The excavation of 2005 undertaken at the internal part (Sector B) of the bell tower of the medieval Monastery of Mesopotam, aimed at aiding the conservation works that would follow the dig. Different reconstructions of the tower, along with the accumulated deposits, made it difficult to distinguish the various construction phases of the monument.
The construction works of the late 19th and the beginning of 20th Century, had despoiled the upper layer (001, 002) revealed during the excavation of 2004 in Sector A. The upper stratigraphic sequence uncovered in Sector B was a destruction level (003), followed by an ash strata (004), and a deeper layer (007) of ceramic deposit. Below the ceramic layer, another thick ash stratum was exposed (008), which was not excavated during this season.
In layer 007, containing large amounts of ceramic remains, a pot decorated with two horizontal lines in the outer part, a bowl fragment with the “motif of Taranto”, and a complete metallic ware bowl were uncovered. The two discovered glazed wares dated the layer to the late 13th and beginning of 14th Centuries, likewise layer 002, 003, 004, 024 and 025 of Sector A.
A great number of glazed, cooking and amphorae wares were found not associated with the stratigraphic sequences, at both the inner and outer parts of the tower.
The artifacts found in and out the stratigraphic sequences, cover the period from the late 13th to the 16th Centuries, defining thus for a probable construction date for the bell tower, and for the utilization of the western part of the monastery enclosure.