Strofilas excavation of the oldest city in Europe from above. Credit: Strofilas Excavation/FacebookStrofilas on the island of Andros in Greece is the oldest city in Europe. Dating to 4500 – 3200 BC, is the largest settlement of the Late Neolithic Age.
Strofilas was found almost intact in excavations conducted by Greek archeologists, headed by Christina Televantou in 1997.
Located in the middle of the Aegean, on the edge of the Cyclades islands, the excavation on Andros sheds lights in the area’s prehistory.
The findings show the largest and best-preserved, organized and densely populated settlement of the Neolithic Age in the Aegean.
A bridge between the Aegean and mainland Greece
Part of Strofilas excavation. Credit: Christina Tselementou/Facebook
Early urban structures
The fortification of Strofilas in Greece reveals early evidence of preserved defensive architecture, as the plethora of scattered finds from within and around the settlement shows.
The early urban and fortification structures are the oldest documented example of defense architecture with a gate and bastions. Its ruins betray a unique project that spans 30 acres, making it the oldest city in Europe.
Large buildings were discovered, arches and quadrilaterals, of which remains of up to 1 meter (3.28 feet) high are preserved.
The largest part of the wall has been found in a length of about 100 meters (328 feet), which still stands at a height of up to 2 meters with a thickness of 1.60 to 2 meters.
The 1.5-meter-wide (4.92 feet) gate is protected by bastions and is 2,000 years older than the well-known Early Cycladic fortifications.
Also important finds such as pottery, stone tools, arrowheads, and obsidian spears, jewelry, figurines, and bronze objects show an advanced urban culture, the oldest city in Europe.
Finds of special value are the rock paintings that adorn the wall, the floor of the sanctuary and the rock along the wall.
The paintings depict animals, fish, spirals and more than 60 ships. This is an indication that there was a pioneering development of shipbuilding at that time in the Aegean.
Also, some ships have a rhombus-like shape that apparently corresponds to a sail, something that may prove its early use in navigation.
The fact that some of the ships are depicted in formation, one after the other, and with specific banners, indicates that they may had a single owner or that they sailed together in the Aegean uniting different coasts and cultural identities.
Strofilas excavation: Covering the rock carvings. Credit: Christina Tselementoy/FacebookStrategic location
The Strofilas Cape is located in the center of the west coast of Andros in an extremely important strategic position, that offered the ability to control a large area of the Aegean, from Attica and Evia to Syros, Paros and Naxos and the south part of the island.
In addition, as a natural stronghold, it can be accessed only from the mainland, therefore preventing possible invaders.
In the southern part, there are two safe ports while the ravine provided drinking water. On the plateau lie the ruins of a settlement that seems to have been founded during the Late Neolithic Period I and flourished in the Late Neolithic II-Late Neolithic eras.
All the above indicate that Strofilas in Andros, Greece is an archeological site unprecedented in size and preservation for its time, unveiling the oldest city in Europe.