Kastritsa ( el, Καστρίτσα, before 1927: Μπαρκμάδι - ''Barkmadi''
[Name changes of settlements in Greece]
/ref>) is a village in the municipal unit of Pamvotida
Pamvotida ( el, Παμβώτιδα) is a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina, of which it is a municipal unit. It is named after the La ...
, Ioannina regional unit in Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. In 2011 its population was 557. It is situated on a hillside near the southern shore of Lake Ioannina
Lake Pamvotida or Pamvotis ( el, Λίμνη Παμβώτιδα/Παμβώτις), commonly also Lake of Ioannina ( el, Λίμνη των Ιωαννίνων, ''Limni ton Ioanninon'') is the largest lake of Epirus, located in the central part o ...
. It is situated 2 km southwest of Vasiliki, 3 km east of Katsikas
Katsikas ( el, Κατσικάς) is the largest village of the municipal unit Pamvotida, in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, northern Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina. Its population is 3, ...
and 7 km southeast of Ioannina
Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...
. The Egnatia Odos motorway (Alexandroupoli - Thessaloniki - Ioannina - Igoumenitsa) passes south of the village.
Name
Until 1927 the village was named ''Barkoumadi'' or ''Barkmadi'' ( el, Μπαρκουμάδι or Μπαρκμάδι), after the Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
words ''bark'' and ''madh'' literally meaning big belly and metaphorically "the good eater". In 1927 it was renamed to Kastritsa after the ruins of a castle located near the village.[
]
Population
Archaeology
Artifacts found in the vicinity are believed to demonstrate a human presence in the village from the Neolithic age
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
until historic times.
The site of ancient Tecmon Tecmon or Tekmon ( grc, Τέκμων) was a city of Molossis in ancient Epirus, incorrectly called by Stephanus of Byzantium a city of Thesprotia, taken by Lucius Anicius Gallus, the Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital ...
is conjectured as being at Kastritsa[An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis: An Investigation Conducted by The Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation by Mogens Herman Hansen, 2005, page 349] or that of Eurymenai (Epirus)
Eurymenae or Eurymenai ( grc, Έυρυμεναί) was an ancient Greek city of Molossis located in the region of Epirus. The city belonged to the Molossian koinon and was inhabited by the Arktanoi tribe.
Its site is tentatively located near mod ...
.
West of the village is the height Kastritsa which is rich in artifacts. At the elevation, the following have been found:
On the west bank, there is a cave with evidence of occupation dating back to around 20,000 and 10,000 years ago, the new period of the Paleolithic age
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tool ...
in Greece. The cave was reported by English archeologists in 1967. In the north side, another cave with paintings from the late Neolithic age. On the foot of the location, it has a tomb of the Late Helladic period.
East of the village a settlement has been found in 1948-49, which was reported by S. Dakaris in 1951-52. Artifacts (tombs, ceramic) showed it was settled from the Neolithic age until the historic years. North of the hill features the ancient Acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
Tekmon (Τέκμον) which used the ancient art with a perimeter of about 3,000 m with 5 entrances, the central entrance is in the northeastern side of the hill.
See also
* List of settlements in the Ioannina regional unit
References
External links
Kastritsa at the GTP Travel Pages
{{Ioannina div
Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit)
Geography of ancient Epirus
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece
Former populated places in Greece