Maroulas, Kythnos

Maroulas is an archaeological site in Kythnos, Greece. It is a Mesolithic settlement located in Loutra and dates back to between 8800 and 8600 BC. Maroulas seems to have been used for a few centuries at the beginning of the 9th millennium BC, and it is considered as the oldest settlement in the island region of the Aegean Sea. The site was identified as a pre-Neolithic settlement in 1975, but this view was contested until the first exploration of the site in 1995. The excavation continued between 2001 and 2005 by the University of the Aegean and the 21st Ephorate of the Cyclades. Architectural structures, tombs, stone tools and food residues of fauna and flora have been discovered at the site.