Northern Greece Itinerary
Getty CAH Beyond the Northern Aegean 2019 Seminar
MONDAY, MAY 27TH: PELLA, LEFKADIA, AND VERGINA
On the first day of the Getty Connecting Art Histories Traveling Seminar, “Beyond the Northern Aegean,” we started our day by visiting Pella Archaeological Park. It was an honor for us to have as a guide Ioannis Akamatis, professor emeritus in Classical Archaeology, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, and longtime researcher of the ancient city of Pella. During our visit we were able to see the remains of Hellenistic pottery workshop and public bath, the impressive Agora, and several houses with beautiful mosaic floors. Our observations from the archaeological site were further enriched by the substantial collection of the Pella Museum.
Next stop for our scientific group were the tombs of Lefkadia. First, we visited the Judgement Tomb, one of the finest examples of Macedonian tomb architecture and my personal favorite. The exquisite façade of the tomb raised an ongoing discussion about the decoration of the Macedonian and Thracian funerary monuments and especially about the depiction of real architecture. Next, we saw the Tomb of the Palmettes with its interesting pediment and use of the Ionic order, information for which we were happy to receive from Samuel Holzman.
Our final site for that day was the ancient capital of Macedonia near Vergina. We started the tour by exploring the Museum of Royal Tombs of Aigai – Vergina and we were amazed by the rich burial finds. We greatly valued the chance to witness Tomb II (where there is disagreement as to ownership; either Phillip II or III) and Tomb III (likely Alexander IV), which are of particular importance for the dating and the development of the funerary architecture north of the Aegean. Even though we did not have the chance to explore the theater and the palace of Aigai, we ended our trip with a panoramic walk around the ancient city.
––Plamena Georgieva, PhD Candidate, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridsky”, BGR
TUESDAY, MAY 28TH: TOMBS AT AGIOS ATHANASIOS AND PHOINIKAS
In the morning, the group explored the surroundings of Thessaloniki. In particular, we had the chance to visit three Macedonian tombs: 1. The Tomb of Aghios Athanasios (Tomb III); 2. The Tomb of Langada (also named “The Tomb of Makridi Bey” after its Ottoman Greek excavator Théodore Makridy); 3. the Tomb in the area of Phoinikas. Maria Tsimbidou-Avlonitou, the excavator of the Tomb of Aghios Athanasios, was our site expert. The architectural features of these funerary monuments––mixed Doric and Ionic elements and the important role of painting––inspired our exploration of their interconnection.
The tomb in the modern village of Aghios Athanasios is located 20 km to the west of Thessaloniki, probably in the territory of the ancient Heraclea on the Axios river. Discovered in 1994, it consists of a square burial chamber (thalamos) with a tastefully painted interior (Zonenstil) and a black frieze with an illusionistic representation of rosette and bucrania. Of special interest is the well-known façade, where Doric and Ionic features meet (the colorful and lively painted frieze with a symposium scene). Archaeological data, including architectural and decorative features, as well as elements of the grave goods (a wooden kline and elements of a panoplia), suggest the tomb dates to the last quarter of the 4th century BC.
The Tomb of Langada was first excavated in 1910. New excavations occurred in the 1990s, followed by a thorough restoration between 2012 and 2015. A long dromos leads to the Ionic façade of the tomb, which consists of an antechamber and a burial chamber. Discovered in 1987, the single-chambered tomb in the area of Phoinikias (last quarter of the 4th century BC) consists of a stepped dromos, an imposing façade where painted decoration emphasizes the Doric elements of the entablature (dark-blue triglyphs flank white metopes with golden phialae). The pediment also hosts a complex figural painting.
Back in Thessaloniki, the group visited the remains of the ancient agora, the arch of Galerius, and the archaeological museum. The museum’s rich collection includes the grave goods from nearby tombs. Of special interest for the group were the remains of a Late Archaic Ionic temple that had been taken apart and partly reassembled during the Roman period. Samuel Holzman has shared with the group the results of his study of this monument.
––Consuelo Manetta, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow at Exeter University, adjunct professor at Tor Vergata University, Rome.
Discussion of the archaic Ionic temple remains in the Archaeological Museum, Thessaloniki.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 29TH: TO THASOS VIA ARGILOS AND AMPHIPOLIS
On May 29th, we departed Thessaloniki and headed toward Thrace, passing verdant valleys and lakes occupied by scattered flocks of flamingos. Our first appointment was at Argilos, where we were guided by the director of the ongoing Canadian-Greek excavations, Jacques Perrault. On the freshly exposed lines of shops along the shores, several facades were lined with limestone blocks given an unusual decorative treatment; we discussed the tools and workmanship in the hopes of identifying parallels at upcoming sites along our voyage. A Hellenistic manor on the acropolis was one of the best-preserved houses on the tour, in part due to the sturdy, fortification-like construction of its walls.
