28/02/2023

Exploring bits of the silver mining past @ Sounio


It's not the first time I have showed you around Sounio National park and its silver mining history (not the only historic thing about it though) but this is the first time walking bit by bit its South West end.

Ready? Let's go!

Religious bits seem to be hunting me lately. As I drive in the forest I see this on my left:

I pull over to take a closer look and I'm instantly impressed by this cartoonish miniature of a church:

It looks freshly painted and resembles churches that are located inside properties. However, there's no property at all here - it's just in the middle of nowhere:

Really weird. I take photos from all possible angles before I move on:



The road is about to end,


Time to leave the car and start walking:

There's obvious bits from the mining activity of the past already:

Better watch your step though cause the ground is far from flat:




Still, that's not the trickiest part of the walk. The real danger is to find yourself at the bottom of one of those mine shafts. Like this one:


People like to trash such places and this is no exception:

Look at that broken "boot" though 🙂:

I'd like to see from what hilarious thing it came from 😂

Piles of stones indicating the intense mining activity that used to take place here:




Last time of silver mining growth was around a 100 years ago but such activity has started here from the prehistoric ages as the first mine of the area dates back to 3000BC. Judging from the looks of the antiquities of the area though, this bit looks like 5th BC or so to me:


I can't complain about the view for sure:



Even if it's not "stone free" 🙂:





Might be kinda harsh walking over these things but nature provides a priceless soft green(ish) carpet from time to time:

By the looks of this wall there's gotta be something interesting there so I get close to see what is what:

Interesting indeed - it's one more mine shaft:



Surrounded by piles of stones this thing is like a funnel waiting to suck you in and trust me don't wanna end up tens of meters underground with no cell coverage several kms away from the nearest populated area.

I walk with caution on top of this mess to enjoy the view:





That gives me the chance to spot this ruin, probably from the 19th century:



Today it's a pine tree house as you can see.

There's more around me as I keep walking the area though I can't be sure what they were about:

I make a rough guess that this could be some sort of cargo loading area back in the day:

I picture each compartment as I walk on top of this pile of stones:



Two of the walls have a hole on the same spot - probably not just a coincidence but... go figure what this was for:

While being on top I take the chance for an overview:



Sweet little cuties make an intro for the upcoming Spring:

On the other hand you should never stop walking around here with high caution. Mine shafts are waiting to swallow you making your walk the last one. Like this one:


And if you think it would be easy to spot the above as part of its wall is still standing, have a look at the next one:


Not short of cuties yet though:




If 19th century ruins were not old enough for you no worries, follow me as we enter the antiquity era just a few steps later:

What you saw above is the water tank of a mineral laundry dating around the 5th century BC. Let's have a closer look:
(sorry for the sun's artefacts above but that's the only angle to capture that part of the wall)




Usually such constructions have a stairway allowing you to reach the bottom but this one's is destroyed.

There's more ruins from that era here:


I keep walking South,

And start climbing up this rocky mountain:



And you know what happens when you get high (pun could be intended) - the view gets (even) better:



I'm only a few steps away from the top while this rock climbing feels like a stairway to heaven:


What waits on the other side to be explored?

What I see is well worth the effort:




Cause it's not just about this pine forest with the bushes, in front of me I have a fenced and unused ancient site which (from what I can see at this distance) has one of the largest water tanks a mineral laundry has around!

I approach it thinking how can I get the best pictures stretching my hands over that fence. Lucky me, the door is open anyway!


And is more than welcoming:

The energy of ancient sites is special but being all alone in an unused one takes it to another level. Nature is free to decorate it uninterrupted as you can see:

This is the water tank I was talking about:


And this is the stairway that leads to its bottom:

It looks OK(ish) enough to allow me go down with both of us staying OK afterwards but I leave this descend for later when I'll be done picturing the interesting bits this site has. Like this (much smaller) water tank filled with rain water just like back in the days of antiquity:

Not all parts around here are identifiable:




The following bits though are clearly part of the hydraulic system they had back in the day to lead the water where they wanted to for mineral washing purposes:





Looks like one more tank:

One more compartment that I can't identify, full of vegetation as it hasn't been maintained for ages:

Time to go back to the main tank:

As I walk on top of its wall I admire this early Spring carpet:

And I discover one more compartment from up there that I can't figure what it is about:

I take advantage of one more viewing angle to the main tank:

Time to go in - can't wait! The first thing that I'm curious to see from close is the waterproofing grout ancient Hellenes used on its walls. Not much of it is still standing but you can see bits of it:




It's hard to describe how magical it feels to be in the bottom of this 2500 years old thing but I think the following pictures will do a better talking than I can:







Time to walk back up the stairs that led me down in the hug of this heaven:

And say goodbye to these little Spring cuties as I walk off the door:





After all this time I spent in the woods through the previous parts I feel like I've seen it all so I start going down the mountain. Little I knew about what's more to see but.. wait for it.

I am walking in the pine forest of Sounio and this is a representative image of how these trees suffer from caterpillars around this time:

You can't believe how tough this thing is even though it looks like vulnerable spider web. Took me several strikes with a stick to bring it down despite its weight.

The first cuties of Spring are a more attractive image for sure:


Not all people here come with the best intentions:

That red thing is a bullet casing and comes from a hunter's riffle. Hunting is prohibited in this National Park but people are far from fundamentally decent.

A bit of rock art on this "Swiss cheese" rock formation:




Especially this one looks like hand crafted though it's not:


As I walk all alone in the woods down in a plain I here a hiss coming from my right. Suspecting a snake I turn around and I see this frightened turtle instead:

The funny thing is that if her defence instinct wasn't triggered she would have gone unnoticed by me so it actually worked vice versa. Luckily for her I'd be the last to do her any harm. Instead I walk on to enjoy more Spring beauties:


And of course the pine trees which are beautiful all through the year contrasting the blue sky with their intense green:

As I walk back to my car I cross an area that is dense in holes like no other around. Seriously, you have good chances to fall in one of them if you walk carelessly around here:









Did you lose counting? Crazy eh? That's beyond Swiss cheese 🙂

However, the mining bits of the past are not over. At a distance I spot the water tank of one more mineral laundry:

Let's have a closer look:





Such constructions have a stairway to allow you access to the bottom but this one's is either destroyed or covered by the dense vegetation:

And that's how a fruitful 4 parts walk comes to an end as I reach my car who is waiting patiently in the woods:

Here is a video with clips from the whole walk in 4K:



Hope you enjoyed it, see you in my next explorations!

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