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Excavations at Assiros, 1975–9: A Settlement Site in Central Macedonia and Its Significance for the Prehistory of South-East Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2013

K. A. Wardle ,
Paul Halstead  and
Glynis Jones
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Extract

Archaeological research into the prehistory of Central Macedonia started at the end of the last century with the explorations of Makridis, Schmidt, Träger, Wace and others, who reported on the numerous mound settlements and the surface material to be found on these, or undertook minor excavations. Extensive excavation began fortuitously with the entrenchments of the French and English expeditionary forces who arrived in 1916 to open a new front against the Austrians and Bulgarians and ‘dug in’ in a wide arc from the Vardar (modern Axios) to the Struma (modern Strymon) to the north of Thessaloniki. Enlightened officers, both French and English, encouraged the recovery of antiquities wherever possible, as well as undertaking the topographical study of many of the mounds. The finds were collected together into a temporary museum in the White Tower, and were later reported by Picard, Rey, Gardiner and Casson at the end of the war.

Type
Research Article
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 75 , November 1980 , pp. 229 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 1980

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References

1 Heuzey-Daumet, Mission de Macédoine 226, 243, 412. Zeit. f. Ethnologie xxxiii (1901) 43; xxxiv (1902) 62; xxxvi (1905) 91. LAAA ii (1909) 159. Makridis excavated at Lembet (formerly known as Platanaki) and his finds were commented on by Wace, in BSA xx (1913–1914) 129.Google Scholar

2 BCH xl (1916) 257, 293; xli xliii (1917–19) 1. BSA xxiii (1918–19) 1. 10.

3 BSA xxiv (1919–21) 1; xxvi (1923–25) 1. Antiquaries Journal vi (1926) 59.

4 Heurtley, W. A., Prehistoric Macedonia (hereafter PM) and BSA xxvii (1925–1926) 1Google Scholar; xxviii (1926–27) 195; xxix (1927–28) 117; xxx (1928 30) 113. D. H. French has compiled an invaluable Index of Prehistoric Sites in Central Macedonia (privately circulated in 1967) in which the early references to sites under different names are collected together and located where possible. N. G. L. Hammond in A History of Macedonia. Vol. 1: Historical geography and prehistory, has provided a useful survey of recent work in all parts of Macedonia.

Where a site has been published and is well known under its older name. I shall continue to use this. Otherwise I shall use the modern name.

5 E.g. Stivos (French L7). excavated by Kotsias. Sokhos (French L16). Keramopoulos, PAE 1937, 74.Google Scholar

6 G. E. Mylonas, Excavations at Olynthus. 1, The Neolithic Settlement.

7 Hammond,OP. cit.describes Macedonian geography and discusses routes to other regions.

8 Thessaly was, of course, well known from the work of Tsountas, and that of Wace and Thompson, Prehistoric Thessaly. See PM 63 for a discussion of the neolithic material and 79 for the early bronze age. These contacts tend to be submerged in the general discussion, 113, 117, by the question of Danubian origins for almost all groups.

9 PM 93, 103. Childe's The Danube in Prehistory with its masterly survey of material from Central and SE Europe provided many examples of parallels — whether real or apparent only — for Macedonian discoveries.

10 Mortimer Wheeler was already working out those methods put into practice in classic form at Maiden Castle in 1934.

11 PM 103 “The normal course of ceramic development was interrupted by the Lausitz invasion”. Milojčić had already denied this connection in Arch. Anzeiger 1948, 30 but the idea had persisted in both general and specific form, e.g. Hammond op. cit. 305–9 passim.

12 A. Furumark, Mycenaean Pottery, Classification and Analysis and The Chronology of Mycenaean Pottery, moved these studies onto a far higher level of accuracy.

13 PPS xxviii, 267. A Delt xvii (1961–62) B’ Chronika 231: xix (1964) B’ Chronika 368.

14 Sitagroi: Antiquity xliv (1970) 131; PPS xxxvi (1970) 296; A. C. Renfrew The Emergence of Civilization (passim). Dikili Tas: BCH lxxxvi (1962) 922; lxxxvii, 843; xcii, 1062; xciv, 799.

15

16 Arch. Anzeiger 1948, 12. JRGZM 2 (1955) 153.

17 V. R. d–A. Desborough The Last Mycenaeans and Their Successors 217. Bouzek, J., Opuscula Athen. 9 (1969) 41.Google ScholarSnodgrass, A. M., The Dark Age of Greece 305, 322.Google Scholar

18 C f. Sandars, N. K., ‘From Bronze Age to Iron Age, a sequel to a sequel’ in Studies in Honour of CFC. Hawkes: The European Community in Later Prehistory, Eds. Boardman, , Brown and Powell, 9.Google Scholar

19 B. Hänsel, ‘Ergebnisse der Grabungen bei Kastanas in Zentralmakedonien 1975–1978’, JRGZM, in press. (Hereafter Kastanas).

