Saliagos
Saliagios is a tiny uninhabited rocky islet in the strait between Paros and Antiparos, in the heart of the Cyclades — barely 110 metres long, low and barren, with no beach, no buildings and no water. It’s most famous not for what you see today, but for what lies under it: the remains of a Neolithic settlement.
Saliagos earliest known farming settlement archipelago
Excavated in the 1960s, Saliagos was one of the earliest settlements in the Cyclades, inhabited around 4300-3700 BC, long before the Cycladic Bronze Age. The finds — stone tools, pottery, marble figurines — showed that people were already farming, fishing and working obsidian there, and that Paros and Antiparos were once connected by land. Today it’s just a rock you pass on the ferry to Antiparos, but archaeologically it’s one of the most important dots in the Aegean.
The islet where Cycladic life began 6,000 years ago
Saliagos is an islet in the Cyclades, less than 500 metres off the northern tip of Antiparos and 500 metres from Paros, in the strait that once joined the two larger islands when sea level was 4.9 metres lower. It is tiny — 0.7 hectares, less than 500 square metres in total — and uninhabited.
It holds the most ancient settlement in the Cyclades. The settlement covers the entire islet and was first located in 1959 by conservator Nikos Zafeiropoulos, then excavated from 1964 to 1965 by British archaeologists John Evans and Colin Renfrew for the British School at Athens. It dates to the end of the 5th millennium BC, around 5000 to 4000 BCE, and is one of the most significant sites in the Mediterranean for early agriculture. Stone foundations of buildings, obsidian arrowheads, pottery and food remains were found. Its most famous find is the Fat Lady of Saliagos, also called the Naked Lady, a marble figure of large rounded buttocks and crossed legs, missing its head and shoulder, the oldest known Cycladic statue at 5.8 centimetres preserved height, now in the Paros Archaeological Museum.
This is not a beach destination. It is for you if you care about archaeology and want to stand where the Saliagos Culture — 4300 to 3700 BC — first settled the Aegean. It is not for sunbathing, tavernas or overnight stays.
How to get there & around
Saliagos is not served by ferries and cannot be walked or inhabited. You see it from the sea on the Antiparos-Paros crossing or on a private boat tour from Antiparos Town or Parikia. The Antiparos ferry runs continuously between Paros and Antiparos, less than one nautical mile, so private caiques and sailing charters in the channel often pass the islet. There is no pier, no path and no landing facilities — it is a protected archaeological islet managed as part of the Small Cycladic Islands Project. The best way to understand it is via the finds in the Paros Archaeological Museum, then by circling it by boat from the Paros-Antiparos strait in calm weather.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saliagos | Saliagos is an islet in the Greek island group of Cyclades
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiparos | less than one nautical mile from Paros port connected local ferry Saliagos island most ancient settlement Cyclades Neolithic settlement excavated 1964 to 1965 Colin Renfrew J D Evans British School Athens Stone foundations obsidian arrowheads pottery Fat lady of Saliagos
- https://labrujulaverde.com/en/2022/03/the-fat-lady-of-saliagos-the-oldest-cycladic-figurine-ever-found | small islet less than 500 square meters called Saliagos In 1959 conservator Nikos Zafeiropoulos discovered remains prehistoric settlement excavated 1964 1965 British archaeologists John Davies Evans Colin Renfrew
- https://iiab.me/the-fat-lady-of-saliagos/ | Fat Lady of Saliagos also Naked Lady marble figure Aegean Neolithic period Saliagos between Paros Antiparos dates about 5000 to 4000BCE oldest known Cycladean statue missing head left shoulder found excavations 1964/65 John Davies Evans Colin Renfrew
- https://sites.dartmouth.edu/aegeanprehistory/lessons/lesson-2-narrative/ | only extensively excavated site of this culture Saliagos lies what now small islet between Paros Antiparos site clearly settlement finds architecture pottery stone artifacts plant animal fish shellfish remains Saliagos Culture ca 4300-3700 b.c.
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354123456 | When sea level was -4.90 lower than present Saliagos islet was hilly ridge small cape northern end land area occupied northern part Paros-Antiparos Strait joining together two islands Saliagos 0.7 ha most significant sites Mediterranean early agriculture
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Last Updated on September 11, 2026 by admin