Αρχαιολογικές και γεωμορφολογικές έρευνες στο Δέλτα του Στρυμόνα
Part of : Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και στη Θράκη ; Vol.10, No.Β, 1996, pages 639-661
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639-661
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Archaelogical and geomorphological research in the Strymon Delta
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A team consisting of archaeologists from the XVIII Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities (based in Kavala), members of the British Archaeo logical School of Athens and the Hellenic Centre for Maritime Research has conducted a research project whose objective was to identify and interpret the chronological sequence of the human settlements in the Strymon Delta and its surroundings between the prehistoric period and the present day.The identification, by Ephorate XVIII, of an ancient settlement on Profitis Ilias hill, at some distance from the modern coastline, and the proposed iden tification of the settlement as ancient Eion, raised a series of questions about the geomorphology of the Strymon Delta in antiquity.The research project examined the geomorphological evolution of the Delta and the impact of changes in it on the ekistic development of the area during the ancient and Byzantine periods, as represented by the sequential history of the cities of Eion, Amphipolis and Chrysoupolis.The geomorphologists made a total of 16 surface and in-depth drillings to study the palaeogeography and palaeobotany of the Delta.The archaeologists extended their surface study to cover the entire Delta, where they discovered a significant number of small installations connected with the agricultural, craft industrial and commercial activities which develop ed in the Delta around the ekistic centres of Eion, Amphipolis and Chrysou polis as they alternated in the history of the area.In parallel, they dug exploratory trenches at the foot of Profitis Bias hill, where they discovered archaeological strata of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, together with a cemetery of the late Archaic period.The geomorphological and archaeological research also drew important information from a study of aerial photographs, old maps, portolans, the texts of travellers and Ottoman documents.Dating of the geomorphological and ekistic developments in the Delta was based on the archaeological finds from the surface survey and the exploratory trenches, on the information from historical sources, on the cartographic data and on the radio-dating (using AMS techniques) of 30 samples from seven drillings.The research project confirmed the initial hypothesis that ancient Eion was located on Profitis Ilias hill, disproving the widely-held belief that Byzantine Chrysoupolis and Eion were identical, since it demonstrated that the Byzanti ne fortress of Chrysoupolis was built on earth fills in the Strymon Delta dating from a later time.Taken in conjunction, the geomorphological, historical and archaeological finds built up a picture of the Strymon Delta as an economic, political and administrative centre and as a cultural bridge between the Aegean and the hinterland of eastern Macedonia both before and after the time of Amphipolis.
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