Dispilio

Village in Macedonia, Greece

Community in Macedonia, Greece

Dispilio Δισπηλιό
Community
The Neolithic Settlement of Dispilio, on lake Orestiada
40°28′50″N 21°17′15″E / 40.48056°N 21.28750°E / 40.48056; 21.28750
Country	Greece
Geographic region	Macedonia
Administrative region	Western Macedonia
Regional unit	Kastoria
Municipality	Kastoria
Municipal unit	Makednoi
Elevation	620 m (2,030 ft)
Population (2021)^[1]
• Community	944
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Dispilio (Greek: Δισπηλιό, before 1926: Δουπιάκοι – Doupiakoi^[2]) is a village near Lake Orestiada, in the Kastoria regional unit of Western Macedonia, Greece.^[3] Near the village is an archaeological site containing remains of a Neolithic lakeshore settlement that occupied an artificial island.^[4]

History

The lake settlement was discovered during the dry winter of 1932, which lowered the lake level and revealed traces of the settlement. A preliminary survey was made in 1935 by Antonios Keramopoulos. Excavations began in 1992, led by George Chourmouziadis, professor of prehistoric archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The site's paleoenvironment, botany, fishing techniques, tools and ceramics were published informally in the June 2000 issue of Επτάκυκλος, a Greek archaeology magazine and by Chourmouziadis in 2002. A recreation of the lake dwellers' settlement has been erected near the site to attract tourists from Greece and abroad.^[5]

The site appears to have been occupied over a long period, from the final stages of the Middle Neolithic (5600-5000 BC) to the Final Neolithic (3000 BC). A number of items were found, including ceramics, wooden structural elements, seeds, bones, figurines, personal ornaments, flutes and a wooden tablet with markings on it, the Dispilio Tablet.

A new method has been used to date wooden structures at the site to have been constructed between 5328 BC and 5140 BC.^[6]

References

^ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
^ Institute for Neohellenic Research. "Name Changes of Settlements in Greece: Doupiakoi – Dispilio". Pandektis. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
^ "Δισπηλιό ΚΑΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ, Δήμος ΚΑΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ | buk.gr". buk.gr (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2014-08-24. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
^ James Whitley, "Archaeology in Greece 2003-2004", Archaeological Reports, No. 50 (2003, pp. 1-92), p. 43.
^ "Ο Λιμναίος Οικισμός Δισπηλιού". Ιστορικά Καστοριάς (in Greek). 2010-11-17. Archived from the original on 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
^ Andrej Maczkowski et al, "Absolute dating of the European Neolithic using the 5259 BC rapid 14C excursion", Nature Communications, 2024 doi:10.1038/s41467-024-48402-1

External links

Media related to Dispilio (Kastoria) at Wikimedia Commons
Researchers succeed for first time in accurately dating a 7,000-year-old prehistoric settlement using cosmic rays - May 21, 2024
Dispilio: The Lakeshore Prehistoric Settlement of Greece from greekreporter.com (in English)
Neolithic Lake Settlement of Dispilio from greek-crossroads.gr (in Greek)
Dispilio Excavations Official Website, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
Dispilio, Exhibition of prehistoric finds from museumsofmacedonia.gr (in English)
The excavation's journal, Anaskamma, is available at anaskamma.wordpress.com
The Neolithic Settlement of Dispilio from istorikakastorias.blogspot.com (in Greek)