J. Davis 1992. Review of Aegean Prehisto PDF

Review of Aegean Prehistory I: The Islands of the Aegean
Author(s): Jack L. Davis

Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 96, No. 4 (Oct., 1992), pp. 699-756
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/505192
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Review of Aegean Prehistory I:
The Islands of the Aegean
JACK L. DAVIS
INTRODUCTION of the Bronze Age, and it is no surprise that its se-

quence formed the basis for a tripartite Cycladic chro-
Not so long ago the islands of the Aegean (fig. 1)
nology, established parallel to Helladic and Minoan
were considered by many to be the backwater of Greek
phases
prehistory.' Any synthesis of the field hadon the Greek mainland and Crete. The exis-
perforce
tence upon
to base its conclusions almost exclusively of a Neolithic
data in the islands, particularly on Keos,
Saliagos, and
collected before the turn of the century. The entire Chios, had been demonstrated but in
no instance had
prehistory of the islands received fewer than 16 pages been fully documented.
of discussion in Emily Vermeule's Greece in the Bronze later, the situation has been al-
A quarter century
tered drastically.
Age (Chicago 1964), almost all of this concerned Particularly in the last decade prog-
with
the art and graves of the Early Bronze Age Cyclades; rapid, hampering any attempt to
ress has been very
produce a totally
other parts of the Aegean sea were generally men-up-to-date synthesis of new data, as
tioned only in passing. Vermeule had no choice but appearance of important studies in
does the frequent
new Greek
to write that for the Cyclades "only three periodicals
village sites of limited circulation. Indeed,
[Phylakopi on Melos, Kastri on Syros, publication has been so voluminous and diverse that
and Thera]
have been excavated in a manner one could call in- it is difficult even for specialist Aegean prehistorians
to stay abreast of new developments. The essential
formative, in contrast to nearly two thousand known
annual reviews of new work in Greece, published by
or suspected graves" (p. 47). Of these only Phylakopi
successive directors of the British and French schools
also offered a deep stratigraphy covering all phases
S The publication of this review was made possible by a The following special abbreviations are used in this paper:
generous subvention from the Institute for Aegean Prehis- AEMT To AQXatoA)oytm6v Eeyov orri Maxe-
tory. bovia XatI Oepri.
I am particularly grateful to those friends and colleagues "Chronique" "Chronique des fouilles," BCH.
who responded to requests for information concerning their Cycladica L. Fitton ed., Cycladica: Studies in Mem-
recent research, and in particular to those who provided me ory ofN.P. Goulandris (London 1984).
with offprints, preprints, or photographs. The more specific Cycladic Culture L. Marangou ed., Cycladic Culture:
contributions of several colleagues are acknowledged as ap- Naxos in the 3rd Millennium BC (Ath-
propriate later in this review. Here I should like to express ens 1990).
my thanks to Robert Arnott, Robin Barber, Cyprian Brood- Dodecanese S. Dietz ed., Archaeology in the Dode-
bank, Tristan Carter, John Cherry, Christopher Chippin- canese (Copenhagen 1988).
dale, John Coleman, Michael Cosmopoulos, Tracey Cullen, Emporio S. Hood, Excavations in Chios 1938-
Scren Dietz, Christos Doumas, Angelia Douzougli, Noel 1955: Prehistoric Emporio and Ayio
Gale, David Gill, David Hardy, Carol Hershenson, Donald Gala, 1-2 (BSA Suppl. 15-16, London
Keller, Sandy MacGillivray, Sturt Manning, Lila Marangou, 1981-1982).
Mariza Marthari, Dimitris Matsas, Lyvia Morgan, Christine "First Coloniza- J.F. Cherry, "The First Colonization of
Morris, John Overbeck, Mehmet Ozdogan, Ernst Pernicka, tion" the Mediterranean Islands: A Review
Colin Renfrew, Efi Sakellaraki, Diamantis Sampson, Eliza- of Recent Research," JMA 3 (1990
beth Schofield, Zophia Stos-Gale, Rene Treuil, Sarah 145-221.
Vaughan, David Wilson, and Kostas Zachos. Tracey Cullen, Gazetteer R. Hope Simpson and O.T.P.K. Dickin-
Fred Kleiner, and Jerry Rutter conceived of this project and son, A Gazetteer of Aegean Civilisation
encouraged me to undertake it. Over the past year and a in the Bronze Age 1: The Mainland and
half I have at times regretted accepting the assignment, and Islands (SIMA 52, Goteborg 1979).
in moments of panic have cursed them severally and collec- Greek Prehistory E.B. French and K.A. Wardle eds., Prob-
tively, but I am in the end thankful that they convinced me lems in Greek Prehistory (Bristol 1988).
to do it. I am also grateful to Shari Stocker for help with the Karpathos, Saros M. Melas, The Islands of Karpathos, Saros
illustrations and proofreading, to Bill Parkinson for compil- and Kasos and Kasos in the Neolithic and Bronze
ing references, and to John Bennet, Cyprian Broodbank, Age (SIMA 68, G6teborg 1985).
John Cherry, Mihalis Fotiadis, Donald Keller, Sandy Mac- Kastro Tigani R.C.S. Felsch, Das Kastro Tigani: Die
Gillivray, Sturt Manning, Curtis Runnels, Jerry Rutter, and spiitneolithische und chalkolithische Sied-
David Wilson for their prompt comments on my penultimate lung (Samos II, Bonn 1988).
draft.
American Journal of Archaeology 96 (1992) 699
700 JACK L. DAVIS [AJA 96
BEYOND THE CYCLADES TO A PAN-AEGEAN
in Archaeological Reports (AR) and
PERSPECTIVE
nique des fouilles" ("Chronique") a
sential points of departure for b
students, but can The
be decision to include virtually
patchy in theirall islands
any case, are not Aegean (excluding only
intended toCretebeand those
syn of
ronic Gulf) reflects
of Aegean prehistory, R.trends
Hope in recent scholars
Simp
have defined problems
Dickinson's A Gazetteer of demanding
Aegean a canvC
Bronze Age 1: The broader than that offered by the and
Mainland Cyclades alo
I
1979, completed examples
1977; of topics that require a pan-Aegean
hereafter, Ga
nearly 15 years out may suffice: of thedate,
Neolithic colonization
and of in the
coverage of the islands islands; and the Minoanization
of the of Aege
the Aegean
of Skyros and Chios.3 Middle Bronze Age and earlyBarber'
Robin part of the Late
the Bronze Age (Iowa Age. City 1987) pro
overview of the results of research in the southern In the past decade there have been, for the first
Aegean, but publications relevant to Cycladic prehis- time, systematic attempts to describe initial settlement
tory have been so prolific in the past six years that an of the islands of the Aegean in terms of principles
update is also desirable.4 drawn from island biogeography.6 The general idea
Les Cyclades G. Rougemont ed., Les Cyclades: Mater- TAW III D.A. Hardy et al. eds., Thera and the
iaux pour une etude de geographie his- Aegean World III. 1: Archaeology (Lon-
torique (Paris 1983). don 1990); 2: Earth Sciences (London
Manika I-II A. Sampson, Mdtvtxa I: Mia z#wroEA-- 1990); 3: Chronology (London 1990).
2 For an index to the sites described in AR between 1976
Aa6txIj r6Aqr o'nrj XaAxiba (Athens
1985); Mdtvtxa II: O rtwroEliali- and 1986, see AR 33 (1987) 78-87. All references below to
x6; oxtoa6 g xal To VEQoTa/Efio AR without further specification of title or author are to the
(Athens 1988). annual reports, "Archaeology in Greece," compiled by H.W.
Minoan A.G. Papagiannopoulou, The Influence Catling and, since AR 36 (1990), by E.B. French. References
Influence of Middle Minoan Pottery on the Cyc- to "Chronique" are to "Chronique des fouilles," BCH, com-
lades (SIMA-PB 96, G6teborg 1991). piled by G. Touchais and, since BCH 114 (1989), by A.
Minoan Thalas- R. Higg and N. Marinatos eds., The Mi- Pariente.
socracy noan Thalassocracy: Myth and Reality 3 The islands of the northern Aegean are included in D.
(SkrAth 32, Stockholm 1984). Leekley and R. Noyes, Archaeological Excavations in the Greek
Neolithic and A. Sampson, H NEOlAtOij) xat 77 Islands (Park Ridge, N.J. 1975), which is, however, further
Protohelladic HQwtroEAlabit I aIrlv Eofpota (AQ- out of date than the Gazetteer and is not nearly so authori-
tative or exhaustive in its coverage.
XEiov EvfloixdOv MEAE)bv, Hap-
darqoTLa rov KA' T6Mov, Athens 4 With reservations (see my review in AJA 93 [1989] 293-
1981). 94), W. Ekschmitt, Kunst und Kultur der Kykladen I: Neoli-
Neolithic A. Sampson, H NEOAtOtXjrj rEQobog tikum und Bronzezeit (Mainz 1986) may also be recommended
Dodecanese oara AwmbExdivrua (Athens 1987). as a reasonably current review of Cycladic prehistory; the
"Perspectives" J.L. Davis, "Perspectives on the Prehis- extensive illustrations, many in color, are particularly worthy.
toric Cyclades: An Archaeological In- See also "Perspectives" for a recent brief overview of the
troduction," in P. Getz-Preziosi, Early Early Cycladic period.
Cycladic Art in North American Collec- 5 Islands of the Saronic Gulf include all those that cur-
tions (Richmond 1987) 4-45. rently belong to the administrative district of Peiraeus, in-
Prehistoric J.A. MacGillivray and R.L.N. Barber, cluding Spetses, Hydra, Kythera, and Antikythera. Covered
Cyclades The Prehistoric Cyclades (Edinburgh in this review, in whole or part, are territories of the following
1984). Ephorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities: 1st
Silber, Blei und G.A. Wagner and G. Weisgerber, Silber, (Keos); 11th (Euboia and Skyros); 13th (northern Sporades);
Gold Blei und Gold auf Sifnos: Prdihistorische 18th (Thasos); 19th (Samothrace); 20th (Lesbos, Chios,
und antike Metallproduction (Der An- Psara, and Limnos); 21st (Cyclades, Samos, and Ikaria, ex-
schnitt, Beiheft 3, Bochum 1985). cluding Keos and Amorgos); and 22nd (Dodecanese and
"Sources of Z.A. Stos-Gale and C.F. Macdonald, Amorgos). For a comprehensive description of the admin-
Metals" "Sources of Metals and Trade in the istrative districts that comprise the Greek Archaeological
Bronze Age Aegean," in N.H. Gale see AR 36 (1990) 4. The order of presentation for
Service,
ed., Bronze Age Trade in the Mediter-
yearly reports both in AR and in ArchDelt mirrors this ad-
ranean (SIMA 90, Jonsered 1991)
ministrative structure, and it will also be followed here.
249-88. 6 J.F. Cherry, "Pattern and Process in the Earliest Colo-
TAW I C. Doumas ed., Thera and the Aegean nization of the Mediterranean Islands," PPS 47 (1981) 41-
World I (London 1978). 68, has considered these issues most extensively.
1992] THE ISLANDS OF THE AEGEAN 701
MACEDONIA
THRACE
SKALA SOTIROS
THASOS SAMOTHRACE
MIKRO VOUNI
IMBROS
THEOTHESSALY LOGOSOR
LIMNOS TROY
MYRINAOS ; POLIOCHNI TR
THESSALY NORTHERN SPORADES

KYRA PANAYIA K YOURA AYIOS EFSTRATIOS MITHYMNA
SERYIOS PETROS NAXOS LTHERMI
ALONNISOS TURKEY
PAAMAR KALYMNOSLESBOS
KOUMBI SKYROSISCHORA
EUBOIA
MANIKASTKYMETAYRALAN
SKOTEINI CAVE
ARGOLID 9 AYIA IRINI TINOS IKARIAHERMION

KEOS KAS MYKONOS
FRANCHTHI CAVE KYTHNOS SYROS OS

DELOS KASOSIASOS
SARIAOS
SERIPHOS KOUKOUNARIE GROTTA NAXOS LEROS
IOS SOSTIS CAVE OF ZAS KALYMNOS
SIPHNOS PAROS`) l SERAGLIO
KAKARYSTOSRPATHOSANDR
PHYLAKOPIAK SKARKO I
AMORGOS YIALI
MELOS IOS ASTYPALAIA NISYR

THERA TILOSTRIANDA
TH R T>O ALIMNIA KALYTHIES CAVE
CYCLADES AKROTIRI DODECANESE HALKI KOUMELO CAVE
RHODES
SARIA
KARPATHOS
KAOSRAPEZA
CRETE
Fig. 1. Principal Aegean archaeological sites discussed in this review
of these studies is that geography has played a major adjacent mainland coasts, its absolute size, and the
role in determining the date, extent, and rate of set-presence or absence of stepping stone islands between
tlement in the Aegean. Examination of the way in it and a mainland were important factors in deter-
which both animal and plant species have come tomining the likelihood that the island will have been
inhabit island groups in other parts of the world settled at a particular time in the past. This is not of
suggested that certain patterns of colonization mightcourse to suggest that social or political factors should
also be recognizable in Greece. For example, it has
be eliminated from the equation, but rather that
been hypothesized that the distance of an island from
biogeography can provide an initial investigative
framework within which

unlikely to make the
a great difference imp
to present gen-
determinants of settlement
eralizations. can
While it is certainly true that b
some settle-
defined. ments of Palaeolithic and earlier Neolithic date may
Hand in glove be with these
lost to fluctuations in coastlines analy
or may yet lie
tempts to explainundetected, whythe fact remains that no clear evidence of
extensive
Aegean islands occurred so
a Palaeolithic presence has yet long
been recognized a
in the
adjacent mainlands.
islands, at least notIton anyhas been
island that was then sepa-
years that the islands
rated from an adjacent of the
mainland Aege
by an appreciable
inaccessible to potential
gulf. human co
as obsidian fromTheMelos
evidence for earliest was
colonization of reachi
the Ae-
land already in gean
the later
islands has recently been Palaeolit
updated.9 Most of the
finds are well documented in strata excavated at islands of the Aegean appear to have been first in-
Franchthi Cave in the southern Argolid and habited
are during the EBA, although traces of Neolithic
clearly Melian in origin.' The recognition thathabitation
the are more plentiful today than even a year
Aegean was being navigated long before the intro- or so ago. A Neolithic presence has now been docu-
duction of agriculture to Greece has obvious and mented in the Cyclades (Keos, Naxos, Thera, Amor-
gos, Paros, Saliagos, and Siphnos), in the northern
important repercussions for how the process by which
agriculture was spread from the Near East to Greece
Sporades (Kyra Panayia and Youra), on Chios, Psara,
Samos, in most of the Dodecanesian islands, and on
is viewed: clearly an absence of evidence for settle-
ment in the earlier phases of the Neolithic in Limnos,
the Lesbos, Samothrace, and Thasos. In all cases
Greek islands no longer requires us to postulate the
the earliest material yet recognized appears to be later
existence of a more northern route of migration in
fordate than that from adjacent mainlands; in general,
the final period of the Neolithic (FN) seems to have
Neolithic immigrants, for which there has been pre-
cious little evidence. The Aegean sea of the later been the time of maximum expansion in settlement.
Palaeolithic was navigable and navigated.8 The earliest well-documented Neolithic settlement is
Of equal importance is the realization that inhab-
that of Ayios Petros on Kyra Panayia, situated near
itants from the adjacent mainlands had the capability
the eastern end of a string of islands that leads out
of establishing settlements in the Aegean islands long
into the Aegean from Thessaly, itself probably the
before they actually did so. Documentation in most the densely settled part of the Greek mainland dur-
ingisthe Early and Middle Neolithic.1o Certainly it
future of any evidence for earlier transient activity
See C. Perlks, Les industries lithiques taille'es de Franchthi frew, M. Gimbutas, and E.S. Elster eds., Excavations at Si-
(Argolide, Grace) 1: Prisentation generale et industries paldo- tagroi: A Prehistoric Village in Northwest Greece (Los Angeles
lithiques (Franchthi 3, Bloomington 1987) 142-45; 2: Les 1986) 477-85; J.E. Coleman, "Greece and the Aegean," in
industries du Misolithique et du Niolithique initial (Franchthi R.W. Ehrich ed., Chronologies in Old World Archaeology"
5, Bloomington 1990). For further discussion of Melos and (Chicago, in press); and D. Grammenos, NEOALtOLX gQEUvvE
Franchthi Cave, see now also C. Renfrew and A. Aspinall, or7v XEVTtQLX) xatL avaToALtx?1 MaxE6ovia (LtflAtoOflX7 Trl
"Aegean Obsidian and Franchthi Cave," in Perliks 1990, 257- Ev AOrlvatg ApXatoAoyltxr EratQEiag 117, Athens 1991)
70. These authors also note that postulated linkages between 29. Recent excavations and explorations in Turkish Thrace
tunny fishing and collection of obsidian on Melos by main- are of particular interest. At the site of Hoca Qegme in 1990-
landers are not supported by the evidence from Franchthi 1991 (phase IV), ceramics similar in character to those of
Cave, since obsidian has been found there in levels earlier central Anatolia, with parallels in Hacilar IX-VI, have been
than those in which evidence for deep sea fishing first ap- excavated. Preliminary notices of these results will appear in
pears. Araftzrma Sonu(larz, and Germania. See also M.J. Mellink,
8 Recent research in Thessaly has tended to support a "Archaeology in Anatolia," AJA 96 (1992) 125; and M. Oz-
hypothesis that agriculture was introduced to Greece from dogan, Y. Miyake, and N. OzbaSaran Dede, "An Interim
the Near East through migration, rather than through trade Report on Excavations at Yarimburgaz and Toptepe in East-
between Near Easterners and an existing Mesolithic Greek ern Thrace," Anatolica 17 (1991) 81-82.
population. For a current review of the evidence, see J. 9 "First Colonization" 145-221.
Hansen, "The Introduction of Agriculture into Greece: The 10 Palaeolithic finds have been reported from both Thasos
Near Eastern Evidence," AJA 96 (1992) 340-41 (abstract). and Euboia; both islands would then have been attached to
See also J.M. Hansen, The Palaeoethnobotany of Franchthi adjacent mainlands. Palaeolithic finds have also been re-
Cave (Franchthi 7, Bloomington 1991) 174-81; C.N. Run- ported from various sites on Alonnisos, Kyra Panayia, and
nels, "Trade Models in the Study of Agricultural Origins Skyros, all in the northern Sporades, but are not yet well
and Dispersion," JMA 2 (1989) 149-55. On the scarcity of documented; see "First Colonization" 167. Stretches of open
early Neolithic sites in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, see sea between these islands and the mainland of Thessaly may
C. Renfrew, "Sitagroi in European Prehistory," in C. Ren- also have been negligible.
land bridge
cannot be doubted that Early that joined Paros
Neolithic and Antiparos; the sec-
populations
ondand
were capable of organizing contemporary
launchingwith the fourth-millennium
large-scale FN
site ofThe
colonizations across open sea. Kephala settlement
on Keos; and the thirdofrepresented
the
by the
island of Crete in the later expansion of
eighth orpopulation
earlier at the transition
seventh be-
tween
millennium is an obvious the Neolithic andof
example EBA that
a resulted in the
successful
enterprise of that sort, onecreation
that of the Early Cycladic culture.'3
"indicates Notional col-
an exoge-
nous introduction of farmingonizations of thefarmers
and Cycladic islands have been modeled:
through a
purposive, planned and comparatively
one beginning from the Greek long-range
mainland (specifically
colonization." That island, from
like Attica and Euboia),
others of and the
anotherAegean,
starting from
the Dodecanesefor
thus far lacks any clear evidence and progressing via Ikaria and As-
pre-Neolithic
activity."I typalaia. On the basis of these models it has been
It is equally important that those conditions be suggested that in the Saliagos phase, it is most likely
determined that eventually did result in successful that colonists came to the Cyclades from the southeast
colonization of the Aegean islands and in extensive, Aegean alone, but that later colonists probably pro-
widespread, and long-lived settlement. A Neolithic ceeded from both directions at once. In all cases, the
agricultural package of domesticated crops and ani- survival of settlements on Naxos would have been
mals would have offered potential colonists a better especially favored by circumstances of natural geog-
chance for long-term survival in areas where wild raphy. Indeed, only on Naxos have traces of all three
resources were restricted. But although a Neolithic phases of settlement been recognized and only on
way of life was an obvious precondition for the via- Naxos can a case for continuity in settlement through-
bility of long-term occupations on the tiny and re- out the Late Neolithic and Final Neolithic periods be
source-poor islands of the Aegean, it cannot have made.
been the only factor in play. Indeed, there is a gap of A clearer understanding of the factors that led to
some two to four millennia between the colonization expansion of settlement into the islands of the Aegean
of Crete and that of the Cyclades, northern Sporades,will also require a careful examination of the character
or the Dodecanese, despite the fact that some of theseof societies in those areas likely to have provided
islands lie directly along potential lines of migrationcolonists. Although a topic well beyond the scope of
between Crete and Anatolia. Principles of island bio-this review, it is worth noting that there appears to be
geography also suggest that the survival rate of settle-a close correlation between an expansion of settlement
ments close to colonizing mainlands will be higher, on the island of Euboia and the establishment of
since their populations will be able to look to thesettlements in many of the Cycladic islands during the
neighboring mainlands for support, whether for mar-Final Neolithic. In particular, the habitation of mar-
riage partners, breeding stock, or, in crisis, even for ginal parts of southern Euboia could be seen as part
seed grain.12 The colonization of Crete should thus of a general movement of populations into marginal
be seen as a purposeful effort to found a new settle-areas, the beginning of a trend that would lead to a
ment in an especially favorable island environment, prodigious expansion of settlement in the EBA.'4 So-
and not as the result of a gradual expansion of pop- cial, as well as geographical, problems would have
ulation through the islands to its north and east. been faced by early colonists in the Cyclades. Several
Three general horizons of Neolithic colonization inof these have recently been examined in a study that
the Cycladic islands have recently been defined: the seeks to explain the differential development of Crete
first contemporary with the site on Saliagos, an islet and the Cyclades in the course of the EBA.'15 The role
that in the fifth millennium B.C. was situated on a of exogamy in linking relatively tiny communities of
I C. Broodbank and T.F. Strasser, "Migrant Farmers and 15 S.W. Manning, "The Emergence of Divergence: Devel-
the Neolithic Colonization of Crete," Antiquity 65 (1991)
opment and Decline on Bronze Age Crete and the Cyclades,"
233-45.
in C. Mathers and S. Stoddart, Development and Decline in
12 Broodbank and Strasser (supra n. 11) 238-39. the Mediterranean Bronze Age (in press). There has as yet,
13 See C. Broodbank, "Colonization and Culture in the
however, been no serious attempt to use ceramic character-
Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Cyclades," AJA 96 (1992)
ization analyses to distinguish between a scenario in which
341 (abstract). I am extremely grateful to Cyprian Brood-
items were produced on two different islands in the Neolithic
bank for a copy of the text of his paper as read, and within
for similar cultural traditions, and one in which items
permission to summarize his argument here. were traded between the same two islands. See J.E. Cole-
14 On the relationship between settlement in southern
man's (supra n. 8) discussion of evidence for Neolithic trade
Euboia and FN/EBA colonization of the Cyclades, see Keller
in the Aegean. I am grateful to both authors for preprints
and Cullen (infra n. 61). of their forthcoming publications.
the islands literature has been summarized in the volume

