Archaeology of Epirus

This paper presents a thorough review of new data and research on the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods in Epirus. It correlates new with old material in an attempt to outline the situation in Epirus and to highlight the region’s peculiarities. These peculiarities make Epirus attractive for scholars and at the same time set it apart from the rest of Greece. The ultimate goal is to reconsider Epirus’ position in the field of Greek and European prehistory more broadly.

Abstract: The paper argues that the sanctuary in Dodona emerged approximately in the Early Bronze Age (late third millennium BC) as a typical Indo-European place of worship of the Storm-god: it was originally focused on the Storm-god’s sacred tree – his “wise” oak and was attended by a special group of primitive priests ‘able’ to hear and to understand the oak. Such a cult-place was probably founded in Dodona by some Indo-European Northern-Balkan pastoral tribe that especially worshiped the Storm-god as a god of thunder – *Do(n)don. In the Late Helladic III period, when Mycenaean colonists settled in Dodona, the local cult was modified in accordance with the Minoan-Mycenaean religious concepts, which placed in the centre of the belief system the Great Goddess, or the Earth-Mother, worshiped in various orgiastic cults. A group of divinities of the Great Goddess’ / Earth-Mother’s circle – an orgiastic male Mycenaean deity of fertilizing moisture – her partner-impregnator and the rain-nymphs took over the control of the storm-activity. Greek Zeus became the “lord” (according to Homer, the “ruler”) of the territory of Dodona and the god of its sacred prophetic oak by the end of the Mycenaean period. In late prehistoric time, oracular responses were most probably given in the old way through the sacred oak, but there could have been a separate oracle of the Earth-Mother in prehistoric Dodona as well. In early historic time, as result of movements of various North-Western Greek tribes through Epirus, the cult of the goddess Diona was brought in Dodona; initially, her position in the sanctuary would have been as that of a minor goddess. Radical changes took place in the Dodonaean cult in the Late Archaic period when Zeus, as everywhere in Greece, monopolized the functions of a storm-deity and became the main Greek god of storm. Perhaps, during the Archaic period, Zeus was identified with the original local god-partner of the Earth-Mother-goddess – her impregnator. During Classical time, Diona became the principal female deity of the sanctuary and Zeus’ official associate. However, elements of the orgiastic cults of the Great Goddess persisted in the Dodonaean sanctuary up to Hellenistic time.
http://www.journalofhellenicreligion.meduse-d-or.fr/volumes/the-sanctuary-of-zeus-in-dodona-evolution-of-the-religious-concept

ΤΗΕ ΝΑΟDOMIC ARCHITECTURE OF THE DESPOTATE OF EPIRUS IN THE ERA OF THE DYNASTY OF COMNENOI-ANGELOI (1204-1318)

