669-675

Excavation at ancient Mesembria in 1992

• Τσατσοπούλου, Τζένη

In 1992 the NW part of the city was excavated. Part of a large building block (about 30x60 m.) was excavated. The buildings are organized along the E-W axis. This way the building in a sloping ground is achieved with the least cut -and - fill. The most noticeable finds of the excavation was a great number of amphorae, found in three buildings of this complex. Fourth-six amphorae, organized into groups, were found one touching the other and with the lip on the ground in the first room. A hundred and twenty-nine amphorae were found in a second room, organized into twelve vertical and eleven orizontal rows with their lip to the ground; most of them were intact. Thirteen more amphorae, organized in the same way, were found in the third room. Although their conservation and drawing are still in process, they seem to date to the late 6th and 5th century B.C and many of them were made in Chian workshops. The organization and location of the amphorae pose certain problems; the archaeologists have interpreted them as serving for the drainage of underground water. The identity of the city is another problem which is posed. The city has been excavated for twenty-six years, but it didn’t yield evidence for its identification with ancient Mesembria. On the contrary, the great number of coins, more than two thousand, and a series of thoughts referring to the general topography of the area leads to the conclusion that the city was not Mesembria, but Zone. Zone was a colony of the Samothracian Peraia, which seems to be the most significant. However, the cities will be located and identified only after the excavation of the whole area

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

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