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  • Structures at the Neolithic settlement of Kallamas
  • Kallamas
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    Monuments

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    Chronology

    • 4500 BC - 3000 BC

    Season

      • Traces of several habitation structures were revealed during the excavations of 2008 undertaken in the prehistoric site of Kallamas. These structures were identified in the habitation levels of the Neolithic Age. Within the sondage D1, below a row of stones (locus 801) and perpendicular to the lakeshore, remains of a structure with an undefined function (probably a wall or a floor) and uncertain date, (though later then the Neolithic Age), were revealed. This layer contained the upper part of a broken pot, three completely preserved ceramic vessels, mud walls, and remains of various animal bones, including those of a wild boar. The pot is of a grey ceramic and contains barbotine decorations with vertical cannelures. One of the three vessels discovered has a globular body, cylindrical neck and is decorated with incised motifs, made before and after the baking process; the second one, doesn’t have a neck and contains a line of dots under the rim; while the last is very similar to a biconical cup. Some of the stratigraphic units of the upper habitation levels of the Late Neolithic Age, discovered in sondage C1, are associated with scattered structures remains, such as rounded postholes of the vertical timbers, baked clay massifs of the wall sides (some of them still preserve traces of carbonized wood), clay nodes, hearth and oven fragments, etc. The most distinguishable habitation level was identified above the black layer of carbon remains. This level contained limes stones that formed a kind of ground platform, upon which ceramic fragments were laid.
      • Several architectonic elements related to habitation and storage structures were revealed during the archaeological season of 2009 undertaken in the Neolithic settlement of Kallamas. In the anthropic destruction level of sondages A5, A6, B3 and C1, the excavations uncovered a number of timber postholes and fragments of mud with thatches or straw, which are perhaps remains of the walls of Neolithic structures. However, the only visible structure unearthed during this season consists of a mass of baked clay fragments, whose shape suggest for a container, perhaps a silo used for storing grain (locus 805). The best-preserved part of the structures is the upper part, whose wall thickness varies from 2 cm at the top, to 5 cm at the bottom. The structure is made of sandy-clay material, rich with plant remains, such as fragments of straw and rids (which are still visible). The integral materials show for the different construction techniques used in the structure: the inner side has been uniformly worked and baked; the filling or the core part less so; while the outer was not worked at all. Therefore, it was not easy to distinguish the outer part of the structure from the natural surrounding sediments; also for the same reason it was impossible to clearly separate the vegetal components used in the construction from those of the environments. All the evidence suggest that the structure was probably a storage space, constructed within a ground hole, whose bottom and sides were covered in mud plaster made of sandy-clay soils and then burnt from the inside, in order to consolidate the structure. This is a well known practice, which has also been widely proven from the experiments undertaken in the Neolithic Aegean world, as for example the case of Dikili Tash.
      • The _in situ_ structure remains discovered during the field season of 2011 brought important data about the habitation phases of the Neolithic Age in the settlement of Kallams. A kind of circular platform, with a diameter of 1, 30 m was revealed in the anthropic layer of 1 m thick (app. 50 cm below its upper level) of sondage C8. The structure was made of baked mud (with an eroded surface) and, at its edges a posthole was noted (locus 810). Approximately 50 cm below this platform, the excavations revealed remains of two other clay structures (loci 812-813), or elements of the same structure (probably with combustion). The first element (locus 812) is a circular ground level (like a hollow) with the inner diameter of 0, 30m and wall thickness of 5 cm, while at its upper turn (which looks like the beginning of a vault) the preserved high is 10 cm. Two perforations with a diameter of 6 cm, which transverse the north-eastern and south-western walls, seem more like tunnels or labyrinths. The preserved part of the second element (locus 813), which was found to the south of the first one, has a rectangular shape (0, 60 x 0, 30 m), with a rising angle suggesting for an arched covering of 2 cm thick. The layer of white ash found above the soil (or in the soil), suggest that the two discovered structures/elements are perhaps part of two domestic kilns, even though their poor aspect of the construction material (friable clay), which could be explained with the hydro-morphic character of the context. These remains belong to the earlier habitation horizon (Middle Neolithic) and are laid above the natural clay bed of the lake, which was balanced through the use of small limes stones, visible below the structure’s level. A group of architectonic elements of baked clay (loci 806, 807, and 809) were identified in sondage D6, within the anthropic layer of black colour mixed with carbon remains and orange clay nodes. Most of them had one of the sides flat and the other with traces of circular or rectangular postholes, where the carbonized wood was sometimes still preserved _in situ_. These mud elements and wooden pillars are part of a wall or fencing of the site, which was destroyed after the abandonment of the settlement, perhaps due to a fire, as suggested by carbon remains noted in the construction clay remains. Some ceramic and stone objects of the Late Neolithic are associated with the site’s wall remains. In sondage D11, app. 30 from the upper level of the anthropic layer, the excavation revealed a habitation level consisting of ceramic fragments laid on the ground, architectonic elements of baked clay, plant remains, and several stone objects such as mill stones, sharp flints, and green stone blocks (locus 811).

    Bibliography

      • G. Touchais, P. Lera, 2008, Sovjan (Albanie) Rapport sur la campagne 2008, in http://www.sovjan-archeologie.net
      • G. Touchais, P. Lera, 2009, Sovjan (Albanie) Rapport sur la campagne 2009, in http://www.sovjan-archeologie.net
      • G. Touchais, P. Lera, 2011, Sovjan (Albanie) Rapport sur la campagne 2011, in http://www.sovjan-archeologie.net