The hill of Stelida, 118 m in height, is located at the western end of the cape of Agios Prokopios, on the northwestern coast of Naxos, approximately 3 km south of Chora. In 1981, in an archaeo-topographical survey by a team of French scholars, a site ‘unique in the Mediterranean basin’ was identified there amongst rocky outcrops, flint/chert mining and the remains of their processing. The dating of the material caused some concern, mainly as no parallels from other Cycladic sites could be found. However, Seferiadis expressed the view that certain characteristics of some tools recalled Epipalaeolithic material (c. 12,000-10,000 BC), or that from the beginning of the Neolithic era.
The importance of the site as a prehistoric flint/chert ‘workshop’ was confirmed in rescue excavations by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades (Dec. 1990, Filaniotou). In 2004, an archaeological protection zone was established ‘for the more effective protection of excavated and non-excavated antiquities (remains of flint/chert processing during prehistoric times – cores, flakes, etc.)’. Subsequent rescue investigations by the Service, in 2010 and 2011 (Legaki) led to a clearer dating and provided additional information regarding the spatial organization of the production. In particular it was found that primary sources of the flint/chert raw materials are distributed around the top of the hill; in connection with these were two rock shelters with an abundance of raw material and the products of processing in front of their entrances. The first rock shelter is located on the eastern side and is narrow and low. The second, on the south-southwest side, is higher and deeper. Very close to it, were identified four possible places where flint processing took place, and a large quantity of raw material, processing waste and tools. The dating of the diagnostic tools was consistent with Seferiadis’ proposal for the Epipalaeolithic, further they held out the possibility of activity during the Upper and Middle Palaeolithic (100,000-35,000-11,000 BC respectively), even perhaps the Early Palaeolithic (back to 700,000 BC).
This exploration was followed by systematic surface survey and interdisciplinary excavation research in the area, from 2013 to the present, by the Canadian Institute (Tristan Carter) with the assistance of the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades (Dimitris Athanasoulis). This has confirmed that the flint source was exploited from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic (i.e. from 250,000 to 7000 BC). The results enriched the preliminary ones of the Ephorate by revealing strong indications of activity of early pre-sapiens species in periodic visits during the cold periods of the Pleistocene. This was when the much lower sea level opened land passages to the Cyclades from mainland Greece and from Anatolia. As for the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic, it is argued that the site was again accessible only by sea. Of course, in those times, the stretches of open sea were considerably shorter than today, as Naxos formed part of a larger island group, the so-called ‘Cycladia’ which also included Ios, Paros, Donoussa and Andros. In summary, the archaeological research that has been carried out so far in Stelida shows that it is the oldest site on Naxos, which in fact also equates to the earliest evidence for human activity in the Cyclades and the central Aegean basin more widely.
The use of Stelida flint/chert after the Mesolithic seems to have almost ceased, since it is established that it was replaced by the obsidian of Melos. However, surface pottery from the Bronze Age and Historical periods attests to the continuity of human presence on the hill of Stelida even later.
The ‘Minoan’ Sanctuary of Koryphi
Very recently (2019-2021) archaeological research on the southern peak of the hill (from where a large number of Palaeolithic flint/chert tools had been collected in the 2013 surface research) revealed a ‘Peak Sanctuary’ of the Minoan type, dating to the Middle Minoan IIIB-Late Minoan IA (1600-1550 BC). The sanctuary building is made of local flint/chert nodules and has dimensions of 7 x 6 m. During the excavation, ritual deposits of conical cups and pebbles, as well as remains of meals found in their original locations were recovered. Alongside these were retrieved objects with special symbolism and use (cult, votive), such as a stone ladle, bronze anthropomorphic figurines, a bronze effigy of a foot; all came from the building in question or its surroundings, having fallen down the slope.
Stelida is now one of the ‘group’ of the few ‘Minoan-type’ Peak Sanctuaries outside Crete: the others are Agios Georgios in Kythira, Troulos in Kea, Trianta in Rhodes, and, perhaps, according to one view, Mikri Vigla in Naxos. This new, and rather unexpected, discovery suggests that Naxos was a much more dynamic ‘player’ in Aegean relations with Palatial Crete than previously believed.
