The Prehistoric Habitation in the Strymonikos gulf

Comptes Rendus. Géoscience, 2022

This study attempts to demonstrate how Greek builders exploited their geological environment during the Archaic to Hellenistic periods. Four major sites in the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth are compared: the old city of Corinth, the sanctuary of Poseidon at Isthmia, ancient Sikyon and the Heraeum at Perachora. Ancient builders utilised primary topographic features and natural resources to their advantage, thus reducing costs. They preferred local low-density stones sourced from the more recent Corinth syn-rift deposits (calcarenite, oolitic grainstone, sandstones, stromatolites and conglomerates), rather than the pre-rift Mesozoic carbonates. These local stones represent more than 90% of the volume employed for public construction. Greek builders also imported allochthonous high-porosity limestones for their temples. Hard stones, such as marbles, do not appear to have been attractive to ancient builders at any of the studied sites.

Cyprus: An Island Culture. Society and Social Relations from the Bronze Age to the Venetian Period, 2012

ABSTRACT The Neolithic site of Ftelia is located on the innermost of the large open Gulf of Panormos at the northern part of the island (Fig. 1-3). The flat sandy beach is orientated exactly north and is divided by a low outcrop of sandstone. On top of this, Neolithic life took place, covering, with its embankments, the greater part of the outcrop. Excavation in Ftelia, which started in 1995 and continued till 2003, revealed a settlement of the LN Ia with four building phases, contemporary with Saliagos in Paros (Evans & Renfrew 1968). The thick sediments of more than 2,50m, very unusual for a bare island like Mykonos, give the opportunity for a study of the stratigraphy. Two major buildings dominate the area, one in the form of a “megaron” with influences from Neolithic Thessaly and the other one is a circular communal house. In this paper, are examined the complex stratigraphy of the site and the sequence of the four building phases.

Quaternary International 584, p.129-140, 2021

Since the excavations at Franchthi Cave in the 1960s and 1970s, the possibility of finding a submerged Neolithic site in the Bay of Kiladha has been discussed. Initial research, based on marine geophysical survey and core sampling, brought contrasted results. Starting in 2012, new parts of the Bay were investigated, using different techniques and improved methods, such as geological-geophysical survey, further core sampling (including the finding of artefacts and anthropogenic indicators of a given date in the cores), shallow water ERT (with an adapted methodology), and underwater excavation. The combined evidence leads to a reconsideration of previous work, to the discovery of submerged structures directly off the cave, which might well be Neolithic walls, and points to the existence of two new submerged sites, one dating to the Neolithic, in the middle of the Bay, and the other to the Final Neolithic/Early Bronze Age I, at Lambayanna. The implications of these findings are discussed as well.

Proceedings of the 11th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 2020

The northern coast of Cyprus has long been of interest to archaeologists researching the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age on the island. However, no prehistoric sites have been excavated in the region around the Chrysochou Bay, along the island’s northwest coast. With easy access to rich mineral sources, to the sea, to resources in the upland forests, and to arable land, this region would certainly have been attractive to the prehistoric inhabitants of the island. In the summer of 2017, the Cypriot Department of Antiquities granted the authors a permit to conduct surface collection and geophysical survey at the site of Makounta-Voules-Mersinoudia, a large prehistoric site approximately 2.5 km from the coast of Chrysochou Bay, approximately 5 km of the town of Polis. The site of Makounta-Voules-Mersinoudia has been visited by archaeologists many times in recent decades but until now has not been subjected to systematic, intensive survey. In this paper, we present the results of our first season of work at Makounta-Voules-Mersinoudia, outline some of the implications of our results, and describe our plan for future work at the site. We also present the results of a rescue project that we conducted on behalf of the Department of Antiquities: surface survey and geophysical study at the site of Stroumpi-Pigi-Agios Andronikos, a small prehistoric site just outside the town of Stroumpi.

Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2022

Directly offshore from the Late Cypriot (LC) site of Maroni Tsaroukkas on the south-central coast of Cyprus lie the remains of an anchorage with stone anchors, LC ceramics, and stone blocks. Initially surveyed in 1995–96, the anchorage was re-surveyed from 2017–19 to investigate and document fully the underwater site and to develop accurate underwater survey recording methodologies for defining this coastscape interaction zone. The site was surveyed by measuring finds into an established grid and using a computer-controlled camera system for photogrammetry. The results expand the known extent of the anchorage, include newly documented archaeological remains, and challenge us to re-conceptualize the area. In addition to anchors and pottery representative of maritime use, the presence of unfinished anchors and LC IA ceramic assemblages in the western part of the site indicates a LC coastal region likely once terrestrial that is now submerged, forming part of a newly identified coastscape locale.

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2017

A marine geoarcheological survey was conducted at the southwestern end of the Argosaronic gulf in Greece, an area of archaeological importance. The survey was initiated by the discovery of a Late Bronze Age (LBA) shipwreck off Modi Islet. The survey which employed echo-sounding, sub-bottom profiling, side scan sonar systems and sediment coring extended to the area between Poros Island, Modi Islet and Argolid peninsula, aiming to evaluate the changes of the coastal zone extent in the past. The evolution of the palaeo-shoreline over the last 20 ka is proposed based on the interpretation of the acquired bathymetric and seismic records, the estimation of the thickness of the marine sediments and the examination of existing datasets of the relative sea level changes in the area. The produced scenarios suggest that major changes marked the extent of the coastal zone since the Paleolithics. During the Upper Paleolithic period, the coast was larger by at least 11 km 2 and Poros and Modi islands were connected to the Peloponnesus. The sea level rise during the Mesolithic period formed a well-protected bay between Poros Island and Peloponessus and disconnected the Modi Islet from Poros Island. The coastal zone reached the present configuration around Late Bronze Age. The detection and mapping of scarps on the seismic profiles imply that the sea level rise presented standstills at least from the Last Glacial maximum until the onset of Holocene. However, the submerged coasts could be potential areas of archaeological interest since the examined area is habited continuously from the Paleolithic period. The acoustic data sets produced high resolution geomorphological maps at the wreck site which constitute data base for the monitoring of the site. In addition, the examination of the seafloor texture at the wreck site suggests that the seafloor characteristics were unfavorable for the preservation of the shipwreck.

