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Papers by Nena Galanidou

Journal of Greek archaeology, 2016

Klithi: Palaeolithic settlement and …

Archaeology of the Ionian Sea

The Inner Ionian Archipelago, delimited by the coasts of Akarnania to the east and Lefkada, Kefal... more The Inner Ionian Archipelago, delimited by the coasts of Akarnania to the east and Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithaca to the west, is characterised by coastal lowlands, extended and intricate shorelines, complex inland topography, little arable land, seasonal and perennial wetlands and a karstic landscape featuring caves, rockshelters, dolines, and basins some of which are partly or totally submerged. Since 2010, the Teleboides, the northern cluster of islands, were at the focus of an intensive surface survey organised by the University of Crete in collaboration with the Ephorates of Αitoloakarnania and Lefkada, and Kefalonia and Ithaca. The survey project coupled with targeted small-scale excavation was designed to investigate the history of occupation and the cultural interconnections with settlements on the opposite mainland and the larger islands of the Ionian Sea. Between 2010 and 2012, through archaeological surface reconnaissance, our team covered an area of a little less than 7 km 2 on Meganisi, Thileia, Kythros, Tsokari, Petalou, Nisopoula, Phormikoula, Madouri, Atokos and Arkoudi. During the survey 30 sites dating from the Palaeolithic to the 19th century, with a hiatus between Late Antiquity and the 18th century, were discovered and mapped, and 20,000 portable artefacts were recovered. The finds bridge the gap between the archaeological record of the Ionian Sea and that of mainland Greece. In this paper we present the research objectives, the methodology of what we have termed a hybrid island archaeology approach, and the main results of the project based on the portable finds that span the Middle Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age.

Coastal Research Library, 2020

Paleoanthropology of the Balkans and Anatolia, 2016

Rodafnidia is an Acheulian site on Lesbos Island, in the north-east Aegean Sea. This chapter pres... more Rodafnidia is an Acheulian site on Lesbos Island, in the north-east Aegean Sea. This chapter presents the model that guided Paleolithic investigations on the island, the history of research, and the results of the 2012 expedition of systematic work in the field, which consisted of surface survey and excavation. The typology and technology of lithic artifacts from the surface and the uppermost Unit 1, as well as the first cluster of luminescence dates, firmly place the early component of the site in the Middle Pleistocene. The Acheulian industry derives from fluvio-lacustrine deposits at a locale with abundant fresh-water and lithic resources. Situated in the north-east Mediterranean Basin, an area where research on early hominin prehistory is intensifying, Rodafnidia holds the potential to contribute to Eurasian Lower Paleolithic archaeology and fill the gap in our understanding of early hominin presence and activity where Asia meets Europe.

SpringerBriefs in Archaeology, 2014

Meganisi and its satellite islands lie in the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago, a relatively short di... more Meganisi and its satellite islands lie in the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago, a relatively short distance from Aetoloakarnania and Lefkas (Fig. 14.1). The abundance of top-quality flint and the presence of small wetlands and karstic cavities were the first points that attracted our attention to this corner of western Greece. But there was something more. In the Pleistocene, the short distance between these islands and the neighboring Lefkas and Aetoloakarnanian coast, combined with the shallow seabed in this area, meant that changes in sea level during glacial and interglacial periods would have caused the islands to become alternately connected to and isolated from the larger landmasses. Thus, over time, new living conditions and environments were constantly created for the Paleolithic communities of southeast Europe, which responded to these in their turn. The islands of the archipelago form fragments, the higher tips, of the original Pleistocene landscape, a large part of which now lies submerged under the sea. It was only after the first millennia of the Holocene that the coastline assumed its present form and offered to the communities of late prehistoric and historical times a new set of insular attractions (Fig. 14.2). Marine and fresh water resources have been bountiful, and it is no coincidence that the coastline of our research area is today protected by Natura 2000. From a diachronic perspective, then, Meganisi and its neighbors posed a methodological challenge for the realization of a hybrid island archaeology – alternating as it was between mainland and islands, passing points, and landing places – on a small and viable spatial scale.

Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 2011

This paper discusses the Greek Mesolithic record in the light of refinements to the international... more This paper discusses the Greek Mesolithic record in the light of refinements to the international calibration curve and recent archaeological research. Central to the discussion are the time frame used for this period of Greek prehistory, and the diagnostic potential, or visibility, of Mesolithic stone tools. Rather than offering a comprehensive account of Mesolithic sites across Greece, this study focuses on a few known cave sites in the northwest, in order to bring out some less pronounced aspects of their material record. Close and comparative examination of their radiocarbon dates, and traits of continuity and change in the lithic industries, highlights a regional pattern. At some sites, occupation extended into the Holocene, but there is little or no contrast to the preceding, late Upper Palaeolithic technological traditions. A working hypothesis to account for the geographic, temporal and cultural diversity of early Holocene sites and finds in Greece is thus spelled out. It is proposed that the Greek Mesolithic record is the manifestation of a mosaic of human groups, of different origins and cultural traditions, subsisting on a variety of resources and living in different regions, at different times and seasons of the early Holocene.

