Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-10-04

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Tsipras, Merkel, Faymann discuss refugees issue

[02] Economy Minster Stathakis sees restart of economy before summer

[03] Technology casts light on Methoni sunken town and Sapienza island shipwrecks

[01] Tsipras, Merkel, Faymann discuss refugees issue

Their discussion focused on the management of the refugees' inflow issue.

According to an announcement issued by the Greek government, the three leaders agreed on the further cooperation of their countries on the management of the refugees' issue. Germany and Austria pledged to support Greece's efforts for additional European support not only on funding level but also on staffing of services responsible for refugees.

It was also agreed that Austria will send a group of experts in order to join Frontex and EASO.

Finally, Chancellor Faymann's visit to Greece next week was also discussed.

[02] Economy Minster Stathakis sees restart of economy before summer

He underlined that the trust to the national banking system will be restored very soon with the completion of their recapitalisation until Christmas and its incorporation in the European banking system.

Stathakis said that "today the banks are safer that they were in the past" adding that the danger of haircut on bank deposits is unrealistic.

[03] Technology casts light on Methoni sunken town and Sapienza island shipwrecks

Research was conducted by the ministry of Culture's Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities in cooperation with the University of Patras' Geology department, and its Laboratory of Marine Geology and Oceanography, in particular.

According to a statement by the ministry of Culture, research in the area had two purposes, "to locate ancient and historical shipwrecks lying on the bottom of the sea or buried in its sediments, and the palaeogeographic reconstruction of the bay of Methoni in the last 10,000 years."

The ministry said the following equipment was used: a sub-bottom high-resolution profiler, which can locate targets buried several metres below the surface of the seabed; a side-scan sonar to locate objects lying on the seabed surface; a magnetometer to locate metal objects and magnetic targets (including amphorae, the vessels with handles that were used to transport liquids) on the seabed or below it; and a multi-beam echo-sounder to map the depth and underwater terrain in detail, allowing the modelling of the seabed in three-dimensional format.

The equipment allowed the detailed recording of two known shipwrecks off the northern coast of the Sapienza island, possibly of the Roman era, and of the sunken settlement in the Methoni bay which dates to the Middle Bronze Age.

"In one of the shipwrecks, the magnetometer showed buried metal targets, which may possibly relate to the ship's cannons," the ministry said. "A large number of metal and magnetic targets were located in the Methoni bay which will be examined through close inspection at a later stage," it added.

Commenting on the geological findings, the ministry's announcement said the area "may serve as an excellent natural laboratory for the testing and development of new methodologies and technologies in underwater geoarchaeology and in the management of underwater archaeological sites."

Research on the sunken settlement revealed "the full extent of the settlement, a significant part of which appears to be buried under the seabed sediments, therefore it remains unexplored to the present. In addition, the sub-bottom profiler identified the geological formation on which the settlement had been built and the geological reason of its submergence under the sea."

According to the ministry's site, one of the two shipwrecks ("the shipwreck of columns") lies close to the northern shore of Sapienza, at a depth of 10 metres. It features columns made of reddish granite scattered over an area of 30sq.m.; only one of them remains whole (8m high, 0.90m diameter). It is tentatively dated to the Roman era.

Nearby is the "shipwreck of the sarcophagi", at a depth of 15 metres. The cargo consisted of stone sarcophagi with their covers, and it is dated to the 3rd century AD.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article