Greek-Roman Columns
- Trail Conditions: Diving
- Interest: Archeology
- Depth: - 4 m
- Duration: 1 hour/s
- Difficulty Level: easy
In loc. Torre Chianca, at only 4 meters and a half of depth and at 80 meters from the coast, the sandy seabed houses 5 monolithic columns dating back to the 2nd century AD.
This is a submerged archaeological site, included in the Zone C of the Marine Protected Area: here a ship coming from the Greek island Euboea, in the Aegean Sea, sank. Its load consisted of various handicrafts, and five huge columns of cipollino marble. The columns, 9 meters of length and 70- 100 cm of diameter, came from the quarries of Karystos, in the south of the island of Euboea.
The columns were still at their rough state and the grooves only sketched: today, they are covered with encrusting organisms, mainly including green algae and some sponges. Of the wreck, found in 1960, today only these columns laying on the sandy seabed in direction NS remain. They are almost parallel one to the other and just outside the main route connecting Torre Chianca with Isola della Malva in front of it.
A series of finds coming from this site (amphorae and bricks) are now preserved in the Aragonese Castle in Taranto. The site is easily accessible by boat, but also without it, since you can leave from the inlet adjacent the Tower and swim for the 80 meters separating the coast from the submerged site.
The itinerary of the Greek-Roman Columns combines the attractiveness of the underwater environments with historical features. It is a very easy itinerary suitable for everyone: to observe the five columns, it is not necessary to be divers with a license, but it is enough to have mask and flippers to practice sea-watching. During the days when the sea is particularly calm and the water is clear, the columns can be sighted also from the surface, if you have a boat.
