Greece: Two underwater archaeological parks to be built

Following a joint decision by the Greek government, the Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Mercantile Marine (Commercial Fleet), two archaeological diving parks will open as early as summer 2014. Both are located near Pylos, a port city on the southwestern coast of the Peloponnese. The plan to establish them was announced in August 2012 by Greek Minister Antonis Samaras.

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The first park is located on the islet of Sapientza, where archaeologists have managed to discover the remains of ancient merchant ships, dating back to Roman and Byzantine times. Researchers say that although the hulls of the ships have long since been destroyed, their cargoes including amphorae, pottery and stone sarcophagi still rest on the seabed.

The second underwater park is located to the north in the small bay of the Ionian Sea – Navarino and offers a number of wrecks from the 19th century. It will be possible to see one of the largest tankers available to visiting divers, the Irene Serenade, which sank on 23 February 1980, and the remains of three Turkish ships of the line destroyed as a result of the battle that took place on 20 October 1827 between the united Anglo-French-Russian forces and the Turkish-Egyptian fleet.

As a direct result of the Battle of Navarino, European powers became involved in Greece’s war of liberation. As a result of this intervention, the naval power of Turkey was broken and Greece regained its independence after six years of war.

According to a Greek tourism representative, enthusiasts of diving and underwater arecheology will feel like in paradise here, so consider your diving plans for next year and make a visit to the first archaeological diving parks in Greece a must.

Source: xray-mag.com