The Monoxylon Expeditions

Monoxylon (in short also monoxyl) is the Greek term for a simple vessel chiselled out from a single tree trunk.
The Monoxylon Expeditions bring together science of experimental archeology and adventure of sea navigation.
The objective of expeditions is a practical verification of the abilities of simple wooden vessels - monoxyls, in the spreading of early agricultural populations through the Mediterranean.
We also want to emphasise the significance of monoxyls which is supported by archeological findings in contrast to dinghies made of leather or cane, which were popularised by Thor Heyerdahl and expedition Papyrella 1988.

The Monoxylon I Expedition (1995)

The main objective of the first expedition was to test the monoxyl for the transport of persons, crop and livestock (domestic animals). The vessel was made using Neolithic tools (from Younger Stone Age) and had no original template. The route was planned across the Aegean Sea, starting at the island of Samos just next to the Turkish coastline and went through the chain of islands of Ikaria, Mykonos, Tinos, Andros and Evia up to the coast of the Attica Peninsula where it ended near the town of Nea Makri.
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The Monoxylon II Expedition (1998)

The second expedition tested sea navigation alongside the coast of Italy, France, Spain and Portugal. This expedition was a natural continuation of the first voyage to the areas where spreading of the Early Neolithic Cardial (cardial-impressed) culture had been proven. The Monoxylon II expedition culminated in Lisbon by taking part in the World Exposition EXPO ‘98 which theme was “The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future”. The template for the construction of Monoxylu II. was based on a find of a Neolithic boat in Lake Bracciano (Italy, Rome).
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The Monoxylon III Expedition (2019)

Thanks to new archeological finds from the Middle and Younger Stone Age found in Cyprus, Crete and other islands of Aegean Sea, the subject of the oldest Mediterranean navigation is still relevant in current professional literature. There are not, however, many new additions on the list of archeological experiments which would contribute to address the question of the spreading of old cultures by navigating the seas. Therefore we have decided to dust off our 20 years old boat and roll it out ...
... and in May 2019 we sail!

Our Story

“Just a few years ago I had no clue what a chiselled out boat looked like, who Radek Tichy was or what it was like to taste seawater. I had no idea that prehistoric people could have navigated the seas and that they had been spreading their entire culture by sea. I did not know what it felt like to survive a sea storm. I did not know how beautiful the dawn could be in deserted bays and islands or how enchanting the swimming could be at night in the deep sea full of glowing luminous plankton. I did not know what horrors could grip the mind in waves at heavy seas or what sea sickness felt like. Just a few years ago I had simply no clue what Monoxylon meant and what good friends I would meet on this adventure...” from the diary of Vladislav Rogozov, physician of the Monoxylon Expeditions I and II