Remains of an ancient settlement found on the bottom of the Aegean sea
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Researchers have uncovered an 'underwater Pomepii' in the sea off the Greek coast.
Remains of an ancient settlement, complete with a ruined pottery workshop, were discovered on the bottom of the Aegean sea off the small island of Delos.
Archaeologists found 16 terracotta pots and remains of a kiln embedded in the sea floor.
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Archaeologists found 16 terracotta pots and remains of a kiln embedded in the sea floor. The area was previously thought to be part of a port.
Dubbed by the Greek media 'a small underwater Pompeii,' the structures lay at a depth of just 6 feet on the northeastern coast of Delos, according to Discovery News.
'In the past these ruins were identified as port facilities,' the culture ministry said.
The new investigation by the National Hellenic Research Foundation and the Ephorate of Undersea Archaeology, found that rather than a dock, a pottery workshop and other buildings once stood at the site.
Archaeologists found 16 terracotta pots and remains of a kiln embedded in the sea floor.
'Similar workshops have been found in Pompeii and Herculaneum,' the ministry said.
Large stones were found lined in front of the workshop remains.
According to the archaeologists, they were probably part of the settlement's waterfront.
Structural elements such fallen colonnades and walls were found along the coastline
Large boulders were identified as part of the original breakwater, at one time used for stopping the power of the sea from battering the workshop and settlement.
Structural elements such fallen colonnades and walls were found along the coastline, and large boulders were identified as part of the original breakwater, at one time used for stopping the power of the sea from battering the workshop and settlement.
Possibly related to commercial and crafting activities, the settlement somehow collapsed.
The man-made ruins have remained hidden on the sea bed ever since.
Further research on the underwater findings is expected to add new information on the commercial role of the island during the Roman period.
DELOS - THE HOLY SANCTUARY
The island of Delos, near Mykonos, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece.
The excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean.
Delos had a position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.
During its height from the 8th until the 1st centuries B.C., it was a busy commercial port and a main center for slave trade.
According to Greek mythology Hera, wife of Zeus, had banned a pregnant Leto from giving birth on 'terra firma' after discovering that Zeus was the father.
Delos was a floating island, tethered neither to the land nor sea, which suited Leto's needs.
She gave birth to Apollo and Artemis, and Zeus secured Delos to the bottom of the ocean.
Lions of the Naxians, Terrace of the Lions in Delos
The people of Delos accepted Leto, and in return her son Apollo favoured the island.
For much of antiquity people were not allowed to die or give birth on the sacred island.
It's cecline came as the troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus attacked the island in 88 BC, slaughtering 20,000 inhabitants.
Raided by pirates and invaders, Delos was abandoned around the 5th century A.D., and many of its ancient marbles were used as building materials by the inhabitants of the nearby islands.
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