Fragoula Georma

«Τα αρχιτεκτονικά κατάλοιπα της Αρχαίας Μακύνειας. Μία πρώτη προσέγγιση»

Κατά την κατασκευή της Ιόνιας Οδού αποκαλύφθηκαν εκτεταμένα κατάλοιπα αρχαίας πόλης στη θέση Ριζό, ΝΑ της αρχαίας ακρόπολης που αποδίδεται στην αρχαία πόλη Μακύνεια. Τα κατάλοιπα αυτά αντιπροσωπεύουν ένα ευρύ χρονολογικό φάσμα, από την ύστερη Γεωμετρική/πρώιμη Αρχαϊκή έως την ύστερη Ελληνιστική περίοδο, ενώ εκτός αυτών ερευνήθηκαν και αποσπασματικά διατηρημένα κτίρια της Μέσης Εποχής του Χαλκού. 
Η διάταξη και η μορφή του οικισμού καθορίστηκαν έντονα από τη φυσική γεωμορφολογία, καθώς αυτός αναπτύχθηκε στη νότια πλαγιά φυσικού υψώματος. Από την ύστερη Γεωμετρική/πρώιμη Αρχαϊκή φάση του διατηρήθηκαν λίγα αρχιτεκτονικά κατάλοιπα που ωστόσο συνδέονται με σημαντική ποσότητα χαρακτηριστικής κεραμικής. Η κλασική περίοδος αντιπροσωπεύεται από κατάλοιπα αρκετών κτιρίων τα οποία συνδέονται μεταξύ τους με δίκτυο μονοπατιών. Στην ελληνιστική περίοδο τέλος ο οικισμός αποκτά τη μεγαλύτερη έκτασή του και εμφανίζει στοιχεία κοινοτικής οργάνωσης, ανάμεσα στα οποία ανήκει και ένας κεντρικός δρόμος. Σε αυτή τη φάση διακρίνονται σε μερικές περιπτώσεις ευκολότερα οι λειτουργίες των χώρων των κτιρίων με βάση την αρχιτεκτονική και τα ευρήματά τους.

Building Beta is one of the first buildings uncovered
during the first year of excavations at the prehistoric settlement of Akrotiri, Thera in 1967 by Spyridon Marinatos.
The systematic study of the building by the present team aims at the integrated publication of the
archaeological evidence, including wall painting, pottery
and architectural elements. The excellent state of
preservation is certainly an asset for the detailed analysis and reconstruction of this domestic two-storey unit of the LC I/LM IA settlement.
The celebrated compositions of the antelopes and
the Boxing Boys come from the first floor of room B1,
while the composition of the Blue Monkeys was retrieved from the upper floor of room B6. They all present us with characteristic features of the Akrotiri fresco production and demonstrate the close relation between architecture and wall paintings.These compositions are influenced by both the Cycladic and Theran traditions, similar to other wall paintings in the settlement. The new study resulted in the identification of new fragments and compositions, while the known ones were further completed. it is expected that the architectural study and reconstruction of the building will also contribute to the clarification of issues related to frescoes.
The ground Room areas of rooms B1 and B2, with the series of embedded pithoi and the pile of tripod
cooking pots respectively, provide evidence for activities
taking place in this unit. About 270 intact and restored
vases come from Building Beta, most locally
made, but also imported from Crete and other areas of
the southern aegean. The typological classification of
the vases, examined in combination with their distribution in the rooms of the Building, provide eloquent information on the use of space and related activities, while the study of imports sheds light on aspects of exchange and interaction among aegean communities at the dawn of the late Bronze age.
Detailed mapping of the present state of the building
was a prerequisite for valid documentation. The complex is much damaged in the east part, leaving many questions unanswered on the original layout and function of this sector. Mapping is currently in progress with a high precision total station; concurrently, the 3D  digital plan is realised by a team of Ludwig Boltzmann institute in collaboration with the Excavations at Akrotiri and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
These plans will constitute essential tools for
understanding the building complex, its functions and
the role it played in the wider context of the thriving LC
I settlement at Akrotiri.

Presented here are the new data on open spaces and the underground drainage-sewerage system within the urban tissue of the prehistoric settlement at Akrotiri. The study is based mainly on the stratigraphical evidence brought to light in the course of excavating the foundation shafts for the pillars of the new shelter (1999-2001), with general framework and starting point the situation known to date.
The study of both the open spaces and the underground drainage-sewerage system, was organized firstly typologically and then spatially and stratigraphically, in order to achieve gradually an overall picture of each over the entire excavated area and in the successive chronological phases of the settlement. The data that emerged concern the already known open spaces and drains-sewers, as well as new ones located in sectors of the site that had not been investigated in the past. It is noted that the proposed dates are based on the pottery recovered from the excavation of the shafts.