875-894

The Ilarion dam 2006 : research in the Elati, Panayia and Paliouria areas

• Καραμήτρου-Μεντεσίδη, Γεωργία

In 2006 it was at last possible to excavate the areas that are due to be flooded by the Ilarion Dam, thanks to funding provided by the Public Electricity Corporation (DEI), which, after negotiations lasting a period of three years, approved funds both for systematic surface investigations and trial trenches intended to assess what should be saved and what should be sacrificed at the rim and the bottom of the new lake. Our surface investigations, which were carried out over a very extensive area within the region due to be flooded, revealed another seven archaeological sites, bringing the present total up to 20.Trial trenches were dug at Longas near Elati, where a Hellenistic settlement has been located together with evidence of habitation from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Finds from all of these periods, along with remains of buildings, were discovered in both of the trenches in the excavation, which had to be suspended because of DEI’s insistence that the site will not disintegrate when the area is flooded. The Mycenaean bronze sword -which dates from the 13th-12th cent. BC, is 81 cm. long and in an excellent condition- cannot be definitely said to come from Longas, and its original provenance may never be known as the person who found it twenty years ago is now dead. It is an important find and supports our view that some form of Mycenaean settlements existed in the middle reach of the Aliakmon around Aiane, where two older bronze swords have been found, while another three are known from the Grevena prefecture.At Yefyra near Panayia the excavation unearthed remains of buildings from the Hellenistic era, as well as handmade Macedonian matt-painted ware from the Late Bronze Age, which is believed to have been used by the proto-Dorian/Macedonian tribes. At Keramario near Paliouria sections of a large cemetery occupying two hills were excavated. The burials on the East Hill date from the Archaic and Classical eras, while those on the West Hill from Classical and Late Classical times, mainly the 4th cent. BC. On the East Hill a total of 30 burials were excavated, of which all, except one, had been disturbed and looted in antiquity. All of the burials were in pit-graves, except for one cremation, and contained grave goods, weapons, jewellery and various accessories which resemble those found in cemeteries of similar date at Aiane and in other parts of Upper and Lower Macedonia and are governed by the same sets of values, faiths, beliefs and aesthetic conceptions. The same forms of pots are represented, while of particular interest are a number of pots produced by a local workshop. The exact location of this workshop remains unknown and we can only propose Aiane or some other closer settlement as a working hypothesis, which needs to be confirmed by further research. The burials also contained various clothing accessories and toilet articles (an ear- scoop and tweezers), while a bronze ring probably represents a pre-Numismatic form of coin. On the West Hill 33 burials were excavated, of which only three were unlooted. Each grave bore one or more stones as grave-markers. They contained a total of 33 clay pots, most of which are also the products of local workshops. Two intact bronze vases were also found, a jug and a kantharos with a cast rim and foot, which is the first vase of its kind to have been found in the Grevena and Kozani prefectures. The weapons, jewellery and various accessories were also of interest.The location and excavation of yet another cemetery from the Archaic and Classical eras is particularly significant for the region of Upper Macedonia, in view of the fact that theories about the region’s cultural and social isolation during these periods have had to be revised in the light of recent excavations (particularly at Aiane). According to the new historical profile that has emerged from these archaeological investigations, in the 6th and 5th cent. BC Upper Macedonia shared a common culture with the rest of the Greek world and possessed a high standard of living and culture, together with a variety of trading relations and other forms of exchange.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

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