The construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline in Albania has been stopped after an ancient settlement has been discovered at the designated route.
The pipeline is being built to carry gas from the Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea, off Azerbaijan, to Europe. It will connect with with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy.
The namesake company building the pipeline said on Wednesday that during the cleanup work of the crossing corridor along the route of the pipeline, the ruins of an ancient settlement were discovered. According to the company, the discovery has been made near the village of Turan, in Korca, Albania, and dates somewhere between the early Iron Age and the late Roman Period.
The company stopped all the activities immediately upon the discovery of the settlement and informed the national archaeological authorities which are now evaluating and „rescuing“ the artefacts found.
TAP said the area has been closed off. The construction of the pipeline is expected to resume in a month when the relevant institutions have completed their evaluation and report.
Offshore Energy Today Staff