The Lechaion Harbour Project was established in 2013, as collaboration between the Danish Institute at Athens and the Department of Underwater Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture. The project is directed by Dr. Bjørn Lovén and Dr. Dimitris Kourkoumelis and co-directed by Paraskevi Micha and Panagiotis Athanasopoulos. Work is funded primarily by the Carlsberg Foundation and the Augustinus Foundation.
From 2014, the project embarked on investigating the littoral area of Lechaion in Corinth, Greece attempting to investigate how this harbour site transformed over the years to serve the changing needs of different people. The harbour area of Lechaion is situated at the northern shores of the Peloponnese peninsula, facing the Corinthian Gulf, less than three kilometers from ancient Corinth and approximately 2 kilometers from the modern city of Corinth. Although at such close distance from the modern and the ancient city of Corinth, the area has been largely overlooked. The size of the area, the many different periods of use, the puzzling topography and morphology of the area, the challenging prevailing weather conditions, the mostly unprotected natural environment and the flexibility required to be able to alternate from working underwater to excavating in a marshy wetland area and then move on dry land, left the site archaeologically untouched. The Lechaion Harbour Project was the first systematic study of the area that combined excavations, detailed digital survey, underwater and terrestrial geoarchaeological and geomorphological surveys, in situ conservation, ceramic and other finds analysis, and dendrochronology, as part of a coherent and conclusive research project. Combining all the above, the Lechaion Harbour Project brought to light many harbour-related stone structures, the submerged remains of well-preserved timber constructions, and many other traces of harbour-related human activity that can be dated from the 12th BC to the early 13th AD. The structural remains cover an area of more than 170.000 m2 both on land and underwater. The harbour front is more than one kilometer long and the port structures extend more than 550 m inland from the current shoreline. The total size of the harbour area is more than 500.000 m2, which means that it is the largest known artificial harbour in Greece.
Currently, the Lechaion Harbour Project is preparing the monograph that will include the results of the first six years of fieldwork.

References

• Lovén, B., 2015. Lechaion, antikkens sidste store uudforskede havneby. SFINX 39 årgang 2015, Nr. 1, 4-9 (in Danish).
• Lovén, B., Kourkoumelis, D., Micha, P., and Athanasopoulos, P., 2018. Lechaion Harbour Project 2013-2014. In: Βουτιά στα Περασμένα. Υποβρύχια Αρχαιολογική Έρευνα 1974-2014, Simosi, A. (ed.), Athens, 85-90.
• Güngör, A. and Lovén, B., Lechaion. Fünf Jahre Hafenforschung und Unterwasserarchäologie. Antike Welt 49, 2, 2018, 39-44 (in German).
  Athanasopoulos, P., 2020. Inde i en middelhavshavn: Lechaions havneanlaeg i Korinth. SFINX 32 årgang 2020, Nr. 2, 50-55 (in Danish).
• Chabrol, A., Delile, H., Baron, S., Bouras, K., Athanasopoulos, P. and Lovén, B., 2023. Harbour geoarchaeology of Lechaion (Corinth area, Greece) sheds new light on economics during the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age transition. Marine Geology 465 (2023), 107167.
• Athanasopoulos, P., Kourkoumelis, D., Lovén, B. and Micha, P., 2023. The Lechaion Harbour Project (2013-2018): Excavations at the Harbour of Lechaion in Corinth, Greece. In: ENTRE MARES, Emplazamiento, infrastructuras y organizacion de los puertos romanos, Vol. II, Urteaga, M. and Pizzo, A. (eds.), Roma-Bristol, 603-614.
• Αθανασόπουλος, Π., 2024. Αρχαίο Λιμάνι Λεχαίου: Χρήση ξύλου στην κατασκευή λιμενικών έργων κατά την Ύστερη Αρχαιότητα. In: Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στην Πελοπόννησο 3, Πρακτικά της Γ’ Διεθνούς Επιστημονικής Συνάντησης, Καλαμάτα, 2-5 Ιουνίου 2021, Xanthopoulou, M. (ed.), Kalamata, 811-820 (in Greek).