21-30

Provisional report of the excavation in the “A' Kouveleiki Cave” at Alepochori in Lakonia

Αρχαιολογικά χρονικά

• Κονταξή, Χρυσάνθη
• Κοτζαμποπούλου, Ε.
• Στραβοπόδη, Ε.

The Ephoria of Paleoanthropology and Speleology carried out systematic excavations (June 1990, 1992) in the “A' Kouvele- ïki Cave” in Lakonia in a region where very little is known of the early prehistoric periods.The formation of the cave was due to the mechanical erosion of the underlying stratum (phyllites of the Tyros strata) and to a lesser extent to the mechanical and chemical erosion of the underlying Triassic dolomite.The excavation and studies of the archaeological material, which are in progress,have established the use of the cave in the Late Neolithic period. Indications of use in later periods are few and are found in the inner chamber of the cave. One of the main purposes of the excavation in the “A' Kouveleiki Cave” is the careful investigation of the distribution of the archaeological remains within the cave area. It is hoped to achieve this by careful and detailed methods of uncovering the finds.The large quantity of domestic pottery present shows that the cave was used as a habitation during the Late Neolithic period, although typical examples of fine wares were also present. This picture is further supported by the food remains (bones of domesticated and wild mammals as well as fish) and the different types of tool equipment (obsidian working, spindle whorls, querns, grinders, axes, bone tools). In the inner chamber a circular stone “structure”, 0.25 m. in diameter, was discovered, probably a hearth. An important find in the outer chamber was the burial (not cremation) of an infant inside a burnished pot of fine quality (urn burial),which in its turn had been placed inside a larger open vessel and covered with a limestone slab. Scattered human skeletal remains (chiefly of juveniles) were also found in the fill.The evidence so far suggests that the “A' Kouveleïki Cave” falls within a wider distribution system of habitations/settlements and models of land usage in the low-altitude surrounding region during the Late Neolithic period.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

σπήλαια, Λακωνία

Περιέχει χάρτες και εικόνες