It is not only a thing of the past

There are many ways to explain how we have grown in the Balearic Islands. Mercè Pinya's report on archaeological heritage besieged, swallowed, or boxed in by construction shows one of the most explicit: we have come to disregard what we simultaneously declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. That is to say, heritage that, by definition, has a mandate for protection, including its surroundings.

The most worrying thing, however, is that this is not just a past malpractice. It continues. And, sometimes, it does so with the endorsement or promotion of the very institutions that should ensure it does not happen. Thus, in Menorca, the Council has decided to move forward with the construction of a viaduct next to the Talayotic settlement of Rafal Rubí, despite the warnings from UNESCO and the risk of questioning the declaration of Talayotic Menorca as World Heritage. In Mallorca, the Consell wants to erect a large building on the Pol·lèntia site to concentrate archaeological finds from the entire island there. A warehouse that could have been located in any industrial estate will end up within the site in a space that is part of its understanding. Heritage is not just the stones we manage to save from a construction project. It is also the territory that explains them.

The problem is that today we not only do not rectify disasters like the one in Son Oms, the post-Talayotic sanctuary that has been for decades within a verge of the Palma airport highway. We continue to do outrageous things. And this malpractice is not always the result of ignorance, but of decisions endorsed by technicians who apply criteria from a questionable ethic. Heritage, thus, continues to be subordinate to other interests, even when those who should protect it are the ones who make the decision to sacrifice it.