Dimini

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File:Dimini DSC 2062a.jpg

Dimini archaeological site.

File:Ancient Greece Neolithic Pottery & Stone Artifacts.jpg

Neolithic artefacts and depiction of the Dimini walled settlement

Dimini (Template:Langx; older form: Diminion) is a village near the city of Volos, in Thessaly (central Greece), in Magnesia. It was the seat of the municipality of Aisonia. The name Aisonia dates back to ancient times. Currently, Dimini is the westernmost place in the Volos area. The Dimini area contains both a Mycenean settlement and a Neolithic settlement. The Neolithic settlement in Dimini was discovered near the end of the 19th century and was first excavated by the archaeologists Christos Tsountas and Valerios Stais.

The palace of ancient Iolcos is believed to be located in modern-day Dimini, where, in 2001, a Mycenaean palace was excavated.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

PopulationEdit

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HistoryEdit

NeolithicEdit

Dimini culture is well known for its abstract painted vessels. Dimini ware is characteristic of the Later Neolithic period in eastern Thessaly, although it was traded and imitated outside the region and has been identified as far away as Cakran in Albania.

Clay vase with polychrome decoration, Dimini, Magnesia, Late or Final Neolithic (5300-3300 BC).jpg

Clay vase with polychrome decoration, Dimini, Magnesia, Late or Final Neolithic (5300-3300 BC). Ceramic; height: 25 cm (9Template:Fraction in.), diameter at rim: 12 cm (4Template:Fraction in.); National Archaeological Museum (Athens)
Ancient Greece Neolithic Pottery - 28171028800.jpg

Dimini plate, National Archaeological Museum (Athens)
Terracotta base and lower body of a vessel MET DP21228.jpg

Terracotta base and lower body of a vessel; 3800-3300 BC; terracotta; length: 7.5 cm (2Template:Fraction in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Terracotta rim fragment with latticework design MET DP21226.jpg

Terracotta rim fragment with latticework design; 3800-3300 BC; terracotta; length: 10.6 cm (4Template:Fraction in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art
Terracotta rim of a bowl MET DP21233.jpg

Terracotta rim of a bowl; 3800-3300 BC; terracotta; length: 12.8 cm (5Template:Fraction in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art

AntiquityEdit

In 1886, Lolling and Wolters excavated the Mycenean tholos tomb known as Lamiospito. In 1901, Valerios Stais discovered the tholos tomb on the hill of the Neolithic settlement. He worked at the Dimini settlement with Christos Tsountas from 1901 up until 1903. In 1977, George Chourmouziadis continued excavations at the Neolithic settlement. Excavations of the Mycenean settlement in Dimini began in 1980 by V. Adrimi-Sismani. In 2001 the excavations uncovered a Mycenaean city and palace complex they believe could be part of ancient Iolkos. A stone weight and a sherd inscribed with Linear B writing were also uncovered.Template:Refn

The "invasion theory" states that the people of the Neolithic Dimini culture were responsible for the violent conquest of the Sesklo culture at around 5000 BC. Moreover, the theory considers the "Diminians" and the "Seskloans" as two separate cultural entities. However, I. Lyritzis provides a different story pertaining to the relations between the Dimini and the Sesklo cultures. He, along with R. Galloway, compared ceramic materials from both Sesklo and Dimini utilizing thermoluminescence dating methods. He discovered that the inhabitants of the settlement in Dimini appeared around 4800 BC, four centuries before the fall of the Sesklo civilization (ca. 4400 BC). Lyritzis concluded that the "Seskloans" and "Diminians" coexisted for a period of time.

Notes and referencesEdit

Notes

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References

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External linksEdit

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