View of ruins on south mole, looking southeast, July 2003

The exploration of Kenchreai by Greeks and Americans throughout the 20th century has corroborated ancient testimony and shown that the port was indeed prosperous and diverse. Athanasios Georgiades and Georgios Lampakis surveyed the ancient topography in 1905 and 1906, noting in particular the ruins of Roman buildings, including a Christian basilica, on the north and south moles and tombs to the north, south, and west of the harbor. Late in 1956, Demetrios Pallas conducted a salvage excavation of Roman tombs south of the harbor, which was expanded by Henry S. Robinson in the spring of 1962. These early campaigns, albeit shortlived, confirmed the abundance and preservation of the local mortuary record.

View of ruins on north mole, looking north, June 2004

The closest investigation of Kenchreai was undertaken by Robert L. Scranton and a team sponsored by the University of Chicago and Indiana University, under the auspices of the American School, between 1962 and 1969. Excavation concentrated on the north and south moles, and pioneering underwater exploration inside the harbor uncovered dense remains related to the ancient maritime industry. Some buildings served utilitarian purposes, such as warehouses and fishtanks; others were lavishly appointed, such as structures identified as temples of Isis and Aphrodite (possibly a nymphaeum and a seaside villa) and the Christian basilica. All excavated areas produced a vast quantity of artifacts, mostly coarse ware pottery, that point to economic vitality through at least the 6th century CE. The centerpiece of Prof. Scranton's discoveries was a submerged cache of wooden crates containing well over one hundred large glass panels in opus sectile. These rare panels colorfully depict scenes of bustling harbor life, idyllic riverbanks, and portraits of great intellectual figures. North of the harbor, the team excavated a chamber tomb, an enormous funerary monument, and another basilica, all belonging to a vast burial ground that extended along the coast at least a kilometer. These operations thus revealed that Kenchreai was a populous and successful commercial center where some residents lived in moderate luxury, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Saronic Gulf, the magnificence of impressive buildings, and the splendor of imported art. The place of the Church at the heart of the community by Late Antiquity is signaled by the salient location of the basilica at the base of the south mole.

During the middle 1970s and late 1980s, the Greek Archaeological Service conducted excavations west and north of the harbor in response to growing construction and frequent reports of clandestine digging. These investigations revealed not only that the area west of the harbor was occupied by large industrial structures but also that major Roman cemeteries were located to the north and northwest of the harbor. It was during 1988-1990 that Greek archaeologists cleared deposits from the floors of several chamber tombs of Early Roman date on the ridge overlooking the harbor from the north.