Τούμπα Οφρυνίου: οικισμός Ύστερης Εποχής του Χαλκού στις παρυφές του Παγγαίου

Γιάννης Σουκάντος, Σπυρίδων Θερμός, Δήμητρα Μαλαμίδου & Αγγελική Πατέλη Στο Π. Αδάμ-Βελένη & Κ. Τζαναβάρη (επιμ.) 2017. Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και στην Θράκη 26, 2012, Θεσσαλονίκη: 539-545.

ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΤΟ ΑΡΘΡΟ

The prehistoric site of Ofrynio Toumba is located 60 km west of Kavala, alongside the old highway Kavala-Thessaloniki, close to the modern settlement of Ofrynio and SW of Galepsos in the Municipality of Pangaion. The settlement belongs to the “low table tell” type of the Late Bronze Age. Tells of this type are common in Central Macedonia and west of the Strymon river, but are more rare in the hinterland of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Ofrynio Toumba was first made known with the surveys conducted by David French in the 1960s and by Grammenos-Fotiadis in the early ’80s. Its location near the mouth of Strymon River and the metalliferous Mount Pangaion underlines its particular geostrategic character both in terms of human settlement and as an important site among a wider network of LBA settlements.

The excavation project began with aerophotography and topographical documentation. The research and study group consists of archaeologists specialized in various fields, a topographer and an architect. This year we focused on two sectors, A and B, using a 1 × 1 m grid in 5 × 5 m trenches. An electronic data base was set up to assist the documentation and record of information. Architectural remains were unearthed in both sectors right bellow the surface layer. The fallen structures seem to come from mud brick buildings in both sectors. Moreover, in sector B, a 1 m wide stone structure, revealed for the moment only in a length of 4.5 m, can be interpreted as a retaining and perhaps defensive enclosure. Characteristic LBA sherds, mainly from handmade non decorated vases, as well as some sherds with incised decoration with pink and/or white paste infill, are a safe chronological marker for the excavated strata. Some stone tools, bones and archaeobotanical samples were also collected.

Our aim is to intensify the field work, in order to clarify the chronological sequence of the occupation, and to conclude about the character of the settlement in relation with the network of Late Bronze Age settlements in Eastern Macedonia and around.