The highlight of the day, and at least for me of the entire three-week itinerary, was our subsequent visit to the Kasta Tomb outside Amphipolis, where we were given special access by an archaeologist from the ongoing excavations, Maria Nasioula, who provided a stimulating tour of the recent findings. As tumulus burials and monumental stoneworking techniques are both special research interests of mine, I was eager to see the site, where a new investigation inaugurated in 2014 identified one of the most sensational discoveries in Greek archaeology from the 21st century: a vast artificial mound surrounded by a marble peribolos wall which opens into a series of subterranean chambers which terminate in a tomb. While the project has announced its findings to the press, detailed reports have yet to be published and will not doubt require many years of additional research. The tomb itself is not yet publicly accessible, and thus our opportunity to visit was particularly important for developing a sense of the spaces, the purpose of this vast monument, and the quality of its workmanship. We enthusiastically discussed the tomb for the rest of the day, and it has served as an invaluable point of reference in our ensuing travels through Greek Thrace and Bulgaria, where we have visited many other monumental tumuli.
Other highlights of the day were our discussions together of the walls of Amphipolis on the banks of the Strymon river below the tumulus; of particular interest are the unusual channels through the lower fortification walls which must have been intended to protect the wall from floodwaters whenever the river overran its banks.
––Philip Sapirstein, Assistant Professor, Art History / Archaeology Centre, University of Toronto, CAN
THURSDAY, MAY 30TH: THASOS
During the three weeks of the Getty program, I enjoyed a highly motiving and challenging academic environment that could decisively enhance my knowledge of the ancient architecture of North Greece and Bulgaria.
The experience on Thasos perfectly captured the spirit of the program. On that day, the group benefited from the expertise of Jean-Yves Marc, excavation director of the French archaeological mission on Thasos (École Française d’Athènes). With great knowledge of ancient stones, he provided detailed information about the history of the excavation and the island itself.
Group at the Aliki quarries.
We started our ambitious tour at 7:45 a.m. at the ancient harbor. We passed by the Thesmophorion on the North promontory of the island to climb along the well-preserved city walls. As the discussion on the building techniques and the peculiarities of the Greek theater turned lively, the summer heat also rose noticeably. We took a break beneath the terrace of the Athena-temple and enjoyed Jean-Yves telling us one of the many first-hand stories about the French archaeological endeavor on Thasos and its main actors, including the famous Egyptian born archaeologist Lilly Kahil. One of the initiators of the LIMC, she devoted herself to the site and inspired several ambitious French archaeologists.
On the way to the Acropolis, we first observed the reused blocks of the Athena temple in the Genovese tower, then the unfinished temple with a sophisticated drainage system. We proceeded along the so-called cave of Pan, a niche carved into the marble rock, where 3D-modelling methods were first experimented during the trip. The Thasian Acropolis with its marble quarries revealed what we were going to see that afternoon. But first, we climbed back down to the modern town, continuing along the city walls. After several stops at the city gates (the eyes, the Silen, the Hera and Zeus), sanctuaries (Poseidon, Herakles), and public monuments (Arch of Caracalla), we ended our seven hours of hiking to visit the Archaeological Museum.
We then traveled by bus to Aliki on the South of the island where the site expert Manuela Wurch-Kozelji offered us a guided tour of the famous Thasian marble quarries, now partially submerged by the sea (Fig. 3. Group photo). This site is not only valuable for the architecture and building economy of the Aegean and the Pontic region, but is also a fantastic landscape shaped by ancient marble exploitation.
Ten hours of visiting and still counting… After returning to Limenas, we went to the Agora and spent the remaining hours discussing its historical development until dawn.
At the end of the day, we enjoyed dinner at Simi, a small local fish restaurant, where we eventually had the chance to taste the famous Thasian wine that not only determined the economic growth of the ancient Greek polis, but also imprinted upon the self-representation of city, in the image of a lively satyr carrying a kantharos, who adorns one of the city gates.
––Natalia Toma, Postdoctoral Fellow, German Archaeological Institute Berlin, DE
FRIDAY, MAY 31ST: THASOS TO SAMOTHRACE VIA KAVALA AND ABDERA
On May 31st, we crossed early from the island of Thasos to the mainland (Keramoti) and drove along the coast to Alexandroupoli, where we caught the ferry to the island of Samothrace. It was one of our longest days of travel; we spent three hours on two ferries and drove over 150km along the ancient route of Via Egnatia. We made three important stops along the North Aegean coast: the Archaeological Museum of Kavala, archaeological site of Abdera, and Archaeological Museum of Abdera. The Archaeological Museum of Kavala contains remains from Kavala (the ancient Thasian colony, Neapolis), including an impressive reconstruction of two columns of the Ionic temple dedicated to the Greco-Thracian goddess Parthenos.
