Located in the southern Peloponnesian peninsula, Pavlopetri (the modern name of the site) emerged as a Neolithic settlement around 3500 B.C. and became an important trading center for Mycenaean Greece (1650-1180 B.C.). This area of the Aegean Sea is 1 to earthquakes and tsunamis, which caused the city to 2 sink.
The slow sea level rise in the Mediterranean 3 the city more than 3,000 years ago.
For millennia, the city,s 4 lay unseen below some 13 feet of water. They were covered by a thick layer of sand 5 the island of Laconia. In recent decades, shifting 6 and climate change have eroded a natural barrier that 7 Pavlopetri.
In 1967 a scientific survey of the Peloponnesian coast was 8 data to analyze changes in sea levels 9 British oceanographer Nicholas Flemming first spotted
the sunken 10 . A year later, he returned with a few students to 11 the location and map the site. The team identified some 15 buildings, courtyards, a network
of streets, and two chamber tombs. 12 the exciting initial finds, the site would lie 13 for decades before archaeologists would return.
In 2009 archaeologists Chrysanthi Gallou and Jon Henderson 14 the excavation of Pavlopetri in cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Culture. Since the 1960s, underwater archaeology 15 and tools had made huge advances.
The team 16 robotics, sonar mapping, and state-of-the-art graphics to survey the site. From 2009 to 2013 they were able to bring the underwater town to 17 . Covering about two and a half acres, Pavlopetri,s three main roads
18 some 50 rectangular buildings, all of which had open courtyards. Excavations revealed a large number of Minoan-style loom weights, 19 Pavlopetri was a thriving trade center with a 20 textile industry.