The complex of Upper and Lower Koufonisi is today a rapidly growing tourist destination in the Cyclades. Despite the fact that its archaeological past is not easily visible, it remains a strong presence for the interested holiday-maker.
Excavations on the two islands began in the late 1960s, in parallel with research on the opposite island of Keros. The intense construction activity on Upper Koufonisi has allowed the reconstruction of its archaeological topography. The few architectural remains, along with the tombs and important movable finds of the Early Cycladic period (3200-2000 BC), show an energetic community that maintained contacts with nearby Keros and communicated, through exchanges, with the rest of the Cyclades and Crete, as well as with the islands of the northeastern Aegean.
The late phase of the Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC) as well as the beginnings of historical times have been highlighted in rescue excavations on the two islands. On the southwestern side of Upper Koufonisi, very close to the sea, a settlement of the Roman and early Byzantine periods developed, which demonstrates the continuity of human occupation and activities on the Koufonisi islands during antiquity.
