Dimini

Population

|1981|1608 |1991|1956 |2001|2149 |2011|2279 |2021|2102

History

Neolithic

Dimini culture is well known for its abstract painted vessels. Dimini ware is characteristic of the Later Neolithic period in eastern Thessaly, although it was traded and imitated outside the region and has been identified as far away as Cakran in Albania.

File:Clay vase with polychrome decoration, Dimini, Magnesia, Late or Final Neolithic (5300-3300 BC).jpg|Clay vase with polychrome decoration, Dimini, Magnesia, Late or Final Neolithic (5300-3300 BC). Ceramic; height: 25 cm (9 in.), diameter at rim: 12 cm (4 in.); National Archaeological Museum (Athens) File:Ancient Greece Neolithic Pottery - 28171028800.jpg|Dimini plate, National Archaeological Museum (Athens) Terracotta base and lower body of a vessel MET DP21228.jpg|Terracotta base and lower body of a vessel; 3800-3300 BC; terracotta; length: 7.5 cm (2 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) Terracotta rim fragment with latticework design MET DP21226.jpg|Terracotta rim fragment with latticework design; 3800-3300 BC; terracotta; length: 10.6 cm (4 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art Terracotta rim of a bowl MET DP21233.jpg|Terracotta rim of a bowl; 3800-3300 BC; terracotta; length: 12.8 cm (5 in.); Metropolitan Museum of Art

Antiquity

In 1886, Lolling and Wolters excavated the Mycenean tholos tomb known as Lamiospito. In 1901, Valerios Stais discovered the tholos tomb on the hill of the Neolithic settlement. He worked at the Dimini settlement with Christos Tsountas from 1901 up until 1903. In 1977, George Chourmouziadis continued excavations at the Neolithic settlement. Excavations of the Mycenean settlement in Dimini began in 1980 by V. Adrimi-Sismani. In 2001 the excavations uncovered a Mycenaean city and palace complex they believe could be part of ancient Iolkos. A stone weight and a sherd inscribed with Linear B writing were also uncovered.

The "invasion theory" states that the people of the Neolithic Dimini culture were responsible for the violent conquest of the Sesklo culture at around 5000 BC. Moreover, the theory considers the "Diminians" and the "Seskloans" as two separate cultural entities. However, I. Lyritzis provides a different story pertaining to the relations between the Dimini and the Sesklo cultures. He, along with R. Galloway, compared ceramic materials from both Sesklo and Dimini utilizing thermoluminescence dating methods. He discovered that the inhabitants of the settlement in Dimini appeared around 4800 BC, four centuries before the fall of the Sesklo civilization (ca. 4400 BC). Lyritzis concluded that the "Seskloans" and "Diminians" coexisted for a period of time.

References

1. "Scientists trace the trail of Argonauts".
2. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)". National Statistical Service of Greece.
3. "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός". Hellenic Statistical Authority.