597-610

Archaeological investigations in ancient Lyka on Ayios Ahillios, Florina prefecture

• Ψαρρά, Ειρήνη

In 1961, Fotis Petsas discovered the remains of a Hellenistic settlement on the W side of the islet of Ayios Ahillios, which is widely known in archaeological circles for its Byzantine and Postbyzantine monuments. The site was identified as the ancient town of Lyka, which is mentioned so far in three inscriptions of the Roman period. A large number of architectural members, altars, inscriptions, and fragments of sculptures and grave stelai have also been found built into the walls of the churches, bearing witness to the notable ancient history of the area. A minor superficial investigation which we carried out located further scattered architectural members.Last September, nearly forty years on, the 17th Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities continued the excavation of the site of the ancient town. In trench I were found superficial remains of Early Christian graves, while trench II yielded, in a very burnt layer with burnt soil, inter alia: i) 3 almost intact censers with traces of charcoal from use; ii) a hoard of 7 bronze Roman coins of the age of the Antonines; and iii) at least 2 silver votive plaques with relief representations. The finds from this trench are the remnants from a ritual act, a ‘sealed group’ of votive offerings to some deity, and date to the 2nd century AD. On the basis of the few, but important, excavational data, we may conclude that habitation in the area of the Hellenistic settlement continued in the Roman period, and the site began to be used as a cemetery in the Early Christian period.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Ιστορία, Αρχαία

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