Ιn the historical frame of the breakdown of the Byzantine Empire after 1204, and the formation of the subsequent centrifugal tensions of the late Byzantine world in the area of the so-called ΄΄Despοtate of Epirus΄΄, in the western Greek regions a separate archi-tectonic and naodomic movement and tradition was born, grow, flourished and finally declined. The political, ecclesiastical, social, economical and cultural particularities and conditions of this independent Greek orthodox state, under the direct or collateral spon-sorship of the dynastic house of Angeloi Komnenoi (1204-1318), lead to the autonomy of its architectural creativity, which incept the special characteristics of an independent architectural School.
Τhe great development of the naodomic activity of the Despotate of Epirus is obser-ved during the domination of the Greek orthodox House of Komnenoi Angeloi (1204 -1318), mainly in the days of Michael II (1231 - 1267) and his son and succesor Nikephorus I (1267 - 1294). The naodomic activity was also continued during in the sove-reign of Thomas Angelus Komnenos (1294 - 1318) and his mother and regent, Αnna Pa-leologina (+ c.1313).
The monuments of the Despotate are extended in a large geographic terrain, from the golf of Corinth to the northern limits of Epirus and from the western extremes of the thessalian plain to the Ionian Islands. The monuments are visible in all the dominion of the Despotate. They present for the most part a unity, regardless of their underlined particularities, due to the different conditions of their founding. In the direct inter-dependence to a number of related monuments in the adjacent Greek and Balkan areas, testify the influence of the naodomic activity of Epirus to the wider western Balkan re-gion.
From a typological point of view, a wide typological repertoire is characteristic, in-cluding a variation of classic Byzantine and ΄΄modern΄΄ in 13th century, naodomic types of the cross-vaulted and the churches with porticoes. Specific characteristics are on one hand, the conservatism with the continuation of traditional types depended on the middle - Byzantine tradition. On the other hand, the presence of ΄΄hybrid΄΄ types is obvious, prove of the inquiry of the craftsman-groups of the Despotate. Some times their efforts are on vanguard, with intense to form buildings with smaller or bigger success, capable to correspond to the wishes of their nobleman employers.
Τhe same tendencies are visible also from a morphological point of view. The general and the specific study of the morphological elements, guide us to the conclusion that in general terms the architects of the Despotate of Epirus, stick together to the Byzantine architectonic glossary. The origins of this repertoire, springs from various traditions of the mature middle - Byzantine period, like the tradition of Southern and Northern Greece, which are mixed in different percentages each time. The mixture of elements from different architectonical traditions, faithful to the spirit of multi-collection which characterize the naodomic production of the state of Epirus, contribute to the formation of a reach spectrum of deliverances, a special virtue of its monuments. In some cases the builders proceed to the creative conjugation of the partial elements, producing thus new types and fοrms, which later propagate widely to its area of influence.
Under the absence of a strong anterior tradition and the open in influences architectonic climate in the field of technique, multiple influences are observed. Technical methods from the older local traditions, Southern and Northern Greece, even from the far away area of Constantinople and Nicaea, coexist and used from different craftmen groups.
The origins of the naodomic School of the Despotate of Epirus, is possible to be found in the earlier middle-Byzantine past of the neighboring areas of the southern and northern Greece of 12th century, given the absence of a powerful proportional tradition. The absence exactly of such a vivid and strong tradition, make possible the powerful in-fluence of the above most integrated traditions, in the formation of the architectural intendity of the Despotate of Epirus, in the wider artistic frames of the 13th century.
The various traditions and influences in relation to the openness to multiple choices, mainly from the political and social elite, of the Despotate of Epirus give a special and sui generis personality to its naodomic activity, with main characteristics the regional character, the ideological rule of architecture, the typological and morphological collectiveness, the anticlassical tendencies and the architectural pictorialism.
These partial characteristics are observed in different degrees and frequencies, pro-portionally with the each time esthetic choices and others factors of the undertaken architectonic work. In relation to the at times historical coincidences this phenomenon aloud the distinction of internal phases of experimentations, developments and wider presence and propagation, even to the greater geographical environment of the Despotate.
The rapid fall of the Greek - orthodox ruling house of Angeloi Doukai Komnenoi, the loss of its political independence and the decline of the internal social and economic structures of the Despotate at the beginning of the 14th century, lead to the sudden fall and disappearance of its important and creative architectural process.

On the occasion of some unique characteristics of an unpublished bronze wheel from Evangelides’ excavations at Dodona, that allow its correlation with the sonic and musical means of the oracle procedures, a new theory is presented - through a new analysis of ancient sources and myths related to Dodona's oak tree and doves  - establishing the leading role of music of wind-chimes and cauldrons in ancient divination.

Οι ανάγλυφες εικόνες αποτελούν μια ιδιαίτερη κατηγορία της βυζαντινής γλυπτικής. Τα έργα αυτά εμφανίζονται ήδη από την παλαιοχριστιανική εποχή, γνωρίζουν άνθιση κυρίως στους μεσοβυζαντινούς χρόνους  και η παραγωγή τους συνεχίστηκε και την επόμενη περίοδο. Στην Ήπειρο εντοπίστηκαν αρκετές ανάγλυφες εικόνες, συγκριτικά με τον περιορισμένο αριθμό άλλων περιοχών. Παρουσιάζουν ένα αρκετά ευρύ θεματολόγιο και κοσμούνται με μεμονωμένες μορφές ιερών προσώπων, αλλά και παραστάσεις Δωδεκαόρτου. Ο εντοπισμός των περισσοτέρων από αυτές στην Άρτα αποτελεί ένδειξη λειτουργίας, στην πόλη, εργαστηρίων που φιλοτεχνούσαν ανάλογου είδους εικόνες.
Αρκετά από τα εικονιστικά ανάγλυφα του Δεσποτάτου της Ηπείρου, που αποτελούν το αντικείμενο της μελέτης μας, είναι γνωστά στην έρευνα και έχουν απασχολήσει αξιόλογους ερευνητές, όπως ο Αν. Ορλάνδος, ο R. Lange και ο An. Grabar. Ωστόσο, δεν έχουν μελετηθεί στο σύνολό τους και πολλά θέματα σχετικά με τη χρονολόγησή τους, τα μνημεία από τα οποία προέρχονται, καθώς και τα καλλιτεχνικά εργαστήρια παραγωγής  τους παραμένουν ανοιχτά στην έρευνα και θέτουν ακόμη προβληματισμούς.


