SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN PREHISTORIC IMATHIA AND PELLA WESTERN MACEDONIA, GREECE

Abstract

This paper presents the results of field surveys carried out over the past fifteen years in the area that belongs today to the modern prefectures of Pella and Imathia. This is, for the most part, a lowland plain that in the prehistoric period was located between mountain massifs and a closed bay (gulf of Loudias) into which debouched many rivers. During the Neolithic times the number of settlements increased steadily, peaking in the Late Neolithic, while the rate of habitation decreased dramatically in the Bronze Age, a phenomenon that may be associated with environmental and economic causes. The preferred type ol site for prehistoric settlements was the tell, but other types (flat sites, caves) are also found. In the Neolithic period most settlements were fairly extensive but relatively low, while by contrast in the Bronze Age the habitational area decreases and the height increases. The reason for this lies in the organisation of the settlement’s internal space. In the Neolithic period settlements occupying an extensive area were apparently sparsely populated, while excavations have revealed the presence, in the Late Bronze Age, of terraces delimiting the residential space, while at the same time the height of the tells increased. The presence of terraces in conjunction with an intense storage activity may indicate the presence of an elite that exercised control over and directed the life of the community.