Η οχύρωση της Χαλκίδας. Η ανασκαφή στο χώρο ανέγερσης του Νέου Γενικού Νοσοκομείου.

Abstract

In 2012-2014, research resumed on the eastern limit of the construction site of the new General Hospital of Chalkis, and a section of defensive wall was uncovered. Research was centred on the area that stretches to the north foothills of Vathrovouni and is widely known as Pedio Volis (‘Shooting Range’) because it was used by the army as a firing range for decades. To the north of this hill extends a lower crest, 90 m high, known by the name Kalogritsa, on the low slopes of which a section of the city and the defensive wall were excavated. Sections of domestic remains and the defensive wall were partly visible and had already been located in the 1970s during surface exploration. However, since the area was the property of the Greek Army, excavations could only be launched after the construction of the new General Hospital was approved. One of the issues which puzzled the researchers of the topography of the ancient city more than anything else—whether the asty was enclosed by a defensive wall or not—was resolved by the latest archaeological research. In the documents of ancient authors, such as Aeneas Tacticus, Heraclides Criticus, Strabo and Titus Livius, the existence of a defensive enclosure is clearly recorded. The wall that was recently discovered forms part of the urban fortification of the ancient city. Regardless of what the research does not take into account (e.g. whether the entire headland was fortified or not), the latest archaeological evidence attests to the existence of at least one section with north-south orientation that encloses the city from the east, taking advantage of the geomorphological features of Vathrovouni.