Relief icons belong to a special category of Byzantine sculpture. These artifacts originated in the Early Byzantine period, flourished mainly during the Middle Byzantine times and their production continued throughout the following years. In comparison to other regions, in Epirus many relief icons of the same kind have been found, which reproduce various iconographies. Since most of them were found in Arta, the capital of the Despotate of Epirus, this is an indication that there were workshops in the city that produced such artifacts.
Several of the iconistic reliefs from the Despotate of Epirus presented in this paper are well known and have been studied by scholars already in the past. Yet, not all have been examined and many issues remain to be clarified and questions to be answered, such as their dating, their origin and the artistic workshops that manufactured them.
Among the icons presented here, several are random finds, other are associated to important monuments, mostly in Arta, except for one that was found in Ioannina. Most of them are curved in marble, but there are also icons made of clay, an artistic peculiarity of the region, since icons of this kind do not appear anywhere else until now. Furthermore, Epirus is traditionally connected to a series of notable wood relief icons.
Studying the iconistic reliefs from the Despotate of Epirus we come to the following conclusions. There is an interesting production of relief icons dated mainly to the second half of the 13th century, many of which reflect most of the artistic trends that flourished in the region. The materials used were mostly marble, sometimes clay and it is traditionally believed that there were also icons made out of wood. The iconographic choices are interesting, since they are not restricted to the depiction of isolated figures, but there are also scenes from the Dodekaorton. In addition, noteworthy is the number of types of icons, since some were associated to funerary monuments and others were architectural sculptures, while the exact place of origin of others has not been identified. Heterogeneity and multiformity in iconography and technical execution are also pointed out.
Iconistic sculpture in the Despotate of Epirus is not provincial and is represented by significant artifacts, such as the epistyle from Vlacherna and the icon of the Crucifixion. If the suggestion that marble icons were appointed by nobles is correct, it is possible for these icons to be connected to the aristocracy of Arta and Ioannina, two provincial centers of the Byzantine Empire that were trying to follow the artistic trends of Constantinople.

The church of Panagia Paregoritissa is undoubtedly one of the most important monuments of the Despotate of Epiros. It was built in its present form by the despot Nicephoros I Comnenos Doukas in an original architectural type which combines the domed octagon at ground floor level and the cross-in-square at first floor level.
The church is decorated internally with sixteenth- and seventeenth-century frescoes (nave), which have replaced the original marble decoration. Recently, however, earlier frescoes in the north chapel, dating from the early fifteenth century, have also been brought to light. The representation that has been discovered is considerably damaged, but four figures can still be distinguished. An angel surrounded by two secular figures is depicted at the centre. The figure on the right has a crown and wears sumptuous clothing, decorated with pearls and a double-headed eagle. He holds his hands in a gesture of prayer and attends on the figure of the Virgin who was portrayed in the north-west corner of the chapel. The Virgin was part of the Deesis scene, depicted on the north wall, of which bare traces can be distinguished. The figure on the left is simply dressed.
The representation is of great iconographic interest. The badly damaged inscriptions identify the two secular figures as members of the Spatas family, the Albanian rulers of Arta during the late fourteenth-early fifteenth century. More specifically, they represent Pavlos Spatas, ruler of Naupaktos and Angelokastro (1403-1407), and probably his father, Sgouros Spatas, who had for a short time been despot of Arta before being forced out by the usurper Bogois. However, the figure with the sumptuous clothes can perhaps also be identified as Gini (John) Bua Spatas, uncle of Pavlos Spatas, an important figure who was despot during the years 1374-1399.
According to another view, the figure on the right 4 is Mourikis Boua Spatas who had driven Bogois out of Arta. It is not impossible that, after selling Naupaktos to the Venetians in 1408, Pavlos Spatas moved to Arta and had the funerary wall-painting executed in the Paregoritissa, in the exact place where he wanted to be buried. The depiction of Pavlos near his cousin would probably imply his acceptance of Mourikis’ power and, indirectly, his subjection to him. The fresco can be dated to the early fifteenth century (the period of the earliest wall painting of the Paregoritissa) and is of great interest, since very few examples of painting from this period survive in Arta. In addition, it provides valuable information on the Albanian presence in Arta, including their manner of dress, which reflects Byzantine customs and ideas, and resembles that of their “predecessors”, the Serbs, which had direct associations with Byzantium.

