Olkas: A Ship Built for Living History

A merchant vessel reconstructed at full scale

Archaeopolis developed and maintains the Olkas ship as a working cultural-production asset: a reconstructed vessel that can move between workshop, exhibition, coast and live-event settings.

The Kyrenia ship as the principal reference

The construction was based on the Kyrenia ship, the exceptionally preserved Greek merchant vessel found off Kyrenia, Cyprus. Archaeological study dates its wreck to around 295 BC and identifies a cargo that included hundreds of amphoras, many of them Rhodian. The surviving hull and its scientific reconstruction provide a rare body of evidence for the form, proportions and working character of a late fourth-century BC trading ship.

Construction translated into a working environment

For Archaeopolis, the Kyrenia evidence became a practical design foundation rather than a decorative theme. The rounded timber hull, raised bow and stern, open working deck, mast, square-sail profile, hand-tied rigging and the visual language of maritime cargo were translated into a robust full-scale interpretation suitable for repeated installation and public use. The resulting Olkas is an interpretive reconstruction and production asset—not the conserved ancient hull or an archaeological replica commissioned by the Kyrenia research project.

From assembly and sea trials to public events

This research-led approach gave the vessel a credible historical silhouette while allowing it to function in contemporary cultural production. It can be transported by road, lifted by crane, assembled on land, installed beside the sea and activated by performers, reconstructed objects, sound and light. In every setting, the ship connects ancient Greek maritime trade and seafaring with an immediate, human-scale experience.

The archive follows the process from timber hull and bow finishing to maintenance, crane lifting, road transport, on-site assembly, rigging and completed public presentation.

At the coast, the vessel becomes part of a wider historical environment with reconstructed objects, performers and audiences. On land, it operates as a powerful exhibition object and an adaptable stage for mythological storytelling.

The ship was used in the Archaeopolis film The Sirens and in related live performance imagery preserved in the Olkas archive. Exact event titles, locations and dates remain deliberately unconfirmed until the production records are matched to each image sequence.

On 13 July 2018, the vessel formed the centre of the public event One Ship, One Story in the Municipality of Penteli. The programme joined the Olkas with pankration, Byzantine hoplomachia, long-sword and sword practice, live pipes and percussion, and presentations by KORYVANTES, Leontes, Seirios and the Olympian Team.