Hi! For today I have prepared a fresh discovery from the Greek island in the northeastern Aegean Sea – Lesbos. I hope that this post and pictures of beautiful Greece will make you feel like on holidays 🌴
Petrified Forest in Lesvos, Greece
Let me start by saying that one of the most interesting tourist attractions on Lesbos is the Petrified Forest. It is an area of 150 km2 with the remains of a subtropical forest that was razed to the ground by a volcanic eruption about 20 million years ago 🌋.
The subtropical forest ecosystem of the island was then flooded with lava and, due to heavy rainfall in the days following the eruption, the ash turned into mud with some ejection material. All this meant that the entire ecosystem was well preserved.
Petrified Forest in Lesvos, Greece
After a long introduction, I can finally get to the point, i.e. the latest excavation. So, scientists working in the Petrified Park have recently dug a fossilized tree that is 19m long! It is the first such well-preserved object since the arrival of archaeologists in the area. The good condition is owed to the thick layer of volcanic ash that covered the tree for about 20 million years.
Workers gathered around a fossilized tree / Elias Marcou/Reuters
"The fossilized trunk was kept almost intact within a thin fine-grained layer of volcanic ash. The fine-grained volcanic materials covered and kept the trunk, the branches and the roots of the tree intact." - Professor Nikos Zouros, the Museum of Natural History of the Petrified Forest of Lesbos
At the moment, a species of tree hasn’t been determined yet, but scientists assure that it will be possible:
"It is a unique find. It is preserved in excellent condition and from studying the fossilized wood we will be able to identify the type of plant it comes from." – Professor Nikos Zouros
We can boldly say that Lesbos is a paradise for archeologists. It was only two years ago when media around the world reported another crucial excavation. It was then that scientists discovered the ruins of a 2,000-year-old temple dedicated to Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance.
And even earlier, in 2016, archaeologists discovered an intact tomb dating back to the 8th century BCE.
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That’s all for today but if you want to read more, here are the articles:
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