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Samothrace : initial hypotheses and conclusions from a surface investigation

• Παπαθανασίου, Ευάγγελος

This paper presents the initial conclusions and hypotheses arising out of a pre- excavational surface investigation on the island of Samothrace. On the basis of the data gleaned so far from a survey of a specific part of the island, there are three successive economic zones. The monastery land is followed by private gardens, after which come the small semi-mountainous settlements (probably organised on a clan basis). The architectural forms are adapted to the different zones -ranging from the three-aisled or “articulated” three-aisled church to the aisleless church and, farther up, the aisleless parochial type with a narthex added at the west end and a surrounding cemetery- as are, possibly, the wall-building methods. Investigations are being carried out to determine whether this mode of organisation continued in the island’s conservative agricultural economy until the mid-20th century. Conversely, efforts are also being made to determine how far surviving traditional forms of land distribution reflect mediaeval situations. This per capita distribution now relates to a form of organisation that is geomorphologically “perpendicular”, but not necessarily antagonistic, to the earlier one.These proposals constitute an endeavour to collate and interpret the data arising out of the pre-excavational survey and the documentation of the material surface remains -from approximately one sixth of the productive surface of the island-in relation to the situation on traditional Samothrace. They also serve as a working hypothesis for any future research into mediaeval Samothrace. Further research seems to support the model outlined above.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Ιστορία, Αρχαία

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