Proceedings ofthe Danish Institute at Athens IV Edited by Jonas Eiring and Jorgen Mejer © Copyright The Danish Institute at Athens, Athens 2004 The publication was sponsored by: The Danish Research Council for the Humanities Generalkonsul Gosta Enboms Fond. Proceedings of the Danish Institute at Athens General Editors: Jonas Eiring and Jorgen Mejer. Graphic design and production: George Geroulias, Press Line. Printed in Greece on permanent paper. ISBN: 87 7288 724 9 Distributed by: AARHUS UNIVERSITY PRESS Langelandsgade 177 DK-8200 Arhus N Fax (+45) 8942 5380 73 Lime Walk Headington, Oxford 0X3 7AD Fax (+44) 865 750 079 Box 511 Oakvill, Conn. 06779 Fax (+1)203 945 94 9468 Cover illustration: Finds from the Hellenistic grave at Chalkis, Aetolia. Photograph by Henrik Frost. Greek-Danish Excavations at Aetolian Chalkis 1999-2001. Third Preliminary Report Edited by Soren Dietz, Lazaros Kolonas, Sanne Houby-Nielsen, Ioannis Moschos and Jonas Eiring Contents Preface Soren Dietz, Lazaros Kolonas and Michail Petropoulos Excavations on the Hill of Hagia Triada Sanne Houby-Nielsen and Ioannis Moschos The Coins from Hagia Triada II Georgia Z. Alexopoulou Shellfish from the Excavations at Aetolian Chalkis Kaj Strand Pedersen The Valley of Chalkis: Recent Rescue Excavations of a Bronze Age Site in GavroHmni Efy Saranti The Cave of Hagios Nikolaos near Kato Vasiliki in Aetolia: Flint-technological Observations Lasse Sorensen 169 The Cave of Hagios Nikolaos near Kato Vasiliki in Aetolia: Flint- Technological Observations Varassova (914 m) near the coastal vil Lasse Sorensen Introduction lage of Kato Vasiliki. The opening of the cave faces west and offers a good Information on prehistoric activity in view of the Gulf of Patras. Today, the mainland Greece is very scattered, and depth in this region of the gulf never Hagios Nikolaos is one of the first in exceeds 80 m, but during the periods vestigated caves in southern Aetolia. of low sea level until the last glacia- The basis of this paper is mixed lithic tion most of the gulf was land. In the material from the cave, found by dry transition between the Late Pleisto sieving random parts ofthe surface in cene and Early Holocene the sea level side the cave. Despite the un rose and the Gulf of Patras emerged.' favourable find circumstances, the The region around the gulf is well lithic material can still provide an in known for its large concentration of terpretative challenge. How do we in caves, due to the strong karstic lime terpret, with a hermeneutical ap stone found in the area.2 proach, the archaeological record from rock shelters or open-air sites, which Not many ofthose have been excavat through natural erosion or modern or ed but some lithic material was regis historic destructions, present very tered in the cave ofHagios Nikolaos in mixed deposits of lithic material? connection with the 1996 Chalkis field Some might say that the material is not survey.3 Hagios Nikolaos, named after useful, because it is impossible to date, the monastery built inside it, is a very even though it contains a vast amount large cave of approximately 400 ofresearch potential. The question still square metres, containing a large remains whether is it possible to use amount of prehistoric lithic material. different archaeological methods on The monastery was dated by the pot the lithic material from these sites. tery to the Byzantine period. During the construction of the monastery, the The Hagios Nikolaos cave is situated original cultural layers were damaged, on the western side of the mountain but it is possible that there are still 1C. Runnels eta!., in BSA Studies 3, 120-29; T.H. Van Andel and J.C. Shackleton, Journal of Field Archaeology 9 (1982), 445-54. 2 K.S. Petersen, in SPR, 269-75. 3A. Darlas, in BSA Studies 3, 303-10; Dietz and Kolonas, in FPR. 237 Fig. 1. Cave of Hagios Nikolaos. Photo Lasse Sorensen 2000. r*>. sealed deposits under the foundations. the cave. This caused certain problems Bedrock has not yet been reached in to the strategy of the survey. The nor any part ofthe disturbed areas. In 1999 mal procedure of a survey is for team and 2000 the Byzantine monastery and members to advance in a line, spaced its foundations were restored, which from 1 to 2 m, back and forth as if meant removal of deposits with a con ploughing a field, until the total sur siderable amount of lithic material. face is investigated. In that way it is Because the material from the 1996 possible to cluster the habitation and field survey consisted of approximate flint knapping areas. The strategy has ly 50 pieces of debitage, it was decid been used and revealed several impor ed to conduct further surveys in and tant prehistoric sites in Boeotia, around the cave in order to get a more around Nemea in the Argolis, in accurate picture of the lithic material Euboia, in