Slavic settlement of Greece in the light of archaeological sources - Excellent!

[admin]

Tatiana Å*tefanovičova

Slavic settlement of Greece in the light of archaeological sources

Etnogenezis end ethnocultural contacts of Slavs; Works of VI International Congress of Slavic Archaeology; Moscow, 1997.


Excellent analysis and review of archaeological sources pointing to settlements of Slavs to the Balkan region. Solid evidence against the hypothesis of "ancient" Slavs in the Balkans.

Some quotes from the article:

"A quite convincing evidence of the Slavic settlement of Greece in the time of Slavic expansions are the present findings of ceramics stemming from several localities (fig. 2). The Slavic ceramics is quite unusual in the Greek environment and can be very well singled out from the home, Byzantine products. Although middle-Helladic, a more coarse ceramics was found on the ancient locality Argos reminding of Slavic findings by its material mixed with siliceous sand, its shapes are, however, altogether different. P. Aupert[16] discovered Slavic findings when examining the Byzantine thermae A which according to the findings from the destruction layer and in harmony with the overall situation according to historical sources were destroyed during the Avarian and Slavic inroad of 584-586. Other authors too, e.g. V. Popovič and Yannopoulos consider the Avarian-Slavic invasions in this year as the beginning of the settlement process in this part of the Balkans by the Slavs. Slavic ceramics of settlement character was found according to the author in the destruction layer, that's why he dates it to the year 585."



"Archaeological findings of the younger Slavic settlement are sporadic or a sufficient attention was not paid to them. Already M. Čorovic-Ljubinkovičova[23] pointed to the possibility of archaeological evidence of the Slavic settlement of the Peloponese in the High Middle Ages (9th - 11th centuries on .this territory) in connection with the findings of the systematic archaeological research in Corinth. The transition between the 7th - 9th centuries is possibly represented by the graves from Meroni Pagonion near Joanina where coarse handmade ceramics and rings with shields were found[24]. K. Kilian[25] brings a more detailed list of findings in his article on Tyrins where he published the already mentioned female grave with a torded bracelet dated to the 10th century. As for later findings, five graves from Naupaktos can be mentioned[26]. In two of them gold and silver earrings and rings adorned with granulation and filigree stemming from the 8th - 9th centuries were found. Further graves were found in Thebes, deposited in stone shrines with an east - west orientation. They contained pearls and earrings from the 9th - 10th centuries. The graves from Myradato originate from the 10th century; they contained tabret earrings and a necklace[27]."

"Similarly, bracelets appear in the inventory of the Slav jewels as late as in the 10th century in connection with the influx of East-Slavic elements put to movement most probably by the Magyars. Much in favour were the star earrings, their prototype originates from the 7th century too, on the Balkans they were used till the 12th century. Its finding from Corinth is dated to the 10th - 11th centuries. Similar ones can be seen in the museum of Thessaloniki (fig. 3) together with further types from a private collection, unfortunately without a more exact localization and not yet published. These are earrings with metal-plate tabrets made of two hemispheres strung on the lower arch of the earring, often coiled round with a thin wire. Further earrings with various wire and plate pendants, some of them in combination with tabrets, with others the lower arch is wound into loops. In substance they create a larger group of wire and plate jewels with several variants which has no direct analogies in Byzantine production. They evidently originate from the surroundings of Thessaloniki and similar ones are found on the burial-grounds of South Bulgaria, in the region of the Rhodopes where Važarova includes them in her 7th type and dates to the 9th - 10th centuries[30].
The above outline indicates that a layer of Slavic settlement kept up in the 9th - 10th centuries so on the Peloponnese as in central and North Greece where an intensive settlement appears in the Macedonian region."

Excellent article!!!

[admin]

Guys please read this and post your comments I think this is a great article to read

[akritas]

You know adm what is the funny as about the archaelogical evidence ?
When we speak for ceramic, weapons, graves e.t.c. the FYROMians suddenly forget all these thinks and whisttle into the air
The invasion of the Slavs proceeded in three directions:
to the west, the south and the east.
The southern expansion is the best documented in written sources. The Slavs or Sklavinie (as Byzantine said) in the course of several campaigns, passed through the territory of Moldavia along the east end of the Carpathians, and from fertile Walachia they went on to the Balkan Peninsula and to former Roman provinces in the southern part of Central Europe.
Since the year of Justinian's coming to the throne ( 527 AD) the Slavic warriors crossed the Danubian frontier of the Byzantine Empire and towards the end of 6th AD they reached Greece, Peloponnese, the Aegean Islands and even Asia Minor. This is documented particularly by place-names and, to a lesser extent, by archaeology as Stefanovicova said. Also the biggest modern Byzantine historician George Ostogorsky mention this course. Also mention that the Slavic migration-invation had a 200 years rotation, then Greeks again took over the rule in Greece.

[Spartan]

Great Post Adm! This goes along perfectly with the quotes from "Contemporaneous Proofs of the Slavic Invasion"!

Bravo Meyale!

Archaeology and History have always been our main weapons to disprove their claims. Now that we have Archaeological evidence to support our Historical evidence there is NO DISPUTING IT!(Especially since the report you posted comes from the Serbs As all know are SLAVS themselves!)

[PhiliptheUniterchaeronea]

Yup, very strong post indeed Ottodude. WEll done on the find. I think it was Spartan who once told us if you want to learn start digging, or something like that.