We discussed the stylistic similarities between this temple and the Ionic architecture seen on Thasos and in Thessaloniki. I shared a few observations from my dissertation on this temple. The museum also contains regional finds, including a large sculpted Doric metope from Amphipolis which became the basis for a group discussion with Jean-Yves Marc about 4th century Doric sculptural workshops between Delphi, Thasos, and the northern Aegean coast.
At Abdera, we visited the excavated areas of houses and the ancient city wall, a lapidarium with elements of Ionic architecture stylistically similar to the Ionic architecture in the Komotini Museum, as well as a sarcophagus with painted plaster similar to the wall painting seen at other sites. The Archaeological Museum of Abdera had an excellent display of rooftile antefixes ranging from the Archaic to Hellenistic Periods, based on which Phil Sapirstein introduced us to the methods and uses of molds in making rooftiles. The evening ferry ride to Samothrace offered an excellent view of the archaeological sites at Palaiopolis as the ferry approached the island.
––Samuel Holzman, Post-doctoral Fellow, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, USA/GR
SATURDAY, JUNE 1ST: SAMOTHRACE
The day began with the presentation of the archaeological remains on the island of Samothrace from Prehistory to the Middle Ages, as well as the history of the studies of the Samothracian Sanctuary of the Great Gods. A special focus was placed on the role of Karl Lehmann and Phyllis Lehmann in studying the sanctuary and publishing the results. After the lecture of Prof. Bonna Wescoat, we visited the sanctuary. This was our large group’s first visit to the site and it was crucial to become familiar with the topography, the location of the remains, and the connections between the complexes. Particular attention was paid to the reconstruction of the movements of the sacred ritual participants and to the connections between the Propylon of Ptolemy II and the main structures of the sanctuary. We also had an important discussion of visiting the semi-cylindrical vault to the foundations of the Propylon, one of the earliest examples of using this kind of structure in the Greek architecture.
Claire Seidler presented her study of antefixes from Stoa and their links to monuments from Athens and Macedonia. Samuel Holzman presented the features of the Ionic order and design of the Sanctuary. On site, many important elements of the building technology of monumental buildings were considered. William Aylward paid special attention to the use of lewis.
Thanks to the special permission, all participants were introduced to the reconstructions of the Hieron and Arsenaion in Hall A of the Museum. Reconstructions are extremely important because they give an idea of the proportions and scale of major monuments from the Samothracian Sanctuary of the Great Gods.
––Daniela Stoyanova, Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridsky,” BGR
SUNDAY, JUNE 2ND: SAMOTHRACE
On June 2nd, the group continued the study tour in the Sanctuary of the Great Gods at Samothrace. The focus was on the extent of the city and its fortifications. This was a great opportunity because much of the earlier research concentrated on various monuments in the sanctuary. The main question for further investigation was to establish access points from the city leading into the sanctuary. One of the biggest questions is how the traffic was directed and at which point through the city wall was the crowd led to the sanctuary. The walk along the city walls all the way up to the rocky acropolis of the town was especially useful. Autopsy revealed the great variety of masonry styles utilized by the builders that challenged traditional conceptions about dating walls based on stylistic grounds. It was clear that at some point polygonal masonry was strengthened with additions of ashlar blocks of exceptional quality. However, it would be difficult to ascertain whether this took place during a later period or it was part of a singular program of fortification. Further excavations may provide good dating evidence.
Samuel Holzman "doing the Nike."
The group explores local Samothracian quarries.
Coming down from the acropolis, we stumbled upon the remains from the sanctuary of Athena. Although little has been preserved on the ground, the subsequent visit to the medieval towers further down was instructive for several reasons. The towers recycled numerous architectural members from the temple, including several inscriptions. A closer study and documentation of them has provided a definitive dataset which could be taken advantage of by further investigations. Close encounters with ancient monuments have greatly enhanced our understanding of the architecture in this region.
The day ended in the excavation house with a lively discussion about the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. Sharing knowledge and experience with colleagues contributed immensely to the learning process during the seminar.
––Emil Nankov, Assistant Professor, National Institute of Archaeology with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
MONDAY, JUNE 3RD: SAMOTHRACE TO ALEXANDROUPOLIS
ἄνδρες γὰρ πόλις, καὶ οὐ τείχη οὐδὲ νῆες ἀνδρῶν κεναί.