is
emphasized. Bronze
Exogam
also promoted Age a Trade stylistic
in the Mediterranean.17 In homog
general a clear
within the Aegean, pattern appearsof to have emerged
a sort from recent analy-
reco
the earliest Neolithic ses. In the EBA Cyclades, Siphnos and Kythnos cultu
Saliagos served
By the second phase as major sourcesof for lead, the
silver, and copper.
EBA, Both of h
goods had come these into sources were thereplaced inhands
the Middle Bronze of
ers, partly because Age by Laurion, which came to dominate the Aegean
opportunities
tion of agricultural as the principal production
supplier of metals.18 It is clear too w
the exchange of agricultural
that exchange in marble vessels and figurines played go
infeasible. a role in EBA exchange, but slight progress has been
It is clear that exchange played a crucial role in made in this arena. There is little agreement among
enabling permanent settlement in the islands of the scholars as to the validity of attributing marble figu-
Aegean, even if it is not yet possible to quantify the rines to individual sculptural hands or workshops,
extent of this trade. In the EBA, the similarities in and there is little basis for assigning such personalities
the formal characteristics of ceramics, marble vessels, or production centers to particular locations within
figurines, and metal objects that typify the Early Cy- the Cyclades, because the vast majority of marbles
cladic culture are indicative of social and economic lack verifiable archaeological contexts.'" For these rea-
ties maintained among the settlements of the islands; sons and because of their rarity, marble figurines are
these relationships may also be regarded as necessary not likely ever to provide us with more than the
adaptations that would have provided access to addi- crudest measurements of intra-Aegean exchange.
tional resources of food and manpower in times ofFewer than 2,000 figurines are known, and these were
crisis.16 Exchange may, therefore, be seen not as the produced over some 600-700 years!
incentive for colonization of the islands of the Aegean,The study of ceramic fabrics promises in the long
but as an indispensable enabling mechanism that pro- run to be of greater value in reconstructing patterns
moted the survival of groups once established, partic- of exchange. Given the diversity of geology among
ularly on smaller, more remote, and impoverished the islands of the Aegean, it is in many cases possible
landfalls such as the so-called Amorgian islets of to recognize imported products on the basis of both
Epano and Kato Koufonisi, Donousa, Schinousa, or visual inspection and petrological analysis. The results
Keros. of a long-term project conducted under the auspices
Our understanding of trade in metals has been of the Fitch Laboratory of the British School at Athens
dramatically improved in recent years. Much current should soon be available. This study has focused spe-
16 See J.F. Cherry, "Island Origins: The Early Prehistoric 389-406. Evidence from the analysis of the small number
Cyclades," in B.W. Cunliffe ed., Origins, the Roots of Euro- of actual silver artifacts (as opposed to litharge samples) that
pean Civilisation (London 1987) 25-26; "Perspectives" 26- have yet been examined is more equivocal: Laurion and
30.
Siphnos do not emerge so obviously as dominant sources.
17 N.H. Gale ed., Bronze Age Trade in the Mediterranean 19 On the definition of sculptural hands, see P. Getz-
(SIMA 90, Jonsered 1991). Of particular importance is the Preziosi, Sculptors of the Cyclades: Individual and Tradition
paper by Z.A. Stos-Gale and C.F. Macdonald, "Sources of in the Third Millennium B.C. (Ann Arbor 1987); see ch. 7
Metals." Fig. 1, p. 254, provides a map of ore deposits for patterns of distribution, such as they are, given the lack
sampled for lead-isotopic composition through 1990. On the of a proper excavated context for the vast majority of figures.
subject of direct evidence for Bronze Age Cycladic metal- For doubts about the use of a canon in the production of
lurgy, see also Z.A. Stos-Gale, "Cycladic Copper Metallurgy," Cycladic marble figures and about the correctness of pro-
in A. Hauptman, E. Pernicka, and G.A. Wagner eds., Old cedures employed to assign sculptures to hands, see C. Ren-
World Archaeometallurgy (Der Anschnitt, Beiheft 7, Bochum frew, The Cycladic Spirit: Masterpieces from the Nicholas P.
1989) 279-92. These papers should be read in conjunction Goulandris Collection (New York 1991) ch. 9 and pp. 137-
with N.H. Gale and Z.A. Stos-Gale, "Cycladic Lead and Silver 41. Soon see also C. Chippindale and D. Gill, "Material and
Metallurgy," BSA 76 (1981) 169-224. See also E. Pernicka, Intellectual Consequences of Esteem for Cycladic Figures"
"Erlagerstatten in der Agais und ihre Ausbeutung im Alter- (in prep.) for discussion of the magnitude of the problem
tum: Geochemische Untersuchungen zur Herkunftsbestim- faced by archaeologists because such a substantial part of
mung archaologischer Metallobjekte," JRGZM 34 (1987) the corpus of marble figurines has been acquired through
607-714. For the role of specific islands in prehistoric met- illegal excavations; Chippindale and Gill also adduce sub-
alworking and trade, see discussion of Karpathos, Keos, stantial art historical grounds for doubting that individual
Thera, Chios, and Melos in the following section of this hands of prehistoric sculptors can be defined. J.F. Cherry,
review.
"The Individual in Prehistory: Reflections on Attribution
18 Possible explanations for the replacement of Siphnos Studies in the Bronze Age Aegean," in J.C. Crowley and R.
by Laurion as dominant supplier to Keos have been discussed Laffineur eds., EIKON. Aegean Bronze Age Iconography:
by N.H. Gale, Z.A. Stos-Gale, and J.L. Davis, "The Prove- Shaping a Methodology (Aegeum 10, in press).
nance of Lead Used at Ayia Irini, Keos," Hesperia 53 (1984)
cifically on the EBA and hasof the included

extent of changes observable
material in the material
from
culture
the sites of Keos Ayia Irini; Naxos of the islands.
Cave Political
ofdominance
Zas, by Crete
Grotta,
and Palati; Thera Akrotiri;may well have encouraged
Melos Phylakopi; the adoption of Minoan
los Skar-
kos; Amorgos Markiani; and ways in its overseasKavos.
Keros colonies. But conquest
It is is,antic-
in and
of itself,
ipated that the final product will no realbe
explanation for change in material
presented in the
form of a handbook that can be used in the field for culture: one can too easily point to a plethora of
fabric indentification.20 historical examples in which imperial control resulted
A second central issue in prehistory that benefits in relatively few changes in the everyday life of the
from a pan-Aegean perspective is the relationship majority of the conquered.
between Crete and the islands of the Aegean in the Second, there is an enormous diversity in the settle-
MBA and earlier phases of the LBA, the time of the ment history of those island centers that were pulled
so-called Minoan Thalassocracy. Recent research on within the Minoan orbit. The entirety of the southern
many of the Aegean islands leaves no doubt that Aegean was strongly affected by contact with Crete;
contacts between Crete and the Cyclades became es- the northern Aegean appears to have lain largely
pecially intense after the construction of the Old Pal- outside the sphere of Cretan cultural influence. In the
aces.21 Exchange appears to have played a major role west, no evidence for a heavily Minoanized settlement
in motivating Cretan involvement in the affairs of the has been recognized north of Keos; in the east, Kos
islands to its north. On many of these islands, local is the dividing line. In the central Cyclades, Naxos
industries were deeply affected by the contact. Local marks the limit. None of this is to say, of course, that
styles of decoration, particularly for pottery, and local evidence for contact with Crete cannot be recognized
manufacturing techniques were abandoned in favor farther to the north. Minoan ceramic imports have
of Minoan-inspired prototypes. A number of these long been acknowledged at Pefkakia in Thessaly, and
changes may well have resulted from elite emulation on Samos, while Minoan artifacts appear to have made
of the status goods produced by the Minoan civiliza- their way even to Troy, albeit in small quantities.23
tion. Others, for instance the widespread adoption in The recent discovery of a Minoan sealing and roun-
the islands of Minoan forms of loomweights, may del at the site of Mikro Vouni on Samothrace must be
reflect subtler variation in the structure of Cycladic viewed within this general context.24 The situation of
social and economic organization.22 these discoveries, however remarkable, should be dis-
Two items have been clarified by extensive recent tinguished from that of Cretan finds in the heavily
debate. First, it is not possible to measure the extent Minoanized zone of the southern Aegean. Minoan
of political control by the Cretans as a direct reflection finds north of an east-west line drawn between Attica
20 This project is under the direction of S.J. Vaughan, to 21 Evidence for interaction between Crete and the islands,
whom I am extremely grateful for the information summa- as understood in 1983, is summarized by papers in Minoan
rized here. Her work will soon be published in S.J. Vaughan, Thalassocracy. The current state of affairs is outlined in two
Early Bronze Age Cycladic Pottery Fabrics: Studies in Materials papers by M.H. Wiener, "The Nature and Control of Minoan
and Technology (Fitch Laboratory Occasional Paper 5, in Foreign Trade," in Gale (supra n. 17) 325-50; and "The
prep.). Vaughan emphasizes that the evidence supports her Isles of Crete? The Minoan Thalassocracy Revisited," in
hypothesis that "already in the EBA there were well-estab- TAW III.1, 128-60.
lished trade and exchange routes throughout the Cyclades 22 See, e.g., the arguments made in J.L. Davis, "Cultural
and beyond" and that there was "very specialized ceramic Innovation and the Minoan Thalassocracy," in Minoan Thal-
production and trade reflecting skilled exploitation of the assocracy 159-66.
best raw materials available on each island, with connections 23 For Minoan finds in the eastern Aegean, see W.D.
perhaps for exchange with other items such as ores." Various Niemeier, "The End of the Minoan Thalassocracy," in Mi-
special studies in press or in preparation examine the so- noan Thalassocracy 205-14 and discussion on p. 215; for the
called EBA talc ware (S. Vaughan and D. Wilson, "Interre- western coast of the Aegean, see J.B. Rutter and C.W. Zer-
gional Contacts in the EB II Aegean: The Talc Ware Con- ner, "Early Hellado-Minoan Contacts," in Minoan Thalasso-
nection," in C.W. Zerner and E.B. French eds., Wace and cracy 75-82. For an as yet unverified report of MM I pottery
Blegen: Pottery as Evidence for Trade in the Aegean Bronze at Troy, see D.F. Easton, "The Chronology of West Anatolia
Age 1939-1989, in press), and ceramic fabrics from Amor- in the Early Bronze Age," BICS 35 (1988) 180-81; for stone
gos Markiani, Melos Phylakopi, and Keros Kavos. Recent vases of Minoan type at Troy, see P.M. Warren, Minoan
petrological studies of ceramics from Akrotiri on Thera and Stone Vases (Cambridge 1969) 17; "Minoan Stone Vases as
from Mikri Vigla on Naxos are described in the following Evidence for Minoan Foreign Connexions," PPS 33 (1967)
section of this review. In addition to these, see also S.J. 37-56.
Vaughan, "Bronze Age Cycladic White Wares: A Question 24 See the following section of this review and infra n.
of Materials and Manufacturing Techniques," AJA 96 (1992) 100. For earlier Linear A finds in the islands, see T.G.
342 (abstract). I thank D.E. Wilson for a preprint of his and Palaima, "Linear A in the Cyclades: The Trade and Travel
Vaughan's paper on talc ware. of a Script," TUAS 7 (1982) 15-22.
and Samos remain apparently established de novo on virgin

sporadic, andsoil, and t
assemblages in which there is very little they
evidence for preexisting
have non- b
predominantly Minoan populations. The settlements of Trianda
non-Minoan in onch
ological picture Rhodes does and Seraglio on Kos appear
not, to have been of
however
to predictions that substantial size from the time of
"the their foundation.
strength
is proportional to Such a proximity
pattern, and the fact that the material
to culture
Cr
appears to have been
of these sites was almost a dramatic
entirely Minoan in character,
influence between may well reflect
the purposeful
northlarge-scale colonization.
and
even within the But southern Aegean
such an interpretation will not explain the Minoan
differences in the nature of Cretan influence. presence in the Cyclades.
More than a decade ago I argued that "there existed For example, it is now obvious that the settlement
a zone in the Western Cyclades (encompassing at least of Akrotiri on Thera was ancient when a Minoan
the islands of Thera, Melos, and Keos) in which there presence was first felt; its history began already in the
was regular exchange between Cycladic settlements Neolithic period. Even at the time of most intense
and Crete."26 My argument in 1979 was that these Cretan presence in the earlier stages of the Late
islands had been preferentially supplied with Minoan Bronze Age, elements of the preexisting, non-
products and that Minoan trading activities in the Minoan, Cycladic material culture survived at Akrotiri
southern Aegean were to some extent directional (and and at contemporary centers like Phylakopi on Melos
thus purposeful). The principal settlements on Thera, and Ayia Irini on Keos. There can be no doubt that
Melos, and Keos were interpreted as three important local non-Minoan populations continued to occupy
ports along a "Western String" exchange route be- these sites, even if we allow for the possibility that one
tween Crete and the mainland. The subsequent defi-or all may have been administered by a Cretan over-
nition of a similar "enriched" zone in the Dodecaneselord or that Minoan elements were present in the local
lends, I think, support to my proposition that one of population. The case for actual Cretan settlement
the most important motives for such exchange was seems strongest for Thera, partly because of the re-
the acquisition of metals by Crete. The extent to which markable divergence of its settlement pattern from
eastern Attica supplied the Minoan world with lead what was apparently the Cycladic norm. On both Keos
and silver has become much more clear in the pastand Melos, recent systematic surface surveys have
decade; copper now too can be added to the list ofreinforced a picture of islands dominated by a single
mineral products that reached Crete from Laurion. "primate" center; the pattern of settlement on Thera
The sharp drop-off in evidence for Minoan contact appears to have been radically different and perhaps
to the north of Samos may suggest that Cretans in theapproximated that of New Palace Crete, with its dense
eastern Aegean were also interested in the acquisition array of towns, villages, and villas.
of a particular product, either one locally produced Such evidence does not suggest that the motivation
or that could be acquired through the medium offor Minoan involvement as far north as Melos and
secondary distribution centers.27 Keos was primarily oriented toward conquest and
This much is clear. The desire to colonize (i.e., to colonization. Neither Ayia Irini nor Phylakopi seems
establish new Minoan settlements abroad) cannot haveto have expanded remarkably in size during the New
supplied the only motivation for Cretan activity in the Palace period and the countryside of both islands
Aegean, although it may explain archaeological evi- remained relatively vacant. Nor does evidence from
dence produced by recent excavations and surveys inthe central and northern Cyclades attest to an expan-
the Dodecanese. There a remarkable increase both in sion of Minoan population, although here the quality
the size and number of settlements occurred dur- of our evidence is less adequate than in the western
ing the Minoan New Palace period, particularly onCyclades.28 At present, Delos (at approximately the
Rhodes, Kos, and Karpathos. These settlements were same latitude as Keos and Samos) is the island farthest
25 P.M. Warren, "The Thalassocracy of Minos," Proceed- suggested that the acquisition of metals may have been a
ings of the Classical Association, London 67 (1970) 64. motivation in eastern Aegean-Cretan exchange.
26 J.L. Davis, "Minos and Dexithea: Crete and the Cyc- 28 E. Schofield, "The Western Cyclades and Crete: A 'Spe-
lades in the Later Bronze Age," in J.L. Davis and J.F. Cherry cial Relationship'?" OJA 1 (1982) 9-25, for the earlier evi-
eds., Papers in Cycladic Prehistory (UCLAMon 14, Los An- dence; for pertinent recent data, see the discussions of Naxos
geles 1979) 143-57. and Paros in the following section of this review.
27 See Niemeier (supra n. 23) 206 n. 18, where it is also
north on which Minoan

socialimports have
units and the diversity been reco
of environments, should
nized.29 Andros, Tinos, in the future permit
Syros, and usMykonosto explain in muchremai
greater
virtual blanks; nowhere detail
in the the material
Aegean consequencesis ofathe Thalassocracy
systemat
of Minos.
program of surface exploration and excavation mo
necessary. The Late Cycladic III period in the Aegean offers
a similar opportunity
The past decade has, however, for a synthetic new
produced comparative evi-
dence from the central study of the processes Finds
Cyclades. by which Mycenaean
from material
surfa
investigations at Mikriculture
Vigla was adopted
inin western
the islands of the Aegean,
Naxos, a
though difficult to date with
question precision,
largely forgotten in the recent rushdocume
to doc-
contact with Crete in theumentMBA the Minoan and
presence early
overseas. Mycenaean
LBA, ma- and
terial culture was
reinforce the picture offered by perhaps even morediscoveries
older all-pervasive in
the islands than was Minoan.3
Alla in the southeast. Discoveries both But is this
at to be taken
Grotta (t
capital, or Chora, of Naxos) as evidence and,
for the settlement
more of mainlanders in the
surprisingly
on the islet of Kato Koufonisi have shown that at a islands? Many of the same issues need to be faced that
time contemporary with LM I on Crete, a range of are being confronted in discussion of the Minoan
Minoan and mainland ceramics similar to those found Thalassocracy.32 The only good stratigraphical se-
in the so-called "Western String" was also reaching quence that bridges the earlier and later parts of the
the central islands. What is missing at present is any LBA, that reconstructed at Ayia Irini on Keos, does
quantified information. Thus, although we now may not suggest any obvious gap in the settlement se-
have a somewhat better idea of the "content" and quence at the time when Mycenaean material culture
came to dominate Minoan. Indeed, at that site, as in
spatial distribution of the trade network that served
other Cycladic settlements of the early LBA, there
the central Cyclades, we still lack any measure of its
magnitude. Nor is there much evidence that contact had always existed considerable evidence for contact
with Crete had there the same profound effect on with
the the Greek mainland. The principal change that
material culture of native non-Minoan peoples as had
at occurred by the time of LH III was not the
Akrotiri, Phylakopi, and Ayia Irini. replacement of Minoan and Minoanized by mainland
Other arguments posed recently in support of Mi- traditions, but rather the subtraction of Crete as a
noan political control of the Aegean purport to find
significant influence on local life-styles.
their justification in historical Egyptian documents:As in the case of the Minoan Thalassocracy, in the
namely, the description of Crete and the "IslandsMycenaean
in empire a great amount of diversity can be
the Middle of the Great Green" as a single entityrecognized
is in the nature of the responses of individ-
seen as providing evidence for Minoan hegemony.30 ual islands to contact with Mycenaean mainlanders.
Ultimately, however, the conflict that has resultedIn
inthe far north on Thasos, Mycenaean ceramic tra-
the division of many Aegean prehistorians into two ditions were adapted and incorporated into local ce-
camps-one of Cycladic "nationalists," the otherramic
of repertories, but standard Mycenaean wares
Minoan "imperialists"-may be unresolvable. Indeed
appear to have reached the island only infrequently.
Within the Aegean there are differences too in burial
one might well debate the wisdom of using prehistoric
customs. Most obvious are the large cists used for
archaeological data for the reconstruction of political
events. Nonetheless, the islands of the Aegean present
burial in LB III Chios and Psara, a sharp contrast to
the chamber tombs of the Dodecanese. In Euboia and
an extraordinary opportunity for prehistorians inter-
ested in the processes of cultural contact and changethe northern Sporades, the chamber tomb appears to
to investigate a wide range of case studies in a variety
have been standard. The chamber tomb was also pres-
of settings. The laboratory-like benefits of archaeol-
ent on Naxos, while on Paros and Tinos, a variety of
ogy on islands, in particular the well-boundednesstholos
of tomb was introduced. On Karpathos the larnax
29 See discussion in J.L. Davis, "'Ener oi5'ot Ort Ce Keftiu and the Minoan Thalassocracy," in Minoan Thalas-
An'oi6tbag: Thoughts on Prehistoric and Archaic Delos," socracy 197-203.
TUAS 7 (1982) 23-33. 31 M. Marthari, "The Mycenaean Expansion in the Cyc-
30 See W.-D. Niemeier, "Mycenaean Elements in the Min- lades," in K. Demakopoulou ed., The Mycenaean World: Five
iature Fresco from Thera?" in TAW III.1, 267-82; "Creta, Centuries of Early Greek Culture 1600-1100 BC (Athens
Egeo e Mediterraneo agli inizi di bronzo tardo," in M. Mar- 1988) 56-57.
azzi, S. Tusa, and L. Vagnetti eds., Traffici micenei nel Med- 32 Perhaps the most insightful discussion of the problem
iterraneo: problemi storici e documentazione archeologica (Ta- is that by J.C. Wright, "Umpiring the Mycenaean Empire,"
ranto 1986) 245-70; and esp. Y. and E. Sakellarakis, "The TUAS 9 (1984) 58-70.
was employed and haveburial customs
summarized most extensively app
those studies that
will be least
related to those of accessible to readers
Crete. The in North forms
America.
Presentation in this section follows
ticed elsewhere, including the the current
well-inor-
of Keos, remain a mystery.
ganization of administrative districtsMore
within the Greekge
sence of evidence Archaeological
that Service, large beginningnumbers
with Keos in the
naean vases have been
first Ephoreia looted
and concluding over
with the 22nd Ephoreia
perspicacious archaiokapiloi
of the Dodecanese and Amorgos.may in it
burial in chamber Keos
tombs never acqu
nence in many islands that it had in
Work on Keos in the past decade has concentrated
on publishing results of earlier excavations at the site
A REVIEW OF RECENT WORK
of Ayia Irini. Seven volumes of the final excavation
My specific goal in this section is to summarize
report have appeared, all since 1983, giving Ayia Irini
recent scholarship that pertains to the islands of the
the longest well-documented prehistoric sequence in
Aegean. Much of it will be pertinent to issues alreadyIn addition, no less than three separate
the Cyclades.
discussed above. Readers will notice that my definition
surface survey projects are providing the details of
of "recent" varies from one part of thethe
Aegean to
overall prehistoric settlement system of the island.
another. Even in an extensive format, there remain at Ayia Irini appears to have begun
Habitation
certain absolute limitations on space, and it makes
somewhat later than at the FN site of Kephala nearby.
little sense to consider in detail literature that has EBA levels at Ayia Irini were extensive but remain
already passed into more general syntheses and is largely unpublished.35 Pottery from period I deposits,
readily accessible. I, therefore, assume that the reader the earliest at Ayia Irini, is distinctly different from
will have ready access to the Gazetteer. For the Bronze that from Kephala and lacks several distinctive fea-
Age Cyclades, I have not generally taken into account tures characteristic of that site, including pattern-
those publications encompassed by Barber's compre- burnishing and scoops, although there are general
hensive synthesis of Cycladic prehistory, The Cyclades similarities in shapes, and the wares are still within a
in the Bronze Age. For other islands, I have attempted Neolithic tradition. After period I there appears to
to provide an overview of significant research pub- be a break in the sequence, inasmuch as period II
lished since 1980.33 I have paid most attention to new represents a fully developed EB II phase of occupa-
fieldwork, relatively little to art historical matters. In tion, distinguished by close relations with eastern At-
the case of Early Cycladic art or the Thera frescoes, tica.36 Period III is characterized by the introduction
the literature is so vast that it warrants separate re- of Anatolianizing ceramic shapes (constituting about
views.34 My references to secondary literature attempt 10% of the pottery in assemblages), at least some of
only to epitomize a portion of recent scholarship, but which were locally produced; their introduction was
I hope that I have provided readers with sufficient not marked by discontinuities in the life of the settle-
clues to allow them to find their way into more spe- ment, and continuity with previous traditions was the
cialized publications, should they desire to do so. I rule.37 In neither period is there evidence for any
3" Since many publications in Greece, particularly jour- 35 All finds earlier than the MBA will be published by
nals, have often been published many years later than their D.E. Wilson and M.E. Eliot in Ayia Irini: Periods I-III (Keos
cover date, in composing this report I decided to consider IX, in prep.). I am grateful to David Wilson for the oppor-
reports of fieldwork for inclusion if they were summarized tunity to read and to summarize briefly parts of his working
in AR 27 (1981) or "Chronique" 1981 or later, even in cases manuscript for the volume.
where the original report abstracted had been composed 36 D.E. Wilson, "Kea and East Attica in Early Bronze II:
many years prior.
Beyond Pottery Typology," in J.M. Fossey ed., ZvvELtUoQa
34 Fortunately, excellent recent syntheses are readily avail- McGill: Papers in Greek Archaeology and History in Memory
able. See esp. n. 19, supra, as well as P. Getz-Preziosi, Early of Colin D. Gordon (Leiden 1987) 35-49.
Cycladic Art in North American Collections (Richmond 1987); 37 Wilson argues for contemporaneity between Ayia Irini
Getz-Preziosi, Early Cycladic Sculpture: An Introduction (Mal- II and the "green" period at Poliochni; and between Ayia
ibu 1985); J.L. Fitton, Cycladic Art (Cambridge, Mass. 1990); Irini III, the "red" and "yellow" phases of Poliochni, and, in
J.E. Coleman, "'Frying Pans' of the Early Bronze Age Ae- part, Emborio I. Wilson convincingly demonstrates that the
gean," AJA 89 (1985) 191-219; C. Renfrew, "The Goulandris closest parallels for the Anatolian-style pottery from Ayia
Museum of Cycladic and Ancient Art," AR 32 (1986) 134- Irini III are to be found in southwestern Asia Minor. The
41; and L. Goodison, Death, Women, and the Sun (BICS most complete published summary of evidence relevant to
Suppl. 53, London 1989) ch. 1. These publications are rich later EBA Keos is now: D.E. Wilson and M. Eliot, "Ayia Irini,
with references to earlier studies of Cycladic art. For the Period III: The Last Phase of Occupation at the E.B.A.
Thera frescoes and other contemporary wall paintings from Settlement," in Prehistoric Cyclades 78-87; see also Vaughan
the islands of the Aegean, see discussions of Keos, Thera, and Wilson (supra n. 20).
Melos, and Rhodes, below.
(of large roughly squared limestone blocks with rec-

tangular towers) marks the beginning of period V,
which must be on the basis of Minoan imports roughly
contemporary with MM IIB/MM IIIA. As in the EBA,
MBA Keos was closely linked through exchange to
other areas of the Aegean. Ties to Crete are evident
already from the beginning of period IV, although
4')0l
local ceramic traditions are dominant (fig. 3). In pe-
riod V, there is evidence for the local use of the Cretan
linear script and for Cretan-style administrative prac-
tice, as represented by a roundel of Minoan type and
an inscribed tablet fragment. Aspects of material cul-
ture became increasingly Minoanized in the course of
the MBA (and in the earlier stages of the LBA) as
local potters copied Cretan shapes and many elements
Fig. 2. Ayia Irini, Keos. Stone and gold beads strung as a of Cretan technology were introduced to the island,
necklace from MBA grave 24. (Courtesy John C. Overbeck)
including a Minoan system of metrology. Crete influ-
enced local religious practices, and Minoan-style wall
direct contact with the Peloponnese; imported wares paintings were executed locally (figs. 4-5).39
are recognized from period I, including probable
Melian products, and quantities of imported ceramics
reached as high as 30% in period II. It is indeed
increasingly clear that exchange played a significant
role in the life of the settlement from the time of its ...I. 'N
foundation.
The Middle Bronze Age at Ayia Irini has been

divided into two principal periods, IV and V, the
former subdivided into three subphases. The evi-
dence for both periods IV and V has now been fully
presented.38 There was a break in occupation at Ayia
Irini after period III. The earliest period IV deposits i iiiiMA,
at the site are appreciably later than the beginning of
the MH period on the Greek mainland and it is clear
that a gap exists in the Ayia Irini sequence roughly
contemporary with EH III and the earlier stages of
the Middle Bronze Age. The cemeteries of period IV
are among the very few cemeteries known in the MBA
Cyclades (fig. 2). From the beginning of period IV :IN,
the settlement was fortified, its principal gateway

guarded by a horseshoe-shaped tower. This earliest
defensive system was destroyed and eventually re-
placed by a system set farther north on the neck of Fig. 3. Ayia Irini, Keos. Fragment of an MBA barrel-jar with
the peninsula to encompass a somewhat larger area red and black matt-painted decoration. (Courtesy John C.
within the town. The construction of this new system Overbeck)
38 J.C. Overbeck, Ayia Irini: Period IV: The Stratigraphy spread; see A.H. Bikaki, Ayia Irini: The Potters' Marks (Keos
and the Find Deposits (Keos VII.1, Mainz 1989); J.L. Davis, IV, Mainz 1984). For the full corpus of lead weights (from
Ayia Irini: Period V (Keos V, Mainz 1986). Further discussion which it has been deduced that a Minoan metrological system
and documentation of the material of period IV will be was used locally), see K.M. Petruso, Ayia Irini: The Balance
included in the second part of Keos VII, now in preparation Weights. An Analysis of Weight Measurement in Prehistoric
by J.C. Overbeck. Crete and the Cycladic Islands (Keos VIII, Mainz 1992). Tech-
39 The context of the tablet with Linear A signs found in nological innovations of Minoan type include the so-called
a stratum of period V has been discussed by Davis (supra n. "fireboxes," which arguably were employed for the produc-
38) 99 (also GORILA I, KE 1); for the roundel, GORILA II, tion of aromatics, and potter's wheel disks. These and other
KE Wc 2. Signs adopted from the Cretan script replaced the standardized ceramic shapes have been discussed by H.S.
older system of marks that had been used since the beginning Georgiou, Ayia Irini: Specialized Domestic and Industrial Pot-
of period IV when marking pottery had first become wide- tery (Keos VI, Mainz 1986). Other evidence of metals and
t.- ??-- ??LL 1 ,?..,.,. ..............,...~.. ............~~~~~
!'.~--
I! !:i
i i !' - i ii
i!.
..........................
y I
-. '- ..... ' "

