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27-464: Stemnitsa has been identified with the ancient Arcadian city Hypsous ( Υψούς ). It was already ruined in the 2nd century AD, when it was visited by Pausanias . It was near Thyraion (present Pavlia ), Zoetia and Paroria . Hypsous was founded by a son of Lycaon . In the 7th and 8th century Slavs settled in the Peloponnese. The name Stemnitsa has Slavic roots and means "woodland". After

54-402: A folklore museum . It includes various exhibitions regarding the traditional way of Stemnitsa life in the past including how candles were made, a jeweler's workshop, a shoe repair shop and a copper tinning representation. It also houses an extensive selection of Byzantine icons, old costumes, copper- ware, guns and jewelry. An organization which is responsible for the beautification of Stemnitsa

81-568: A lasting written account of "all things Greek", or panta ta hellenika . Being born in Asia Minor , Pausanias was of Greek heritage. He grew up and lived under the rule of the Roman Empire , but valued his Greek identity, history, and culture. He was keen to describe the glories of a Greek past that still was relevant in his lifetime, even if the country was beholden to Rome as a dominating imperial force. Pausanias's pilgrimage throughout

108-485: A lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from his firsthand observations. Description of Greece provides crucial information for making links between classical literature and modern archaeology , which is providing evidence of the sites and cultural details he mentions although knowledge of their existence may have become lost or relegated to myth or legend. Nothing is known about Pausanias apart from what historians can piece together from his own writing. However, it

135-516: A new approach as centuries of human occupation had created deep layers of stratigraphy that could often only be seen through the keyholes of individual building plots. In Britain, post-war archaeologists such as W. F. Grimes and Martin Biddle took the initiative in studying this previously unexamined area and developed the archaeological methods now employed in much cultural resource management and rescue archaeology . Archaeology increasingly became

162-496: A past tense verb rather than the present tense in some instances. Their interpretation is that he did this in order to make it seem as if he were in the same temporal setting as his audience. Unlike a modern day travel guide, in Description of Greece Pausanias tends to elaborate with discussion of an ancient ritual or to impart a myth related to the site he is visiting. His style of writing would not become popular again until

189-436: A professional activity during the first half of the 20th century. Although the bulk of an excavation's workforce would still consist of volunteers, it would normally be led by a professional. It was now possible to study archaeology as a subject in universities and other schools, and by the end of the 20th century nearly all professional archaeologists, at least in developed countries, were graduates of such programs. Undoubtedly

216-500: A purveyor of second-hand accounts and believed that Pausanias had not visited most of the places that he described. Modern archaeological research, however, has been revealing the accuracy of information imparted by Pausanias, and even its potential as a guide for further investigations. Research into Tartessos exemplifies where his writing about it is aiding contemporary archaeological research into its existence, location, and culture. Modern archaeology Modern archaeology

243-405: A small portion has actually been excavated. The application of physical sciences to archaeology, known as archaeometry or archaeological science , is now a major part of archaeology. Archaeology has also come to use geographic information systems , designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and visualize all types of geospatial data. The discovery in 1991 in the Ötztaler Alps of

270-477: A technology that measures the height of the ground surface and other features in large areas of landscape with resolution and accuracy that was not previously available. Subsurface remote sensing techniques such as magnetometry and ground-penetrating radar enable an advanced picture to be built up of what lies beneath the soil before excavation even commences. The entire Roman town of Viroconium , modern day Wroxeter , has been surveyed by these methods, though only

297-459: Is honest about his sourcing, sometimes confirming contemporary knowledge by him that may be lost to modern researchers. Until twentieth-century archaeologists concluded that Pausanias was a reliable guide to sites being excavated, classicists largely had dismissed the writings of Pausanias as purely literary. Following their presumed authoritative contemporary Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff , classicists tended to regard him as little more than

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324-462: Is probable that he was born c.  110 AD into a Greek family and was probably a native of Lydia in Asia Minor. From c.  150 until his death around 180, Pausanias travelled throughout the mainland of Greece, writing about various monuments, sacred spaces, and significant geographical sites along the way. In writing his Description of Greece , Pausanias sought to put together

351-468: Is the discipline of archaeology which contributes to excavations . Johann Joachim Winckelmann was one of the founders of scientific archaeology and first applied the categories of style on a large, systematic basis to the history of art . He was "the prophet and founding hero of modern archaeology". The next major figure in the development of archaeology was Mortimer Wheeler , whose highly disciplined approach to excavation and systematic coverage in

378-467: Is the Cultural and Beautification Organization "Politistikos kai Exoraistikos Syllogos Stemnitsioton Ypsountas". This organization is also in charge of the local cultural center "The Nikoletopouleion" and of organizing a number of other events which take place during the year, mainly during the months of July and August. Seven kilometers from Stemnitsa, down by the ravine of the river Lousios one can find

