This unique place once had an advanced civilization. Then something happened and the city disappeared into the sea.
Some say it is the oldest city in the world and these underwater ruins are what remains of the legendary city of Atlantis.
An entire town is asleep underwater, including streets, buildings, courtyards and tombs. Pavlopetri has at least 15 buildings submerged in three to four meters of water. The walls are made from uncut aeolianite, sandstone and limestone structural blocks, in particular, they are built without mortar.
Restoration image of a building in the city. Photo: BBC.
The ruins of the ancient city cover an area of about 50,000 square meters.
Pavlopetri was perhaps a prosperous port town where ancient people conducted trade locally and throughout the Mediterranean – the heavily protected sandy bay was ideal for sailing ships. Bronze Age ashore.
The ancient city of Pavlopetri was discovered in 1967 by Nicholas Flemming and mapped in 1968 by a team of archaeologists from Cambridge. Its discovery has provided incredibly useful new insights into the workings of Mycenaean society.
In 2009, scientists discovered beautiful Neolithic pottery products. Marine geoarchaeologist Dr Nic Flemming of the National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton exclaimed: “The discovery of Neolithic pottery is unbelievable! We are witnessing with a The port city may have existed from 5000-6000 years ago, the trade goods and the nearby wrecks provide a reenactment of the first commercial voyages in the Mediterranean.
This city is even two to three thousand years older than previously discovered flooded cities.
Dr Flemming added: “We have an almost complete plan of the city, the main streets and all the buildings submerged. Thanks to that we were able to study how it was used as a harbor for ships to dock and how trade was managed in the old city.”
The image simulates a 3-legged vase from 4000 years ago in the city. Photo: Jon Henderson.
A team of underwater archaeologists has gone to great lengths to bring this mysterious sunken city back to man. With the help of advanced technology, they have reconstructed the city, making us feel like traveling back in time to the city of Pavlopetri 5,000 years ago.
