Τhe Mines of Lavrion from 5 BC to 19 AD centruries

Detailed Itinerary

• 09:00am departure towards Thymari from where you will have a spectacular panoramic view of Lavreotiki area.
• In Lavrion, you first visit the Mineralogical Museum which houses 600 pieces of subsoil minerals, many of them unique in the
• Next you see the Archaeological Museum, which the collections include objects from the Neolithic to the Early Christian period, also inscriptions, sculptures, slabs of the frieze of the temple of Poseidon in Sounio and part of the mosaic floor of the Basilica of Lavrion.
• Later, to the outskirts of the city, you visit in Kamariza the ancient mineral washing facilities, which were heavily mined by the Athenians in the 5^th BC century and having significantly contributed to the city’s wealth and development. The mines were abandoned in the 1st century BC and were reactivated for mining in 1864 under French and Greek lead companies until 1978.
• You then see the geological phenomenon of Chaos gulch, an impressive geological phenomenon of vertical cliffs in shades of grey and orange, with a depth of 55m.
• You next visit Thorikos theatre being the oldest known theatre in existence today. Dated back to the end of the Archaic era (525-480 BC), it had 21 rows of seats, an impressive seating capacity of 4.000 people; while proofs showed that there has been set the oldest mining gallery in Europe.
• Lunch in local restaurant.
• Next follows an afternoon walk in downtown Lavrion to see the neoclassical & industrial buildings of the city.
• Today’s programme is concluded to the facilities of the French Mining Company, which today houses the Technological and Cultural Park of Lavrion.
• Return to Athens late in the afternoon.