Giant petrified tree trunk found on Lemnos

"The trunk, with a length of more than eight meters, retains the characteristics of the wood, while the ends of its branches have been preserved in excellent condition. This is an impressive find of a fossilized trunk of a coniferous tree, from which we obtain an overall picture of its dimensions and is an indisputable witness of the value of the fossil forest of Lemnos ", said Mr. Zouros to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency.

According to him, "the creation of the fossil forest is directly related to volcanic activity in the region of today's Aegean, mainly during the Mesozoic, about 20 million years ago. At that time there was a generalized volcanic activity in the wider region of the northeastern Aegean and Asia Minor, due to which both the fossilized forest in Lemnos and the fossilized forest of Lesvos were created. As it is known, standing and adjacent fossilized tree trunks have been found in the sea area between the two islands ". The fossilized forest of Lemnos is a unique natural monument. It was declared a protected monument of nature in 2013 by a decision of the then secretary general of the Decentralized Administration of the Aegean, Christiana Kalogirou.

According to a relevant announcement, the Museum of Natural History of the Fossil Forest of Lesvos will continue the maintenance and promotion of the fossil forest of Lemnos next September, when the works in Varos are expected to be completed, while the promotion of new places is planned. The maintenance and promotion works were carried out in collaboration with the Municipality of Lemnos and the Directorate of Forests of Lesvos. The president of the Local Community of Varos, G. Kavouras, helped significantly in the whole effort.