Elafonisos Ports Lose Archeological Protection

At a time when reactions from residents and local organizations are peaking against the sale to individuals of two breathtaking beaches of Elafonisos with 175 acres of white sand at Sarakiniko and Simos, the Ministry of Culture is facilitating the construction of a port capable of mooring cruise ships.
While all of Elafonisos is an archaeological site, the Central Archeological Council decided to exclude the old and the new harbors of the island from the legal status of archaeological sites, at the moment when two beaches have passed into the hands of privatization fund HRADF and while the bill on beachfronts is lurking just around the corner.

When some time ago the beaches of Simos and Sarakiniko on Elaphonissos were on HDRAF's lists for privatization, the organization remonstrated that although they were listed they were not on the program from exploitation, but without explaining its position. The reason, more than likely was that the legal regime governing Elafonissos would prohibit prospective investors from implementing development plans.
The recent decision by the Central Archaeological Council to waive the protective regime for the area of the new and the old harbor and the pier towards the beach of Punta on Elafonissos, all of which is considered an archaeological site, paves the way, in this direction.
At its last meeting, the Central Archaeological Council released from the protection of the regime of underwater archaeological antiquities regions of the old and new port of the island, like the pier opposite Punda. The reason why these areas are excluded from the provisions of the archaeological law is in accordance with the decision of the CAC to upgrade port facilities. The funny thing is that the CAC just now found out that these areas are not of archeological interest, but without specifying if there are even any surveys to look for ancient remains.
In short, the port is no longer protected by the provisions of the archaeological law, while the entire island and not only the two specific beaches is an archeological site, including the land, the seashore, and the surrounding marine area. Every inch of Elafonisos is governed by the legal regime of the declaration as an archaeological site as there are scattered antiquities throughout.
The redesignation of the site will include the beach of Punta, where ancient tombs and quarries have come to light, associated with the submerged prehistoric settlement of Pavlopetri.

This decision, taken on the grounds that the port area has no ancient remains, practically means that the port can host any projects that may be called 'infrastructure', 'upgrades', 'improvement' of port facilities, and other facilities such as shops, without going through the pitfall of the archaeological service, when the whole island is protected. Of course, the specific protection of the archaeological law did not prevent HRADF from integrating two beaches for exploitation, which are essentially archaeological sites. Furthermore the declassification of the harbor comes as the bill for the liberalization of beach uses is once just around the corner, and while the two most popular beaches of the island are expected to come into the focus of investors.
Two of the members of the CAC, Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning of the University of Patras Giorgos Panetsos and the head of the Numismatic Museum Giorgos Chowder, oppossed the decision to remove the protective regime of the two ports, but only because they considered it necessary to make a single designation of the marine area between the two ports of Elafonisos and Punda.
In short anything done to the future port (and the port is the necessary hub to “sell” off the beaches of Simos and Sarakiniko) will not take account of the archaeological regime of the surrounding area. This is clearly a legal affront, since the whole area should be a protected zone.

Elaphonisos was declared an archaeological site in 1976, while between Elafonisos and Punda is the islet of Pavlopetri, the famous submerged prehistoric settlement that has attracted international interest. Investigations on the seabed in that area continued by the Department of Underwater Antiquities and the British Archeological School at Athens, and the findings are very important. The submerged habitation site was inhabited from the Late Neolithic to the end of the second millennium BC. The pottery found shows continuous use during the Geometric, Classical, Hellenistic and Byzantine periods.