Neolithic settlement unearthed in Karystos, on Greece’s Evia Island

According to an announcement issued on Friday by Greece’s Ministry of Culture, important discoveries have been unearthed near the town of Karystos on Greece’s Evia (Euboea) Island.

Aerial view of the prehistoric settlement found near Karystos
[Credit: Hellenic Ministry of Culture]

The announcement reveals that a systematic, two-year-long excavation in the Gourimadi area, on the outskirts of Karystos, has unearthed ”an important prehistoric settlement.”

According to the Ministry, the settlement is dated mainly to the Late Neolithic Age, and presents fragmentary evidence of habitation and use both during the Late Neolithic and in the beginning stages of the Early Bronze Age.

Photogrammetry model of showing parts of the foundations for the walls that were unearthed
near Karystos, on Euboea [Credit: Hellenic Ministry of Culture]

The settlement is believed to be able to provide valuable information to archaeologists about the details of human life and the technology used during the time between the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Ages.

The findings so far include the stone walls of buildings, stone tables and desks, and an object that was most likely an oven.

Possible remains of an oven found at the site
[Credit: Hellenic Ministry of Culture]

Archaeologists have uncovered an array of portable objects, including two clay anthropomorphic figurines, various polished and cut-stone tools, and other stone artifacts, which had been sanded down to shape them. Some small quantities of bones and other organic elements were also found at the site of the settlement.

The various pots which were unearthed at the site are thought to date back to the fifth and fourth millennium BC, according to the subjects and styles of the designs with which they were decorated.

Obsidian arrow head [Credit: Hellenic Ministry of Culture]

The excavation is being carried out with funding from the Norwegian Institute of Athens, with the support of the Institute for Aegean History (INSTAP).

Author: Nick Kampouris | Source: Greek Reporter [August 09, 2019]