Image Credit: Small Cycladic Islands Project

Lasers Reveal Hidden Ancient Settlements Across Cycladic Islands

Archaeologists are using cutting-edge laser and magnetic scanning technologies to uncover previously unknown ancient settlements across Greece’s Cycladic Islands—an archipelago famous today for tourism but long home to human activity stretching back thousands of years.
A team led by archaeologist Evan Levine of the University of Copenhagen has been surveying 87 uninhabited islands as part of the Small Cycladic Islands Project. Their goal: to determine whether these now-empty islands were used in prehistory and antiquity, and how human activity shaped life in the Aegean archipelago.
The Cyclades are known for sites like Delos and Akrotiri, but many smaller islands have never been systematically studied. Levine and colleagues from Greece and the U.S. have now used magnetometry, LIDAR, and other non-invasive tools to detect buried structures, ancient pathways, and artifacts without excavation.
Magnetometry—used for the first time in the Cyclades—records subtle magnetic differences in the soil to reveal stone walls, buildings, ancient hearths, and even evidence of lightning strikes. LIDAR, meanwhile, maps entire islands from the air by firing laser pulses capable of penetrating vegetation to show detailed topography. The method has revolutionized archaeology in regions like Mesoamerica, and it is now producing remarkable results in Greece.
These technologies have uncovered finds spanning multiple eras, from Bronze Age towns and medieval fortifications to evidence that may point to Paleolithic activity, far earlier than previously suspected. The team has also identified significant Neolithic-period material (3000–1000 BCE), revealing that early settlers used even the smallest and most remote islands.
Their findings are already shaping cultural heritage protection. Collaboration with the Greek Ministry of Culture has led to the island of Polyaigos being designated an archaeological protected zone. The research also informs sustainable tourism planning by identifying high-value archaeological landscapes before development occurs.
According to Levine, the technology not only reduces destructive excavation but also helps archaeologists target sites precisely: “Our goal is to document as much as possible, so when we dig, we’re asking the right questions.”
The project continues to expand, incorporating machine learning to analyze LIDAR data. Levine hopes these tools will inspire broader use of digital methods across archaeology: “These technologies are transforming how we understand the ancient world and the diverse communities that lived in it for thousands of years.”

Published on: 08-12-2025

Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie

Source: University of Copenhagen