Excavations for rainwater drainage pipes brought to light 14 petrified trees, in an area near Sigri and the region of Lesvos island's Petrified Forest.

"The trunks were in a very good state of perservation - they are impressive logs laid on successive strata, one above the other," professor Nikos Zouros, director of the Petrified Forest of Sigri Museum, speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency. He said that the fossilized trunks were of both small and large trees, and included branches. They vary in age and are both conifers and fruit-bearing trees.

*The Petrified Forest. Credit: C messier/Wikimedia commons*

According to experts, the way the tress lie shows the violence of volcanic eruptions 18 million years ago.

Professor Zouros said that based on the area's geologic formations, it seems the site of the fossilized trees was part of an ancient valley. The trees were killed by blasts of gas from the volcanic explosions and then covered by ash. Extensive and heavy rain flooded the area, sweeping away both the ash and sections of tree trunks. The giant mudflows blocked valleys, and the tree trunks piled up in successive layers, where they became fossilized.

More trees are expected to be found as the digging continues.