Feltarbeid i Arkadia - Norwegian Arcadia Survey. Part II. Sites and Marginal Landscapes.
Find reception
Report for the archaeological fieldwork conducted in 2010.
The Norwegian Arcadia Survey Part II (NAS 2) conducted archaeological fieldwork in the period 07.06 – 18.06.2009. The participants were Hege Agathe Bakke-Alisøy (the project manager) and Nils Ole Sundet. Our work was this year funded by the Norwegian Institute at Athens and the Inger R. Haldorsens fund.
Aim
In our application we gave an outline for this year’s season. We had planned three short field seasons. We had some problems with our funding this year and were force to reduce the activity. We choose then to focus on studying the archaeological material collected during the fieldwork in 2008 and 2009 as well as some reconnaissance.
Results
In the period from the 7th to the 18th of June
we were two archaeologists working in Tegea for the (NAS 2). The
main focus was to create a good database for analyzing the
archaeological material as well as document as much as possible of
the material. We this
year chose to mainly work with the prehistoric material. It was
then the material from the two sites Chairolimnes and Psili Vrisi –
Vationa that were analyzed. Both these sites were previously
registered by the English archaeologist Roger Howell. It was thus
interesting to see how our material would fit his descriptions. The
overall impression is that our survey has resulted in an expansion
of both sites both in chronology and actual size. This work is
however not yet concluded.
Along with the work with the archaeological material we also had one day of reconnaissance. We had some information that there were ancient remains on the slope of the mountains southeast of the modern village Psili Vrisi, in an area called Mirmingofolies. The English archaeologist Roger Howell registered here a site dated to the early Helladic and mentioned that there possibly had been tombs there (Howell 1970:93). Just below this place there is small plain named Ag. Dimitrios and there is said to be remains of a church there. Both these areas are situated next to a dirt track that leads up to a mountain pass called Skala. |
Analysing finds - handles 2010 |
View to the Doliana Valley
In the area of Mirmingofolies there was little
finds, but some on the road just below, all clearly prehistoric.
Walking down towards Ag, Dimitrios the amount of finds increased
and in one parts of the area were scattered with small cairns
surrounded with finds. On the small plain, or hilltop, of Ag.
Dimitrios the visibility was low, but still much finds. All these
finds were of a newer date than those near Mirmingofolies. A date
to the Medieval Age or Early Historic period is thus
likely. Both these sites were poorly documented both
concerning their localisation as well as dating.
Our short reconnaissance has, however, shown the good potential
that these sites have for further investigation.
For more information go to www.tegea.uib.no