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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-07-20
CONTENTS
[01] Ancient paved way discovered at Megalo Kavouri beach, linking area
to greater Athens road network
[01] Ancient paved way discovered at Megalo Kavouri beach, linking area
to greater Athens road network
ANA-MPA -- A 300-metre section of an ancient carriage way dated to the
4th century BC was discovered by archaeologists at the Megalo Kavouri
beach in the southern suburb of Vouliagmeni, the ministry of Culture
announced on Monday.
The road, paved with small stones placed close to one another, varies
in width from 1.90 metres to 6.10 metres. It is delineated by retaining
walls on either side that also serve to keep the pavement stable, as
the earth underneath is soft and sandy.
At its widest point, and resting on a retaining wall, were found the
foundations of a rectangular building with a floor that resembles the
road, leading archaeologists to believe it was constructed at the same
time as the road. Both were in use throughout the 4th century BC, as
evidence of pottery and coins shows.
The road appears to have linked the ancient deme of Aixonidai Alon with
the beach, and to have connected to a greater road network, parts of
which have been discovered at several sites along the coast. The network
included a greater road linking Athens with Sounion - the southernmost
point of the Attica peninsula - and a road that followed the coast from
Faliro to Voula, southwest to southeast of Athens.
Excavations began within a general NSRF-funded project to improve the area
of Megalo Kavouri, and were later funded by Greek shipowner Athanassios
Martinos, whose support allowed the completion of an archaeological park
at Megalo Kavouri beach. Excavations are under the ministry's Ephorate
of Antiquities of Western Attica, Piraeus and the Islands (formerly the
26th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities).
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