127-138

A roman bath at Stefanina of Thessaloniki prefecture

• Αδάμ - Βελένη, Πολυξένη
• Ζωγράφου, Ηλέκτρα

Piryitsi, a site near Stefanina, Thessaloniki prefecture, has yielded various antiquities. The hill on which the village stands is also a well-known archaeological site of the Byzantine period. In 1994 deep ploughing on land owned by Ioannis Mavroudis brought architectural members to light; but rescue excavations did not begin until the summer of 2003.Parts of two large buildings of the Middle Imperial period came to light, while earlier, Hellenistic phases were also located. In the first complex, two sizeable spaces were uncovered, together with various smaller adjacent rooms. On the basis of the small caldarium (possibly only for dry heat) with its underfloor and intramural heating and the praefurnium, the complex was identified as a therm. The two large rooms are the tepidarium, where a moderate temperature was maintained, while the room immediately to the south may be identified as the frigidarium or cold room, in association with the two adjacent piscinas and a marble basin in the centre.The building represents the asymmetrical type of therm and dates to the 2nd century AD. Similar examples, with the three main rooms (cold, tepid, and hot) laid out on a linear plan, are found at Didyma and at Ephesus, as also in westerly provinces of the Empire, in towns in northern Africa.The complex ceased operating as a therm in the 3rd century, and a new building was erected on the site, in at least two stages. The new complex was built with different masonry and had a different aspect. Its function has not yet been identified. Numismatic evidence suggests that it was destroyed early in the 4th century. The excavation revealed at least one construction phase of the Hellenistic period with the corresponding numismatic finds and characteristic examples of pottery, together with a pit, the fill of which contained handmade vessels of the prehistoric period.The site was inhabited from early times, but it was organised and developed in the Roman period. The two buildings of the Imperial period were within a walled settlement that occupied the entire surface of the low elevation to the west of the modem village. It flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, but early in the 4th century the settlement dwindled in size or else it was abandoned completely and the population moved across to the other hill (the site of present-day Stefanina), remaining there throughout the Byzantine period.The stone-paved road that takes the visitor up to the Roman town follows the track of the ancient perimeter road and preserves its contemporary surface. The site of the town, in the semi-mountainous hinterland between Mounts Kerdyllios and Vertiskos, on the eastern edge of the ancient geographical area of Mygdonia, presents considerable advantages as regards security from the major arterial roads and natural sources of wealth.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

ρωμαϊκές αρχαιότητες, Θεσσαλονίκη, συνέδρια

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