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Last summer, some of us sat in the Plateia in Karystos and envisioned an impressive SEEP Newsletter. Then we all returned to classes, deadlines, and doing the laundry--so this isn't it. This issue is to keep you informed and to solicit comments and ideas for future newsletter issues. We had considered a three column format, more graphics, more contributions from crewmembers and, well, class. Anyway, since all hope for this issue of the Newsletter winning any journalism awards is now lost, I may as well continue in my informal manner and get out the news. (I am, however, including a slightly formal summary of our project below for your files.)
The objective of the Southern Euboea Exploration Project is to contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between man and the environment. Our research strategy is to conduct a long-term, multidisciplined effort in a specific geographical region. The field work, analysis, and research will be presented in a series of monographs that provide a diachronic reconstruction of the human ecology of southern Euboea, from the Neolithic period up to the present. This indepth study and analysis of the past and present environment and human presence in one locality will provide a model by which to gauge the findings of similar, but less long-term and less comprehensive, regional research projects elsewhere in the Mediterranean region.
In contrast to university sponsored regional projects SEEP has been formed an an independent organization and incorporated in the state of Maryland as a non-profit research and educational program. This was considered expedient because persons interested in the project were at different universities in different countries, had junior positions which might change, or had no academic appointments. We recognize the financial, logistical, and prestigious disadvantages of our situation, but believe that our independence from a specific institutional affiliation provides alternative organizational advantages. SEEP membership is composed of over 50 professionals, students, and others who are interested in the research and the region. The majority of the members have served as volunteers in the field and have donated research time to the project.
Archaeological survey and excavation work has been carried out under permit from the Greek Ministry of culture through the sponsorship of the American School of Classical Studies and the Canadian Archaeological Institute in Athens. Our Belgian colleagues have conducted environmental field work under permit from the Greek Institute of Geology and Subsurface Research.
The research area includes all of southern Euboea below the Stenos Valley (see map). This region corresponds with the ancient political area of Classical Karystia. The region is mountainous and the environment ranges from spring-watered upland chestnut forests to dry Phrigania covered foothills. Southern Euboea is situated at a major maritime intersection and is closely related to the Cycladic Islands and the Attic mainland.
The region is of particular interest for archaeological and environmental research because it has not suffered the destruction of sites and the massive alteration of the landscape caused by modern development that has occurred in many other regions of Greece. Within the past decade, however, the improvement of roads and the establishment of regular ferry-boat service to the mainland has prompted new commercial incentives to develop the region, primarily as a resort and tourist center. The area in most immediate danger is the land around the bay of Karystos. Recently, large tracts of land on the Paximadhi peninsula, formerly reserved for farming and grazing, have been rezoned for the construction of hotels and summer houses. While the Greek national antiquity laws provide adequate legal preservation measures for cultural resources, they can not be put into effect until the ancient sites have been located and reported.
It must also be accepted that not all ancient sites in Greece can be preserved. Therefore it becomes critical to locate and evaluate as many sites as possible. Preservation efforts should be channeled toward the "more important" of those sites, and less critical sites should be recorded as fully as possible before they disappear. Much "non-site" cultural evidence such as ancient farming terraces, water channels, and roadways will certainly be lost, and they represent an important class of data that must be recorded. This type of information in conjunction with traditional-site survey data will provide information about the ancient landscape, the location of trade and communication routes, and evidence of man's exploitation of natural resources in the form of mines, quarries, and farm land. In southern Euboea, extensive modernization is just beginning and the ancient landscape and its sites and the relatively undisturbed natural environment can still be documented.
Southern Euboea is a geographical and cultural entity that is well known in ancient literature and has played an important role in the history of the Aegean, but it has been archaeologically a terra incognita. Previous to the efforts of the Southern Euboea Exploration Project only three sites had been tested by excavation, and past surveys had cataloged a total of only nine ancient sites. The precise location of ancient Karystos itself was unknown and there were major chronological gaps in the archaeological record of the region. The insufficiency of the record and the potential for recording uniquely complete human ecological information encouraged those of us who had research interest in the area to form SEEP.
