Monuments and archaeological sites on the island of Kos have been damaged by the earthquake that shook the island on Friday. The Culture Ministry sent a team of experts from the archaeological service to inspect antiquities and sites, and their report concluded that damage was caused to sites around the town, the castle and the Ottoman mosques.

The monuments will be eventually restored, but first preliminary protection measures need to be taken and studies to be carried out. To this end the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments Restoration directorate will send a Central Service team to Kos to assess the situation. Members of the team were the ministry general secretary Maria Andreadaki-Vlazaki, the supervisor, engineers and conservators from the Dodecanese Antiquities Ephorate, as well as the head of the Newer Monuments Service for the Dodecanese. They inspected the medieval Castle Nerantzia, the Casa Romana, the Hanji Hasan Mosque, the Nefterdar Mosque, the medieval fortifications, the archaeological museum and warehouses and the other monuments and sites in the town of Kos.

Exhibits at the island’s archaeological museum have also been damaged, especially pottery. The museum will be closed until the damage is restored. The Casa Romana monument which was closed due to the earthquake suffered from reversible damage and is now open to the public. The Kos Askleipion site will remain open.

For the restoration of the more contemporary monuments, the ministry will collaborate with the Kos municipality.