The Middle Palaeolithic of the Pindos Range and its Neighbouring Areas: New Evidence from SMR1 (Samarina, western Macedonia, Greece)

The Middle Palaeolithic record of the southern Balkans is largely known from open-air surface scatters that are often difficult or impossible to date and lack a clear stratigraphic context. In the area close to the Pindos range, only two sites—Theopetra cave and Asprochaliko rockshelter—yielded stratified Middle Palaeolithic deposits, while Kokkinopilos presents partial stratification, although artefacts from older excavations remain difficult to contextualise. Information on surface scatters is generally limited to typological assessments, with little insight into depositional processes or spatial distribution. SMR1 (Samarina, western Macedonia) represents an exceptionally large Middle Palaeolithic assemblage recovered from erosional patches. The site is on a terrace overlooking the Samariniotikos River located at 1517 m a.s.l. While most artefacts were found in a horizontal position on the surface, a few of them were embedded in the soil profile, suggesting a buried context affected by recent erosion and accumulation. The assemblage includes all stages of lithic reduction, from core preparation to micro-debitage, reinforcing its technological coherence and Middle Palaeolithic attribution. Despite the absence of any direct radiometric dating, the techno-typological characteristics of SMR1 can be compared with some dated and undated assemblages from the Pindos range, providing valuable evidence for the Balkan Peninsula Middle Palaeolithic debate and Neanderthal occupation of the Pindos highlands.