Have you ever walked through a museum and thought to yourself, this is incredibly dry? Then look no further as a new underwater museum opened it’s oceans to scuba divers on Saturday, August 1st.
Museums are often filled with the impending dread of the walk through the gift shop, as the glower of the sales team either makes you want to cry or buy a pencil. This anxiety-riddled experience is but forgotten with the new underwater museum in Greece.
Situated close to the shores of the uninhabited island of Peristera, a few clicks away from the east coast of Alonissos. Amateur scuba divers have the opportunity to peruse the underwater sanctuary of the past but if you are restricted by travel (pandemic), then do not worry as there are discussions on re-opening next summer.
From Ship To Shipwreck
The shipwreck is said to have occurred around 500BC when a cargo vessel hosting thousands of amphorae – big jugs – sank to the ocean floor due to unknown circumstances. In 1985 a local fisherman discovered the thousands of amphorae (which contained fine wine), prompting a site of archaeological significance studied for the past four decades. The area was closed to the public for study and documentation until now when landlubbers may openly venture through the mysterious depths of the wreckage.
Historians have deemed it the largest ship of its kind discovered underwater.
The Tour
Licensed guides navigate certified groups of divers through the museum but do not worry if you cannot swim, as you can partake in the virtual tours hosted by the Alonissos information centre. The watery depths of this historically engaging tour can be found below in some footage captured by a diver.
The underwater museum will remain open until October 2nd then rumoured to open again next summer. So, If you like to travel and enjoy significant archaeological finds from an ancient civilisation (or just large bodies of water) and despise gift shops’ then you now know where to go.
If this tickled your barnacles then continue your plundering of the great deep through a secret underwater tunnel.
