CORFU - PALIAVLAKO - 2002

Paliavlako. A. Darlas, P. Karkanas, O. Pali and A. Papadea report on excavation conducted in 2002 by the (then unified) EPS and the Η' ΕΠΚΑ at this site, which lies close to the channel connecting Lake Korission with the sea.
The discovery here in 2000 in Pleistocene levels of the lower-right jaw of a hippopotamus, together with smaller bones and a worked stone, confirmed human presence during the Pal period. The artificial channel connecting the lake to the sea exposed Pleistocene deposits 7m d. which lay above sea level; wave action then eroded a natural section into this, which was investigated archaeologically. It proved impossible to relocate the exact findspot of the jawbone due to continued erosion. Excavation therefore focused close by, 35m N of the artificial channel. A trench was opened, initially 6m l. (then narrowed to 2m), 0.3−1m w. and 4m d., exposing all 12 levels within the Pal deposits. Only the terrestrial (or coastal) levels produced archaeological remains, whereas the lagoonal layers were sterile: the former were therefore sieved systematically and the latter only sampled.
The 12 levels can be divided into 3 successive groups according to conditions created by the fluctuating sea level. Levels 1 and 2 reflect lagoonal or swamp conditions with drier periods. The lowest phase corresponds to the ashy clay of the MPleistocene. Levels 3−8 show a shifting complex of coastal and swamp deposits with frequent changes in coastline. Finally, levels 9−12 show a development of the above conditions, with beach sand and marshy deposits, concluding with the red clay palaeosurface. Marsh conditions correspond to periods of high sea level (probably through the post-glacial period), whereas coastal conditions correspond to low sea level. Beyond the area of the trench, 3 further levels were preserved above level 12, to a d. of 1.5m. Four further stone tools were collected from the shore immediately in front of the trench, and there are undoubtedly more lodged in this pebble beach.
Archaeological material consists of stone flakes, tools and cores, and a few, poorly preserved, animal bones, few of which can be identified. The most carefully worked stone artefacts are assigned to the MPal (most probably to the end of the MPal or the beginning of the Upper Pal), and include examples of Levallois technology. Upper Pal lithics were found eroded out of the upper levels outside the trench. Most of the remains were not in situ; they represent secondary accumulations after the erosion of older deposits. The assemblages of lithics in different layers are small and relatively unhomogeneous: it is argued that they derive from different parental formations.