Journal of Greek archaeology, 2016

Klithi: Palaeolithic settlement and …

Archaeology of the Ionian Sea

Coastal Research Library, 2020

Paleoanthropology of the Balkans and Anatolia, 2016

SpringerBriefs in Archaeology, 2014

Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 2011

The Central Ionian Sea is an ideal case study for the investigation of both terrestrial and marin... more The Central Ionian Sea is an ideal case study for the investigation of both terrestrial and marine crossings that may have occurred during the Pleistocene since its present-day coastal configuration differs significantly from the one that would have been encountered by Palaeolithic foragers. According to the latest palaeoshoreline reconstructions, most of the isles and islets of the area were connected to the opposite Akarnanian coasts. Land bridges, today submerged, hold clues for the terrestrial routes available during the low sea-level stands of MIS 2, MIS 4, MIS 6 and MIS 8. On the other hand, the islands of Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Ithaki and Atokos were for the most part separated from the mainland, thus, any artefact attributed to the Middle Palaeolithic would be an indication of marine rather than terrestrial crossing.
Survey projects conducted on islands of the Central Ionian Sea during the last two decades, at the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago and at the Livatho Valley, Kefalonia by the University of Crete and the Irish Institute of Hellenic Studies respectively, in collaboration with the 34th and 35th Ephorate of Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture, provide new, critical evidence and reveal the geographic extent of Pleistocene activity and the mobility patterns occurring in western Greece since at least the Middle Palaeolithic.

Ο γεωγραφικός χώρος της Θεσπρωτίας αποτέλεσε κατά το παρελθόν ένα σημαντικό πεδίο για τη διερεύνη... more Ο γεωγραφικός χώρος της Θεσπρωτίας αποτέλεσε κατά το παρελθόν ένα σημαντικό πεδίο για τη διερεύνηση της Παλαιολιθικής Εποχής στη νοτιοανατολική Ευρώπη, προσελκύοντας ήδη από τη δεκαετία του 1960 τους «σκαπανείς» αυτού του αρχαιολογικού κλάδου στη χώρα μας. Μέσα από πολυάριθμα ευρήματα -απομεινάρια της δράσης των προϊστορικών ανθρωπιδών -η δραστηριότητα αυτή κατέδειξε τον πλούτο της κατοίκησης στην περιοχή κατά το Ανώτερο Πλειστόκαινο.
Την τελευταία εικοσαετία η παλαιολιθική έρευνα στη Θεσπρωτία προωθήθηκε περαιτέρω μέσα από τα σημαντικά προγράμματα της Η΄ και ΛΒ΄ Εφορείας Αρχαιοτήτων και του Φινλανδικού Ινστιτούτου στην Αθήνα (Thesprotia Expedition) με τη διεξαγωγή εκτεταμένων ανασκαφών και επιφανειακών ερευνών σε χώρους προϊστορικής δραστηριότητας, προσφέροντας ένα μεγάλο όγκο καινούργιων πρωτογενών δεδομένων.
Η συστηματική μελέτη, διεπιστημονική αξιολόγηση και συγκριτική θεώρηση των νέων αυτών στοιχείων εμπλουτίζει τις γνώσεις και αναθεωρεί παλιότερες ερμηνευτικές προσεγγίσεις για τη ζωή του παλαιολιθικού ανθρώπου, καθιστώντας την περιοχή βασικό σημείο αναφοράς στις προσπάθειες για τη σύνθεση του παλαιολιθικού αφηγήματος στη νότια Βαλκανική.
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The geographical area of Thesprotia has been an important field for the investigation of the Palaeolithic period in southeastern Europe attracting international “pioneers” already since the 1960s. The discovery of numerous finds – remnants of prehistoric hominin actions – revealed the abundance of settlement traces in the area during the Late Pleistocene.
In the last two decades, Palaeolithic research at Thesprotia was further endorsed through major programs conducted by the 8th and 32nd Ephorate of Antiquities and the Finnish Institute at Athens (Thesprotia Expedition). The pursuit of extensive excavation and survey projects in prehistoric activity areas has offered a large volume of new primary data.
The systematic study, the interdisciplinary assessment and the comparative validation of these new finds enriches our knowledge and revises traditional interpretative approaches to the lifestyle of the Palaeolithic individuals, making the area a key reference point in the efforts of synthesizing the Palaeolithic narrative in the southern Balkans.

