The prehistoric settlement is located close to the present village of Sesklo, fifteen kilometres to the SW of Volos. The settlement lies on the Kastraki hill, bounded by two streams and better known as the”Acropolis”, and on the surrounding area. The first excavations were carried out on the “Acropolis” under Chr. Tsoundas (1901-1902). In 1956 D. Theocharis conducted a new excavation on the hill and after 1972 another dig in the adjacent area lasted until 1977. Sesklo was originally inhabited in the middle of the seventh millennium. The rare architectural remnants dating from this period are a few elliptic pits dug in the hard soil- Later, in the sixth millennium, houses with stone foundations are built on the “Acropolis” and the surrounding area. Almost all the architectural remnants visible today on the archaeological site belong to the Middle Neolithic period (fifth millennium), when the settlement shows an astonishing development. This period is identified with the “Civilization of Sesklo” and is characterized by the architectural layout of the settlement, the increase of painted ceramics – with a parallel improvement of firing -and also by an extensive use of stone tools.
Around 4.400 BC the settlement is abandoned for more than 500 years, as a result of a natural disaster, fire or earthquake. In the Late Neolithic period Sesklo is partially reinhabited, strictly in the “Acropolis” area.
