The
Australian Paliochora-Kythera Archaeological Survey
2003
Field Season
The summer of 2003 witnessed the last of the projected field seasons of the
Australian Paliochora-Kythera Archaeological Survey, though a series of study
seasons are scheduled for the next few years.
This year’s fieldwork was conducted between the dates of July 1 and July
31. Dr. Stavros Paspalas was the Director, and Professor Timothy Gregory the
Deputy Director. The team consisted of
17 participants, drawn from several universities in
As in past years, the greater part of the
team’s time was dedicated to field walking; that is, the careful examination of
substantial tracks of land in the northern part of the island. During this process ecological and human-made
features are documented, as are the cultural remains that lie on the surface of
the ground. Most of the latter material is pottery, but stone tools and metal
artefacts have also been noted by our teams. A representative sample of these
objects is collected for further analysis.
The artefacts noted in the landscape are a
reflection of past human activity. By
studying them, their location and date, and the natural features of the area,
members of the project will be able to write a history of northern Kythera that
goes far beyond what ordinary written sources will provide. APKAS thus makes use of four kinds of
interrelated evidence: the archaeological artifacts, the natural environment,
written records (including archival and narrative), and oral information. It seeks to combine these as a contribution
to our understanding of the history of human activity in northern Kythera, from
the prehistoric period until modern times.
The first area surveyed by the team in 2003 was
Ammoutses. In effect, this year saw the completion of a phase of the project
begun in 2002 but not completed. Ammoutses lies on the southern border of the
APKAS study area, between Aroniadika and the airport. The work conducted last
year clearly showed that the area was a focus of human activity during various
phases of the Bronze Age. This picture was further substantiated by analysis
carried out in July 2003; in particular the pottery collected shows a heavy
concentration of Early Helladic (2650-2150 B.C.) and Minoan (especially
1750-1490 B.C.) ceramics. This result ties in well with surveys conducted to
the south, and allows us to see the connections between Kythera and the wider
Aegean, particularly the Peloponnesos and
The other major area of activity in 2003 was
the region of Phoinikies in the far west of the island. While local lore makes
mention of the discovery of numerous antiquities in this region, the obvious
agricultural potential of the area and its possible exploitation in past times
rendered it a region of prime interest to the team. Intensive field-walking
documented the extensive spread of Bronze Age material in this part of the
island as well. This finding significantly increases the area of the island
where human activity during this early period can be documented, and
--furthermore-- in a part of the island at a great distance from the one known
settlement of the period, Minoan Kastri, which lies on the east coast. The
finds made at Phoinikies are by no means restricted to the Bronze Age;
significant material of Roman and Early Modern/Modern date was also documented
and collected.
The other focus of the work carried out in 2003
was the height of Agios Demetrios, on the height of Sklere above Aroniadika.
Survey work had been carried out here in 1999, and it had been noted that the
pottery collected practically all dated to the sixteenth century A.D., the time
which saw the destruction of Paliochora (the main population centre of the
region) by Barbarossa’s fleet and, subsequently, great turmoil on Kythera.
Interestingly, the site is also characterized by what appears to be a rather
rudimentary, though not insubstantial, fortification system. Given the date of
the accompanying pottery and the known historical event of Paliochora’s
destruction, it may be that Agios Demetrios (Aroniadkia) was an initial place
of refuge for the inhabitants of the northern part of the island who survived
the sack of Paliochora. While this is a possibility under examination it was
necessary, as a first step for the elucidation of the exact nature of this
site, to prepare a plan of the remains of Agios Demetrios, and this was
accomplished in 2003.
Further work was carried out during this season
on the pre-20th century road network of the northern part of the
island. The most noteworthy discovery was made east of Potamos, where a stone
built road was located. It runs along the flat land north of this major centre
towards the coast, and then descends, in a series of switchbacks in the
direction of Agia Pelagia. While the date of this feature is still to be
determined there is no doubt that it was a major undertaking and an important
thoroughfare in pre-modern times.
Alongside the work outlined above, Dr.
Richard McNeill of Aboriginal Affairs Victoria
worked with us this season on our databases and GIS analysis and display
capacities. He was able to provide us
with “real-time” reports as fieldwork went on and he assisted in the mapping at
Agios Dimitrios and the road project. He
made a first attempt at a theoretical prediction of the most likely transport
routes for various periods and he has been busy after the end of the season
working on the analysis and presentation of our data.
Work also continued, both during the season and
at other times through the year, in the recording and study of the twelve
modern cemeteries of the study area.
This aspect of the project will provide important information about the
families of northern Kythera and the ways in which they have, over the past 150
years, commemorated the dead.
This year the first significant
publication of the project appeared: C. Coroneos, L. Diacopoulos, T.E. Gregory,
I. Johnson, J. Noller, S.A. Paspalas, A. Wilson. “The Australian Paliochora-Kythera Archaeological
Survey: Field Seasons 1999-2000,” Mediterranean
Archaeology 15 (2002) 126-43.
Members of the project delivered lectures and informal reports on the
project at various venues, including the
The
first of several study seasons will be conducted on Kythera in the summer of
2004.