Ο ναός της Παναγίας Παρηγορήτισσας είναι αναμφίβολα ένα από τα σημαντικότερα μνημεία του Δεσποτάτου της Ηπείρου. Κτίστηκε -στη σημερινή του μορφή- στα τέλη του 13ου αιώνα από το δεσπότη Νικηφόρο Α' Άγγελο Κομνηνό Δούκα και τη σύζυγό του Άννα Παλαιολογίνα3, σε έναν πρωτότυπο αρχιτεκτονικό τύπο, που συνδυάζει τον οκταγωνικό στο ισόγειο και τον σταυροειδή εγγεγραμμένο στον όροφο.
Εκτός από τα ψηφιδωτά του τρούλου, που ανήκουν στηναρχική φάση του διακόσμου4, ο ναός είναι αγιογραφη μένος εσωτερικά με τοιχογραφίες του 16ου αιώνα στην κόγχη του Ιερού και του 17ου και 18ου αιώνα στους τοίχους του κυρίως ναού, οι οποίες αντικατέστησαν την ορθομαρμάρωση που υπήρχε αρχικά. Πρόσφατα όμως στο βόρειο παρεκκλήσιο αποκαλύφθηκαν και παλαιότερες τοιχογραφίες, που χρονολογούνται στις αρχές του 15ου αιώνα και οι οποίες παρουσιάζουν ιστορικό και εικονογραφικό ενδιαφέρον.
Η παράσταση που ήρθε στο φως βρίσκεται στη βορειοδυτική γωνία του βόρειου παρεκκλησίου. Εκτός από το δυτικό τοίχο, αρχικά καταλάμβανε και τμήμα, τουλάχιστον, του βόρειου τοίχου του παρεκκλησίου, όπου σήμερα σώζονται μερικά σπαράγματα.
Η σύνθεση είναι αρκετά κατεστραμμένη, διακρίνονται ωστόσο τέσσερις μορφές, στην ίδια περίπου κλίμακα. Στο κέντρο της εικονίζεται μετωπικά ένας άγγελος που πλαισιώνεται από δύο κοσμικές μορφές, στραμμένες προς τα αριστερά. Ο άγγελος φορεί πλούσια ενδυμασία- βαθύχρωμο κυανό χιτώνα, με σιρίτια και μαργαριτάρια στο κάτω μέρος, κόκκινα υποδήματα και πορφυρό μανδύα, που πιθανώς έκλεινε με πόρπη μπροστά στο στήθος. Οι φτερούγες του δηλώνονται με ανοιχτό κόκκινο χρώμα, ενώ οι λεπτομέρειες του πτερώματος με μεγάλες επιφάνειες κίτρινου και λεπτές γραμμές ιώδους χρώματος. Φέρει κίτρινο φωτοστέφανο που ορίζεται περιμετρικά από λεπτή κόκκινη και λευκή γραμμή και ταυτίζεται με τον αρχάγγελο Μιχαήλ, με βάση το καλλιγραφημένο αρχικό γράμμα από το όνομα M[IXAHA]\ που σώζεται σε αστεροειδές διάχωρο αριστερά της κεφαλής του.
Ο άγγελος αγκαλιάζει με το δεξί χέρι μια μορφή που εικονίζεται δεξιά του. Πρόκειται για γενειοφόρο άνδρα στραμμένο προς τα αριστερά, με κοκκινόξανθα μαλλιά που φθάνουν μέχρι τους ώμους. Η κοσμική αυτή μορφή φορεί μακρύ επενδύτη ανοικτού πράσινου χρώματος και φέρει τα χέρια πιθανώς σε δέηση (το σημείο αυτό της παράστασης δεν διακρίνεται καλά). Μια λεπτή κάθετη κόκκινη λωρίδα δεξιά υποδηλώνει το ένδυμα που φορούσε εσωτερικά και το οποίο προβάλλει από το άνοιγμα του επενδύτη.
Ατυχώς τα χαρακτηριστικά του προσώπου της μορφής είναι αρκετά κατεστραμμένα, ωστόσο διακρίνονται ελάχιστα το αριστερό μάτι, το δεξιό φρύδι και το στόμα που σκιάζεται από το μουστάκι (σώζεται ελάχιστα). Το πρόσωπο είναι ζωγραφισμένο με λαδοπράσινο προπλασμό. Καστανές λεπτές γραμμές σχηματίζουν το μάτι, το κάτω χείλος και το μουστάκι, ενώ το στόμα δηλώνεται με κόκκινη πινελιά.
Επάνω από το κεφάλι της μορφής, σε ορθογώνιο διάχωρο με διπλό πλαίσιο, υπάρχουν λείψανα επιγραφής. Σε κόκκινο βάθος σώζονται με λευκό χρώμα τα γράμματα: ΠΑ......ATAC.

The existence of a series of Elean colonies in the region of Cassopaea, in southern Epirus, has been regularly accepted by scholars on the basis of a single piece of written evidence. Despite such limited information, a number of interpretations have been made in an attempt to date the foundation of these colonies, and even to describe their political and institutional development. In this article, I examine the available archaeological evidence for those sites usually identified with these alleged colonies in order to show that there is no proof of colonial occupation or of any urban entities before the middle of the 4th century. Likewise, I attempt to explain how the idea of Elean colonisation may have sprung up, and why only a single reference points to it.