... .. .........
.....'.. . . .. . . .. . . ..
" . ......
. .. .. . "'. .....
. . ............
. .. -..!.-
. .. . . ' ! .. ....,k . ....
Fig. 4. Ayia Irini, Keos. Detail of a miniature painting: ships, men, and cauldrons. (Courtesy Lyvia Morgan)
As yet no overview of the settlement in any period divisions of period VI are followed by the three sub-
of the LBA has appeared in the series of final exca- divisions distinguishable in period VII. An early
vation reports. Deposits from house A, published in phase (VIIa), which bridges the gap between periods
1983, continue to provide the most detailed picture VI and VII, is marked by the first importation of LM
of the nature of the material culture at the site in IB/LH II ceramics to the site, and is earlier in date
periods VI and VII.40 The stratigraphy of these pe- than the main destruction deposits of house A. These
riods is now, however, understood in considerable are in turn assigned to a middle phase of period VII
detail as is the architectural development of the site. (VIIb) and are characterized by the appearance of the
Two principal subgroups of material have been rec- Cretan Marine Style and the so-called Alternating
ognized within period VI: an earlier group that con- Style. A late phase follows the destruction of house A
tains LM IA types but in which the LH I style is not but is still contemporary with the latest part of LH II
represented, and a later one in which the LH I style, (VIIc). In the early LBA, the area of houses C, F, and
the LM IA style, and mainland matt-painted types EJ seems to have consisted of a few independent
contemporary with LH I are represented.41 These establishments with large open spaces between them,
metalworking at both Ayia Irini and Kephala has been sum- 41 J.L. Davis and J.F. Cherry, "Spatial and Temporal Uni-
marized recently by Z.A. Stos-Gale, "Lead Isotope Evidence formitarianism in Late Cycladic I: Perspectives from Kea
for Trade in Copper from Cyprus during the Late Bronze and Milos on the Prehistory of Akrotiri," in TAW 111.1, 185-
Age," in Greek Prehistory 265-82, esp. 276, 282, and fig. 13; 200. The latest of the two period VI subphases, best repre-
and by Z.A. Stos-Gale and N.H. Gale, "The Role of Thera sented in deposit A of room 18 in house A, cannot, as recently
in the Bronze Age Trade in Metals," in TAW III.1, 77, and has been argued by Warren (infra n. 152), be the result of a
figs. 6-7 on 78, 84. For a general overview of the contexts destruction that occurred contemporarily with the Seismic
of industrial activities at Ayia Irini, see E. Schofield, "Evi- Destruction Level (SDL) at Akrotiri (on these deposits, see
dence for Household Industries on Thera and Kea," in TAW the discussion of Thera infra). The relevant deposits at
III.1, 201-11. The more than 30 near-life-size terracotta Akrotiri produced no trace of the Late Helladic I style and
figures of Minoan style found in the temple at Ayia Irini were presumably deposited before its inception on the Greek
have now received their definitive publication in M.E. Cas- mainland, while the LH I style is clearly represented in the
key, The Temple at Ayia Irini: The Statues (Keos II.1, Prince- deposit in house A. The house A deposit must, therefore,
ton 1986). On the wall paintings from Ayia Irini, see E.N. be later in date than the SDL at Akrotiri; its overall character
Davis, "The Cycladic Style of the Thera Frescoes," in TAW is, in fact, more similar to that of the Volcanic Destruction
III.1, 214-27, and L. Morgan, "Island Iconography: Thera, Level (VDL) at Akrotiri (particularly in terms of the suite of
Kea, Milos," in TAW III.1, 252-65. Of particular interest is mainland imports represented) than it is to the SDL. There
Morgan's reconstruction of fragments from the northeast can be little question that pottery of the LH I style and of
bastion in the fortifications of Ayia Irini as parts of a min- contemporary matt-painted styles reached the southern Cyc-
iature fresco, thematically related to the miniatures of the
lades since mainland imports are well represented in LC I
West House at Akrotiri on Thera.
levels at Phylakopi on Melos, and are found already in the
40 W.W. Cummer and E. Schofield, Ayia Irini: House A SDL at Akrotiri (infra n. 153). Once again, the danger of
(Keos III, Mainz 1983). drawing suppositious correlations needs to be emphasized.
--......... ??-------?---- ------------?---------- ?---
."-..........................
. ........... . . ..
.r .. ... r - J
i ;
- ;.; .. ....... .
. . . .. .. .. ... .. . . . - ....................... . " ............................
.....
dip
....... . .. .-..
-- --- --- ----
crn
Fig. 5. Ayia Irini, Keos. Detail of a miniature painting: town by a river. (Courtesy
Lyvia Morgan)
different parts of the site indicate continuation of

in contrast to the impression given by published plans
settlement in LH IIIA:2 as do remains of structures
of Ayia Irini, which show walls of all phases of the
LBA, whether contemporary or not.42 built outside the fortifications near the former (period
Systematic investigation of the LH III settlementVII) main gateway to the town. Continued use of
has emphasized that reoccupation following the mainburnished and matt-painted wares in LH IIIA: 1, and
period VII destruction was substantial.43 There seems
of conical cups and tripod cooking pots, attests to the
to have been no gap in occupation at the site after
survival of these types into LH III alongside Myce-
period VII and a sequence of deposits following the
naean types proper; there is strong continuity in local
ceramic traditions.
general destruction of the town in period VIIb and
contemporary with LH IIB and LH IIIA:1 on theOne objective of a recent systematic surface survey
(1983-1984) in northwest Keos was to determine the
Greek mainland can be distinguished stratigraphi-
character of settlement and land use in the immediate
cally. LH IIIA: 1 material from most parts of the site
appears to have been laid down as the result of an-hinterland of Ayia Irini.44 Results suggest that Keos
other widespread destruction. Deposits from severalmay have followed a rather different pattern of de-
42 For preliminary observations on the character of period Cyclades 241-54. My summary here is drawn from the text
VII subphases, see E. Schofield, "Ayia Irini, Keos, in Late of an unpublished paper entitled "Ayia Irini, Keos: Late
Cycladic II," BICS 32 (1985) 155; and E. Schofield, "Destruc- Helladic III," by C. Morris and C. Hershenson. I am grateful
tion Deposits of the Earlier Late Bronze Age from Ayia Irini, to both of them for a copy of it and for allowing me to
Keos," in Prehistoric Cyclades 179-83. summarize their conclusions.
43 Remains of period VIII (i.e., the LH III settlement) 44 J.F. Cherry, J.L. Davis, and E. Mantzourani, Landscape
are numerous. No general discussion has yet appeared in Archaeology as Long-Term History: Northern Keos in the Cy-
print, although the sequence of LH IIIC phases from the cladic Islands (Monumenta Archaeologica 16, Los Angeles
temple has been described and some representative pottery 1991). Chs. 6-9 discuss results of the survey pertinent to the
illustrated; see M.E. Caskey, "The Temple at Ayia Irini, Kea: prehistory of the island and review evidence resulting from
Evidence for the Late Helladic IIIC Phases," in Prehistoric all earlier work on the island.
velopment in thewhile
EBA Kephala was certainly a did
than village of considerably
man
smaller scale.
islands. The population of the Two new small aceramic sites in the
island
northwest part of theto
northwest part) appears island near
haveKephala have been
been
the site of Ayiaassigned
Irini to the later alone
Neolithic period on andthe basis of th
lithic attributes.46
parallel to the scatter of small EC
Mineralogical field
cemeteries recognized on studyso
has succeeded
many in relocat- ot
dence available from
ing sources of lead two other
ore, long known to exist on the su
ranged island and mined for a short
more
extensively time in the later 19th
supports our
the settlement at and early 20th centuries.
Ayia Irini The deposits are distinguish-
dominate
system asablea
fromwhole.45
those of Laurion on the basis of
of Keos their lead-
Other si
isotope ratios and are low in
in size and lack evidence forsilver content.
the There is imp
as yet no vivid
wares that bear such firm evidence that they were exploited in
testimony t
between Ayia prehistoric
Irini and times.47 the outside w
earlier than that at Kephala
The Northern Sporades
and P
recognized, nor has survey
The principal development in located
the prehistory of the ma
be employed to close gaps in the
northern Sporades has been the publication of results Ay
between periods I and
of excavations at the site II, and
of Ayios Petros.48 betw
The site
and IV. Finds of the late
lies inside a large Middle
bay on the southwest side of theand
cladic periods are islet
most
of Kyra Panayia. In the Neolithic Ayios Petros but
plentiful,
exclusively the remains of mainland
was attached to the adjacent large stora
of Kyra Pan-
coarse wares that were
ayia, but even during the perhaps
Palaeolithic there appears em
settings by a population largely
to have existed a sea lane between it and the island ofresid
itself.LB III finds have
Alonnisos been
to the southwest.49 especial
Most of the site is now
Survey results have
submerged but even castoriginallymost ligh
it seems to have been
Keos. Detailed collection of surface materials at less than two-tenths of a hectare in area. Stratification
Paoura and Kephala has allowed the size of thosewas
sites
shallow (only a little more than a meter in depth)
to be estimated with greater precision. Analysis ofmuch eroded but nonetheless excavation pro-
and
lithics from both suggests that Paoura's closest ties are
duced conclusive evidence that the principal period
with Saliagos; the assemblage of Kephala is distinct
of occupation was contemporary with the latter part
from that of Paoura and its lithics have strong affini-
of the EN period and the beginning of the MN period
ties with those of mainland sites. Paoura may
in well
Thessaly; 14C dates of 6740 + 120 B.P. and 5860 +
have supported a population of 75-130 individuals,
400 B.P. have been published.5? Some LN, EBA (of
45 Thus far the results of extensive survey by H.S. Geor- eds., The Engineering Geology of Ancient Works, Monuments
giou and N. Faraklas in the northern part of the island have and Historical Sites: Preservation and Protection (Rotterdam
been published; see H.S. Georgiou and N. Faraklas, "Ancient 1988) 1739-45.
Habitation Patterns of Keos: Locations and Nature of Sites 48 Most recently Neolithic remains have also been re-
on the Northwest Part of the Island," Ariadni 3 (1985) 207- ported in the Kyklopi Cave on Yioura (the most remote of
66. Survey teams from the University of Athens have oper- the northern Sporades); see "Travel Guide," Archaeology
ated principally in the territories of the Classical city-states45:2 (1992) 7.
of Poieessa and Karthaia. For specifically prehistoric finds, 49 N. Efstratiou, Ayios Petros: A Neolithic Site in the North-
see G. Galani, L. Mendoni, and H. Papayeoryiadou, "EitL- ern Sporades (BAR-IS 241, Oxford 1985). Survey of Kyra
aLveClaxl EQUvva oTilv K~ca," Arhaiognosia 3 (1982-1984) Panayia by Efstratiou revealed no additional prehistoric
237-44. finds; see also "First Colonization" 167, for further discus-
46 L.E. Talalay, "Body Imagery of the Ancient Aegean," sion of sea level fluctuations and of the possibility that the
Archaeology 44:4 (1991) 46-49, has also discussed the char- northern Sporades were tied to each other and the adjacent
acter of settlement at Kephala, the control of local resources, mainland during the Palaeolithic.
and the relationship between cemeteries and territorial def- 50 Efstratiou (supra n. 49) 167, appendix V; S.G.E. Bow-
inition. For the most authoritative recent discussion of Ke- man, J.C. Ambers, and M.N. Leese, "Re-evaluation of British
phala and nearby sites, see R. Torrence, "The Chipped Museum Radiocarbon Dates Issued between 1980 and
Stone," 173-98, and T.M. Whitelaw, "Investigations at the 1984," Radiocarbon 32 (1990) 59-79. Efstratiou argues th
Neolithic Sites of Kephala and Paoura," 199-216, in Cherry there are parallels at Ayios Petros with ceramics of the secon
et al. (supra n. 44). phase of Thessalian EN (Achilleion phase). These element
47 "Sources of Metals" 257-59; Stos-Gale and Gale (supra could not, however, be defined at Ayios Petros as a distinc
n. 39) 86; and Pernicka (supra n. 17). These assessments stage in the life of the settlement, but were found togeth
contrast with views expressed in M.E. Caskey et al., "Metals with ceramic elements of the sort that characterize the classi
in Keos: A First Approach," in P.G. Marinos and G.C. Koukis MN Sesklo phase in Thessaly.
Troy I character), and MBA manent,

(Grayrather than a seasonal, occupation;
Minyan) pottery if this
in surface levels and in a pit interpretation
reflect is correct, Ayios Petros
later would bePa-
use.51 the
laeolithic artifacts have been earliestreported
published permanent
atsettlement
Ayios yet known
Petros in
and at several locations on Alonnisos. the Aegean islands.
Stone foundations for structures with both rectan-
gular and curving walls appear to have supported Euboia and Skyros
mudbrick superstructures. Two child burials were Euboia. Our picture of earliest settlement on Euboia
excavated amidst the habitation levels while other has been greatly illuminated by the publication of the
human bones were found scattered. Artifactual evi- results of recent surveys and excavations designed to
dence does not suggest that those who used the site supplement older investigations by Theoharis and by
of Ayios Petros were particularly isolated from adja- members of the British and American Schools at Ath-
cent mainlands. Nearly all of the pottery appears to ens.52 More than 60 Neolithic and EB I sites are now
have been produced locally, but stylistic affinities in- known, for the most part small settlements of limited
dicate continuing contact with the Thessalian main- duration. Analysis particularly of finds from the sites
land. Most distinctive are carinated bowls with red- of Psahna Varka, Psahna Glyfa, Psahna Votsika, Eretria
patterned decoration on a creamy ground. Imported Seinen Mnima, Politika Spilaio Marmara, Karystos
materials include Melian obsidian and flint that ap- Plakari, and Chalkis Manika have allowed the earlier
pears to have been Thessalian in origin. The stone prehistory of the island to be divided into six tentative
used for axes, on the other hand, was probably of phases: an Older (AQXat6lTQr) Neolithic I and II
local derivation, quarried on the island of Psathoura, (roughly coincident with EN on the mainland); a
to the north of Kyra Panayia. The extensive collection Newer (NErrEQrg) Neolithic I, approximately equiva-
of terracotta figurines (50 in number) from the site is lent with the earlier phases of the mainland LN; two
noteworthy given the fact that most are from secure stages of Final Neolithic (the latest equivalent to the
contexts; they include male as well as female and Attic-Kephala culture); and EH I.53 No Euboian phase
animal types. Features are for the most part rendered corresponding in character to mainland MN has yet
with deep incisions, some with white filling. Animal been noted. Each of these stages is defined with ref-
bones include a full range of domesticates. It is con- erence to characteristic ceramic and lithic artifacts,
vincingly argued that the site was most likely a per- and to patterns in settlement.54 Surface survey has
51 Efstratiou (supra n. 49) 166, appendix IV, reports pro- phala on Keos, and Neolithic finds from the Athenian Agora.
visional results of spectroscopic analyses of samples of Gray Most of these Euboian sites appear to have been settlements,
Minyan pottery that suggest that, in their composition, they although human bones from Politika Spilaio Marmara are
resemble most closely the Mycenaean pottery of Volos in of the Older Neolithic II phase and presumably derive from
Thessaly. Y. Liritzis, L. Orphanidis-Georgiadis, and N. Ef- a burial. Older Neolithic I sites are poorly known and the
stratiou, "Neolithic Thessaly and the Sporades: Remarks on character of the ceramics suggests isolation from mainland
Cultural Contacts between Sesklo, Dimini, and Aghios Petros traditions.
Based on Trace Element Analysis and Archaeological Evi- Pre-Neolithic finds have also been reported on Euboia;
dence," OJA 10 (1991) 307-13 found, however, no evidence see Neolithic and Protohelladic 23; "First Colonization" 165-
that Neolithic pottery from Ayios Petros had been imported 67. For other recent reports of pre-Neolithic finds from the
from Thessaly. island, see A. Sampson, "a-IclcEica AyLwvvag," ArchDelt 38
52 A. Sampson, Neolithic and Protohelladic; see also Samp- B' (1983) 154 (Middle Palaeolithic at Aiyianna Sarakeniko);
son, "Qeol: TactLdXYlg," ArchDelt 37 B' (1982) 174 (pre- "KeQcao(La," ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 155 (pre-Neolithic stone
historic remains reported at the site of Panayitsa, near tools at Kerasia Panayia and Kerasia Nero); E. Sarantea,
Oreoi); P. Kalligas, "EQgTQLa (Ev~giUCQ tEQLtoXfl): Ma- "EQyaoT'iltLC xcTccraoxeIg aIItXaLOXLOLXc0V gyckXetLv
XacXWvag," ArchDelt 36 B' (1981) 201 (a prehistoric settle- orTl JTEQLtoxfl orTl XchLov E4~Taov XoV MEaxQ Vxd;og otrlV
ment at Plakakia in the vicinity of Eretria); A. Sampson, EV'3otLa," AAA 18 (1985) 81-85; and E. Sarantea, I00o-
"Kcaort t-hoh JLoVa," ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 153 (Neolithic io'roptxad Evptyara Ngag; Aprdtxrq E2fiotag (Athens
finds from excavations at Kastelli Pisonas, on a summit over- 1986).
looking the Lelantine Plain); "ZovyxXhLxa Aytvvrag," 54 Representative species of shell in each phase are de-
ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 154 (Neolithic axes and terraces at scribed (Neolithic and Protohelladic 47-49): two pierced pec-
Ayianna Zougkleika); "KaLt~utg," ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 154 ten jacobeus from Politika Spilaio Marmara were used as
(Neolithic pottery from caves). jewelry. Murex shells were found at Vasiliko Linovrohi. Flint
53 Sampson, Neolithic and Protohelladic, draws parallels tools are abundant, but obsidian relatively rare before FN.
between the material from these phases and specific groups Other artifacts of special interest include Newer Neolithic I
of finds from the Greek mainland or elsewhere in the Ae- fragments of schematic human figurines and animal figu-
gean: Older Neolithic II is compared with material from rines from Psahna Varka (Neolithic and Protohelladic 84-85)
Nea Makri; Newer Neolithic I, with the Arapi and Tsangli and FN bases with matt and cloth impressions from Thar-
phases of Thessaly, with the LN I of Corinth, and with rounia Skoteini Cave (Neolithic and Protohelladic 144).
Saliagos on Antiparos; and Final Neolithic (FN), with Ke-
been most extensive in central Euboia and it is not mains have been discovered in several rock-shelters.
surprising that the area around Eretria and Chalkis West of Karystos, FN finds have been recorded at two
is best represented by newly discovered sites. The locations: a small site on the summit of the Kazara
greatest numbers of sites appear to belong to the Final ridge and a larger settlement on the ridge of Plakari,
Neolithic and EH I periods; these seem to have been both in defensible positions a short distance from the
times of settlement expansion. All parts of the island sea. Limited salvage excavations at Plakari have un-
were inhabited, including inland and coastal locations covered architectural remains with pattern-burnished
in the north and south.55 For the EBA as a whole pottery similar in character to that from Kephala on
more than a hundred sites are now known from ex- Keos.59 In contrast, several EBA sites were located on
cavation or surface investigations.56 As for the Neo-the shore of the Paximadi peninsula: Ayia Pelayia on
lithic, these are concentrated in the central parts ofthe northeast side,60 Ayia Paraskevi at the south end,
the island. and Akri Rozos on the northwest. On the east side of
The most intensively surveyed part of Euboia is the the bay of Karystos another EBA site was found at
area around the bay of Karystos in the south.57 The Ayia Irini.
entirety of the Paximadi peninsula southwest of Kar- Finds of the MBA and LBA in contrast are relatively
ystos has now been investigated, and 19 concentra- scarce here in the extreme south of Euboia. A large
tions of prehistoric material have been recognized. site was established in the MBA to the northeast of
Karystos at Ayios Nikolaos; finds include plentiful

All belong to the Final Neolithic and early part of the
Early Bronze Age. The focus of settlements appears evidence for metalworking, Gray Minyan and matt-
painted pottery, bronze artifacts, and a lead pottery
to have been in the north of the peninsula, where flat
land and water are more accessible. The earliest re- clamp. The settlement was apparently not inhabited
mains yet located in southern Euboia belong to the in the LBA and as yet there have been no indisputable
Late Neolithic and come from the cave of Ayia Triada,LBA finds reported in southern Euboia.61
north of Karystos; they include obsidian and black- In addition to the preceding general surveys and
burnished pottery.58 Fragments of human bone sug-trials, more extensive excavations have been pursued
gest that the cave may have been used as a place of at several locations. The most important of these have
burial, while just below it LN and FN habitation re-been at the apparently massive EBA site of Chalkis
55 The distribution of sites by date (as summarized in 1985). I am grateful to Donald Keller for a copy of his
Neolithic and Protohelladic) is as follows: Older Neolithic I,dissertation.
9; Older Neolithic II, 8; Newer Neolithic I, 15; FN I, 4; FN 58 See also Neolithic and Protohelladic 92, 145.
II, 18; EH I, 23. These figures are now supplemented by 59 Pottery from the excavations at Plakari has been pub-
lished by D.R. Keller, "Final Neolithic Pottery from Plakari,
more recent data, particularly that from survey in southern
Euboia (infra ns. 57, 61). Karystos," in P. Spitaels ed., Studies in South Attica 1 (Mis-
56 Manika I, 334-76 summarizes much of the evidence cellanea Graeca 5, Ghent 1982) 47-67. The presence of
and includes commentary on a catalogue of EBA sites; many copper ore from the site is noted by Keller and Cullen (infra
n. 61). All obsidian probably originated on Melos and the
new sites have been identified since earlier investigations by
Theoharis and by members of the British and Americanraw material does not seem to have been used in an econom-
Schools. See also a report of EH II remains at Drosia Gai-ical fashion. Unworked nodules of obsidian appear to have
daros: A. Sampson, "AQoomd," ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 154.been imported directly from Melos and are most plentiful
Kalligas has provided a detailed review of prehistoric re- on Cape Mnima, at the southern tip of the peninsula.
search on the island before the 1980s: P.G. Kalligas, "Euboea 60 Highly diagnostic EB II types, including sauceboats,
and the Cyclades," in Cycladica 88-98, and publishes a num-found at Ayia Pelayia, represent the latest stage of Bronze
ber of older finds including a marble figurine from Makro-Age occupation yet recognized on the Paximadi peninsula
horifo, just south of Chalkis; he also discusses various(Keller and Cullen, infra n. 61).
Neolithic and EBA artifacts thought to come from the vicin- 61 Since 1984, the Canadian Karystia Expedition has com-
ity of Makrikapa, in east-central Euboia (including gold and pleted survey of the Paximadi peninsula and parts of the
southeastern coast of the island. Prehistoric finds have been
silver vessels); most are now in the collections of the Chalkis
Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Benakireported but not yet described in detail. See D.R. Keller and
Museum (see E. Davis, The Vapheio Cups and Aegean Gold
M. Wallace, "The Canadian Karystia Project, 1986," EchCl
and Silver Ware [New York 1977] 63-65). For general trends31 (1987) 227; Keller (supra n. 57) 237 n. 5.6; and Keller
in the history of MBA and LBA settlement on Euboia, see and T. Cullen, "Prehistoric Occupation of the Paximadhi
Manika I, 336, 342. Peninsula, Southern Euboea," AJA 96 (1992) 341 (abstract).
57 See D.R. Keller, Archaeological Survey in Southern Eu-I am grateful to Keller and Cullen for a copy of the full text
boea, Greece: A Reconstruction of Human Activity from Neo- of their paper.
lithic Times through the Byzantine Period (Diss. Indiana Univ.
- -i-~l-_---'---:':- m ::- m::
Fig. 6. Skoteini Cave, Tharrounia, Euboia. F

