4.5 Atsas Valley: Prehistoric

Apart from the eastern transect, the section of the Atsas Valley that we surveyed is a virtually empty landscape (.mov panorama). Surface stability is not a major problem here, apart from some stripping along the gullies.

There is a clear scatter of lithics and prehistoric pottery in the north-east of the area. The contrast with the empty areas to the west shows that the activities these represent are centred on the deep-soiled alluvial terraces in the bed of the Atsas River. This correlation comes across well with the aerial photograph background. The pottery ranges in date from Chalcolithic through to Protohistoric Bronze Age in more or less equal densities.

The making and use of chipped stone tools shows a similar focus on this north-east area, but extends further south. These densities, though, are very light: there are never more than three pieces in a survey unit, and the total is 14 pieces within a 400m radius of Lemonas village. In addition to the ground stone marked on the map, there are more pieces built into the houses of Lemonas village.

Our easternmost transect has clearly clipped the edge of a halo of material round what may have been a small Chalcolithic to Bronze Age habitation complex, not unlike Mandroudhes (TP239) 2.7km to the south-east. It probably lies under or perhaps slightly north of Lemonas village, and exploited this isolated alluvial terrace by the Atsas river.