23 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists Discovered Submerged Stoa Complex in Ancient Salamis, Greece

Archaeologists exploring the east coast of Salamis, the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, discovered a large, long, and narrow public building partially submerged underwater.

The discovery was announced by Greece’s Ministry of Culture on Thursday. This is near the site of one of the most important naval battles in history, the Battle of Salamis (480 BC).

The marine archaeologists have been investigating the waters in Ampelakia Bay, off the island of Salamis. They conducted a three-year study of the city’s eastern shores on the northwestern side of the Ambelaki-Knosoura marine area as part of a joint research project between the Institute of Marine Archaeological Research, the Ephorate of Marine Antiquities, and the University of Ioannina. Previous research has discovered sunken Classical city remains, including large sections of the sea wall and submerged ruins of public buildings.

Excavations within the former landside of the sea wall have revealed a public building identified as a stoa. The meaning of Stoa is an ancient Greek portico usually walled at the back with a front colonnade designed to afford a sheltered promenade. In addition to providing a place for the activities of civil magistrates, shopkeepers, and others, stoas often served as galleries for art and public monuments, were used for religious purposes, and delineated public space.

The building, with a constant width of 6 meters, is traced so far, at a length of 32 meters. The interior includes a series of at least 6-7 rooms, of which one was investigated, with internal dimensions of 4.7 x 4.7 meters., with large storage pits. It has solid walls, about 60 centimeters thick, made of large hewn stone plinths.

Photo: Greek Ministry of Culture

Based on the size, shape and arrangement of its spaces, archeologists assume that the building presents all the characteristics of a portico. A porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns.

During the excavations, various artifacts and objects were discovered, including Classical-Hellenistic period ceramics, amphora stoppers, fragments of marble objects, and 22 bronze coins.

Two of the marble objects are particularly significant and date from the 4th century BC. The first is a column with a fragmentary verse inscription, and the second is a stele with a muscular right hand of a large figure. The stele matches a marble stele from around 320 BC housed in Salamis’ Archaeological Museum.

The identification of the Stoa is a very important new element for the study of the topography and residential organization of the ancient city.

Stoa is open to the west and probably marks the eastern boundary of the Agora area of the Classical-Hellenistic city rather than the port, extending on generally level ground to the west/northwest of the building. Its ruins were seen and described, literally, by the traveler Pausanias around the middle of the 2nd century.

Research is the first interdisciplinary underwater research, carried out intensively (since 2016) by Greek agencies, in areas of the historic Strait, in the Ampelaki-Kynosoura marine area.

Greek Ministry of Culture

Cover Photo: Greek Ministry of Culture

Related Articles

Remains of a 5-year-old girl found under Real Alcázar in Spain

9 May 2021

9 May 2021

The body of a five-year-old fair-haired girl who lived in the late Middle Ages and was most likely of noble...

Anatolia’s first company was founded 4000 years ago with 15 kilos of gold!

26 May 2024

26 May 2024

A 4,000-year-old tablet found in Kültepe shows that the first company in Anatolia was established by 12 people with 15...

12 tombs with Beautiful Decorations and Carved Bricks from the period of Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, found in China

22 May 2023

22 May 2023

China has a rich history. In addition to the fossil records from the Paleolithic Period, the country has witnessed the...

Buddha statue discovered in ancient city of Berenice, Egypt

29 April 2023

29 April 2023

Archaeologists excavating in the ancient Egyptian seaport Berenice Troglodytica on the western shore of the Red Sea have unearthed a...

One of the earliest water channels in history dating back 8,200 years was discovered in western Türkiye

27 August 2023

27 August 2023

One of the earliest water channels in history dating back 8,200 years was found during the excavation work carried out...

In Egypt, archaeologists have discovered a 4,500-year-old Sun temple.

16 November 2021

16 November 2021

Archaeologists discovered an ancient Sun temple in the Egyptian desert that dates back 4,500 years. The remains were discovered under...

Unusual Iron Age Female Grave Found in Pryssgården, Sweden

3 November 2024

3 November 2024

In an Iron Age cemetery in Sweden, archaeologists found a woman’s grave buried with a small needle and an iron...

Ancient Celtic Bone Pen Found in Southern Germany

14 December 2024

14 December 2024

From August to October this year, the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (LAD) in the Stuttgart Regional Council...

Scientists find the oldest evidence of humans in Israel -a 1.5 million-year-old Human vertebra

3 February 2022

3 February 2022

An international group of Israeli and American researchers, an ancient human vertebra has been uncovered in Israel’s Jordan Valley that...

Ancient Mythical Castle “Sörby Borg” Discovered on Swedish Island Creates Archaeological Sensation

4 August 2021

4 August 2021

A text from the early 18th century mentions the castle, which has become a bit of a legend. It has...

Archaeologists Discovered a New Pyramid Resembling Teotihuacán in Tikal

17 April 2021

17 April 2021

Researchers discovered a new pyramid complex in the Tikal in Guatemala. About 65 km south of El Mirador in the...

This Month in the “You Will See What You Don’t See” Project

11 February 2021

11 February 2021

Izmir Archeology Museum started to exhibit the unseen artifacts in its warehouses last month in the project that started under...

Battle of the Egadi Islands: Rome’s deadly weapons discovered off Sicily

3 September 2021

3 September 2021

Underwater archaeologists from the Soprintendenza del Mare Regione Siciliana, RPM Nautical Foundation, and the Society for the Documentation of Submerged...

409 silver coins, found in the Mleiha area of Sharjah, were inspired by Alexander the Great and the Seleucid dynasty

17 July 2021

17 July 2021

409 silver coins dating to the 3rd century have been found in the Mleiha area of Sharjah in the United...

Ukrainian Stonehenge

6 July 2021

6 July 2021

It has almost become a tradition to compare the structures surrounded by stones to the Stonehenge monument. This ancient cemetery,...