ATHENS – At the end of October 2023, the multi-year underwater archaeological research off the coast of Kasos was completed, according to the Greek Ministry of Culture. Since 2019, the research team of the National Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture has carried out four research missions in areas of special interest, utilizing archaeological and historical evidence, sources, testimonies and references on the island of Kasos, from the time of Homer’s Iliad up to recent years. During the research, a total of 10 shipwrecks were discovered as well as important individual finds which date from prehistory (3000 BC), the Classical period (460 BC), the Hellenistic period (100 BC to 100 AD) and the Roman years (200 BC-300 AD), the Byzantine period (800-900 AD), even finds from the medieval and Ottoman periods as well as the World War II era.

The findings were recorded and documented with modern scientific methods, while samples of the archaeological objects were taken, the study of which offers new information and archaeological data on aspects of the history of Kasos as well as the rich cultural heritage of the Mediterranean. Sunken remains of ancient ships with goods from Spain, Italy, Africa and the coasts of Asia Minor were brought to light by an interdisciplinary team of Greek and foreign researchers and professors, diving archaeologists, historians, architects, surveyors, conservators, geologists, biologists, artisans, postgraduate students, PhD candidates, post-doctoral researchers and other specialists.

The survey was completed in 2023 with the implementation of the fourth research mission between October 10 and 26, which focused on documenting the archaeological material. With modern technological equipment, more than 20,000 underwater photographs were taken, which were used to study and synthesize digital images of the wrecks and finds, providing a wealth of primary data to the international scientific community. The thorough study of the material at depths of 20 up to 47 meters brought to light unique finds, including a Spanish Dressel 20 amphora with a seal on its handle dated between 150-170 AD, drinking vessels, terra sigillata flasks, which belong to the Roman period of African origin, a stone anchor of the Archaic period, as well as other important archaeological evidence. At the same time, the mapping and bathymetry of the Kasos-Karpathos reef and the Karpatholimnion area was carried out for the first time, with the use of a side scanning sonar machine. Finally, the remains of a shipwreck from the latest period, possibly from the World War II era, were identified. It is a wooden boat with metal elements, the size of which is estimated at 25-30 meters.

“It is the first systematic research on the seabed of Kasos with the main objective of locating, recording and studying the antiquities of an area at the crossroads of cultures and once a center of navigation,” according to the survey’s website, which includes a 12-minute video chronicling the underwater missions, CBS News reported, adding that “the announcement of the shipwrecks came just a few months after scientists found a partially submerged building, as well as a variety of ancient marble treasures, while exploring Salamis, a small island off the coast of Greece where a now-sunken city once stood.”