“We recommend the conservation in situ, the restoration of the preserved portions of the street cobblestones, the reconstruction of the lost portions of the pavement with stones of the same type from other sectors of the 31 August 1989 street or the historic core of the city, and the appropriate enhancement of the historic granite stone cobblestones on the 31 August 1989 street, the segment between Alexandr Pușkin street and Mitropolit Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni street, possibly by ensuring road and pedestrian traffic”, says a statement issued by the National Archaeological Agency.
Following the work, the experts concluded that the 31 August 1989 street sector has a preserved portion of the historic granite cobblestone, on the north-eastern part of the road, with a width varying between 2.45 m and 3.75 m.
According to archaeologists, the pavement is not horizontal, but more convex in the central and south-western part, with a height difference of up to 10 cm, probably for water drainage. Along its entire length, the cobblestone presents unevenness and, in some areas, alveoli. The granite stones are placed on a layer of yellow sand, about 10 cm thick. The road had no proper foundation, the substructure of the pavement consisting of a layer of yellow sand and a layer of rubble, with a thickness of about 20 cm, which most likely comes from the demolition of some old constructions nearby.
Specialists say that this street in Chisinau was paved with granite stone since 1869-1870, being one of the first streets in the city to benefit from this treatment.
Read also: The fate of the cobblestones on 31 August 1989 street: Between a possible restoration and transformation into a pedestrian area or simple research (PHOTO)
During the Town Hall meeting on April 10, Mayor Ion Ceban proposed that if it is decided that 31 August 1989 Street, the section between Gavriil Bănulescu Bodoni and Aleksandr Pușkin Streets, will become pedestrianized, then the street behind the Government should become accessible for transport.
Previously, the Minister of Culture, the Minister of Culture, Sergiu Prodan stated that when making a decision on this subject, the Ministry will base it on studies that are done by experts.
“Let’s not forget that we are in the center of Chisinau, and in addition to the artistic and heritage value of this detail, we also have the tourist component, the development of the capital as a tourist destination. (…) There are also technical problems, the level of the pavement is below the level of the sidewalk, but if we dispute with the specialists that this pavement represents a heritage value and we will find the solution how to highlight it, of course we will insist that this area become pedestrianized “.
