55-65

A “retrogressive” establishment of the archaic period at Ayios Ioannis on Thasos

• Παπαδόπουλος, Στρατής

The bay of Ayios Ioannis is in the SE of Thasos, some 3 km N of Alyki. Theruins of 2 towers on the slopes have been known since the beginning of the 20thcentury. Habitation remains of the Late Roman period were discovered at the Eend of the bay in 1983. In 1998, in the W of the bay, a new excavation projectuncovered a large building, of which 3 main rooms and a storage structure wereexcavated. The identity of the building, which is also of the Late Roman period,had already been revealed by the surface finds: 2 sections of a press and a millof trapetum testify to the existence of an olive-processing workshop.Further N were found habitation remains of an establishment of the Archaicperiod, with structures of, mostly, perishable materials: fireplaces with pebbleor clay floors on slabs or on a substratum of sherds, clay, and gravel; stonebenches; middens; and clay floors. It was interesting to note a large number ofheating structures concentrated in an area of only 20 m2, which seem to havebeen connected with such activities as cooking and weaving. Pestles andmortars, cooking utensils, and a large number of spindle whorls were located onthe periphery.The community’s pottery is of coarse to medium quality, the surface perfunctorilytreated, merely smoothed, never burnished. It consists almost exclusivelyof utilitarian utensils: open phiales, large hemispherical bowls,cooking pots, cups, and larger tub-like vessels. The most common category ofdecorated wares is the phiales, with rows of circular depressions below the rimor in the well between the handles. More rarely, there are shallow furrows onthe body, often in addition to the depressions. One special category is the“phiales with prominent knobs”, which have plain or perforated knobs and aredecorated with circular furrows and semicircles suspended from the rim.So we have here a small establishment in terms of both size and duration.The choice of this site in the bay of Ayios Ioannis must have been governed bythree main factors: the lush pastureland, the possibility of growing olives, andthe fact that the residents must also have practised hunting and fishing. It mayhave been abandoned because of the problems created by seasonal riversflowing down the slopes.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

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