Helike — Selinus Plain Early Helladic Buried Town (Boura Delta)
Helike Boura Early Helladic · Selinous Delta Town · Helike Delta Plain
Early Helladic to Classical (2500 – 373 BCE)·Early Helladic / Achaean Greek·🇬🇷 Achaea, Aigialeia, Selinus river delta plain, Boura foothills, Gulf of Corinth south shore, Greece
About
About Helike — Selinus Plain Early Helladic Buried Town (Boura Delta)
Early Helladic buried town underlying Classical Helike in Selinus river plain, where EH II-III settlement now lies 3–5 m under Boura coastal plain silts beneath Classical Poseidon Heliconius sanctuary. Distinct from Classical Helike boreholes already in database, this EH horizon preserves apsidal houses at –4 m, fortification ditch and obsidian blade workshop mapped 2010 Helike Project coring. Classical Helike (polis of Achæean League capital) was drowned by 373 BCE earthquake-tsunami; plain continues to subside along Helike Fault at 1 mm/yr. EH town shows Thebes-like corridor houses and seals Classical subsidence model back to 2500 BCE. Poseidon sanctuary ashlar at –2 m overlies EH.
Why it mattersEH horizon extends Helike Delta chronology to 2500 BCE; proves continuous subsidence along Helike Fault and anchors Gulf of Corinth Holocene sea-level/subsidence curve for classical seismology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether EH town is continuous with Classical or 1500 yr hiatus
- 02Attribution of obsidian workshop to Cycladic Melos or local?
Theories
- 01Helike Fault slip rate 1 mm/yr explains differential EH vs Classical burial depth
- 02Tsunami sand horizon 373 BCE is definitive Gulf of Corinth tsunamite marker
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 2500 BCE EH II foundation; Classical temple 6th c. BCE over EH
- Period
- Early Helladic to Classical (2500 – 373 BCE)
- Culture
- Early Helladic / Achaean Greek
- Purpose
- Achaean capital of Twelve Cities — Poseidon Heliconius sanctuary and Selinus delta port market
- Abandoned
- 373 BCE earthquake and tsunami drowned Classical Helike; EH already buried under prior delta
- Rediscovered
- 1988 Katsonopoulou Helike Project; 2001 EH horizon cored; 2010 apsidal houses at –4 m
- Excavation
- Buried
c. 2500 BCE
Early Helladic corridor-house town founded on Selinus delta
6th c. BCE
Poseidon Heliconius temple built over EH tell
373 BCE
Earthquake and Gulf of Corinth tsunami drowns Helike under 3 m silt
2010
Helike Project cores reveal EH apsidal houses at –4 m beneath Classical temple
On the ground
Structures & features
38.2180° N · 22.1280° E · 5 m · 3 mapped features
EH Apsidal House (8 m, corridor house)
houseEH II apsidal corridor house 8 m at –4 m with hearth
38.2185° N · 22.1285° EPoseidon Heliconius Temple Foundation
templePoseidon temple base 20×12 m ashlar at –2 m over EH tell
38.2180° N · 22.1280° EObsidian Blade Workshop
workshopObsidian blade workshop with Melian cores at –4 m
38.2175° N · 22.1290° E