[Cahier], 2023

This paper is a preliminary presentation of the large settlement which has been just recently discovered at Pyrgos-Agia Marina, thanks to intensive field survey, geophysical prospections and HD documentation of the sections left behind by mechanical terracing for construction works. The discovery of the larger section and of the other remains indicates the presence of an early, long-lived, nucleated settlement on the west bank of the Pyrgos river. The early deposits are very rich in cultural materials, particularly chipped stones and groundstones for grinding cereals. Occupation and midden deposits present quite abundant faunal remains belonging to different species. A complete absence of pottery is particularly interesting, suggesting that the stratified deposits may fall entirely within a Pre-Pottery phase of the Cypriot Neolithic. Small-scale geoarchaeological mapping of the area revealed that the Neolithic buildings were constructed on slope (fan) deposits a few meters above the ancient riverbed. A complete set of archaeological samples for radiocarbon dating was collected between 2020 and 2022 and dated through Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS); most of the radiocarbon dates obtained from two sections can be placed between 7547 cal BC and 6368 cal BC. The archaeobotanical and archaeozoological studies are at the moment still in progress and they both need further sampling and analyses for a clearer interpretation, but the preliminary results are already quite interesting. The study of the lithics at Agia Marina was undertaken both on in situ objects and on unstratified objects recovered at the base of the sections. Most of the material recorded in situ was made of opaque light brown/light red coloured chert (mainly Lefkara basal), often in the form of large flakes. Blades were present, including some of large size, whilst retouched tools were less common. The analysis of in situ lithics shows an interesting uneven distribution. Résumé. Cet article constitue la présentation préliminaire d'un établissement de grandes dimensions récemment découvert à Pyrgos-Agia Marina, grâce à une prospection intensive du terrain, à des prospections géophysiques et au relevé numérique des coupes stratigraphiques laissées par les travaux de terrassement préliminaires à des constructions. La découverte de la principale coupe stratigraphique et des autres vestiges montre la présence, sur la rive occidentale du petit fleuve Pyrgos, d'un établissement principal ancien, de longue durée. Les gisements anciens sont particulièrement riches en matériel 36 S. Agostini et alii-The Neolithic settlement of Pyrgos-Agia Marina archéologique, spécialement des pierres taillées et des broyeurs pour moudre les céréales. Les gisements des niveaux d'occupation ou de remblais contiennent d'abondants restes de faune appartenant à différentes espèces. L'absence totale de céramique est particulièrement intéressante : elle suggère que les gisements stratifiés appartiennent entièrement à la phase du Néolithique chypriote pré-céramique. Une cartographie à petite échelle de cette zone a montré que l'habitat néolithique était construit sur des gisements en pente (en éventail), quelques mètres au-dessus de l'ancien lit du cours d'eau. Un important ensemble d'échantillons archéologiques destinés à une datation radiocarbone a été réuni entre 2020 et 2022 et daté grâce à un accélérateur par spectographie de masse ; la plupart des dates radiocarbone obtenues sur deux coupes stratigraphiques se situent entre 7547 cal. et 6368 cal. av. J.-C. Les études archéobotaniques et archéozoologiques sont actuellement en cours, elles requièrent un complément d'échantillonnages et d'analyses avant une interprétation plus précise, mais les premiers résultats sont déjà tout à fait intéressants. L'étude du matériel lithique d'Agia Marina a été entreprise à la fois sur les objets trouvés in situ et sur ceux découverts hors contexte à la base des coupes stratigraphiques. La plus grande partie du matériel enregistré in situ était taillé dans un silex opaque brun clair à rouge clair (essentiellement le basal de Lefkara), souvent en forme de grandes écailles. Les lames étaient également présentes, certaines de grande taille, mais les outils retouchés étaient moins courants. L'analyse des objets lithiques in situ témoigne, de manière intéressante, d'une répartition irrégulière.

This article presents the results of recent surveys and excavations in the Turkish part of the North Aegean. The archaeological discoveries made on the island of Gökçeada (Imbroz) and on the adjacent Gallipoli Peninsula in the years since 1998 are shedding new light on the early prehistory of Turkish Thrace. For instance, the survey work at Üçdutlar on the Gallipoli Peninsula has recently produced reliable evidence that human groups frequented the site on a seasonal basis at several different times ranging from the Early Upper Paleolithic to the Epipalaeolithic. The early site called Eskino on Gökçeada has yielded chipped stone tools that date to the Middle Paleolithic and also the Epi-paleolithic. During the time of low sea level at the Last Glacial Maximum, the islands of Gökçeada, Samothrace, Limnos, Ayos Evstratious and Bozcaada were connected with one another and with the mainland as well. With the rapid rise in sea level between 20,000 and 7,000 years ago, all of these future islands began to form -at one time or another -and to separate from each other. The story of island formation is, of course, a complex and dynamic one. Major advances have been made in the last ten years but much work remains to be done on questions such as the rates of local tectonic activity on the respective islands. Thus, current knowledge of island formation at the head of the Aegean Sea is still at the first level of approximation. The excavations in progress at the site of Uğurlu on Gökçeada show that an early farming community had reached the island by around 6,500 cal BC. This settlement now plays a leading role in the study of the Neolithic transition in this part of the Mediterranean Sea as well as the circulation and exchange of material culture on the basis of voyaging in the Early Neolithic period.