LIMNOS, Greece — A giant fossilised tree trunk was discovered at the village of Varos on the island of Limnos (also spelt Lemnos) during excavation, maintenance and site presentation works conducted by a team from the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest, led by the museum's director, Professor Nikolaos Zouros.

"The eight-metre long trunk completely preserves the characteristics of the wood while the endings of the branches are in excellent condition. It is an impressive find of a fossilised coniferous tree for which we have an overall image of its dimensions and which is an incontrovertible witness of the value of the Lemnos fossilised forest," said Zouros to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

According to Zouros, the creation of the fossilised forest is directly linked with the volcanic activity in the region of the Aegean, mostly during the Miocene era, approximately 20 million years ago. In that period there was general volcanic activity in the wider region of the northeastern Aegean and Asia Minor, during which the fossilised forests of both Lemnos and Lesvos were formed.

The Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest will continue to work on the site of the Petrified Forest of Lemnos in September when the works in Varos are expected to be completed.