Panel 3.21 – Farmhouses in Macedonia from the 4th century. B.C. until the Roman era: rural landscape and rural economy


Organiser/Chair:

  • Evangelia Stefani and Polyxeni Adam-Veleni (Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki)


     

Speakers:

Panel abstract

Excavations carried out in Macedonia during the last two decades have brought to light villas, farmhouses and stockbreeding installations dating from the 4th century B.C. to the Roman era. The image that we have now about the countryside of the large cities developed in Macedonia in the Classical era and the subsequent periods has diversified considerably compared to what we knew to date. The countryside of Northern Greece is full of farmsteads, whose inhabitants live and produce according to the economic requirements of the rapidly developing urban centers but also according to the possibilities offered by the microenvironment of each region. The farmhouses are sometimes along major roads on east-west axes, sometimes near big cities and in other cases in remote, rural regions, even in semi-mountainous areas. The economic activities were developed according to their natural landscape and the emphasis was given on crops, livestock, or the craft production and trade. Concerning the agricultural production we can remark a wide variety of activities from the cultivation and storage of cereals and pulses to beekeeping, wine-making and other relevant activities. Livestock production has been found to be exercised both as a permanent parallel work of large farmhouses and also as an activity of herders who moved their herds to higher grounds during summer, while spending winter in villages around the valley. Also we have found aquaculture facilities. In crafts there is evidence for stone andmetalprocessing. Moreover, monetary treasures that have been found in several farmhouses of Macedonia indicate the anxiety of the residents in periods of political uncertainty and economic instability and their study provides useful information for both the coinage of the kingdom of Macedonia and monetary circulation. The panel aims to detect the development of the rural economy and the rural settlements in Macedonia from the Classical era to Roman times, in order to identify not only the different economic characteristics of each era but also the changes that took place within the wider social and political framework. Since the heyday of the Macedonian kingdom and its big urban centers until the transformations of the Roman period, the rural economy of the area is examined as a way of understanding the historical features of these periods.

 

Paper abstracts

1. Polyxeni Adam-Veleni (Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki) 

The farmsteads economy on the road from Macedonia to Thrace
In the countryside of the East part of ancient Macedonia on the road from Macedonia to Thrace have been excavated more than seven farmsteads, whose inhabitants live and produce according to the economic requirements of the rapidly developing urban centers but also according to the possibilities offered by the microenvironment of each region. The farmhouses are sometimes along major roads on east-west axes, sometimes near big cities and in other cases in remote, rural regions, even in semi-mountainous areas. The economic activities were developed according to their natural landscape and the emphasis was given on crops, livestock, or the craft production and trade.
The agricultural production has a wide variety of activities from the cultivation and storage of cereals and pulses to beekeeping, wine-making and other relevant activities. Livestock production has been found to be exercised both as a permanent parallel work of large farmhouses and also as an activity of herders who moved their herds to higher grounds during summer. The monetary treasures that have been found in those farmhouses on the road from Macedonia to Thrace indicate also the anxiety of the residents in periods of political uncertainty and economic instability.

 

2. Katerina Tzanavari (Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki)

Family oriented farms along via Egnatia. The case of ancient Lete
Ancient Lete is located at the western part of the Langadas basin in North Greece. The site of the city on the communications axis linking the Thermaic gulf with the eastern Macedonia, led to its development into one important city. Moreover, on important factor in the economic development of the city is the fact that via Egnatia passed through the region, and its proximity to Thessaloniki, an important commercial port.
After the defeat of the Macedonian army by the Romans in 168 BC, the Macedonian kingdom was dissolved. Roman legions appeared in the area of Lete almost immediately after the conversion of Macedonia into a Roman province, in 148 BC. The fact that the names of great Roman families are attested in inscriptions from Lete suggests that Roman citizens gradually settled here and engaged in finance, banking and trade. They played an active role in social life and held public office.
The surrounding area of ancient Lete was the scene of large-scale agricultural production that supplied the urban population. Historical and epigraphic evidence attest that large rural estates in the area were managed by members of the Roman elite. But what was the context of rural life and what methods were used to exploit the land? An attempt is made here to provide answers to these questions by presenting the results of the excavation of four rural installations discovered in the territory of Lete.

