Greece

The Saronic Gulf

The selected Greek pilot sites are located in the Saronic Gulf, an area very interesting for the geological and archaeological point of view,  an ideal natural laboratory to perform the TECTONIC Project objectives. At least seven submerged very important harbors and port installations of Classical and Roman antiquity have been found along Saronic’s coast (Kenchreai, Epidaurus, Salamis, Zea, Mounichia, Sounion and Aegina).

Aegina harbor

The ancient Aegina harbor installations are one of the largest artificial harbors of Classical Antiquity, with a total length of 1600 m and an average width of 270 m, occupying an area of 500,000 m2.
Installations include the north harbor, the “closed harbor” in the north part of the south coast, the commercial harbor to the south and a wide anchorage area between them. The submerged harbor installations are located about 3m below the present sea level and constitute an ideal environment for applying state-of-the-art methods and techniques for mapping and 3D reconstructing archaeological sites.
The University of Patras (Laboratory of Marine Geology and Physical Oceanography) already has the license, by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, to conduct investigations and training in the ancient harbor of Aegina.

Epidaurus

The Ancient Epidaurus is one of the most important archaeological sites of the country. It is famous for the Ancient Theatre with the amazing acoustics. However, this is also known for the recent excavation and restoration activities conducted by MIBACT-ICR and the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities  in the  submerged “Villa of the dolia” off the coast of the ancient city.

The archaeological surveys  carried out by the greek-italian team  along the coast of the Agios Vlassis Bay in the “Nissi” Peninsula, which hosts the acropolis of Ancient Epidaurus, discovered the remains of a monumental building belonging to the Classical or Hellenistic age, with clear signs of Roman age reuse, were studied. The underwater archaeological remains of Ancient Epidaurus also includes the ancient harbor.