The 2005 cruise lasted one week and explored two very important areas tied with naval disasters for the Persian fleets. The first area was the coast of southern Euboia, identified as the “Hollows of Euboia.” Here the Greek historian Herodotus claims that some 200 Persian ships were lost in a storm while trying to circumnavigate the island. The second area of investigation focused on the Artemision Channel, the site of a famous Greek naval victory over King Xerxes’ Persian fleet in 480 BC fought at the same time as the even more renowned Greek stand at Thermopylae.

The research was conducted on the R/V Aegaeo of the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) using its Thetis submersible and remote operated vehicles (ROVs) Super Achilles and Max Rover. These vehicles investigated targets identified by the sidescan sonar survey. For the first time in this project an acoustic profiler was used to determine sedimentation deposition.

The team collected sidescan sonar targets and acoustic profile data around Cavo Doro (Cape Kafireas) to the area of Cape Letra. Potentially important targets were visually examined using the Thetis and the Max Rover. The same exploration protocol was followed in the Artemision Channel, where the survey also employed the SuperAchilles.

In the course of the survey 30 square kilometers of sea floor were examined for the first time with sidescan sonar supplemented by acoustic profiling. New evidence for sedimentation rates emerged that will enhance the present geological knowledge of bottom conditions.

In the “Hollows of Euboia,” team members discovered a cargo of monumental marble blocks scattered over an area of more than 400 square meters while another intriguing discovery was a cluster of iron anchors of various date found off Cavo Doro.