About

The archaeological importance of Stélida was first recognized in 1981 during a survey conducted by the École Française d’Athènes, led by René Treuil. The initial findings, including extensive stone tool production areas (knapping floors) and lithic assemblages, were published by Michel Séfériadès in 1983, marking the first scholarly documentation of the site.

Today, the hill sits on a promontory extending into the Aegean, bordered by flat land to the west, coastal plains and brackish lagoons to the south, and granite hills and salt flats to the east, near the island’s airport. However, rapid development since the 1980s – including hotel complexes, private residences, and quarrying – has disturbed the archaeological remains, making research more urgent than ever.

Following its initial discoveries, Stélida remained largely unexplored until 2002, when Olga Philaniotou, an archaeologist from the Greek Ministry of Culture, conducted a rescue excavation on land marked for development. This intervention provided the first new insights into the site’s archaeological significance in decades, highlighting the need for further study before ongoing development could erase crucial prehistoric evidence.

As construction surged, further investigations were carried out by Irini Legaki in 2012 and 2014, revealing Mesolithic, Upper, and Middle Palaeolithic artifacts – potentially dating human presence at Stélida as far back as 80,000 years. These discoveries reinforced the idea that Stélida played a significant role in early human activity across the Cyclades, challenging previous assumptions about settlement patterns in the region.