Members of the British school at Athens briefly excavated the site of Geraki (Ancient Geronthrai) in the spring and summer of 1905. Their work was inspired by the hope to locate the monuments as described by Pausanias and in particular the Apollo temple, that was to be located on the acropolis. They did not succeed in this purpose and the location of the temple remains unknown now.
The project of the University of Amsterdam has a different aim. Through excavation and intensive on-site survey the researchers aim to document the history of habitation on and around the acropolis of Geraki from the earliest times onwards, with a special focus on the community’s place in the socio-political configuration of Laconia.
The earliest evidence for human activity on the site, consisting of handmade pottery and obsidian tools, stems from the Final Neolithic period (ca. 4400-3000). No architectural remains have been found, but the finds suggest occupation of the acropolis already in this early period.

The earliest architectural remains consist of a few house walls that cannot be dated more closely than the Early Helladic I period. The survey and excavations have provided evidence that the acropolis must have housed a community of considerable size and importance in the Early Helladic II period (ca. 2700-2200 BC.) This period in Geraki is also marked by a substantial defensive system that was uncovered in the eastern part of the excavated area.

Geraki was abandoned at the end of the Middle Helladic period, but human activity resumed in the Early Iron Age. The extent of this activity is as yet unknown, but must have been on a more restricted scale than that of the Early Helladic II period. The archaic period is mostly represented by evidence for cult activities. The sacred function may have survived through the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods. In the Hellenistic period the summit of the acropolis was inhabited again. House remains dating to this period have been identified. This was a period of turmoil for the province of Lakonia marked by a loss of Spartan power and a series of battles and incursions, which is shown in the haphazard layout and careless construction of the Hellenistic houses.
Final abandonment of the acropolis hill didn’t occur until the later first century BC. The temple of Apollo, mentioned by Pausanias, was still standing and open to the public and other parts of the acropolis were used for burials. In the following centuries the hill was turned to agricultural and sometimes also a defensive use.