For the purposes of logistics, funding, dissemination of information, and establishment of consecutive research hypotheses we have organized our research and field work into independent phases. Our first phase has been the intensive diachronic survey of the Paximadhi peninsula and an extensive analysis of the evidence for fifth-century B.C. agriculture discovered there. Along tactical lines our interest in the peninsula arose from the imminent alteration of the landscape there by modern development and the need to establish a comprehensive sample or field-based estimate of the archaeological character of southern Euboea as a whole. This initial sampling was desirable because of the lack of preliminary background knowledge about the archaeological resources in the region. The complete survey coverage of one relatively large area of landscape rather than surveying scattered smaller special units also allows us to incorporate negative data and to collect information pertaining to the spatial relationship between sites of each period and between these sites and their position in the environment.
In addition to the pressing need to record information in one of the most endangered areas of our study region and long-term methodological requirements, the Paximadhi peninsula presented the opportunity to investigate an interesting historical issue.
During my 1979-80 survey of the eastern side of the peninsula I discovered an extensive and unique complex of Classical sites. The further investigation of these sites and the remaining area of the peninsula formed the basic research question of the first phase of SEEP field research. In particular, we wished to determine if these sites, which are predominantly farmsteads, represented the remains of an Athenian cleruchy settlement of the fifth century B.C.
Since 1984, SEEP has conducted four seasons of archaeological and geological field work on the Paximadhi peninsula. This work has been made possible by nearly a hundred student volunteers from half a dozen countries over the years. It included a systematic intensive survey of the entire peninsula and excavation at two of the Classical sites: the deep cistern at the Cape Mnima site and the entire farmhouse at the Palio Pithari site (see map). These sites were chosen for excavation after a consideration of the survey information and with the intention that the excavation data should compliment and enhance the survey information. The analysis of artifact and stratigraphical evidence from the excavations in conjunction with the survey results provides us with a vertical and horizontal view of the region for the Classical period.
Although our primary research goal on the Paximadhi peninsula was to test the Athenian cleruchy hypothesis we also collected a wide range of archaeological and environmental data during the survey. Archaeological sites of all date were recorded as well as information on water sources, soil and vegetation, and indications of land utilization on the peninsula in the present and recent past.
In 1988 we completed our first study season with the artifacts and data collected during the survey and excavations. The final publication of the Paximadhi phase of SEEP will provide a complete diachronic reconstruction of the human settlement and land use on the peninsula from the Neolithic period to the present and an indepth analysis of the region during the Classical period. In addition to addressing historical and political issues the study will provide new information on the nature of agriculture and the size and character of farmsteads in the Classical period. During the summer of 1988 SEEP members studied the material pertinent to each individuals contribution to the final publication, and prepared four preliminary reports to be presented at the January 1989 Archaeological Congress to be held in Baltimore, Maryland.
In the summer of 1989 we will complete the study of the Paximadhi material, and begin field work on the research for Phase II. J. Perreault, the director of the Canadian Archaeological Institute in Athens, has asked us to consider publication of our research in the Institute's forthcoming monograph series.
The second phase of SEEP's research will begin late in the summer of 1989 and continue through 1991. The goal will be an extensive survey of the overland communication routes in southern Euboea. The research goal developed from questions raised during our first phase of research concerning the political, military, and economic connections between the sites and settlements in the Karystos bay region and the rest of the Karystia. The data collected and the issues raised during the second phase of field work are also expected to lead to future areas of research.
The ruggedness of the terrain in southern Euboea insures that major land routes of all past periods (i.e. previous to dynamite and bulldozers) would have been forced along limited choices of natural passages. The mule-trails and cobbled trails (kaldirims) of the past three centuries will serve as our initial guide in locating the past network of routes from earlier periods. This network is expected to direct us to past areas of settlement, points of outside contact (e.g., the limited number of possable maritime shelters), and zones of natural resource exploitation (agricultural and herding lands, quarries, mining districts etc.). During Phase II research the information concerning the archaeological character of southern Euboea collected during Phase I will provide us with a gauge or template from which to operate.
Preliminary results of our past research have been made available in scholarly journals and professional papers and our summer reports to the Office of the Ephorea of Euboea, Greek Archaeological Service.
