465-480

Xirolimni, Kozani prefecture

• Καραμήτρου-Μεντεσίδη, Γεωργία

At Porta, or Portes, in the community of Xirolimni, we located a prehistoricsettlement and received antiquities which attest the existence of a sanctuary ofApollo (a marble statuette and a stela with a representation of Apollo, and aninscription). Since it lay on the route of the so-called Via Egnatia, we had to digtrial trenches — on the basis of which we estimated the surface area of thesettlement within the road to be 0.5 ha — and then conduct systematic excavations.Apart from the sanctuary, which began to be excavated in 1999, othermajor sites come within the administrative boundaries of Xirolimni, thoughthey do not confirm Hammond’s opinion that ancient Euia was here. Euia maybe identified with the settlement that is being excavated at Polymylos.Section of the prehistoric settlementA destruction layer was uncovered over a wide area, mainly consisting ofbuilding materials from ruined structures with stone bases and dense surfaces ofconcentrated masses of clay, which are evidently the remains of clay-builtstructures. The clay-built structures belong to small hut dwellings made withunbaked bricks or piled clay, with or without stone bases, floors of compactedclay, and roofs of plaited straw and reeds coated with clay, and beams thatwould have held it up, as is attested by the existence of a considerable numberof post-holes of varying sizes and at varying intervals apart.The data suggest that the settlement was probably destroyed by fire andabandoned as a result. There is clear evidence of fire over quite wide areas, andpots, either isolated or in groups and smashed or intact in situ, testify to violentabandonment. The presence of regular burials, as also of human bones scatteredabout the settlement after the creation of the destruction fill, attests that the sitewas later used as a burial ground.Pottery of the Early Bronze Age and the Late Neolithic is found mainly inthe superficial layers, the upper levels of which have been disturbed byploughing. The settlement’s main habitation phase may be dated to the EarlyNeolithic, as may the extensive destruction fill and more generally a fairlythick, brown, sandy clay fill with a high proportion of pottery and finds. Deeperlayers at some points took us to earlier phases of the Early Neolithic. It iscertain that the Xirolimni settlement produced a very local type of pottery withsome distinctive characteristics. One feature of the local wares is the frequentappearance of a knob, either mastoid or more pointed, which is used as a foot on the bases of tables and pots. Apart from tables, some quite large openvessels were found with pierced knobs or with pointed knobs serving ashandles, hemispherical phiales, and small phial-like vessels without a base, or,as we have said, with three knobs serving as feet. There were also sherds ofkantharoi and kyathoi.There is a long list of small finds from the two excavation periods. Eighthundred and eighty-eight chipped tools and 852 flake tools were collected,together with 358 other stone tools (millstones, pestles, mortars), 498 bone tools(awls, needles, chisels, spatulas), 50 clay bobbins, 100 spindle whorls and loomweights, some 94 items of jewellery, and 57 figurines (standing and seatedfigures, birds, and animals).

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Κοζάνη, συνέδρια

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