Hilarion – Addicted2H2O

Underwater Exploration

Hilarion Mine

The Lavrio Mines, a place of industrial development and at the same time a hell for thousands of workers. Miners daily donated their existence to the central stations of the galleries of Saint Constantine, Plaka and Keratea, carrying heavy mining tools and disappearing into the dark arcades of the Lavreotian land. Their sole purpose was the extraction of precious ores: silver, lead and later the exploitation of the derivatives from mining activity, slag. Lavrio has been a mining paradise since the ancient times. Mining activity begins as early as 3000 BC, in the arcades of Thorikos (Stoa III), where archaeologists have identified archaeological findings that attest to the presence of workers in these arcades. At that time the focus was on copper mining, for the manufacturing of tools and weapons. Thorikos is not an exaggeration to be considered the first “industrial” settlement of antiquity, since it was created to serve the needs of the workers in the arcades. Mining had gradually intensified since the 6th century BC.

Left and Center: Map of the Lavreotiki area Right: Map of the mining concessions in the late 1880s.
Source: mindat.org

In the Classical Period (5th-4th century), at the time of the Athenian Republic, a system of cooperation was implemented, between the City of Athens and the proprietor of Lavreotiki, with businessmen for the exploitation of mines, in clear legislative terms. At the same time, slave trade and hiring of companies was developed, businesses selling food (food, water, timber), and favoured professions such as skilled craftsmen, for the construction of specialised facilities. Such facilities are located in the area of Souriza, south of the modern settlement of Agios Konstantinos, 600 meters south of the church of the Holy Trinity. A landscape of great archaeological and natural value, within the Sounio National Park, which preserves in excellent condition mineral processing laboratories, ancient laundries, furnaces, smelting laboratories etc. The extraction of silver stimulated the economy of Athens. This money funded the Parthenon construction program.

After the 4th century BC, the exploitation of the mines followed a declining course, which continued even more during the Roman and Byzantine eras (2nd-6th century AD). The mines remained idle until the 19th century AD. In 1860, Andreas Kordellas (1836-1909), a mineralogist from Smyrna studying abroad, realised the great value of the Lavrio mines. Following a series of contacts with the Italian owner and miner, Gianbattista Serpieri (1832-1897), the company “Hilarion Roux et Cie / Roux-Serpieri-Fressynet C.E” was founded in 1864. The Company operated until 1873 as the “Hellenic Lavrion Metallurgical Company”, where it establishes extensive installations at the Lavrion Port and undertakes the production of silver lead from the exploitation of slag. Lavrion’s face is changing radically, turning it into a thriving industrial city, with thousands of workers now working in galleries and laboratories, while industrial development has forced the creation of the Athens-Lavrio Railway.

First photo on the left: Floor Plan from 1898 of the Serpieri factory. Followed by Maps of the Hilarion complex.
Photographs provided by Maria Fotiadi. Archive: Ioannis Katsikas.

In 1869, the “Lavreotic Issue” arose, which concerned the exploitation of the ancient estates by the company, which came into conflict with the Greek State. The solution to the problem was the creation of two new mining companies: the “Lavrion Hellenic Mining Company” and “Kamariza Mines” (1873). Three years later, the French company “Compagnie Francaise des Mines du Laurium”, succeeded the company “Kamariza Mines” by the same founder Serpieris. New installations are set up at the “Kyprianos” location while the company’s operations are maintained until 1877. In 1880 there is a crisis in the lead prices and financial crisis of the mining companies. From World War I to 1920, mining operations were curtailed and finally stopped. The Refugee Crisis of 1922 and the movement of new populations brought new labour to Lavrio, which stimulated the economy, until the outbreak of World War II which was once again a difficult period for mining. A final period of development begins from the 1950s until the 1980s, where the country’s de-industrialisation begins. Work on the mines continued until 1992, under the direction of the Hellenic Mining and Metallurgical Society of Lavrio (EMMEL). In 1994, and after virtually all units had ceased their operations, the Ministry of Culture acquired the French Company’s factory at the “Kyprianos” site, establishing the Lavrion Technological Cultural Park.

Left: Lamariza 1903 – Center: Geological sections of the metalliferous Lavrio of Attica – Right: Serpieri mine in 1894.
Sources from left to right: Lavrio Mines, Katerinopoulos Athanasios – mindat.org – Bibliothèque nationale de France.

In the area of Agios Konstantinos and Plaka, the main network of mining galleries is located, covering an area from Keratea to Legrena and Sounio. There, mining activity was more intense due to rich minerals. As Historical Markouli-Bondioti Ath. notes in her text: “The sulfur mineralization of the bodies had been oxidized to the level of the aquifer and the oxidized parts were those that appeared on the surface and were exploited by the ancients. The in-depth expansion of the sulphide-based layers was obviously known to the ancient Greeks, but they were not fully exploited due to lack of know-how. ” In modern times the exploitation of these mines by the French Company continued in these layers, due to the emergence and use of new technologies.

