Dispilio is the only excavated Neolithic lakeside settlement in Greece. Archaeological research provided evidence that the site was continuously used from the Early Neolithic (∼6000 BC) to the Late Chalcolithic period (∼1200 BC, Mycenaean period). During several archaeological campaigns, a portion of the settlement has been excavated that enabled a sufficient understanding of the architectural layout of homes, the building materials, and the organization of space, while the finds (fragments of pottery, stone and bone tools, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic clay figurines, miniature representations of objects also on clay, animal and fish bones, charred cereal grains, and other fruits) provided information on the everyday lives of the Neolithic inhabitants. A series of charcoal and wood samples, originating mostly from the Middle and Late Neolithic layers of the site, were radiocarbon dated and their dates range from ∼5470 to 4850 BC. The most unexpected of the finds, a wooden tablet from the lake bearing engraved symbols, was 14C dated to 5260 ± 40 BC. In addition, clay tablets and pottery vessels engraved with similar symbols were also unearthed from layers dated to the same period. If this proves to be a primary source of written communication, the history of writing should be reconsidered and Neolithic societies should not be considered “societies without writing.” Radiocarbon Dating of the Neolithic Lakeside Settlement of Dispilio, Kastoria, Northern Greece | Radiocarbon | Cambridge Core Search Institution Login Search Hostname: page-component-5d84bcc8dc-scl2n Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-08-12T03:41:36.833Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false Home > Journals > Radiocarbon > Volume 56 Issue 2 > Radiocarbon Dating of the Neolithic Lakeside Settlement... English Français Radiocarbon Article contents Abstract References Radiocarbon Dating of the Neolithic Lakeside Settlement of Dispilio, Kastoria, Northern Greece Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 February 2016 Yorgos Facorellis , Marina Sofronidou and Giorgos Hourmouziadis Show author details Yorgos Facorellis Affiliation: Department of Antiquities and Works of Art Conservation, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Aghiou A series of charcoal and wood samples, originating mostly from the Middle and Late Neolithic layers of the site, were radiocarbon dated and their dates range from ∼5470 to 4850 BC. The most unexpected of the finds, a wooden tablet from the lake bearing engraved symbols, was 14 C dated to 5260 ± 40 BC. In addition, clay tablets and pottery vessels engraved with similar symbols were also unearthed from layers dated to the same period. Google Scholar Keramopoulos , A . 1940 . Excavation in Kastoria . Proceedings of the Archaeological Society at Athens 95 :22–3. In Greek . Google Scholar Kouli , K . 2008 . Vegetation and man: the evolution of the paleoenvironment of the Dispilio lake settlement from the palynological point of view . Anaskamma 1 :143–56. In Greek . Google Scholar La Marie , H . 1997–1999, 2006 . Linéaire A, la première écriture syllabique de Crète . Paris : Éditions Geuthner . Google Scholar Lazarovici , G , Merlini , M . 2005 . New archaeological data referring to Tàrtària tablets . Documenta Praehistorica XXXII :205–17. Google Scholar Mangafa , M . 2002 . The archaeobotanic study of the settlement . In: Hourmouziadis , G , editor. Dispilio, 7500 years after . Thessaloniki : University Studio Press . p 115–34. In Greek . Google Scholar Marangou , C . 2001 . Neolithic craft: evidence about boat types and uses . In: Bassiakos , I , Aloupi , E , Facorellis , Y , editors. Archaeometry Issues in Greek Prehistory and Antiquity . Athens : Hellenic Society of Archaeometry and Society of Messenian Archaeological Studies . p 737–51. Google Scholar Margaritis , E . 2011 . Storage, gathering and Lathyrism? at Dispilio . Anaskamma 5 :113–23. In Greek . Google Scholar Merlini , M . 2005 . Palaeoenvironment and human activities: anthracology at the lakeside Neolithic settlement of Dispilio, Kastoria . Anaskamma 4 : 45 – 60 . In Greek . Google Scholar Owens , G . 2009 . Was there a script in Final Neolithic Greece? In: Marler , J , Dexter , MR , editors. Signs of Civilization - Neolithic Symbol System of Southeast Europe . Novi Sad : Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts . p 193–7. Google Scholar Papadakis , NG . 1913 . From the Upper Macedonia . Athens : Athina . p 440–1. In Greek . Google Scholar Papadimitriou , N , Tsirtsoni , Z , editors. 2010 . Greece in the Wider Cultural Context of the Balkans during the Fifth and Fourth millennium BC . Athens : Nicholas P. Prehistoric Thessaly, being Some Account of Recent Excavations and explorations in North-Eastern Greece from Lake Kopais to the Borders of Macedonia . Cambridge : Cambridge University Press . Google Scholar Winn , S . 1981 . Pre-Writing Signs in Southeastern Europe: The Sign System of the Vinca Culture ca 4000 BC . Calgary : Western Publishers . Google Scholar 23 Cited by Cited by Loading... Cited by 23 Crossref Citations This article has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by Crossref . Kouli, K. 2015. Plant landscape and land use at the Neolithic lake settlement of Dispilió (Macedonia, northern Greece) . Radiocarbon Dating of the Neolithic Lakeside Settlement of Dispilio, Kastoria, Northern Greece Volume 56, Issue 2 Yorgos Facorellis (a1) , Marina Sofronidou (a2) and Giorgos Hourmouziadis (a2) DOI: https://doi.org/10.2458/56.17456 Your Kindle email address Please provide your Kindle email. @free.kindle.com @kindle.com ( service fees apply ) Available formats PDF Please select a format to save. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep content for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services Please confirm that you accept the terms of use.