Adamantios Sampson)
Manika, at Tharrounia Skoteini Cave, the l

known cave on the island, and at Classical Eret
The existence of prehistoric remains in the Sk
Cave has long been known. Excavations since
have, however, uncovered stratified deposits, w
when published, promise to clarify considerab
Late and Final Neolithic sequence of Euboia.6
earliest traces of human presence can be da
Newer Neolithic I in the Euboian sequence (e
lent to early LN on the mainland); higher stra
of Final Neolithic, Early Helladic, and LH III
Finds of exceptional interest include an EH clay
4'I
ing and a pithos handle that had been stamp
peatedly with a seal; various EH metal tools and
of jewelry; copper tools and needles from t
levels; Neolithic stone and clay figurines, inclu
steatopygous females and animal figurines (fig.
image of an ithyphallic man accompanied by a n
woman, both rendered in relief on a Neolithic p
and well-stratified deposits of Neolithic pottery
7). Human bones were mixed
Fig. 7.within the Neo
Skoteini C
levels; the discovery of with
a skull incised decor
separated from t
62 Few details concerning

report, the
kindlyexca
pro
published; see son.
AR 33 (1987) 15;
1987, 672. My description is sum
?r:--*
Ni?:-:_o- ?:::::- I__l:- ?s.i
. .. . .. ..
::i~:::-:::: __ -- :- ' --: ::6J,- _: _ ::_:~!i~i,;';l:-i~ii:-_ _ :::;40i
:?: :oz
Fig. 8. Manika, Euboia. Foundations of EBA buildings in Zou
of the skeleton seems to point to the

investigations have practice of community
focused on the EBA sec-
ondary burial. Some 400 m from the
although it cave
is clear the
that the remains
settlement continued to
of a badly eroded Neolithic becemetery has
inhabited in the MBA andbeen
LBA (fig. exca-
8). The earliest
vated, including eight slab-built
strata aregraves (four
dated to a stage intact);
late in EH I. Most architec-
multiple burial of skulls suggests the
tural remains practice
are contemporary of
with EHsec-
II on the
ondary burial in two of these.
Greek Remains ofmajor
mainland. The final an stage
open-of EBA oc-
air FN settlement have also cupation,
been lessexcavated
widespread thanon a pla- EH II
the preceding
teau above the cave. phase, belongs to the so-called Lefkandi I phase and
The site of Manika, north of the Euripos near is characterized by Anatolian elements in ceramics
Chalkis, has been the target of especially intensive and metallurgy; after this the settlement appears to
investigation. Although long known, only in the have been further reduced in size. The cause of this
course of the past decade has the true extent and diminution is unclear: no obvious evidence for de-
importance of Manika begun to be clarified.63 Recent struction either by human or natural forces has yet
63 For earlier research see Kalligas (supra n. 56). The in 1984). Manika II contains an overview of recent work at
main recent bibliography includes Manika I-II, principally the site and detailed plans showing the locations of the many
the results of research in 1982-1986; fieldwork in 1983- test excavations. There is also an extensive discussion of the
1984 has also been briefly described by A. Sampson and E. ground stone industry in Manika II, 80-104.
Sakellaraki, "Mdvtxa," ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 139-40, and The extremely detailed presentation of excavations in the
by Sakellaraki, "MdXvtxa," ArchDelt 39 B' (1984) 120-23. Zousis plot describes complexes of rectangular and apsidal
For more detailed presentations of results, see: E. Sakellar- rooms, some of which appear to have had two stories (122-
aki, "NWot L T0ot onl Mdvtxa Xakxl&ag (otx6~6bo fIaM a- 24, 131-32). The pottery has been extensively described.
ozractCTLov)," ApXEiovEvfloixiv MEA Edv 27 (1986-1987) Extraordinary finds included a bronze ring with incised
5-21 (the excavation of tombs in 1986-1987); E. Sakellaraki, decoration on its bezel (109, 224-26, no. 425), a terracotta
"teddy-bear" (140, no. 9), stone vessels (217-18, nos. 388-
"Mdvtxa XakCX &ag. :ITQWtaLoyQDtaLxl T eQvva oroTO
OLXLto~6: OLX636Tbo Zoorlq," ArchDelt 41 B' (1986) 101-270 92), stone pestles (218-19, nos. 393-94), a stone pebble
(a report on several structures and a discussion of the settle- figurine (141, no. 9), a terracotta quadruped figurine (140,
ment in toto); "Ano6 nI1 Ep3ota xcLat LIn x6Qo," AAA 19 no. 10), two bronze chisels (224, nos. 423-24), a stamp seal
(1986) 30-35 (excavation of graves and soundings within (266, no. 427), and a leg from a terracotta anthropomorphic
the settlement in 1984-1985); and "New Evidence from the figurine (266, no. 428). Few terracotta whorls and no loom-
Early Bronze Age Cemetery at Manika, Chalkis," BSA 82 weights were found. Ground stone and obsidian chipped
(1987) 233-64 (a full publication of eight tombs excavated stone tools were common (220-24, 226-34).
Fig. 9. Manika, Euboia. Fragment of frying p

tesy Efi Sakellaraki)
been identified. There 1985, its maximum

had previously beenexten
a con
ity in architecture, ceramics, and burial custo
but this estimate has rec
Manika; the settlement of the
about 80 Lefkandi
ha.64 From I phas
the
not represent a major break with previous
mote sensing, trad
it has been
Indeed, Anatolian types are most
between theoften found
various soun
nerary contexts (and even
mum extent of the comm
there are not settle
they, like Cycladic imports
Even ifin earlier
we stages of
may assume, as
EBA, appear to have been
was selectively chosen as
not contemporary in
gifts because of their must
prestige
havevalue
beenas exotica
one of th
common goods
Aegean importedinclude
in the Melian EBA; it obs is c
and andesite,was used which
island settlement for the manufactwith a
Anatolian
a substantial portion of all and ground
Near Eastern centersstone
in its scale.65 It
tools.
The biggest surprise has
of recent years has been
also been argued that the settlement from its initial
suggestion of the enormity of the size of
stages was, in some sense of the word, "organized": Mani
64 See H. Marukian, E. Kambouroglou, and A. Sampson, mainland sites are generally smaller than 4 ha (see D. Kon-
"Coastal Evolution and Archaeology North and South of
sola, H rod)tt,1kP aOrtmozroolo0 oarovg wro7oeAAa6txOog
Chalkis in the Last 5000 Years," in A. Raban ed., Archaeology otxtaroPgo [Athens 1984] 94-102). In the Cyclades, settle-
of Coastal Changes (BAR-IS 404, Oxford 1988) 71-79. See ments were still smaller (C. Broodbank, "The Longboat and
also Sakellaraki, ArchDelt 41 (supra n. 63) 103, regarding Society in the Cyclades in the Keros-Syros Culture," AJA 93
the extent of the settlement. [1989] 319-37). Nor were there habitations in the northern
65 Estimates for sizes of many principal EBA sites on Crete Aegean that approached Manika in size (C. Renfrew, The
are an order of magnitude smaller (T.M. Whitelaw, "The Emergence of Civilisation [London 1972] 236-44). For esti-
Settlement at Fournou Korifi, Myrtos and Aspects of Early mates of sizes for Near Eastern and Anatolian sites, see also
Minoan Social Organization," in O. Krzyszkowska and L. Renfrew.
Nixon eds., Minoan Society [Bristol 1983] 339). The largest
that all architectural remains thus f
oriented to the cardinal points and take
similarly aligned streets.66 The town
been fortified.67
The cemetery of Manika lay to the
to the settlement; its maximum exte
been determined with certainty, but i
covered at least 6 ha.68 Within this a
of tombs varies; many appear to be g
ters. Approximately 200 tombs with
ials have thus far been investigated:
of varying sizes cut into the bedrock
shaft-like antechambers, some wit
down from ground level; slabs or bu
passage into the main chamber. The
vation of most of the human rem
adequate for certain generalizations a
of burial customs. Bodies were placed
in contracted positions. It is possible
never held more than a single burial
tained multiple burials. The earlier bu
aside when necessary to make room
sand or pebbles were sometimes u
4 iijiii
layers of
from newer. Oth older bone
to have been employed as ossuaries. T
inside some tombs reflect burial ritu
Anatolian types of pottery are both f
frequency: frying pans are especially
Fig. 20
recovered in over 10. Manika, Euboia. Marble figurine.
graves.69 (Courtesy Ef
Types
boats, especially ellaraki)
common in settlem
rarely found in the cemetery.
These newly 11); terracotta figurines,graves
excavated and both terracotta andand b
vide clearer contexts for a number of EBA artifact stone zoomorphic vessels are also represented. The
types that had not been well documented in excavated marble anthropomorphic figures include schematic
contexts. Scientific analyses have shown that bone types, examples reminiscent of Plastiras and Louros
tubes of Cycladic type with incised decoration once features, canonical folded-arm figurines, and two
contained azurite, presumably used as a paint.70 More seated figures. This corpus is an important addition
than 10 anthropomorphic figurines of marble and of to the still relatively small body of EBA marble figures
bone or shell have thus far been reported (figs. 10- that have been found in the Aegean in secure undis-
66 Cf. Sakellaraki, ArchDelt 41 (supra n. 63) 104, 122, but Early Helladic Graves of Manika: Contribution to the Socio-
see also Sakellaraki, BSA (supra n. 63) 236 where there is economic Conditions of the Early Bronze Age," in R. Laffi-
said to be no evidence for town planning at the site. neur ed., Thanatos: Les coutumes fundraires en Egie a l'fAge
67 On fortifications, see Sakellaraki, ArchDelt 41 (supra n. du Bronze (Aegeum 1, Liege 1987) 19-28; M. Fountoulakis,
63) 101, 134, and 266. Characteristics of EBA architecture "Some Unusual Burial Practices in the Early Helladic Ne-
at Manika and elsewhere in Euboia have been reviewed in cropolis of Manika," in Thanatos 29-33.
A. Sampson, "The Type of the Early Helladic House in 69 Important new evidence suggests that these vessels were
Euboea," in Manika II, 120-23; and Sampson, "Architecture at least sometimes brought to the grave containing food,
and Urbanization in Manika, Chalkis," in R. Hagg and D. since animal bones have been found in them. See Sakellaraki,
Konsola eds., Early Helladic Architecture and Urbanization BSA (supra n. 63) 240, 264, and Coleman (supra n. 34) 202-
(SIMA 76, G6teborg 1986) 47-50. 204.
68 On tomb form and burial ritual especially see Manika 70 Cf. Sakellaraki, BSA (supra n. 63) 251, 264 on the use
II; Sakellaraki, BSA (supra n. 63) 256-64; A. Sampson, "The of these and other vessels as containers for paint.
one has a spiral, another, a leaf-shape imprint, and

the third, a geometric design.73
Rescue excavations at Classical Eretria in the Vour-
atsas plot, near the northeast corner of the later agora,
have recovered deep prehistoric deposits extending
well beneath the level of the water table. Finds re-
portedly date to the later phases of EH and to the
beginning of the MBA, and there is a thin overlying
stratum containing Minyan, Minoan, LH IIIB, and
LH IIIC types. The greater part of the pottery may
be dated to EH II, EH III, and early MH; proto-
Minyan handmade bowls are well represented. The
earlier finds were associated with architectural re-
;:::
mains, including a storeroom that still contained a 15-

cm thick stratum of carbonized grains and pulses on
its floor. A well-preserved potter's kiln has been now
moved to the Eretria Museum.74 The exact date of
the kiln is not entirely certain, since excavation be-
neath the water table made it impossible to record
detailed stratigraphy, but it is clear that it is earlier
than the Geometric period and much of the associated
pottery was of EH types.
The prehistoric settlement explored by tests in the
Vouratsas plot probably lay on a low headland by the
sea. Excavations on the acropolis of Eretria have also
yielded prehistoric finds. Most of the prehistoric pot-
tery recovered there may, however, have been incor-
porated within mudbricks, subsequently decayed, and
Fig. 11. Manika, Euboia. Bone figurine. (Courtesy Ef
reused after the Bronze Age for fill, particularly for
ellaraki)
the core of the northeast tower of the fortifications.
Finds from the acropolis belong mainly to the later
turbed archaeological contexts.71 Metal artifacts are stages of the Middle Helladic period and the Late
especially common. The 50-odd artifacts consist of Bronze Age (only LH IIIA-C is definitely attested).
both silver and bronze, and include a curved knife, Elsewhere, in an area close to the western circuit of
chisels, pins with pyramidal, conical, spherical, dou- the historical city wall, Neolithic stone axes have been
ble-spiral, and roll-tops, tweezers, a cosmetic scraper, reported.75
razors, rings, necklaces, and bangles. A number of Several other sites on Euboia have been explored
these types find closest typological parallels in the through more limited excavation; results have not yet
eastern Aegean and in Anatolia.72 Of three stone seals, been published in detail. In the mountains of central
71 The various figures found in excavations at Manika are 44, esp. 138-39. On study of the material from the recent
reviewed and discussed by E. Sakellaraki, "Nouvelles figu- excavations, see P. Ducrey, "Les activites de l'tcole suisse
rines cycladiques et petite glyptique du bronze ancien d'Eu- d'arch6ologie en Grece," AntK 28 (1985) 143. For the most
bee," AntK 34 (1991) 3-12. See also Manika II, 70-71. detailed description of prehistoric Eretria, see P. Ducrey,
72 For the typology of metal finds, see V. McGeehan Lir-
itzis, "The Early Bronze Age Metals from Manika, Euboea," "ter6trie, une cite de la Grece antique," DossPar 94 (1985)
8-10, and S. Miiller, "Des N olithiques aux Myc6niens,"
in Manika II, 105-19; also E. Sakellaraki, BSA (supra n. 63) DossPar 94 (1985) 12-16. I.R. Metzer, "Die Keramik von
250-51.
Eretria," Aexeiov EvfloixCbv MeAetrhv 26 (1984-1985)
73 Manika II, 72; also Manika I, 459-60, and Sakellaraki, 221-52 also reviews the evidence for prehistoric occupation
ArchDelt 41 (supra n. 63) 266. and for Dark Age settlement.
74 See A. Tuor, "Die prihistorische Grabung in G 10," 75 AR 35 (1989) 23. The character of Neolithic occupation
AntK 24 (1981) 83-84; "Zur bronzezeitlichen Siedlung in G remains unclear. Miiller (supra n. 74) 15 has suggested that
10," AntK 25 (1982) 158-60. On the overall distribution of Cretan LN imports (!) are present among finds from Tuor's
prehistoric material at Eretria, see also C. Krause, "Zur excavations in the area of the later Agora.
staidtbaulichen Entwicklung Eretrias," AntK 25 (1982) 137-
--:j::0 7
$!!i:i ::::?i4ilo
4j.
Fig. 12. Excavations at Kaloyero
Euboia Chalkis,
had been east
most of a s
covered of
at Fylla Kaloyerovrysi
two to has beendoze
three expl
rectangular and apsidal buildings
skeletons; among w
EH levels; obsidian
of was notably
Cycladic rar
type.
firnis pottery, surprising
chamber tomb given wethe
site to Chalkis Manika. MH building
Mourteri on the so
phases lay above buildings
the EH levels;have thebee
reported to date other
to the transitiona
apsidal; the
the Middle and Late
and Bronze
obsidian Age.
was M n
the remains of aceramic
plundered shaft
finds.79 A g
date were excavated among the
west central part MH
In the northwest part Neolithic,
duced of the islan E
settlement was buildings
investigated and a at A
sec
Foundations of twoof the Early
separate Hell
late M
found stratified Most
over an earlier MH
recently, ab
recovered
floor of the latter was a thick in renew
burn
was a cist grave, site
also east
of MH date."
of Lefkan
facilities
of the inland mountain uncovere
village of A
yios in the east-central part of th
quent archaeologic
ancient Kyme, excavations
probable apsidalhave un b
ossuary, consisting of a rectangula
a figurine and vas
76 See A. Sampson, "KaXoyEQ61oQvouP

prehistoric settlement in the area of Kyme, including brief
38 B' (1983) 154; Manika II,
descriptions of several new 122,
Neolithic, EBA, MBA, andfig.
LBA 1
of this site is summarized
findspots. from a text ki
excavator, Adamantios Sampson.
80 L. Parlama, "MLxQ( avaoxaWlLx QEurvacV O'OV TQO-
77 A. Sampson, "Atbblapo6g: Kovnt
LoToQLx6 X64o lqg AtaQ1avOov," AAA 12 (1979) 3-14.
(1983) 175-76; "Kov 81 "Chronique"
Rl1988, 668.
Ab&rlaoou," Ar
141. See Gazetteer G87. 82 Sakellaraki, AAA 19 (supra n. 63) 36-37; Manika II,
78 Manika I, 332, 366, figs. 124-26; "AyLog FEd)QyLog; 123, pl. 161; Manika I, 361-63, fig. 76. E. Sakellaraki, "I8L-
AvukvaQfov," ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 141, 154-55. otxFg ovrkkoyFg," ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 152 has described
79 A. Sampson, Evflo rj Kitrl7 (Athens 1981) 56-58; 31- various prehistoric finds of EH and LH IIIC date that are
32 for FN finds from surface collections and from excava- in the care of the community of Vasiliko; these include a
tions at the site of Potamia Kastri near the northern end of Phi-figurine from Lefkandi Xeropolis and a Mycenaean stir-
the bay; and 47-52 for general discussion of patterns of rup jar from Linovrochi.
Magoula;s3 prehistoric Inremains

addition to this program
haveof surface
beenreconnais- inve
sance and recapitulation,
gated at Petries; a Mycenaean tholos excavations
tomb have been
previou
excavated at Aliveri Katakalos has been studied and started at the most promising of the EBA sites, a low
restored;84 and a previously looted Mycenaean cham- peninsula called Palamari, which lies on the northeast
ber tomb has been excavated at Limni Fasouli in the coast of the island and faces toward the islands of
northwest.85 Ayios Efstratios and Limnos. Reports have summa-
Skyros. The prehistoric antiquities of the island of rized results of field campaigns in 1981, 1985, and
Skyros have been extensively investigated in recent 1986.89 Remains of architecture observable on the
years. All archaeological bibliography relevant to thesurface suggest that the site was quite large, on the
island has been synthesized, and artifacts from un- order of 10 ha; of this, an area of ca. 260 m2 has thus
published excavations have been described and illus- far been excavated. Some traces of possible defenses
trated as have various prehistoric chance finds in the on the neck of the peninsula are of uncertain date.
collection of the local museum.86 Skyros seems to have Within the town, the buildings appear to have been
been most extensively settled in the EBA; 10 sites withbuilt entirely of stone with roofs of schist slabs.
characteristic EBA pottery have been identified. All A series of important stratified habitation deposits
are in the more fertile northwest part of the island, appear to range in date from EB II through the
three along a coastal strip near the modern capital, beginning of the MBA, and EH I pottery has been
the only part of Skyros where there is evidence for observed in excavated surface levels and in surface
continuity in habitation between the Neolithic and collections.90 The earliest architectural remains yet
Bronze Age.s7 Parlama postulates two separate foci of investigated are associated with pottery that contains
residence at the Chora in the EBA, one on the acrop-a mixture of Helladic and Cycladic elements, as at
olis above the modern town, the other north along Ayia Irini on Keos farther south. There are glazed
the coast; complete vases turned over to museum sauceboats and saucers, but also sherds with Kerb-
authorities suggest that there were EBA cemeteries schnitt and other impressed patterns. In the following
in at least four nearby locations. Several vases find phase of occupation, the sauceboats continue but An-
close parallels in the Cyclades, as does a pair of bone atolian types are present, as in phase I of Lefkandi
tubes with incised triangles and herringbone pattern. and in period III at Ayia Irini. In one instance the
A fragment of a schematic marble figurine of "violin" Anatolianizing deposits are overlain by house Alpha,
type comes from the tiny island of Atsitsa, just off the which itself contained gray-burnished wares and part
northwest coast.88 of a possible duck-vase with incised decoration that
83 Manika II, 123, pl. 162; Manika I, 364; Sakellaraki pos Group," in Prehistoric Cyclades 33, fig. Ig. The pyxis lid
(supra n. 71) 3, 5, fig. 2, 11, no. 2, pl. 2.2 and pl. 1.3 for a from Skyros together with the two incised bone tubes have
schematic figurine and a vase found with it. more recently been republished, with reference to parallels
84 For Petries, see Manika II, 120, pl. 160. For Katakalos, at Manika on Euboia, by E. Sapouna-Sakellaraki, "Kvxha-
see A. Sampson, "AXtl3PFt," ArchDelt 39 B' (1984) 125, and 8tx& f rlg Exgov," in OPItta ErIm I (BtfiAtoOlrxr7 r)T; ev
Gazetteer F91.
A0r7vatg ApXatoA)oytxjg EratZpiag 103, Athens 1986)
85 E. Touloupa, "Altvrl," ArchDelt 33 B' (1978) 130; see 293-99.
Gazetteer G98. 89 M.D. Theochari and L. Parlama, "Palamari, an Early
86 L. Parlama, H x~dpog or?7v eJroxqT rov Xa)hxov (Diss. Bronze Age Settlement at Skyros," in Higg and Konsola
Univ. of Ioannina 1984). See also A. Sampson, "AQTe[tLot," (supra n. 67) 51-55; L. Parlama, "NcO6cQact cToTXEa aCr6
ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 155, where abundant Neolithic pottery TqyV cVa(voxacT 0j TO rtQO'i(YTOQoXO) otxtoot (o1o HO nattagtc
and obsidian are reported at Artemisi in the southern part
of the island.
Trlg ExtVoU," in I6pv/pa N.H. Tovd)av6pj, MovauEo Kvx-
Aa6txjg Tdxvrjg, Ata)dEtLg 1986-1989 (Athens 1990)
87 Parlama dates another 13 sites to the EBA on the basis 125-34; ns. 11-12 briefly summarize the results of the 1987
of finds of obsidian alone; while such an assignment is pos- season. In addition, see A. Sampson, "HtaXtpaQLt Ex? QOU,"
sible, it is not demonstrable given the frequency with which ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 141, and E. Sapouna-Sakellaraki,
obsidian was used in all phases of the Aegean Neolithic and "Ex1Otog," ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 150 for results of emer-
Bronze Age. gency excavations in 1983; EH III pottery is there reported.
88 Parlama (supra n. 86) publishes a fragmentary EC pyxis 90 See Parlama (supra n. 86) 91-94 for the most complete
lid (107-108, pl. 53, bottom right) and a small EBA bottle published description of the 1981 excavation season, includ-
from Chalandriani on Syros (105, pl. 53, bottom left); the ing the fullest description of the character of the EB II and
former has a close parallel in a more complete lid from Lefkandi I ceramics from the site, with several photographs
Skyros (pls. 49-50), and the latter has parallels not only on and drawings. Among other pottery that characterizes these
Skyros (pl. 48.10-11), but also on Euboia at Kyme Kastri phases are sizable quantities of the talc ware found at Ayia
Potamias (supra n. 79), and among finds from the EBA Irini and other Cycladic sites (see Vaughan and Wilson,
cemetery on Epano Koufonisi. For the material from Kou- supra n. 20).
fonisi, see F. Zafeiropoulou, "The Chronology of the Kam-
finds its closestdard Mycenaean type.92 Evidence

