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NEW DATA ON SOUTHERN EUBOEAN LANDSCAPES: RESULTS OF THE NORWEGIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY IN THE KARYSTIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2021

Žarko Tankosić*
Affiliation:
University of Bergen; Norwegian Institute at Athens
Alexandros Laftsidis
Affiliation:
Xavier University, Cincinnati
Aikaterini Psoma
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago
Rebecca M. Seifried
Affiliation:
University of MassachusettsAmherst
Apostolos Garyfallopoulos
Affiliation:
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Abstract

We present the results of a diachronic survey of the Katsaronio plain in the Karystia, southern Euboea, Greece. The project was organised under the aegis of the Norwegian Institute at Athens with a permit from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture under the official name of the Norwegian Archaeological Survey in the Karystia. Five years of fieldwork (2012–16) covered an area of 20km2 in a large agricultural plain located about 5km north-west of the town of Karystos. The survey identified 99 new findspots with a range of dates spanning from the Final Neolithic to Early Modern times. Here we present the collected prehistoric through Roman data, which represent the bulk of the acquired evidence. One of the notable features of the assemblage is the vast quantity of lithics that were recovered, numbering over 9000 and consisting mainly of obsidian. Certain periods were absent from the evidence, such as post-Early Bronze Age prehistoric and Geometric, while others were represented with varying intensity. We offer an initial interpretation of the patterns observable in the evidence in an attempt to reconstruct the past use and habitation of this part of Euboea.

Νέα δεδομένα των τοπίων της Νότιας Εύβοιας: Συμπεράσματα της Νορβηγικής Αρχαιολογικής Επιφανειακής Έρευνας στην Καρυστία

Στο παρόν άρθρο παρουσιάζονται τα αποτελέσματα της διαχρονικής επιφανειακής έρευνας της πεδιάδας του Κατσαρωνίου Καρυστίας στη νότια Εύβοια. Το πρόγραμμα, το οποίο έφερε την ονομασία Norwegian Archaeological Survey in the Karystia, τέλεσε υπό την αιγίδα του Νορβηγικού Αρχαιολογικού Ινστιτούτου Αθηνών, με την άδεια του Υπουργείου Πολιτισμού και Αθλητισμού της Ελλάδος. Κατά τη διάρκεια πέντε ετών έρευνας στο πεδίο (2012–16), εξετάστηκε μία επιφάνεια 20 χλμ2 εντός της εκτεταμένης γεωργικής πεδιάδας που τοποθετείται περίπου 5 χλμ. ΝΔ της πόλης της Καρύστου. Μέσω της επιφανειακής έρευνας κατέστη δυνατόν να εντοπιστούν 99 νέες θέσεις με αρχαιολογικό ενδιαφέρον και ένα χρονολογικό εύρος που εκτείνεται από τη ύστερη Νεολιθική περίοδο μέχρι τους νεότερους χρόνους. Στην παρούσα εργασία παρουσιάζονται τα δεδομένα από την προϊστορική μέχρι τη ρωμαϊκή περίοδο, τα οποία αποτελούν τον κύριο όγκο της μαρτυρίας που προέκυψε από την επιφανειακή έρευνα. Αξιοσημείωτη είναι η πολύ μεγάλη ποσότητα λίθινων αντικειμένων (πάνω από 9000), κατασκευασμένων κυρίως από οψιανό. Ορισμένες περίοδοι, όπως η περίοδος αμέσως μετά την ΠΕΧ και η γεωμετρική περίοδος, δεν αντιπροσωπεύονται καθόλου εντός του συλλεχθέντος υλικού, ενώ ο βαθμός εκπροσώπησης άλλων περιόδων ποικίλει. Με βάση το παραπάνω υλικό επιχειρείται μία προκαταρκτική ερμηνεία των διαφόρων αναγνωρίσιμων μοτίβων με στόχο την ανασύσταση της χρήσης και κατοίκησης αυτού του τμήματος της αρχαίας Εύβοιας.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens, 2021

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