July 2025 Fieldwork

1. Systematic Recording and Documentation of Permanent Anthropogenic Features on the Southern Slope of Kokkino Vouno Between 5 and 10 July 2025, a series of field investigations was carried out on the southern slope of Kokkino Vouno with the aim of documenting and understanding the extent and organization of quarrying activity in the area. Στο πεδίο εργάστηκαν οι αρχαιολόγοι Γ. Βαρσάνης και Μ. Χάλαρη. The investigation began with a reconnaissance survey of the southern slope below the first extensive plateau, which is enclosed by a stone boundary wall (Image 1).

Evidence of systematic exploitation was identified, including vertical and horizontal quarry cuts, working surfaces with extraction ledges, tooth-like chisel marks, and tectonic detachment scars. These features indicate repeated phases of quarrying activity (Image 2,Image 3,Image 4,Image 5,Image 6)

At the same time, dry-stone retaining structures constructed on natural terraces and stepped formations along the slope were documented. Although these structures cannot yet be dated with precision, they exhibit evidence for the reuse of ancient building material. Stone enclosure walls were also recorded. Constructed primarily from ignimbrite, andesite, and dacite, these walls formerly (until the 1970s) separated the cultivable land from the rocky ignimbrite outcrop on the upper terrace while simultaneously functioning as retaining walls supporting the sloping terrain (Image 7 and Image 8).

2. Drone Survey and Orthophotographic Documentation Drone imagery and orthophotographic mapping of the exposed surfaces and quarrying zones were carried out by D. NiotisImage 9).

3. Photographic Documentation of the Finds Nearly the entire assemblage of finds—primarily the ceramic material—was photographed by the photographer T. Pasialis.

4. Technical Drawings of Portable Finds Measured drawings of the portable finds were prepared by the archaeological illustrator N. Sepetzoglou.

5. Recording and Cataloguing of the Ceramic Assemblage The ceramic assemblage was recorded and catalogued by archaeologist A. Xenaki, including the use of the Munsell Soil Color Charts by T. Panagiotopoulou for standardized colour recording.

6. Recording and Cataloguing of the Stone Artifacts The stone artifacts were recorded and catalogued by archaeologist G. Varsanis.

September 2025 Fieldwork

1. Core Sampling and Exploratory Drilling at Mavro Rachidi
On 22–23 September 2025, two exploratory boreholes were drilled in the Mavro Rachidi area, located in the westernmost of the three valleys of the Akrotiri region. The principal objective was to investigate the possible location of the ancient harbour, while five additional research goals focused on the stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the area. Although the area is now dry land, evidence suggests that it once formed a marine environment. This interpretation is supported both by earlier mapping and by the discovery of marine sand in previous boreholes. The first borehole was drilled approximately 200 m from the present shoreline using a heavy-duty drilling rig capable of penetrating bedrock(Image 9b and Image 10).

The coring procedure involved the extraction of 1 m-long sediment cores using a plastic liner placed inside the drill barrel. Five centimetres were removed from each end of every core section to eliminate contamination, while the uppermost metre—representing disturbed cultivated soil—was excluded from subsequent analyses. The cores were wrapped in opaque black plastic to prevent exposure to light, individually labelled (e.g., Borehole 1, Borehole 2, Borehole 3), and stored for laboratory analysis (Image 11).

Laboratory investigations will include: Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating, Radiocarbon (C-14) dating, mineralogical analyses, stratigraphic analyses, and palaeoclimatic investigations.Particular importance will be given to organic remains and marine materials (shells and molluscan remains), which are expected to provide both chronological and environmental information.

Based on previous drilling campaigns, the anticipated stratigraphic sequence is as follows:
i. Cultivated topsoil (disturbed; approximately 1 m thick)
ii. Fluvial–torrent deposits, representing catastrophic flooding events following the Minoan eruption
iii. Volcanic ash deposits, approximately 3–4 m thick, part of which was transported seaward
iv. Black marine sand, approximately 1 m thick
v. Ignimbrite, the area's parent bedrock, marking the termination of the borehole.

The second borehole was drilled approximately 130 m from the present shoreline within the same area.

Approximately 20 m of sediment cores were recovered from each borehole. Combined with material collected during previous field seasons, these samples constitute a sufficiently large dataset for chronological and palaeoenvironmental comparison.The research aims not only to establish the geological sequence from the Minoan eruption to the present day but also to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic evolution of Thera (Santorini). The results are expected to form the basis of a series of scientific publications concerning both the search for the ancient harbour and the geomorphological transformations that have affected the region from prehistoric times to the present.

2. Mineralogical Study and Preliminary Macroscopic Identification of the Stone ArtifactsA mineralogical investigation and preliminary macroscopic identification of the rock types represented among the 51 stone artifacts and tools collected during the 2024 and 2025 surface surveys at Kokkino Vouno were undertaken. Mineralogical analyses and measurements were carried out using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) with a Spectral Evolution specTerra SM-3500 instrument.
In addition, every specimen was photographed using a Bodelin ProScope Mobile digital microscope at a scale of 1:50. Project Director: Professor Ioannis Iliopoulos Research Assistants: Georgios Varsanis, Nasser Ayyas, and Hendrik Wangermann (Image 12).

At the same time, a selected group of stone artifacts (B001, B004, B006, B026, B028, B031, B035, B036, B037, B044, B045, B046, and B047) underwent chemicalanalysis using portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) (Bruker Tracer Handheld XRF Analyzer 5i) in order to identify their raw materials more precisely. Principal Investigators: Eleni Filippaki and Frank Hulek (National Centre for Scientific Research "Demokritos") (Image 13).

3. Preliminary Study of the Ceramic Assemblage and Lithic Collection A preliminary examination of the ceramic assemblage was carried out, including macroscopic assessment and an initial classification into fabric groups prior to any analytical study of the ceramic sherds. The stone artifacts were likewise examined in the Akrotiri Excavation Pottery Laboratory, where the finds are curated. Project Director: Professor Ioannis Iliopoulos (Image 14 and Image 15).

4. Architectural Recording and Documentation of the Quarrying Surfaces Architectural documentation was undertaken by architect I. Bitis. The drone imagery and orthophotographic surveys acquired during the July 2025 field season were subsequently analysed by survey engineer D. Niotis and archaeological illustrator N. Sepetzoglou. The integration of aerial photography, orthophotography, field measurements, and complementary analogue and digital recording techniques enabled the detailed documentation of the quarried surfaces on the southern and eastern slopes of Kokkino Vouno. These combined methods made it possible to identify the individual ignimbrite extraction faces with a high degree of precision. Using specialized software, extraction ledges, tooth-like quarrying marks, and other diagnostic traces of stone-working were systematically recorded and mapped. The evidence demonstrates that quarrying operations were organized and carried out during different periods of antiquity, as indicated by the archaeological investigation (Image 16, Image 16_b , Image17, Image17_b ,Image 18, Image 18_b).