Pavlopetri Watch Day and Eco-Marine Festival at Laconia, Greece

Pavlopetri, a Bronze-Age underwater city,  has fascinated generations of professional archaeologists and enthusiasts across the world. In celebration of its discovery, the Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage (ARCH) is presenting Pavlopetri Watch Day and the Eco-Marine Film Festival. Featuring archaeological snorkel tours, a walk/run/bike ride and several film screenings, the festival brings attention to the marine environment. In coordination with the Athens International Film Festival, the three-day festival in the seaside village of Neapoli and on the nearby island of Elafonissis will showcase movies and documentaries about the marine environment, including the animated family favorite “Finding Nemo” and the documentaries “Guardians of the Aegean” and “Drain the Ocean: Legends of Atlantis.” The festival will be held from July 19 until July 21 at Laconia (Greece).

City of Pavlopetri

Discovered in 1967 by Nicholas Flemming and mapped in 1968 by a team of archaeologists from Cambridge, Pavlopetri is located between the Pavlopetri islet across the Elafonisos village and the Pounta coast. The coast, the archaeological site as well as the islet and the surrounding sea area are within the region of the Elafonisos Municipality, the old “Onou Gnathos” peninsula (according to Pausanias). It is unique in having an almost complete town plan, including streets, buildings, and tombs. The city of Pavlopetri is part of the underwater cultural heritage as defined by the UNESCO in the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. 

Nonprofit Public Charity Organization

Archinternational (ARCH) is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity organization that works worldwide with civil society groups and individuals to defend cultural heritage. "For us and the friends we support, culture is not something abstract. Culture is what we are proud of, what makes us feel at home, what we like to show off to our visitors. But, culture is often embattled. Ordinary people everywhere try their best to protect the places and legacies they love. It can feel like a losing battle…so our mission at ARCH is to bring in some outside muscle", the organization states at its website.

For more information, visit www.archinternational.org. Photo: courtesy www.learning-history.com.