habitat rupestre.pdf - Società Friulana di Archeologia

UNDERGROUND OR CAVE STRUCTURES IN GREECECRHIMA-CINP projectFig. 2 Excavation site in SantoriniFig. 3 Typical view of Santorini IslandFig. 4 Cave houses used for animals and for storage2. Cave Houses at SantoriniThe human presence on the island of Santorini seems to beexistent since the half of 3000 BC. In the well known Bronzeage, the paintings on the houses testified the existence of lifeas well as the prosperity on the island of Santorini in Greece.Moreover, the Minoan City of Akrotiri, was inhabited, as theexcavation has confirmed, until the 1500 BC, when the eruptionof the volcano buried the island entirely, with very thicklayers of lava. All traces of human activity vanished from theisland until the end of the 13th century B.C.Referring to the evolution of the human habitation and worshipin the Aegean, from the Prehistoric era until today, thecave techniques were applied mainly for housing or storagebut also for churches and cemeteries. One of the main reasonsfor the use of these caves was the protection from the sometimesextreme climatic conditions that prevailed mostly duringthe summer time (very high temperatures), and in somecases from the strong winds that increased due to the lack ofprotection from the steep cliffs. The specific urban fabric formof the Calderas villages of Santorini with the high density, thenarrow streets and the small buildings is due to the shortageof safe land, the need of protection from the sun and the wind,the security reasons and the family growth, the constructioneconomy and the highly communal spirit of the old societies. 3At Santorini the cave villages were created along the caldera,where the land was easy to work and to shape. According tothe sayings of the local villagers the fear of pirates led the localsto relocate their villages to the side of the island where thesudden cliffs could provide them with shelter from the pirates.It was harder to reach from the sea due to the height and thesteepness.Santorini is a small, circular group of volcanic islands locatedin the Aegean Sea, about 200 km south-east from the mainlandof Greece . It is also known by the name of the largestisland in the archipelago, Thira or Thera. The island was thesite of one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the last severalthousand years when it erupted cataclysmically about 3,500years ago. Before the eruption Santorini was known as Stroggilibut after the eruption many parts of the island sank to thebottom of the sea and so it is split into small islands at the presentface. Due to its morphology parts of the island look like asudden cliff and provide a good architectural structure for theunderground dwellings. The specific type of dwellings wereselected in order to monitor the direct effect of the local architectureand it’s almost “positive” environmental conditions.Most of the ground on the island of Santorini is covered bysoft and flexible volcanic land. It is a constructing materialthat was used by almost all the local villagers for the constructionof their homes since poverty was at its peak in those days..Their homes were shaped as open vaulted caves and that gavethem protection both from the pirate raids as well as from thewind. Topography and construction economy led to vaultedcaves of various sizes and uses. 4The constructions of Santorini are separate in three differenttypes:- The well known cave houses that are distinct due to the waythey are carved in front of the vertical layer of the “Aspa”- The typical built construction which is regarded as the neoclassicalevolution and was mainly perceived by richer peopleas the constructing materials where of high value.volumeRicerca_OK_2012-11-15.indd 96 16/11/2012 15:01:47