Halkidiki, Central Macedonia, Greece

Halkidiki Amphora Field

Off the Halkidiki peninsula in northern Greece lies an amphora field of Hellenistic-period transport jars, scattered across a sandy slope between roughly 22 and 30 metres. The amphorae are the surviving cargo of an ancient merchant ship whose wooden hull has long decomposed, leaving the ceramic vessels partly upright and partly buried in the sand. Under Greek antiquities law these objects are state property and the entire area is classified as an underwater archaeological zone; diving is permitted only with licensed local operators holding the appropriate permit, in small groups under direct guide supervision, and nothing may be touched, removed or photographed for commercial use. Marine life on and around the amphorae is rich: octopus often shelter inside the jar necks, while small reef fish such as scorpionfish, painted comber and ornate wrasse hunt along the edges of the field. The northern Aegean has slightly lower visibility than the Cyclades, typically 12 to 18 metres, and water temperature drops earlier in autumn.