Angelochori Imathias Overview

The prehistoric settlement of Angelochori Imathias, West Macedonia, lies 75 km west of Thessaloniki. It is built on a low hill, 5 m. high, measuring 21 sq. km. The site was located during intensive survey in the years 1991-1994 and was excavated during the same perod. The surface finds already indicated clearly the importance of the establishment and its dominant position within the regional network of contemporary settlements. The wider region of Imathia contains some of the most important archaeological sites of Northern Greece, such as the Early Neolithic village of Nea Nikomedeia, one of the earliest in Europe (7th millennium), the philosophic school where Aristotle taught Alexander the Great , and the monumental tombs of Lefkadia which belonged to Macedonian generals of Alexander the Great.

Excavations at Angelochori were conducted by the IZ Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, under my direction and with the participation of students from the Department of Archaeology, University of Thessaloniki. An area of 140 sq. m. was thoroughly investigated. On top of the mound we exposed a large building of 63 sq. m, equipped with storage rooms and workshops. Around this edifice were arranged hypaethral spaces, minor structures, and narrow streets while the rest of the settlement extended to the hillsides, and the whole was surrounded by a wall. Three occupational phases were recognised stratigraphically, all dating to the Late Bronze Age. This was a central settlement of the period, specialising in the production of a distinct type of decorated pottery (known as matt-painted) and of metal objects. The impressive quantity of storage vessels found in the central building strongly suggests that this was a place where the surplus of agricultural production was collected. This practice, attested in Macedonia during the historical times, seems to originate in exactly the period under consideration. Excavation at Angelochori was prolific in artifacts of various types, including pottery, stone and bone tools, loomweights, and ornaments, as well as faunal and archaeobotanical evidence.

My application is for the funding of the study and prompt publication of this excavation which offers an unusual wealth of information on the Late Bronze Age in Macedonia. This era, as yet hardly known to international scholars for the area under study, is nevertheless of capital importance for socioeconomic developments in later Macedonian history. In order to best explore this rich archaeological mine, I am organising an interdisciplinary work team. This will consist of myself and three assistant archaeologists (responsible for the stratigraphy, pottery, architecture, metal and other artifacts), the computer programmer and archeologist A. Vargas of the University of Thessaloniki, and six archaeological specialists whose specific contributions are summarised in the attached section on Research Methods. Collaborations are already in progress with the Department of Geology, University of Thessaloniki, for the magnetic testings of the site, and with the "Demokritos" National Research Center for Physical Sciences for the radiocarbon datings of organic samples. Finally the projected production of a CD-ROM by A. Vargas will make the site accessible and interesting to the wider public. Our research is scheduled to be completed, with the manuscripts ready for publication, by middle 2002.