New Archeological Finds in Fournoi

by Marinos Giourgas. Photos courtesy of the author unless noted. Lead image: The author and Ian France preparing the scale and the arrow for photographing the amphora.

Fournoi Korseon is a group of nineteen islands and islets situated in the so-called barren line of the Eastern Aegean region laying between Greece and Türkiye. The archipelago is located right on the navigation line from the Dodecanese to the North Aegean Sea; from mainland Greece through the Cyclades to Ikaria, Samos, and central Asia Minor; and from the East to the Black Sea—hence its important role in the history of the region. 

In November 2014, researchers submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Culture. This submission begat another proposal for research cooperation between the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities and R.P.M. Nautical Foundation with the purpose of identifying, mapping, and documenting marine archaeological remains in the Fournoi Archipelago. These remains are associated with ancient, medieval, and modern shipping and freight handling. During the first ten years of the research, teams recorded and documented an unprecedented number of wrecks, thus fully rewarding the pioneers of this project—Dr. George Koutsouflakis and Dr. Peter Campbell—who began their first theoretical searches for a new survey in the Aegean Sea region back in 2013.  

Along the coastlines of the islands, and especially in the channels between the big island of Fournoi and the other islands of this unique archipelago, the seabed is full of wrecks. An experienced captain can easily understand that the morphology of the big islands of Ikaria and Samos, with their relatively high mountains forcing the prevailing north winds at a high velocity through the straits of Fournoi, creates the perfect environment for marine accidents. 

Up to the beginning of September 2024, 58 ancient wrecks have been discovered and, as a result, the small archipelago of Fournoi is considered the ancient shipwreck capital of the world. Research and further excavation in the area continue every year with the support of various international organizations; these efforts aim to further uncover the significance of the region, highlight the ancient and medieval wrecks that are of high historical value, and identify sites for future excavation.

Teaming up with the Institute

In winter 2024, Dr. G. Koutsouflakis, the main founder and director of the Korseai Institute of Historical and Archaeological Research, and V. Mentogiannis, one of Dr. Koutsouflakis’s fellow co-founders—invited the AegeanTec team to participate in the Fournoi Underwater Archaeological Project 2024.  Our mission was to extend the search area and make an effort to locate new shipwrecks of archaeological interest in the zone of 55-100 m/180-328 ft. Local fishermen had informed the Institute of new locations where further investigation could reveal new wrecks. However, most of these spots were at depths not easily accessible by the Institute’s existing diving team. Although the Institute team could use ROVs and cameras, our team accepted the challenge: We agreed to organize and perform a series of dives on rebreathers and to search the area by cruising deep on the Aegean seafloor with DPVs.

Planning this project was not an easy task, as the location is far from our base on the coast of Athens. Naturally, we accepted the challenge and started organizing the logistics for the deep diving expedition in the island of Fournoi. We had plenty of time to plan; we assembled all the required equipment and consumables, prepared banks for our gases, and rented a van to transport them. 

After sorting out accommodations and ferry tickets, we were ready to sail from the port of Piraeus to the little island of Fournoi. On September 15, together with our friend Ian France (whom we invited for this expedition) and, of course, our team’s underwater photographer, Vasilis Spyropoulos, we left the busy roads of mainland Greece and began our trip to the world capital of ancient shipwrecks. We were eager to find out what lay deep in the Aegean waters.

Upon arrival on Fournoi island, we met with Dr. Koutsouflakis, Vasilis Mentogiannis, and the rest of the team. Together,  we finalized the details of our dive plans for the following days. The AegeanTec team started by visiting ancient wreck number 15: the flagship of the discoveries there and where the excavation process is at an advanced stage. This wreck is of the early Byzantine period (5^th– 6^th century AD) and is located at the cape of Aspros Kavos at a depth of 43-49 m/141-160 ft in a hard-to-access area—and at an inclined seabed, thus making the excavation process challenging. 

Furthermore, in this area, the winds are usually strong and come from the north after gaining speed from the relatively high mountainous area of the island of Samos. The excavation started in 2021 and is extremely interesting: It unveils a highly heterogeneous cargo originating from various locations (Crimea, Sinope, Irakleia in the Black Sea, and ancient cities in the Aegean Sea). Our team started searching the area deeper than the wreck and, the next day, we covered 1.5 nm/1.72 miles/2.77 km at a depth range of 50-70 m/164-230 ft with our DPVs, starting from Aspros Kavos and keeping a southerly direction. 

We located a small number of amphorae (ancient, handled containers) scattered at various depths and in different spots along the coastline of the Eastern shore of Fournoi island, which indicated that these had probably fallen off the cargo of ships during stormy seas in ancient times. The team photographed them so that they could be registered with the Korseai Institute. 

Over the following days, we made a series of deep dives down to 90 m/295 ft in various locations where Vasilis Mentogiannis took us with the RIB. We managed to cover large distances underwater with our DPVs but, again, we located only a few scattered amphorae, which were not highly concentrated enough to indicate that we had discovered a new wreck. The weather forecast had predicted high seas and strong winds from the north for the following days which meant we were feeling a bit on edge, after being unsuccessful in locating a new wreck for the archaeological team. 

Number 59: The Discovery

Although we had not come up with a new discovery, we knew that there were deep sites where the local fishermen were finding amphorae as they collected their nets, so we asked for more information. As the weather was limiting the areas where we could operate, we picked up on the southwest shore of the islet of Agios Minas where fishermen had reportedly stumbled across amphorae on several occasions. In small boats provided by the Institute, the trip from our base to the dive site was short, but it involved crossing the rough channel between Fournoi and Agios Minas. 

