Dispilio Lakeside Neolithic Settlement

Μετάφραση Greek Version

Dispilio Lakeside Neolithic Settlement

Dispilio is the only Neolithic lakeside settlement in Greece. The archaeological site is located near the village of Dispilio in the Kastroia regional unit of Western Macedonia, Greece, just 8 km from the city of Kastoria.

The location was known since 1932 when hundreds of wooden stills were revealed during a prolonged dry period that caused the lake level to drop significantly. The discoveries were found at the point between a small islet known as “Nisi” and the shore of the lake. Archaeologist Antonios Keramopoulos was the first to conduct a preliminary survey of the site. A systematic excavation project began years later by George Chourmouziadis, professor of prehistoric archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

During several archaeological campaigns, a portion of the settlement has been excavated that enabled a sufficient understanding of the architectural layout of homes, the building materials, and the organizations of space, while the finds provided information on the everyday lives of the Neolithic inhabitants. The Neolithic settlement proved to be one of the most important and oldest of its kind in Europe. During the excavations a large number of objects were found, including ceramics, wooden structural elements, seeds, bones, figurines, and personal ornaments. The most important find of all was a bone flute, which turned to be one of the oldest musical instruments in Europe. However, the most unexpected of the finds, a wooden tablet from the lake bearing engraved symbols, was 14C dated to 5260 ± 40 BC. In addition, clay tablets and pottery vessels engraved with similar symbols were also unearthed from layers dated to the same period. The symbols are a form of writing that preceded linear A, which still has not yet been decoded.

Archaeological research provided evidence that the site was continuously used from the Early Neolithic (~6000 BC) to the Late Chalcolithic period (~1200 BC, Mycenaean period). The Neolithic man in Dispilio seems to be primary a farmer and, especially a stockbreeder. Fish bones and fishing tools are not lacking but they do not necessarily reflect a community of specialized fishermen. The finds represent a dynamic society that managed to live in a wetland ecosystem.  

 The extensive information provided by systematic excavations has enabled the archaeologists to reconstruct part of the settlement. There are a series of huts, all made of wattle and daub (mud), with their interiors, to give us an impression of Neolithic life in the region. Inside, you find copies of objects and utensils that were discovered in the lake including objects made of pottery,  (used for storage of food and for cooking), as well as tools made of bone and stone.

The archaeological site is open daily from 9am to 17pm and attracts dozens of tourists from Greece and abroad. Guide tours are organized every 20 minutes throughout the day.