The Pavlopetri Underwater Archaeological Project: Excavation 2009
Excavation: Underwater excavation
In 2009, the School began a 5-year project in collaboration with the Ephoreia of Underwater Antiquities to outline the history and development of the submerged town of Pavlopetri, just off the coast of south-eastern Laconia, in the west end of the Bay of Vatika opposite the island of Elaphonisos. In 2009, the pottery collected, while not stratified, covered the entire site. Preliminary study provides the following breakdown by period: 3% Final Neolithic, 40% EBA, 10% MBA, 20% LBA, 3% Classical/ Hellenistic, and 0.5% Roman/Byzantine. 12% is provisionally characterised as ‘Bronze Age’. Initial occupation can now be dated to the Final Neolithic period, most probably on the Neolithic/Early Bronze Age transition. Significantly for our understanding of relations between Pavlopetri and the Aegean, some pottery shows close links with Cyclades. The pottery lifted in 2009 covers all sub-phases and includes locally produced wares and a few imports, possibly from the nearby Minoan settlement on Kythera. Of particular interest are storage vessels bearing patterned decoration with Middle Minoan parallels. Indicative of weaving activities are terracotta loom weights, some securely datable to the MBA, with parallels from the Bronze Age settlement at Ayios Stephanos. The Late Bronze Age pottery dates from Early Mycenaean to LH IIIC Middle. Ceramic evidence indicates that the site was abandoned from c. 1100 until the fourth century BC, when much more limited Classical and Hellenistic reoccupation began. Roman and Byzantine pottery could be associated with a phase of re-occupation when the inhabitants were involved in trading.
Active in 2009.