image/svg+xml29XIII/1/2022INTERDISCIPLINARIA ARCHAEOLOGICANATURAL SCIENCES IN ARCHAEOLOGYhomepage: http://www.iansa.euThe Habitation Model Trend Calculation (MTC): Ancient Topography – The Mycenaean Spercheios Valley Case StudyGeorge Malaperdas1*, Christoflis Maggidis2, Ef Karantzali3, Nikolaos Zacharias11Laboratory of Archaeometry, University of Peloponnese, Old Campus, 241 33 Kalamata, Greece2Mycenaean Foundation, Mycenae Lower Town Excavation, 212 00 Mycenae, Greece3Ephorate of Antiquities of Phthiotida and Eurytania, Castle of Lamia, 351 00, Lamia, Greece1. IntroductionA new fve-year feld project commenced in 2018 under the directorship and auspices of the local Ephorate of Antiquities with the collaboration of Dickinson College, the Geophysics Laboratory of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, the Architectural Design and Research Laboratory of the Democritus University of Thrace, the Archaeometry Laboratory of the University of the Peloponnese, and the support of the Mycenaean Foundation, the Municipality of Lamia, and the Prefecture of Central Greece. The Mycenaean Spercheios-valley Archaeological (MY.SPE.AR.) project combines extensive and intensive archaeological survey work, aerial reconnaissance, a geophysical survey, targeted excavation, and digital technology in order to locate, identify, and map all Mycenaean sites in the region of the Spercheios valley.The study area is located in Central Greece and, more specifcally, in the wider area of the Spercheios river valley in the Prefecture of Fthiotida (Figure 1). The Spercheios valley, wedged in-between Thessaly and Boeotia, divides the regions of central and southern Greece allowing only for a narrow shoreline passageway between them. The valley is nearly land-locked, surrounded on three sides by mountain ranges (Mt. Othris, Mt. Oiti, Mt. Timphristos) that delineate clear regional boundaries, while allowing, however, eastward access to the sea (Maliakos Gulf). The Spercheios river fows from the west to the east for some 85 km, meandering toward Volume XIII ● Issue 1/2022 ● Pages 29–39*Corresponding author. E-mail: envcart@yahoo.grARTICLE INFOArticle history:Received: 22ndMarch 2021Accepted: 1stFebruary 2022DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2022.1.3Key words:MTCpredictive modelGISancient topographyland surveyingSpercheiosABSTRACTThe initial goal of the Mycenaean Spercheios-Valley Archaeological Project (MY.SPE.AR.) is to undertake a systematic archaeogeophysical survey of the Spercheios Valley in central Greece. The extensive and intensive survey focuses on locating, documenting, mapping and analysing environmental features in correlation with the archaeological remains of Mycenaean sites in the region. This documentation and analysis have already commenced and will be further implemented with use of technologies such as Mobile GPS, UAV photography, satellite imagery analysis, remote sensing, spatial analysis with GIS, test pits and trial trenches.The aim of this paper is to examine and compare the results of the standard MTC prediction model method applied in Messenia with another location, that of the valley of Spercheios, in Fthiotida, Greece.In the spatial analysis carried out in Messenia, common features were observed for all the residential places, which in no case could be characterised as random, while the structure of the administration of the society presented characteristics that were compatible with a hierarchical distinction of the functions of each residential ensemble.The key question is whether we can observe these same characteristics that determine a habitation site (geomorphological, climatological, and geological) in another region. This comparison between two major study areas (the regions of Messenia and the wider valley of Spercheios) may contribute to archaeological research generally by posing new questions and methods of examination of the broader landscape in an area of archaeological interest.
image/svg+xmlIANSA 2022 ● XIII/1 ● 29–39George Malaperdas, Christoflis Maggidis, Ef Karantzali, Nikolaos Zacharias: The Habitation Model Trend Calculation (MTC): Ancient Topography – The Mycenaean Spercheios Valley Case Study30its delta-shaped outlet in the Maliakos Gulf and dividing its basin into a northern and southern part. The southern part is the one that presents the most intense relief, with the highest elevation (Maggidis et al., 2021; Psomiades, 2010).The diference between the two parts is caused by the fact that the central bed of the river Spercheios lies in a tectonic depression, where the southern part rises while the northern part sinks (Figure 2) due to the earthquake fault of Atalanti (Mariolakos, 1970; Gartzos and Stamatis, 1996; Tzanis et al., 2010; Mentzafou et al.,2020). The hydrologic system of the basin, which includes the river and six main tributaries, forms a well-watered fertile valley with rich alluvial soil (described by Homer as “large-lumped” ΙliadΙ.155, ΙΧ.363) and having its own micro-climates (Efthimiou et al., 2015, Mertzanis et al.,2018, Spyrou et al., 2021).The total size of the Spercheios valley area amounts to 683,225 acres (276,610 ha), while its perimeter is about 165 kilometres. Administratively the area belongs to two municipalities, the Municipality of Lamia (the largest part, 79%), and the Municipality of Makrakomi, the rest (21%) of the total study area (Figure 3a). Regarding the administrative division of the area, it is worth mentioning that the entire study area includes 44 local communities, 33 of which are under the Municipality of Lamia and the other 11 under the Municipality of Makrakomi.The selected boundaries of the study area were chosen such that they are identical and tangential to the already implemented boundaries of the local communities (Figure 3b). This was done for two main reasons: frstly, the use of the already existing boundaries would make the descriptive identifcation of the land easier when determining positions, and for the writing of necessary technical reports to the authorities and institutions involved; secondly, the geographical simplifcation of the boundary design would require no new key of spatial design features to be identifed. Furthermore, there was no restriction on the geographical distribution of space. The extended proposal of the convergence of the geographical boundaries with those of the study area was chosen, even though they are separated from the natural geomorphological characteristics such as rivers, gorges, mountains, etc.(Malaperdas and Zacharias, 2018; Malaperdas, 2019; Malaperdas and Zacharias, 2019). The modern coastal area and the delta of the river Spercheios were not included in the archaeological investigation, since these areas have been largely silted up with alluvial deposits from the river in post-Mycenaean periods.In June 2018, the archaeogeophysical survey commenced in the Lamia Municipality under the directorship and auspices of the local Ephorate of Antiquities, focusing initially on sites documented from publications and previous feld reports (Simpson and Lazenby, 1959; Kase, 1972; Kase, 1973; Chourmouziadis, 1979; Simpson, 1981; Dakoronia, 1991; Dakoronia, 1994; Dakoronia, 1999; Karantzali, 2013; Karantzali and McGeorge, 2013; Karantzali, 2016; Karantzali, 2018; Maggidis et al.,2021). Using DGPS and mobile GPS devices, sites excavated or discovered in the past were located, identifed and recorded along with new sites found throughout the survey area. These coordinates, accompanied by photographs and descriptions, were imported to ArcGIS for further geospatial and geomorphological analysis, and also included aspect, slope, hydrology, geo-seismic evidence, geomorphology and geology of the area.In order to accomplish this, a TOPCON GPS positioning station was utilised to collect archaeological data, spatially integrate data into the area, and record the coordinates of archaeological sites on-site. The phase “kinematic approach”