Talk:Voroskopos

Untitled

 * May an old (native-language) English teacher (with no knowledge of Lemnos) offer the following improvements in the language of English wikipedia's coverage of this? I am lodging this on the discussion page, az I am not sure about some of my suggestions, and I should hate to distort the history.

Voroskopos (Βοροσκόπος) is a settlement in the Greek island of Limnos. It lies in the municipality of Moudros within the municipal district of Kaminia. The 2001 population of the settlement was 28. Its name comes from a cape in Limnos next to where it is built. The prehistoric city of Poliochne was founded on its beach.

Nearest places

 * Kaminia, northwest
 * Agia Sofia, south

Nomenclature
The name Vroskopos or Voroskopos (Βοροσκόπος), Vyroskopos and Viroskopos was mentioned for the first time by a Florentine cleric, geographer and traveller Cristoforo Buondelmonti in a map illustrating part of his travels in 1418. The name is older than 1418. From Buondelmonti, the philologist Manolis Rokkos communicated this etymology to the first Onomatological Council (Myrina, 1991):

The name is derived from the epithet evrys and the noun skopos which form Evryskopos (Ευρύσκοπος) - Voroskopos, and means 'the location from whence the area may be observed far around'. Similarly, the name Skopos and Skopia on the island are derived from Ancient Greek words, according to the same source. This derivation accords with the view that the area has housed a continuous population from ancient times until today, and it has never departed from a large chronic space.
 * Note: I can't think what chronic means here.

Ancient era
Vroskopos had a populated area from prehistoric times, as far back as the Neolithic Age. By the early Bronze Age, a settlement had grown up by the coast, which changed into a flourishing city: Poliochne, whose rubble survived until the 1930s, flourished for around two millennia. It was ruined by a large earthquake and continued to decline until its loss in the mid-2nd millennium BC.

Ancient artifacts bear witness that

did not had the running of a settlement around the area 
 * this is not clear. Perhaps: There seems to have been no organized settlement in Lemnos by Pelasgian people during the Ancient era, nor by Greeks during

the Athenean (classical eras). Within the greater area, the Roman Empire founded a sparsely built settlement on the nearby hill of Paracheiri or Parahiri (Παραχείρι). In the next centuries, life continued in Lemnos with no administrative settlement.

Medieval era
The centre of a small beach settlement currently sjhowing two basic buildings was clearly founded by the coastline above the ruins of Poliochne. It was a good location for a port, located near the slopes of the hill. Settlement in Vroskopos from the 11th until the 13th centuries can be identified from the tombs of that time. The tombs were found in the grounds of the hill of Poliochne, and had bronze jewels. Evidence of sporadic ceremonials in the Byzantine era was found in 1991, slightly north at the Skin Hill (Dermata Hill) near Agia Triada.

A small settlement in the area was bordered by the coastline, presumably due to continued pirate attacks. Its residents had a cemetery on Poliochne's hill.

For the direction of the settlement built on a small outpost. It was unpopular that was built but believe to be around 1207 and 1214 when the Venetians built many outposts and Lemnos Castle even the anchorage. It did not feature that it had a rubble of a Byzantine outpost.

The remains of the castle were found by German archaeologist Conze in 1858, when he visited the area, he wrote:

Down below, passed several groves that called Voroskopoos near a speing, to the left, a road that had a grove, to the right, several rubbles from a Medieval outpost.

Settlement and outpost
On a 15th century map by Chr. Buondelmonti, the name Voroskopos meant an inland area and not the coast. It had plains that had an inland settlement (probably Kaminia) which had its own port in a nearby sea area of Vroskopos. The cartographer, famed the settlement's name, it was called Voroskopos from the cape name and its port which was popular in the navy of that time.

The same mistake made and the posterior travellers, as the French L. De Launay that he name Voroskopo in 1894 as well as its cape and the inland village (especially Kaminia).

Around 1520, Piri Reis came to Limnos, a Turkish navy and a geographer of the Sultan. He mentioned that the area had shallow water of Skala and had an abandoned outpost, Burun Hisar (Castle of the Cape), its population shifted and settled into the outpost Baly Kesti during Bayazit II's rule (1481-1512). Burun Hisar was founded in Vroskopos and believed that was known today as Pyrgoi around Goudla (Γούδλα') in Fissini.