The Gormos river valley in the wider area of Pogoni is located on the northwestern part of the Ioannina region, across natural passages in connection to the southern edge of neighbouring Albania. This land balances diachronically between Helladic and Balkan area to form its own distinctive cultural characteristics. Perennial surface survey and excavations were conducted at sites of the modern settlements Merope, Palaiopyrgos and Kato Merope, which successively develop on the outskirts of mount Koutsokrano. Various burial groups were investigated with more than one hundred graves (six tumuli at Paliouria of Palaiopyrgos, one tumulus at Plasi of Palaiopyrgos, a tumulus and cemetery at Glava of Kato Merope) and parts of the neighbouring settlements with fortification or retaining walls and curvilinear or rectangular buildings (Paliouria, Plasi and Pervanas at Palaiopyrgos, Anemomylos and Ampelia at Merope, Glava at Kato Merope). The above burial and settlement complexes date from the 12th century BC to the Hellenistic period, while present are the so called "Slavic" tombs of Byzantine era. At this communication, synthesis of the available data is attempted, as well as identification of the perspectives of the archaeological material’s study, which will result to its final interdisciplinary publication.

Epirus and Albania are two neighboring regions, which over time follow joint or separate ways in the formation of their cultural identity. During the Late Bronze Age special cultural groups developed in the above areas. Their populations exchanged products or- and ideas, assimilating influences both from the Balkans or Europe and the Aegean or Mycenaean world. Impressive remains the amount of some thirty bronze double-edged axes from Epirus. Corresponding quantity of some twenty bronze double-edged axes has been mainly found in southern Albania, where local production of the type is documented. This evidence is important, since the double axe is a distinctive Cretomycenaean inspiration and product with a wider geographical distribution. These artifacts were mainly used as woodworking tools for cutting down, chopping and shaping trees, as evidenced by their manufacturing technology and specific traces of use-wear. Their votive deposition in watery or other environment cannot of course be ruled out. Most are single finds, if we exclude the two bronze hoards from Katamachi at Ioannina and from Stephani at Preveza, Epirus. Aspects of production, trade, use, disposition or recycling are examined comparatively, aiming to trace common options, workshops and traditions in this area.

This paper examines the forum as a unified complex, in relation to the design, purpose, and siting of its major buildings during the Roman Imperial period, from the 1st century B.C. to 3rd century A.D. It also explores themes of Roman colonization, as they relate to the topography and building sequences of the forum and to the transformation of the
Epeirote polis to the Roman colonia.

Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία χωρίζεται σε δύο αλληλένδετα μέρη: Το πρώτο μέρος είναι μια βιβλιογραφική προσέγγιση και αφορά επιφανειακές έρευνες που έχουν διεξαχθεί διαχρονικά στην περιοχή της Ηπείρου και σχετίζονται με την Παλαιολιθική Εποχή. Ασχολήθηκα με τις πρώτες εξορμήσεις-περιηγήσεις στην περιοχή της Ηπείρου μέχρι και τις τελευταίες σύγχρονες συστηματικές επιφανειακές έρευνες. Το δεύτερο μέρος είναι συμπληρωματικό του πρώτου και αποτελεί μια μελέτη λίθινων τεχνέργων που προέρχονται από επιφανειακές έρευνες. Συγκεκριμένα, το υλικό προέρχεται από μια επιφανειακή έρευνα του Πανεπιστημίου του Cambridge υπό τη διεύθυνση του καθηγητή Geoff Bailey, στα πλαίσια του Klithi Project. Η έρευνα έγινε το 1987 στο βόρειο τμήμα της Ηπείρου, και συγκεκριμένα δυτικά της βραχοσκεπής Κλειδί, στην πεδιάδα της Κόνιτσας και στις λεκάνες του Καλαμά και του Γορμού, καθώς και στις παράκτιες περιοχές προς την Ηγουμενίτσα. Το υλικό αυτό βρίσκεται στις αποθήκες του Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου Ιωαννίνων και το κατέταξα σύμφωνα με μορφολογικά και τεχνολογικά κριτήρια/χαρακτηριστικά.
Η μελέτη του παραπάνω υλικού είναι μια παρουσίαση ενδεικτικών ευρημάτων από διαφορετικές περιοχές της Ηπείρου. Στόχοι της εργασίας μου είναι να παρουσιάσω συνοπτικά, όπου είναι δυνατόν, την εκάστοτε μεθοδολογία αλλά και τα κριτήρια επιλογής των θέσεων προς διερεύνηση μαζί με τα αποτελέσματα αυτών των ερευνών (ευρήματα, συμπεράσματα, ερωτήματα) και τους περιορισμούς που προέκυψαν. Επιπλέον, ο σχολιασμός της πυκνότητας των λίθινων τεχνέργων, όπως αυτά έχουν προκύψει από τις επιφανειακές έρευνες στην Ήπειρο, από τα μέσα περίπου του 20ου αιώνα μέχρι και σήμερα. Ακόμη, ζητούμενο είναι η κατηγοριοποίηση των θέσεων με λίθινα τέχνεργα, ανάλογα με τον τόπο εντοπισμού τους (υψόμετρο, απόσταση από τη θάλασσα και γεωμορφολογικός χαρακτήρας). Τέλος επιχείρησα μια συνολική αξιολόγηση αυτών των επιφανειακών ερευνών, με σκοπό να παρουσιάσω τον τρόπο με τον οποίο αυτές έχουν συνεισφέρει στα Παλαιολιθικά δεδομένα της Ηπείρου και του ευρύτερου Ελλαδικού χώρου.