Additionally—and to make things slightly more challenging—the boats provided had no benches for the divers to sit on and to prepare their units. So, we devised the solution of wearing the units prior to embarkation and settling in on the only place to sit. There was just enough room for three JJ-CCR divers, provided that one of us would also captain the boat. 

Early the next morning, the team arrived at the dive site. After securing the shot line, the surface support divers helped us with the BO cylinders, the DPVs, and the cameras as we started our descent to the area of interest. The visibility was about 15-20 m/50-65 ft but slightly darker than the usual light we met in the Aegean waters. We started from 80 m/265 ft and, after a few seconds, we spotted an amphora. We photographed it so that the archaeologists could further examine its origin. 

Scootering further away from the shot line in a southwest direction, we noticed at about 90 m/295 ft that the concentration of amphorae began to increase. We also came across findings that were nearly unnoticeable, as they were encrusted with marine life and sediments. The only indication of their existence was a slight anomaly on the surface of the seabed. We used the scooter propellers to uncover their surface, and we were thrilled to notice that the area below the silt was full of artifacts. Team Aegeantec had discovered the ancient wreck number 59! We sent an DSMB for the surface support divers to accurately mark the location and, with an elevated heart rhythm due to the new finding, we started scootering back toward the shallower parts of the reef where we would need to spend the long hours of deco. 

During decompression and at various depths, we observed a significant number of artifacts and amphorae of various types and sizes that gave credence to the Archipelago’s name as the World Capital of Ancient Shipwrecks. We cruised back to our base, and Dr. Koutsouflakis and his team of archaeologists welcomed us with enthusiasm. We’d accomplished our goal: discovering a new wreck off the shore of the islet of Agios Minas, deep on the seabed of the Fournoi Archipelago. 

The next day, and as the strong north winds disallowed any diving other than in the area south of Agios Minas, the entire team helped us prepare for our deep search. The mission was to use a lift bag to slowly bring an amphora up to the surface for further research by the archaeologists. We reached the dive site, descended on the shot line to a depth of 80 m/263 ft, and, with DPVs, started our slow descent to 95 m/312 ft: to the area where we had discovered the first amphora on the previous day. 

In the absence of any signs of another wreck deeper than the one discovered in that area, we began where we had previously observed many amphorae. We located one, carefully prepared it, placed it in the net, and sent it to the surface with a lift bag. The dive concluded with deco in the shallows where we had spent hours observing artifacts that had been resting on the seabed for thousands of years. When we reached the surface, we carefully handed the recovered amphora to the team of archaeologists who left for their base to begin preserving this freshly salvaged piece of underwater heritage. 

Later that day, Dr. Koutsouflakis estimated that the amphora we recovered dates back to the 8^th to 9^th century AD: the Middle Byzantine period. He thanked us for contributing to the Korseai Institute’s mission of advancing the understanding of the past through rigorous research and innovative approaches. 

The Challenge of Raising Awareness

According to UNESCO, Underwater Cultural Heritage is “a witness to our common memory.” For that reason, for more than 20 years, it has developed and implemented the 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage with the goal of  protecting, understanding, and raising awareness of this heritage. The best way to advocate for this notion is to safeguard the Fournoi Archipelago while, at the same time, to share its significance with the world as a means of better understanding trade and human behavior during ancient times. 

Nowadays, we have systems that can transmit live images from underwater sites all over the world 24/7, thus giving access to archaeological sites and conveying information to non-divers. At the same time, a deep marine archaeological park—where technical divers have access to the antiquities that lie deep on the seabed of this little corner of the Eastern Aegean Sea—would benefit not only those directly involved, but also most of the members of the local community of Fournoi island. 

Because the technical diving community—the author included—is mostly fascinated by wrecks from more recent eras (mainly WWI and WWII), it will be quite challenging to make ancient wrecks equally important and interesting for them. The issue is mainly the lack of knowledge in our groups about what we can see, observe, and learn by meeting with underwater antiquities deep in the Aegean Sea. A very small number of divers have encountered objects that are thousands of years old and have been made aware of the fact that these artifacts—sometimes even broken—allow us to revisit and better understand the past. For example, from these artifacts, we can uncover information about trade routes, human behavior, naval architecture, technology, and ancient tools which slowly and progressively contribute pieces to the puzzle of human history.

Fournoi, now with its 59 wrecks, is the World Capital of Ancient Shipwrecks. The time has come—under the guidance of the Korseai Institute and with the approval of the Ministry of Culture—to make this place known to tekkies around the world.

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Marinos Giourgas is an active PADI, TDI, and IANTD technical and rebreather diving instructor based in the southern coast of Athens, Greece, and he is a brand ambassador for Otter Drysuits. He started his diving career in the 1990s and, since then, his enthusiasm has allowed him to connect with nature. His passion for adventure and WWI & II wrecks has made it possible for him to participate in several expeditions in the Greek Seas to discover and explore the underwater relics of the past. He is the founder of AegeanTec, a team of avid divers offering technical, trimix, and CCR diver training. He manages the technical diving section of one of the biggest dive centers in the southeast coast of Athens, providing training and guiding tekkies to unspoiled dive sites that only few—if any—will ever see. Free time for him is spent pursuing alpinism and mountain biking.

References

1. Korseai islands: Archaeological findings and a historical approach of the Fournoi Korseon, M. Viglaki-Sofianou, George Koutsouflakis, Peter Campbell