Kotroni Archaeological Survey Project (KASP)
The Kotroni Archaeological Survey Project at Kapandriti (KASP) is a three-year survey project initiated in 2019 under the auspices of the IIHSA in collaboration with the Greek Ministry of Culture. It is directed by Eleni Andrikou (Greek Ephorate of East Attica), Anastasia Dakouri-Hild (University of Virginia), Steve Davis (University College Dublin).
The project explores the Aphidnian landscape, encompassing and surrounding the citadel (Kotroni) near Kapandriti and Lake Marathon. This interdisciplinary project systematizes piecemeal information about the landscape and non-destructively augments the record by means of historical documents, intensive survey, remote sensing, airborne LIDAR, geophysics, and geological/geomorphological analysis. KASP is deepening our understanding of the archaeological record by documenting the site using contemporary standards and practices, and expanding the record by placing the citadel in its broader environmental, topographic, and regional context. In 2019 the remote sensing, LIDAR and geological aspects of the project were concluded. Intensive survey helped identify several new archaeological sites in the immediate vicinity of the citadel and pinpoint the location of the Middle Bronze Age tumulus excavated in 1894. The survey also brought to light indications of local, hitherto unknown, ceramic production and metallurgical activity.
Remote sensing
In the spring and early summer of 2019 satellite and aerial images of the area of interest were collected from a number of geodatabases. In order to investigate in detail any changes beyond 2012, we examined archive multi-series Landsat images. A temporal analysis at a four-interval was selected for visualization purposes. To better understand landscape changes through time, we carried out visual interpretation of the archive aerial images of 1962 and 1970. These historical images demonstrate dramatic change in landscape cover since that period. Subsequently, vegetation properties were extracted using the very high-resolution Worldview-2 imagery (0.46 m). This data, especially when forming linear features, also helped query areas where natural outcrops, terraces or possible archaeological structures possibly lie concealed by vegetation. Along with LIDAR, they continue to be used as a springboard for forming and testing hypotheses in the field, loaded as layers in the cloud-based GIS and also available offline to the team while in the field on KASP’s tablets. The last step of image analysis was the characterization of vegetation and soil proxies used for the detection of buried archaeological remains.
Vegetation is especially dense in potentially archaeologically significant areas, namely the citadel slopes where habitation on terraces is reasonably expected, especially along the less precipitous east and higher south slopes. To mitigate this fact and the difficulty in exploring these areas through field walking, we acquired airborne LIDAR data with an approximate density of 35 points per m2. Digitization of potential archaeological features resulted in three shapefiles: a polygon file for potential area features, a line file for terrace edges and similar and a point file to mark specific points of interest. The majority of the features mapped were linear remains, including a large number of terrace fragments especially in the region of the citadel, but also on other hilltops in the area of data available.
Geology and geomorphology
The primary objectives of KASP’s 2019 season in this regard were to investigate geological processes affecting the archaeological record and define geomorphological units guiding the interpretation of finds; to confirm the bedrock geology in the vicinity of the citadel; and to retrieve soil samples for Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) profiling and dating (OSL-PD) from agricultural terraces and earthworks on the citadel slopes and the immediate vicinity. The western cliff of the citadel, which is precipitous, presented the most potential for erosion. Some erosion deposition is expected in the plains owing to small, seasonal streams or rainfall lines feeding into the lake. This information will be used to interpret the final distribution of finds. In general, potential for major erosion or substantial alluvium transport is not evidenced; the landscape has been fairly stable over the course of the Holocene, with the exception of the area submerged following the dam construction. The geological reconnaissance, which took place within the first week of field work prior to the intensive survey, was restricted to a 1.5-2 km radius around Kotroni. In terms of the OSL study, we examined nine earthworks: five of which located on the south slope of the citadel, two on the west slope and two in the area immediately to the southeast of the citadel. The sediments showed remarkable behavior, appraised immediately in the field using portable OSL equipment, with individual stratigraphies characterized by coherent luminescence profiles. These profiles were used to identify the most promising sampling positions for quantitative dating in the lab. Overall, OSL profiling has shown considerable promise in the field. The sediments are characterized by moderate OSL signals and show remarkable internal stratigraphic consistency and coherence between investigated features in sub-regions, but also across the wider landscape. This data was used to generate a relative chronology for the sequence of construction of the agricultural terraces and earthworks at Kotroni.
Intensive survey
Pedestrian observation and artifact collection are KASP’s main exploration strategies, the target parameters being artifact density, spatial distribution and clustering by era. Architectural remains were recorded either as line features (terrace walls, wall traces, possible dismantled wall lines), or as points (columns, cut blocks found loose in fields or pushed the edges, membra incorporated in later structures). Along with the terrace lines and other architectural features extracted from the LIDAR data, building sketches and other annotations about standing structures seen in the 19th c. extracted from Karten von Attika, the distribution of these features will help identify the general areas where ancient structures might be reasonably expected or used to exist. The vast majority of membra were located on the southern slopes and the southern plateau, but generally they can be found in the entire area of the 2019 survey, including Asprovouno to the southeast, north of the citadel and the tumulus area. In terms of the finds, we recovered 14,841 sherds, of which 2,249 (15.1%) are form-diagnostic, 563 (3.7%) decorated and 34 fragments of very large vessels (mostly pithos rims). We also recorded thousands of roof tiles, both of the Laconian and Corinthian types, including corners. Among the ceramic finds is a bubbly mass of misfired clay and several examples of misfired vessel fragments and misfired tiles, alluding to local ceramic production. Notably, the area south and southwest of the lake is well-known as a source of clay at least from early modern times through the present. Not only was this area known as ‘Keramidi’ (literally Tile) in the 19th c., it also accommodates at least one contemporary tile and brick factory.
