Hellenistic settlement of Xerokambos

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Foundation walls of the Hellenistic settlement

The Hellenistic settlement of Xerokambos ( modern Greek Ελληνιστικός οικισμός Ξερόκαμπου Ellinistikos ikismos Xerokambou ) refers to an archaeological excavation site in the southeast of the Greek island of Crete . It is located in the municipality of Sitia in the Lasithi regional district on the southeastern outskirts of Xerokambos ( Ξερόκαμπος ).

Location and history

Southeast side of the Farmakokefalo

The archaeological site is located northeast of the small peninsula Trachilos ( Τράχηλος 'neck') on the coast of the Levantine Sea , part of the Mediterranean Sea . The remains of the settlement occupy the northern area of ​​the hill Farmakokefalo ( Φαρμακοκέφαλο ), which is only about 15 meters high, above the beaches of Chiona ( Παραλία Χιόνα ) and Argilos ( Παραλία Άργιλος ). About 60 meters northeast of the Hellenistic settlement, a road leads to the beach development of Vourlia ( Παραλία Βούρλια ) in the northeast. From the road on which there is an unpaved parking lot in front of the beaches of Vourlia and Chiona, a drivable path leads to the Farmakokefalo to the chapel of Agios Nikolaos ( Άγιος Νικόλαος ), built in 1895 , which leads past the excavation site.

Northwest area with remains of the surrounding wall

The remains of the settlement on the Farmakokefalo, which have been known since the 19th century, were partially exposed in the 1980s under the direction of Nikos Papadakis from the Ephorie for Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities . This is the northern part of the ancient settlement area on the plateau of the hill. The 12,000 m² area of ​​the Farmakokefalo was enclosed by a 2.0 to 2.5 meter thick wall made of small stones and mortar. While it is partially preserved up to a height of about one meter, the wall at the coastal demolition is completely missing. The remains of a classical Hellenistic temple are believed to be under the location of the Agios Nikolaos chapel.

Some of the excavation finds, such as ceramics, clay idols, loom weights or stamped amphorae handles, date from the 5th century BC. BC, but mostly from the 4th to the 1st century BC. The finds also included coins from Hierapytna , Chios and Rhodes as well as a Rhodian amphora . The excavation site of the coastal settlement that flourished in antiquity was equated with the city of Ampelos, which has been handed down in historical sources, or the town of Stalai, which was dependent on Praisos . The excavation finds are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Sitia.

  • Farmakokefalo plateau

  • Southeast excavation area

  • Northern excavation area

  • Southwest wall remains on the Farmakokefalo

  • Western remains of the enclosing wall

literature

  • Nikos P. Papadakis: Ζήρος και Ξερόκαμπος. Πολιτιστικός οδηγός . A Cultural Guide to Ziros and Xerocampos. Community Council of Ziros, Ziros 1989, p. 57-67 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Xerokampos (Farmakokefalo) Pictures. Ancient Greece, October 27, 2014, accessed February 25, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Almost all beaches in Crete: The beaches in Xerokambos. Weltmessessen, December 13, 2013, accessed February 25, 2017 .
  3. ^ A b Hans Huisman: The Village and the Beaches of Xerokampos in the Southeast of Crete. www.angelfire.com, 2014, accessed February 25, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Elisabeth Mlinar: Fortified cities, settlements and other fortification systems on Crete from the Archaic to the end of the Hellenistic period . Dissertation. tape 1 . University of Vienna, Vienna 2014, Xerokampos, Pharmakokephalo / Ampelos or Stalai (?), P. 127–128 ( digitized version [PDF; accessed on February 25, 2017]).
  5. ↑ Elisabeth Mlinar, Norbert Schlager and others: Aspro Nero, Agia Irini, Livari in Southeast Crete: Documentation 2008 (=  annual books of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna . Volume 79 ). Austrian Archaeological Institute, Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-900305-58-1 , reflections on the location of the ancient polis STALAI, p. 346–347 ( digitized [accessed February 25, 2017]).

Web links

Commons : Farmakokefalo  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Farmakokefalo (Town). In: Digital Crete: Archaeological Atlas of Crete. Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Institute for Mediterranean Studies(English).;
  • Archaeological places. Hellenistic city of Xerokambos. Sitia Development Organization, 2016, accessed February 25, 2017 ( Greek ).

Coordinates: 35 ° 2 '24.4 "  N , 26 ° 13' 54.3"  E