Men make the city and not walls or ships without men in them.
Thuc., VII.77.7
Researchers of classical antiquities develop not only professional but also personal perception of ancient sites, which is directly related to specific issues and can strongly influence their decision.
A visit to Samothrace, lively discussions on the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, an overview of the City Walls, and especially the interchange of views near the Nike’s pedestal (June 3rd) were not only interesting but also enlightening to me. My preliminary opinion of the meaning and purpose of this site in antiquity has changed greatly. This concerns not only professional issues related to the understanding and interpretation of individual structures, but it also gives me an opportunity to look at the problems of archeology and the ancient history of the Aegean region with a new perspective.
––Roman Stoyanov, Associate Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, Centre of Classical and Oriental Archaeology HSE University, Moscow
Ai Khristos Monastery, Samothrace
TUESDAY, JUNE 4TH: SAMOTHRACIAN PEREIA AND EASTERN THRACE
Ancient Zone: It is known that the city was founded by the colonists from Samothrace. The city walls, houses, and the sanctuaries dated to 5th and 4th century BC are preserved. Apollo was the main cult in the city. Its sanctuary was built in the center of the city. The other sanctuary dedicated to Demeter was built in the southern part of the city near the city walls. The houses of the city have different and unique usages on their floor parts. The amphorae found upside down was used for ground insulation.
Maroneia: Maroneia is the colony of the Chios. We visited the most well-preserved building in the city, which was used as a theatre during the Hellenistic Period and an arena during the Roman period. During the Roman period, the first row of the seats and proedria were closed with blocks for protection. The architectural members of the stage building were found. I thought that their decorations, especially ionic cymatium, might be dated to the Early Roman Imperial period. I discussed the first phase of the building and its function with my colleagues on site; I thought that the capacity and dimensions of the building were not enough for the theatrical performances for a big city like Maroneia. Also, it is not close to the sanctuary of Dionysus which would be present in theatres in other ancient cities. All the stairs between kerkides are connected to the orchestra directly. It is uncommon and unusual for the ancient theatres to be built for theatrical activities. Therefore, the first phase of the structure might have been used for cultic activities.
We can compare the building with an example in Asia Minor, Magnesia, with the same cultic function. We also visited the main gate of the city near its ancient harbor. The gate was built between the harbor and the agora of the city. The plan and construction of the gate in Maroneia are similar to the Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates in Ephesos in Asia Minor. Therefore, it might have been built in the Early Roman Imperial Period like the stage building of the theatre.
The Archaeological Museum of Komotini: We were fortunate to visit the Museum of Komotini and see many important archaeological findings from Abdera, Zone, and Maroneia. One of the most interesting artefacts in the Museum was a golden portrait bust of the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus from Plotinopolis. We discussed the architectural members exhibited in the courtyard of the Museum. I thought the most important one was the anta-capital from Abdera, a colony of the ancient Teos. I proposed that we compare this example with the anta-capital of Archaic Didymaion in Asia Minor. Therefore, it should be dated to 6th century BC.
––Görkem Kökdemir, Associate Professor, Faculty of Language, History, and Geography, Department of Archaeology (Classical Archaeology), Ankara University, TUR
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5TH: AXD/NORTHERN EVROS TO BURGAS, BULGARIA
In the 10th morning of our seminar, we left the Aegean shores for the inland Thrace, following the Greek and Bulgarian shores of the Hebros/Maritsa River and its tributaries. The ancient texts, coins, and other archaeological evidence we later saw in Plovdiv, Hisarya, and Pistiros confirmed the importance of the Hebros/Maritsa hydrographic bassin, which cut the Eastern Thracian peninsula up to the western shores of the Black Sea, functioning as vital channels through which Aegean people and goods spread across the Rhodope and the Haemus/Balkan mountains. In the opposite direction, Thracian resources (metals, slaves, and agricultural products) went down the river valleys to the south, through Ainos (modern Enez), Chersonesos, Samothrace, and Thasos, all the way to proper Greece or Asia Minor.
