Authentikk project emphasizes to the renovation and preservation of cultural assets. One of
the main preservation areas will be the Despilio Neolithic settlement representation. But what
do we know about this ancient civilization? In order to know more we intend to move to 5600
BC, to the very special Neolithic settlement next to the shore of the old lake of Orestis. Less
than ten kilometres from the present-day town of Kastoria, at Dispilio, a Neolithic
archaeological site with an unusual wealth of finds. More than 1,600 complete vases make up
a rare set related to the Neolithic Age, perhaps the largest and most representative in Greece.
The pottery of Dispilio is of exceptional quality and unique typology. Along with them were
found clay figurines, a well-known element of the Neolithic Age throughout the Eastern
Mediterranean and the Aegean, but in Dispilio it developed in a special way.
Depicting special forms that have no analogues in other settlements of Neolithic Greece.
The figure of a seated woman 40 cm high is unique, as is the figurine of an elderly man
rendered with unusual realism. Just as unique are the extremely rare musical instruments
found in the excavation. They include three flutes, a hydro-whistle, namely the one known
today as the ocarina (in playing it resembles a recorder). Together with them, there is also a
sistro (rattle). But even more fortunately for us, wooden objects were also found there.
Usually stems, goad hands, wedges and forks for hangers and spikes. The wooden objects
were preserved due to the conditions in the mud of the lake, constituting a part of Neolithic
life that is generally absent from the finds of other excavations, as they rarely leave traces.
All the artefacts produced by the Neolithic inhabitant of Dispilio attest first of all to his
advanced technological skills. But Neolithic artefacts are not just objects of admiration.
Having multiple meanings, they pave the way for an understanding of the culture and society of that time.

The figure of a seated woman 40 cm high is unique, as is the figurine of an elderly man
rendered with unusual realism. Just as unique are the extremely rare musical instruments
found in the excavation. They include three flutes, a hydro-whistle, namely the one known
today as the ocarina (in playing it resembles a recorder). Together with them, there is also a
sistro (rattle). But even more fortunately for us, wooden objects were also found there.

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