2,500-year-old ancient Greek shipwrecks may hold key to lost port
Scientists have discovered multiple shipwrecks dating from several different historical periods in an unprecedented archeological breakthrough.
Specialized marine archeologists uncovered five shipwrecks off the Greek island of Kasos, the southernmost island in the Aegean Sea, dating from several different historical periods. On top of the shipwrecks, scientists found evidence that points towards an ancient port facility, according to the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports, express.co.uk reported.
Among the vessels discovered, the most notable is thought to originate from the late classical period, featuring five stone, pyramid shaped anchors.
The archeologists came across several types of amphorae, a kind of pottery jug characteristic of the Greek and Roman period, in addition to other fine ceramics.
On examining these objects, researchers were able to deduce that they came from somewhere between the end of the 4th or beginning of the 3rd century BCE.
Samples taken from the remaining four shipwrecks revealed to the archeologists one hailing from the 1st century BCE, with another coming from the Byzantine period, the latter thought to have been in use somewhere between the 8th and 10th century BCE, this ship also containing amphore.
The two remaining wrecks are much younger, only going back a few hundred years, but still offering a well of historical knowledge and potential hitherto unexplored.
They were dated to the period following the Greek War of Independence that lasted from 1821 to 1829, fought to put an end to
Ottoman Empire rule.
The researchers say that the later of these two vessels was found to contain building materials, suggesting it may have been a merchant ship.
It took researchers 67 dives before they could fully identify the shipwrecks, conducted by the Kasos Maritime Archeological Project; A joint venture of the Greek Institute of Historical Research at the National Hellenic Research Foundation and the Ministry of Culture’s Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities.
Divers spent more than 100 hours surveying and scouring the seabed during the research to ensure all wrecks and artefacts were thoroughly analyzed.
The ministry says it is the first time that underwater archeological research has taken place in the waters around Kasos.
The research program will continue until 2021 in the hope that more antiquities will be identified.
Xanthie Argyri, director of the research, told Newsweek: “Kasos is a relatively small and isolated island of the Dodecanese, part of the connecting routes between Egypt and Constantinople which has never been the focus of underwater archeological research before.
“The available historical and archeological evidence is scarce, although they clearly suggest Kasos’ role within a network of maritime routes through time but also the importance of its maritime activity from antiquity until the 20th century.”
Divers also discovered items separate to the shipwrecks, including iron canons and anchors from the Byzantine period.
According to Argyri, the potential harbor divers discovered is located at the small island of
Armathia.
He said: “We have located underwater two rubble mound constructions that were probably used to lengthen some natural features of the seabed.
“We believe that these mounds formed the two opposite breakwaters of a harbor.
“Within the ‘basin’ of the harbor we recovered material that indicates that its use ranges from the Hellenistic to the Ottoman period.
“However, further work is needed — both archeological and geological — in order to fully evaluate the area and reach some firm conclusions.”
The Aegean Sea is a hotbed for historical shipwrecks, with researchers last year announcing they had discovered at least 58 shipwrecks across a small area.
The area may well be the largest concentration of sunken ancient vessels in the region, with it being the first time such a large amount of wrecks were found in close proximity of each other.
The finds, like the most recent, spanned a huge period from ancient Greece right through to the 20th century.
Most are dated to the Greek, Roman and Byzantine eras.