the Grevena area, and final (Figs. 1-2). ly some of the many sites in Epirus (Asprochaliko, Kastritsa, Magalakkos, Field surveys Boila and Klithi). The sites in Epirus were discovered and explored by In 1999 and 2000, five field surveys British teams led by E. Higgs and G. were carried out around and inside the N. Bailey.4 cave. It was observed that the earlier disturbance from the monastery and In the case of Hagios Nikolaos, this the current restoration had spread lith survey method would be pointless ic material all over the surface inside since the lithics were not found in situ. 4Perles 2001, 24; T.H. Van Andel and C. Runnels, Beyond the Acropolis (Stanford 1987), 33ff. 238 Fig. 2. Interior of the cave with foundations of the Byzantine monastery. Photo Lasse Sorensen 2000. The lithics were therefore collected Some burnt lithic material was also randomly all over the cave. A general found in the cave, indicating the pres problem concerning surveys is the fact ence of fireplaces or hearths. Organic that the eye focuses on large objects material inside the cave consisted of and that small ones, like small flakes bones and a large amount of land and tools, are often overlooked. The snails. The bones were most probably lithic material in the cave was there refuse from the Byzantine monastery, fore found by dry sieving the soil but it cannot be excluded that some of though a 4 mm mesh. This sieving the bones could have a much earlier method has proved its efficiency in date. The snail shells are particularly finding small stone objects in the de interesting, since they have been regis tailed survey at the Early Neolithic site tered in layers of other sites with of ^atalhoyiik in Turkey.5 Mesolithic and Palaeolithic material.7 This particular find situation, together By dry sieving a large amount of with coastal molluscs, occurs in caves worked lithic material was recovered from the southern part ofGreece, such from both inside and outside the cave, as Franchthi, Zaimis, Ulbrich, Sidari including some small flint chips from and Klisoura. In Klisoura and the cave. Experimental flint knapping Franchthi almost all the land snails be shows that such small chips occur in longed to the same species, Helix connection with flint knapping areas.6 Figulina, found in the Late Pleisto- 5D. Baird, in I. Hodder (ed.), On the surface: Catalhoyuk 1993-95, Catalhoyuk Project 1 (London 1996), 41-46; J. Conolly, ibid., 173-98. 6L. Johansen and D. Stapert, in N.J. Conard and C.J. Kind (eds.), Aktuelle Forschungen zum Mesolithikum, Urgeschichtliche Materialhefte 12 (Tubingen 1998), 29-41. 7Pedes, in BSA Studies 3, 314; Perles 2001; Koumouzelis et al. 2001, 532. 239 cene layers. All these sites were inter ber of technological subsystems, open preted by C. Pedes as indicating the to and related with other activities, and exploitation of diversified and patchy that technology can be viewed as a se environments, resulting in a diversi ries of optional solutions, linked to fied diet, with an apparent emphasis gether in the form of a decision-mak on the exploitation ofnumerous small- ing strategy, aimed at achieving specif sized species. This might also have ic objectives.9 The results from these been the situation for the prehistoric analyses make comparisons with lithic habitants in Hagios Nikolaos. Finally industries and settlement models from it is important to stress that the only other parts of Greece possible. In the pottery found in the cave was of following passages of this paper, the Byzantine date. The lack of earlier ce Hagios Nikolaos material will be ramics gives a terminus ante quern for analysed according to the same meth the lithics in the Early Neolithic peri ods. od. Is it possible to achieve an even more detailed date? Raw material studies Some preliminary The predominant flint type, represent questions ing 98 % ofthe material, is radiolarite, which is dark red or almost chocolate- The find circumstances give rise to coloured flint. The quality is mainly some preliminary questions concern good and fine-grained, and radiolarite ing the lithic material. Is it realistic to is a very popular raw material, com recreate a picture of the original func mon in many Palaeolithic and tion and activities inside the cave, and Mesolithic assemblages in Greece and is it possible to give a preliminary date Anatolia.10 In certain cases, when the of the lithic material from a non-exca site is located near chert sources or far vated settlement just by analysing the away from the coast, radiolarite is rar lithic material from five surveys? er. The fact that there was found a large amount of worked radiolarite In order to answer the questions, it is material in the cave proves that there necessary to use archaeological meth was easy access to that type of raw ods such as the chaine operatoire, material.