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The archaeological site known as Pavlopetri (Greek: Παυλοπέτρι) is found in Vatika Bay, off the coast of southern Laconia in Peloponnese, Greece.

It is about 5,000 years old, making it the oldest submerged city known in the world. Pavlopetri is unique in having an almost complete town plan, including streets, buildings, and tombs.

Pavlopetri (or Paulopetri) literally translates to Paul's stone and is a direct reference to St.

The existence of submerged walls at the site was first noted in 1904 by the geologist Fokion Negris but little was reported of their extent or state of preservation. It was then re-discovered in 1967 by Nicholas Flemming and mapped in 1968 by a team of archaeologists from Cambridge, the site is located between the islet of Pavlopetri and the Pounta coast of Laconia on the Peloponnese peninsula, northeast of the village on the island of Elafonisos. The archeological site as well as the islet and the surrounding sea area are within the region of the Elafonisos Municipality. While Pavlopetri was inhabited, Elafonisos would have been connected to the Peloponnese by the means of Pavlopetri. Since then the sea level has risen and earthquakes have pushed the city down, making the gap between Elafonisos and Peloponnese larger. In Thucydides' "History of the Peloponnesian War", it is suggested that Elafonisos was connected to Peloponnese.

Originally, the ruins were dated to the Mycenaean period, 1600–1100 BCE but later studies showed a much earlier occupation dating back to 3500 BCE, so it also includes artifacts from the Final Neolithic Age, Chalcolithic Age, Bronze Age, and middle Minoan and transitional material.

The reason that this research was done is because they wanted to find out how the site became submerged as well as the time period in which it occurred. When Pavlopetri was built in the 4th millennium BC, it would have been about two or three meters above sea level which was normal for that time period and area. In 1200 BC, Pavlopetri was coming close to its demise and the sea level had risen about two meters since its initial inhabitance and at this point it was only about one meter above sea level. This earthquake pushed the site down about 3 meters and along with the sea level having risen about 1.5 meters since 1200 BC, the site would have been submerged.

These deposits displayed evidence that the people of Pavlopetri had trading relations with the nearby island Crete, inhabited by Minoans.

The final danger to Pavlopetri is a nearby power station and the construction of a gas pipeline that runs from the island of Crete to Peloponnese.

After Pavlopetri gained more attention after the research done from 2009-2013 and it was announced that it is in danger, many people decided to get together and try to stop the pollution and damage that was being done. The Watch Day helps bring attention to the damage being done to the site and reaches towards communities across the world to help out.

The city of Pavlopetri is part of the underwater cultural heritage as defined by the UNESCO in the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. All traces of human existence underwater which are one hundred years old or more are protected by the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

The work of the British-Australian archaeological team was assembled in an hour-long BBC documentary video, "City Beneath the Waves: Pavlopetri", broadcast by BBC Two in 2011. The site and its history are featured in the "Secrets of the Sunken Empire" episode of the Science Channel TV program Unearthed (season 8, episode 7), originally broadcast on January 3, 2021. The ancient site and its underwater mapping is featured in "Drain the Oceans: Legends of Atlantis" (season 1, episode 5), by National Geographic airing on June 25, 2018.

Quick Facts

• While Pavlopetri was inhabited, Elafonisos would have been connected to the Peloponnese by the means of Pavlopetri.
• Pavlopetri is unique in having an almost complete town plan, including streets, buildings, and tombs.
• It is about 5,000 years old, making it the oldest submerged city known in the world.
• The archeological site as well as the islet and the surrounding sea area are within the region of the Elafonisos Municipality.
• The city of Pavlopetri is part of the underwater cultural heritage as defined by the UNESCO in the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Pavlopetri". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.