20 Beiträge zur regionalen und chronologischen Gliederung der älteren Hallstattzeit an der unteren Donau. (Hereafter Donau).

21 The results of my Ph.D. dissertation, ‘The Greek Bronze Age West of the Hindus’, submitted to London University in 1972, are partly summarised in ‘Cultural Groups of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age in North West Greece’ Godišnjak Sarajevo xi (1977) 153. Preliminary research on Macedonia was carried out during my tenure of an Alexander von Humboldt Stipendium under the supervision of the late Prof. V. Milojčić at Heidelberg to whom I owe much for his encouragement and assistance. Preliminary accounts are published in Archaeological Reports 1975–6, 19 and 1977–78. 44, as well as in ‘News Letter from Greece’ AJA lxxxii.

22 I am most grateful to Prof. Hänsel for information about the site, for the opportunity to see his finds on several occasions and for the chance to read his preliminary report on Kastanas in manuscript.

23 Dr. Donald Davidson (Strathclyde University) has made a preliminary study of soils and erosion around Assiros. Some of his results are published in Eds. R. A. Cullingford, D. A. Davidson and J. Lewin Time Scales in Geomorphology, 143–158. fig 11.3.

24 LAAA ii 1909 161 and British Museum Catalogue of Vases 1.19, where it is described under the old name, Giuvesne. Also D. H. French loc. cit. site L 6.

25 Toumba tou Lakkou was first reported by Casson, BSA xxiii (1918–1919) 61Google Scholar, also French, site L 13. Agia Anna has not, as far as I know, been reported previously: surface indications suggest occupation in the neolithic and bronze age, but principally in the first half of the 1st Millennium BC. Agia Anna (north), about 500 m. away seems to be a late Roman site.

26 PM 26, and BSA xxx (1928–30) 113.

27 French, site L 15.

28 My thanks are due to many helpers. In particular, David Smyth undertook survey work and planning and has prepared the plans and sections in this report. Diana Wardlc managed the potshed and has restored and drawn all the pottery illustrated here. Photographs are by Paul Booth, Chris Mee, Graham Norrie and the late Peter Schalk, as well as some of my own. Funds were provided by the British School, British Academy, Craven Fund Oxford, Marc Fitch Fund. Russell Trust. Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung and Universities of Newcastle upon Tync and Birmingham among others.

29 This section was cut in three trenches, from W to E. JA. JC, KA.

30 Trenches JB.JD-JJ and baulk JDJ.

31 Trench HB.

32 Trenches HC and NA.

33 Trench OA.

34 Specialist studies are being carried out by P. Halstead of animal bones. G. Jones of plant remains, D. Reese of molluscs, and by the British Museum Laboratory of 14C samples.

The finds are presently stored in the storerooms of the old museum in Thessaloniki.

35 For convenience the building levels at the base of the mound have been labelled from the bottom up, to the point where the outer wall is encountered. If it proves possible to relate the building levels inside and outside the terrace bank they will be re-named in accordance with the numerical series used for the upper part of the mound.

36 Phases have been numbered from the top of the mound downwards as encountered, and these numbers will be retained in further reports.

37 See appendix.

38 PM 81.

39 BSA xxvii (1925–26) 19.

40 Cf. for example S. Morintz, Contribuţii Arshaeologice La Istoria Tracilor Timpurii, I Epoca bronzului în şpatiul carpato-balkanic: Zimnicea-Plovdiv group, 55; Zimnicea fig. 32:3; Razkopanica fig. 34:11; Verbicioara culture, phase IV–V, 61; Corlate fig. 35; Vlàdeşti fig. 36:9; Govora-sat figs. 40. 41: Tei culture, phase IV–V, 71; Fundenii Doamnei fig. 42:5; Giuleşti-Şirbi fig. 43. Also Hänsel Donau 52 f. Taf. 4. 5, 9, 10.

41 Second Incised Style. BSA xxvii (1925–26) 18.PMfigs. 72 and 73.

42 Kg. Vardaroftsa, , BSA xxvii (1925–1926) 20.Google Scholar This kind of ware is very common on the surface at such sites as Episkopi, near Veria: French site VE. 4.

43 I am grateful to F. Winter and A. Bankoff for drawing my attention to these parallels hut have not yet been able to investigate them. Eg. Vardino, PM 234, no. 474 and pl XXII.

44 BSA xxx (1928–30) fig. 6 etc. Some indication of the date of the end of the early bronze age in Macedonia may be given by 14C dates from Sitagroi: Bln-781, 2135 ±150. Bln-780 1920 ± 100 b.c. for phase vb, A. C. Renfrew The Emergence of Civilization, 219.

