Ithaca Ancient Ruins
The Ancient Ruins in Ithaca, in the Ionian: Ithaca is an island with rich history and many excavations have been conducted around the island to unearth ancient sites. The first excavations in Ithaca were conducted in 1806 by the English archaeologist W. Leake who recorded a list of important monuments in several locations of Ithaca. Among them was the area of Pilikata in Stavros and the School of Homer in the location Agios Athanasios.
Several excavations followed in the region of Pisaetos between 1811 and 1814 and many statuettes, rings, golden bracelets, and coins were found. Many years later, in 1868, the famous German archaeological H. Schliemann continued the work of his fellow archaeologists which remained incomplete at his death in 1890. Nevertheless, he left a detailed account of many inscriptions that were discovered on Ithaca. In addition, a list of these findings is mentioned in his personal diaries.
In 1904, the Welsh archaeologist Vollgraff studied the areas of Vathy, Marmarospilia, and Aetos in great detail and he found many building remains and pieces from Mycenaean vessels. In 1929, the Greek archaeologist Phaedon Oikonomou visited the island and conducted excavations in the areas of Kambos and Karavata where he discovered long polygonal walls and Mycenaean tombs.
One year later, the Greek Archaeological Company started the first official excavations in Marmarospilia, Marathia, Agros and the School of Homer, but with few results. The same year, the English professor W.A Heurtley, together with his team brought to light some impressive archaeological findings, such as the walls from the ancient town of Ithaca, prehistoric remains and vessels. However, his most important finding is a female mask from the 2nd century BC. Heurtley continued the works on Ithaca and in 1931 he found some structural remains from a sanctuary and remains of Hellenistic walls.
Excavations are still in progress even today in several locations around Ithaca. Archaeologists, in cooperation with the local municipality, are actually trying to locate the ancient palace of Odysseus. However, over the last years, there are strong theories that the ancient town and palace of Odysseus are actually found on the neighboring island of Kefalonia. These two islands, Ithaca and Kefalonia, were united in the far past after many earthquakes separated them.