The climatic and environmental changes of the last 20,000 years and their effects on the life of the ancient and prehistoric societies of the South Aegean, were the focus of marine research recently held at the Myrtoo Sea and to Argolic Gulf. The surveys were carried out by a multinational team of Greek and foreign scientists in the framework of the EUROFLEETS project and with the assistance of the oceanographic vessel AIGAIO of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR).
Dr. Dimitris Sakellariou, leader of the expedition and head of the research team of ELKEΘE, shares his experience from the ten-day marine research, speaking to APE-MPE. «During the first days of the expedition in the Southern Aegean, winds of 7 Beaufort were blowing, which did not allow any work to be done in the Myrtoo Sea. We headed to the Argolic Gulf, where the weather conditions were good and we systematically surveyed the whole area between the western coast of Argolida (Nafplio, Tolo, Iria, Koilada, Portocheli, Spetses) and the eastern coast of Arcadia (Astros, Tyros, Leonidio). The area is of great interest because it includes important cultural centres of antiquity and prehistoric times (Mycenae, Tyrinthia, Cave of Fragthi, etc.),» he says of the first half of the expedition, which included areas in the Argolic Gulf.
«The second half was concentrated in the Myrtoo Sea, in the area between Spetses and Hydra in the west and Sifnos, Milos in the east. During the expedition, benthometric and morphological mapping of two areas with a total area of about 1,000 square kilometres was carried out, seismic sections with a total length of 850 km were recorded and 7 sediment cores were collected for laboratory analyses. The Argolian and Myrtoo areas have not been investigated so far. The data collected in the expedition will give us a very good insight into their structure and evolution. From the analyses that will be done, we expect to have very interesting results about the paleo-environment of the last thousands of years and the interaction of ancient and prehistoric cultures of the region with the environment.», adds D. Sakellariou to RES-MPA.
But, why in these particular maritime areas?; «The areas surrounding the Argolic Gulf and the Myrtoo Sea, namely the eastern Peloponnese, Argolida, Attica and the Western Cyclades, have been continuously inhabited since at least the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods and were at the centre of the Cycladic, Mycenaean and Classical Greek civilisation.. We collected sediment cores from both research areas in order to carry out appropriate laboratory analyses that will provide new evidence of environmental changes caused by climate change and geological and tectonic movements,» he told APE-MPA.
From the sedimentological, micropalaeontological and other analyses of the sediment cores collected in the survey areas, valuable information is expected on the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems in the areas surrounding the Myrtoo Sea and the Argolic Gulf over the last 20,000 years, as well as on the environmental conditions prevailing during the time of the early civilisations in the South Aegean region. In addition, the analysis of seismic data and seismic sections will provide important information on the action of active submarine faults, as well as on past earthquakes and tsunamis. Has there been any correlation with palaeontological, archaeological, geological or other investigations that have been carried out or are currently underway in these areas? «For the planning of the expedition, all available archaeological, palaeontological, geological and environmental/climatic data and data that have been obtained for the wider area by various Greek and international research groups were taken into account. The processing of the new data and the analysis and synthesis of the resulting results will be discussed in the wider scientific community, in order to create new momentum for more research efforts both in this area and in the entire Aegean», underlines D. Sakellariou.
Finally, regarding the link between the results obtained and the objectives of the EUROFLEETS programme, which concern, among other things, ocean sustainability and innovation, he tells APE-MPA: «The aim of the mission was to collect data that will help us understand the changes in the paleo-environment caused by the climate changes of the last 10-20 thousand years and the way in which ancient and prehistoric civilisations of the neighbouring regions interacted with it. The mission is part of one of the key objectives of the EUROFLEETS+ programme, which is to understand climate and environmental changes over time and their role in the evolution of human civilisation.».
The mission was funded by the EUROFLEETS+ programme (www.eurofleets.eu ) and was carried out under the scientific coordination of Dr Andreas Koutsoendris and the research team of the Institute of Earth Sciences of the University of Heidelberg, in collaboration with a team of scientists from Austria, France and the research team of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (www.hcmr.gr ), with Dr Dimitris Sakellariou as mission leader.
