the expansion of existing sites around the mid fourth centurybc.^14 We
know more about these rural sites than we do about the city of Pella itself
in the fourth centurybc, when it became the capital of Macedonia.Rural country estatesThe spatial coincidence of ancient with modern town sites and the
difficulty of extrapolating from the limited evidence available from
civic excavations means that isolated rural estates provide a more effect-
ive way of understanding agricultural production and consumption
patterns. The estates around Pella provide a general sketch of how such
farms operated over an extended period of time. The principal rural
establishments were the property of wealthy landowners, who belonged
to the leading aristocratic or otherwise distinguished families, and were
located either in low-lying areas, close to rich farmland and meadows, or
in upland, hilltop locations, with good views of the landscape, good
sources of fresh water, and opportunities to exploit the wildlife. Rural
farmsteads of Hellenistic, Roman, and early Christian date are located
north and south of the River Platanos. These farmhouses have all the
signs of well-established enterprises of some longevity. They were con-
structed of durable materials—including at least some ashlar masonry
and a considerable amount of woodwork—and were roofed with Lako-
nian-type tiles.^15 Such estates benefited from the wide range of wild as
well as domesticated species that could be reared or hunted in the
vicinity. The range of domesticates includes a wider range of equids
than those documented in earlier prehistory, with mules being the
principal beasts of burden and farmyard fowls enriching the regular
diet. A wealth of loom weights reflects substantial textile production
for domestic use.
The expansion of road and rail development projects across Macedo-
nia has greatly increased the number of recorded farmsteads of this type.
A group of rural estates has recently been examined in the vicinity of
Platamonas castle, which has been identified with the ancient city of
Herakleion.^16 Platamonas castle was a key nodal point on the north–
south coastal road between Tempe and Macedonia, overlooking the road
at the point where the coastal strip is narrowest as it skirts the foothills of
Mount Olympos. As in Bottiaia, the local environment—fresh water,
(^14) HM II, 658ff; P. Chrysostomou 1990, 221; Akamatis 2011, 393–8.
(^15) P. Chrysostomou 1995, 126, on the wealth of wildlife, vegetables, vines, and olives.
(^16) Poulaki-Pandermali 2008,‘Krania-Herakleio’, in Tsouna ed., 116–53, 154–7.
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