5/10/10 - Monday - Communing with the Ancients

5/10/10 - Communing with the Ancients

So, today was dedicated to visiting antiquities. Visited 3 sites. First I went to Dali. Here they're currently excavating. Talked to the museum director before heading in to get the lay of the land. He gave some good info.

This is the Idalion settlement, and it's from around 500 BC. Interesting story about the name – don't know if it's true or not, but that never stopped me before... So here it goes (per my understanding). When the Phoenicians landed and wanted to start a settlement, it was early in the evening. The group decided to walk inland until the sun came up and start their village there. Therefore, the name was derived from that action. Eida – I saw, ilion – the sun. So it became Eida-ilion -> Idalion. Ta daaa!

I asked about pictures, and was told not to take any of the current excavations, but overall panoramic shots would be OK. Walked the 1/2 K to the site.

Walked around and saw the works in progress

These are reproduction Plithari (mud blocks) that were used along with stones to build whatever was needed. This is a modern reproduction house made with the same materials. It is still offered as a building option today. Very ecologically friendly, low maintenance, built in insulation, you get the idea...

The supervisor saw me walking around and came over to chat me up. Asked where I was from, what I did, how I found out about the site, why I was there, etc. I was able to calm his paranoia a bit and he opened up and talked to me about the site and the work that was being done there.

We talked for 45 minutes on ancient life, uses of buildings, roads, missing artifacts and stones, how life was 2500 years ago. He started working the site as a laborer in the 1970s and saw progress in excavation, the museum, foreign universities coming to excavate, etc. The dude was a fountain of knowledge and I drank as much as he was willing to offer. This was a very positive experience for me. He directed me to walk around to the ancient olive press to see how things were done. I took my time, walking slowly, touching the walls every few steps. I was moved just being in the middle of all this and actually being able to touch the same stones that were sculpted 2500+ years ago.

These are pictures from previously excavated areas.

I believe this was used in the olive press to collect and channel the oil into the slot in front for storage or flow into another vessel.

Sign says olive mill/press for making oil.

Stones that were used as weights after the olives were crushed and put into satchels to extract the goodness.

Closer look of the manual labor.

After Idalion, I moved further down to visit Choirokoitia. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a Neolithic village first inhabited ~9000 years ago, and was abandoned ~6000 years ago. You can read up on it from the Wikipedia link. Excavations still take place, but in August/September by a French team. I don't know who/where.
Link, link, link

To the reconstructed huts

Said reconstructed huts

After Choirokoitia, I moved on to Kalavasos where there's another neolithic site. This one is called Tenta (after the tent that's covering it). Click this link for a thorough description of everything that went/goes on about it.
















Grabbed a sandwich and puttered around the area and found... wait for it... More Cappari!

Collected some, and headed back to the house for R&R.

Had some excellent Kleftiko for dinner and called it a night.

That's all for now... Stay tuned...