Archaeological Site of Sesklo

   The Neolithic settlement of Sesklo developed on the "Kastraki" hill and its surrounding area. It was inhabited from the mid-7th till the 4th millenium BC. During the Middle Neolithic period the settlement covered a large area of at least 100.000 sq. m. with substantial structures, as the stone foundations of blocks of houses on Kastraki hill indicate.
   The Neolithic settlement of Sesklo was first discovered in the end of the 19th century. The findings of the excavations that followed established the settlement as one of the main Neolithic settlements in Greece, as well as in Europe. The pottery of Sesklo consists the chronological basis of the Middle Neolithic subperiods in the Greek region. During the Middle Neolithic the settlement was very extended. This period is widely known as "Sesklo civilization" and is characterized from the increase of pottery and the improvement of firing techniques. The abundance of stone tools and the increased use of obsidian from Melos are characteristic. The strucrures on "Kastraki" hill are mainly of small size with narrow streets and open areas -"squares"- among them.
   The first excavations of the settlement took place in 1901-1902 by Chr. Tsountas. In 1956 D. R. Theocharis started a new archaeological research on the hill and, since 1972, in the surrounding area, where the Middle Neolithic settlement expanded.