17 he Pavlopetri Underwater Archaeology Project: investigating an ancient submerged town Jon C. Henderson, Chrysanthi Gallou, Nicholas C. Flemming and Elias Spondylis Pavlopetri, of the coast of Laconia, Greece, is a submerged prehistoric town, which consists of intact building foundations, courtyards, streets, graves, and rock-cut tombs. New underwater research in 2009 consisted of detailed underwater survey of the structural remains (using a robotic total station and sector-scan sonar technology) alongside sampling of the artefactual material across the site. In addition to the digital recording of the 30,000 m 2 of previously known buildings, over 9000 m 2 of new buildings were discovered in 2009 including a large rectangular hall and a street lined with buildings. he ceramics recovered conirm the Mycenaean occupation of the site but also reveal occupation as early as 3500 BC making Pavlopetri, at over 5000 years old, the oldest known submerged town in world. Keywords: submerged settlement, underwater survey, sector-scan sonar, Bronze Age Greece, Mycenaean, processes of submergence Introduction In 2009 the University of Nottingham, through a British School at Athens permit, began a ive- year collaborative project with the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (H.C.M.R.) to outline the history and development of the submerged prehistoric town at Pavlopetri, which lies just of the Pounta shore, opposite the island of Elaphonisos, in southern Laconia (Fig. 17.1). hrough detailed digital underwater archaeological survey (2009–2010) and targeted underwater excavations (2011–2013), the Pavlopetri Underwater Archaeology Project aims to establish when the site was occupied, what it was used for and, through a systematic study of the geomorphology of the area, how the prehistoric town and the Strait of Elaphonisos became submerged. More broadly, the project aims to shed light on the importance of Pavlopetri Figure 17.1: Location of the submerged ancient town of Pavlopetri