Around the late 15th century its coastal inhabitants of the area left and Vroskopos became deserted. It was believed that had happened, several decades earlier, in 1470 as the coast of east Lemnos was invaded by a strong battle with 300 troops and moved into the Skala's bank, the entire outposts in the area even Vroskopos was mentioned by the Turks. It suffered damages and its residents that fled were annihilated. Later in 1509, a large earthquake ruined the bank of Kalliopi and eastern Lemnos.

Vroskopos meant and other travellers as the settlement was in its outpost location (castle).

On H. Petri's map in 1571, it had a seaside settlement on the island's cast coast next to Skala bank, without being name. It said that for Vroskopos it was the nearby Agiomarino (Αγιομάρνο).

On Ortelius' map in 1584, it had a based recorded by a French traveller P. Belon, it had another source for Vroskopos. It meant as a seaside settlement with the name Voroscopo between the banks of Skala it was located southward into the settlement Sotira (Σωτήρα) which located northward. The correct depiction had in a map that was made by Belon in 1588, the third edition of his book.

In 1638 and 1650 mentioned by a map from Johann Laurenberg as Vroscopus and a 1650 map listed as a castle with a nearby settlement. In the late 16th century, the Turks visited the outposts of the island, as Velon in 1588 and Laurenberg in 1650 founded the castle's location of Vroskopos.

Later around the 16th century and the early 17th century, the port was as its height, naturally always in the area with a cobbled port of Skala founded northward. It had brought passnevers and merchandise. It shipped oil from Lesbos and Aivali, grapes from Asia Minor, marbles from Thrace and brought wine, wheat, ceramic, skin, hair, cheese and pasta.

The rise and fall
The Venetian-Turkish War began (1645-69) and the Venetians ruled Lemnos for a short time between 1656 and 1657. It had large damages and ruined the island's outposts. They prepared for destruction of its castle.

From then Vroskopos was mentioned as a cape and its port, not the settlement. Its name that had in it sources and its map from different travellers. In 1685, an anonymous German mentioned as Vrosco, in 1688, a Dutch doctor Olfred Dapper mentioned it as Vroscopos, a French diplomat Choisseul-Gouffier mentioned it as Vroskopos in 1785 with its ruined castle.

Even as the whole island, its seaside villages were abandoned in the 17th century and the same happening with Vroskopos from a fear of pirates. From then, during the night brought its inhabitants into the sea with their boats and only by its coast.

Until 1656, Vroskopos was an important settlement in the area, apartly it had an inland settlement Kaminia and a small farm settlement around the area. Belon listed that it had 75 villages on the island in 1548 and a predominant security and peace. Lemnos was not as much as arable, it was more bitterly known. Argyrios Moschidis wrote that its residents took courage, they came from the outpost and ruled a settlement with a few valleys. Apart, it featured a castle and fled from its pirate attacks.

Πάντως σε όλο το νησί, τα παραλιακά χωριά εγκαταλείφθηκαν κατά το 17ο αιώνα και το ίδιο συνέβη και με το Βρόσκοπο από το φόβο της πειρατείας. Από τότε, μόνο τη νύχτα τολμούσαν οι κάτοικοι να βγουν στη θάλασσα με τις βάρκες τους και μόνο κοντά στις ακτές.

In the early 17th century, piracy saw a large exaltation. W. Lithgow wrote in 1609 that when he visited Lemnos, its residents were inside day and night in its mountain peaks and localized its pirate ships. It mentioned 15 pirate attacks in 1611 in the island's sea area.

In the mid and late 17th century, Vroskopos suffered a nearby damage (1656 and 1698) and abandoned entirely. Its population moved to the hear of the island and the area became Kaminia which was founded in a safe area with a view of the sea.

Modern period
In the mid 20th century, Vroskopos was next to the village of Kamini. It had until today a fishing port for its residetns. It had a small chapel and an old monastery. It had agricultural farmland that used small barns and groves for its animals.

From the 1930s, excavation of Poliochne began and had a prehistoric centre. Its excavations continued after the war and the area becgan to develop around the area. In the lat 1980s, it ran an archeological village with a small kiosk. It had a building for archeologist's artifacts that worked in the village.

Apart from the surrounding area, it featured toruism. Houses were built and had its only inhabitants, its road paved and connected the settlement with the main road, the port was built and renovated the nearby beach Kokkinovrachos with a visited beach.

Vroskopos is recognized as a separate settlement of the municipal district of Kaminia with 28 people.