Keratitsa - Kastraki - 2011

Keratitsa - Kastraki. Mieke Prent (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Stuart Macveagh Thorne (Netherlands Institute at Athens), Athanasios Themos (Epigraphic Museum) and Elena Zavvou (Epigraphic Museum) report the following:

The fortified citadel on the hill Kastraki Keratitsa is located on a secluded plateau, north of the present village of Agios Dimitrios, in southeastern Laconia. Surface research showed the existence of an Early Helladic settlement in the area around the hill, while the preliminary study of the material does not document a later settlement in the area or immediately around it. In the area west of the site, abundant Early Helladic pottery and pieces of obsidian were found, in contrast to the area inside the walls, where the finds are much less. It is possible that the citadel served as a refuge for the inhabitants of the surrounding plain. During the on-site study in 2010 and 2011, two massive enclosures were identified: the upper enclosure, almost triangular in plan, 3 m thick, and the lower enclosure, up to 2 m thick. Further investigation of the site is expected to offer new information on Early Helladic habitation in the mountainous areas of mainland Greece and to offset the focus of research on the study of coastal sites.