The Landscape
Our surveys take place in the fields and rolling hills around the village of Kallithea, in the northern part of ancient Achaia Phthiotis, to the south of the Thessalian plains, and north of the Othrys mountains.
Survey Area and Methodology
Our research area measures ca. 3000 hectares, is bounded by the river Enipeas in the south and east, and extends towards the Narthaki range in the north. It includes the area around the settlements Kallithea and Platanos and the valley of the Kotsilorrema stream around the village Aghios Antonios.
The Biography of a Landscape
Considered a perioikos of Thessaly in Classical Antiquity, our region was the mythical homeland of Achilles, Jason's golden-fleeced ram, and Hellen--the ancestor of all Greeks. The inhabitants of this region held and still hold strongly to their Homeric past throughout its fraught history.
A Funerary Landscape
It has become clear that the landscape immediately surrounding the Kastro is occupied with architecture including fountain houses, extramural architecture, tholos tombs, and a necropolis with tile graves. Our team was able to map several features in this area, but the ones that stood out were the numerous tholos tombs belonging to the Early Iron Age.