parallels in of a Mycenaean
Phyla
presence elsewhere
nished bowls, which canon Skyros be
is meager.paralle
and in the Middle
Thasos Cycladic perio
from a pit dug into Anatolianizing
A review of the prehistory of the island with a
construction of house Alpha.91 Im
gazetteer of prehistoric sites has recently been pub-
west, in house Gamma, Anatolia
lished.93 The Neolithic of the island remains poorly
excavated on a floor beneath the
known and unrepresented in excavations. Late Neo-
house, which contained ajug of Ph
lithic ceramic types of the sort characteristic in Mac-
pottery, including a relief-decorat
edonia have been recognized as have white-painted
said to find its closest parallels in
dark-ground types evocative of the southern Aegean.
"brown" phase of Poliochni.
Links with Macedonia continued in the EBA, but the
House Gamma is also of interest for its architecture
MBA is a blank. The most significant Bronze Age
and non-ceramic contents. Its one fully explored
room has stone-built interior fixtures that include a
center on Thasos is at Theologos Kastri, a naturally
fortified plateau in the southwestern part of the
raised platform, a bin, and a hearth; various storage island. Some 300 m2 of the settlement have been
jars, querns, and handstones, all in a good state of
excavated; contemporary stone-built tombs in ceme-
preservation, suggest that the building was aban-
teries nearby at Tsiganadika, Vrysoudes, and Kentria
doned in haste. Metal artifacts include a piece of lead
contained local imitation Mycenaean pottery and
sheeting and a roll-top pin of bronze; metals also weapons, knives, and tools that also find antecedents
appear to have been worked at the site.
in the south. The burials for the most part contained
There are few traces of Middle Bronze Age activity
multiple inhumations although cremations are also
later in date than the abandonment of the settlement
represented. The analysis of finds from these graves
at Palamari: only a handful of badly worn sherds from suggests local mining and metalworking already by
Atsitsa have possible parallels among the Minoan and the end of the LBA.94
Minoanizing shapes of Ayia Irini period V, and can Since 1986 the small site of Skala Sotiros Profitis
be added to the Minyan and matt-painted sherds Elias, located on a small hill in the northwest part of
noted years ago at Papa tou Houma. Documentation the island, within the village of Skala Sotiros, has been
is similarly in short supply for the earlier phases of explored. There, immediately beneath building levels
the LBA. Of 100 Mycenaean vases now in the museum of the sixth to fourth century B.C., are remains of a
of Skyros (all but one with some recorded findspot), small (ca. 1400 m2 in extent) habitation of the EBA,
none is earlier in date than LH IIIA:2. Virtually all surrounded by a fortification wall, the earliest phase
of these vases were found in the vicinity of the modern of which was built in part with masonry of herring-
Chora and probably derive from tombs in cemeteries bone style.95 Excavations inside the fortifications have
that existed north, south, and east of its acropolis. No yielded the remains of several buildings. Floors asso-
unplundered tomb has yet been excavated but like ciated with a structure destroyed in a conflagration
the looted tombs investigated by Theoharis at Krokos, contained numerous complete pots, some filled with
most are likely to have been chamber tombs of stan- the remains of carbonized seeds (mostly legumes),
91 For the fullest discussion of the stratigraphy of houses possibility that local iron and copper were also being worked
A and B, see Parlama (supra n. 89) 124-26. The exact at the end of the Bronze Age on Thasos. Matsas (infra n.
chronology of these post-Lefkandi I groups remains to be 100) mentions gold objects, probably of local metal, from
sorted out. It is important to note that thus far no EH III latest LBA graves at Kastri as well as evidence for the work-
painted wares have been published from the site. ing of local copper in the Chalcolithic phases of the settle-
92 Parlama (supra n. 86) 136, also reports unverified local ment at Kastri. Analysis of lead artifacts from graves at Kastri
testimony that suggests the existence on Skyros of large cist points to compositions compatible with those of Thasian
graves of the variety found on Psara in the Mycenaean ores: see E. Pernicka, G.A. Wagner, and W. Todt, "Chem-
period. ische und isotopische Zusammensetzung friiheisenzeitlicher
93 C. Koukouli-Chrysanthaki, "Die fruihe Eisenzeit auf Bleiartefakte aus Thasos," in C. Koukouli-Chrysanthaki,
Thasos," Siidosteuropa zwischen 1600 und 1000 v. Chr. (Ber- HIoibzootxj' O 96og (in press).
lin 1982) 119-43; H. Matthaus, "Thasos im Altertum," in 95 C. Koukouli-Chrysanthaki, "OLtxtoT6Lg g t HQWotlli
G.A. Wagner and G. Weisgerber eds., Antike Edel- und Bunt- EjToX"ig Tov Xakxoi, orCr Exda TorilQog O; e6oo," AEMT
metallgewinnung auf Thasos (Bochum 1988) 13-39; Kou-
1 (1987) 389-406; "Otx"to'g6;qg [IQIooLdg EooX ig XaX-
kouli-Chrysanthaki, "OEoX6yog," ArchDelt 35 B' (1980) 422. xoi orm Exd6I ca Zo1wrqog oS oov (II)," AEMT 2 (1988)
94 E. Pernicka and G.A. Wagner, "Thasos als Roh- 421-31. For reports in the Greek press on later seasons, see
stoffquelle fuir Bunt- und Edelmetalle im Altertum," in Wag- AR 35 (1989) 97.
ner and Weisgerber (supra n. 93) 224-31, suggest the
Neolithic,
part of a hearth, and various and the absence
small finds,of bones among
from domestic them
species suggest
chipped and ground stone, bone thatpins,
the mines were principally and
needles,
spindle whorls. worked in the Palaeolithic, and dates of 15,000-
These deposits appear to 12,000
mark B.C. have
thebeen advanced.96
end of If correct,
thethese EBA
settlement; by that time would
the be circuit
the oldest underground
was no mineslonger
yet docu-
mented in From
serving a defensive function. Europe; Thasosanwould still have been
older phaseat- of
habitation, two fragmentstached
of toathe adjacent mainland
stele in localat this time.
schist and
decorated in relief with the figure of a warrior have
Samothrace
been retrieved, both reused as building material in
the earliest phase of the Investigation
western of prehistoric Samothrace began
peribolos of in the
settlement. The head of 1974the warrior
following was
rescue excavations on theengraved
coast south-
with shallow incision; he west of modern
wears a Chora, at the site of Mikro
necklace, holdsVouni; his
a
wider program of
right hand raised to his breast, andregional survey, geological
grasps investi-
a dagger
gation,
in his left; set obliquely to and ethnography
his chest has isfollowed.97
a spear Systematic
and a
surveythrough
double-bladed axe is stuck elsewhere on Samothrace
his suggests
broad that the
belt.
settlement
The closest parallels for this pattern in
stele arethe Bronze
in Age Troywas character-
I. Sev-
ized by a high degreeschematic
eral fragmentary anthropomorphic of nucleation. Mikro Vouni
marble
figurines, and parts of twoitselfothers
appears to have been a narrow-necked
that were reused peninsula as
in prehistoric
building material within the circuit times. Excavations
wall of have thus
the far inves-
settle-
ment, also find their closest parallels
tigated levels at Troy.
of the FN, the earlier phases of theThese
EBA,
and of LH III; oneof
finds clearly predate construction sounding
the is nearly 8 m deep.98 but
peribolos
thus far soundings haveNine phases of construction
failed to recognizehave been recognized,
earlier
habitation levels. Parallels for ceramics from the ear- and surface collection suggests that the settlement was
lier levels of Skala Sotiros are with Troy I, Sitagroi approximately 1 ha in extent. The earliest material
Va, and Emborio IV-V, from the later levels with from Mikro Vouni is compared with that of Kum
Troy II-IV and later phases of the Macedonian EBA. Tepe la and Ib, Poliochni "black," and Emborio VII-
Finds other than pottery from the excavations include VI; the latest, to the middle phases of Troy VI.99
obsidian, several metal objects, and a gold button- The very recent announcement of Minoan docu-
shaped ornament. ments, found amid destruction debris (including frag-
Elsewhere, in the southwest part of the island, at ments of white plaster with red decoration) in the
the site of Limenaria Tsines, two hematite mines (of penultimate architectural phase of the site, is partic-
some 15-20 in the vicinity) are thought to be prehis- ularly exciting.'00 These include a roundel and a nod-
toric in date: handmade pottery, some of it Neolithic, ule of types well known in Crete and generally found
has been found at the mouth of one mine and appears in administrative contexts. The Samothracian roundel
to postdate the mining. Bone and stone tools have may be of local clay, and was stamped repeatedly
been found in both mines and appear to have been around its edges with a Minoan "cushion" sealstone
employed for the extraction of minerals; the presence engraved with Cretan hieroglyphic signs; it perhaps
of horn from the Saiga antelope, extinct before the had Linear A signs written in ink on one side. The
96 C. Koukouli-Chrysanthaki and G. Weisgerber, "OEo r 98 D. Matsas, "XcaotOQ96'x' 1987: AgQXotoXoyLXtg xaLt EO-
ToivEg: IHQOLOtQLx 6 oQUXELo," ArchDelt 37 B' (1982) 322- voagQaLoXoyLXEg EQgyacrEg," AEMT 1 (1987) 499-502.
24; "ALLEVa6QLa E6oov," ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 319; Views of architectural remains are included; an LBA "spit
"OvxtELo (xQatg oTrI 0BOrI Tv;VEg," ArchDelt 39 B' (1984) rest" and an FN anthropomorphic vessel are illustrated.
268. See also C. Koukouli-Chrysanthaki et al., "Prdihisto- Elsewhere, prehistoric remains have been reported at the
rischer undjunger Bergbau auf Eisenpigmente auf Thasos," site of Mantrouda in the southern foothills of the central
in Wagner and Weisgerber (supra n. 93) 241-44, where '4C
massif of the island (E. Skarlatidou, "IHavayla rl MavdX0W,"
dates of ca. 6400 B.C. on artifacts of deer antler used for ArchDelt 35 B' [1980] 434) and on the acropolis of Vrihou,
mining tools have been reported. The dates are based on west of Chora, where early Iron Age remains have been
the calcium in the antler, not collagen, and thus offer only recently investigated. I thank D. Matsas for information
a terminus ante quem for its age. about this site.
97 D. Matsas, "MLxQ6 Bovvw X* aoO96xr'lg: MiLa to'lo- 99 "Chronique" 1989 reports that in 1988 lower levels of
TOQLXI?I xov6oTa o' otva vrlotaLrLxo o6trl~a tov BA At- occupation were reached, with remains substantially earlier
in date (ca. 5500-5000 B.C.) than previously reported.
yaov," Anthropologika
Arhaiologia 13 (Sept.-Nov.61984)
(1984) 73-94;
35-43, "XcatoOQaxlq,"
esp. 36. A selection 100 D. Matsas, "Samothrace and the Northeastern Aegean:
of pottery from surface collections at the site is catalogued The Minoan Connection," Studia Troica 1 (1991) 159-79.
and illustrated.
nodule had been with iron (the well-known "tin

pressed bangle" from period a
against
with string and IV, the earliestclearly
had Aegean artifact in which
been tin is the u
principal constituent).
container; afterward it In several
had instances at Thermi,
been
leaf-shaped brasses were also identified.The
imprint. discov
marked with a For the most part,
linear the isotopic signatures
sign amid of the th
suggests that lead contained in the copper
writing was from which unalloyed
practice
ciated pottery copper artifacts
has been and arsenic bronzes were fashioned
described
is are the same asfrom
compared
that those from contemporary
earlyto artifacts su
and with the Poliochni
found in the Troad and at Yortan."brown"
Deposits in north-
west Anatolia may be the
dates for two samples ofmost probable candidates
associate
for the source
far been reported (with of the copper.a Lead-isotope
combine ratios ap-
2030-1785 at a pear to rule out Laurion as the source forof
probability even a tw
tions). single artifact of those from the "yellow" phase at
Poliochni. The majority of copper-based artifacts that
Lesbos, Chios, Psara, and Limnos 101
have an isotopic signature compatible with those of
Lesbos and Limnos. A sounding beneath the Helle-
Aegean ores have incompatible chemical composi-
nistic cemetery of ancient Mithymna on Lesbos
tions. Chemical and lead isotopic analyses of artifacts
reached prehistoric levels for the first time.102 Also of
from both Thermi and Poliochni suggest, however,
interest is the publication of a single Neolithic sherd,
that tin bronze was not invented or produced in the
perhaps from the site of Halakies in the south of the
north Aegean. Tin bronze appears to have been ex-
island.'03 On Limnos, continuing excavations, begun
ported to the northeast Aegean from a source as yet
at the site of Myrina Riha Nera in 1986, have uncov-
unknown. Imported tin does not appear to have been
ered in several soundings parts of a complex of EBA
added to copper from sources that had previously
buildings with at least three phases of habitation;
been used locally either unalloyed or alloyed with
associated finds are said to be contemporary with the
arsenic. The fact that these "local" sources continued
"yellow" and "green" phases of Poliochni.104 At Po-
liochni itself restoration work has clarified some de- to be exploited after tin bronze had become wide-
tails of the architectural history of the prehistoric spread suggests that the EB II period was a time when
settlement. 105 copper became available from a broader geographical
Of more interest than the results of new excavations range of deposits.
are those offered by recent metallurgical analyses of Of the five silver objects from Poliochni that have
been examined (including a double spiral-headed pin
EBA finds from older excavations at Poliochni on
from the "blue" period, probably the earliest well-
Limnos and at Thermi on Lesbos.o06 Of 33 objects
stratified silver artifact from the Aegean), all are of
available for analysis from Thermi (phases III-V),
pure metal; they are not from the same ore and
only three included tin as a constituent. In the longer-
lived settlement of Poliochni, among 74 samples an- appear to have been extracted by cupellation.'07 Lev-
els of silver were found to be so high in lead objects
alyzed (from the "blue" to "yellow" phases), the quan-
tity of tin bronzes was found to increase throughoutthat it is clear that the lead had not been desilvered.
the life of the settlement, reaching more than 50% The

by isotope ratio of the silver pin suggests that the
silver from which it was made came from outside the
the "yellow" phase. Arsenic was used alternatively
with tin as an alloy to produce bronze; tin in one
Aegean area; of the other objects, some are compati-
example from Thermi appears to have been alloyedble with Laurion and Siphnian isotopic fingerprints.
'01 I am grateful to M. Ozdogan for the information that prdhistorique (Paris 1990) 321-30, for an overview of work
there has been no relevant recent archaeological work con- at the site and for references to other prehistoric sites on
ducted under Turkish auspices on the islands of Tenedos or the island. See also AR 35 (1989) 91-92; 36 (1990) 62.
Imbros. 106 F. Begemann, D. Schmitt-Strecker, and E. Pernicka,
102 A. Arhontidou-Argyri, "XQovLtx K' EQoQE(ctg AQX- "The Metal Finds from Thermi III-IV: A Chemical and
Catorill'v Eroig 1986," Lesviaka 12 (1986) 72. Lead-Isotope Study," Studia Troica 2 (in press); E. Pernicka
103 Kastro Tigani 105, n. 413. et al., "On the Composition and Provenance of Metal Arte-
104 Arhontidou-Argyri (supra n. 102) 56, 68-69. A paper facts from Poliochni on Lemnos," OJA 9 (1990) 263-97.
entitled "Mycenaean Events from Lemnos," was delivered Three new 14C dates for EBA levels at Thermi and one from
by Arhontidou-Argyri at the International Congress of My- Poliochni have been published: see Begemann et al. (supra);
cenology in Rome-Naples, October 1991. and M. Korfmann ed., Demircihiiyiik II: Naturwissenschaft-
105 M. Ricciardi and S. Tine, "Poliochni 1986-1987: Inter- liche Untersuchungen (Mainz 1987) xviii, fig. 4.
venti di restauro conservativo e valorizzazione," ASAtene 64- 107 For the pin, see K. Branigan, Aegean Metalwork of the
65 (1986-1987) 389-401; see also P. Belli, "L'abitato di Early and Middle Bronze Age (Oxford 1974) no. 2064.
Poliochni," in P. Darcque and R. Treuil eds., L'habitat 6geen
Architecturalis
A particularly exciting development remains
thewere for the most part
discovery
scrappy,
that in the northeast Aegean although thereand
isotopic were substantial
chemical stone walls
even in metals
compositions of copper-based the lowest stratum
vary(periodso
X) reached
uni- in area
A; human
formly through time that their skulls were found buried
composition can beneath one floor
itself
of period X. stratified
be used as a means to assign poorly An adolescent hadfinds
also been to
buried
beneath a wall of asequence.
a place in the Trojan stratigraphical room that dated to period VIII.
Thus
the types of metal used for Abronze
spring in areaartifacts
A was later converted into a well,
of Ana-
tolian types at the site of and was finallyon
Kastri abandoned
Syros only in can
period II.be
At the
end of
tentatively dated to Troy IIg, period IV, the settlement
providing support appears to
forhave been
the contemporaneity of the destroyed by fire atIa time
Kastri phase approximately
in the contempo-
Cyclades with EB II at Troy. rary with the earlier stages of the Aegean EBA; this
Chios. The final publicationis of
the only
theevidence of violent of
results destruction
exca- recognized
vations at the prehistoric site of Emborio in south-of the
at Emborio. After the destruction, the ruins
eastern Chios (1952-1955), the
destroyed best
houses anchorage
were deliberately filled with stones
between the Chora of the island
to build aand Katowhich
level platform, Fana, and
ultimately supported
the foundations of period
at Ayio Gala in the northwest (1938) has provided for II houses.
For the most part, finds
the eastern Aegean a well-documented later than the EBA
sequence of were
found only in mixed
levels spanning the Later Neolithic and EBA.s08 Ten levels. Burnished gray wares and
matt-painted types
periods, numbered from top to bottom, were definedwere both represented. Most of
the gray ware
on the basis of excavated deposits: and matt-painted
period I, the warelatest
belongs to the
LBA, but there
of the EBA periods, is contemporary with Troy are also types that find parallels
II; in
period VII ceramics have close Troyparallels
III-V. The matt-painted
in FN(most mate-often in bi-
chrome red and black)
rial at Kephala on Keos;'09 and period X corresponds pottery, though apparently of
local production,
to an early phase of the mainland Greek Late Neo- looks ultimately to Crete for inspi-
ration,
lithic. Still earlier material lay and the limited
beneath the range of motifstable
water represented
(e.g., spirals, foliate
and was not investigated. Wheelmade bands, wavywas
pottery bands) first
is similar to
introduced in period I, alongthewith
local Minoanizing pottery of the Dodecanese.
an Anatolian tan- The
kard shape that is closely paralleled absence of light-on-dark
in the imitations
Cycladesdistinguishes it
among ceramics of the Kastri fromGroup.
the local Minoanizing
MBAwares and of Rhodes
LBA and Kos.
finds were not assigned to periods. There is also no evidence that a full range of Minoan
The deepest and earliest stratified specialty implements (e.g., fireboxes)
sequence of or de-tools (e.g.,
posits at Emborio was excavated discoid loomweights)
in area was introduced
A, on at Emborio;
flat the
ground northwest of the acropolis lack of obvious Cretan imports
between italsoand
appearsthe
to distin-
historical Greek sanctuary. EBA, guish Chiosasfrom its neighbors
well as LBA, to the south."'
de-
posits were also explored at the The northern
most substantial edge
Mycenaean of remains
the come
acropolis, and on its western from the north edge
ascent. In of the acropolis
the EBAin the area F. Build-
minimum extent of the settlement has been estimated ing levels of the LBA for the most part were dated to
at approximately 3 ha. Before the EBA the settlement LH IIIC, although two floors in area F contained non-
may not have included the acropolis itself. Slopes Mycenaean style pottery that may belong to earlier
southwest of the acropolis served as a cemetery: a phases of the LBA.l"2 The pottery in LH IIIC levels
rock-cut EBA tomb and two Mycenaean cist graves has its closest stylistic ties to Attica and Euboia; and
were found in trials.11"0 the bulk of it appears to be Mycenaean rather than
108 In addition to the British investigations, rescue exca- 110 See S. Hood, "Mycenaeans in Chios," in J. Boardman
vations in the Baha plot (on the south shore of the harbor and C.E. Vaphopoulou-Richardson eds., Chios: A Conference
at Emborio) have explored what appears to be an undis- at the Homereion in Chios (Oxford 1986) 169, for discussion
of the use of cists for Mycenaean burials and a comparison
turbed Neolithic stratum: see L. Ahilara, "AQXaLOkoyLXtd
between graves on Chios and those in the cemetery at Ar-
XQovLXtd trg Xov," Hiaka Hronika 17 (1985) 77-80. The
relative chronology of Emborio has recently been reeval- hontiki on Psara. Similar cist graves may have been used on
uated in Kastro Tigani 72-83. See also the analysis of a Skyros (supra n. 92).
copper ingot from Emborio, in Stos-Gale and Gale (supra n. I'l Note, however, the presence of a strainer-vase (Emporio
39) 81, fig. 10, and 82. 575), fig. 256.2675), and a single discoid loomweight of
109 Hood's view that period X of Emborio was contempo- Minoan type (Emporio 633).
rary with the beginning of EN on the Greek mainland has 112 Several sherds may date stylistically to LH IIIB, as do
not been widely accepted; it is unfortunate that only a single the four vases found in a cist grave (Emporio 582-83).
'4C date (from period IV) is available for the site as a whole.
Anatolian in cylindrical in shape, from although

