Buried Secrets of Ancient Greek Tower on Paros Island Revealed by Archaeologists

The ruins of the Palaiopyrgos operation looking northbound implicit 2 fields surveyed and towards Naousa Bay. Credit: Emlyn Dodd / CC BY 4.0

Archaeologists person uncovered antecedently hidden structures astir a 2,300-year-old operation connected the land of Paros (Greek: Πάρος), Greece. The probe utilized non-invasive methods to uncover hidden structures and cultivation traces adjacent the Palaiopyrgos tower, offering caller insights into however past agrarian communities lived and worked.

The findings were published successful the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports by pb writer Emlyn Dodd.

Advanced survey reveals hidden remains

Researchers utilized magnetometry to scan 3 hectares of farmland astir the circular Palaiopyrgos operation (Greek: Παλαιόπυργος), which dates to the precocious Classical oregon aboriginal Hellenistic period.

The survey detected anomalies suggesting walls, courtyards, and imaginable ancillary rooms clustered adjacent the tower. These discoveries bespeak that the operation was not an isolated structure, but portion of a larger complex, perchance linked to farming and retention activities.

Dodd noted that this is the archetypal clip specified techniques person been applied to Paros. The results beryllium the worth of utilizing non-invasive methods connected Cycladic (Greek: Κυκλάδες) islands, wherever improvement threatens to erase traces of the past earlier they tin beryllium studied.

A operation astatine the halfway of agrarian life

The Palaiopyrgos operation lies a abbreviated region from Naousa Bay successful bluish Paros. Built with double-walled limestone blocks, the operation has agelong puzzled archaeologists. Surface pottery suggested usage from the Archaic done Byzantine periods, but small was known astir its surrounding landscape.

Material collected during the survey sheds airy connected its relation successful the agrarian economy. Sherds of ample retention jars, Roman amphorae, and property counterweights constituent to the accumulation of vino oregon olive oil for export. Such grounds suggests the operation served arsenic a hub for cultivation processing and defense.

The tower’s plan and determination besides link it to commercialized routes crossed the Cyclades, wherever fortified agrarian sites guarded resources and coordinated farming. Similar towers connected Naxos (Greek: Νάξος) and Amorgos (Greek: Αμοργός) had courtyards, presses, and retention rooms. The caller results suggest Palaiopyrgos whitethorn person functioned similarly.

The enclosed operation analyzable astatine Cheimarrou, Naxos, showing the tower, courtyard enclosure, and ancillary rooms. Credit: Emlyn Dodd / CC BY 4.0

Pressures from modern development

The survey besides exposed the risks facing practice connected Paros. Expanding tourism has spurred a surge successful caller construction, with short-term rentals encroaching connected archaeological zones. Hidden features specified arsenic walls and workplace systems prevarication straight successful areas wherever improvement is present spreading.

Dodd and his squad emphasized that fast, low-cost surveys, specified arsenic magnetometry, supply indispensable protection. They tin usher authorities earlier rescue excavations oregon operation begins, allowing taste practice to beryllium recorded and preserved.

The results amusement that Paros’ agrarian landscapes clasp acold much past than what is disposable today, Dodd explained. These methods springiness america a mode to papers and safeguard them successful the look of accelerated change.

A exemplary for aboriginal Cycladic research

While magnetometry identified respective promising anomalies, excavation is inactive needed to corroborate their nature. A trial trench dug adjacent the operation already revealed an outer partition built successful a benignant matching the main structure, supporting the thought of a courtyard complex.

The researchers reason that aboriginal studies should harvester magnetometry with ground-penetrating radar for adjacent sharper results. Targeted excavations astatine the cardinal anomaly sites could clarify however the operation evolved, however agelong it remained successful use, and however its functions shifted implicit centuries.

Beyond Paros, the survey demonstrates the imaginable of applying geophysical prospection crossed the Cyclades, wherever hidden cultivation systems stay poorly understood. Documenting them now, the authors said, is captious earlier improvement pressures permanently erase them.