Pasko Kuzman (; born 1947) is a

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

who was the director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Office.

Work

Pasko Kuzman was born in the village of Vapila in the Ohrid region,

SR Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia (), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia, Yugoslav Macedonia or simply Macedonia, was one of the six constituent republics of the post-World War II Socialist Federal Republic of Y ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

(now

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

), on October 15, 1947. He graduated in archaeology in Belgrade. As an archaeologist specialising in

prehistoric archaeology Prehistoric archaeology is a subfield of archaeology, which deals specifically with artefacts, civilisations and other materials from societies that existed before any form of writing system or historical record. Often the field focuses on ages ...

and protohistoric archaeology, he started working at the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and the National Museum of Ohrid from 1979 and was also its director from 1999 to 2004. From 1980 to 1990, he was the president of the Macedonian Archaeological Scientific Society. Kuzman also authored two poetry books called ''Romans'' (; 1987) and ''Balsamara'' (; 1990). Kuzman had excavated various places, such as 3,000-year-old submerged sites of Lychnidos, and some remains in the area of the Samuil's Fortress, which were built probably at the time of Philip II. He became the director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Office in 2006. During his tenure, he was one of the main proponents of the myth of historical continuity between

ancient Macedonians The Macedonians (, ) were an ancient tribe that lived on the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Vardar, Axios in the northeastern part of Geography of Greece#Mainland, mainland Greece. Essentially an Ancient Greece, ancient ...

and modern Macedonians ( antiquisation). He supported the construction of a church-museum on the site of the

Skopje Fortress The Skopje Fortress (; ; ), commonly referred to as Kale (from '' kale'', the Turkish word for 'fortress'), is a historic fortress located in the old town of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. It is located in Centar municipality "the medie ...

in 2011, which caused a dispute between Albanians and Macedonians. After Macedonian and Albanian protesters injured each other in a protest in February, a spokesperson of the

Social Democratic Union of Macedonia The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia ( – СДСМ, ''Socijaldemokratski sojuz na Makedonija'' – SDSM, – LSDM) is a social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in North Macedonia, political party, and the main Centre-l ...

demanded his resignation. As a solution to the dispute, he suggested the reconstruction of an Ottoman-era tower. The construction of the church-museum ceased in the same year. In 2013 he was arrested and charged with illegally issuing digging permits, and placed under house arrest for 30 days. His term as director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Office ended in the same year. A year later he was found guilty of aiding a criminal ring in excavating and selling off valuable archaeological artefacts, and was sentenced to three years in prison. In 2018, he was charged with misuse of his position as director by the financial police on the basis that he caused harm to the budget through a deal he made with a contractor of a construction company.

Personal life and views

Kuzman is married and has four daughters, as well as a grandchild. Kuzman is a self-proclaimed time traveller. He wears three watches on his left wrist, which he said help him travel through time: one takes him back to the Bronze and Neolithic Age, one takes him to the future, and the third is the "archaeological watch," which alerts him to the presence of artefacts. Kuzman believes that the archaeological mystery of the

tomb of Alexander the Great The tomb of Alexander the Great is attested in several historical accounts, but its current exact location remains an enduring mystery. Following Death of Alexander the Great, Alexander's death in Babylon, his body was initially buried in Memphis ...

is hidden in southeastern parts of Macedonia, and pledged in an interview in late 2012 that he will never stop searching for the tomb.

References

Macedonian archaeologists Living people 1947 births People from Ohrid Municipality Macedonian poets {{archaeologist-stub