character, a Mycenaean level. Three s
of Anatolian fragments of amber, also of Mycenaean
derivation are date, are
repr
IIIC town on theBaltic in origin.115 The animal bones
acropolis wasfrom both dest
Neo-
on the west lithic and Bronze
slope, a contemporary Age levels included characteristic
was recognized, Neolithic with domesticates."6
a later poorl
of LH IIIC stratified above it. The dating of finds from the two caves excavated
A variety of small finds from Emborio has been at Ayio Gala before World War II has been contro-
published: most belong to the Neolithic and EBA.versial. No stratification was recognized in the lower
They include terracotta spoons, one (and possiblycave; excavated material appears to have washed into
two) terracotta stamp seal(s), a lump of clay used for it through a hole in its roof. In the nearby upper cave,
two distinct strata were recorded, the lower of which
sealing, possible crucibles, stone molds (one, of LBA
contained ceramics of a character similar to the bulk
date, for a butterfly pendant), loomweights, spindle
of the finds from the lower cave. The character of the
whorls, terracotta figurines (mostly of Mycenaean
finds from the lower cave is not closely paralleled
types), an ox protome with incised decoration of EBA
either at Emborio or at Tigani on Samos. Most schol-
date, fragments of several stone vases, including a
ars view the finds from Ayio Gala as largely earlier
lamp of a type characteristic of the Cretan New Palace
than those of Emborio period X and partly contem-
period, and an assortment of ground stone tools,
porary with the Middle Neolithic of the Greek main-
chipped stone, and bone tools."114 Among the most land."7 Small finds from Ayio Gala include terracotta
distinctive of the various copper or bronze finds arehuman heads from figurines or attachments to vessels,
pins of familiar Aegean EBA varieties, a flat axe, a bowls of steatite, part of a stone schematic figurine,
complete Mycenaean knife, and a fragment of a cop- bone tools, stone and shell pendants, celts, and stone
per ingot of LBA type. Metal finds that are clearly bracelets.
Neolithic in date are few; they include the tip of a Finds from elsewhere on the island echo the se-
knife or dagger blade and a ring pendant with anquence of Emborio. At least 14 sites with traces of
attached suspension loop. A phallic pendant of spon- definite or possible prehistoric activity can be added
dylus shell has close parallels in the Cyclades. Oneto those listed in the Gazetteer. 118 They are dominantly
faience bead comes from an EBA context, another, of EBA and LH III date.19
113 For a fuller discussion of the Mycenaean finds from and are dated still earlier. Since the earliest types found in
Emborio and elsewhere in Chios, see Hood (supra n. 110) the upper cave are not represented either in the sequence
169-80. of Emborio or Tigani, Felsch suggests that both the Emborio
114 For the chipped stone, see S. Hood and P.G. Bialor, and Tigani sequences began later than the Arapi phase of
"The Chipped Stone and Obsidian Industries of Emporio the Greek mainland Late Neolithic. See also J.B. Rutter,
and Ayio Gala," in Emporio 699-713. Obsidian is notably who, in a review of the Emborio publication (AJA 88 [1984]
410-11), dated the earliest levels at Emborio to the Final
scarce in all levels at Emborio and in both caves at Ayio Gala;
Neolithic of the western Aegean, considerably later than
local flint and even limestone was used in its place. Certain
other features of the assemblage (e.g., the small and totally material from the Ayio Gala caves. Hood preferred to view
expended cores) suggested to Bialor that obsidian was in the material from both caves as representing cultural tradi-
short supply. Somewhat counterintuitively, a higher per- tions contemporary with, but different from, those of Em-
centage of obsidian was found in earlier levels than in the borio. In his reconstruction, habitation at Ayio Gala began
later levels at Emborio; there are only two tanged arrow- later than Emborio period X and overlapped in date with
heads, both from post-Neolithic strata. periods VIII/IX-VI/V; the earliest phases of occupation at
115 For the analysis of the amber, see C.W. Beck and C.A. both sites were viewed as contemporary with the later stages
Shustak, "Amber from Emborio," in Emporio 727-30. of the mainland Greek Early Neolithic.
116 J. Clutton-Brock, "The Animal Bones," in Emporio118 See Emporio 2-9; also, E. Yalouris, "Notes on the To-
678-97. pography of Chios," in Boardman and Vaphopoulou-Rich-
"I Felsch, Kastro Tigani 96-98, argues that the stratigra-ardson (supra n. 110) 141-68, where detail is added to the
phy in the upper cave was inverted, with characteristic forms discussion of some sites-particularly, a map of the (proba-
of the EBA in the lower deposits and Neolithic types in thebly) fortified EBA site of Petranos in the southwest part of
upper. Parallels with ceramics characteristic of the Larisa,the island (147, 148, fig. 2).
Arapi, and Otzaki A phases of the Greek mainland suggested 119 Among finds from them, a marble dagger pommel
to him that the upper cave was already occupied at an earlycomes from Kato Fana (Gazetteer 370), two marble handles
phase of the mainland Greek Late Neolithic. Complete vases from Dotia, and a stone axe from the town of Chios (Emporio
from the lower cave are compared to types of Hacilar VI6, fig. 3).
Psara. Excavations in
centthe LH
years from III cemetery
the northern islands of the Cyc- a
hontiki were resumed in 1983 after a hiatus of more lades.121
than 20 years.120 In addition, the northwest and south- Syros. Of particular importance is an ongoing proj-
west coasts of the island have been systematically ex- ect that seeks to prepare a complete final publication
plored. The cemetery is located on the west coast of for the results of 19th-century excavations on Syros,
the island within the bay of Ayios Nikolaos, 3 km at the site of Halandriani; the vast majority of graves
north of the modern town of Psara. Most of the and grave goods from investigations in 1861, in the
graves, cists with built entrances, appear to have been
1870s, and in 1898 remain unpublished. One prelim-
used for multiple burials or as ossuaries; in one large
inary report has appeared thus far in which a score
grave excavated in 1984, the first articulated inhu- of ceramic and marble vessels are described and illus-
mation was discovered amid the remains of earlier trated, most for the first time.'22 Other recent re-
interments. Among the grave goods were beads search
of has focused on the analysis of metal artifacts
clay, glass paste, faience, gold, and semiprecious
from the nearby site of Kastri; much of the copper
stones such as carnelian, a cylinder seal, pins, bronze
appears to have come from outside the Aegean and
tools and weapons, and spindle whorls of both clayis similar in composition to that in use at Troy.123
and stone. West of the cemetery are remains of wallsDelos. Recent excavations in the sanctuary of Apollo
that belong to a settlement. Excavation in upper levels
on Delos have explored Mycenaean strata just outside
produced ceramics of Mycenaean date, contemporary the fifth-century B.C. prytaneion and beneath the
with those from the cemetery; surface finds, however,
prodomos of the prytaneion. Mycenaean material had
suggest also Neolithic and EBA occupation.
been employed to fill cavities in the bedrock, a leveling
On the tiny island of Daskaleio, just off the coast of
operation apparently conducted in conjunction with
Arhontiki in the bay of Ayios Nikolaos and perhaps
the establishment, beneath the prytaneion itself, of a
once joined to the adjacent mainland, are remains of
round cutting in the bedrock (arguably a fountain),
similar character and date; 300 m east of Arhontiki,
5 m in diameter.124 These remains are in a sector of
EBA occupation levels have been found buried be-
neath 5 m of alluvium. the sanctuary where Mycenaean activities had not
previously been recorded. Investigations in 1990
The Northern Cyclades launched a systematic attempt to document more
Little new information has become available in re- thoroughly all pre-Archaic architecture.
120 Full reports have thus far appeared only in the local on the island is included. I thank Mr. Hekman for providing
journal of the island: A. Tsaravopoulos et al., "AQXaLtoo- me with information about his project. Cyprian Broodbank
ytLXi Qvva crra WagQ," Ta Psara 49-51 (1984) 5-11; N. will also include statistics summarizing the total number of
Zafeiriou et al., "AQXaoLooytxLi T'evva PWacQv," Ta Psara ceramic and marble objects from the Halandriani cemetery
49-51 (1984) 2-4; L. Ahilara, "Avaoxa)txil 6Qaornl- in his forthcoming publication of the pottery from the recent
British investigations at Kavos on Keros. Various finds from
QLO6T?rTa Craorz W d 'xaTd to 1985," Ta Psara 67-69 (1986)
10-11; A. Papadopoulou et al., "Avaoxa)txiij ?Q'Eva o ra the island of Syros have also been recently illustrated by F.
WaQd 1986," Ta Psara 73-75 (1986) 2-7 (the most complete Zafeiropoulou, To MovuEo i n; TZiPov (Athens 1988).
description of settlement remains). See also Ahilara (supra 123 Most recently, see "Sources of Metals" 267. The inter-
n. 108) 73-75. A paper by L. Ahilara, entitled "Mycenaean pretation of these data is another matter: see "Perspectives."
Events from Psara," was delivered at the International Con- It is not a foregone conclusion that bronzes from Troy were
gress of Mycenology in Rome-Naples, October 1991. See manufactured from northwest Anatolian copper; see the
also Gazetteer 371.
discussion of metallurgical analyses on Lesbos and Limnos
121 In addition to the new investigations on Syros and Delos summarized in this review. For variant opinions, see recently
described here, a find from one of the EC graves excavated C. Doumas, "The EBA in the Cyclades: Continuity or Dis-
at Diakoftis on Mykonos (Gazetteer 308) has been published continuity," in Greek Prehistory 21-29; and J.A. MacGillivray,
(Hekman [infra n. 122] 24); see also E.-M. Bossert, "Zu "Cycladic Society at the End of the Early Bronze Age," to be
einigen Figurgefilden von den Kykladen und aus Westklein- published in the proceedings of the 6th International Col-
asien," in Beitrdge zur Altertumskunde Kleinasiens. Festschrift loquium on Aegean Prehistory, Athens 1987.
fiir Kurt Bittel (Mainz 1983) 121-38, esp. 127 fig. 2.3 where 124 R. Etienne and A. Farnoux, "Delos. 1. Le prytanee. A.
an EC vase from Mykonos, stamped with a seal, is illustrated. Sondages," BCH 112 (1988) 746-52; A. Farnoux, "Delos. 2.
122 J.J. Hekman, "Chalandriani on Syros. An Early Bronze Nettoyage des murs de l'habitat pre-archaique," BCH 114
Age Cemetery in the Cyclades: Report of the Research (1990) 897-900. For a summary of recent work, see AR 36
Undertaken in 1990," Netherlands Institute at Athens News- (1990) 66.
letter 3 (1990) 19-30. A detailed review of earlier research
The Western manufactured was being produced on Kythnos. All

Cyclades125
Kythnos. Archaeological but two objects in this hoard now appear, however, to
investiga
Age Kythnos in 1984-1985 in inclu have been found on Naxos, perhaps the Cave of
and the excavation of a previously Zas, along with several similar tools now in Copen-
Skouries, east of the
hagen.'27 Kythnos,modern
nonetheless, appears to have Chobeen
part of the island.126 a major source for the Amidcopper used to manufacture
fragm
from furnaces, copper-based pottery artifacts in theof southernthe Aegean inEC
the
with obsidian tools EBA.128 and slag. Some
of schist slabs had Siphnos. Full publication of the results of interdis-
apparently been
smaller furnaces built inside them. Two have been ciplinary research on Siphnos has greatly transformed
our impression of the importance of this island as a
excavated. Just to the southeast of Skouries at Yeron-
imos possible LBA pottery was excavated in associa-supplier of metals in prehistoric times.129 Wide-rang-
tion with a rectangular structure on a hilltop; there
ing investigations of traces of ancient mining on the
was reason to suspect that an EBA settlement associ-island have demonstrated that already in the earlier
third millennium Siphnos served as a significant
ated with the mining operation at Skouries would
source of silver and lead in the Aegean.'30 A consid-
have been located on the nearby bay of Ayios loannis.
At Tsoulis, 2 km to the south, traces of an ancient erable amount of EBA pottery, and at least a small
surface mine suggest prehistoric copper mining; amount
a of FN, has been found on the surface in the
fragment of an EC II jar came from surface deposits vicinity of the mines at Ayios Sostis, in the northeast
as did stone and obsidian tools. part of the island; most of the ceramics were mixed
Isotopic compositions of copper samples from the with debris from the mining, but a number of datable
mines, furnaces, and various copper deposits on the pieces come from within a deposit of mining debris
island match those previously determined for the so-(Versatz) inside one mine (no. 2) itself. Artifacts from
called "Kythnos Hoard," which is typologically of ECAyios Sostis have now been published in detail; they
II date. The chemical composition of copper from include objects directly connected with metallurgy,
slags and ores suggests that arsenical copper of thesuch as crucibles and tuyeres, as well as domestic
sort from which objects in the "Kythnos Hoard" were vessels.'31 Several other lead and silver mines in other
125 Of all the islands of the western Cyclades, the archae- 128 "Sources of Metals" 266-67. Present evidence suggests
ological resources of Seriphos remain the most poorly that Kythnos was a principal source not only for the Cyclades
known. Lately an EC sherd on a copper slag heap at Alivassos but also for Crete in the EBA, although data for Crete is still
has been mentioned; see G. Weisgerber, "Bemerkungen zur exiguous.
prihistorischen und antiken Bergbautechnik," in Silber, Blei 129 H. Matthius, "Sifnos im Altertum," in Silber, Blei und
und Gold 112, n. 28. Gold 17-58, has summarized comprehensively the evidence
126 Z. Stos-Gale, N. Gale, and A. Papastamataki, "An Early for prehistoric archaeological discoveries on the island be-
Bronze Age Copper Smelting Site on the Aegean Island of fore the mid-1980s. Various finds from older excavations
Kythnos," in J. Ellis Jones ed., Aspects of Ancient Mining and are reillustrated; a selection of obsidian tools and debitage
Metallurgy (Bangor 1988) 23-30, and O. Hadjianastasiou recovered at the sites of Vorini and Platy Yialos in the course
and S. MacGillivray, "An Early Bronze Age Copper Smelting of the recent investigations by the Max Planck Institute is
Site on the Aegean Island of Kythnos. Part II: The Archae- illustrated in fig. 9, p. 29. On artifacts from Platy Yialo, see
ological Evidence," in Aspects of Ancient Mining and Metal- also E. Pernicka et al., "Alte Blei-Silber-Verhiittung auf Sif-
lurgy 31-34. Two '4C dates are associated with charcoal nos," in Silber, Blei und Gold 197; for Vorini, see also G.A.
inclusions in copper slags; see R.E.M. Hedges et al., "Radio- Wagner and G. Weisgerber, "Andere Blei-Silbergruben auf
carbon Dates from Oxford AMS System: Archaeometry Date- Sifnos," in Silber, Blei und Gold 168-69. For EBA pottery
list 11," Archaeometry 32 (1990) 226. from Ayios Andreas, see Vaughan and Wilson (supra n. 20).
Also of interest is the recent reconsideration (and rejec- Matthaus reports finds that are possibly of FN date at several
tion) of claims of pre-Neolithic occupation at Maroula on sites, including Ayios Sostis (p. 30); Gropengiesser 1987
Kythnos: see Perkls 1990 (supra n. 7) 125-26; finds may (infra n. 131) 13, 35, n. 291, also mentions material that may
point instead to Neolithic or EBA activity. Earlier analysis by be typologically of the later Neolithic from the site of Ak-
J.F. Cherry, "Four Problems in Cycladic Prehistory," in Davis rotiraki (Gazetteer 312) in the southeast part of the island.
and Cherry (supra n. 26) 25-32 reached the same conclu- With it were terracotta implements probably associated with
sion.
metallurgy.
127 On the "Kythnos Hoard," see J.L. Fitton, "Esse Quam 130 The extent to which its gold deposits were exploited, if
Videri: A Reconsideration of the Kythnos Hoard of Early at all, in prehistoric times remains unclear.
Cycladic Tools," AJA 93 (1989) 31-39. The discovery of a 131 H. Gropengiesser, "Siphnos, Kap Agios Sostis: Ker-
significant number of metal tools in recent excavations at amische prahistorische Zeugnisse aus dem Gruben- und
the Cave of Zas would tend to support Fitton's and Renfrew's Huittenrevier," AM 101 (1986) 1-39; AM 102 (1987) 1-54.
suggestion that the Cave of Zas was the original findspot of These papers fully describe material found at Ayios Sostis
this hoard (but also see infra n. 177 for bronzes from the both on the surface and inside mine no. 2; for commentary
Koronas Cave on Naxos). on prehistoric artifactual material presented in Silber, Blei
parts of the island may also

A street have
and a courtyard been
(the latter in use
with a possible
prehistoric times.132 sacred stone or baetyl in its corner) offered access to
both shrines.'35
The scarcity of slags has raised Within
the the sanctuary,
possibility benches and th
ore from the mines of Siphnos was
platforms served for smelted
the display of objects. A elsewh
number
in areas where fuel supplies were
of drain-tile fragments more
may derive abund
from terracotta
channels that were usedanalyses
Whatever the case, lead-isotope to conduct water from
of the lead a
silver finds from the Cyclades suggest
roof of the east shrine; interior wallsthat a subs
of the sanctuary
tial amount of the Siphnian metals
were extensively coated withwas being
white plaster, perhaps inused
the EBA, even at Ayia Irini,
part painted which
red; and coarserwas located
plain plaster is likely to ne
competing source at Laurion.'33
have been employed toContinued use of
seal its roof. A few fragments
mines of Siphnos in the LBA
of plaster has designs
with painted been almostpostulated
certainly derive
the basis of thermoluminescence dates
ultimately from levels earlier oftheslag
in date than building sam
at Ayios Sostis, but no of
lead-isotope
the sanctuary. The buildings analyses of L
as a whole were well
artifacts have yet indicated
constructed, a but Siphnian
there is no good reasonprovenan
to believe
Melos. The new British thatSchool
the cult center excavations at Ph
was directly controlled by those
lakopi and an intensive who
survey
resided in the of parts
contemporary of mega-
Mycenaean the is
(1974-1977) resulted in ron
a atburst
Phylakopi. of publication in
early and mid-1980s.'34 Pottery ranged in date from LH I/LM I to LH IIIC,
A report on the results ofpre-LH
although excavations in inthe
III material is present only small M
cenaean sanctuary at Phylakopi represents
quantities as stray finds the
in later contexts.'36 The as- m
recent contribution to sortment
the of final publication
terracotta figures of t
and figurines from the
campaign. The sanctuary consists
sanctuary, of
probably both two
votives parts,
and cult images, is an
and a west shrine: the latter
unparalleled constructed first,
elsewhere in prehistoric Greece: not only du
a time contemporaryfemale,
with LH
animal, and IIIA figurines
chariot-group on the of well- Gr
mainland; the formerknown
addedMycenaean in LH
varieties IIIB but
were recovered, justalso in
an extension to the main fortification wall of the female figures with bell-skirts of Cretan types, wheel-
settlement. The entire complex was severely damaged made bovine figurines, a possible fish rhyton, bird-
at a time when LH IIIC styles were current (in phaseaskoi, a crudely fashioned large female figure with
2b), approximately contemporary with the destruc- explicitly represented genitalia, and a large (45 cm),
tion of the citadel at Koukounaries on Paros; parts of exquisitely modeled and decorated figure, the so-
the complex were reused, only to be abandoned finallycalled "Lady of Phylakopi." Most unusual are several
in a later stage of LH IIIC. capped male figures with elongated bodies and ex-
und Gold, see Gropengiesser 1987, 53-54. Among the pot- 200-11; and Gale, Stos-Gale, and Davis (supra n. 18) 389-
tery are numerous examples of bases with matt, or leaf, 406. The process by which Laurion after the EBA replaced
impressions and a possible fragment of a Cycladic frying Siphnos as the dominant source of lead and silver in the
pan. A pattern-burnished sherd and a fragment of a "cheese- Aegean is discussed at length in the latter paper.
pot" are the clearest examples of FN. For an obsidian "Sali- 134 See C. Renfrew and M. Wagstaff eds., An Island Polity:
agos point" from Ayios Sostis, see G.A. Wagner et al., "Early The Archaeology of Exploitation in Melos (Cambridge 1982);
Bronze Age Lead-Silver Mining and Metallurgy in the Ae- C. Renfrew, The Archaeology of Cult: The Sanctuary at Phy-
gean: The Ancient Workings on Siphnos," in P.T. Craddock lakopi (London 1985); see also specialized studies in Prehis-
ed., Scientific Studies in Early Mining and Extractive Metal- toric Cyclades, and, for analyses of lead and litharge, Stos-
lurgy (BMOP 20, London 1980) 81, pl. 1. See also H. Gro- Gale and Gale (supra n. 39) 87, fig. 20. A third volume,
pengiesser, "Prihistorische Keramik von Siphnos," in Kollo- reporting results of excavations in the town elsewhere than
quium zur aigischen Vorgeschichte (Schriften des deutschen in the sanctuary, is in preparation. Meanwhile, for a sum-
Archdologen-Verbandes 9, Mannheim 1987) 63, where fur- mary of pertinent results, see C. Renfrew, "Phylakopi and
ther reference is made to surface finds from the site of the Late Bronze I Period in the Cyclades," in TAW I, 403-
Akrotiraki; the oldest material there is compared to the FN 21.
of Kephala on Keos. Impressed wares from Ayios loannis, Claims of Palaeolithic and Neolithic tools of obsidian have
also in the southeast, are compared to Thessalian EN types, been reported by the popular press but remain unsubstan-
and it is claimed that they represent the earliest Neolithic tiated ("Chronique" 1985, 841).
ceramics yet recognized in the Cyclades, a claim that remains 135 See P. Warren, "Of Baetyls," OpAth 18 (1990) 203-204.
to be substantiated.
136 Several objects from earlier excavations at Phylakopi
132 Near a mining shaft at Ayios loannis, the outline of a are published for the first time or republished. Most notable
ship pecked on the bedrock finds a parallel on Naxos among are an ivory ring (CMS I, 410; see Renfrew 1985 [supra n.
the probable EC rock-carvings from Korphi t'Aroniou; see 134] 295-96) and various figurine fragments (276). On the
Weisgerber (supra n. 125) 107, 109, fig. 102. small finds in general, see C. Renfrew and J.F. Cherry, "The
133 See E. Pernicka and G.A. Wagner, "Die metallurgische Other Finds," in Renfrew 1985 (supra n. 134) 299-359.
Bedeutung von Sifnos im Altertum," in Silber, Blei und Gold
plicitly rendered genitalia. There is som
stone assemblages fr
between types found in the
tuary two shrines
delineated cert
tical pairs are represented in frequency
III, as the several in
obsidian
within the west shrine, declined wit
the distribution
figurines on platforms
morein its corners
obsidian was bm
male-female dichotomy in cult practices
was increasingly inc
Probable votive gifts comprise
Analysis sealston
of faunal r
of a Syro-Palestinian type,
patterns in a small h
consump
worked in sheet gold by repousse,
sacrificial two
practices.
rines of a "smiting Additional fieldwo
god" or "Reshef," t
allels in Syria and Palestine,
School in and
1989a intens
terrac
the manufacture of flat chisels.
(most of them Other
alread
included projectile including
points, knives,
severalanofat
the form of a small bird, rings,
fragments awls, p
of frescoe
tions
clamps. Beads, mostly of have
glass been desc
paste, we
the sanctuary but rare
haveelsewhere; two w
been proposed f
One fragment of ivory probably
covered belonge
at Phylakopi
another to a sword or dagger
quantity pomm
of unpublis
fragments of ostrich shell
noan may
MBA all deriv
types from
ton, fabricated from alsoa been
single egg. Piece
catalogued
shells preserve drill holes and served as
fora lyre. Two triton
The shells may
Southern have
Cyclade
accompaniment los.
sical for Explorations o
ritual activities.
ning and weaving equipment
have was p
made the first
associated with worship.
understanding of th
Among stone findsearly
are fragments of ve
in this century
tan New Palatial types, pedestaled lam
new information g
in local tuff with chevron decoration,
charted.140 Of great
in semiprecious stone of ain
covery reclining lio
1984 of the
sibly of Egyptian manufacture.
los near a largeGround
natu
were manufactured primarily
the from
island (fig. loc
14).'41
marble slabs were imported.
following A comparis
systematic
137 On these surface collections,

related to thesee AR 36
frescoes
Annual Report of the Managing Committee,
adorned the th
walls of the
at Athens 1989-1990, rooms.
26. The results will be
Catling and
Sanders. G.
In association
139 Elsewhere with
in the southern Cyclades, the p
republication by R. Arnott of from
an EBA bracelet the finds isfrom
Folegandros of inte
vations at Pelos is in preparation.
chaeological resources ofI the
am gratefu
island itself re
for this information; a summary
unexplored. of
See R. Arnott, "An his
Early pa
Cycladic
Cycladic I Cemetery Pholegandros
of Pelos, in theMelos:
Fitzwilliam Approa
Museum," B
117-26.
lication of the Excavation," will be published
of the minutes of the 140 Mycenaean Seminar
See also AR 33 (1987) 49 for a report of a prehistoric fo
member of this teamsettlement
hasand recently
EBA cemetery located atdescribed
Halara Mangana-
of Keros-Syros sites on the
riou in the south of island and
the island. R. Arnott, the ch
"Early Cycladic
lithics from variousObjects
Melian
from los Formerly sites, within
in the Finlay Collection," BSA 85 th
reconsideration of the causes that lay behind
(1990) 3-14, has recently published several marble figurines,
of a prismatic obsidian blade
marble vases, technology
obsidian blades, and a lead figurine (of dubious in t
SeeT. Carter, "Blood and
authenticity), Tears:
formerly in the collection A Cycladic
of George Finlay and
Microwear Analysis.now in The
the collection Use
of the Britishof School at Obsidian
Athens.
Graves as Razors," to 141
appear inEvacg
M. Marthari, "Ix&Qxog: the proceedin
7rToroxvxhcaLx6g otx-
International Flint Symposium, October
Lato6g only Io," in I6evya (supra n. 89) 97-100. My account 199
138 For Phylakopi MBA
is based onpottery, see
this publication, supplemented Minoan
by information
75. For frescoes, seeconcerning
Morgan (supra
the results of the n. 39)
1990 and 1991 excavation
suggests that a fresco composition
seasons, involving
kindly provided by Mariza Marthari.
cloth to a goddess with associated monkey
r-LI-
I' /
/"/
I
--S ~
-> II
rr'~
P\\
/
/ ,*'- ..- \ N-
r r\ -
Fig. 13. Phylakopi, M

(Courtesy Lyvia Morg
tinued through
and 1991.
chipped
contemporary building
marble figur
exposed. Beneath
walls surfa
of the
tion layer, nary
which height
rested
and dates ings their
both had ad
use to the EBA (fig.
excavated 1
t
boats (fig. Syros
16) and phase
sauce
ber of spindle whorls,
Kampos gro
4w .. . ........
.............
oli o
low
14ON
a
'a OR
Q-1
N':
''0
-X;
omb? ]?
[Im ,
OZ,
io
Fig. 14. Skarkos, los. General view. (Courtesy Mariza Marthari)
,: -_ ::::::-
~--~.?;;::::~:s:
-
--:~i:i-'::::::~
- --:Ci::: ::~iii- iiii:-~_::: ::::~ .: i. :i~i' .: - i-: :_ :.r:.:

:::?:-::-:
: ': :'' :::::::?:~
:::::: ;
: -::
:i~L~~~~~-_ ~8~99~1 III ~rp~ -rs~?ns~~?:~ge~a~k~li~%gpge~~~:~g i-Zi~~:__i : : ii:iii :
:?--illi~--i;i-;-: :~:~_:i:: -:::::::_;i:-_~i :-i:-::~:------

