October 23 - All of our American visitors have left (sob), so I figured it was going to be a boring day. After eating breakfast, a fellow at the main square in town, the Lions Square, randomly handed me a brochure which showed all of the caves and mines on Samos. So Denita and I hopped in the car, and drove about 25 minutes to see a 2,500 year old shale mine. It turned out to be just above the airport, near the little town of Chora.
It appears the Greeks followed veins of high quality shale, rock that splits off easily in thin sheets. They left enough material in columns to sport the weight of the ceiling, which are visible in the pictures below. We wondered how they got the rock down the hillside; perhaps with mules and wagons of some kind.
I can`t seem to find the location of these mines. We would like to visit them this summer, but i really have no idea where to look! Could you help me out? Would be really great!
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