Dimini

The large and well-organized prehistoric settlement of Dimini sits on a low hill overlooking the Pagasitikos bay, northwest of the modern village of Dimini, five kilometres from the city of Volos. It is the most important settlement of the Late Neolithic period and one of the best known in Greece. Dimini and Sesklo are the most systematically excavated Neolithic sites in Thessaly and provide valuable information on prehistoric architecture and economic organization. Dimini’s location made it ideal for habitation and accounts for its longevity (Late Neolithic to the end of the Late Bronze Age). Today Dimini is three kilometres from the sea, but in the fifth millennium BC it was located only one kilometre from the coastline, which gave it easy access to the maritime trade routes of the Central Aegean. It was also surrounded by fertile flatlands suitable for agriculture and animal husbandry.

The earliest settlement at Dimini dates to the Late Neolithic period (end of the fifth millennium BC). It was an organized community of 200-300 people living in 30-40 houses. Agriculture, animal husbandry and probably fishing were the main occupations. The settlement is contained within six concentric stone enclosures built in pairs. The purpose of this unique architectural feature may have been both to retain the soil and to define the settlement’s limits. The houses were built between these enclosures, of which the smallest one at the centre contained a large court, or ‘square’. The decorated pottery found in the settlement features dark geometric motifs on a light-coloured background. Other finds include a large number of obsidian, chert, stone and bone tools, figurines and jewellery. The funerary customs of the inhabitants of Dimini are unknown. Only a few burials of small children inside vases were discovered within the settlement.

In the Early and Middle Bronze Age, the settlement moved into the flatlands south and east of the hill. We do not know the size of this settlement or whether occupation was continuous until the Mycenaean period. In the Middle Bronze Age the hill was used as a cemetery, of which sixteen cist graves have been revealed to date.

Administrative Information:

Τ.Κ. 38500, Dimini, Mangesia (Prefecture of Magnesia)
Telephone: +30 24210 85960
Fax: +30 24210 76496
Email: efamag@culture.gr

Tickets:
Full: €4, Reduced: €2

Open:
08:30 – 15:30
Closed on Tuesdays

Amenities for the physically challenged:
Accessible parts of the Neolithic settlement
WC for people with disabilities

Access
By bus from the city of Volos (Bus no 8

)

Source: http://odysseus.culture.gr
Ephorate of Antiquities of the Prefecture of Magnisia