The new phase of research

The study of the material and the final publication of the excavation

The continuation of the research in Dispilio was undertaken by Professor Kostas Kotsakis of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, since 2014. At this stage, new questions were added to the research: firstly, how was the immediate environment of the location next to the lake, how did it affect agricultural activity and the life of the inhabitants, what were the practices and strategies of the farmers, what was the footprint of people in the environment of the area, and recently, what was the climate and its changes at that time in the wider geographical area. These questions require expert scientists and advanced analytical methods.

The research team of Dispilio has been strengthened since 2018 with the beginning of the collaboration of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with the universities of Bern and Oxford. The fruitful cooperation of the three universities was funded by the European program "EXPLO: Exploring the dynamics and causes of prehistoric land use change in the cradle of European farming". Through EXPLO, the experts of the three universities dated the posts of Dispilio, reconstructed the climate and environment of the area and approached the essential parameters of Neolithic agricultural activity.

Thus, we now have a pioneering picture of Neolithic life in Dispilio that is not limited to material remains, as is usually the case in archaeological excavations.