• Source: Dispilio

Dispilio (Greek: Δισπηλιό, before 1926: Δουπιάκοι – Doupiakoi) is a village near Lake Orestiada, in the Kastoria regional unit of Western Macedonia, Greece. Near the village is an archaeological site containing remains of a Neolithic lakeshore settlement that occupied an artificial island.




Archaeology


The remains of the lakeside settlement were discovered in 1932. The lake level was especially low in 1932 owing to a dry winter and some infrastructural works around the lake, revealing the remains of piles sticking out of the lake bottom. A preliminary survey was made in 1935 by Antonios Keramopoulos. Excavations began in 1992, led by George Chourmouziadis, professor of prehistoric archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The site's paleoenvironment, botany, fishing techniques, tools and ceramics were published informally in the June 2000 issue of Επτάκυκλος, a Greek archaeology magazine and by Chourmouziadis in 2002.
A reconstruction of the lake dwellers' settlement has been erected near the site to attract tourists from Greece and abroad, albeit the reconstruction is not based on architectural findings from Dispilio, but rather on other similar reconstructions from around Europe.

According to a series of radiocarbon dates, the site appears to have been occupied over a long period, from around 5600-5500 BC (Middle Neolithic), to around 3700-3500 BC (Final Neolithic or Early Bronze Age). After a potential hiatus, another occupation phase is detected later, around 2400-2100 BC during the Bronze Age. The identification of Mycenaean pottery also points to an occupation phase in the Late Bronze Age (second half of 2nd millennium BC).
A number of artefacts have been found during the excavations spanning more than 20 years, including pottery, wooden structural elements, seeds, bones, figurines, personal ornaments, flutes (some made on human bones), and many other objects. Public interest was especially attracted after the discovery of a wooden object with linear markings on its surface, referred to as the "Dispilio Tablet". The archaeological context of this artefact is not known, as it was identified floating on the water that was filling the excavation trench. Despite the unknown origin, and the fact that no dedicated scientific paper has ever explained the tablet in detail, various archaeological and unofficial interpretations have surfaced, including the interpretation of the markings as some form of early writing. Like other waterlogged sites, Dispilio is particularly important for its excellent preservation of organic materials, such as wood, seeds, plant fibre and similar.
A new method, combining radiocarbon and dendrochronology, has been used to date the wooden structures at the site to a single calendar-year showing that the Late Neolithic construction phases have taken place between 5328 BC and 5140 BC.




See also


Orestis (region)
Upper Macedonia




References






Further reading


G. H. Chourmouziadis, ed., Dispilio, 7500 Years After. Thessaloniki, 2002.
G. H. Chourmouziadis, Ανασκαφής Εγκόλπιον. Athens, 2006.




External links


Media related to Dispilio (Kastoria) at Wikimedia Commons
Researchers succeed for first time in accurately dating a 7,000-year-old prehistoric settlement using cosmic rays - May 21, 2024
Dispilio: The Lakeshore Prehistoric Settlement of Greece from greekreporter.com (in English)
Neolithic Lake Settlement of Dispilio from greek-crossroads.gr (in Greek)
Dispilio Excavations Official Website, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
Dispilio, Exhibition of prehistoric finds from museumsofmacedonia.gr (in English)
The excavation's journal, Anaskamma, is available at anaskamma.wordpress.com
The Neolithic Settlement of Dispilio from istorikakastorias.blogspot.com (in Greek)

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Sejarah dunia
• Daftar bahasa menurut catatan tertulis pertama
• Dispilio
• Dispilio Tablet
• List of settlements in the Kastoria regional unit
• Miyake event
• Dispilio Lakeside Neolithic Settlement Archaeological Collection
• Tărtăria tablets
• Sesklo
• George Hourmouziadis
• Lake Orestiada
• List of museums in Greece