Lost Island of Arginus Has Been Found

A lost island, home to the ancient Greek city of Kane, has been found and a longstanding mystery solved. The newly discovered island located in the Aegean province of Izmir’s Dikili district in Turkey is one of three islands ancient texts refer to as the Arginus islands. The other two islands still exist and are referred to jointly as the Garip Islands. Although located in the same area, until this discovery experts were uncertain the Garip Islands were in fact part of the Arginus Islands, because of the missing third island.

Using surface surveys and core-drilling samples taken on a peninsula near Bademli village, (in the Dikili district) geo-archaeologists and geologists were able to determine that the tip of one of the peninsulas had actually been an island in an ancient era but the strait between it and the mainland was filled with alluviums (deposits of sand and mud, formed by moving water).

The comprehensive research project was led by the German Archaeology Institute and carried out by archaeologists, historians, geophysicists and geographers from various universities including Manisa, Karlsruhe, Izmir, Munich, Cologne, Kiel, Southampton and Rostock. They have determined this area was the location of Kane by studying the pottery, ceramics and architectural ruins. Information pertaining to the harbor which was known to have existed on the island has also been discovered.

The city of Kane was the location of the famous naval battle of Arginusae – between the Athenians and Spartans – which is considered one of the major sea battles of the Peloponnesian War. In that battle, an Athenian fleet consisting of ships manned by inexperienced crews and led by eight strategoi (generals) unexpectedly defeated the Spartan fleet by using new, unorthodox tactics to compensate for the crew’s lack of experience. What made the battle (in)famous though was that six of the eight generals were later executed when it was discovered a storm had prevented them from rescuing the many survivors of the 25 damaged or sunken Athenian ships.

Before its disappearance, the harbor in Kane was considered strategically important, and was the harbor of choice for the Romans during their war against Antiochus III between 191 and 190 BCE. It also served as a way station along important shipping routes between locations such as Lesbos in the north, and the main harbor of the ancient city Pergamon in the south. Researchers expect even more information to be revealed as work on the geological samples and the site continues.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user: Marsyas

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