"Family-oriented Farms Along via Egnatia. The Case of Ancient Lete" (Fulltext)

 

3. Evangelia Stefani (Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki)

Farmsteads in semi-mountainous areas: aspects of the rural economy in the 4th c. BC Macedonia
This paper presents the data from two recently excavated farmhouses of the 4th century BC. in semi-mountainous areas of the mount Vermion. The farmhouses, although located on the slopes of the mountain, are close enough to major cities of the Macedonian kingdom and also near smaller cities and villages. Through the study of the excavation data we can assume that the economic activity of both farms was focused on livestock farming, although each one responded to a different economic model: in the first (site Galanovrysi), besides the exploitation of the animals, we have data about organized storage and craft activities. These elements allow us to speak about permanent residence in the farmhouse and organized exploitation of various natural resources.
On the other hand, the second site (Arapis), has characteristics of a non-permanent livestock establishment. Probably the stock keepers did not live in the farm permanently. They either settled there in the framework of their seasonal livestock activities, or lived in the nearby village.
A common point between the two farmsteads is the feeling of insecurity that seems to have occupied the inhabitants around the end of the 4th century. B.C. and which is reflected in the numismatic treasures found here.
The discussion about these two farmsteads gives the opportunity to approach aspects of the rural economy of Macedonia during the period of great flourish of the kingdom and at the same time a period with intense war activity.

 

4. Evi Margaritis (The Cyprus Institute)

Rural economy in ancient Pieria: beyond self sufficiency
This paper explores the farming regimes and economic organization of three Hellenistic country houses and an urban building located within the harbor zone of a polis in the region of Macedonian Pieria. The focus of the study is the evidence of the plant remains that suggest that the sites employed different agricultural practices and had diverse economic functions. The large estate of Platania shows that a diversified regime was practiced; the site of Kompoloi, on the other hand, represents a specialized industry, focusing primarily on the cultivation of vines and the production of large quantities of wine, while Douvari, a small farmhouse, most likely belongs to the agricultural territory of the much larger estate of Kompoloi. The urban building at the site of Krania is identified as a kapeleio, offering food and drink to visitors to the harbor area, rather than being a domestic establishment. This paper examines the economy of the sites, how they were managed in the routines of everyday life, and addresses questions of seasonal or permanent occupation of houses located in the Greek chora.

 

5. Eleni Gerofoka (Ephorate of Antiquities of Pieria)

Analysis of the agricultural management of a Hellenistic Pieria farmhouse based on archaeological evidence and archaeological relevance
In the present paper we examine the agricultural management of a Hellenistic farmhouse excavated at "Tria Platania", in Platamonas of Pieria, based on the raw material that came from its excavation, taking into account the current trends of research in the field of residential architecture and ancient economy. We consider productively the archaeological material in relation to the archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological remains, the inscriptions and ancient literary sources and we attempt to integrate all the facts into the historical, economic, political and social context of this era, in the particular region and generally in Macedonia. So we establish a compact body of historical conclusions regarding the individual crops in the farm, the storage of the produced product and its trading. Furthermore, we consider the farmhouse in relation to the seasonality, the livestock model with which it is associated and the human potential that uses it.
According to the conclusions of the study, the farmhouse at "Tria Platania" was a large, autonomous economic entity, which was based on mixed agricultural-livestock and craft activities. The farmhouse served as producer of agricultural surplus that was channelled through commerce mainly on a local scale. The isolation of the farmhouse is only geographically determined, since its economic activities were part of the economic, social and political life of the city.

"Analysis of the Agricultural Management of a Hellenistic Pieria Farmhouse Based on Archaeological Evidence and Archaeological Relevance" (Fulltext)

 

