190 EVI MARgARITIS
landscape, agricultural systems and settlement patterns of the confined geog-
raphy of southern Pieria by employing up-to-date archaeological techniques.
A systematic sampling strategy has facilitated the creation of the most varied
and well-defined archaeobotanical data set in Greece relating to the Classical
period, due to its focus on a specific, delimited geographical area in which
both rural and urban centres were located (Margaritis forthcoming: 39). This
paper concentrates on the country houses of Kompoloi and Platania. For the
first time, ancient agriculture of the Classical period is approached through a
novel set of data: the plant remains, providing site-specific information on the
economic development of these sites located in a rural area of Greece.Classical Estates: Occupation, Utilisation and Production
The Site of Kompoloi
The Archaeology
The site of Kompoloi is situated close to the coast of the Thermaic Gulf, on fer-
tile alluvial soils. To convey some idea of its proximity to the other known sites
of the region, the hill of Platamon and the ancient city of Heraklio (the site of
Krania) at its foothills is located about 2.5 km to the south/southeast, while the
acropolis of the city Livithra lies 3.5 km to the northwest. Nine hundred metres
north of Kompoloi, the small rural site of Duvari I was excavated, and 100
metres further north another small rural site, Duvari II (Poulaki-Pantermali
2001 [2003]), was located but not excavated as it was heavily damaged by mod-
ern construction work (Figure 8.1).
The excavation at Kompoloi revealed a country house of approximately
1350 m^2 consisting of living quarters and a storage area, organised in an inte-
grated complex dating from the second half of the fourth century to the early
third century BCE (Figure 8.2).
The living quarters were arranged around a courtyard with stoas, typical for
the architecture of the period (Nevett 1999 ). There is evidence that the two
buildings continued to the east and west, suggesting a much larger area for the
site, but these areas were only identified and not excavated. In particular, the
extension to the east is thought to be of a similar size to the excavated living
quarters, also arranged around a courtyard (Poulaki, Mourati and Margaritis
forthcoming). A basement was also excavated on the eastern wing of the living
quarters, indicating the presence of a tower, a common feature in other farm-
houses around Greece (for a review of farmhouses with towers and suggested
interpretation see Morris and Papadopoulos 2005 ).
The living quarters and their stoas were full of amphorae, household vessels
in a variety of shapes, including large quantities of fine pottery, agricultural