The Knowledge Awareness Centers (KACs) are a type of museum facility located adjacent to the Accessible Underwater Archaeological Sites (AUAS), functioning in complement to diving or as a standalone experience for the general public. They provide a wealth of information – more than what a diving visitor can receive underwater – about underwater routes, shipwrecks and their cargoes, the history of maritime research, and other related topics, primarily through photographs, videos, ship and cargo replicas, virtual dives (VR), and other conventional visual, audiovisual, or interactive digital interpretive media.

Within the framework of the BLUEMED project, two temporary KACs were established in Chora, Alonissos, and Amaliapoli, Almyros. Under the cofinanced Thessaly Regional Program project entitled “Creation of Accessible Underwater Archaeological Sites in Alonissos and the Western Pagasetic,” two permanent KACs are being built at the corresponding departure/return points, at Steni Vala, Alonissos, and in Amaliapoli, Almyros. The Municipalities are implementing these projects, while the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities is responsible for creating the interpretive media and content as part of its own work program.

Within the BLUEMED project, the shipwrecks included in the program were captured in great detail to create 3D models. Underwater drones were used to capture seabed relief with multibeam echosounders, while modelling of the neighbouring coasts was carried out using aerial drones. By combining all 3D data, a virtual reality (VR) system was developed that allows virtual divers to explore the Mediterranean seabed and admire the symbiosis of archaeological finds and the marine ecosystem that has formed over the centuries.

You don’t need to be a diver, or even wear your mask and flip-flops! Put on the special helmet provided at the KACs of Alonissos and Amaliapolis and discover the secrets hidden by ancient shipwrecks through a virtual dive.