Visit-Montenegro.com: Ancient city in shallow?

Bar-The family of the famous English archeologist Charles Lewsen came across the remains of the buildings, which are most probably part of an ancient temple, in the shallow of the beach Maljevik near Sutomore. Without exaggeration, the importance of this discovery for Montenegrin archeology is sensational.
“The remains of “something”, which might rouse curiosity in the world of science, were found only few meters from the beach Maljevik”, Mladen Zagarčanin, an archaeologist and diver, the Curator at the County Museum in Bar, said for the Daily Press „Vijesti“.
Spending an ordinary day on the beach, the English family noticed odd piece of rock in the sea. Charles’ son, fifteen-year-old Michael, called his father and told him that he saw something strange in the shallow, similar to what he had seen in his father’s books in England many a time before.
„Enormously large pieces of columns, with about 90 centimeters diameter, lie along with other large architectural parts of few tons at a depth of just two meters. They could be seen from the surface if there are no waves and when the sea is clear ", Zagarčanin rapturously described the discovery of the Lewsens.
He and his family spend holidays here, in Montenegro, since 1994, and according to his words this discovery is „the Finger of Fate“.
„We visited many beaches on Montenegrin coast, but we have never been on Maljevik before. My son and I were swimming, when I was 10 meters away from him he called me to see large stone blocks and columns at the bottom, at a depth of two meters. When I dived I saw few symmetrically cut posts and fluted blocks –the plinth, and two circular columns, which weighed few tones. They are parts of an ancient building similar to those I had chance to see on numerous archeological sites on the Mediterranean. Large buildings on the very shore of Alexandria, submerged during the earthquake, bear a strong resemblance to these remains“, English archeologist pointed out.
Being a person with long experience of archeological sites on the Mediterranean, he said for „Vijesti“, without the slightest hesitation, that this discovery is of exceptional importance.
Since he is a lecturer at the University of Southampton, Department of Maritime Archeology, he immediately contacted the famous Professor David Peacock, who has been involved in this field for years.
„I explained him the whole situation. I told him that deep-purple color of the rock signified that it wasn’t from this region. He got interested in the matter, since it would be sensational discovery if it was proved.He expressed desire to come and see the site and to determine if it was worthy of lunching the project in cooperation with the relevant Montenegrin institutions. I informed the employees at the County Museum, Omer Peročević and Mladen Zagarčanin, who visited the site and confirmed that really important discovery has been made.
Zagarčanin confirmed Lewsen’s words, adding that 2009 was „very prosperous year“concerning underwater archeology in Montenegro. First, the Regional Institute for Protection of Cultural Heritage in Kotor in cooperation with USA experts, led by Vilma Kovačević, found and located the remains of two Roman cargo ships and than this discovery has been made.
Charles Lewsen, who lives in Buckinghamshire, is well known among European men of science. He works at British Archeology Organization, and he is a lecturer the University of Southampton, as well. He spend his holidays with his family in Sutomore, where he has a family house. His wife Vera, who was born in Sarajevo, works for BBC, in a section for international news. They have two children, Teodora and Michael. Vera, who studied Arbic language, met Charles in Kairo, on one of his numerous expeditions on Middle and Near East, during which he found more than 1000 archeological sites of great importance.
By R.P.