Except for the greater Athens area,
Greece
is generally very much underrated when we consider its wealth of archaeological
sites. Most people and tourists limit their visit to Attica, extending it
possibly to Delphi
and the Monasteries of the Meteors to the north and a few
antique cities in the northern Peloponnesus.
Since the discovery of King Philip’s tomb in Vergina (ancient Aegae)
and the rekindled interest in Alexander
the Great in his hometown of Pella,
Thessaloniki
has become another hub of interest. Otherwise, much of mainland Greece remains to
be explored.
One such ignored region is the Peraia
of Samothrace, i.e., a series of colonies
founded by Samothrace
along the coastline of Greece’s
province of Thracia north of the island. In an
earlier blog (see: What
is the Peraia of Samothrace?) I mentioned
the major settlements by name: Cape Serreion, Drys, Sale,
Zone,
Mesembria,
and Makri, which were founded from the 6th
century BC onward. The towns of Tempira
and Charakoma, on the
other hand, date from Roman times.
At present, a project has been started to
examine the topography of the Peraia
of Samothrace and to
survey sites located further inland. Most of them have been excluded from archaeological
excavations that were only concentrated on the cities of Maroneia and Zone,
but Drys
and Sale
clearly deserve special attention since they were the most important and
longest-lived settlements.
The first surveys were started in October 2020
but were soon interrupted because of the pandemic. The project will continue in
2021 focusing on archaeological research proper, geophysical survey, and remote
sensing. Complementary work will include the study of ancient sources,
historical maps, and whatever literature is available. Small artifacts in stone,
bits of ceramics, shells, and blades have been collected so far and provide clues
as to the sites to dig. Most of the fieldwork is expected to be completed this
year but the parties involved are facing a huge task.
The Peraia
of Samothrace was of strategic interest in
particular for the hinterland of Thracia, which by itself is worth
exploring as well (see: Thracian
Tombs at Doxipara, Greece). Today the province of Thracia is part of
eastern Greece - a country repeatedly conquered by Macedonian kings from Philip II to Philip V and later on by the Romans (see: A
solid gold bust of Septimius Severus). The rich civilizations that
once thrived here (including the Ottomans in more recent times) deserve to be
studied very closely.
The progress of the planned survey is updated regularly
and can be followed on www.peraiasamothraceproject.gr
and on the project's Twitter
account.
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