The Bay of Kiladha Project (Argolid, Greece) : Bridging East and West

Quaternary International 584, p.129-140, 2021

Since the excavations at Franchthi Cave in the 1960s and 1970s, the possibility of finding a submerged Neolithic site in the Bay of Kiladha has been discussed. Initial research, based on marine geophysical survey and core sampling, brought contrasted results. Starting in 2012, new parts of the Bay were investigated, using different techniques and improved methods, such as geological-geophysical survey, further core sampling (including the finding of artefacts and anthropogenic indicators of a given date in the cores), shallow water ERT (with an adapted methodology), and underwater excavation. The combined evidence leads to a reconsideration of previous work, to the discovery of submerged structures directly off the cave, which might well be Neolithic walls, and points to the existence of two new submerged sites, one dating to the Neolithic, in the middle of the Bay, and the other to the Final Neolithic/Early Bronze Age I, at Lambayanna. The implications of these findings are discussed as well.

Swiss Journal of Geosciences, 2018

Franchthi Cave, bordering Kiladha Bay, in Greece, is a key archaeological site, due to its long occupation time, from * 40,000 to * 5000 year BP. To date, no clear evidence of Neolithic human dwellings in the cave was found, supporting the assumption that Neolithic people may have built a village where there is now Kiladha Bay. During the Neolithic period/Early Holocene, wide areas of the bay were indeed emerged above sea level. Bathymetric and seismic data identified a terrace incised by a valley in * 1 to 2 m sediment depth. Eight sediment cores, up to 6.3-m-long, were retrieved and analysed using petrophysical, sedimentological, geochemical, and chronostratigraphic methods. The longest core extends into the exposure surface, consisting of a layer of carbonate rubble in a finer matrix, representing weathering processes. Dated organic remains place this unit at * 8500 cal year BP. It is overlain by stiff silty mud representing an estuarine environment. This mud is capped by reduced sediments with roots marking an exposure surface. A shell-layer, dated to * 6300 cal year BP, overlies this terrestrial sequence, reflecting the marine transgression. This layer occurs at 10.8 mbsl, 7.7 m deeper than the global sea level at that time, suggesting tectonic subsidence in the area. It is overlain by finer-grained marine carbonate-rich sediments. The top of the core shows traces of eutrophication, pebbles and marine shells, all likely a result of modern anthropogenic processes. These results are interpreted in the context of human occupation: the exposed surface contains pottery sherds, one dating to the Early to Middle Neolithic period, indicating that Neolithic people were present in this dynamic landscape interacting with a migrating coastline. Even if the artefacts are isolated, future investigations of the submerged landscape off Franchthi Cave might lead to the discovery of a Neolithic village, which eventually became buried under marine sediments.

Paleoanthropology of the Balkans and Anatolia. Human Evolution and its Context, 2016

Along the western coast of the Mani peninsula (S. Greece) numerous caves with Upper Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits, preserving cultural remains from the Middle Paleolithic to the end of the Neolithic, form an important group of archaeological sites located in a restricted geographic area. Excavations have been carried out in seven of these caves. The excavation of Kalamakia yielded data about the Middle Paleolithic, while the other six caves have yielded remains of all Upper Paleolithic phases. Of particular interest is the discovery of transitional Middle-Upper Paleolithic layers in Kolominitsa cave. Although preliminary, this evidence demonstrates the importance of systematic research on a regional scale through the comparative study of neighboring and contemporaneous sites. Finally, these sites enable us to date the arrival of anatomically modern humans in this area and to study subsequent ecological and cultural changes

2022

The Inner Ionian Archipelago, delimited by the coasts of Akarnania to the east and Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithaca to the west, is characterised by coastal lowlands, extended and intricate shorelines, complex inland topography, little arable land, seasonal and perennial wetlands and a karstic landscape featuring caves, rockshelters, dolines, and basins some of which are partly or totally submerged. Since 2010, the Teleboides, the northern cluster of islands, were at the focus of an intensive surface survey organised by the University of Crete in collaboration with the Ephorates of Αitoloakarnania and Lefkada, and Kefalonia and Ithaca. The survey project coupled with targeted small-scale excavation was designed to investigate the history of occupation and the cultural interconnections with settlements on the opposite mainland and the larger islands of the Ionian Sea. Between 2010 and 2012, through archaeological surface reconnaissance, our team covered an area of a little less than 7 km2 on Meganisi, Thileia, Kythros, Tsokari, Petalou, Nisopoula, Phormikoula, Madouri, Atokos and Arkoudi. During the survey 30 sites dating from the Palaeolithic to the 19th century, with a hiatus between Late Antiquity and the 18th century, were discovered and mapped, and 20,000 portable artefacts were recovered. The finds bridge the gap between the archaeological record of the Ionian Sea and that of mainland Greece. In this paper we present the research objectives, the methodology of what we have termed a hybrid island archaeology approach, andthe main results of the project based on the portable finds that span the Middle Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age.

