Castle of Velika - a fortified settlement of the age of Justinian

4 February -10 May 2017

The research at the castle of Velika during the past ten years, revealed the eastern section of a fortified settlement of the 6th cent AD, including the walls, the church, the storage rooms for the keeping of the agricultural production, as well as a residence with a central court which, due to its location and the findings, is identified as the residence of the local official. Many of these findings were traced during the castle’s reinforcement and enhancement works, in the years 2011-2013, funded by the Region of Thessaly, within the framework of the NSRF (National Strategic Reference Framework) and are now open to the public as an archaeological site.

The exhibition is organized around the church of the castle, the most important of the excavated buildings, which was investigated in a joint project with the University of Thessaly. The church is schematically imprinted including its most important architectural elements and in direct association to the fortification wall. It is surrounded by everyday life objects, as well as by burial offerings, in an effort to reveal aspects of life in a fortified settlement of that time in which life stopped in the 7th cent AD.

Particular significance is given to the direct relationship of the inhabitants with the sea, which helped them forward their agricultural products, as a continuation of the history of their ancestors, of ancient Melivia. The open horizons of the Aegean and the importance placed by Justinian on the supply of the castles of Danube through the Black Sea are depicted on the ceramics of the castle, particularly on the amphorae used for trade.