Methana Survey Geoarchaeological survey 1985
The University of Liverpool survey of Methana continued for a second season in August and September. A restriction on the size of the survey team hampered progress; nevertheless an environmentally diverse range of transects at different elevations was investigated, and a total of 25 sites located and recorded: Early Helladic 8, Middle Helladic 1, Late Helladic 2, Classical 7, Hellenistic 9, Late Roman 9, Medieval 10. Of particular interest were the number of sites identified on the higher terrace systems, between 200 and 400 metres, and in the mountains where volcanic activity has created fertile moisture-retentive basins. Most of the sites were of modest size and must have consisted of a single structure. In some cases the character of the associated pottery suggests a farmhouse,occupied on a more or less continuous basis, not a seasonal shelter or apotheke. But the numerous sites which preserved antique olive press equipment may not invariably have been Residential. Larger sites discovered at high elevations included an EBA settlement, at least 100 by 140 metres in extent. This must have been the source of the dense scatter of pottery and obsidian on the slopes far below and is of interest in terms of the redistribution of artefacts across the landscape. There is also a Medieval refuge settlement perched on the summit of Profitis Ilias Kounoupitsas at a height of 700 metres. On the coast an impressive prehistoric promontory site at Ayios Yeoryios produced Early, Middle and Late Helladic pottery. These same periods were represented amongst the finds from the Nissaki, the islet just south ofLoutra and likewise on the east coast. In a ravine above Kounoupitsa is a temple which was destroyed by bulldozers in 1984. The ruins suggest a distyle structure, approximately 14 by 8 metres, oriented north-south. A 5th cent. construction date seems likely. Also on the staff was Peter James, a soil specialist from the Department of Geography at Liverpool, who selected six localities for detailed investigation. In each case significant soil, sediment and bedrock exposures were recorded. Surface soil samples were collected and will be analysed for pH, particle size distribution, and exchangeable Na, K, Ca and Mg in order to characterise the fundamental physical and chemical attributes of the soil. Mineral magnetic analyses will be performed on a number of the samples. If appropriate in the context of Methana, this technique should indicate the effects of past human activity on the soil
Active from Aug 1985 to Sep 1985.
Methana Survey Geoarchaeological survey 1985 (Project)
Methana Survey Geoarchaeological survey 1985 (Survey)