The Greek archaeologist, Professor Emeritus of prehistoric archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and former KKE deputy George Hourmouziadis passed away on Oct 16th at the age of 81. His funeral will take place on Thursday 17th at 16:00 at the cemetery of Thermi, near Thessaloniki, Greece.
Hourmouziadis led excavations in many prehistoric settlements in Thessaly and Macedonia (such as Dimini, Arkadikos Dramas etc.) and on 1992 he started the excavation of the neolithic lakeside settlement of Dispilio in Kastoria, Northwestern Greece. A myriad of items were discovered, which included ceramics, structural elements, seeds, bones, figurines, personal ornaments, three flutes (considered the oldest in Europe) and the Dispilio Tablet.
The discovery of the wooden tablet was announced at a symposium in February 1994 at the University of Thessaloniki. The site’s paleoenvironment, botany, fishing techniques, tools and ceramics were published informally in the June 2000 issue of Eptakiklos, a Greek archaeology magazine.
George Hourmouziadis has been hospitalized since last September as he was diagnosed with advanced cancer.
“I speak and I write using the soil as raw material… this soil is not similar to that which we put in our pots every autumn. It is the soil of a strange garden, a garden where, thousands of years before, people like us, walked on the marks of their toil, anger, and of their rush and calm which they left behind. They left the footprints of their lives,” he noted on the occasion of the publication of his book “Logia kai Coma (Words and Soil).”
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
