Zakynthos is the third largest Greek Island in the Ionian Sea. The name of the island comes from a legendary Arcadian King Dardanus, son of God Zeus and Electra, founder of the mythical city of Dardania. Zacynthus was one of the sons of Dardanus. It is an island that has been inhabited from the Neolithic Age and mentioned by the ancient Greek writer Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Recently in the area Alykanas of Zakynthos, underwater ruins were discovered that span more than 30 acres at a depth of 2 to 6 meters. They have discovered stoned pavements and the foundations of 20 columns with a large round opening in the middle, probably to be used for wooden columns.

There are no clues at the moment as to what was built there, but there are suggestions that it must have been a large public building probably related with the port of the ancient city. The size of the buildings shows that the ancient city around Alykanas must have been of great importance. Alykanas is of great archaeological interest since previous excavations have discovered Mycenaean ships which suggests that an ancient Arcadian city was located there – and probably the ‘legendary’ Arcadian king wasn’t so ‘legendary’ after all.

The research is going to continue in order for more details to come on the surface that will give more insights into what the purpose of the buildings was.

By John Black