Bioculture

Meganisi is a small island between Aetoloakarnania and Lefkas in Greece, which always had very li... more Meganisi is a small island between Aetoloakarnania and Lefkas in Greece, which always had very limited
water resources. Its inhabitants, from prehistoric times until the end of the twentieth century, had to use,
and sometimes invent, sustainable ways of collecting water. What makes Meganisi very special is the fact
that these practises were alive until recently, since running tap water only became available in 1985. This
makes it an ideal case study for research into water-collecting strategies in an insular setting. The paper has
a twofold objective: to document and treat systematically the various kinds of structures that were used to
collect water at Meganisi and to initiate a discussion about the meaning of these structures for its
inhabitants. The first aim is covered by offering a detailed account of types of structures employed. The
second is covered by documenting a series of social practices concerning the collection of water that are
relevant to these structures. The structures are organised in three main groups according to when they are
used in the water’s cycle: i. Structures that capture surface water; ii. Structures that collect rain water; iii.
Structures that tap ground water. Our study springs from architecture and ethnoarchaeology, yet it flows
over into hydrology and local history.

The Archaeology of Europe's Drowned Landscapes, 2020

GET YOUR FREE COPY FROM SPRINGER! This open access volume provides for the first time a comprehen... more GET YOUR FREE COPY FROM SPRINGER! This open access volume provides for the first time a comprehensive description and scientific evaluation of underwater archaeological finds referring to human occupation of the continental shelf around the coastlines of Europe and the Mediterranean when sea levels were lower than present. These are the largest body of underwater finds worldwide, amounting to over 2500 find spots, ranging from individual stone tools to underwater villages with unique conditions of preservation. The material reviewed here ranges in date from the Lower Palaeolithic period to the Bronze Age and covers 20 countries bordering all the major marine basins from the Atlantic coasts of Ireland and Norway to the Black Sea, and from the western Baltic to the eastern Mediterranean. The finds from each country are presented in their archaeological context, with information on the history of discovery, conditions of preservation and visibility, their relationship to regional changes in sea-level and coastal geomorphology, and the institutional arrangements for their investigation and protection. Editorial introductions summarise the findings from each of the major marine basins. There is also a final section with extensive discussion of the historical background and the legal and regulatory frameworks that inform the management of the underwater cultural heritage and collaboration between offshore industries, archaeologists and government agencies. The volume is based on the work of COST Action TD0902 SPLASHCOS, a multi-disciplinary and multi-national research network supported by the EU-funded COST organisation (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). The primary readership is research and professional archaeologists, marine and Quaternary scientists, cultural-heritage managers, commercial and governmental organisations, policy makers, and all those with an interest in the sea floor of the continental shelf and the human impact of changes in climate, sea-level and coastal geomorphology.

The Archaeology of Europe’s Drowned Landscapes, 2020

This open access volume provides for the first time a comprehensive description and scientific ev... more This open access volume provides for the first time a comprehensive description and scientific evaluation of underwater archaeological finds referring to human occupation of the continental shelf around the coastlines of Europe and the Mediterranean when sea levels were lower than present. These are the largest body of underwater finds worldwide, amounting to over 2500 find spots, ranging from individual stone tools to underwater villages with unique conditions of preservation. The material reviewed here ranges in date from the Lower Palaeolithic period to the Bronze Age and covers 20 countries bordering all the major marine basins from the Atlantic coasts of Ireland and Norway to the Black Sea, and from the western Baltic to the eastern Mediterranean. The finds from each country are presented in their archaeological context, with information on the history of discovery, conditions of preservation and visibility, their relationship to regional changes in sea-level and coastal geomorphology, and the institutional arrangements for their investigation and protection. Editorial introductions summarise the findings from each of the major marine basins. There is also a final section with extensive discussion of the historical background and the legal and regulatory frameworks that inform the management of the underwater cultural heritage and collaboration between offshore industries, archaeologists and government agencies.

The volume is based on the work of COST Action TD0902 SPLASHCOS, a multi-disciplinary and multi-national research network supported by the EU-funded COST organisation (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). The primary readership is research and professional archaeologists, marine and Quaternary scientists, cultural-heritage managers, commercial and governmental organisations, policy makers, and all those with an interest in the sea floor of the continental shelf and the human impact of changes in climate, sea-level and coastal geomorphology.

Archaeology of the Ionian Sea. Landscapes, seascapes and the circulation of people, goods and ideas from the Palaeolithic to the end of the Bronze Age, 2022

The Archaeology of Europe's Drowned Landscapes, 2020