Assiros

Assiros Άσσηρος
Municipal unit
Assiros Location within the regional unit
Coordinates: 40°49.25′N 23°1.85′E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Central Macedonia
Regional unit	Thessaloniki
Municipality	Lagkadas
Area
• Municipal unit	76.657 km^2 (29.597 sq mi)
• Community	55.369 km^2 (21.378 sq mi)
Elevation	186 m (610 ft)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Municipal unit	3,290
• Municipal unit density	43/km^2 (110/sq mi)
• Community	2,037
• Community density	37/km^2 (95/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	57200
Area code(s)	+30-2394
Vehicle registration	NA to NX

Assiros (Greek: Άσσηρος, before 1926: Γιουβέσνα - Giouvesna,^[2] Macedonian: Гвоздово, romanized: Gvozdovo) is a village and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lagkadas, of which it is a municipal unit.^[3] The 2011 census recorded 2,037 inhabitants in the community of Assiros and 3,290 inhabitants in the municipal unit.^[1] The community of Assiros covers an area of 55.369 km², while the respective municipal unit covers an area of 76.657 km².^[4]

Administrative division

The community of Assiros consists of two separate settlements (2021 populations):^[1]

• Assiros (population 1,843)
• Examili (population 194)

History

The archaeological site of Assiros Toumba, a 4000 year old settlement mound, is located within the territory of modern Assiros. Excavation between 1975 and 1989 at this site has made a major contribution to understanding the nature of settlement, society, economy and material culture in prehistoric Macedonia.^[5] A combination of radiocarbon and dendrochronological research on building timbers and radiocarbon dates for animal bones recovered from the site has provided one of the few accurate dates for the transition from Bronze to Iron Age in the Aegean area c.1070 BC.^[6]

According to the statistics of Vasil Kanchov ("Macedonia, Ethnography and Statistics"), 500 Greek Christians and 360 Turks lived in the village in 1900.^[7]

See also

• Toumba
• List of settlements in the Thessaloniki regional unit

References

1. "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
2. Name changes of settlements in Greece
3. "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
4. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
5. Wardle, Diana; Wardle, Kenneth. "Assiros Toumba. A brief history of the settlement K.A. Wardle, D. Wardle, Strymon Praehistoricus Sofia 2007".
6. Wardle, Kenneth; Higham, Thomas; Kromer, Bernd (2014). "Dating the End of the Greek Bronze Age: A Robust Radiocarbon-Based Chronology from Assiros Toumba". PLOS ONE. 9 (9): e106672. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9j6672W. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106672. PMC 4164355. PMID 25222862.
7. Kanchov, Vasil, Macedonia, Ethnography and Statistics, Sofia, 1900, book 2, p. 11. Written as "Гювезна (Гвоздово)". (in Bulgarian)

External links

• Assiros Project web pages
• Thracians and Mycenaeans: Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress [1]
• The Oxford Illustrated History of Prehistoric Europe by Barry W. Cunliffe [2]
• Urbanism in the Aegean Bronze Age by Keith Branigan [3]
• Official site of the Demos (Municipality) of Assiros
• Catalogue of archaeological sites in the Demos of Assiros