The Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, announces the end of the excavation period of the Ancient Akrotiri Project (AAP) for the year 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Simon James.
The investigations were carried out between 18 and 29 April 2022 by Archaeologists from the University of Leicester (UK), who carried out exploratory cuts in the areas of the ancient settlements at the sites of Kato Katalymata and Pano Katalymata, in the middle of Akrotiri (fig.1). Both of these sites date from the surface finds to the Late Antiquity with a date of abandonment no later than the 7th century AD.
The northernmost site, the Lower Shelters, appears to extend over about 6 hectares, while the Upper Shelters extend over an area of 3 hectares. Each of the sites appears to consist of a hill 1-4 metres high on which the settlement would have been located, and there is evidence that shallow stratigraphy continued on adjacent sites. As both sites date to the Late Antiquity, their proximity (400m apart) should be justified. Both sites controlled quarries from which finished building materials would later be derived. This year's investigations, in an attempt to reveal the stratigraphic continuity of these hills, have made cuts using mechanical means.
At the Lower Shelters, surface cleaning by mechanical means has shown that the modern slope of the ground is due to an almost vertically carved façade between ancient deposits. Therefore, full stratigraphic exposure in a section shallow enough to remain safe for manual work was not possible. However, the final phase of use (Phase F) was revealed which was associated with the construction of a wall more than 1 metre high bearing a plaster coating, tiles, limestone slabs and a section of marble. This was possibly an important structure which would have been abandoned without violent destruction, and which was gradually deserted before its building material was moved to another site (Fig. 2). The minimal pottery found at the site dates it to between the 5th and 7th centuries AD.
At the southern site, the hill of the Upper Settlements, quite different data were obtained. Test cuts using a mechanical excavator showed that what was thought to be a "settlement hill" was in fact a large pile of flakes and debris from the ancient quarry. The extension of the cut along the top of the hill revealed a single phase where archaeological features had been carved into the surface (fig. 3). These shallow cuts and basins contained minimal Late Antiquity (c. 5th-7th century AD) pottery. The sections appear to mark the locations of extremely crude structures (compared to the Lower Shelters) but similar in depth to the irregular structures identified by geophysicists in the eastern part of this site. This is a fairly extensive site with a short duration of use.
The sections made in 2022 allowed the following hypothesis to be deduced on the question of why two Late Antiquity settlements might have coexisted in such close proximity in the centre of Akrotiri. As was understood, only one of these sites had a long period of use and bore more permanent structures, that of the Lower Settlements. In contrast, the Upper Shelters were a makeshift and ephemeral settlement, established on the ruins and waste of the quarries. It is possible that this settlement is related to the also short-lived ecclesiastical building at the Plakota Shelters excavated by Dr. Eleni Prokopiou.
The Ancient Akrotiri Project wishes to thank the Department of Antiquities, the Administration of the British Bases of Akrotiri and RAF Akrotiri for their valuable assistance.
LESANTES
Fig.1 Google Earth photograph showing the locations of the Lower Shelters (KK), Upper Shelters (PK) and Placote Shelters (KtP).
Fig.2 Section at the Lower Quarries showing the excellent masonry wall with the limestone slab section at the top of the quarry slope.
Fig.3 Section at the Upper Lodgings showing the type of foundation cuts and carving at the top of the large hill that resulted from the deposition of material from the quarries.
(MH/ECHR)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs to PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