English Abstract

This study examines the Palaeolithic surveys that have been carried out in Epirus from 1962 up to 2015. One of the reasons I chose Epirus as the area of my research is because it is probably the most examined area in Paleolithic excavations and surveys in Greece. More specifically, the majority of the Palaeolithic surface material of Epirus comes from five surveys/projects each one with its own strategies, aims and results. The first part of this study is literature-based and the second part consists of a material study. The literature-based part has four main aims:
a) An overview (where it’s possible) of each project strategies and the criteria of the regions to be surveyed along with the results of those projects (finds, conclusions, questions) and the limitations that have appeared
b) A comment on the density of the surface lithic artifacts as they have emerged from the surveys in Epirus from the 1960s until 2019
c) To categorize the sites with the lithic artifacts in relation to the location of their discovery (altitude, distance from the coast and the geomorphological character of each site)
d) An evaluation/synopsis of those surveys in order to reveal in what extend they have contributed in the Palaeolithic data of Epirus and Greece.
This study is divided in two main pillars.
The first pillar refers to the bibliographical approach and concerns the surveys that have taken place in Epirus and are associated with the Palaeolithic period. In particular, it examines the first expeditions/excursion in Epirus up until the recent modern systematic surveys it doesn’t conclude however the individual and the lower scale surveys. The second pillar is supplementary to the first and comprises a lithic material study of artifacts that come from a survey. Therefore it is aimed through the material study and publishing of as yet unpublished material to fill up the remaining gaps in the Palaeolithic data of Epirus. Particularly, the material comes from surveys and investigations of the Cambridge University under the supervision of Geoff Bailey during the Klithi Project. In 1987 a survey has been undertaken in the northern region of Epirus, west of Klithi area, in the basins of Konitsa, Kalamas and Gormos and the coastal region extending towards Igoumenitsa. This survey was in a great percentage complementary to the first expedition during the 1960s. The main goals of this survey were to re-examine the trenches along with the collection of new samples for chronological analysis, to improve the palaeogeographical approaches that Eric Higgs originate and to study the off-site data through interdisciplinary methods.

The present paper focuses on the architectural aspects of ‘Naiskos A’ (the so called ‘Temple of Herakles’), located in the eastern part of the sanctuary of Zeus at Dodona. Despite its conventional designation, ‘Naiskos A’ is the largest prostyle temple-like building in all Epirus. This structure needs to be reconsidered starting from its remains and architectural fragments, both the ones preserved in the surrounding area and those quoted in the archaeological reports. In the light of the data provided by the analysis of the building, this paper will investigate the possible existence of two phases, the chronology and the architectural form of ‘Naiskos A’. Additionally, an hypothesis about a geometrical pattern laying at the basis of its architectural design will be proposed. Finally, the issue of the building’s function will be taken into consideration and a new possible interpretation of its role within the sanctuary will be suggested.

The regions of Thesprotia and Cassopia present during the Hellenism an important phenomenon of urbanization, which takes place under the auspices of Molossi, but has also many other reasons. The cities of Orrao and Cassope, placed at the edges of the Zalongo mountains, represent the most important centers of these regions and their archaeological evidence, especially the fortifications, may help to understand the historical reasons for this phenomenon. These areas in fact act as a hinge between the Gulf of Ambracia and Chaonia, Illyria and Molossia and is thus a highly strategic area to control the trade flow within the same Epirus. According to what has become a model of study stated in the current archaeological research, the focus is not only the city but also the surrounding environment, especially analyzing the archaeological evidences such as military fortresses, bastions, isolated strongholds. The purpose of this analysis is to understand the birth, development and abandonment of these sites and the historical events that led to their foundation and their destruction, crossing the archaeological data and historical literary sources.
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The actors of cultural contact between ancient Epirus and the Greek world are analysed through three different types of individuals: colonists, traders and pilgrims. Objects and architectural remains of Greek origin in Epirus are studied in order to inquire about the persons responsible for their arrival and to reflect on the processes of economic and cultural exchange. In addition, the use of epigraphic data from the oracular tablets found in the sanctuary of Dodona allows observations on the places of origin of the Greeks who visited the sanctuary. In the conclusions the main data about the cultural contacts that emerge from the analysed information are collected.

