Konispol cave

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Konispol cave

BW

Location: Konispol , Albania
Height : 400  m above sea level A.
Geographic
location: 		39 ° 40 '30.3 "  N , 20 ° 10' 33.5"  E Coordinates: 39 ° 40 '30.3 "  N , 20 ° 10' 33.5"  E
Konispol Cave (Albania)
Konispol cave
Particularities: first Paleolithic site in Albania

The Shpella e Kërçmoit , known as Konispol Cave, is one of the caves near the southern Albanian city ​​of Konispol where a Paleolithic and Mesolithic site was explored on a large scale for the first time in Albania , with many artifacts discovered. The cave is about 50 m long, up to 6 m deep and has a height of up to 6 m inside. It is around 400  m above sea level. A. in the Saraqint chain , its opening faces south-west.

Previous research

Previously, the pre- Neolithic period had hardly been researched in the region , and only three sites were discussed in the literature: One is on Dajti near Tirana , where German archaeologists worked before the Second World War , but the site and finds are lost. The other two sites are within walking distance of the Konispol Cave, the Shën Maria Cave and an open-air site near the village of Xarra . Later, further north near Apollonia , the open-air site Kryegjata B from the Middle Paleolithic period was investigated. The small number of finds is due to the fact that Albania's archeology was isolated for a long time.

Digs, layers

After preliminary investigations by Albanian archaeologists in the late 1980s, the University of Texas carried out excavations together with Albanian partners from 1991 to 1997. The first test excavations followed in 1992 after initial investigations into the cave; the actual excavations began in the summer of 1993.

The sedimentation within the cave took place with unusual uniformity, so that the finds could be dated very precisely because of their location within the layers. Here pointed Konispol I Upper Palaeolithic , Konispol II Mesolithic and Konispol III Neolithic on finds. Layers IV to VII with finds from the Eneolithic , the Bronze and Iron Ages as well as finds from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period lay above it .

A total of 4141 fragments of animal bones were found in the first excavation campaign, of which 1280 could be assigned to an animal species or at least a genus. Sheep and goats represented 50 to 90% of the finds. Cattle bones are much rarer and only represent 20% of the bones in one layer. Wild boars only play a larger role in the deeper layers, the number of bone finds decreases significantly higher up. The situation is similar with red deer and roe deer . Domesticated animals did not appear until the Neolithic.

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic remains, which were discovered in a 90 centimeter thick layer, could be dated to the time between 8000 and 8400 BP , the Neolithic to the time between 6000 and 2600 BC. In between there could have been a phase with few or no settlements.

In addition to discounts and blades with slight retouching, to saw-shaped stone tools, tips, drills and scrapers were found mainly remains of ibex , to a lesser extent, aurochs , deer and pigs. The upper layer of the stone tools consisted of reddish and brownish flint of various qualities; back knives, gravers and scratches were rarer here. The lower layer was very different. Block-like white flint stones that were little worked prevailed here. The high number of tees indicates that the stone tools were made inside the cave. By far, unfinished cores and slightly retouched pieces predominated, while only four finished tools could be identified. Apparently the splintery starting material was not very suitable. Otherwise, Mesolithic finds in Albania are extremely rare. Only Kryegjata B , in the municipality of Fier immediately northeast of Apollonia, contained Mesolithic artifacts, as reported in 2004.

Neolithic

The early Neolithic fills an almost one meter long layer. The few ceramic finds are mostly monochrome in brown or reddish brown, some have a certain sheen. The vessels are simple. These are cups and vessels with a wide opening, some with carination . Decorations were done partly with fingernails, partly with an instrument. The ceramic is certainly unpainted, similar to the Greek Epirus , whereas in southeastern Albania, in northern Macedonia and Thessaly prevails painted ceramics. The excavators therefore already assumed relationships with Podgorie I , Veluška I / II and Borodin in Pelagonia , Presesklo in Thessaly, Starčevo in Serbia and Smilčić in Dalmatia . At the same time, they suspected that the ceramic production phase was preceded by an akeramisches Neolithic with animal husbandry. A single grain of ember comes from this or the following phase , as well as a vetch and a lentil . The latter comes from a pre-Neolithic layer , which is not unusual in the Mediterranean region .

The middle Neolithic is represented by a considerably thinner layer, only about 50 centimeters in length. The ceramic was mostly gray or gray-black speckled. Smooth, thin-walled vessels now appeared, their edges turned outwards. Their bottom was mostly flat, slightly concave, very rarely equipped with feet. Ornamentation remained rare. The impresso technique of the early Neolithic persisted. The pottery was now very similar to that of the rest of Albania.

The late Neolithic only covers a layer of 30 centimeters. The thick-walled ware of the middle Neolithic was continued, but now light, gray-painted, thin-walled vessels known as Maliq I were added . The locally produced ceramics are red and smooth, whereas the imported goods are characterized by purer clay, i.e. a lower proportion of sand. The vessels are thinner-walled and are usually yellow or yellow-brown, less often gray. The painting is mostly of strongly varying matte brown, mostly parallel or jagged lines. Your source likely Maliq I be.

Copper Age

The Eneolithic is represented by a layer only 20 centimeters thick. The pottery was now thick-walled, poorly fired and contained plenty of sand. The finer goods are also represented.

literature

  • Joseph Debt Rein : Stratigraphy, sedimentology, and site formation at Konispol Cave, Southwest Albania , in: Geoarchaeology 16 (2001) 559-602.
  • John Hollon Taylor: A Cementum Analysis of Archaeological Fauna from Konispol Cave, Albania . University of Texas at Arlington 2000.
  • Karl M. Petruso, Brooks B. Ellwood, Francis B. Harrold, Muzafer Korkuti: Radiocarbon and archaeomagnetic dates from Konispol Cave, Albania . In: Antiquity . tape 68 , 1994, pp. 335–339 ( article on The Free Library ).

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Karl M. Petruso, Muzafer Korkuti, Lorenc Bejko, Sytze Bottema, Brooks B. Ellwood, Julie M. Hansen, Francis B. Harrold, Nerissa Russell: Konispol Cave, Albania. A Preliminary Report on Excavations and Related Studies, 1992–1994 . In: Albanian Academy of Sciences (ed.): Iliria . tape 26 . Tirana 1996, p. 183–224 ( online [accessed June 7, 2014]).
  2. ↑ James Wiseman, Kōnstantinos L. Zachos: Landscape Archeology in Southern Epirus, Greece 1 . In: American School of Classical Studies at Athens (Ed.): Hesperia Supplement . tape XXXII , 2003, ISBN 978-0-87661-532-4 , pp. 117 , JSTOR : i258499 .
  3. ^ Karl M. Petruso, Brooks B. Ellwood Francis B. Harrold, Muzafer Korkuti: Radiocarbon and archaeomagnetic dates from Konispol Cave, Albania . In: Antiquity . 1994 ( online [accessed September 13, 2017]).
  4. ↑ Curtis Runnels, Muzafer Korkuti, Michael L. Galaty, Lorenc Bejko, Jack L. Davis, Skendër Muçaj, Sharon Stocker, Michael Timpson, John Whittaker: The paleolithic and mesolithic of Albania: Survey and excavation at the site of Kryegjata B (Fier district) . In: Journal of Mediterranean Archeology . tape 17 , 2004, p. 3–29 ( online [accessed September 13, 2017]).