405-508: The Greek War of Independence of 1821. It is now a monument and is located next to the square. Pausanias (geographer) Pausanias ( / p ɔː ˈ s eɪ n i ə s / paw- SAY -nee-əs ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Παυσανίας ; c.  110  – c.  180 ) was a Greek traveler and geographer of the second century AD. He is famous for his Description of Greece ( Ἑλλάδος Περιήγησις , Hēlládos Periḗgēsis ),

432-403: The 1920s and 1930s brought the science into the modern era. Wheeler developed the grid system of excavation , which was further improved on by his student Kathleen Kenyon . The two constant themes in their attempts to improve archaeological excavation were first, to maintain strict stratigraphic control while excavating (for this purpose, the baulks between trenches served to retain a record of

459-444: The early nineteenth century when contemporary travel guides resembled his. In the topographical aspect of his work, Pausanias makes many natural history digressions on the wonders of nature documented at the time, the signs that herald the approach of an earthquake , the phenomena of the tides , the ice-bound seas of the north, and that at the summer solstice the noonday sun casts no shadow at Syene ( Aswan ). While he never doubts

486-439: The existence of the deities and heroes, he criticizes some of the myths and legends he encountered during his travels as differing from earlier cultural traditions that he relates or notes. His descriptions of monuments of art are plain and unadorned, bearing a solid impression of reality. Pausanias is frank in acknowledging personal limitations. When he quotes information at second hand rather than relating his own experiences, he

513-623: The fall of Constantinople in 1453 the Peloponnese was occupied by the Ottoman Empire . Due to its remote location Stemnitsa served as a relatively safe haven from the Ottomans, and it became a centre of Greek culture and religion. Many old churches from this period have been preserved. The church of Bafero was built in 1185 and the Zoodochos in 1433. The two larger churches are Ai-Giorgis and Agia Paraskevi. The first mention, some say, of

540-565: The land of his ancestors was his own attempt to establish a place in the world for this new Roman Greece, connecting myths and stories of ancient culture to those of his own time. Pausanias has a straightforward and simple writing style. He is, overall, direct in his language, writing his stories and descriptions unelaborately. However, some translators have noted that Pausanias's use of various prepositions and tenses may be confusing and difficult to render in English. For example, Pausanias may use

567-400: The linen fibres were of medieval origin. Other developments, often spin-offs from wartime technology, led to other scientific advances. For field archaeologists, the most significant of these was the use of the geophysical survey . This encompasses a number of remote sensing techniques, such as aerial photography and satellite imagery . Also used is light detection and ranging (LIDAR) ,

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594-407: The major technological development in 20th century archaeology was the introduction of radiocarbon dating , based on a theory first developed by American scientist Willard Libby in 1949. Despite its many limitations (compared to later methods it is inaccurate; it can only be used on organic matter; it is reliant on a dataset to calibrate it; and it only works with remains from the last 10,000 years),

621-584: The monastery of St. John the Baptist (Prodromos) built, according to some sources, around 1167, on the side of a rock face. It served as a center of faith and education for the enslaved Greeks during the Ottoman rule. About 200 yards below the monastery, is the river Lousios. Near the monastery are the excavations of an ancient hospital built in honor of the ancient Greek god of medicine, Asclepius . The library of Stemnitsa used to have around 5,000 volumes until

648-484: The revolution of March 25, 1821, from the end of May to mid of June 1821, it served as the first seat of the "Peloponissiaki Gerousia", the temporary government of the liberated Peloponnese. The Gerousia met at the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi. Stemnitsa was known for its gold- and silversmiths, as well as other crafts. Since the 1970s, there is a public funded gold and silver smithery school in Stemnista. Stemnitsa has

675-568: The strata that had been dug through), and second, to publish a record of the excavation promptly and in a form that would tell the story of the site to the intelligent reader. Bomb damage during the Second World War and subsequent rebuilding gave archaeologists the opportunity to meaningfully examine inhabited cities for the first time. Bombed sites provided windows onto the development of European cities whose pasts had been buried beneath working buildings. Urban archaeology necessitated

702-607: The technique brought about a revolution in archaeological understanding. For the first time, it was possible to put reasonably accurate dates on discoveries such as bones. This in some cases led to a complete reassessment of the significance of past finds. Classic cases included the Red Lady of Paviland . It was not until 1989 that the Catholic Church allowed the technique to be used on the Turin Shroud , indicating that

729-618: The word Stemnitsa, was found in Ottoman taxation documents dated 1512-1515 where the number of families appeared to be about 120. This information was published by professor John Alexandropoulos. In the Grimani Venetian Census report Stemnitsa was shown as the most populous village in Gortynia with 925 people. Stemnitsa was a shelter for the Kolokotronis clan and other fighters of the Greek War of Independence . After

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