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Discovery of the classical stoa submerged in Salamis used a flexible barrier to remove water from the site and allow dry excavation. Twenty-two bronze coins and two 4th-century BC marbles confirm the continuous use of the public space from the classical era to the early Byzantine.
Researchers from the Ephorate of Marine Antiquities, in partnership with the Institute of Marine Archaeological Research and the University of Ioannina, have identified a submerged stoa in the coastal waters of Salamis, Greece.
According to the Greek Ministry of Culture, the structure is 32 meters long and 6 meters wide. The walls are 60 centimeters thick.
According to the team, six to seven internal rooms were identified, each 4.7 by 4.7 meters. The complex was partially covered by seawater.
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Therefore, the expedition used a cofferdam: a flexible barrier that removes water around the submerged stoa. This way, it is possible to excavate dry where it was once the seabed.
Furthermore, the discovery confirms a forgotten page by the traveler Pausanias, who described “agora ruins” near the port almost two thousand years ago.
How the cofferdam revealed the submerged stoa
The cofferdam is described by researchers as “an ingenious method” for underwater access. Through it, water is drained from a specific area.
Thus, archaeologists can work in controllable dry conditions. Without the cofferdam, any excavation would depend on diving and limited visibility.
According to the Ministry of Culture, the technique allowed excavation “down to the stoa’s floor levels.” Therefore, artifacts emerged in a preserved stratigraphic sequence.
In three years of intensive research, which began in 2016, the team also discovered a sea dam in 2021. This is part of the city’s ancient fortification system.
Consequently, the site began to be treated as one of the most relevant in Greek underwater archaeology. However, there are still significant sections to explore.
What was a stoa, after all?
According to Arkeo News, a stoa is an ancient Greek portico. The rear is enclosed by a wall, and the front features a colonnade for a sheltered walkway.
Thus, the structure served as a multifunctional public space. Magistrates dispatched business, shopkeepers sold goods, monuments were displayed, and religious ceremonies took place.
Therefore, saying that archaeologists only found “a submerged wall” would be unfair to the discovery. The stoa functioned as a covered square of the classical city.
According to Greece Is, the stoa of Salamis likely marks the eastern boundary of the agora — the civic heart of the classical-Hellenistic city — and not the port area.
- Length: 32 meters (measurement until publication)
- Constant width: 6 meters
- Wall thickness: 60 centimeters
- Internal rooms: 6 to 7 rooms of 4.7 m × 4.7 m
- Period of use: from Classical to early Byzantine (up to 6th century AD)
- Functions: civil, commercial, religious, and administrative
22 coins, 2 marbles, and the 1,000-year interval
Among the recovered artifacts, 22 bronze coins and 2 marble objects dating from the 4th century BC stand out. These two marbles are especially significant.
In addition, fragments of pottery, amphora stoppers, and more pieces of sculpted marble were found. The chronological range is broad.
According to sources, the pottery ranges from the Classical period to the Late Roman or early Byzantine era — reaching the 6th century AD. In other words, the space was used for over a thousand years.
Thus, the stoa was not an ephemeral building. Whoever built it in the 4th century BC could not have imagined it would still be in use after Christ, under Roman and Byzantine rule.
Pausanias, Salamis, and the Rising Aegean
According to the Greek Ministry of Culture, “the identification of the stoa is a very important element for the study of the topography and residential organization of the ancient city.”
According to Arkeo News, the discovery corroborates a direct account: Pausanias, a Greek traveler from the 2nd century AD, described “agora ruins” near the port.
Thus, more than 1,800 years later, his notes receive physical confirmation. The ancient Greek tourist became a location reference for modern archaeologists.
On the other hand, it is necessary to explain why the structure is now submerged. According to Greece Is, Greece has almost constant seismic activity.
In this way, successive earthquakes over centuries lowered coastal sections. Structures built on dry land ended up under a few meters of sea.
The identification of the stoa is a very important element for the study of the topography and residential organization of the ancient city. — Greek Ministry of Culture, in an official statement via Tovima.
Why the submerged stoa is of interest today
Salamis is best known for the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. It was there that Greek city-states defeated Xerxes’ Persian fleet.
However, the civil history of the ancient city is less understood. Much of it was swallowed by the sea and remained unknown for centuries.
Consequently, every excavated meter of the stoa returns a bit of classical daily life.
Not the life of the military hero, but that of the merchant, the magistrate, and the pilgrim.
Furthermore, there are signs of mythological connection. According to Greece Is, some artifacts suggest a link to Ajax, hero of the Trojan War and a central figure in local memory.
Global trend in coastal archaeology
According to Greece Is, the discovery in Salamis is part of a global trend. “Foreshore” archaeology — the coastline — is growing in several countries.
Advanced methods of technical analysis, multibeam sonar, and flexible cofferdams provide access to previously unfeasible sites. As a result, discoveries are accelerating.
Is Brazil, with so many ancient ports and coastal cities, ready for a similar effort? The question applies to both Olinda and the port of Santos.
On the other hand, a caveat is needed. Sources present a divergence: Arkeo News speaks of the “east coast” and Notícia Brasil of the “west coast.”
Nevertheless, the existence of the structure is confirmed by multiple Greek and international institutions.
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