Classical to Late Roman Sites at Diros Bay in the Mani Peninsula, Greece

This article presents a case study based on the results of an archaeological survey conducted between 2011 and 2014 in Diros Bay, southern Lakonia, Greece. This survey, conducted as part of the Diros Project and under the auspices of the Ephorate of Paleoanthropology and Speleology, was the first systematic, pedestrian survey to be undertaken in the Mani peninsula. Specifically, this article examines two concentrations of ceramic assemblages within the survey boundary that represent secure archaeological evidence for activity in the region from the Greek Classical to the Late Roman period. Together, the macroscopic, petrographic, chemical, and geophysical analyses presented in this article demonstrate the potential that lies in examining small, rural settlements. The goals of the present work are threefold: first, to demonstrate the importance of analyzing pedestrian surface survey finds and in recording the material culture in understudied regions; second, to illustrate the discrepancy between the historical record of classical antiquity and the actual record of occupation in the form of archaeological remains; and third, to emphasize the potential that this region holds for understanding the nature of rural settlements in the ancient Mani peninsula throughout classical antiquity.