31/08/2026
🟡 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘
🔴 Greek firefighters continue to warn of an extreme or very high risk of wildfires across large parts of the country. Aerial and ground patrols involving the Fire Service, Police and the armed forces remain in operation around the clock.
🔵 This year's wave of wildfires in Greece has not resulted in catastrophic damage to the country's most important archaeological sites, although several of them have faced a direct threat. "Greece is one of the few countries to have a national strategy addressing the impact of climate change on cultural heritage”, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni stressed. "Archaeological sites present particular challenges because they extend across large, open areas. They are directly connected to the natural landscape in which they were created and preserved".
🔵 According to Greek specialists, however, the greatest victims of this year's fires have not been the ancient structures themselves, but their surroundings and the infrastructure needed to protect them. Firefighters point in particular to the loss of vegetation and the degradation of the cultural landscape. This year's experience has nevertheless shown that protective measures - above all, vegetation clearance and early fire detection - can significantly reduce losses. "The experience of recent years has shown that the protection of archaeological sites and monuments cannot rely solely on responding to individual incidents. It requires systematic prevention, planning and constant preparedness", said Evangelos Tournas, Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection.
🔵 Greece is currently developing a network of 22 early fire detection systems, eight of which are already operating at archaeological sites. So what is the overall toll of wildfires?
➡️ Aigosthena - the most serious case. A wildfire that burned for four days from July 31 affected the area around the ancient fortress. The walls and the most important monuments were largely saved thanks to vegetation having been cleared in advance. However, some stone materials and technical infrastructure were damaged, while smoke affected the condition of wall paintings.
➡️ Salamis - fires in August devastated large parts of the island, but there have been no confirmed reports of serious damage to archaeological sites. Their surroundings and the wider landscape were nevertheless threatened, particularly in the area of the archaeological sites of southern Salamis.
➡️ Knossos - a fire broke out very close to the archaeological site in July. Visitors were evacuated, but the flames did not reach the monuments.
➡️ Mycenae - a fire near Fichtia on July 31 was detected within the coverage area of the site's monitoring system. The automated fire detection system transmitted an alert to the operations centre and provided real-time images and data. Greece's Ministry of Culture and Greek media have described the incident as the first practical test of the new system.
➡️ Epidaurus and Olympia - both sites were also located in areas facing an elevated fire risk, but no significant archaeological losses were reported.
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The photographs come from the official services of the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Hellenic Fire Service.
