Eretria, an influential city-state of Ancient Greece, was the host to one of the most renowned religious sites of the old Greek world – the Temple of Artemis Amarysia. Built before the 3rd century B.C., the sanctuary became the destination of mass marches by Eretrians every spring.

Thousands of people including, aristocracy, military, artists and ordinary townsfolk would go there to sacrifice animals, offer gifts, and perform rituals in the honor of Artemis, the goddess of hunting, wild life, nature, and childcare. The shrine also served as a sort of legal bulletin board, where stelas inscribed with various laws and treaties were erected, and housed the city’s sacred treasuries.

Location of Eretria and Kato Vathia - the place of the temple. Credit: Archeology.com

We know these facts thanks to ancient historians, whose manuscripts were transcribed by Christian monks centuries later. However, it was the first-century B.C. Greek philosopher, historian, and geographer Strabo who has left a detailed description of the festival and the exact location of the sanctuary.

So, when archaeologists first explored Eretria in the late nineteenth century and discovered some of the city’s monuments, including several temples, a gymnasium, a theater, and sections of the city walls, they also attempted to locate the Artemision – which in old Greek means “belonging to Artemis” – based on Strabo’s writings.

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Strabo provided the best clue to the sanctuary’s whereabouts, noting that it was located in a village called Amarynthos, or more precisely seven stades — a distance equal to about eight-tenths of a mile — from Eretria’s walls. Once archaeologists had uncovered these walls, they had a starting place from which to orient their excavations.

During the first wave of investigations late in the 19th century up to early in the 20th century archeologists found a few sites on Eretria’s outskirts but none looked like a building complex resembling a temple. Further attempts turned to be dead ends, reinforcing skepticism and doubt about the Artemision’s existence for more than a century, according to the journal Archeology.

A modern depiction of the ancient Sanctuary of Artemis. Credit: Archeology.com

In the late 1960s, Swiss doctoral student Denis Knoepfler joined the search for the lost shrine in Eretria, a quest that would span his entire career. Knoepfler explored the whole island of Euboea, documenting signs of ancient buildings, particularly around the village of Vathia, where a medieval church built with repurposed marble blocks hinted at ancient structures nearby.

Although earlier findings in the nearby Kato Vathia area included inscriptions of Artemis and depictions of her family, scholars dismissed this site due to its distance from Eretria – again, based on Strabo’s description.

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By 1969, Knoepfler theorized the sanctuary lay at the base of Paleoekklisies Hill, near Kato Vathia, challenging Strabo’s description. His proposal, largely ignored until 2018, suggested that Strabo’s measurements had been miscopied by the Christian monks in charge with the preservation of ancient papers. In 1988, Knoepfler posited that a medieval scribe might have misread Strabo’s text, mistaking the Greek letter "zeta" (7 stades) for "xi" (60 stades), thus leading archaeologists astray for a century.

The Greeks didn’t have numerals, but used letters instead of numbers. Alpha — the first letter of the Greek alphabet — was used for the number one, beta for two, gamma for three, and so forth. Strabo’s text recorded that the Artemision was located seven stades from Eretria, seven being denoted by the letter zeta. Knoepfler wondered if instead of zeta (ζ), the original text might have actually contained the very similar letter xi (ξ), which has a much greater numeric value.

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This would place it exactly in the area of Kato Vathia. Archaeologists had been looking in the wrong place for at least 100 years, the researcher said. Knoepfler’s report, however, would have little immediate effect and would not even be made public until 2018.

But there was one scientist who believed Knoepfler. Archaeologist Sylvian Fachard, director of the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece (ESAG), admitted that researchers were often blinded by old texts, which were misinterpreted or miscopied.

Fachard joined Knoepfler’s search in the early 2000s. He immediately noticed a building boom the area near Paleoekklisies Hill, the sanctuary’s possible location, which threatened the centuries-long operation. Local landowners aren’t big fans of archeology or history when it comes to building a new villa on ancient ruins, because the law prioritizes national heritage over personal benefits or commercial gain.

Modern villas being built atop of the Tempe of Artemis. Credit: Archeology.com

In 2003-2004, ESAG and Greek authorities conducted surveys around the hill, revealing ancient remains but nothing matching the sanctuary's timeframe. In a test trench in that area, the team unearthed objects and structures that dated to the Bronze Age (3200–1200 B.C.), which was hundreds of years before erection of the Sanctuary of Artemis.

As the desperation of Knoepfler and Fachard was growing, a local resident approached them toward the end of the 2006 dig season and pointed to a construction site near the base of Paleoekklisies Hill, suggesting that construction workers were hiding something important.

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The two researchers examined the site and found a marble block and ancient pottery at the edge of the villa’s foundation trench. It was a block like those used by ancient Eretrians in temples. Fachard and Knoepfler realized they were approaching the end of their quest.

Given the late hour, the two decided to return the next day to ask questions and reexamine the block and the property. When they arrived early the following morning, however, all traces of the block were gone. The most promising proof of the temple’s location uncovered in a century of searching vanished overnight.

This wasn’t unusual. As more and more modern villas were being built in Euboea, construction workers frequently uncovered evidence of ancient structures buried beneath the properties. This sort of material was often surreptitiously disposed of to avoid government involvement, rescue excavations, and possible confiscation of the land.

Artefacts found on the excavation site. Credit: Archeology.com

Fortunately, Knoepfler and Fachard photographed the block and the site before leaving the previous night and validated their discovery before the authorities. Further excavations revealed that Knoepfler’s theory was correct. In 2017, their team found a terracotta roof tile stamped with the magic word “Artemidos” – which was the first direct evidence that the temple was somewhere close.

Three years later, at the heart of the sanctuary, the team uncovered the temple that once served as the center of worship of Artemis Amarysia. The ruins had, incredibly, managed to survive the construction of modern villas directly atop them. The Swiss government has purchased more than a dozen properties near Paleoekklisies Hill in order to eliminate obstacles to excavation imposed by private landowners.

The search for the Temple of Artemis, which now we know was built in the 8th century B.C., was over. Inside, archaeologists found more than 700 artifacts, including bronze vases, terracotta figurines, jewelry, and rare textiles. The central piece is a limestone statue of a woman with a fawn featuring Artemis’s role as a protector.

The site is today an open-air museum for all of mankind.

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