Last month, we reported on a study claiming that the ancient ruins of Zakynthos in Greece are nothing more than a natural phenomenon. It was a strange turn of events when the Department of Underwater Antiquities announced that the initial find included huge public buildings, cobblestones, column bases and other construction materials. We question whether this new study is authentic or whether there is an attempt to suppress the original findings. So we asked the person who first discovered the site, Pavlos Voutos, to share his perspective.
About 25 years ago, I started diving in the clear blue waters of Zakynthos. Many times I walked through the water and saw broken pieces of ceramics and I wondered where they came from. I thought maybe there was something buried in the sand. I believe there is definitely something ancient around the area that deserves further investigation. For many years I found no other clues to prove this.
My love for the ocean inspired me to buy an underwater camera to start taking photos of my diving excursions. That was when the secret was revealed to me. One day, I took a photo of some small colorful fish and later, when looking at the photos on the computer, I realized that some of the rocks behind the fish had shapes and lines that looked like they were made by humans. create.
After searching a little more closely in a place with poor visibility that I had previously avoided, I found the remaining stones, round column bases, small columns, crushed stones, giant square stones, shaped awnings. form (even today we still use them in stone buildings above windows and doors) and three rows that look like roads and are completely straight. Each row is about 200 meters long and has two completely parallel rows. I noticed that many fishermen set nets in the area and caught Amphora, but no one knew what was down there.
Then I began my adventure with the authorities, who neither believed me nor cared. So I decided to upload some photos to Google Earth. After a few years, the Deputy Mayor of Zakynthos discovered them and called me to meet him, to show and tell him more. Everyone at that meeting was impressed and immediately decided to call in the underwater archaeologists. About a month later they arrived and we met before a committee of about 15 people. They saw pictures and talked about clear signs that they were ancient ruins.
Over the next few days we returned to the area to dive. The archaeologists were very excited and they talked about a large, meaningful ancient building. During that dive, they took out a round stone with a hole and after examining it, they concluded that it was a mill stone. They then returned it to where it was found. They also did a few dives themselves and asked us to return in October 2013 to do a more complete study. They made an official announcement about the discovery on the Ministry of Culture website using my photos and describing the rocks and rows of benches as signs of ancient ruins. The Director of the Department of Underwater Archeology was interviewed on the government’s National TV channel showing my photos (without naming them as mine). They hid my identity even when asked by reporters.
When they returned in October, the atmosphere had completely changed. The archaeologists and the rest of the group seemed disinterested, stressed, and annoyed with everything and everyone. In June, they told us they would send a team of diving scientists, archaeologists, topographers, architects, geologists and an artist to map underwater of the area. Instead, only one archaeological diver and three escort divers came to re-examine the area. That surprised me. They also complained to us that we had given a lot of publicity to these findings, yet it was they who made the announcement on National Television.
During the dive in October, they didn’t want anyone near them, including me, and they specifically mentioned that they didn’t want any reporters there. After several days of diving and before the geologists arrived, a local fisherman brought back a piece of ancient rock that he had caught in a net in the area. He broke it in front of them and shouted to go away because this was a geological phenomenon and it was none of their business to be there.
The arriving geologists were not divers and had not seen the site while it was underwater so they could not see the context or location of the rock formations and rows. They were given specific and targeted specimens by archaeologists and even before bringing the specimen back to the lab for examination, they informed the media that it was a unique geological phenomenon.
You have read the entire announcement through the media and if anyone wants to read more and see all the photos, you can go to my Facebook Page. It is very important that people share their opinions, comments and ideas about the whole issue. Any help and support is very welcome and grateful. I’m very worried about the future of this mysterious place.
I would also like to mention that in light of the Greek government’s 180-degree turn, I can only assume a few different possibilities. First of all, a large part of the discovery lies under a small harbor and some people may fear for the future of the harbor. Second, the entire area is filled with ancient finds, tombs, legends and places named after Odysseus of Ithica and some people may fear for the land, houses and facilities. their place of business. Finally, as everyone knows, Greece is a bankrupt country and completely controlled by the Troika and the IMF. I believe that some officials and politicians will not like the amount of money spent on an underwater expedition that is so expensive.