Thanks to the Ephor of the Hebros region, Dr. Domna Terzopoulou, the guard of the Alexandroupolis Museum guided us in the morning. Our first stop was Doriskos, a large plain on the western shore of an ancient huge maritime gulf, now fulfilled by the deltaic sediments. In 480 BC, when the Persian Great King Xerxes stopped here to review his troops before entering Greece (Herodotus 7.58-59), the delta front of the Hebros/Maritsa was still further north (towards Hypsala/Ipsala, the modern crossing point between Greece and Turkey). The archaeological research organized by the Rhodope Ephor, Dr. Chrysa Karadima, in collaboration with Prof. Gregory Tsokas (University of Thessaloniki) since the 2000s has not yet identified the Persian fort but has confirmed the existence of an urban center with a fortification wall, an orthogonal urban plan and with its own Greek coinage in late Classical/Hellenistic times. After the Roman conquest, in the 2nd century BC, Doriskos was a station on the ancient Via Egnatia. Aware of the strategic importance of the gulf and the river mouth but also of the benefits of the thermal springs in Thrace, Trajan founded here Traianopolis (close to the modern Feres).
Going up on the Greek riverside, beyond the edges of the Samothracian mainland (peraia) and the ancient Via Egnatia, we saw the ranges of hundreds of burial mounds marking the ancient paths across the Aegean Thrace. In a modern village called Elafochori, we visited one of these tumuli, inventoried in the late 20th century by Diamantis Trandaphyllidis. In comparison to the tombs of the Macedonian elites seen during the previous days, this first “Thracian” tomb appeared as rather modest, although the construction technics are analogous. On the southern flank of the tumulus, the entry (a very small antechamber with a corbel ceiling) and the vaulted funerary chamber (with two grave places and a bench) are made of regular blocks of local limestone.
Further to the north, at Mikra Doxipara, we had the chance to see one of the most spectacular discoveries of the last decades in funerary archaeology. The partial excavation of a huge tumulus revealed three cremation burials of the Roman imperial time, following Bronze Age rituals. Besides a sacrificial altar, the Greek archaeologists uncovered several perfectly preserved horse carriages and chariots loaded with metal vessels and other precious goods. The long-lasting memory of these traditions was probably supported by the description of heroic funerals in the Homeric poems. Incontestably, they mark the revival of the ethnic Thracian identity under the Roman Empire.
After crossing the modern border to Bulgaria, we visited the tumulus of Mezek / Mal Tepe, unique for its mixture of "Thracian" and "Celtic" architectural elements and inventory. Besides the “Celtic” vault (“en rouche”) of the main round chamber (tholos), 4.3 m high, in which a couch, a bench, and different objects of bronze, gold, and iron have been found together with two secondary incineration burials, the tumulus is exceptional for its peribolos (5 m large). This was excavated at the beginning of the 20th century by Theodoros Makridis, whose footsteps we have traced in Macedonia. Almost 30 m long, the Mezek funerary complex also has two rectangular antechambers and an exceptionally long dromos, all covered by a corbel vault. Daniela Stoyanova presented us the two possible phases of construction of the tumulus, dating back to ca. 275-250 BC.
One could not explain the exceptional richness of the Thracian tombs without looking at the settlements in which the natural resources of the land were gathered together, reworked, and sent towards the seashores through the river valleys. Such sites have been uncovered only in the last decades and still need complete publications. Dr. Christo Christov, the director of the Elhovo Etnographic-Archaeological Museum, guided us to the so-called “Lysimachos residence” on a wooded promontory surrounded by two riverbeds – the Tonzos/Tundzha (major tributary of the Hebros/Maritsa) and its own tributary, the Kalnitsa, near the Thracian/Macedonian/Roman center of Kabyle (visited on the 8th of June). The history of this fortified settlement, with a rectangular tower built of stones and mudbricks, still needs clarification.
Fortified residence/industrial complex at Knyazhevo.
Fortified residence/industrial complex at Knyazhevo.
The archaeologists seem to have identified at least two phases of occupation, dated between the middle of the 4th and the 3rd century BC. For the first phase, by the middle and the 3rd quarter of the 4th century BC, there are traces of a somehow luxurious habitation (as indicated by the presence of a bath and of a canalization system), leading to the initial hypothesis of a residence for a local aristocrat, maybe an epistates of Lysimachos. By the middle of the 3rd century BC, the fort was used as a metallurgic workshop (suggested by ca. 2 tons of iron slags and 5 kilns) and maybe also as a trade center, dependent on Kabyle (whose countermarks are present on Macedonian bronze coins). Amphora stamps (of Thasos, Chios) and black glazed ceramics point to the north-Aegean exchange networks. In comparison with the Argilos fortified farm-estate dominating the Thasian peraia near Amphiopolis (which we visited on the 29th of May), the Tundzha/Kalnitsa fort illustrates the importance of metals and river ways for the occupation and administration of the ancient Thrace, beyond the Aegean.
––Anca Dan, Assistant Research Professor, CNRS-Paris Sciences Lettres, Archéologie et Philologie d'Orient et d'Occident, Ecole Normale Supérieure, FR.
