The search for shipwrecks in the Greek waters is still ongoing

Greece is really stepping up when it comes to underwater archaeological explorations (see also: Many ancient shipwrecks found in the Greek waters).

[Picture from Europaisches-Segel-Informationssystem]

This season, they concentrated on the depth around the four tiny islands of Levitha, Mavria, Glaros and Chinaros in the Dodecanese where traffic in antiquity was pretty intense. As a result, they discovered five major shipwrecks that were loaded with amphorae. They also recovered a sizable granite anchor pole of 400 kg at a depth of 45 meters. It is the largest such find in the Aegean to date and seems to belong to the 6^th century BC.

By far the most impressive results of 2019, was a wreck that held a mixed assortment of amphorae from Cnidos, Kos, and Rhodes, as well as Phoenicia and even Carthage, all dating back to the middle of the 3^rd century BC.

The shipwreck from Cnidos yielded another collection of amphorae from the 3^rd century BC. Two more wrecks contained amphorae originating from the North Aegean dating from the 1^st century BC. Another three wrecks held Cone and pseudo-Cone amphorae belonging to the 2^nd and 1^st centuries BC. A last shipwreck dates to the early Christian period.