Sesklo and Dimini fortifications

[3] The Dimini (Διμήνι) settlement was approximately 5,000 square metres (54,000 sq ft) and included a megaron in an oval courtyard with smaller buildings and houses outside of the fortifications.

This site flourished during the late Neolithic period and used many of the same construction methods employed earlier at Sesklo, including stone walls.

[5] Further, Dimini was largely in control of production and exchange of an exotic and valuable type of oyster shell, which was used in creating personal ornaments like rings, beads, and buttons.

[3][5] Other Neolithic sites in Europe built structures using the same construction methods where a military function has been argued for very convincingly, including Makriyalos in Pieria, Strofilas on Andros Island, and in northeast Bulgaria.

Dimini had 4 or 5 of these gates, as well as other narrow openings into living and working areas, which are easy to defend, would slow down and confuse invaders, and give inhabitants multiple exits.

[3] Given the implications of building a wall, it is possible that they were meant to discourage attacks in the first place rather than to actually act as a protective measure in the midst of physical conflict.

[5] Upon later re-excavation of Dimini, no evidence of superstructures capping the walls was found, which could indicate they were not defensive in nature or they could be absent simply due to erosion.

Some scholars argue that this promotes sharing, negotiation, and mitigation of conflict, making it unlikely that the walls at Sesklo and Dimini had military purposes.