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Ancient Mieza : The excavations in the public centre from 2004 to 2008

• Ψαρρά, Ειρήνη

The ancient city of Mieza is located near the modern city of Naousa in Hmathia. During the Hellenistic period, Mieza is characterized by great economic and cultural flourishing while at this time the city has already the organization of a polis, as evidenced by the excavations and the archaeological findings in the region. In the last twenty years an extensive and monumentalbuilding complex was revealed to an area of 330 X 150 m, which belongs to the Agora, the political and probably religious centre of the city (Plan 1). A central long road leads from the east to a space with particular architectural form (a kind of propylon) and via a ramp to the higher western terrace, where architectural remains have been uncovered. In the research of 2002 five rooms with halls were identified as symposium rooms of the so called (until then) L- shaped building, at the northwestern edge of this terrace. Latest excavations though, carried out in 200-1, 2006, 2007 and 2008, brought to light new architectural remains that changed the layout of the building. Another six rooms along with their halls were uncovered, bringing the total number of symposium rooms to eleven. Moreover, it was confirmed that these rooms were actuallyincorporated in the northern and western wings of a large peristyle building, which measures 67 m x 62 m. This building extends with a different layout to the south where a closed yard seems also to exist. In fact, there are two organically connected buildings in one enormous construction of 6.000 m2. (Plan 2 and 3). The presence of symposium rooms, which are often related to the worship of Asclepius, along with the later epigraphic evidence from the city referring to the worship of the healing god, support the hypothesis that this area can be identified as a sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius, but incorporated in the city’s Agora. Based on the excavation findings, the Hellenistic Agora of Mieza is dated in the second half of the 4 th century B.C. while its end is placed in the first quarter of the 3th century B.C. One more piece of evidence corroborating to this estimated ending period is provided by a hoard of 19 silver coins (among which there is a tetradrachm and 14 drachms in the name of Alexander III). The hoard was hidden in the western stoa of the peristyle building and gives a latest chronological limit at around 275 B.C. The architect(s) of the imposing building program in the Agora adopted early enough a lot of the architectural features and trends of this period, such as successive terraces and stoas, large peristylia, particularly decorated internal spaces, ramps and stairs in order to find out practical solutions but also to create a theatrical impression of the public space. Certainly, the Agora of Mieza contributes substantially to our knowledge about this important city but it does so even more about the Macedonian public architecture at the Hellenistic times.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Μακεδονία

Το άρθρο περιέχει εικόνες και κατόψεις., Στις ανασκαφικές εργασίες συνεργάστηκαν οι αρχαιολόγοι Χρ. Μαστραντάμη (2004). Στ. Λιούλιας (2006) και Κ. Παπάζογλου (2008), ενώ πολύτιμη ήταν η βοήθεια του αρχιτεχνίτη Δ. Δημητρούση. Την τοπογράφηση έκανε ο Γ.Γκάτζιος, την αποτύπωση των καταλοίπων η Μ. Γκάτζιου, ενώ για μικρό διάστημα εργάστηκαν οι σχεδιαστές Θ. Τηλιόπουλος και Δ. Ζηλίδου. Τη συντήρηση ορισμένων ευρημάτων ανέλαβε η Χρ. Ασημακοπούλου. Ο αρχιτέκτονας Ν. Χατζηδάκης συμπλήρωσε τανέα ανασκαφικά δεδομένα στα σχέδια 2 και 3. Τους ευχαριστώ όλους θερμά. Επίσης, Θέλω να ευχαριστήσω τους συναδέλφους Αγγ. Κουκουβού και Ν. Πουλακάκη για την πάντα πρόθυμη συνεργασία τους και τις συζητήσεις μας για τη Μίεζα όλα αυτά τα χρόνια.