Zusammenfassung.
Die Akteure des kulturellen Kontakts zwischen dem antiken Epirus und der griechischen Welt werden am Beispiel dreier Personengruppen analysiert: Kolonisten, Handler und Pilger. Objekte und Architekturreste griechischen Ursprungs in Epirus werden untersucht, um Aussagen uber die Personen zu treffen, die zu ihrer Verbreitung beitrugen, und die wirtschaftlichen und kulturellen Austauschprozesse zu beleuchten. Des Weiteren liefern die im Heiligtum von Dodona gefundenen Orakeltafelchen epigraphische Daten, die Ruckschlusse auf die Herkunft der aus Griechenland kommenden Heiligtumsbesucher erlauben. In der Zusammenfassung werden die Hauptfakten zum Kulturkontakt, die aus der Analyse der verschiedenen Materialgruppen hervorgegangen sind, zusammengetragen.

On the occasion of discovering two new tombs with weapons of the Late Bronze Age from Kato Konitsa in the plain of Konitsa and Pedini in the basin of Ioannina, an attempt is made to investigate the burial customs of possible “warrior” graves in the broader cultural context of Late Bronze Age Epirus. The prevalence of burials in simple pit- or cist-graves with similar offerings rather corresponds to the collective mode of action that the hard geomorphologic relief requires, than leaves room for the discrimination of social stratification, which is rarely found (tholos tomb from Kiperi near Parga). On the other hand, we can hardly answer the theoretical problem, whether burial gifts reflect the position of the dead to the social reality of their time or express the subjective perception of the living for them. Impressive remain the quantity and quality of bronze weapons (various types of Minoan/Mycenaean or Balkan/European swords and daggers, leaf-shaped and lanceolate spearheads) from the area compared to the bulk of local handmade pottery production and consumption, characterizing the material culture of prehistoric and protohistoric Epirus. Particularly, context of bronze weapons is investigated for the determination of use or symbolism, typological classification for the chronological definition, manufacturing technology for the tracking of common traditions, commercial exchanges and social processes, which are currently theoretically approached. After ca. 1200 BCE Epirus enters a new era, as possibly evidenced by the establishment of some new settlements (Glava at Pogoni, Liatovouni at Konitsa and Krya at Ioannina) and the gradual elimination of bronze weapons from recent heroic past.

This paper presents a hitherto unnoticed publication by architect Thomas Donaldson, who in 1830 published his design of the restored plan of the theater of Dodona. It appeared in the fourth supplementary volume of the second edition of the “Antiquities of Athens” and, in his comments, Donaldson identifies for the first time the site with Dodona, based on the geographical position and the inconsistency of the sizes of the theater and the city. His discovery was not widely acknowledged and Christopher Wordsworth is still being recognized as the first identifier of Dodona.

The subject of the present MA Thesis is the fortifications of four Late Classical/Hellenistic poleis in Thesprotia/Epirus. Specifically, the poleis are:
• Gitana, the seat of the Koinon of the Thesprotoi
• Elea, the main city of the tribe of Eleates
• Dymokastro, probably ancient Elina
• and Ntoliani, which is identified with ancient Fanoti.
The fortification of the cities of Thesprotia took place in the same or sometime after their foundation in the middle and in the second half of the 4th century BC. During the first half of the 3rd century BC, when Epirus was among the most powerful Hellenistic kingdoms, the enceintes of the previous period were either extended (Ntoliani, Dymokastro, Elea), either repaired (Elea) or they were modernized (Gitana/U-shaped Tower 10). The Diateichisma of Gitana was constructed, during the second half of the 3rd century BC, as a result of the military weakness of the Epirote League. The development of the urban fortifications of the Hellenistic Thesprotia ends in 167 BC when the Romans conquered Epirus.

Η ΔΙΤΤΗ ΦΥΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΔΙΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΗΠΕΙΡΟ
Η λατρεία του Δία στην Ήπειρο ήταν αρκετά διαδεδομένη. Στη μυθολογία των Μολοσσών, του κυρίαρχου ηπειρωτικού φύλου, ο θεός είχε διαφορετικές υποστάσεις και πολλές βασικές δικαιοδοσίες, οι οποίες διαπιστώνονται κυρίως από τις προσωνυμίες του, που υποδήλωναν τι πίστευαν οι άνθρωποι και τι ο θεός προστάτευε και φρόντιζε. Η πρωιμότερη λατρεία του Δία εντοπίζεται στη Δωδώνη, το πολιτικό και θρησκευτικό κέντρο των Ηπειρωτών, το μόνο μέρος όπου ο θεός έχει επίγεια κατοικία και φέρει τα επίθετα Πελασγικός, Άναξ, Δωδωναίος, Τμάριος, Νάιος και Φηγονάιος. Παράλληλα, στο θρησκευτικό κέντρο των Μολοσσών και έδρα  του βασιλικού οίκου των Αιακιδών, την Πασσαρώνα, που μέχρι πρόσφατα ταυτιζόταν με την ακρόπολη του Μεγάλου Γαρδικίου, λατρευόταν ο Άρειος Δίας. Ο Θεός λατρευόταν με την πολεμική του ιδιότητα και ως επιτηρητής των ενόρκων υποσχέσεων.
Στην παρούσα ανακοίνωση επιχειρείται μέσω εικονογραφικών, φιλολογικών και μυθολογικών μαρτυριών η σκιαγράφηση της διττής φύσης του Δία, όπως περιγράφηκε παραπάνω, στα δύο κυριότερα ιερά του μολοσσικού βασιλείου.

