537-553

Excavation on the route of the Egnatia motorway : two prehistoric settlements in the area of Lefkopetra

• Στεφανή, Ευαγγελία

Since the Egnatia motorway is to pass through Imathia prefecture, it was essential to check the proposed route for archaeological remains by digging trial trenches. The inspection revealed antiquities of the prehistoric and historical periods in the area of Lefkopetra and Mikri Sanda. This paper presents the data from the excavation of 2 prehistoric sites in the Lefkopetra area, Imathia prefecture.The first of the 2 sites is at the entrance to Tunnel Σ4 on an elevation known as Koufoyannos. The settlement covered the top of the elevation (which is off the Egnatia route and was therefore not investigated) and the steeply sloping side, which has a gradient of 19 degrees. Owing to landslides and severe erosion, the remains on the slope have essentially been destroyed. The scattered stones, most of which have collected at the bottom of the elevation, bear witness to the presence of stone structures in the settlement. One interesting find is the stone-paved path located low down on the hillside heading up to the top. A considerable amount of pottery was collected (mainly storage vessels), a study of which led us to date the settlement to the transitional period between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The presence of 2 Mycenaean sherds in a burnt layer under the main habitation layer suggests the existence of an earlier phase on the site.The site of the 2nd settlement is at Kallipetra, again on a natural slope with direct access to water. The building remains are extremely scanty and consist of broken bricks, while the only stone structure is an almost semicircular row of stones, which probably represents an earlier habitation phase of as yet indeterminate stratification and date. An ellipsoidal clay structure, possibly with a domed top, was also found. Similar structures from other prehistoric settlements in Macedonia have been identified as storage or heating structures. The pottery includes storage vessels, cooking ware, and phiale-shaped items, and a study of the pottery suggests that the site dates to the 2nd millennium, more specifically to the end of the Middle Bronze Age and the beginning of the Late Bronze Age.On the basis of the data produced by these 2 prehistoric settlements near Lefkopetra, the last part of the paper briefly discusses the circumstances in which settlements were established in semi-mountainous and marginally productive areas remote from the fertile Imathian plain from the Middle Bronze Age onwards.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Ημαθία

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