Since July 28, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar has travelled through Greece as part of the UNIGE-led TerraSubmersa expedition. This mission was divided into two distinct phases. The first was to introduce the archeologists’ work among the public and local authorities through a series of events organized along the three stops (Eretria, Athens, Napflio), while the second phase was exclusively dedicated to archeological research in the Gulf of Napflio.
“The catamaran’s spacious liveable surface and her complete energy independence, as well as her low draught and great maneuverability made it an optimal work platform for the researchers. Once again, the MS Tûranor PlanetSolar has shown that she is an ideal base for scientific research, and reaffirms her many versatile uses!” declared the ship’s captain, Gérard d’Aboville.
PlanetSolar is extremely satisfied with this mission. At each stop, the ship was met with enthusiasm by the public, and drew the attention of Greek authorities. Thus, more than 2,000 people stepped through the catamaran’s walkway. Moreover, PlanetSolar had the opportunity to welcome local political figures aboard, including Konstantinos Tassoulas, the Greek minister of culture, Giannis Maniats, the Greek minister of the environment, energy, and climate change, as well as the wife of the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. On the Swiss side, PlanetSolar also notably welcomed Walter Steinmann, director of the Federal Energy Office (OFEN).
Currently, the ship and her crew are sailing towards Venice. They are expected to drop anchor in the City of Doges on September 4.
Preliminary Results of the TerraSubmersa Expedition
This Greco-Swiss expedition, led by UNIGE archeologists in collaboration with the Laténium of Neuchâtel, the Greek Service for Underwater Antiquities, the Swiss School of Archeology in Greece, and the Hellenic Center for Maritime Research, aimed to explore the prehistoric landscapes that have been submerged by the waters of the Gulf of Napflio, in order to remodel them and to identify any potential traces of human activity.
At the end of the Ice Age, about 20,000 years ago, the sea level was considerably lower than it is today. By remodeling the landscapes that have disappeared underwater, archeologists hope to understand the dynamics through which coastal zones were populated. In the TerraSubmersa expedition, research focused on the Franchti cave, located on the northern bank of the Bay of Kiladha, which was inhabited for close to 35,000 years, from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic ages. “We collected fantastic data, whose analysis will take two years of work,” enthused Julien Beck, the expedition’s lead scientist. “The preliminary results are encouraging!” In fact, by mapping the seabeds, the researchers found paleobeaches dating back to different periods in prehistory. All signs lead to believe that these beaches were shaped by the inhabitants of the Franchti cave, in which scientists recovered shells and the remains of fish. Furthermore, faults indicating tectonic shifts in the gulf of Nafplio have been detected with the echo-sonar installed aboard the solar-powered ship. These faults could explain the difference in depth of the paleobeaches.