: :: :i-
i:- '::lil-ixi-i-i-i-i.i~ii:
.-. :::::::-:_:,?,:os-:
?:::::-:_:::ii~~r:; -:: :
~i8~i~iia-i~ii~i::i-:-i:~i,_~i~ ::~ ~?liBa~?lssgsh*-3*~:.:::?~~xlapaa*8a~.r? :
;:i:::::-::::-:-::::;
:-::;:::~:: :::?
i-i9~i-o:i
-i:- :- ":i:::: :
-~~-:--
Fig. 15. Skarkos, los. Walls of EBA buildings. (Courtesy Mariza Marthari)
been recognized. After the abandonment of the set-

tlement, several cist and pithos graves of transitional
MC/LC I date were dug into the EC debris.
Thera and Therasia. In recent years much progress
has been made toward setting the site of Akrotiri
within the context of the overall settlement history of
the island of Thera.142 Additional prehistoric settle-
ments have been located both on Thera and Thera-
sia.'43 It is now clear that these islands were densely

settled in the centuries before the final eruption of
the Santorini volcano and that their settlement pat-
terns at the time of the eruption were more similar to
those of Crete in the New Palace period than to those
of other Cycladic islands, such as Melos and Keos.144
Limited excavation has continued at Akrotiri. Room
7 of the West House has been investigated and there

have been stratigraphical tests north, south, and east
of the West House. The western facade of Xesti (Ash-
lar) 5 has been cleared as has a terraced platform to
Fig. 16. Skarkos, los. Fragments of EC II sauceboats. (Cour-
tesy Mariza Marthari) its west. Excavation has also progressed in Xesti 3 (fig.
142 Results of the first 20 years of work at Akrotiri will be many of the papers included in TAW III, where a current
summarized in C. Doumas ed., Axpwnrlpt &O ag: Eixoat overview of the stratigraphy of the site as a whole is offered
by C. Doumas, "Archaeological Observations at Akrotiri Re-
XOvtEa Cpevvag. EZvMxreptorpara-HIpo3Ajipara-Hpooo7rrt-
xg; (in press). lating to the Volcanic Destruction," in TAW 111.3, 48-50.
143 Results of research prior to 1980 are conveniently sum- 144 Evidence for the overall pattern of settlement on Thera
marized with relevant bibliography in C.G. Doumas, Thera: and Therasia has been discussed by Davis and Cherry (supra
Pompeii of the Ancient Aegean (London 1983). For a later n. 41), with a gazetteer of sites described in print up to 1989
summary including the most important bibliography of the on pp. 190-91. This gazetteer should be supplemented by
early 1980s, see R. Barber, The Cyclades in the Bronze Age the addition of newly located sites described by M.A. Aston
(Iowa City 1987) ch. 8. More recent work is discussed in and P.G. Hardy, "The Pre-Minoan Landscape of Thera: A
. ?... ?.
I, I '-', i
: 'I
~~-Jl
? I/
. ' . "."/. ....
l / ?I
,.. .:
, ..
,???~ ,/ ,,< . .
"4, '7 . ' ' '
Fig. 17. Akrotiri, Thera. Isometric drawing of the eas

C. Palyvou, in TAW III, 52 fig. 6)
17), within rooms 3B and House

14.145 Other
of the Ladies, where subsidiary
investigation was resumed
explorations have demonstrated that
in 1987 after the
a hiatus level
of some of Many
15 years. thecon-
roads within the settlement was raised
structional prior
details of the buildingto the
are now clarified;
final volcanic destruction of
the the
originalsite; the of
interpretation removal of
room 9 as a lightwell (a
volcanic debris west of room Delta
unique 15 (fig.
architectural 18)
feature revealed
at Akrotiri) is supported.
hollows left by wooden furniture embedded
Of special interest among recentin the
finds is part of a
ash.146 Excavation has been most extensive in the horns of consecration, cut from volcanic stone.'47 Re-
Preliminary Statement," in TAW 111.2, 348-60. Places in 1990, 108-109. Beneath the plateia west of Xesti 5, several
which the pre-eruption surface of the island is visible havebedrock-hewn chambers, perhaps originally chamber tombs,
begun to be mapped and the morphology of the pre-erup- appear to have been reused by Middle Cycladic potters for
tion island reconstructed; in several places, pre-eruption cleaning and storing clay. Stone vases and other EC artifacts
were recovered in the course of their excavation, some of
artifacts have been reported for the first time on the surface
of the pre-eruption soils, notably in a quarry at Megalohorithem perhaps intentionally removed from the chambers by
and on the caldera slopes at Megalo Vouno, but the material the potters: see Prakt 1985, 171-75. For Xesti 3, see Prakt
has not yet been adequately examined or closely dated. Finds1987, 244-45; Ergon 1990, 113.
of later MC and LC date from the Mavromatis quarry near146 For roads, see Prakt 1985 (supra n. 145) 175; for ex-
Akrotiri have now been described in more detail and appear cavation west of room Delta 15, see Ergon 1988, 129.
to extend over an area of at least 5 ha. On Mavromatis, see 147 Prakt 1987 (supra n. 145) 245-54; Ergon 1990, 109-
C. Televantou, "OguvXicE McvaQopttrTl," ArchDelt 37 B' 11. Fragments of earlier relief and other painted fresco have
(1982) 358-59; and Minoan Influence 358. been found embedded in the floors of the upper story, and
145 For tests outside the West House, see C. Doumas, "Av-
seem to have been recycled from older ruined structures.
aoxa(l Oil~~ag (AxQTiQL)," Prakt 1985, 169-70; "Av- also T. Sali-Axioti, "The Lightwell of the House of the
See
Ladies and Its Structural Behaviour," in TAW III.1, 437-40.
aoxa(fl nOiljag (AxQ(rTv)lov)," Prakt 1987, 241-44; Ergon
?II;
I I /~/ I I I II I/:-) >

~ `~U/b/ IIIII1I/
I IMr~?~
=-\
/IX\ \\ \I I ~"
- \\
r;-
Fig. 1
15 an
centl
Mo
fac
youth
me
may
Akro
kin
wasroi
tleme
to
denc
Ka
sherd
bu
ge
from
most
Ak
dating
are
148149
F
tir
(AxQO
103; E
pat
coes
notf
umeEarw
Societ
Bro
are
icE9 tr
Akrotiri was destroyed twice

Both sites in (and
were discovered thebadly initial
disturbed) dur- st
the LBA.'15 A ing modern quarrying. of the stratigr
crisp description
the West House and of There should no longer be beneath
soundings any debate over the its
has provided valuable
datingdetails concerning
of the final destruction of Akrotiri or concern- t
history of ing its
Akrotiri.'151' On relative
the position in the Minoan
floors of chronological
the We
lay sequence.'56 Akrotiri
deposits
of the Volcanic was abandoned in LM IA
Destruction at a
Leve
monly now abbreviated
time beforeVDL);
the LM IB stylebeneath the
on Crete had developed.
homogeneous deposits that
The explosion of thehad
Santorinibeen used
volcano appears to
These deposits appear to derive
have occurred as a single event;from debr
there was no appre-
mulated in a destruction that wracked the site at a ciable delay between the depositions of the various
very early stage of the LBA. The fact that so manystrata of volcanic ejaculates from its eruption. It is
buildings were damaged and subsequently required highly unlikely that the LM IB style developed in the
interval between the abandonment of the settlement
extensive reconstruction suggests that the destruction
was caused by an earthquake. The deposits from theand the final eruption of the volcano.
West House and others of similar character elsewhere Evidence from elsewhere in the Aegean leads to
are commonly said to belong to the Seismic Destruc- these same conclusions. It has been established for
tion Level (SDL) of Akrotiri.'52 some years that the eruption of the Theran volcano,
Still further below the rooms of the West House
as represented by volcanic ash deposited in soil at
intact vases and sherds of late MC types have been
Phylakopi on Melos, occurred at a time when LM IA
found in pits of uncertain function that were cut into
and LC I styles were current, and not even at the very
the bedrock.'53 Earlier stages of the MC period, in-end of the LC I period.'57 Recent excavations both in
cluding types characteristic of Phylakopi I, are rep-East Crete and in the Dodecanese have revealed layers
resented, but not in well-stratified deposits.'54 This
of Theran ash stratified over deposits of LM IA and
phase in the island's history has, however, been morebeneath LM IB floors, with pieces of pumice from the
systematically explored in excavations in two othereruption in LM IA contexts. The cumulative evidence
locations, Ftellos and the Karayeoryis quarries.'55
in all cases suggests that the fall of ash occurred before
150 M. Marthari, "The Destruction of the Town at Akrotiri,

also A. Papagiannopoulou, "Some Changes in the BA Pot-
Thera, at the Beginning of LC I: Definition and Chronol-
tery Production at Akrotiri," in TAW III.1, 57-66. Most of
ogy," in Prehistoric Cyclades 119-33; and C. Palyvou, "The
the material comes from deposits of the SDL in trench A
Destruction of the Town at Akrotiri, Thera at the Beginning
between Xesti 2 and room Delta 20, as described by Marthari
of LC I: Rebuilding Activities," in Prehistoric Cyclades 134-
(supra n. 150), but included are finds of Phylakopi I style
47. from the so-called Sacrificial Fire Deposit (S. Marinatos,
'51 M. Marthari, "The Chronology of the Last Phases of Thera III, 19-24) and from soundings beneath the West
Occupation at Akrotiri in the Light of the Evidence from House. Papagiannopoulou also catalogues the small amount
the West House Pottery Groups," in TAW 111.3, 57-70. of mainland Gray Minyan pottery that has thus far been
152 It was only in the course of the rebuilding of the settle- recognized in pre-VDL deposits at Akrotiri, describes a se-
ment in the wake of this SDL that the walls of the houses lection of Minoan imports of MM II and later date, and
were decorated with pictorial frescoes. The SDL and the discusses in some detail the process of Minoanization of the
general rebuilding of the town that followed it must not belocal ceramic industry.
confused with the earthquake damage and more ad hoc 154 A selection of material has been recently discussed by
reconstruction that occurred soon before the final volcanic Sotirakopoulou (supra n. 149).
destruction of the settlement. On this point, see E.N. Davis 155 For a preliminary presentation of finds from the Ka-
(supra n. 39) 226, and comments by C. Renfrew, in TAW rayeoryis quarry, see Minoan Influence 321-23; a full pub-
III.1, 70. Most recently, P.M. Warren, "A New Minoan De- lication of this material by M. Marthari will appear in BSA.
posit from Knossos, c. 1600 B.C., and Its Wider Relations," A report on the 1981 season of excavation at Ftellos has now
BSA 86 (1991) 339, has drawn attention to stylistic similari- appeared: M. Marthari, "Oil)a: rXIkkog," ArchDelt 36 B'
ties between material from the SDL and pottery in a deposit (1981) 373.
from Knossos that he dates to a newly defined transitional 156 See C. Renfrew, "Summary of the Progress in Chro-
MM III/LM IA phase. His suggestion that the same earth- nology," in TAW 111.3, 242.
quake was responsible for the destruction of Knossos, Ak- 157 See A.C. Renfrew, "Phylakopi and the Late Bronze I
rotiri, and other southern Aegean sites, such as Ayia Irini Period in the Cyclades," in TAW I, 412-16; J.L. Davis and
on Keos, cannot be entirely correct (supra n. 41). J.F. Cherry, "Phylakopi in Late Cycladic I: A Pottery Seria-
153 Some pottery of MC character from Akrotiri is analyzed tion Study," in Prehistoric Cyclades 148-61; and Davis and
by A.G. Papagiannopoulou, in Minoan Influence 26-69; for Cherry (supra n. 41) 198.
additional observations on the technology of production, see
the introduction volcanic

ofevents. the
Volcanic fallout
LM may also affect
IBthesty
imports to Thera growthsupport
rings of trees. The study of cores and of tree-
this chr
tic character of rings the (both in LH
the United IStates and Ireland) suggests
pottery f
the abandonment of the settlement some time before that a major volcanic event occurred in the later 17th
the beginning of LH II, which in turn appears to have century, and neither the ice cores nor tree-rings in-
begun earlier than LM IB.1'58 The eruption of the dicate a major eruption ca. 1500. Recently reported
Theran volcano can consequently not be held directly '4C dates of samples from short-lived plant matter
responsible for the well-known and widespread ho- retrieved from the VDL at Akrotiri in the main seem
rizon of LM IB destructions on Crete.159 to support a date in the 17th century for the eruption.
The absolute date of the Theran eruption continues There are very few artifactual synchronisms between
to be far more controversial, and is bound up with Greece and Egypt during the early LBA. The dates
arguments over the acceptability of a proposed "high" and contexts of relevant imports and exports are in
chronology for the Aegean as a whole. For a number almost all cases disputable, and the evidence on which
of years it has been obvious that many '4C dates from the traditional Aegean chronology has been based
Akrotiri were too early to fit traditional chronologies seems capable of accommodating a higher chronol-
that placed the volcanic destruction of the site ca. ogy.160
1500 B.C. Recently arguments have been proffered Many specialized studies of artifacts from Akrotiri
for moving its destruction into the later 17th century have recently appeared. Metallurgical analyses have
B.C. Supporting data can be divided into three cate- shed light on the nature of local industries and their
gories: ice cores, tree-rings, and '4C dates. Fluctua- sources for raw material.161 Chipped stone tools were
tions in acidity levels within ice cores from Greenland manufactured almost totally of imported Melian ob-
in many cases are demonstrably correlated with major sidian. Yiali sources are hardly represented, but char-
158 See Y.G. Lolos, "On the Late Helladic I of Akrotiri, raphy through 1989 can be found in the two reviews by
Thera," in TAW 111.3, 51-56. See P. Warren and V. Hankey, Manning.
Aegean Bronze Age Chronology (Bristol 1989) 97-98, and esp. Most recently, evidence pertaining to the date of the erup-
214 on the date of the Theran destruction relative to LH II tion of the Thera volcano has been critically examined within
and the relationship of LH II to LM IB. the context of a general overview of the evidence for the
159 See J.S. Soles and C. Davaras, "Theran Ash in Minoan relative and absolute chronologies of the Aegean, Anatolia,
Crete: New Excavations on Mochlos," in TAW 111.3, 82-95; the Levant, and Egypt during the Bronze Age in S.W. Man-
P.P. Betancourt et al., "Excavations at Pseira: The Evidence ning, The Absolute Chronology of the Aegean Early Bronze
for the Theran Eruption," in TAW 111.3, 96-99. From a Age: Archaeology, Radiocarbon, and History (Sheffield 1992).
Cycladic perspective, it never did appear plausible that the Manning here proposes and discusses a revised absolute
final desertion of Akrotiri had actually occurred at a time chronology for the entire Cretan Bronze Age and, in addi-
contemporary with LM IB in Crete. It has been difficult to tion to radiocarbon dates from Akrotiri, reconsiders those
imagine that the absence of LM IB styles at Akrotiri could available for Ayia Irini on Keos. Warren and Hankey have
be explained by a stylistic time lag between the inception of continued to defend a lower chronology, based largely on
LM IB on Crete and its introduction to Thera, despite the artifactual synchronisms, and would place the eruption of
undeniably close relationship between LM IB vase painting the Santorini volcano in the later 16th century (supra n. 158,
and the Thera frescoes noted, among others, by L. Morgan, 215); see also P.M. Warren, "The Minoan Civilisation of
"Morphology, Syntax, and the Issue of Chronology," in Pre- Crete and the Volcano of Thera," Journal of the Ancient
historic Cyclades 165-78. The masses of LM IB pottery found Chronology Forum 4 (1990-1991) 29-39. Muhly has recently
both at Phylakopi on Melos and at Ayia Irini on Keos, even claimed that the artifactual synchronisms between Greece
farther north than Thera, suggest that commerce with Crete and the Near East support a low chronology; his arguments
was frequent and that certain settlements in the Cyclades have been countered by Manning: J.D. Muhly, "Egypt, the
were au courant with the latest Minoan fashions both before Aegean, and the Late Bronze Age Chronology in the Eastern
and after the Theran eruption. Mediterranean: A Review Article," JMA 4 (1991) 235-47;
160 The bibliography on this subject is far too extensive to S.W. Manning, "Response to J.D. Muhly on Problems of
be summarized here. For a review of the state of the contro- Chronology in the Aegean Late Bronze Age,"JMA 4 (1991)
versy before TAW III, see S.W. Manning, "The Bronze Age 249-62. See also Manning, "Thera, Sulphur, and Climatic
Eruption of Thera: Absolute Dating, Aegean Chronology, Anomalies," OJA 11 (in press).
and Mediterranean Cultural Interactions," JMA 1 (1988) 161 Stos-Gale (supra n. 39) 276, 281, fig. 12 (copper); Stos-
17-82. For a balanced picture of the results of TAW III as Gale and Gale (supra n. 39) 85-88 (lead and litharge). See
they pertain to this issue, see S.W. Manning, "The Thera also Y. Bassiakos et al., "Provenance Studies of Theran
Eruption: The Third Congress and the Problem of the Lead," in TAW 111.2, 337-45, who report lead ore (cerous-
Date," Archaeometry 32 (1990) 91-100; "The Santorini Erup- site) from the excavations at Akrotiri. From the description
tion: An Up-date," JMA 2 (1989) 303-13; S. Hood, "The of the samples and their composition it seems more likely
Third International Congress on Santorini (Thera)," Kadmos that they are of litharge; see Stos-Gale and Gale (supra n.
29 (1990) 84-86; and S. Sherratt, "Fallout from the Aegean 39) 85-88.
Big Bang," Antiquity 65 (1991) 998-1001. All basic bibliog-
success
acteristically MBA/early LBA in defining
rhyolite the
denti
bifaces are present.162 Ostrich
The eggs were
local character fas
of t
into rhyta.163 There have
Akrotiri
been attempts
emerges distinc
to reco
the metrological islands,
system in usedespite the fact
at Akrotiri on
of ceramic container technology
capacity.'64 were
Artifacts
blende
a
with cloth production duction techniques.168
imply that weaving at
had, as at other semblages
Cycladic sites, at Akrotiri
become Min
through the imports
introduction from
of the several lo
warp-weight
a peculiar tinct
lack of spindle clays outside
whorls Ther
ties Akrotir
closely to Crete than toA tentative
her islandreconstruc
neighbors
number of lead weights agricultural
from the economy of
site has nea
bled in recent years. It has been
possible. argued so
Pre-eruption t
fractional units withinwere more mature
the system in to
of measure
these weights are scaled find
ously parallels both
thought.'70 Analy i
A and Linear B. It has hasalso been
begun, in suggested
particular
Akrotiri, such weights, as well asa rarer
clymenum), weig
crop well
Examination
stone, were used for the measurement of of
these
heav
wool in particular.'66 and weed seeds found w
Imported ceramics attest to deposits
various considerable int
of vetc
tion between Akrotirifrom
and other areas fields,
different of the
Chemical and petrological
Informedanalyses have h
speculation ab
162 T.D. Devetzi, "The Stone Industry

