance,” stating it is a find with no parallel in Minoan archaeology. Its scale and probable ceremonial or religious function suggest it could change the understanding of early Minoan society.
At the time, the Ministry of Culture’s reaction was appropriate. Minister Mendoni visited the site, declared it a “unique find of great interest,” and assured the public that the “priority is the protection of the monument.” A new location for the radar, she promised, would be found.
The Betrayal: From “Priority Protection” to “Monumental Sandwich”
That promise evaporated over the following year. As the 2025 summer season began, the Ministry’s narrative abruptly shifted. The monument was no longer a sacred site to be protected at all costs, but an obstacle to be “managed.” A new, cynical plan was pushed forward: “coexistence.”
On July 9, 2025, the issue was brought before Greece’s Central Archaeological Council (KAS). In a move of Orwellian doublespeak, the agenda item was titled as if it were about the “protection and promotion” of the antiquities. In reality, it was a proposal to approve the installation of the radar pylon just 30 meters from the monument’s fragile, 4,000-year-old walls.
This new plan, described by critics as a “monumental sandwich,” would effectively enclose the Labyrinth. It would destroy the site’s context, prevent further excavation, and make it an inaccessible and compromised artifact, located next to the concrete and electromagnetic radiation of a modern industrial installation. Despite protests by the Association of Greek Archaeologists in Athens and Heraklion, and a petition signed by thousands, KAS—a body operating under the Ministry of Culture—approved the plan.
A Chorus of Dissent: From Cretan Councils to the EU Parliament
While the Ministry and its council rubber-stamped the “coexistence” plan, local and international bodies voiced their outrage. The Heraklion Municipal Council, the Minoa Pediada Municipal Council, and the Regional Council of Crete all passed resolutions demanding the radar’s immediate relocation and the monument’s absolute protection. A broad front of citizens’ committees, heritage bodies, and academic institutions condemned the decision as a “commodification of heritage.”
The scandal even reached the European Parliament. On October 15, 2025, a formal question was submitted to the European Commission, decrying the plan as a “cultural and archaeological crime” that threatened “the integrity of the monument and its accessibility.” The contrast was stark: while local society and international bodies fought for the site’s preservation, the Greek Ministry of Culture was actively working to compromise it.
The Palmyra Award: A Crown of Tragic Irony
Which brings us back to Paestum. The award Greece received is not just any prize. For its first ten editions, it was named after Khaled al-Asaad, the heroic 83-year-old archaeologist and Director of Antiquities for Palmyra, Syria. In 2015, al-Asaad was tortured and publicly executed by ISIS for refusing to reveal the location of hidden artifacts. He died a martyr, literally giving his life to protect cultural heritage from deliberate destruction.
The award, now renamed “Palmyra,” embodies this legacy. It is the only global prize dedicated to honoring archaeological discovery and the profound, often sacrificial, duty to protect heritage-at-risk.
The irony is grotesque. Minister Mendoni accepted an award named for a man who died protecting heritage, while her ministry was simultaneously enacting the “destruction” of its own celebrated find. The international community, likely unaware of the full controversy, honored Greece for discovering a monument that the Greek government itself had already sentenced to a state of permanent compromise. The award, which should have been the most powerful argument for the monument’s protection, was instead cynically co-opted as a public relations victory.
The Media’s Complicit Silence
This national embarrassment was only possible because of the profound failure of the nation’s press. The reporting on November 1st from Athens Voice, Skai, Ta Nea, Liberal.gr, and others was identical in its omissions. They dutifully reported the “good news”: the prize, the national pride, the Minister’s quotes.
Not one of them mentioned the word “radar.” Not one of them provided the crucial context of the KAS decision, the local protests, or the international concern. This is not journalism; it is stenography. By universally omitting the most critical half of the story, the media corps abandoned its duty as a public watchdog and acted instead as a compliant public relations arm for the Ministry. They allowed a story of hypocrisy and betrayal to be laundered into a simple tale of national triumph.
An Obligation, Not a Political Debate
The Papoura Labyrinth has been given two irreconcilable identities. For the international community, it is the “best discovery of 2024,” a treasure of world heritage. For the Greek government, it is an inconvenient obstacle, a problem to be “sandwiched” and paved over in the name of an infrastructure timeline.
The “Palmyra” award, rooted in the martyrdom of Khaled al-Asaad, is a solemn reminder that cultural heritage is not a political tool to be exploited for good press. It is a fragile, irreplaceable inheritance. Its protection is not open for political debate, development negotiations, or “coexistence” compromises. It is an absolute and non-negotiable obligation.