{"id":28,"date":"2026-03-30T00:49:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T21:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kokkino-vouno.project.uoi.gr\/?page_id=28"},"modified":"2026-07-22T23:19:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T20:19:06","slug":"%ce%b1%cf%80%ce%bf%ce%bb%ce%bf%ce%b3%ce%b9%cf%83%ce%bc%cf%8c%cf%82-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kokkino-vouno.project.uoi.gr\/en\/%ce%b1%cf%80%ce%bf%ce%bb%ce%bf%ce%b3%ce%b9%cf%83%ce%bc%cf%8c%cf%82-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Report 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Summary of Activities for 2025\n<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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July 2025 Fieldwork<\/h6>\n
1. Systematic Recording and Documentation of Permanent Anthropogenic\nFeatures on the Southern Slope of Kokkino Vouno\nBetween 5 and 10 July 2025, a series of field investigations was carried out on the\nsouthern slope of Kokkino Vouno with the aim of documenting and understanding the\nextent and organization of quarrying activity in the area. \u03a3\u03c4\u03bf \u03c0\u03b5\u03b4\u03af\u03bf \u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03ac\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03ba\u03b1\u03bd \u03bf\u03b9 <\/span>\u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03b9 \u0393. \u0392\u03b1\u03c1\u03c3\u03ac\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u039c. \u03a7\u03ac\u03bb\u03b1\u03c1\u03b7.<\/span> The investigation began with\na reconnaissance survey of the southern slope below the first extensive plateau, which\nis enclosed by a stone boundary wall (<\/span>Image 1<\/a>).<\/span><\/h6>\n
Evidence of systematic exploitation was identified, including vertical and horizontal\nquarry cuts, working surfaces with extraction ledges, tooth-like chisel marks, and\ntectonic detachment scars. These features indicate repeated phases of quarrying\nactivity (Image 2<\/a>,Image 3<\/a>,Image 4<\/a>,Image 5<\/a>,Image 6<\/a>)<\/h6>\n
At the same time, dry-stone retaining structures constructed on natural terraces and\nstepped formations along the slope were documented. Although these structures\ncannot yet be dated with precision, they exhibit evidence for the reuse of ancient\nbuilding material.\nStone enclosure walls were also recorded. Constructed primarily from ignimbrite,\nandesite, and dacite, these walls formerly (until the 1970s) separated the cultivable\nland from the rocky ignimbrite outcrop on the upper terrace while simultaneously\nfunctioning as retaining walls supporting the sloping terrain (Image 7<\/a> and Image 8<\/a>).<\/h6>\n
2. Drone Survey and Orthophotographic Documentation\nDrone imagery and orthophotographic mapping of the exposed surfaces and quarrying\nzones were carried out by D. NiotisImage 9<\/a>).<\/h6>\n
3. Photographic Documentation of the Finds\nNearly the entire assemblage of finds\u2014primarily the ceramic material\u2014was\nphotographed by the photographer T. Pasialis.<\/h6>\n
4. Technical Drawings of Portable Finds\nMeasured drawings of the portable finds were prepared by the archaeological\nillustrator N. Sepetzoglou.<\/h6>\n
5. Recording and Cataloguing of the Ceramic Assemblage The ceramic assemblage was recorded and catalogued by archaeologist A. Xenaki,\nincluding the use of the Munsell Soil Color Charts <\/span>by T. Panagiotopoulou for\nstandardized colour <\/span>recording.<\/span><\/h6>\n
6. Recording and Cataloguing of the Stone Artifacts\nThe stone artifacts were recorded and catalogued by archaeologist G. Varsanis.<\/h6>\n
 <\/h6>\n
September 2025 Fieldwork<\/b><\/h6>\n
1. Core Sampling and Exploratory Drilling at Mavro Rachidi
On 22\u201323 September 2025, two exploratory boreholes were drilled in the Mavro\nRachidi area, located in the westernmost of the three valleys of the Akrotiri region.\nThe principal objective was to investigate the possible location of the ancient harbour,\nwhile five additional research goals focused on the stratigraphic and\npalaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the area. Although the area is now dry land,\nevidence suggests that it once formed a marine environment. This interpretation is\nsupported both by earlier mapping and by the discovery of marine sand in previous\nboreholes. The first borehole was drilled approximately 200 m from the present\nshoreline using a heavy-duty drilling rig capable of penetrating bedrock(Image 9b<\/a> and Image 10<\/a>).<\/h6>\n
The coring procedure involved the extraction of 1 m-long sediment cores using a\nplastic liner placed inside the drill barrel. Five centimetres were removed from each\nend of every core section to eliminate contamination, while the uppermost\nmetre\u2014representing disturbed cultivated soil\u2014was excluded from subsequent\nanalyses. The cores were wrapped in opaque black plastic to prevent exposure to\nlight, individually labelled (e.g., Borehole 1, Borehole 2, Borehole 3), and stored for\nlaboratory analysis (Image 11<\/a>).<\/h6>\n