6. Eleni Klinaki (Ephorate of Antiquities of Pieria)

Currency from two farmsteads in the ancient Leivithra plains in Southern Pieria
A late-classical / early- hellenistic farmstead of at least 1,350m2 was unearthed in ancient Leivithra plains (“Kompoloi”). The wine – making complex was constructed on the site of a preexisting vineyard and was consisted of two inner-facing buildings, a farmhouse and a wine cellar (pitheon). It was established in the times of Philip II and ruined by the Gauls during their invasion of Macedonia (279 B.C). A number of 194 coins and two bronze coin hoards were found.
A small supplementary farmhouse was excavated nearby (“Douvari I”). It was most probably constructed in the times of Cassander and was firstly destroyed by the Gauls, but soon reconstructed to function until the 2nd century B.C. and the invasion of the Romans. A number of 17 coins and a bronze coin hoard came to light.
The political and economic conditions in the Macedonian kingdom in the times of Philip II and thereafter, determined the intensive agriculture of the countryside and the construction of big farm units for specialized farming. The coins, linked to the function of the farm units in Leivithra plains , are mostly represented by royal mint from the time of Amyntas III to Perseus. There are also some civic issues from Peloponnese, Central Greece, Thessaly, Chalcidice and Eastern Macedonia. They mostly indicate the local coin circulation in late Classical – early Hellenistic Macedonian countryside, which seems not to be differentiated from that of the urban sites of the kingdom.

"Currency from Two Farmsteads in the Ancient Leivithra Plains in Southern Pieria" (Fulltext)

 

7. Ioanna Vassiliadou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

Pierian-Macedonian pitch. A brand name agricultural product of ancient Macedonia
Pitch residues found on pitched shreds mainly of wine vessels or on coated pieces of wood as well as freestanding remains of pitch pieces, revealed from various archaeological sites of ancient Macedonia, were identified as the pitch of Pieria of Herodotus «...τῆς Πιερικῆς πίσσης...», the later Macedonian pitch of both literary and epigraphical sources.
The main objectives of this paper are, on the one hand, to present the pierian-macedonian pitch, a royal agricultural product, as a whole from classical to roman period and, on the other hand, to highlight issues such as its management, trade and distribution throughout the Mediterranean world according to literary, epigraphical and archeological evidence.
Matters of technical diversities of the procedure of pitch production in the Greco-Roman world will be pinpointed, based on both archaeological and literary evidence.

"Pierian-Macedonian Pitch. A Brand Name Agricultural Product of Ancient Macedonia" (Fulltext)

 

8. Kostas Ketanis (University of Thessaly)

Roman control and management of the rural economy in Macedonia
The roman conquest of Macedonia (battle of Pydna, 168 BC) changed not only the system of administration but also rural economy of the region.
The study of the Roman history of Macedonia and especially of its countryside, is quite limited. Although, in recent years, archaeological excavations have revealed many buildings related to rural life and rural production in ancient Macedonia (for example farmhouses), very little is known about the roman agriculture policy in this area.
The information we have from the ancient texts (literary sources and inscriptions) about the primary production sector in ancient Macedonia are few.
In this study there will be an attempt to explore the ways in which the Romans influenced, defined and controlled agricultural production in Macedonia.
Land ownership (land categories, landowners and cultivators, purchase, sale and land taxes), land cultivation by Romans and natives (cultivated species, prices, taxation and trade), territorial disputes, the Roman cadastre, infrastructure projects to improve agricultural production etc., as well as the ways in which the Roman administration managed them all, are some of the issues to be studied.

* Note: This is only a proposal and not the final summary of the speech, that will be formed during the study.

"Roman Control and Management of the Rural Economy in Macedonia" (Fulltext)

 

9. Angeliki Koukouvou (Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki)

Villa rustica at the Beroia countryside (Macedonia)
In 1999, during the construction works of the new Egnatia Highway in Emathia Prefecture (Macedonia, Greece) the Ephorate of Antiquities unearthed part of a Roman villa rustica between the Messi and Kydonochori villages. The villa was founded in the early Roman period (1st c. BC) and was used as late as the 4th c. AD. It was situated in the plain below the eastern foothills of Mount Vermion where the city of Beroia was located. The latter flourished in Hellenistic times and experienced through Roman period a remarkable development in all aspects. The architectural remains, storage rooms with pithoi, cisterns relating to wine production etc., were partly excavated, as the building continues under the modern National Road. Nevertheless, it is clear that they belong to a building complex in an agricultural property. An interesting feature of this farmhouse consists the existence of a cistern constructed to be used as a fish tank (a vivarium).
The excavated farmhouse, unearthed in the proximity of one of the most important cities of the Macedonia Province, gives the opportunity to a better understanding of the rural strategies implied during imperial period in the Macedonian countryside and the relations of the latter with its urban centres considering production, distribution and consumption of supplies.

"Villae Rusticae at the Beroia Countryside (Macedonia, Greece)" (Fulltext)