PAVLOPETRI

Pavlopetri is located just off the coastline of Vatika Bay in the southeastern Peloponnese, near the island of Elafonisos. Vatika Bay is bordered to the north by Neapolis, in the prefect of Monemvasia, and to the south by Elafonisos, a separate prefect.

The coastline contiguous to the archeological site of Pavlopetri is an EU-designated Natura 2000 site.

This schematic of the layout of Pavlopetri was prepared by Spiridon Ion Cepleana on September 13, 2013 and appears on Wikipedia’s Creative Commons. Pavlopetri is now submerged under about two meters of water.

From a single, broken piece of pottery, scientists can use advanced computer modeling techniques to determine the size and shape of the original vessel.

Looting of artifacts from the site at Pavlopetri is a serious problem.

All shards of pottery and other artifacts should be left in place.


Site: Archeological Museum of Neapolis Vion
Numerous finds of amphorae testify to the lively sea trade at the time of Pavlopetri.
Image Date: 2014
Photographer: Cheryl Benard 

Archeologists collected many artifacts from Pavlopetri during their mapping expedition of 2009. Even the smallest piece of pottery can give scientists important information about the city and the lives of the people who lived there.


Snorkel diver with measuring tape descending 3m to map cut blocks of stone on the sea floor. The black blobs are sea urchins.
Image Date: 1968
Photographer: Nicholas Flemming

The archeological studies that have been done at Pavlopetri have employed today’s most advanced mapping and modeling techniques.

Based on the size and shape of foundation stones, scientists can determine how big buildings were.


A broad wall on the seafloor, consisting of two outer sections of large blocks, and a central core of smaller stones. The ranging pole is marked in 25cm bands.
Image Date: 1967
Photographer: Nicholas Flemming

Based on the information obtained from building foundations, modeling techniques allow scientists to recreate models of buildings as they might have appeared over 5,000 years ago.

What an impressive sight Pavlopetri must have been!

A cist box grave on the seabed. The bands on the survey pole are 25cms for each color.
Image Date: 1967

Caption is of a cist grave broken open, and overgrown with encrusting species which seem to be drilling into the stone. The appearance of the constructional stones is quite different from 1967-68. The measuring pole is 1m long, so that the bands are 20cm each.
Image Date: 2008


Photographer: Nicholas Flemming