Southern Mani Archaeological Project (SMAP) - 2025

Mani Peninsula, Lakonia. Chelsea Gardner (Acadia University) and William Parkinson (University of Illinois) report the results of a field season conducted in 2025, in Porto Kagio Bay in Mani Peninsula, Lakonia, under the auspicies of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Laconia and the Canadian Institute in Greece (Fig. 1).

The method of intensive surfuce survey allowed for flexible and efficient collection in mountainous and heavily vegetated terrain. The main priority was to enable collection units (CUs) to be defined in the field based on terrain and visibility of that particular area. At the same time, multiple teams were deployed to provide flexibility to move around the study area as needed. Surveyors were instructed to collect all artifacts (i.e., total collection), unless they encountered an area with a density greater than 10 ceramic sherds per sq. m., in which case the local archaeological service was notified and, if permission for collection was granted, only 10% of finds were collected. In most cases, surveyors scanned the ground surface as they walked and picked up all small finds, including pottery, lithics, tile, and unusual metal or stone artifacts. All pottery larger than a thumbnail was collected, unless it was obviously post-1950 in date.

Pedestrian Archaeological Survey Results
A total of 98 collection units were recorded, covering just under 5 hectares (0.05 sq. km), or roughly 10% of the permitted survey area; this represents all of the accessible, surveyable terrain within the permit boundary (Fig 2). About half of the CUs were recorded with 25% or less visibility, reflecting the challenging nature of the terrain. While we noted a diversity of land use types, soil types, and vegetation, most of the CUs were characterized as dilapidated terraces, intact terraces, or unmodified slopes with compact soil, bedrock, or rubble. Spiny broom and scrub were prolific across the CUs, while fallow and grass were the next most common vegetation types. In most of the collection units, surface vegetation ranged in height from ankle- to waist-high. Some units had areas of vegetation that reached head-height or taller.

Neoria Beach
A significant scatter of material was collected to the north of the beach, below an eroding terrace wall (A006), as well as in the units above (i.e., to the northwest of) the modern field house (A016-18, A020-22). Some of this material dates to the Hellenistic/Early Roman and Late Roman periods; the relationship between the material collected in A006 and the structure in B017 (Frankoklisi - see below) remains unclear, and should be explored further. 

Diachronic House Complex 
There are three modern, abandoned buildings located on the coast to the east of Neoria on the north side of Porto Kagio Bay. Above these buildings, on the north slope of Porto Kagio Bay, we identified several scatters of pottery eroding down the slopes (Fig. 2). Although a significant portion of the slope was previously terraced and is now impassible due to the overgrown vegetation occupying these abandoned terraces, we managed to collect some of these dilapidated, unmaintained terraces as well as along some of the unterraced, unmodified slopes. Most of the ceramics collected in these CUs seem to derive from a complex of structures located on the northern limit of the permit boundary, directly west of the cemetery associated with the Achilleio settlement (Bourdakos family cemetery). The area to the immediate south of is currently being used as a garbage dump. The ceramics we identified along the lower, northern slope of the bay seem to have derived originally from this dense deposit of materials, which is itself a secondary context. 

Field House 
One of the few areas where the agricultural terraces had been reclaimed was in the northwestern corner of the study area, near a modern field house and garden complex, complete with scarecrows. Despite the relatively high visibility throughout the area no significant finds were identified.

Porto Kagio Village (Fig. 3)
This area is largely built up with modern structures but it was possible to survey many accessible, undeveloped areas. The visibility of the units was generally poor, and the frequency of finds was overall very low compared to the area around Neoria and beneath the Diachronic House Complex. A concentration of materials in a parking area were identified at the edge of the permit boundary, including some black glaze pottery and iron slag. These artifacts seemed to be eroding from the preserved colluvial deposit adjacent to the parking lot (i.e., to the east), which itself may also contain  backfill from the construction.

Achilleio Fortress  Of the six CUs associated with the Achilleio fortress, the most productive was CU A076, which was located directly below the western wall of the fortification circuit, on the property of Alexandros Bourdakos. Several ceramic fragments and burned tile (or pithos) fragments were identified on the terraces currently occupied by Mr. Bourdakos’ garden and animals. Presumably, these are related to the Ottoman-period use of the fortress.  The other units produced significantly less material, but unit A080 borders on a structure with an intact historical mill and olive press. 

Kastro 
Another team explored the area in the bowl to the west of Neoria Beach. They accessed the area from the road above and traversed an unmodified slope of exposed bedrock down to a former (now overgrown) field path that cuts across the valley from Achilleio Fortress. In the aerial imagery, the fields in the center of this bowl are situated on a prominent platform of land, bounded on two sides by ravines and surrounded on all sides by a (dry stone?) wall - hence our light-hearted reference to the area as “Kastro.” The walled platform is divided into approximately10 wide terraces, and the wall surrounding it survives to a height of 1.5 m in places. Along the northern wall, a semicircular addition to the exterior was recorded, which was interpreted as a possible cistern. About 25m west of the walled platform is a poorly built structure, inaccessible due to overgrown vegetation. Between this structure and the walled platform was a rock-cut cistern, likely ancient in date. Only a few ceramics were found in this entire area.