In one of these mines, after its abandonment, the inflow of water coming from the aquifer flooded the arcades and completely sealed the deeper levels. A group of explorers spotted the flooded area. In collaboration with cave divers Erikos Kranidiotis and Stelios Stamatakis, an exploratory dive took place and the first video footage of a flooded mine in Greece was shot.

After a difficult downhill course in the mine’s arcades, at least 2 kilometers from the entrance, the divers reached the flooded section, the “lagoon” as the team calls it. It is essentially a large spacious chamber, at least 10 meters long and 5 meters wide, leading to the flooded parts of the mine.

20 July 2019

Following is the first video filmed and edited by the addicted2h2o diving team after the dive on the 20th of July 2019 and shows several sections of the flooded mine.

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19 November 2019

On the 19th of November 2019 the team continued underwater filming of the mine at the area of Agios Konstantinos (Saint Constantine) which they had visited twice in July of 2019. The support team transported the diving gear 150 meters below ground level to the entrance of the flooded section of this mine. The divers managed to map and connect all four underwater passages confirming these interconnect. The three different underwater passages can be found directly below the flooded area where the divers initially enter the water. Whilst the fourth is located in another dry section of the mine adjacent to this area and has a narrow entrance with a downwards slope leading to a flooded section with a railtrack. The divers located this new entrance/exit point as can be seen in the video below. One of the support team members was in this area surveying at the exact same time the divers were approaching underwater. She shined her torch from the outside as soon as she saw the lights from the divers and realized they were approaching.

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24 May 2020

Our visit on the 24th of May 2020 was another productive day at Hilarion Mine. We pushed underwater further than we had ever been before reaching the end at a small shaft used to deposit the ore. Successful underwater mapping of Hilarion Mine was completed using the new tool designed by Stelios Stamatakis. After downloading the data from the VPlotter we produced a 2D top view map of the underwater passages. In total 126 meters where explored and mapped.

The 2D mapping in the field was carried out by Stelios Stamatakis, using the VPLOTTER surveying tool.
The above illustration was created by Errikos Kranidiotis.

Underwater the mine continues its course, in a complex section of galleries, crafted by natural rock. Many of the galleries’ entrances have wooden columns, while remnants of rail tracks that lead to the heart of the mine are found. The divers through a series of dives managed to film unique images. The clarity and visibility of the water in the mine was amazing.

As evident by the video footage, the only difficulty underwater is safely returning back to the entrance. The divers encountered “percolation”, from the exhalation of bubbles and fin movement during entry. The fine particles cause loss of visibility in some parts right down to almost 100%. This is a normal and expected phenomenon in cave diving in limited spaces. The greatest difficulty was getting the divers and necessary equipment to the dive site, this took at least one and a half hour’s walk from the entrance of the mine. The fresh water measured a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.

The divers stated: “Over time the original image of the mine has been distorted irreversibly and deprives current and future visitors the gathering of important information about its history. Possibly the water element is what has protected and preserved the image of the mine when the miners ceased their works. You feel at awe when you are underwater like you go back in history and can almost see faint images of the people who worked under such adverse conditions.”

A special thank you for the support from Xdeep, Landmark Loutridis and the team of people onsite without whom this would not be possible.

On the 25th of May 2020 the team visited the mine to conduct 3D mapping. The mapping in the field was carried out by the Surveying Engineer Yiannis Psaltakis and the company Landmark Loutridis. The video was edited by Erikos Kranidiotis.

VIDEO

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3D Maps

The 3D mapping in the field was carried out by Yiannis Psaltakis, Surveyor Engineer and the company Landmark Loutridis.
The above illustrations were created with the Cloud Compare software by Errikos Kranidiotis.

The Teams:

Addicted2h2o: https://addicted2h2o.com

GreekGate: https://www.facebook.com/PyleEllenikonArchaiologikonIstorikonSpoudon/

Sources:
-Lavrio Historical-Technological Cultural Park (www.Itp.ntua.gr/home_en)
-The Archaeological Guide of Thorikos (Ministry of Culture)
-Athanasia Markoulis-Boudiotis, “Lavrion French Mining Company (LFMC): Its evolution and contribution to the development of the Greek economy during the 19th and 20th centuries”, Lavreotiki Development Association 2010.

Historical Research:
Mary Fotiadi

Photography:
Trifonas Egglezos
Mary Fotiadi

Support & Logistics:
Vasilis Stergiou
Apostolis Tzamalis
Akis Pallis
Georgia Manzi
Mary Zervakaki
Irini Zissimopoulou
Mary Fotiadi
Konstantinos Kalomiros
Kostas Efthimiadis
Kyriaki Foster
Alexandros Lykos

Graphic Design:
Maria-Louiza Karagiorgou

Greek Text Proofing:
Panagiotis Pletsas

Matlab Support:
Greg Moschonas

Dry section 3D Mapping:
Giannis Psaltakis

Mine Divers:
Erikos Kranidiotis
Stelios Stamatakis

Dive Dates:
20 July 2019, 19 November 2019, 24 May 2020.