Mesogeia - Kalyvia Thorikou - 2013

Mesogeia - Kalyvia Thorikou. Stella Raftopoulou (Ephorate of Antiquities of East Attica), Iraklis Tsonos (Ephorate of Antiquities of East Attica) report the following:

On the plot owned by "LINDL HELLAS & CO OE" in the industrial area Kalivia Thorikou, in Samarthi, on the borders of the modern municipalities of Saronikos and Markopoulou, and between mountains, Kamariza of Strongylopoula in the west and Kastraki of Merenda in the east, there is an excavated part of a flat open Neolithic settlement. The facility is located at the narrowest point of the natural passage that connects the north and the Evian Gulf with the southern coast and the Saronic Gulf. Six individual installations have been excavated in the whole area: cave formations, with a generally irregular oval plan, which had paved floors and a superstructure made of perishable materials. Two wells and two small storage pits were also found.

The largest and most complex installation (hut I) consists in the excavated part of a complex of four caves (A-D). During the initial phase, the center of the wider area occupied a piled four-sided hut. Outside, many piles of holes were found in the surrounding area, possibly for household purposes. In a later period this space is spread with a thick layer of concrete and shells and is transformed into a courtyard of a new, almost circular hut (space B) with a central pillar and entrance to the south. Along with a large quantity of Ancient and Middle Neolithic pottery, interesting small finds were found, such as a necklace, a circular seal, bone and stone tools.

Huts II and III with elliptical plan had paved floors in small sections and storage use. They performed pottery from the Early Neolithic.

The hut IV with an elliptical irregular plan, had a central pillar, struts and entrance on the N side. Two thermal structures operated here, one made of clay and one made of stone. Late Neolithic pottery was found in the area, mainly coarse, but also thinner open vessels (bottles), vessels with engraved decoration and writings, a small part of a "filter". Along with many obsidian (blades, arrowhead), a few sea shells, a stone bead, three small stone axes and part of a stone sander were found.

The hut VI, is also a cave, deeper, oval plan with a double row of piling holes at the highest part of the trench and entrance on the N side, where the walls are formed with a smooth slope.