Making a list of the most important archaeological discoveries of the last decade is complicated, whatever the country, region or place in the world chosen. But in Greece above all, due to the abundance and proliferation of finds, from Prehistory to the Middle Ages. Therefore, what better than to go to the Greeks themselves to find out what they consider to be the most important discoveries, to which we have added two more that we consider exceptional.
We have written about some of them here, sometimes a few days after the discovery was published; about others we have spoken tangentially; and finally, we have to recognize that there are also those that went unnoticed at the time.
All of them changed in some way our conception of Greek history, answering some questions but also opening new and exciting questions.
1. Crete Minoan Tomb (2018)
A farmer from Kentri Ierapetra discovered a carved tombstone from the Late Minoan III period when he parked his car under an olive tree.
It turned out to be a tomb containing two large relief representations, two skeletons, and 24 ceramic pieces with reliefs and colorful representations.
2. The commercial portico of Argilo (2013)
Archaeologists working at the site of the ancient city of Argilo (an ancient Macedonian coastal city on the shores of the Strymonic Gulf) in 2013 found the remains of a portico, the type of construction where merchants established their businesses for sale to the public.
But unlike others previously discovered, this time it was made up of different rooms, which suggests that each owner had been building his own business by attaching it to the existing ones. It is therefore a rare find.
What's more, the porch dates back some 2,500 years, making it the oldest in northern Greece.
3. The ancient lost city of Vlochos (2016)
About 300 kilometers north of Athens, in Thessaly, researchers from the University of Gothenburg and the University of Bournemouth surveyed a well-known ruin on the side of a mountain. They had previously been dismissed as belonging to an irrelevant settlement, but new research revealed that they were an ancient lost city, dating to around 2,500 years ago.
It happened in September 2016 in the vicinity of the town of Vlochós, and since then archaeologists have unearthed remains of towers and walls, and found abundant pieces of pottery and coins from the year 500 BC.
4. The Pyramid of Keros (2018)
On the Greek island of Keros, which is home to the world's oldest island sanctuary, archaeologists discovered that 4,000 years ago its inhabitants excavated a mound in the form of terraces, giving it the appearance of a stepped pyramid.
The surprise came when examining the interior and verifying that it had a sophisticated drainage system.
5. The old naval base of Piraeus (2010)
A local fisherman was the key to finding the submerged remains of the ancient Athenian naval base in Piraeus. The ships that fought the Persian Empire in the Battle of Salamis sailed from there.
6. The Palace of Knossos, much larger than previously believed (2016)
New discoveries at the Cretan site of Knossos suggest not only that the palace area was much larger and more influential than previously thought, but also that it survived the volcanic eruption of Tera (Santorini) around 1200 BC.
7. Delos Underwater Finds (2017)
Numerous submerged structures were found around the island of Delos, including an ancient port. Also many shipwrecks from different eras.
All this confirms the theory that Delos was an important commercial center, a crossroads of maritime routes and a link between Mediterranean peoples.
8. The old silver mine of Lavrio (2009)
In 2009, the ruins of the Lavrios silver mines were excavated in Sounion National Park, near the town of Agios Konstadinos. The wealth from these and other gold, iron and silver mines helped sustain the Athenian Empire between the 5th and 4th centuries BC. And with the benefits obtained from them, the monuments of the Acropolis and the city walls were paid for, among others.
9. The Ancient Inscription of Evia (2018)
In August 2018, a fragment of marble was found hidden under stones on a path in Evia. It turned out to contain a profuse inscription from the Hellenistic era that may shed light on life in ancient Greece.
10. Parietal art in Asphendou Cave (2018)
In Crete's Asphendou Cave, already known for its abundance of petroglyphs, archaeologists discovered what is believed to be the oldest example of art in Greece, dating back to the Ice Age more than 11,000 years ago.
And it is that the reliefs show up to 37 deer of a type extinct around that date, the Candiacervus ropalophorus .
11. The discoveries of Iklaina (2018)
The results of the excavations at Iklaina, about 10 kilometers northeast of the town of Pylos, have led to a revision of our knowledge of the Mycenaean states, with truly unexpected findings.
Among them, a primitive Mycenaean palace, great cyclopean walls, terraces and inscriptions in Linear B. Moreover, from the studies carried out, experts deduce that Iklaina was the first city-state of Greece.
12. The Pylos Combat Agate (2017)
In the summer of 2015, archaeologists working around the Mycenaean palace of Nestor in Pylos, Greece, found a tomb with the remains of a warrior from 1500 BC. Next to it is a surprising treasure made up of weapons, gold jewelery and other objects, most of them in the Minoan style. A reconstruction of his face was even made and he was given the name of Guerrero Griffin.
In November 2017, the team from the University of Cincinnati announced the discovery in the same tomb of a truly impressive object:a seal carved in a precious stone that researchers already consider to be one of the best works of prehistoric Greek art ever found.