Diventures Magazine | English Edition May 2020 | Page 28

CAVE DIVING the city's wealth. Abandoned in the 1st century BC, the mines were reactivated in 1864 and mined for their lead by French and Greek companies until 1978. Many remnants of these mines (shafts, galleries, surface workshops) are still Mine Exploration: The origins A group of cavers visited the Mines of Lavrion and the story of the underwater exploration began…. Lavrion is a small city approximately 50 Km from the Greek Capital, Athens. It is an area located at the south-east point of the Athenian Coastline. Lavrion is a very beautiful and picturesque place with rich history and culture. There lies a vast complex of mines and other facilities of the industrial past of Greece. The mines were exploited in prehistoric times (3000 BC) as a source of copper and galena, a lead ore. During the classical period (5th-4th Century BC) mining in the area resumed. The Ancient present in the region. At one of these mines, a group of cavers visited the area in order to descend at a five level mine complex that had flooded chambers at its deepest part. One of these cavers, knowing the work of the Addicted2H2O team, contacted and informed the two divers about the site. Upon receiving the first photos, the team were thrilled about this site and preparations for the first dive began soon after. The team gathered information, visited the site to evaluate any issues concerning the transportation of the equipment and conducted the first dive and filming of the underwater passages, all within a month. Athenians used large numbers of slaves to mine the area, with the silver produced contributing significantly to DIVENTURES MAGAZINE MAY 2020