The 2012-2015 Ghent-Utrecht Survey Project at Thorikos: Preliminary Observations on the Post-Classical Occupation

Abstract

Between 2012 and 2015, a team of Ghent and Utrecht Universities conducted an intensive survey of the southern slopes of the Velatouri Hill, covering the area of the lower settlement of Thorikos (‘Industrial Quarter’) as well as parts of the acropolis. This project was completed in 2015, after which the inventorying and study of the 56,906 finds continued through 2016-2017. Currently a team from the Universities of Liège and Louvain-La-Neuve is conducting a complementary survey of the north-slope of the Velatouri. Awaiting the comprehensive publication of the entire Thorikos Survey Project, we think it appropriate to present some preliminary results with regard to the post-classical period, which has historically received only very limited attention. This analysis is based on the inventory and study of all finds collected during the 2012-2015 survey. In this preliminary report, we will 1) outline the scientific aims of the Thorikos Survey Project and its methodology, and 2) focus on the Hellenistic, Roman, Late Antique, Byzantine and (Early) Modern occupation on the slopes of the Velatouri.