511-539

Mavropiyi 2005 : lignite mines and antiquities

• Καραμήτρου-Μεντεσίδη, Γεωργία

The Ptolemai'da plain lies 670-750 m above sea level between Mounts Vermio and Askio. It is known as Kitrini Limni (Yellow Lake), because of its marshes, which were drained in the mid-20th century. A dense complex of habitations developed there in the Neolithic period, of which 31 sites have been located so far. The sad thing is that many of these sites, with their incalculable cultural wealth, lie within the boundaries of the development of the Public Electricity Company’s lignite mines. Within the boundary of the Mavropiyi lignite mine, which includes the administrative area of the village of Komanos, there are 19 archaeological sites, of which one, at Fyllotsai'ri, with a Neolithic settlement, was excavated in 2005 and 2006, while a further 10 offer surface evidence of habitation in the Neolithic period. We present the 27 archaeological sites that make up the archaeological map of the Mavropiyi area, which is known to scholars from its rich yield of portable finds of all periods.The finds collected in recent years from the Kitrini Limni settlements include a fragmentary stone female figurine from the Tetralofos mound, which shares obvious similarities with a clay figurine of the Early Neolithic from Pondokomi, and a gold ring pendant, which was found at Megaio Nisi near Galani and constitutes a rare, and in many respects interesting, Neolithic find. We also outline the basic features of Neolithic habitation in Kitrini Limni and our research goals, which have to do with resolving questions of spatial organisation, demography, the economy of the prehistoric social formations, and the study of relations and communication.The excavation at Fyllotsai'ri was conducted in a Neolithic settlement with an area of about half a hectare which was briefly inhabited in the Early Neolithic period. In the centre of the settlement is a house which was originally underground, then semi-subterranean, and finally at ground level in its third phase, when it was extended from 25 to 100 sq.m. At this point its roof was reinforced with posts all around, while the floor -of hard limestone marl 0.07-0.10 m thick- is impressive and survives over an area of some 15 sq.m.The irregularly rectangular pile dwellings were the biggest surprise at Mavropiyi and may be compared with those at Nea Nikomedeia in Emathia. Seven ground plans were uncovered, six of them complete, with an area ranging from 50 to 90 sq.m and offering evidence of repairs and therefore of habitation phases that were not far apart. The Neolithic people dug channels around the houses, in which they founded the walls of branches and reeds, which were coated with clay, were secured with large posts, supported pitched or hipped roofs, and were built on a N-S or NE-SW axis, with the entrance at the south or east. Indoor fireplaces and about 100 shallow and deeper pits used for storage, refuse, and food preparation, both inside and outside the dwellings (usually one large one directly adjacent), attest good spatial organisation by this little farming and pastoral society, whose members seem to have been well into the productive stage and to have developed communal activities.The excavated site yielded 15 burials, and almost all the pottery on the site was collected, much of it plain, coarse, and from wares with medium to thick walls, though some was smooth and burnished. The decoration on wares with medium to thin walls was painted, impressed, or incised. The list of small finds comprises some 2,000 objects: chipped and ground stone tools, clay bobbins and loom weights (i.e. sizeable shells with a hole), bone awls, needles and bones with traces of working, pendants, stone, bone, and clay beads, and six stamps with a variety of designs. Of 132 figurines most are female figures and some represent animals, of which three clay buffaloes stand out and one stone frog; and there are also new types, unknown from other excavations in Kozani prefecture.We have ascertained the existence of 15 Early Neolithic settlements in Kozani prefecture and 19 in Grevena prefecture. We believe that the site under excavation at Fyllotsai'ri could become part of a pilot project to record the cultural data from this period in western Macedonia. The findings that may arise out of an investigation like this could help us to understand the development of the early farmers and stockbreeders in the same ecological environment, to recognise parallels, similarities, and differences between them, and to make correlations and comparisons with other cultural groups. The lignite mines that feed our need for electricity have an impact both on the geological history of the land and on human history, owing to the antiquities. Their operation is a necessity for us, but the prospect of research choices with goals is part of personal (and collective on the part of many, including the state) responsibility and constitutes our (the archaeologists’) way of resisting all cultural destruction and gaining knowledge for us and our descendants, to whom we already owe answers.

• History and Archaeology
• Electrical engineering, Electronic engineering, Information engineering

• Αρχαιολογία

αρχαιολογικοί χώροι, συντήρηση και αποκατάσταση, Κοζάνη, συνέδρια

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