Archaeologists conducting underwater excavations at Lampayanas in southern Argolis, Greece, have uncovered a settlement dated to the Early Bronze Age.

The site has been identified in 2015 in a small bay of southern Argolis, near the well-known archaeological site of the Frachthi Cave. The Early Bronze Age settlement, located in the sea area of Lampayanna Beach, north of the Bay, encompasses around 1.2 hectares. Some architectural remains are visible at the bottom, at 1-3 meters deep, while more could be buried beneath the marine sediments. The latest season of excavations, led by Angeliki Simosi, Director of Underwater Antiquities, and Professor Karl Reber, Director of the Swiss Archaeological School in Greece, involved submarine topography and geophysical measurements, focused on identifying the extent of the settlement.

Under the layer of Early Helladic II (in the 3rd millennium BC, to which the visible architectural remains correspond to the bottom) a wall of Early Helladic I (early 3rd millennium) was revealed. Another older mattress, which could be dated even during the transition period between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age, was also investigated. The findings include large amounts of purple shells. However, it is still impossible to determine what they were used for.

(after Tornos News, Greek Ministry of Culture & Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities)