THE LATE NEOLITHIC AT SERVIA IN WESTERN MACEDONIA
The LN occupation at Servia, represented by Phases Six and Seven, continued directly from the Middle Neolithic. The new period which started around 4500 BC (see chronology), is defined by the appearance of a new style of pottery - with a lustrous black burnished surface, together with a variety of different patterned wares to replace the abundant red-on-cream pottery of the preceding period. Construction methods remain the same but no examples of two storey houses have been found. Most structures appear to be long rectangular buildings measuring c 8 x 4m. The destruction of the Phase Seven settlement by fire, which brought the occupation of the site to an end for well over a thousand years, also preserved remarkable traces of a timber floor covered with clay. A number of the finds made in these levels illustrate the increasing levels of trade and contact in the LN period, with examples of pottery also known from Eastern Macedonia and from SE Albania.
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The large post holes represent the central roof support for a long rectangular building. |
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Traces of the Phase Seven timber floor after removal of the clay surface. The superimposed hearth is of EBA date. |
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Detail of the clay covered timber floor showing the 'ghosts' of the 10cm saplings which were laid side by side to form it |
Early Neolithic Middle Neolithic Early Bronze Age Byzantine Agriculture and Environment Index