The study season went well: while D. Keller and M. Wallace conducted serious organizational meetings at the nearest cafeneion the study team worked 8 am to 8 pm with only short daily lunch & swim breaks. A. Akin, S. Brierley, K. Sweet and P. Vreeland produced a number of high quality profile drawings; L. Pintozzi completed the mapping of agricultural terraces; A. Akin began the study of transhumance herding on the peninsula; and D. Beyer organized the study of ceramic material and clay sources in cooperation with the Fitch Archaeological Laboratory in Athens.
Early in the summer of 1989 we plan to complete the research necessary to bring out the final publication of the Paximadhi research.
As work goes ahead with the publication of Phase I, we have applied for a permit to begin a survey of the pre-modern land routes in southern Euboea. Interested volunteers should contact D. Keller--but be forewarned, survey teams may at times find themselves days away from the nearest beach.
The first Joint Archaeological Congress, sponsored by the AIA, APA, ASOR, and SHA, will be held 5-10 January 1989 in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to the 4 papers reporting on SEEP research there will be several papers delivered by SEEP members and many papers of interest to us all. For information on attending the Congress write: Joint Archaeological Congress, c/o Archaeological Institute of America, 675 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215, Attn.: L.L. Butler. For information on Baltimore Nite Life & Hot Spots write: Roz Schneider, at same address you send your SEEP donations.
Mac Wallace and I have been considering ways and means to establish and maintain a collection of references pertaining to southern Euboea. Between us we have material to start and Mac is working on a data program to handle it. Maybe we can find a couple of volunteers who like to type and have access to an IBM?
The short drive that took us to "the dig" was picturesque and enjoyable. The site was located on a point of the island about 20 to 30 minutes from town. When we neared the site, Eric pointed out that the folds and ridges that looked like steps on the hills were where the farmers planted and cultivated their crops. We turned off the main road (which was dirt) and parked under a tree. The small climb to the dig was short and not at all hard to make. When the hill leveled off, we saw other people. They were crouching on their feet with a few different kinds of picks, brooms, and bags beside them. Roz then stood up and motioned for us to come over to her. As Roz introduced all of the different diggers, she explained that they were all American and Canadian students and archaeologists.
Don explained to me about what he and the other archaeologists were trying to accomplish. A grant for the dig paid only for the room and food of the students. The students had to pay their own way for their trips and any extras they wanted from Greece. After I met all the workers there, Roz handed me a pick and a whisk broom and showed me where to dig. The trench had some other people in it and I chatted while I worked. I found some interesting pieces of clay called sherds. A few had glaze on them which is very important in telling how old this farm was and what materials were used. In the meantime, my dad helped move a wall of big rocks to help uncover some of the farm they were digging up. This had to be done carefully so as not to break any of the evidence of a past culture.
The work was very tedious since we were under the hot sun for seven hours. To avoid the scorching sun, the diggers started to work at 6 am and usually ended at 2 pm, depending on the weather. The digging was also painful and discouraging at times because crouching and bending over for 20 minutes starts getting uncomfortable and if you don't find even the smallest sherd, you feel a bit useless.
The whole group was very nice to me and very generously included me in their project and also in their conversations and jokes. I went to the excavation site one more day and worked very hard. Unfortunately we had to leave Greece so it was with some reluctance that I joined my family for the continuation of our trip.
This experience introduced me to a whole world that I had no idea about. I learned many new things from this experience, enjoyed the time spent with all my newly made friends out in the dust and dirt, and mainly I have learned a new kind of life. This is very thrilling to me. It feels like I have just discovered a new planet with life on it. One other thing this experience did for me was for the rest of our trip I looked at antiquities with a different perspective, thanks to all the volunteers, students, and wonderful people who spent their summers to unravel the past for me and other curious people.
This has been suggested as a permanent section of the Newsletter. At present I can think of a couple of entries, but hope that by next issue I will be more aware of what in taking place "up north" and to have received a few references from members. (1) H. -J. Gehrke, (Sem. f. a. Geschichte, Uni. Friberg I. Br.) "Eretria und sein Territorium," (in press). (2) F. Cairns, "The Demes and Tribes of Eretria," ZPE 64:149-58, 1986. (3) E. Sakellarakis, "New Evidence from the Early Bronze Age Cemetery at Manika, Chalkis," BSA 82:233-64, 1987.
