The Asini site. Photo Credit Greek Ministry of Culture
An ongoing archaeological dig has found an ancient Greek underwater port.
Beneath the sea at Tolo in Argolis lies a city that was long forgotten, Asini, in 2022 archaeologists began underwater work to find out exactly what treasures lay undiscovered.
An international team are tackling to underwater site
They archaeological team is made up of representatives from all over Europe, including the Greece based Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, Stockholm University, the University of Gothenburg and the Nordic Maritime group, the teams comprise of diving archaeologists, diving architect engineers, historians and archaeologists.
The site is part of a 5-year project
Archaeologists have been working on the site since 2021, however the main 5-year project that the team is currently taking part in started fully in 2022. The site has already produced some interesting finds including the excavation of a large, man-made plateau located in the shallow waters of the bay. According to the Greek Ministry of Culture the plateau at Asini, probably, at one stage, held houses and rooms. The remains of which were recorded with photogrammetry in 2022. It is difficult to date when the port was first built however there is reason to believe that amphora shells found at the site can be used to date its usage period or even when it fell into disuse.
In 2024 the stone-built port was found during excavations, the area is preserved on the seafloor. Materials like stone and building supplies were found alongside the amphora shells and a broken vessel. The team have plans to continue their excavations, this time making dig sites at the top of the plateau, they will be excavated by hand and sediments will be removed by combing the sites. Photogrammetry will be used again to document any artefacts found, in situ. The ancient site of Asini and the land around it has been the location of Archaeological digs since the early 1900’s.
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