The small finds include stone tools or by-products thereof, including black obsidian flakes from blade production, rounded pounders, regularly shaped ground tools and an uncarved, smooth white marble slab. The terracotta artifacts are mostly domestic production implements, such as loom weights. These are both of the pyramidal and conical types. Other terracotta objects, shaped into rounded or triangular forms and perforated, may have been used as impromptu loom weights too. A number of rounded sherds, both unperforated and with incipient perforations, may be loom weights in the making; alternatively the unperforated ones could be interpreted as gaming pieces (pessoi) or small vessel stoppers. In addition, we found several lamp fragments with molded globule or floral decorations, as well as the head of a probably female votive figurine. The latter preserves only the top of the head, showing the parting of uncovered hair and a simple headband. Among the terracotta finds are two vessel stands for use in the kiln: one of the triangular type, the other T-shaped, corroborating the ceramic waster evidence mentioned earlier. Finally, the metal finds are exclusively pieces of iron slag and suggest local industrial activity involving the processing or iron ore. The resources of the broader Aphidnian landscape include iron ore deposits to the northeast. It remains to be determined if these areas were exploited in antiquity. The 2019 finds (see below) certainly suggest local ceramic production and iron processing took place within KASP’s area of interest. We are currently investigating historical sources about an iron mine, reportedly of early 20th c. date, near Grammatiko about 7 km northeast of the citadel.
Based on a preliminary spot dating of all classes of era-diagnostic artifacts (240, mostly pottery sherds, but also small finds such as loom weights and lamps), the presently known era diagnostics are strongly concentrated in the Roman (94, 39.1%) and Classical periods (74, 30.8%). However, era-diagnostic finds dating to most periods are attested. Prehistoric finds include fine Mycenaean pottery, such as plain kylix stems and decorated wares of probable LH IIIA date. The Classical diagnostic finds are more common and include domestic wares, as well as black-glazed and red-glazed cups and bowls; in one case, a fine red-glazed pyxis (knob only). Hellenistic and Roman wares are also well-attested in the subset of spot-dated material. These wares include amphorae, tablewares and cooking vessels. A beehive fragment dating to the Late Roman or Early Byzantine era suggests beekeeping and honey production took place. Plain wares with grooved or combed decoration are fairly common and likely date to the same time frame. Most of the pottery is probably locally or regionally made, with some tablewares of likely Athenian origin. Imports include the following types: Dressel 2-4 amphorae from southwest Turkey and the area of Pompeii, Agora M54 amphorae from east Cilicia, Kapitän II amphorae, likely from an Aegean source, Late Roman amphorae 2 from the Argolid, African Red Slip Ware from Tunisia, and Late Roman C tablewares from western Turkey. The ceramic material of later antiquity includes Middle Byzantine (12th-13th c.) and Frankish (13th-15th) fine ware, such as bowls and dishes with glazed, painted or combined painted and sgraffito decoration, as well as some glazed sherds of possible Ottoman date.
Looking at the distributions of finds, the following observations can be made. The raw distributions of sherds and tiles consistently show higher concentrations on the south slopes of the citadel and the southern plateau, but they are generally found in significant quantities in many parts of the 2019 survey. The distribution of the same data normalized by tract extent (m2) demonstrates that some tracts produced far greater quantities of both sherds and tiles relative to their footprint. Based on the preliminary spot dating of finds, Bronze Age occupation is attested on the southern slopes and the adjacent plateau to the south, as well as the tumulus area to the southwest. Iron Age, especially Classical and Roman occupation is attested in most parts of the area surveyed in 2019, including most citadel slopes and the southern plateau. Occupation dating to the Byzantine, Frankish and Ottoman eras seems to be mostly concentrated south and southeast of the citadel near the Agioi Saranta chapel, suggesting the presence of domestic spaces surrounding a small church that preceded the later chapel. Overall, it seems that the tracts listed above are located at or in the vicinity of a number of hitherto unknown archaeological sites (at least five, possibly more): probably houses with storage and weaving areas, ceramic workshops and locations where iron slag was processed.
Project website: https://afidna.org
Directors
Eleni Andrikou (Era specialist (Mycenaean): Ephorate of Antiquities of East Attica)
Anastasia Dakouri-Hild (GIS and public archaeology specialist: University of Virginia)
Steve Davis (Environmental and LIDAR specialist, University College Dublin)
Staff
Athos Agapiou (Remote sensing specialist: Cyprus Technical University)
Philip Bes (Era specialist (Hellenistic-Middle Roman): Independent scholar, The Netherlands
Xenia Charalambidou (Era specialist (Dark Ages-Archaic): Free University of Amsterdam)
Maria Chidiroglou (Era specialist (Classical): National Archaeological Museum at Athens)
Tim Kinnaird (Geologist/geomorphologist: University of St Andrews and CERSA Luminance Lab)
Kalliopi Sarri (Era specialist (EBA-MBA): University of Copenhagen)
Anastasia Yangaki (Era specialist (Early Byzantine through later antiquity): National Hellenic Research Foundation