Amathus Harbour

Features Amathus Harbour

ANDIKAT project aims to develop dive trails in marine protected areas, as a means to promoteand protect the natural and cultural underwater heritage in Greece and in Cyprus.
In thisframework, the Maritime Archaeological Research Laboratory of the University of Cyprus, incollaboration with the Department of Antiquities and the Department of Fisheries and MarineResearch, embarked on the project to create the first underwater archaeological park in Cyprus,at the harbour of Amathus.The abandonment of the harbour during antiquity created an unusual condition at Amathus: thesite is preserved in its original phase without any disturbance from later use, as is often the casewith other ancient harbour sites in Cyprus and the rest of the Mediterranean.
Moreover, thepreserved architectural remains are situated in shallow waters (up to -4m), close to the shore,allowing for easy access to the public.
All these features, along with the unique biodiversity of thesite, played a key role for including the harbour in the Marine Protected Area of Amathus, andthus for creating the first underwater archaeological park in Cyprus.Since this is an open-access site, emphasis was given to personalised visits.
Toward that end,the application “Amathus Harbour” was created for smart mobile devices.
Remote navigation ispossible through an interactive map that provides information complemented with audiovisualmedia.
While on site, the application shows the geographical location of the visitor, indicating thepoints of interest that are nearby.
Users can also enhance the experience of their visit byactivating the audio guided tour that will help them discover the most important remains.
Walkingalong the constantly changing coast and listening to or reading about the history and theenvironment of this unique landscape, visitors may create their own trails, before they swim tohave a closer look at the remains of the ancient harbour of Amathus.ANDIKAT is co-funded by the European Union and national resources from Greece andCyprus (Interreg VA Greece – Cyprus Program 2014-2020).