The shipwreck in the south of the Pagasitic Gulf, 4th c. AD
In 2000, an HIMA team led by archaeologist Ilias Spondylis carried out a survey along the west coast of the south part of the Pagasitic Gulf to try and relocate a shipwreck with pointed-base amphoras, which Nikos Tsouchlos had come across when diving in the area thirty years earlier. This was the first time that HIMA had investigated the Pagasitic Gulf. It was also the last mission in which Nikos Tsouchlos participated. The team explored over 4.5 km of coastline, but failed to discover the wreck that Tsouchlos had first seen 30 years earlier. However, eight other wrecks were discovered dating to the late Roman and Byzantine periods. One of these, Wreck 7, was considered worth investigating more thoroughly. Wreck 7 is located in Tilegrafo Bay, 5 nautical miles south of Amaliapoli, and dates to the late 4th c. of the Christian era, i.e. the later Roman period.
The archaeological survey took place in 2003. It focused on making detailed plans of the wreck site and a sample lifting of four amphoras. This preliminary investigation indicated that this is a significant wreck, preserved in reasonably good condition, thus implying that its remains could throw new and interesting light on the history of the maritime activity and economy of the region.
In 2004, the team opened a trench through a section of the wreck deemed to contain the highest possible concentration of objects. This project led to findings that helped define the future course of the excavation. A total of seven amphoras were recovered, indicating that Wreck 7 is a particularly significant marine archaeological site, for the following main reasons:
It is the first shipwreck of this period to have been investigated in Greek waters.
The amphoras in the shipâ??s cargo, which probably contained wine, are of at least five different types. In other words, they originate from five different places of production. A full examination of the amphoras should answer our questions regarding the shipâ??s itinerary and thereby provide us with new data on maritime activity and trade in the Aegean.
One of the four types of amphora discovered in the wreck was previously unknown to archaeologists.
It is for these reasons that HIMA believes that systematic excavation of Wreck 7 should be continued so as to uncover more information about the wreck and trade in the Greek seas during the time when the center of gravity of the Roman Empire was shifting from the old imperial capital of Rome to the new Christian capital of Constantinople, the center of what was to become the Byzantine Empire. Furthermore, a thorough investigation of the site should reveal the nature of the role played by the ports of the Pagasitic Gulf in the cultural and commercial traffic of this period which, in essence, marks the end of the ancient world .
The finds of the Pagasitic Gulf excavations could also give Greek marine archaeology an opportunity to make its mark in international historical research, while also highlighting its real and potential contribution to archaeological research in general in the eastern Mediterranean.
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In 2000, an HIMA team led by archaeologist Ilias Spondylis carried out a survey along the west coast of the south part of the Pagasitic Gulf to try and relocate a shipwreck with pointed-base amphoras, which Nikos Tsouchlos had come across when diving in the area thirty years earlier. This was the first time that HIMA had investigated the Pagasitic Gulf. It was also the last mission in which Nikos Tsouchlos participated. The team explored over 4.5 km of coastline, but failed to discover the wreck that Tsouchlos had first seen 30 years earlier. However, eight other wrecks were discovered dating to the late Roman and Byzantine periods. One of these, Wreck 7, was considered worth investigating more thoroughly. Wreck 7 is located in Tilegrafo Bay, 5 nautical miles south of Amaliapoli, and dates to the late 4th c. of the Christian era, i.e. the later Roman period.
It is for these reasons that HIMA believes that systematic excavation of Wreck 7 should be continued so as to uncover more information about the wreck and trade in the Greek seas during the time when the center of gravity of the Roman Empire was shifting from the old imperial capital of Rome to the new Christian capital of Constantinople, the center of what was to become the Byzantine Empire. Furthermore, a thorough investigation of the site should reveal the nature of the role played by the ports of the Pagasitic Gulf in the cultural and commercial traffic of this period which, in essence, marks the end of the ancient world .