The bare shell of the Agora in Chania is by now such a familiar sight that it is not surprising that locals have become pessimistic about the prospects of it ever being finished, and see it joining the collection of half-ruined buildings which litter the city. Of the work which is visible, the whole of the roof structure has been removed and taken away for reconstruction, all the interior partitions and fittings have been stripped out leaving the bare walls, and substantial excavations have taken place on the floor area between the walls, now filled in leaving piles of earth. Additionally, the shell has been stabilised with the insertion of iron girders along the top of the apertures in the exterior walls, presumably to bring the building up to modern standards of earthquake resistance.