Eleni VASILEIOU
EPHORATE OF ANTIQUITIES OF IOANNINA

THE DUAL NATURE OF ZEUS IN EPIRUS
The cult of Zeus in Epirus was quite widespread. In the mythology of the Molossians, the predominant epirotic tribe, Zeus had different instances and several key jurisdictions, which are mainly identified by the alias of that suggested what people believed and what God protected and looked after. The earliest cult of Zeus located at Dodona, the political and religious center of Epirus, the only place where God inhabits in earth. The known titles associated with the cult of Zeus there are: Pelasgian, Anax (=King), Dodoneus, Tmarios, Naios and Figonaios. At the same time, Areios Zeus was worshiped at the religious center of the Molossians and seat of the royal house of Aiakides, Passaron, which until recently was believed to have been located in the acropolis of Megalo Gardiki. Zeus was worshipped there as the God of War and as an overseer of jury promises.
This paper will explore the dual nature of Zeus, as described above, focusing on the interrelation between iconographical, philological and mythological evidence, in the two main molossian sanctuaries.

G. Riginos, K. Lazari, V. Lamprou, A. Tzortzatou 2018. “New archaeological data from the main late Classical-Hellenistic fortified settlements of Thesprotia after the enhancement works of the last decade”, in VIeme Colloque International L’ Illyrie Méridionale et l’Epire dans l’Antiquité, Tirana, 20-23 May 2015, Paris: De Boccard, 753-763

Abstract
During the last decade the large fortified settlements of late-Classical and Hellenistic Thesprotia, namely Gitana, Elea, Doliani and Dymokastro, were included in an extensive enhancement and valorization program, resulting in an abundance of new archaeological evidence on their organization and history, which offers a renewed view on the history of the entire region in the same period.
The new archaeological data in Gitana concern primarily the urban planning and lifespan of the settlement as well as the spatial organization of its cemeteries. In Elea the research focused on the spatial organization of the agora area and of some of the settlement’s central districts, while a lot of information occurred about the occupations of the residents and the general character of the city. In Doliani came to light the complex defensive system of the settlement along with a large number of building remains and other archaeological findings certifying the exceptional longevity and durability of habitation. And finally in Dymokastro remarkable shrine complexes were revealed, as well as numerous other archeological findings which attest to the contacts of commercial character developed between this coastal settlement and the rest of the Hellenistic world.

Gitana, the main city of the Thesprotoi, a significant political center of the Epirotes too, occupied a spacious plateau, at the foot of mount Vryssela, in the northern riverbank of Kalamas, not very far from its conjunction with the river Kalpakiotikos. However having significant potentials in controlling commercial and military traffic, the site of the city constitutes a weak defensive position, mainly because of the hill that dominates the occupied area. The aim of this paper is to present in brief the main structural, strategical and tactical features of the successive defensive works that were erected to protect Gitana during the Late Classical/Hellenistic period (The External Enceinte, The Western Fortification Wall and the Diateichisma) and also to propose a well documented chronological sequence as well as a reasonable working hypothesis on their historical context.

Amongst the territories that fall within the “Dritte Griechenland”, to use H.J. Gehrke’s apt expression, Epirus presents a series of extremely unusual characteristics. It is also strange how a concept that was initially simply geographic and not ethnic (Epeiros, the “mainland”) came to lend its name to a State, or how its inhabitants, who were sometimes considered to be Greek, were very often included under the heading of barbarians. It is also peculiar how these territories, which were remote and somewhat marginal for many Greeks, hosted the location of the Sanctuary of Dodona, which was mentioned in Homer’s Poems and, over time, came to be considered the oldest sanctuary in Greece.


In effect, this is a territory of contrasts and one that is not easy to categorise when we think of the Greek world. However, the study of this region not only opens up numerous possibilities regarding the question of the development of Epirus in Antiquity, but also the possibility of applying this knowledge to Ancient Greece as a whole. In this book we do not seek to tackle all of the issues that emerge when studying Ancient Epirus. Rather we shall focus in some depth on a series of case studies regarding specific themes, such as the political development; the role of the Sanctuary fo Dodona; the issue the peculiar language spoken; the discovery of Epirus by earliest travellers.