Description of the attraction
Speaking about the origins of Greek culture, we most often recall the classical and Hellenistic periods. However, its history goes back to distant prehistoric times. During archaeological excavations on the territory of modern Greece, numerous traces of ancient civilizations were found, reliably hidden by time under the thickness of the earth.
The Neolithic settlement of Dimini, founded at the beginning of the 5th millennium BC, was discovered near the modern city of Volos in Thessaly. It was a kind of "acropolis", located on a high 16-meter hill, and surrounded by 6-7 rows of massive stone walls with small megaron-like structures between them. In the center was the so-called "main megaron" consisting of two rooms. Probably, the head of the community lived here, and perhaps it was a public building or some kind of temple. Studies have shown that the settlement was abandoned around 4500 BC.
During the excavations, many ancient relics of the Neolithic era were also found - various ceramic vessels and spherical amphorae decorated with brown painting and cut ornaments, tools, figurines made of stone and clay, ornaments and much more. Ancient artifacts are of great historical value and are kept in the Archaeological Museum of Volos, as well as in the National Museum of Athens.
Near the Neolithic structures, two Mycenaean tholos tombs were also discovered. And although the ancient burials were mostly plundered long ago, some jewelry, ivory and bronze weapons still survived to this day. Here, archaeologists unearthed a fairly large settlement of the Mycenaean civilization of about 25 hectares, dating back to the 15-12 centuries BC, and a palace complex, which is believed to be part of the legendary city of Iolca.
Today Dimini is a unique archaeological site of the late Neolithic. Excavations in this area are under way to this day.
