Agios petros fundraising campaign
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a video introduction to THE PROJECT
Video made by Lucas Efstratiou
agios petros & the Aegean prehistory
The importance of Agios Petros for the Aegean Maritime Archaeology – the Prehistoric context
The NEW project [2021-2025]
Forty years after our initial work at the submerged section of the Neolithic settlement of Agios Petros research at the site was resumed in 2021
The sea around the island of Kyra Panagia holds two precious features that need protecting, managing, and research. These are the wildlife reserve that includes the rare Mediterranean Monk Seal, and the underwater Neolithic village at Aghios Petros, discovered in 1981. The ruins at Ag Petros show that one of the earliest known prehistoric sites on the Aegean islands was occupied by people who sailed and traded with Anatolia and the mainland of Greece 8000 years ago when the global sea level was 20 – 30 m lower than at present, due to the amount of water locked up in the continental Ice Age. The archaeological project in 1981, in which I was a participant, revealed rich deposits of artefacts showing occupation extending under the sea over an area at least 50m by 35m, to a depth of 9m, but we have not identified the outer limits. New work is needed with modern techniques and diving gear to find the full extent of the submerged settlement, to excavate sequential stratigraphic layers identifying the culture at different dates, and to study how the settlement became submerged in the sea. The project will not disturb fish, other marine life, or the Monk Seals. This is an extremely important project of global significance in underwater archaeology.