Laboratory investigations will include:\n\n\uf0b7 Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating,\n\n\uf0b7 Radiocarbon (C-14) dating,\n\n\uf0b7 mineralogical analyses,\n\n\uf0b7 stratigraphic analyses, and\n\n\uf0b7 palaeoclimatic investigations.\n\nParticular importance will be given to organic remains and marine materials (shells\nand molluscan remains), which are expected to provide both chronological and\nenvironmental information.<\/h6>\n
Based on previous drilling campaigns, the anticipated stratigraphic sequence is as\nfollows:
i. Cultivated topsoil (disturbed; approximately 1 m thick)
ii. Fluvial\u2013torrent deposits, representing catastrophic flooding events following the\nMinoan eruption
iii. Volcanic ash deposits, approximately 3\u20134 m thick, part of which was transported\nseaward
iv. Black marine sand, approximately 1 m thick
v. Ignimbrite, the area's parent bedrock, marking the termination of the borehole.<\/h6>\n
The second borehole was drilled approximately 130 m from the present shoreline\nwithin the same area.<\/h6>\n
Approximately 20 m of sediment cores were recovered from each borehole.\nCombined with material collected during previous field seasons, these samples\nconstitute a sufficiently large dataset for chronological and palaeoenvironmental\ncomparison.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\npalaeoclimatic evolution of Thera (Santorini).\nThe results are expected to form the basis of a series of scientific publications\nconcerning both the search for the ancient harbour and the geomorphological\ntransformations that have affected the region from prehistoric times to the present.<\/h6>\n
2. Mineralogical Study and Preliminary Macroscopic Identification of the Stone\nArtifacts\n\nA mineralogical investigation and preliminary macroscopic identification of the rock\ntypes represented among the 51 stone artifacts and tools collected during the 2024 and\n2025 surface surveys at Kokkino Vouno were undertaken.\nMineralogical analyses and measurements were carried out using Near Infrared\nSpectroscopy (NIR) with a Spectral Evolution specTerra SM-3500 instrument.
In addition, every specimen was photographed using a Bodelin ProScope Mobile\ndigital microscope at a scale of 1:50. Project Director: Professor Ioannis Iliopoulos\nResearch Assistants: Georgios Varsanis, Nasser Ayyas, and Hendrik Wangermann (Image 12<\/a>).<\/h6>\n
At the same time, a selected group of stone artifacts (B001, B004, B006, B026, B028,\nB031, B035, B036, B037, B044, B045, B046, and B047) underwent chemical\n\nanalysis using portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) (Bruker Tracer Handheld XRF\nAnalyzer 5i) in order to identify their raw materials more precisely.\nPrincipal Investigators: Eleni Filippaki and Frank Hulek (National Centre for\nScientific Research \"Demokritos\") (Image 13<\/a>).<\/h6>\n
3. Preliminary Study of the Ceramic Assemblage and Lithic Collection\nA preliminary examination of the ceramic assemblage was carried out, including\nmacroscopic assessment and an initial classification into fabric groups prior to any\nanalytical study of the ceramic sherds.\nThe stone artifacts were likewise examined in the Akrotiri Excavation Pottery\nLaboratory, where the finds are curated.\nProject Director: Professor Ioannis Iliopoulos (Image 14<\/a> and Image 15<\/a>).<\/h6>\n
4. Architectural Recording and Documentation of the Quarrying Surfaces\nArchitectural documentation was undertaken by architect I. Bitis.\nThe drone imagery and orthophotographic surveys acquired during the July 2025 field\nseason were subsequently analysed by survey engineer D. Niotis and archaeological\nillustrator N. Sepetzoglou.\nThe integration of aerial photography, orthophotography, field measurements, and\ncomplementary analogue and digital recording techniques enabled the detailed\ndocumentation of the quarried surfaces on the southern and eastern slopes of Kokkino\nVouno. These combined methods made it possible to identify the individual\nignimbrite extraction faces with a high degree of precision. Using specialized\nsoftware, extraction ledges, tooth-like quarrying marks, and other diagnostic traces of\nstone-working were systematically recorded and mapped. The evidence demonstrates\nthat quarrying operations were organized and carried out during different periods of\nantiquity, as indicated by the archaeological investigation (Image 16<\/a>, Image 16_b<\/a> , Image17<\/a>, Image17_b<\/a> ,Image 18<\/a>, Image 18_b<\/a>).<\/h6>\n
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