Be sure to keep SEEP informed about your wanderings. As noted elsewhere, I will be moving about, but will start collecting my post in Karystos. Roz Schneider will be leaving with Eric for a semester in Turkey after the meetings in Jan. '89, but will probably arrange to have her post forwarded. Mac Wallace is stuck in Toronto--due to Canadian snow and honest employment.
Karystos may have changed little over the past 2000 years, but its pace is quickening. Roads have proliferated: the Army has completed a road from Komito-Thymi to Skoizali, opening up the most remote parts of Kavo Doro for pick-up trucks and some of the more daring cab drivers, the new dirt road from Kallianou to Aghios Demetrios is in regular use, the beach-front roads east and west of Karystos have been graded though not extended, and for those who hesitated to visit Ochi's peak because of time or terrain, there is a road from Metochi almost as far as the refuge below the peak. There are also at least a hundred newly bulldozed kilometers in the villages and the plain.
The city has planted--and managed to keep alive--a number of trees along the road to Cape Mnima and has laid out, planted, and fenced a large area at Livadaki, just below the sand dunes, for a municipal campground. The city is also installing a sewer system and ground is being cleared for a water treatment plant at Akti Pelaghia, just beyond the "EH II" beach. The excavations on the shore road in Karystos for the sewer pipe brought up several large marble architectural fragments and the workmen collected a large box of sherds (chiefly amphorae) and brought them to the museum. Karystos also has a new seafront wall and promenade paved in local plakas.
Sadly, there will no doubt be a number of environmental changes resulting from the many brush and forest fires of the summer of 1988. The north slope of Karababa burnt when the fire in the city dump got out of control. The hillside below Kastro Rosso and part of the Vrailas' property also burnt. The largest and most devastating fire started on Aug. 15th and burned some 25 square km, from the south side of Platanistos to just west of Bouros and from the edge of the chestnut forest on Ochi, around the village of Metochi, and down to the sea. It burned furiously for two and a half days and destroyed a large number of fields, orchards and livestock as well as uncultivated areas.
On the SEEP summer social scene: the annual lst/4th of July EH II beach party was blessed this year with not only the usual excellent food, drink, conversation etc., but also lots of phosphorus in the water. Fireworks were provided by the Naval Week celebrations across the bay in Karystos and by D. Keller and T. Strasser's discussion of survey methodology.
I will be leaving MIT and Somerville on 1 Nov. 1988. I will be on Kalymnos for 6 weeks and then back to the States for the meetings in January. Thereafter, my new address will be Post Box 9, Karystos. Actually, I won't be living in the post box but down the street in a big house full of teenagers. Mr. Nick Germanacos asked me to establish and direct an Ithaka Study Program in Karystos. I have taught for the Ithaka Program on Kalymnos several times and am very enthusiastic about its ideals, goals, operation, and accomplishments. The program brings a small group of American students to Greece for a semester--and wakes them up. The students will reside with me and the assistant director and visiting teachers in a large house we have rented from Mr. Bouris. Each-morning the students work in the local community, in public service or with a local merchant or craftsman and in the afternoon they take courses in Modern Greek language, history, literature and related subjects. If anyone would like more information about the Ithaka program write me or Nick Germanacos at: Ithaka Cultural Program, Box 67, Kalymnos, 85 200, Greece, or at Box 1420, Back Bay Annex, Boston, MA 02117.
It is not easy for me to leave my friends in Boston, but the Ithaka Program will be an exciting challenge. The fall and spring semester schedule will also leave my summers free to continue SEEP research.
Our next issue will provide a report on SEEP's budget, reports by crewmembers engaged in preparation of the first monograph, perhaps a report on the events at the Joint Archaeological Congress, more information on the upcoming 1989 field season, and who knows what all.
Comments, ideas, and contributions to the Newsletter, and SEEP in general for that matter, are welcomed.