Northeast of the island of Elafonisos lies the islet of Pavlopetri (or Paulopetri) at about 200 meters from the harbor town of Pounta. Near this small islet there is an ancient city which is completely under water. It is considered the oldest sunken city in the world. Although the old town is approximately 3000 m2 (300 x 100 meters) and large parts of it can be seen with the naked eye, it was only discovered in 1967. There are about 15 buildings, five roads, two tombs and 37 graves. This includes a palace with four rooms and a temple. Several artifacts were found on the seabed. The infrastructure of roads, buildings and tombs of this city are still reasonably intact. It is estimated that the city is 5000 years old and dates from the Bronze Age and the Minoan period. It was a port in a sheltered and sandy bay which was ideal for ships of that period. Pavlopetri probably sunk around 1000 BC, and the buildings are now 3 to 4 meters deep. The sunken city is experiencing a lot of damage from the dragging of anchors and from souvenir hunters. On Pavlopetri itself are remnants of walls from the Roman and Byzantine times and some 60 Hellenistic tombs. Some of these tombs have also been sunk in the sea. In the port of Elafonisos Town there is a tiny islet with the small Byzantine church of Agios Spyridona. This little church is the main church of the island. It is accessible via a bridge. In Kato Nisi, at the highest point, is the two-storey castle / tower of the Melas family dating back to 1863. The castle was renovated in 1993 and is open to the public. In Kato Nisi is also the Panagia church from 1825 which was restored in 1928. There are frescoes and icons inside. The church was built on the remains of an old Byzantine church. At a distance of 200 meters west of the church is a Mycenaean cemetery. Between 1600 and 1100 BC people were buried here in small caves. In Kato Nisi there is also an early Christian graveyard.

© Hans Huisman, https://www.angelfire.com/super2/greece/ 2014