Saliagos |
1. Location and significance
It is a skerry between Paros and Antiparos. Around 4000 B.C., it was a cape at the end of the land that joined the two larger islands. The settlement uncovered there dates from that time (Late Neolithic Period). Obviously, its location was significant for controlling the sea passage. What we call Civilization of Saliagos actually refers to Saliagos and three other contemporaneous locations: Mavri Spilia on Mykonos, Vouni on Antiparos and Agrilia on Milos. Plenty of obsidian artifacts coming from Milos have been found on Saliagos, indicating that people of that time used boats to transport them and had navigation knowledge.
2. Excavations and foundings
In 1959, the Ephor of Antiquities Nikolaos Zaphiropoulos visited the islet and discovered the remains of a Prehistorical settlement. C. Renfrew and J.D. Evans of the British School of Archaeology finally excavated it systematically in 1964-5.
Excavated houses had a square floor plan and stone- or adobe-built walls with stone foundation. Houses had a light superstructure, whereas walls surrounded the settlement. No burial places of the residents have been uncovered; therefore, our knowledge on the culture of that time comes only from building remains. Save obsidian-made artifacts, some clay- and stone-made ones have also been uncovered. It is noteworthy that there were no metal objects, a lot of which have been found at other contemporaneous locations. Two marble figurines have been uncovered: a non-finito, the so-called “Sitting Lady” or "Fat Lady", and a violin-shaped, as well as few osseous amulets.
Residents occupied themselves with stock raising and bred sheep, cattle, goats and pigs, since meat seems to have been what they mostly fed with. The large amount of fish-bones found shows they also fed with large fish (e.g. tuna), indicating they also knew how to fish in deep water.
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