From September 7th to 29th, the fourth period of the archaeological research of the Ephorate of Old Antiquities was completed in the Fourni Archipelago, which was carried out with the partnership of the RPM Nautical Foundation.
This research is aimed at identifying, recording, documenting and studying ancient, medieval and newer wrecks in the island complex of Fourni.
During the research period of 2018, traces of five shipwrecks were identified and documented, dating back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods and the later times. The total number of localized and documented shipwrecks along with the already investigated shipwrecks recorded in the three-year period 2015-2017 is thus 58.
Apart from wreckage, individual finds, mainly pottery discharges and anchors, were unmistakable witnesses to the intensity and extent of shipping and freight traffic at this crucial crossroads of the Eastern Aegean.
The 2018 survey completed the first cycle (2015-2018) of the archaeological mapping of the Fourni archipelago. Over the next few months, a new program will be submitted with the research objectives for the five-year period 2019-2023.
The general direction of the investigation was the archaeologist of the Hellenic Antiquities Directorate, Dr. Koutsouflakis George, while the head of the R.P.M. Nautical Foundation was the archaeologist Dr. Peter Campbell.
The research was supported financially by the Fourni Korseon Municipality, the Corseai Institute of Historical and Archaeological Research and business entities from Greece and abroad.
Reproduced by the Ministry of Culture and Sport – www.culture.gr
Photos: ANA / Culture Ministry / V. Mentogiannis
