Eurias, Ag. Leonidis, Makros sites, Plaka of Leonidiο region, South Kynouria - 2012

Eurias, Ag. Leonidis, Makros sites, Plaka of Leonidiο region, South Kynouria. Grigoris Grigorakakis (ΛΘ’ ΕΠΚΑ) reports on the ongoing systematic excavation in South Kynouria, which focuses on the ancient Prasies, in Plaka, Leonidio. Τhe effort was focused on the Eurias and Makros sites, between Leonidion and Poulithra, where the main settlement was. Methods employed in the research included excavation, architectural documentation using a Laser Scanner and the «ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΩ» Geographical Information Systems for the archaeological documentation. There were other sites around the aforementioned two, which were dated in the historical and in the prehistorical times, and which produced the settlement’s environment.

In 2012 specifically, excavation continued in Eurias, in the expropriated property  of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, a plot privately owned by K. Zorgias, and in the Makros and Agios Leonidis sites.

In the Eurias site, the architectural remnants found in previous years were reexamined, and the W wall of the house in section three was found to continue up to section five, reaching a wall of the same masonry that was built following the bedrock (Fig. 1). The existence of an earlier phase was also confirmed in section three (Fig. 2). Part of a destruction layer, composed of undisturbed tiles in situ, was found in section five, but it was not explored that year. A possible interpretation theory involving the destruction layer and the pottery found mostly outside and to the W of the W wall, links them with a leveling attempt preceding the present rectangular building which has been interpreted as a possible house. The black glazed pottery found was dated between Geometric and late Archaic times, thus strengthening the case of continuous settlement in the area at least from the late Geometric times. However, only the sixth century pottery is directly linked to the architectural finds. The leveling attempt should thus be placed in the late Archaic times.

In the plot of K. Zorgias, two walls and black glaze pottery of mostly Mycenean, proto-Geometric and Hellenistic dating was found in the previous excavation  season. The expansion of the excavation expanded revealed, among others, a circular structure, possibly the collection-vat (ypolineum) of a winepress (Fig. 5). Pottery found in the lower building layers was dated in the Late Helladic era (LH IIIB2) (Fig. 6). This settlement was probably in use from the Mycenean times, survived the ‘Dark Ages’, was attested in the late Geometric and early Archaic times, and probably fell out of use during the late Archaic period (as indicated by the fact that the area was backfilled , perhaps with relation to the developing of the terrace). The circular structure is of later, possibly Hellenistic dating.

In the Agios Leonidis - Agios Athanasios site, where the walls of the ancient Acropolis lay, the trials around tower A and terrace A yielded mostly monochrome cookingware  and a few Hellenistic sherds (Fig. 3).

In Makros, the research continued in a site where building E, of exceptional masonry, possibly a sanctuary , had been found in the previous season (Fig. 4).The extension to the W of the trench yielded pottery that revealed the continuous use of the site between Archaic and Roman  times. The existence in Makros of prehistoric and historic cemeteries was also noted.