Νέες θέσεις στον αρχαιολογικό χάρτη της Περιφερειακής Ενότητας Ξάνθης

Constantina Kallintzi, Despoina Skoulariki, Kyriaki Chatziprokopiou & Maria Chrysaphi In P. Adam-Veleni & Κ. Tzanavari (eds) 2017. Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και στην Θράκη 26, 2012, Thessaloniki: 565-574.

This paper presents new archaeological data from the mountainous and lowland areas of the Prefecture of Xanthi. A variety of projects of the 31st Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, such as autopsies, regular checks and actions to protect the antiquities, brought to light 21 unknown sites and new evidence about 12 already known sites. Remains of fortresses, fryktoriai and agricultural settlements dated from the Late Neolithic to the Roman Period, near Oraio, Nyphi, Chryssa and Ryme, allow us to complement the network of fortification and other similar constructions in Rodopi mountain. In the south foothills of Rodopi range, the archaeological landscape is totally different. Cist graves found in Kimmeria and Lefkopetra indicate the location of cemeteries and the existence of unknown settlements. Pottery, coins and small objects have been found in neighboring sites dated from the Prehistoric to the Byzantine times. The new data support the opinion that the area was very important for the inshore contacts at least during the Historical times.

A lot of new settlements were discovered in the rest lowland area of Xanthi. Elements of a new prehistoric site consist a “unit” with the Recent Neolithic site of Diomedeia. Given the fact that Iron Age finds are rare, pottery from an Iron Age site near Porto Lagos is very important and enriches our knowledge about the era. A ceramic kiln from Diomedeia, dated to the Roman Imperial period and pottery from Kessani, dated to the Classical, Imperial and Byzantine Period, are connected to workshops, private houses or small settlements in the chora of Abdera. A group of 14 tumuli near Mandra is also related to economic activities of the inhabitants such as agriculture and quarries. New evidence of the cemetery of Abdera supplements what we already know. This paper is just a preliminary report of a synthetic presentation of the material, a task that has already started.