Search for the port of ancient Toroni

It has been more than 20 years since Australian archaeoligists have been searching for the sunken port of ancient Toroni in the peninsula of Sithonia Halkidiki, with no luck till now. Recently, Dr Tom Hillard, professor of Ancient History in the University of Sydney, gave a lecture on these excavations and stressed on the efforts of the archaeologists. "Toroni was an important commercial and military point for Macedonia", said Dr Hillard, who also speculated on the location of the port and the reasons that led to its sinkage. The research is done by the Australian Archaeological Institute, which was established in 1980 and aims to study the Greek history from the ancient and the Middle ages till present. Ancient Toroni was founded in the 8th century BC and by the 5th century BC it had become one of the most important towns in Halkidiki. In 348 BC, Philip of Macedon conquered it and the town was destroyed a few decades later by the Romans. Findings prove that the area had been inhabited since the prehistoric times and that through the port of Toroni, goods and clothing were traded between Greece and the Black Sea.