Asomata 2005 Overview

The Asomata Project
Angeliki Koukouvou

The archaeological site of Asomata lies near the city of Beroia, in the Imathia prefecture, Central Macedonia, 70 km west of Thessaloniki. The site was uncovered due to intensive salvage excavations for the construction of the new Egnatia highway. The 17th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities carried out the excavations in 1999, under the direction of the author. The site, with an area of about 1 ha, sits on a natural plateau in the SE foothills of Mount Vermion. It was first inhabited in the Early Iron Age and remained in use throughout the Byzantine Period.

A small settlement and a number of burials, furnished with vases and jewelry, belong to the Early Iron Age. During the Archaic and Classical Period part of the site was used as a cemetery. From these periods, two clusters of graves have been excavated with burial offerings typical of these periods: clay vessels, both local and imported (from Corinth, Athens and elsewhere), terracotta figurines, bronze and iron weapons, bronze, silver and gold jewelry, etc.

A unique find, dating in the Late Classical-Early Hellenistic Period, are the two poros quarries preserving interesting data for the study of ancient technology. These quarries are very important because they came to light during scientific excavation (the first such case in Macedonia), were excellently preserved and can be securely dated. To the Roman Period date the remains of a pottery workshop of which several installations were excavated. These include a rectangular kiln preserved in an excellent condition. The Byzantine Period is represented by a number of burials and some poorly preserved architectural remains.

My application is for the funding of the study and prompt publication of this excavation that offers the opportunity to explore and present an area of Greece that has been neglected for many years. The publication will reveal to the archaeological community new aspects of Macedonian prehistory and history. My study will focus in the use of the intercommunal space and its resources, especially in the crucial years of Archaic and Late Classical-Early Hellenistic period, i.e. the time of the formation and the height of the Macedonian State.

An interdisciplinary research team will carry out this work. This will consist of myself and collaborators archaeologists (specialists in pottery of the historic periods represented, in coins, in architecture etc.), a computer expert, a geologist, an architect, an osteologist, a conservator and a drafts-person. I myself will be on sabbatical from the fall of 2005 for the next three years. Therefore I will be able to concentrate full time in the project. Along with the publication, we have also planned the production of a CDROM that will make aspects of the excavation accessible to the general public.

Collaborative work has already begun with the Department of Mineralogy, Petrology and Economic Geology of the University of Thessaloniki (for the study of the geomorphology of the site and metal analysis), the "Dimokritos" National Research Centre (for the radiocarbon datings) and the Stone Centre of Ministry of Culture (for clay and stone analysis). Our research is scheduled to be completed, with the manuscripts ready for publication, by the end of the 2008.