Around 15 km from Volos and set atop Kastraki hill you can find the well known Sesklo archaeological site. The Neolithic settlement of Sesklo was inhabited from the mid-7th till the 4th millenium B.C.
The stone foundations of houses you will see there today on Kastraki reveal that important buildings once stood in a huge settlement area of at least 100,000 square meters during the middle Neolithic period. The settlement of Sesklo was first discovered in the end of the 19th century, and soon became known as one of the most important Neolithic settlements in Greece, as well as in Europe.
The ceramic pots and other objects found at the site are dated to the Middle Neolithic sub periods in the Greek region. The Middle Neolithic era is today known as “Sesklo civilization” and is characterized from the increase of pottery and sophisticated firing techniques. The abundance of stone tools and the increased use of obsidian from Melos are also characteristic.
The most impressive structure in the Sesklo archaeological site is the so-called Mansion of Sesklo that was excavated in the beginning of the 20th Century. It was built in the early Neolithic period at the highest point of Kastraki Hill and was surrounded by a network of circular stone enclosures. The other (simpler and smaller) houses from the settlement surrounded this central axis.