369-387

The prehistoric mound (Toumba) of Thessaloniki : old and new questions

• Ανδρέου, Στέλιος
• Κωτσάκης, Κώστας

he program of excavations of the Aristotelian University at the prehistoric mound of Thessaloniki was initiated in 1984 by G. Ch. Chourmouziadis and continues up to now. From the start, the research questions focused primarily on the study of the organising structures and the processes of change of the prehistoric community at the site where the city was later founded and less on the investigation of indiscernible historical events which had occupied archae­ ological research in Macedonia in the past.The archaeological picture offered by the prehistoric settlement depicts the trajectory of the community through one thousand and five hundred years, starting at the beginning of the second millennium B.C. It covers mainly the Bronze Age while during the Early Iron Age and up to the late fourth century BC activity at the mound was less intensive. The complex stratigraphy and the changes of the extensive architectural remains shed light on the peculiarities of the formation processes and their close connection to changes in the com­ munity organisation, the development of social and economic complexity and hierarchical political organistation, primarily during the last centuries of the second millennium. This development appears to be a phenomenon essentially influenced by local factors and processes. The study of the finds allows, besides other things, a better understanding of the social and cultural framework of the contacts with the neighbouring cultures, primarily the mycenaean, and the adoption of some of their cultural traits.The investigation of the mound functioned at the same time as a laboratory for the experimentation with new techniques of excavation and documentation, some of which were utilised at this site for the first time in Macedonia.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Προϊστορία, Θεσσαλονίκη, συνέδρια

Περιέχει σχέδια, κατόψεις και εικόνες