45 C. Podzuweit, in Hänsel, Kastanas, see 19 above.

46 I am grateful to Alison Watson for studying and commenting on this material.

47 P. Halstead has noted from his study of the faunalremains that many of the butchery marks could only be made by metal, not flint, knives.

48 PM fig. 104 dd. Cf. Hänsel, Donau 31, Abb. 2.

49 Vardino, , PM 217, nos. 415–6.Google ScholarVardaroftsa, , BSA xxvii (1925–1926) fig. 12Google Scholar: o. Kastanas. fig. 17:2.

50 Hänsel, Donau, 113. Babadag, Dacia N.S. VIII (1964) 101. Troy, Biegen, Troy IV, figs. 280, 281.

51 Kentria on Thasos, : AAA 1970 III, 216.Google ScholarADelt 1972, B” Chronika 520, pl. 451 f. especially 457. Thrace: e.g. Venedikov and Fol eds. Megalithi Thraciae, fig. 238.

52 Personal communication from Prof. J. N. Coldstream who has examined this sherd.

53 PM fig. 111.

54 Hänsel, Kastanas, Abb. 26.

55 Although Heurtley has assigned some types to the middle bronze period, such as his Second Incised Style, this is relatively rare and the bulk of the material is hard to distinguish, PM 89, 204.

56 BSA xxix (1927–28) 165, fig. 46.

57 PM 214, nos. 403–5, fig. 92.

58 BSA xxvii (1925–26) 10, 21, 63, PM 125. E.g. Snodgrass loc. cit. 323, Panayotov Studia Thracia 1 (1975); H. Muller-Karpe Beiträge zur Chronologie der Urnfgelderzeit 123, and I 190, on the other hand, have already discussed the down-dating of this level.

59 Loc. cit. fig. 12.1 am not sure on what grounds Heurtley distinguished between his ‘Lausitz’ handles (PM fig. 87; a-f) and his Macedonian ones (fig. 106: c-e). No obvious difference was apparent when I examined this pottery.

60 Hänsel, Kastanas, Abb. 15:9 early PG (Schicht 11); Abb. 16 iron age (Schichten 9 & 10).

61 Loc. cit. 10 “… a layer about one metre thick … composed entirely of the debris of burnt reed huts. Two settlements at least are represented, both destroyed by fire. (ca 5.50 – 4 m. Settlements 16, 17). In PM 38 Heurtley did not emphasise this point and it appears to have been generally overlooked. It is not clear whether any attempt was made to separate these two settlements in excavation.

62 vide n. 18.

63 C. Blegen, Troy IV, fig. 279, especially: 13.

64 Pace Panayotov etc, n. 58.

65 Hänsel, Donau 88–117.

66 Abb. 6–8.

67 Pateli, : Izvestiya Russkavo Arkheologisheskavo Institut Konstantinopolye iv: 3 (1898) 149Google Scholar; vi: 2–3 (1900) 472. Albania IV, 40.AE 1933 520. PM pl. xxiii. Fiorina: excavations by Kotsias, in Fiorina Museum.

68 BSA lxvi (1971) 353.

69 Studime Historike 1969: 3, 159. The excavator of Vitsa, J. Vokotopoulou, has kindly allowed me to examine this material, of which preliminary reports have appeared in A Delt, Chronika for 1965 and the years following.

70 Studime Historike 1972: 4, 81.

71 Bouboushti, : BSA xxviii (1926–1927) 158.Google Scholar Maliq: Studia Albanica 1966: 1, 255. Iren: Studia Albanica 1967: 1. 143.

72 BUSS 1956: 1, 181. Vodhinë. BUSS 1957: 2. 76. Vajzë.

73 Izvestiya. n. 67.

74 A. M. Snodgrass. The Dark Age of Greece 132.

75 Similar to the machine described by Jarman, H. N., Legge, A. J. and Charles, J. A. in Higgs, E. S. (ed). Papers in Economic Prehistory (Cambridge. 1972) 39 ff.Google Scholar

76 Halstead, P., Hodder, I. and Jones, G., Norwegian Archaeological Review xi (1978) 118 ff.Google Scholar; P. Habtead and G. Jones, Anthropologika i (in press).

77 H. Kroll, in Kastanas n. 19 above.

78 H. Reichstein, in Kastanas. At Assiros, remains of hare, cat and tortoise have also been recovered from the trench; the material from the wet sieve has not yet been studied but definitely includes remains of reptiles, small rodents, birds, fish and molluscs — also fragments of eggshell (David Reese. pers. comm.).

79 Halstead, P. in Hodder, I., Isaac, G. and Hammond, N. (eds.) Pattern of the Past: Studies in Honour of David Clarke (Cambridge, 1980).Google Scholar