Stone Age Sites at Alonitsi

On the northeast side of Agios Efstratios stretches the area of Alonitsi, a coastal valley ringed by low mountains, sand dunes and distinctive geological formations. Its name probably relates to the “aloni,” the circular area where grain was threshed. Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites identified here attest to human presence since the Stone Age. Finds include shells and stone tools of local opal, dated to the Middle Palaeolithic (100,000–90,000 years ago). Examples from the Upper Palaeolithic and Neolithic were also identified. Professor Sampson links Alonitsi’s lithic industry with counterparts on Lemnos, Imbros and Gallipoli, indicating early networks of contact. From the Neolithic period, notable are ceramic sherds of the Final Neolithic, akin to those of Poliochni on Lemnos, as well as vessels paralleled at Aegean sites.