Makyneia, a settlement in Aetolia

Abstract

Northwest of Antirrio in Aitoloakarnania, in the region of western Central Greece, where there is a small acropolis (Palaiokastro), lies ancient Makyneia. The city around the middle of the 4th century B.C. was incorporated into the Aetolian State. The rescue excavation of a large part of the settlement to the southeast of the acropolis, which took place in the context of the construction of the Ionian Highway between 2009–2013, brought to light valuable information about its urban and architectural development over time: from the prehistoric period (end of the 3rd – first half of the 2nd millennium) to the end of the Hellenistic times.

The excavation revealed a total of 32 buildings and building complexes of varying preservation and dating, while throughout the settlement's life the free urban system was maintained, adapted to the peculiarities of the terrain. The article attempts to integrate the settlement into the wider geographical context, while analyses features of its communal urban and architectural organisation, water management, and as well as of craft and domestic industrial activities.