Thursday 12 May 2016

Lake Copais TWO

#lakecopais #boeotia #ancientgreece


The Green Area is one of severel interpretations of the evidence for Lake Copais' shorelines during the Helladic / Mycenaean era. I picked this map to share first because it shows the surrounding mountains and rivers flowing out and into the Copaic Basin and plains. If you search the web yourself you will see other maps NOT showing a Se extension towards Thebes or showing more water around GLA in the NE. Please also bear in mind some of that GREEN area was wetlands with beds of reeds and marshy plants. There were also seasonal changes depending on the winter rains and spring runoff.

The reason there are question marks next to some sites is that whole settlements moved often further towards the hills or disappeared over the centuries.

Orchomenus for example was certainly NOT in the lake. I think the mapmaker is trying to indicate the possible location of a settlement / town mentioned by one ancient  historian who stated that it was moved off the plains due to flooding.

The dilemma for early settlers who wanted to use the shorelines for farming and grazing was the constantly shifting shoreline changing vastly after a major flood event and probably shifting every year  as silt was deposited or the eastern sinkholes blocked and cleared and blocked again.

Next time the rise and fall of the Minyans and Orchomenus.


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