Gerakas - 2013

Gerakas. Anna Plassara (Ephorate of Antiquities of East Attica) reports the following:

In 2013 rescue excavation was conducted in the area of Gerakas, on a low hill that revealed fragmentary architectural remains: a stone pavement, part of a wall, a deposit pit and destruction layers. The pottery is dated mainly to the Early Helladic I period. The prevailing shape is the hemispherical bowl. Close shapes are remarkably few, represented by jars, pyxides and amphoroid vessels. Red slipped burnished ware is the most common ware; its clay has many inclusions, characteristic of this period. Many sherds bear plastic or incised decoration. Noteworthy is also the presence of 29 clay fragments, collected from the deposit pit, which bear holes that strongly suggest the operation of a metallurgy furnace. Furthermore, spindle whorls, stone obsidian tools and sea shells were brought to light. The above mentioned finds, combined with other traces of the same date that had been unearthed during rescue excavations of 1996-1998 in neighboring land plots, confirm the existence of an EH settlement in this important crossroad towards the Mesogeia plain; moreover, they reflect an increase in population density in the wider sub-region of east Attica during the EH period.