Archaeology of the Ionian Sea. Landscapes, seascapes and the circulation of people, goods and ideas from the Palaeolithic to the end of the Bronze Age, 2022

The Inner Ionian Archipelago, delimited by the coasts of Akarnania to the east and Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithaca to the west, is characterised by coastal lowlands, extended and intricate shorelines, complex inland topography, little arable land, seasonal and perennial wetlands and a karstic landscape featuring caves, rockshelters, dolines, and basins some of which are partly or totally submerged. Since 2010, the Teleboides, the northern cluster of islands, were at the focus of an intensive surface survey organised by the University of Crete in collaboration with the Ephorates of Αitoloakarnania and Lefkada, and Kefalonia and Ithaca. The survey project coupled with targeted small-scale excavation was designed to investigate the history of occupation and the cultural interconnections with settlements on the opposite mainland and the larger islands of the Ionian Sea. Between 2010 and 2012, through archaeological surface reconnaissance, our team covered an area of a little less than 7 km 2 on Meganisi, Thileia, Kythros, Tsokari, Petalou, Nisopoula, Phormikoula, Madouri, Atokos and Arkoudi. During the survey 30 sites dating from the Palaeolithic to the 19th century, with a hiatus between Late Antiquity and the 18th century, were discovered and mapped, and 20,000 portable artefacts were recovered. The finds bridge the gap between the archaeological record of the Ionian Sea and that of mainland Greece. In this paper we present the research objectives, the methodology of what we have termed a hybrid island archaeology approach, and the main results of the project based on the portable finds that span the Middle Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age.

The absence of the prehistoric Peloponnese and central Greece from last year's new format Archaeology in Greece has provided a slightly larger volume of data for this year's report than might otherwise have been expected, although the ongoing financial difficulties faced by Greece and the recent uncertainty over the status of the Archaeological Service itself continue to have a substantial impact on archaeological research and its dissemination through traditional channels; a problem which e-publication and webcasting is going some way toward addressing. In light of this, the decennial volume of the former Ministry of Culture and Tourism (www.yppo.gr/0/anaskafes), the appearance of which was noted in last year's AG, represents a welcome summary of excavation undertaken by the service between 2000 and 2010 to add to the newly-published volume of ADelt covering the Peloponnese. Some of this work has previously been reported in AG, although this is certainly not true of all.Several other publications have appeared since 2011 which offer new data or new perspectives on the prehistory of the Greek mainland, several of which are discussed below. Of particular note are two volumes which will go some considerable way toward furthering our understanding of the Early Bronze Age in southern Greece: Daniel Pullen's The Early Bronze Age Village on Tsoungiza Hill (2011) and Elizabeth Banks' The Architecture, Settlement and Stratigraphy of Lerna IV (2013), the companion piece to Jeremy Rutter's 1995 volume detailing the pottery from the Early Helladic III settlement. Banks' volume, unfortunately, has appeared too late to be properly incorporated into this year's AG.

Coastal Research Library, 2020

The submerged archaeology of Greece extends from the Palaeolithic to the early Byzantine period. It offers valuable information on some of the critical themes of Eurasian prehistory: hominin dispersals, settlement patterns, strategies of survival, population movements and sea voyaging, communication and trade, highenergy destructive events and climate change. This overview focuses on the prehistoric record. It includes partly or fully submerged palaeontological sites as well as archaeological sites. All these are testimonies to the more extensive coastal mosaic of biotopes that were available to prehistoric people prior to c. 4000 cal BP in the Holocene and during the cold and arid periods of the Pleistocene. They show coastal and maritime lifeways in dynamically changing landscapes connecting Asia and Europe. They are now located on the Greek continental shelf due to eustatic and isostatic change as well as the heavy imprint of tectonic activity.

Pavlopetri, off the coast of Laconia, Greece, is a submerged prehistoric town, which consists of intact building foundations, courtyards, streets, graves, and rock-cut tombs. New underwater research in 2009 consisted of detailed underwater survey of the structural remains (using a robotic total station and sector-scan sonar technology) alongside sampling of the artefactual material across the site. In addition to the digital recording of the 30,000 m 2 of previously known buildings, over 9000 m 2 of new buildings were discovered in 2009 including a large rectangular hall and a street lined with buildings. The ceramics recovered confirm the Mycenaean occupation of the site but also reveal occupation as early as 3500 BC making Pavlopetri, at over 5000 years old, the oldest known submerged town in world.

partie 1 / Part 1 21 anthropisation et mutations paysagères à la transition paléolithique/Néolithique anthropization and landscape changes during the Late Paleolithic/Neolithic transition la diffusion du néolithique en Méditerranée 23 GUilaine Jean late pleistocene to early holocene sea-crossings in the aegean: direct, indirect and controversial evidence 33 papoUlia christina Variations relatives du niveau moyen de la mer en corse au cours des 6 000 dernières années 97 Vacchi Matteo, Ghilardi Matthieu, cUrrÁs andrés reconstructing the coastal configuration of lemnos island (northeast aegean sea, Greece) since the last Glacial Maximum 109 chalKioTi areti holocene sea level changes and palaeogeographic reconstruction of the ayia irini prehistoric settlement (Keos island, cyclades archipelago, Greece) 119 MoUrTzas nikos, KolaiTi eleni