Delos Island: A short boat ride from the nightclubs of Mykonos is the UNESCO heritage site of Delos, one of the most important sanctuaries of the ancient Greek and Roman world.
The 2,000-year-old building of Delos, surrounded by the waters of Azos, offers a microcosm of daily life in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
But scientists warn that the site, known for its shrines guarded by stone lions, could disappear forever as sea levels rise due to climate change over the decades.
“Delos is destined to disappear in about 50 years,” said Véronique Chankowski, director of the French archaeological school of Athens (EFA), which has been excavating the site for the past 150 years with the permission of the Greek state.
The quiet drama of the Aegean island could not be more contrasted with the hustle and bustle of neighboring Mykonos, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
The worst structural damage is seen in the area that housed trade and storehouses in the first and second centuries BC and cannot be accessed by visitors.
“Water enters the shop in the winter. It eats away at base of the wall,” noted Jean-Charles Moretti, director of French mission on Delos and a researcher at the French state institute for the research of ancient architecture (IRAA).
“Every spring I see a new wall coming down,” Moretti, who has been involved in excavations on the island for the past 40 years, told AFP.
In 10 years, the sea level has risen 20 meters (66 feet) in some parts of the island, Chankowski added.
Last year, a study by Aristotelio University in Thessaloniki found that temperature combined with high humidity can significantly affect the chemical composition of some materials used in cultural heritage monuments.
“Like the human body, monuments are built to withstand certain temperatures,” says Efstathia Tringa, meteorology and climatology researcher at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Frequent departure of tourists from Mykonos from the authorized area creates additional problems.
There are only a handful of archaeologists to monitor during the summer
Ancient Greek sanctuary slowly sinks into Aegean Sea
