A new docuseries by subscribers’ network Cosmote TV is set to present never-before-seen footage from the underwater cave tunnels of Athens’ Lake Vouliagmeni, and other labyrinthine ancient underwater caves in Greece.
The show, titled Underwonder, is executively produced by MAD TV – Dam Productions and will premiere on Orthodox Easter Sunday, May 5, 2024.
The first episode, which explores Lake Vouliagmeni, will be live-streamed for free on Cosmote TV’s YouTube channel at 9:00 PM local time, simultaneously with its premiere on the network’s Cosmote History HD channel.
For season one, the group of five cave divers starring in the docuseries has explored and captured footage of another three ancient underwater caves in Greece. These include the Amphitrite Cave between Paros and Antiparos islands, the Diros Caves in the Peloponnese; and the Elephants’ Cave on Crete.
In each of four cave diving missions filmed so far, they recorded new evidence that provides valuable scientific data for the study of the geological past—and possibly the—future of the region.
“Through this journey, we try to tell a story about the whole of Greece,” producer Andreas Kouris told the show’s avant-premiere screening in Athens, which was attended by the Greek Reporter. “We visit four spots where we seek evidence to help us tell a a story about the geological past of the country.”
The series offers viewers the unique opportunity to experience cave diving through the eyes of cave divers. However, cooperation and teamwork are also dominant themes, as those are the virtues that help us achieve goals that have seemed impossible, said Underwonder director, Kostas Karydas.
“You will see worlds that you couldn’t imagine exist—literally under our feet,” he added.
Lake Vouliagmeni’s mysterious underwater caves and tunnels
Lake Vouliagmeni in the south of Athens was formed some two thousand years ago when a large cavern collapsed, forming two lagoons connected to a labyrinthine network of flooded caves. Named after the Greek word for “sunken,” the lake also lent its name to the municipality built on the verdant rock under which the caves extend.
Its idyllic landscape and waters that are warm throughout the year have established Lake Vouliagmeni as a popular beach for swimmers and sunbathers in the Athens Riviera.
However, the lake is also notable for the legends and myths surrounding its mysterious, massive underwater cave system. This begins from a slot in the rock far from the beach and extends deep into the mountain in what is believed to be the largest continuous tunnel in Europe.
Some of the tales about the lake speak of hidden Nazi gold in the caves. There are also tales of water fairies that lured a number of amateur divers to the tunnels’ depths and, purportedly, to their death.
Cave diving expeditions in recent years have managed to chart the cave’s two main tunnels up to 120 meters under the surface. However, it has not yet been fully explored, as it has been impossible to determine by sonar detection where the tunnels might end.
Cave divers’ significant discoveries at Lake Vouliagmeni
Underwonder follows cave divers George Vandoros, Vasilis Zografos, Andreas Kouris, Antonis Krents, and Carolin Negrin, who is also the team’s videographer.
Under the scientific guidance of Geology-Speleology Professor Vasilis Giannopoulos, a pioneering Greek cave diver, the team of five attempt to go deeper than the charted depths of Lake Vouliagmeni, unlocking more secrets from the underwater caves and capturing their findings on film.
As Kouris comments, “Underwater caves are among the most dangerous environments for a human.” Nonetheless, the team managed to not only pull through but also to show the world their staggering discoveries.
Professor Giannopoulos told the avant-premiere of the show how the team’s observation of ancient vegetal microorganisms with specific inorganic deposits can determine at which depth the lake was dry thousands of years ago.
“For those vegetal microorganisms to have been created, light was needed, which means there was a slot in the rock which allowed sunlight to reach that deep. In addition, those inorganic deposits couldn’t have occurred underwater,” according to Giannopoulos.
Hence “the sea level must have dropped really low to allow these deposits to form, before it went up again and flooded the entire cave,” he described, ecstatic about the geological importance of the finding.
In following episodes, new underwater footage, 3D graphics, and animation shows viewers evidence from Cave Amphitrite. These reveal that a vast island once existed where the Cyclades islands complex are situated now. Viewers can then witness the discovery of the bones of wild animals, such as panthers and hippos, at Diros. This is something “which nobody knew had existed there.”
The season finale shows how there were once elephants living on the island of Crete, but, most importantly, it sees the team return to Lake Vouliagmeni, where they make yet another breakthrough.
According to Kouris, the team unveiled an entirely new area of the cave about which no one had previously known. This will be shared with viewers on the fourth and last episode of season one.
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