[frog in a pot]

From the article:
"However, the site was submerged shortly after the dig, Puljiz said, adding: "It is unclear when it will emerge again."

This is indeed an ASTONISHING site.

No doubt, but it appears local authorities may not have appreciated its value. I hope an appropriate calculation was made as to the immediate needs of the locale and the loss of access.

[fini]

" it appears local authorities may not have appreciated its value."

I am not certain that I agree with you. Almost nothing in America is over 300 years old. However, the opposite is true in the Middle East. When I was in Israel (many moons ago) I was discussing archaeology with an Israeli. The Israeli was an amateur archaeologist. He told me that in Israel the remains of civilizations were stacked on top of each other, so a big issue is what do you save, e.g. do you remove the remains of one society to get to an earlier civilization. Since the area has been inhabited for many thousands of years, it is really hard to get excited about anything.

For a people that consider electricity to be a luxury, flooding an old site is just a part of daily living.