“We replaced plastic straws with paper ones, but we lost the war to protect the environment”
The birthplace of Apollo is sinking into the sea: the 2000-year-old Greek sanctuary of Delos could disappear in just 50 years from — due to rising sea levels, experts warn. Delos is located near Mykonos and is considered the birthplace of the ancient god. It is considered one of the most important sanctuaries of the ancient Greek and Roman world.
Delos could disappear in just 50 years due to rising sea levels, experts warn. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is believed to be the birthplace of Apollo and is surrounded by piercing blue waters, just a stone's throw from Mykonos.
In a few decades, rising sea levels caused by climate change could mean that the site, famous for its temples guarded by stone lions, could disappear forever.
«Delos is doomed to disappear in about 50 years,» warns Véronique Tchankowski, head of the French Archaeological School at Athens (EFA), which has been excavating the site for the past 150 years under license from the Greek state.
Scientists say the site's greatest structural damage is visible in an area where trade and warehouse buildings once stood in the first and second centuries BC, and which is inaccessible to visitors, writes the Daily Mail.
«Water “It comes into storage in the winter,” explains Jean-Charles Moretti, director of the French mission on the island of Delos and researcher at the French State Institute for the Study of Ancient Architecture (IRAA). “Every year in the spring, I notice that new walls have collapsed.”
Sea levels in some parts of the island have risen by 20 meters (66 feet) over the past 10 years, Veronique Czankowski said.
A study conducted by the Aristotelio University of Thessaloniki last year found that rising temperatures combined with high levels of humidity could significantly affect the chemical composition of some materials used in cultural heritage sites.
«Like the human body, the monuments are built to withstand certain temperatures,» study leader Efstathias Thringa, a meteorology and climatology researcher at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, told the Kathimerini daily earlier this year.
Adding to the problem is the constant stream of tourists from Mykonos, who often stray away from the permitted areas.
During the summer, there are only a handful of archaeologists who can supervise, the Daily Mail notes.
For the ancient Greeks, Delos was the birthplace of Apollo, the god of light, arts and healing, and his sister Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.
Siblings were among the major deities revered by both the Greeks and Romans.
At the height of its popularity during the Roman era, Delos attracted pilgrims and traders from all over the ancient world and eventually grew into a bustling city with a population of about 30,000 people.
But the popularity of the island led to its destruction, the Daily Mail states. It was sacked twice in the first century BC and eventually abandoned entirely.
For now, Czankowski said, wooden support beams are used to strengthen some of the walls.
But more drastic measures are complex and will require a multidisciplinary response, she added.
«All coastal cities will lose significant areas that are currently located at sea level,» said Athena-Christiana Lupu, a Greek archaeologist who conducts groups on the main attractions of this place.
“We replaced plastic straws with paper ones, but we lost the war for environmental protection,” she said bitterly.