The 2019 Bays of East Attica Regional Survey (BEARS) Project: New Archaeological Evidence for the History of Coastal Settlement, Economy, and Connectivity from Porto Rafti (Greece)

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of the inaugural season of the Bays of East Attica Regional Survey project (BEARS). The project aims to clarify the history of human activity around the bay of Porto Rafti in eastern Attica. Surface finds from Raftis Island demonstrate that it was the location of a major Late Helladic IIIC site probably linked to the cemetery at Perati, as well as of limited Late Roman occupation. The Pounta peninsula yielded a large quantity of obsidian lithics, indicating significant activity during the Final Neolithic/Early Bronze Age, with lesser quantities of material dated to the Late Helladic IIIC and Roman/Byzantine periods. At Koroni, surface finds of Late Helladic IIIC and Archaic/Classical date indicate that activity at the site predates the third-century Ptolemaic military camp excavated by American archaeologists in 1960. Overall, these survey data provide a range of new evidence and insight into the history of the Porto Rafti area and its connections to other regions of the Aegean. Methodologically, the project’s work also demonstrates the value of conducting archaeological surface survey even in areas with extensive modern development.