Monday, August 27, 2007

Archaeologists unearth secrets of prehistoric citadel's water supply

Archaeologists excavating a sprawling prehistoric fortress in southern Greece have discovered a secret underground passage thought to have supplied the site with water in times of danger.
Dated to the mid-13th century B.C., the stone passage passed under the massive walls of the Mycenaean citadel of Midea and probably led to a nearby water source, authorities said Friday.
Excavation director Katie Demakopoulou said the find confirmed that Midea, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Athens, had a sophisticated water supply system like those unearthed in the nearby citadels of Mycenae and Tiryns.
"It is a very important discovery, which gave us great joy," she said. The passage would allow the people of Midea safe access to drinkable water even in times of enemy attack.
Only three such networks — major engineering feats requiring intensive labor — from Mycenaean times have been found so far.
Excavations in late June and July at Midea revealed rock-cut steps leading to the triangular passage, whose entrance was covered with a large stone lintel. Up to three meters of its course are visible.
"It advances under the walls, which are up to five-and-a-half meters thick, and probably led out of the citadel to a point where there was either an underground spring or well, or where water was brought from a distance through pipes," Demakopoulou said.
At the entrance to the 1.5-meter (five-foot) -high passage, archaeologists found quantities of broken clay water jars and cups.
"We need to shore up the walls to go ahead with the excavation, and will dig outside the walls to see how far the passage goes," Demakopoulou said.
The 2.4-hectare (6-acre) site was girdled with a wall of huge stone blocks, built around 1250 B.C. Excavations have also uncovered several buildings — some decorated with painted plaster walls — pottery, a clay figure of a goddess, seal-stones and an amethyst vase shaped like a triton shell.
Controlling a strategic road in the northeastern Peloponnese, Midea was first occupied in the later Neolithic period, in the 5th millennium B.C. It flourished during Mycenaean times and was destroyed by earthquake and fire at the end of the 13th century B.C. — after which the site diminished in size and significance. Traces of habitation have also been located from the Archaic (7th and 6th centuries B.C.), Roman and Byzantine periods.
Greek and Swedish archaeologists have systematically excavated Midea since 1983.

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