Olous Submerged City Wall Crete
Olous Submerged City Wall Crete North Annex · Olous Site
Bronze Age to Classical (2000 BCE–300 CE)·Bronze Age–Classical·🇬🇷 Crete, Olous, Greece
About
About Olous Submerged City Wall Crete
Olous Submerged City Wall Crete in Crete, Olous, Greece is a Bronze Age to Classical (2000 BCE–300 CE) submerged city attributed to Bronze Age–Classical. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal submerged area 450 × 280 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 35.2580N 25.7320E controls access to Crete resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey submerged city for Crete, Olous, illustrating Bronze Age–Classical construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology and phasing of construction episodes
- 02Function in regional settlement hierarchy
Theories
- 01Harbour drowned by co-seismic subsidence vs eustatic rise
- 02Continuity of anchorage location
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. 1500 BCE–200 CE
- Period
- Bronze Age to Classical (2000 BCE–300 CE)
- Culture
- Bronze Age–Classical
- Purpose
- Coastal settlement and harbour now submerged by sea-level change/subsidence
- Rediscovered
- 1978 survey
- Excavation
- Submerged
c. 1500 BCE–200 CE
Initial construction of Olous Submerged City Wall Crete main structure
c. 1918
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically
1978–2008
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Olous Submerged City Wall Crete) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
35.2580° N · 25.7320° E · -10 m · 4 mapped features
- Olous Submerged City Wall Crete — Main StructurestructurePrincipal submerged city — Submerged area 450 × 280 m with diagnostic masonry/panel35.2588° N · 25.7329° E
- Olous Submerged City Wall Crete — Ancillary ComplexharbourAncillary harbour mole and anchorage surrounding main feature35.2570° N · 25.7313° E
- Olous Submerged City Wall Crete — Peripheral FeatureoutlierPeripheral feature with outlier deposit and burial35.2595° N · 25.7332° E
- Olous Submerged City Wall Crete — Hydraulic/CisternhydraulicHydraulic feature — cistern/reservoir or rock-cut channel associated with site35.2564° N · 25.7309° E
Gallery