Nea Nikomedeia
|
Nea Nikomedeia Νέα Νικομήδεια |
|
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Nea Nikomedeia
|
|
| Coordinates: 40°31′N 22°12′E / 40.517°N 22.200°ECoordinates: 40°31′N 22°12′E / 40.517°N 22.200°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Region | Central Macedonia |
Nea Nikomedeia (Greek: Νέα Νικομήδεια) is a village approximately 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) to the northeast of Veria in Imathia, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. It is best known for the nearby Early Neolithic settlement, one of the oldest in Europe.
Originally, the village was named Braniata (Μπρανιάτα) and was settled in 1922 with Greek refugees from Nicomedia in northwestern Anatolia. It received its present name ("New Nicomedia") in 1953. According to the 2001 census, its population was 1,050.
The Early Neolithic settlement of Nea Nikomedeia is located some 2 km from the village itself. It is one of the earliest known sites in Macedonia, dated to 6250–6050 BC, it may have had a population of up to 500 - 700.
It was excavated extensively in three phases (in 1961, 1963 and 1964) by R. J. Rodden and his team. The site, covering an area of about 1,690 square metres (18,200 sq ft) has square dwellings measuring 12 by 12 metres; the houses at Nea Nikomedeia were constructed—as were most structures throughout the Neolithic in northern Greece—of wattle and daub on a timber frame. Items unearthed at the site include "flint blades, stone adzes, clay figurines with cruciform eyes and beak-shaped noses, seals for the adornment of the body, a frog-shaped pendant from steatite as well as clay spindle whorls for spinning wool, and bone tools." Archaeologists excavating the ancient town also discovered clay sculptures of plump women with phallic heads and folded arms. Pottery, especially large vessels, have been found at the site, some as tall as 60 cm and with a capacity as high as 85 litres. The site was originally situated on the shores of the Thermaic Gulf or possibly a lake or lagoon. As recently as the 1930s, the marsh of the Giannitsa Lake covered much of the area.
Nea Nikomedeia is the largest excavated Early Neolithic settlement in area, and consists of a mound of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) height (composed of both natural soil and also debris of habitation). The excavations cover some 1,690 square metres (18,200 sq ft) from a total mound area of about 24,200 square metres (260,000 sq ft). They were carried out by the anthropologist R.J. Rodden and his team in three phases in 1961, 1963 and 1964. The excavations were significant in determining the early European way of life especially in farming and potential links and influences between the Balkans, the Aegean and the Near East, given Macedonia's strategic location as the "gateway to Europe". R.J. Rodden observed that the site was "the oldest dated Neolithic community yet found in Europe" and observed that although it was similar in many respects to the Early Neolithic villages further east, it had "its own exclusively European characteristics." Carbon dating has given a range of 6650 BC to 5530 BC, but mostly between 6190 BC and 6150 BC. Rodden also estimates that the site was abandoned towards the end of the Early Neolithic, possibly due to floods, fire or attacks by neighbouring tribes. It was re-inhabited during the Later Neolithic period.
...
Wikipedia