and Pigment Analysis," at
in TAW III.1, 459-69, offerAkrotiri:
tech-
oretical Approach," in TAW
nological III.1,
observations on locally produced19-23;
ceramics, includ- A. Mo
Agrafioti, "Akrotiri: The Chipped
ing analyses Stone
of clay bodies, pigments, and firing Industry,
temper-
III.1, 390-406. Rhyolite bifaces
atures. On deposits of talc andare of
other minerals locallya type pr
avail-
recognized on Keos and Melos
able to the residents of Thera(see R. see
before the eruption, Torrence
W.L.
Silaceous Materials," in Friedrich
Davis and C.G. [supra
Doumas, "Was Theren. Local Access
38] to 95-96.
analyses of chipped stone appear
Certain Ores/Minerals tobefore
for the Thera People support
the Mi- To
noan Eruption?
position that obsidian trade atAn thisAddendum," time
in TAW III.1, 502-503.
was not hi
ulated by central authority168 M. Marthari,or inof the
"Investigation the hands
Technology of Man- of s
craftsmen (R. Torrence,ufacture
Production and
of the Local LBA Theran Pottery: Exchange
Archaeological
Tools: Prehistoric Obsidian in inthe
Consideration," TAW III.1, Aegean,
449-58; "The Local PotteryCambrid
contra Barber (supra n. Wares
143)with Painted Decoration from thewho
117-19, Volcanic Destruc-
has bee
sive of Torrence's arguments.
tion Level of Akrotiri, Thera: A Preliminary Report," AA
163 J.A. Sakellarakis, 1987,
"The Fashioning
359-79. Several specific shapes from the VDL of have Ostr
Rhyta in the Creto-Mycenaean also been the subject ofAegean," in
special investigations. See TAW
C. Gillis,
308, where eggs from Akrotiri "Statistical Analyses and
and Conicalfrom Phylakopi
Cups: A Preliminary Report
are considered. from Akrotiri, Thera," OpAth 18 (1990) 63-93, and R.B.
164 L. Katsa-Tomara, "The Pottery-Producing System at Koehl, "The Rhyta from Akrotiri and Some Preliminary
Akrotiri: An Index of Exchange and Social Activity," in TAW Observations on Their Functions in Selected Contexts," in
III.1, 31-40; C. Doumas and A.G. Constantinides, "Pithoi, TAW III.1, 350-60.
Size, and Symbols: Some Preliminary Considerations on the 169 S.J. Vaughan, "Petrographic Analysis of the Early Cy-
Akrotiri Evidence," in TAW III.1, 41-43. cladic Wares from Akrotiri, Thera," in TAW III.1, 470-87.
165 I. Tzachili, "All Important Yet Elusive: Looking for See also other studies by Vaughan (supra n. 20).
Evidence of Cloth-Making at Akrotiri," in TAW III.1, 380- 170 S. Limbrey, "Soil Studies at Akrotiri," in TAW 111.2,
89.
377-82; but see also O. Rackham's skepticism concerning
166 A. Michailidou, "METQLX6 o'oT'TXM I xt oCxCoeLg T(XlQ- the potential of agricultural production on the island to
ay0oyilg aTo Atya(lo, OTarV YoTEQTI EtoXoil TOU XakXxo3," explain its prosperity in the Bronze Age and in particular
Meletimata tou K.E.R.A. 10 (1990) 65-96; and "The Lead its density of settlement: "Observations on the Historical
Weights from Akrotiri: The Archaeological Record," in Ecology of Santorini," in TAW 111.2, 384-91. On in-progress
TAW III.1, 407-19. Michailidou also notes her forthcoming analyses of additional faunal remains from Akrotiri and
publication of a potsherd from Akrotiri that has been incised preliminary data from the West House, see C. Trantalidou,
with a record of commodities in Linear A; this is the first "Animals and Human Diet in the Prehistoric Aegean," in
such document from the site. On the weights from Akrotiri, TAW 111.2, 392-405; on shell, including triton shells and
see also Petruso (supra n. 39). murex, see L. Karali-Yannacopoulou, "Sea Shells, Land
167 V. Kilikoglou et al., "A Study of Middle and Late Cy- Snails, and Other Marine Remains from Akrotiri," in TAW
cladic Pottery from Akrotiri," in TAW III.1, 441-48; and E. 111.2, 410-15; E. Aloupi et al., "Analysis of a Purple Material
Aloupi and Y. Maniatis, "Investigation of the Technology of Found at Akrotiri," in TAW III.1, 488-90.
Manufacture of the Local LBA Theran Pottery: The Body
organization of be analyzed in
landholding in pre
ter
be possible in els.'73 In this
the near future."'7way
Only about 1 ha the
of site can be
the site of co
A
permit generaliza
excavated. Local topography and te
oforiginally
gest that the site Akrotiri but a
cover
any variation
that its harbor probably lay infrom
wh
of Ayios Nikolaos,The art of some
Thera continues to attract considerable
200-300 m
attention fromMeans
rent excavations."72 art historians, and justifiably
of acces so. But
even the recent literature
tilation, and drainage all is already so voluminous
appear t
the plan of the that only a separate review
town and could dothe
it justice.'75 ove
Sev-
eral papersa
habitations, as did delivered
lack at the most of recent open
Thera and
the Aegean World Congress
houses. One principal purpose are of particular impor-of
to provision thetance.176 Paintings from the Westof
interiors House havebuildbeen
ventilation. Thenewly
design
reconstructed in light of individ
of architectural analyses.
171 See A. Sarpaki, "'Small Fields or Big Fields?' That Is 44 examines the relationship between Cycladic pottery dec-
the Question," in TAW 111.2, 422-31; also A. Sarpaki and oration and fresco painting.
G. Jones, "Ancient and Modern Cultivation of Lathyrus C. Televantou, "New Light on the West House Wall-Paint-
Clymenum L. in the Greek Islands," BSA 85 (1990) 363-68. ings," in TAW III.1, 309-24, offers new reconstructions for
Recent entomological studies of material from the West the paintings of the West House. The interpretation of the
House are also of interest and have revealed species not now iconography of the West House paintings remains a popular
native to Greece but common in the Near East. See Ergon topic. See especially L. Morgan, The Miniature Wall Paint-
1989, 117. ings of Thera: A Study in Aegean Culture and Iconography
172 C. Palyvou, "Notes on the Town Plan of Late Cycladic (Cambridge 1988). S. Hiller has seen the miniature West
Akrotiri, Thera," BSA 81 (1986) 179-94. Palyvou is cautious House frescoes as a reflection of a vanished Minoan epic
in estimating the size of the town, noting only that it was poetry: "The Miniature Frieze in the West House-Evidence
large "by the standards of the time." This becomes clearer for Minoan Poetry," in TAW III.1, 229-34. The localities
when the likely area of the site is compared with that of represented in these same frescoes was reconsidered by J.W.
contemporary Aegean centers: see discussion by Wiener in Shaw, "Bronze Age Harboursides," in TAW III.1, 420-36,
TAW III.1 (supra n. 21) 129-31. by J.A. MacGillivray, "The Therans and Dikta," in TAW
173 C. Palyvou, "Architectural Design at Late Cycladic Ak- III. 1, 363-69, and by G. Heiken, F. McCoy, and M. Sheridan,
rotiri," in TAW III.1, 45-56; Axporjlpt OjeIa: Otxo6otmxt~ "Palaeotopographic and Palaeogeologic Reconstruction of
rtXVrl xat oQpoAoytxad orotXEita OrTj YOrEpoxvxAa6tx7 Minoan Thera," in TAW 111.2, 370-76. W.-D. Niemeier,
aXLTExt lroxvt (Diss. Athens Polytechnic Univ. 1988). "Mycenaean Elements in the Miniature Fresco from Thera,"
174 In this regard, Palyvou has emphasized the special char- in TAW III.1, 267-82 argues strongly against the presence
acteristics of Xesti 4, including its ashlar facades with courses of Mycenaean iconography in the miniature frescoes of the
diminishing regularly in height from bottom to top; most West House, and suggests instead that they illustrate the
masons' marks found at Akrotiri come from this building Minoan Thalassocracy. On the interpretation of the Xesti 3
alone (see discussion in TAW III.1, 56). For other recent frescoes, see especially Morgan (supra n. 39), and N. Mari-
discussions of specific features of Theran architecture, see natos, "Minoan-Cycladic Syncretism," in TAW III.1, 370-
C. Palyvou, "Observations sur 85 fenetres du cycladique 76. J. Vanschoonwinkel, "Animal Representations in Theran
recent ~ Thera," 123-39, and A. Michailidou, "The Settle- and Other Aegean Arts," in TAW 111.1, 327-47 has surveyed
ment of Akrotiri (Thera): A Theoretical Approach to the animal representations at Akrotiri.
Function of the Upper Storey," 293-306 in Darcque and Other recent studies of the iconography of the Thera
Treuil (supra n. 105). frescoes include: N. Marinatos, "Role and Sex Division in
175 For a catalogue of the various frescoes and a review of Ritual Scenes of Aegean Art,"Journal of Prehistoric Religion
major studies of them through 1988, see S.A. Immerwahr, 1 (1987) 23-34 (West House and Xesti 3); "A Puberty Rite
Aegean Painting in the Bronze Age (University Park, Pa. 1990) at Thera: Evidence from New Frescoes," Journal of Prehis-
185-88, and Immerwahr's own discussion in ch. 4. An atlas toric Religion 3-4 (1989-1990) 49-51 (Xesti 3); C. Doumas,
illustrating the Theran frescoes accompanied by brief infor- "Conventions artistiques 'a Thera et dans la Mediterrande
mative texts by C. Doumas has been promised by the Thera orientale A l''poque prehistorique," in P. Darcque and J.-C.
Foundation. I thank D.A. Hardy for this information. Poursat eds., L'iconographie minoenne (BCH Suppl. 11, Ath-
176 Several papers in TAW III considered the local char- ens 1985) 29-34; N. Marinatos, "An Offering of Saffron to
acter of the Theran style of wall painting in comparison with the Minoan Goddess of Nature: The Role of the Monkey
Cretan frescoes, those from other Cycladic islands, and from and the Importance of Saffron," in T. Linders and G. Nord-
Rhodes: among them, see E.N. Davis (supra n. 39); R. Laf- quist eds., Gifts to the Gods: Proceedings of the Uppsala Sym-
fineur, "Composition and Perspective in Theran Wall-Paint- posium 1985 (Boreas 15, Uppsala 1987) 123-32; and S.
ings," in TAW III.1, 246-50. S.A. Immerwahr, "Swallows Morris, "A Tale of Two Cities: The Miniature Frescoes of
and Dolphins at Akrotiri: Some Thoughts on the Relation- Thera and the Origins of Greek Poetry," AJA 93 (1989) 511-
ship of Vase-Painting to Wall-Painting," in TAW III.1, 237-
35. C. Televantou, "Tca xot?oo Ltt[TXr wr6 TlyV qTo'oroTLxT
The walls of this house had been decorated at least Chora of the island), and concerted efforts to explore
twice with wall paintings: of the earlier series only a Neolithic remains.'77 Only a decade ago the very ex-
few aniconic elements have been recognized. Three istence of permanent Neolithic settlement could be
new cities have been added to the miniature fresco in doubted.'78 Today, there are well-stratified finds from
room 5, for a total of five in all. Fragments of a two locations: the western edge of the shore at Grotta
previously unrecognized town belong to the west wall; and the Cave of Zas, high on the central massif of the
on the north wall the well-known fragments that de- island. The sequence at Grotta appears to begin ear-
pict a "meeting on the hill" and a "shipwreck" are lier than that in the Cave of Zas, and is in part con-
associated with previously unpublished ships and a temporary with material from Saliagos.179
town on a hill; the "Nilotic landscape" of the east Finds from Grotta come from a rescue excavation
frieze appears to have provided landscape context for near a place where more than half a century ago "sub-
a third town; and the more completely preserved Neolithic" material was reported and from a sounding
frieze of the south wall has been altered slightly at nearby Kokkinovrachos.8so These discoveries cou-
through additions and repositionings. pled with the presence of "sub-Neolithic" material on
Palati suggest that the Neolithic site was extensive.
The Central Cyclades Pottery from the lowest levels inside the main cham-
Naxos. Recent fieldwork on Naxos has included ber of the Cave of Zas shares features with that from
systematic site survey, continuing excavations at the Saliagos culture, notably white-painted patterns,
important prehistoric center of Grotta-Palati (thebut crusted and pattern-burnished wares suggest that
Oeiol," ArchEph 1984, 14-54, discusses jewelry from Ak- In 1989-1990, a large EC cemetery was explored at Kato
rotiri in detail, with illustrations both of actual finds (mostly Sangri in the western part of Naxos: Lambrinoudakis in
bronze and bone pins and stone beads) and of their depic- Cycladic Culture 26. The excavation of a grave at Panormos
tions in the wall paintings, and, in "The Theran Wall-paint- Korfari ton Amygdalion has also been described: 0. Hadjian-
ing: Artistic Tendencies and Painters," in Crowley and astasiou, "HI&voQto," ArchDelt 36 B' (1981) 378. In the east
Laffineur (supra n. 19), has defined hands of individual of the island a new prehistoric site, fortified with rounded
painters. towers, has been reported at Zas Kastelli; see "Chronique"
177 For the results of general survey, see R. Treuil, "Pro- 1989, 818; also C. Doumas, "Cycladic Culture," in Cycladic
spection archeologique a Naxos en 1981," in Les Cyclades Culture 20; "Weapons and Fortifications," in Cycladic Culture
59-65; for work (1982-1984) in the region of Kinidaros 92.
Akrotiri and the Phaneromeni Monastery, see AR 30 (1984) Aside from systematic fieldwork a number of individual
53; "Chronique" 1985, 839; and R. Treuil, "Naxos," ArchDelt prehistoric artifacts from the island have been published for
38 B' (1983) 350. I thank R. Treuil for kindly providing the first time. These include EC stone and terracotta objects
information about the project. A Bronze Age site has been from graves in the region of Panormos (Bossert, supra n.
reported at Kalamadikou, and prehistoric sites at a number 121), among them a terracotta vessel of the "teddy-bear"
of other locations have been noted; one is probably a cem- type. Many previously unillustrated EC finds from Naxos
etery. A source of flint and associated debitage at Stelida to have been illustrated in Cycladic Culture, several of which
the southwest of the Chora of Naxos has been studied, but are also illustrated in F. Zafeiropoulou, Naxos: Monuments
its exploitation in prehistoric times has not yet been conclu- and Museum (Athens 1988). These include: marble palettes,
sively demonstrated (see M. S6f6riades, "Un centre industriel stone vessels, querns, pestles, hammers, chipped stone, a
pr'historique dans les Cyclades: Les ateliers de d'bitage du sealstone, stone beads, figurines, sling stones, terracotta vases
silex de Stelida," in Les Cyclades 67-80). The results of (including a bell-shaped cup and a spouted jar of the Kastri
palynological investigations at Grotta and two other locations group), jugs and a tankard from Panormos, a bone spindle
on the island are described in J. Josette Renault-Miskovsky, whorl, bronzes (some from the Koronas Cave in the northern
"Les connaissances actuelles sur les v6g6tations et les climats part of the island), lead rivets, and a silver-plated bronze
quaternaires en Gr6ce, d'apres les donnees de l'analyse pol- dagger.
linique," in Les Cyclades 99-109. 178 See Les Cyclades 64-65.
The current state of Neolithic and EBA research on the 179 The evidence from both sites has been summarized by
island has recently been summarized in Cycladic Culture. ForK. Zachos, "The Neolithic Period in Naxos," in Cycladic
maps showing the locations of excavations conducted at theCulture 29-32. A selection of metal, ceramic, and stone
capital of Naxos under the auspices of the Greek Archaeo-artifacts from recent excavations at the Cave of Zas is pre-
logical Society, see V.K. Lambrinoudakis, "Avcaoxaci N&-sented.
ovu," Prakt 1985, suppl. pls. 6.1 and 6.2, facing p. 160. The 180 See O. Hadjianastasiou, "A Late Neolithic Settlement
results of investigations prior to the 1980s have been sum- at Grotta, Naxos," in Greek Prehistory 11-20, with more
marized with extensive bibliography and a gazetteer of pre-general comments on the distribution of Neolithic pottery
historic sites by V. Fotou, "Les sites de l'Cpoque neolithique in the Cyclades. Also Hadjianastasiou 1989 (infra n. 185)
et de l'age du bronze a Naxos," in Les Cyclades 15-57. For
209, n. 17, and "OLx6tE6bo A lClTZox&dXXl," Prakt 1985,
the history of research on Naxos, see also V. Lambrinou-153-57, where the excavation in the Dimitrokalli plot and
dakis, "Archaeological Research on the Early Cycladic Periodthe context of this early material is described in more detail.
in Naxos," in Cycladic Culture 25-26.
the cave was first inhabited somewhat later than the chrome matt-painted varieties of probable Melian or-
abandonment of the settlement at Saliagos itself.'81 igin, Middle Minoan imports, and Gray Minyan are
Higher levels share features with FN Kephala on represented-types very scarce in Naxian contexts."83
Keos. The sequence appears to continue unbroken Later pots and terracotta lamps imitate shapes of
into the EBA, providing an important bridge between Minoan origin.
the later Neolithic and transitional EBA sequences of Approximately 140 fragments of figurines were
the Greek mainland and the eastern Aegean. collected, for the most part small (some minute),
The later EBA stratum is characterized by Kastri standing, and anthropomorphic. They are diverse in
Group types, and contained a substantial number of style and as a group quite unique in the Cyclades;
bronze tools and ornaments. Around a hearth were general parallels with Cycladic marble sculpture and
scattered pieces of unbaked clay with 15 seal impres-Cretan coroplastic suggest that their production be-
gan in the EBA. Other small finds include discoid
sions, made by an estimated five different seals bear-
ing linear motifs. The highest levels contained findsloomweights of Minoan type, fragments of emery, and
of the historical periods mixed with Middle and Late marble objects (including a bowl and probably a
Cycladic wares, including LH IIIC, and much Minyanfolded-arm figurine). Petrographical analyses and sty-
and MC matt-painted. A strip of gold from a Neolithic listic observations indicate that substantial quantities
stratum is the earliest gold object from the Cyclades;of pottery were being imported, both from Melos and
copper axes, awls, pins, and spatulas are also repre- Crete.'184
sented in Neolithic contexts. Domesticated crops were Elsewhere on the island, evidence for settlement in
similar to those exploited on the Greek mainland;the later Bronze Age has been recognized in the
barley played a prominent role in the diet. Two largeKalandos area (in the extreme south of Naxos), at
Sangri, at Rizokastellia, and at Grotta itself.'85 Rescue
leaf-shaped, bifacially retouched, obsidian spearheads
are exceptional components in the lithic assemblage;excavations in a building plot (the Dimitrokalli plot)
as on the Greek mainland, there appears to have beenat the west end of Grotta, immediately south of the
causeway that leads to Palati, have produced well-
a shift from percussion to pressure-flaking at the end
of the Neolithic. Other small finds of particular inter-
stratified deposits of the early LBA, the first published
est include a marble bowl and two bird-heads carved from the site. Excavations included the reexamination
from bone. of a 10-m stretch of paved road cleared before World
Surface investigations in 1985 at the site of Mikri War II and subsequently backfilled. On the floor of a
Vigla and the publication of Middle and early Late building to the south of the road were local and
Cycladic finds from Grotta have shed light on the imported pots of LC II and LM IB types, covered by
later prehistory of Naxos. Mikri Vigla is a promontory destruction debris of rubble and mudbrick; these in-
on the west coast, some 8 km south of the Chora.'82 cluded a jug, probably imported from the Dode-
Artifacts and traces of architecture are abundant on canese, Marine Style sherds, and fragments of a vase
the surface, and have been mapped by the Greek by the so-called Reed Painter. This was a site well
Archaeological Service and the British School at Ath-situated within the Minoan orbit and in close contact
ens. Fragments of monochrome painted wall plaster with centers of the southern and western Cyclades.
were associated with the most impressive building Large-scale excavations at the Chora of Naxos were
(structure 7): to the east of it a rescue excavationcompleted in 1985. Work had been resumed in 1978,
yielded fragments of an MC storage jar. Local and the principal goal being to complete excavation of
imported pottery from surface collections ranges in various parts of the LH IIIA to LH IIIC settlement
date from EC through LC III; polychrome and mono- explored in earlier campaigns (1949-1974), but not
181 In addition to Zachos (supra n. 179), finds from the A Bronze Age Settlement on Naxos," BSA 84 (1989) 63-
Cave of Zas are discussed in Zachos, "AvcowxcaXi Yilckaov 162.
Zdg Nad6og: Kat'torejro 1987," ArchDelt 42 B' (in press), a 183 Middle Minoan dark-ground styles appear best repre-
report on excavation seasons in 1985 and 1986; and in sented, but one sherd of the LM IB marine style was present.
184 S. Vaughan, "Appendix 2: Petrographic Analysis of
Zachos, "Late Neolithic Origins of Cycladic Metallurgy," and
A. Douzougli, "The 'Attic-Kephala' Culture: A New Ap- Mikre Vigla Wares," in Barber and Hadjianastasiou (supra
proach to an Aegean Culture," both to be published in the n. 182) 150-59.
proceedings of the 6th International Colloquium on Aegean 185 0. Hadjianastasiou, "Naxian External Connections in
Prehistory, Athens 1987. I am extremely grateful to Dou- the Late Bronze Age," BSA 84 (1989) 205-15. The excava-
zougli and Zachos for allowing me to read and make refer- tions themselves are more fully described with a plan in
ence to these papers in advance of their publication. Hadjianastasiou, Prakt 1985 (supra n. 180) 153-57, and
182 R.L.N. Barber and 0. Hadjianastasiou, "Mikre Vigla: suppl. pl. 5, facing p. 152.
fully published. In 1982-1985,

explored, and to the east thehowever,
Mycenaean fortifications new
have also been located.s89 On the
vations in the Plateia Mitropoleos Lower Plateau, easta seg
explored
of the LH IIIC fortification
of the upper acropolis, extensive and the
wall of deep EBA town,
strata
(containing
18 m long, and buildings EC I material)
just inside have beenit.
explored be-
Founda
neath the LH IIIC levels;
for the wall are of unworked a tanged pointon
stones; of Saliagos
these
superstructure of mudbricks. Buildings
type, a marble pendant in female steatopygous form, of L
date outside the fortification show that the town had and ceramics suggest that Koukounaries was inhab-
been larger before its construction.'86 Two lumps of ited already in the Neolithic period.'90
raw caolinite and montmorillonite clay were found in Excavations beneath the temenos of the Athena
an LH IIIC context, and appear to have been im- temple on the Middle Plateau have revealed, at the
ported to Naxos, perhaps from Melos. lowest levels, remains of building materials and arti-
Paros.'87 Important new discoveries continue to be facts of LH IIIC (including a pierced triton shell),
made at Koukounaries, on the southwest side of the contemporary with destruction levels of the megaron
bay of Naoussa in northern Paros. Excavations at on the Upper Plateau; on the bedrock itself are EBA
Koukounaries began in 1976. Yearly campaigns have layers. Ash mixed with animal bones and shell suggest
uncovered the remains of a long-lived settlement that that from Geometric times this area was the focus for
had begun already in the Saliagos phase of the Cy- rituals. The cemetery of the Mycenaean settlement
cladic Neolithic. Early Cycladic artifacts attest to oc- was located in a valley northwest of Koukounaries.
cupation, but the settlement appears to have been Three excavated tombs resemble mainland tholos
deserted between the EBA and LH IIIC, when habi- tombs and have chambers (rectangular with rounded
tation was established anew.'88 In LH IIIC the site corners) with stone walls and corbeled roofs built in
Cyclopean style; all were robbed.191
was well fortified with Cyclopean walls and the plateau
on top was occupied by a "mansion"; in its ruins wereAll finds from excavations ca. 1900 on the citadel
of Paroikia (the modern Chora of the island) have
large numbers of ceramic, stone, bronze, lead, and
ivory artifacts. The complex was destroyed in a mas-
been recently reexamined.'92 The principal architec-
sive conflagration, promoted, no doubt, by a hostile
tural remains should be dated to the final phase of
attack: the body of an adult, killed by a wound to Phylakopi
the I and are contemporary with the earlier
head, had been hastily buried before the wound
part of period IV at Ayia Irini. A small amount of
healed; the bodies of other humans and livestock were
pottery is both earlier and later in date than main
left amid the debris. deposits. One of the earliest finds is a large fragment
More recent investigations have defined the extent from a burnished rolled-rim FN bowl. Several sherds
of Mycenaean settlement more accurately. Defenses from burnished tankards are contemporary with Ayia
on the southern approaches to the acropolis have been Irini period III; a fragment of a hat-vase belongs to
186 See Lambrinoudakis, Prakt 1985 (supra n. 177) 144- in Prehistoric Cyclades 184-206, and "The Decline of the
61; Lambrinoudakis and F. Zafeiropoulou, "Avaouxaq? Geometric Settlement of Koukounaries at Paros," in R. Higg
MlqrQoO'Xcwg; Nad'ov," Prakt 1985, 162-67, with earlier ed., The Greek Renaissance of the Eighth Century B.C.: Tra-
references. Subsequent to completion of the excavations in dition and Innovation (Stockholm 1983) 173-83. Surface
the Plateia Mitropoleos, the most significant structures were reconnaissance in the Naoussa area has resulted in the dis-
roofed in situ to form a subterranean museum. Subsidiary covery of new EBA sites: see Schilardi, in Prehistoric Cyclades
investigations in conjunction with the building of the roof 184, with references. There is limited evidence for rehabi-
provided additional details concerning the prehistoric settle- tation in later LH IIIC after the destruction of the citadel;
ment. See Ergon 1989, 122-25. The study of Mycenaean a substantial Protogeometric settlement followed.
pottery from Archaeological Society excavations at Grotta is 189 D. Schilardi, "Avaoxci oatvl 1 H o," Prakt 1985,
currently being undertaken by M.B. Cosmopoulos, who de- 111-12; Ergon 1990, 105-107.
livered a paper entitled "Mycenaean Naxos: An Overview of 190 Ergon 1988, 134; Ergon 1989, 121.
the Evidence," at the International Congress of Mycenology 191 For the Mycenaean cemetery, see D. Schilardi, "Avao-
in Rome-Naples, October 1991. xafi fdkxov," Prakt 1986, 169, 203-204; "AvacoxacTj~ I H-
187 Aside from excavated finds, EBA stone (including a Qov," Prakt 1987, 236-40. For soundings on the Middle
schematic figurine) and ceramic artifacts, perhaps from Plateau within and around the Athena temple precinct, see
southwestern Paros, have been published; one vessel has Prakt 1985 (supra n. 189) 130-31, 142; Prakt 1986, 191-97,
parallels in the Kastri Group. See O. Hadjianastasiou, 203; Prakt 1987, 235-36; Ergon 1988, 134; Ergon 1989,
118-19.
"o0wroxvxhablcd& EVtitrCa anwt6 t q krx1o," ArchEph
1983, appendix 1-4. 192 J.C. Overbeck, The Bronze Age Pottery from the Kastro
188 The results of campaigns in the 1970s and early 1980s at Paros (SIMA-PB 78, Jonsered 1989); several additional
have been summarized in recent papers by D.U. Schilardi, finds from Rubensohn's excavations are illustrated by Pa-
"The LH IIIC Period at the Koukounaries Acropolis, Paros," pagiannopoulou, Minoan Influence 336-37.
Fig. 20. Paroikia, Paro

oration. (Courtesy Jo
export from Greec

urines and vases. S
uted to the so-called "Keros Hoard," which was
reputedly recovered at Kavos in the southwest part of
Fig. 19. Paroikia, the island. The MBA
Paros. presence of so barrel-jar
many marble objects w
decoration. (Courtesy John
on so small C. Overbeck)
an island is astonishing, and the nature of
prehistoric activity on Keros was the center of much
an EC type best discussion
known in 1983 at the British
in Museum conference
funerary
material includes familiar
on EC Melian
art; several participants suggested that Kavos ty
paneled cup, a single bell-cup
had served as a prehistoric ritual center in the EBA of
deep bowls of LH Aegean.'94IIIC.
Investigations In general
at the site were resumed in
have been less Minoan
1987, and included ainfluence
systematic collection of surfaceon
of MBA pottery artifacts."95
at Paroikia and
Preliminary analysis of finds less
suggests that
Kavos and, in the
Greek mainland than at later stages
Ayia of EC II, aIrini
settlement o
main deposits areon thecharacterized
adjacent islet of Daskaleio were parts of a singleby
developed mainland varieties,
large settlement.'96 Adjacent to this settlement MC was a bu
and matt-painted deposit of special character in which marble
barrel-jars and artifacts ju
and certain
duck-vases and the ceramic types were discarded
extensive use in greater
of p
features in common
quantities thanwith
elsewhere on the thesite. earlier
opi and Ayia Irini.The earliest pottery is of Keros-Syros EC II types,
Elsewhere on Paros at
but Kastri varieties Tripiti,
are also represented.'97 OccasionalMy
sherds have beensherds reminiscent of Phylakopi Iand
reported, are found but on are A
extremely
Kyriaki, part of a much rare; their date is uncertain. Visual and cist
damaged
petrological
an EC figurine was analysis suggests that an exceptionally
excavated in 1983
high percentage (50-60%)
The Amorgian Islands. of pottery from the siteillic
Extensive
was imported
Keros since the late from elsewhere has
1950s in the Cyclades.
resultCe-
193 0. Hadjianastasiou, "Hdoog" and "AvTrlCaQog," Arch- 197 I am grateful to Cyprian Broodbank for sharing with
Delt 38 B' (1983) 350. me a draft copy of his report on the ceramics found in the
194 See discussion in Cycladica 16, 27-29, 33-35. recent explorations of Kavos, and for allowing me to sum-
195 Annual Report of the Managing Committee, the British marize several of his conclusions here. Broodbank also notes
School at Athens 1986-1987, 32-34. a pyxis of Kampos Group type in the Naxos Museum, as-
196 Gazetteer 337-38. signed to Keros, but not definitely to the site of Kavos.
ramic analysis demonstrates that

2 m deep. Part of the
a fortification wall forms
appears to have pro
in the special deposit are
sportedall compatible
a rounded with
tower, and was apparently a pre- fu
material, and may also suggest
decessor that EBA
of a previously investigated imported
enceinte.
The fortifications
were brought to the island byrest on its
earlier habitation
own levelsinhabit
that
While a full interpretation
lay beneath the of the
water table site's
and could funct
not be investi-
not yet been offered,gated.
these
The fourth observations
and latest phase of occupation do n
tively support the hypothesis
seems to have been that
contemporary Kavos
with the EBA was
set- an
national sanctuary.'98 tlement already known at the Heraion. By then the
Elsewhere in this group of investigated
fortifications tiny in and sparsely
this sounding were out p
lated islets, excavations
of useon Kato building,
and a rectangular Koufonisi part of a larger hav
plored part of a settlement
complex, extended of LC
the area II date.'99
of habitation beyond that
Samos previously enclosed within the settlement. The new
Neolithic finds were recovered in several stratified evidence from the Heraion also points to the existence
of a substantially larger prehistoric settlement than
soundings and in various isolated pits in the bedrock
previously suspected. At Tigani, the overall distribu-
that were explored in the late 1960s while examining
tion of finds also suggests that estimates for the size
the Hellenistic settlement at Tigani. The publication
of these finds has forced a revision of the older relative of the settlement in the later stages of the Neolithic
require revision.
chronology established for Tigani. The various pits
Newly published and republished small finds from
have been assigned to four chronological phases (I-
Tigani include 11 stone vases, and several figurines,
IV) based on stratification in the soundings; several
both terracotta and marble.201 In the lithic industry,
phases have been subdivided on the basis of stylistic
blades of obsidian are dominant, with a few obsidian
criteria. The latest deposits appear to correspond to
arrowheads in Tigani III, a situation that contrasts
Emborio phases VII-VI in date (i.e., they antedate
remarkably with that at Emborio and Ayio Gala on
the beginning of the EBA); the possibility has been
Chios, where obsidian played a palpably subordinate
raised that phase I of Tigani began prior to the be-
role.202 Despite close stylistic relationships recogniz-
ginning of the Late Neolithic on the Greek mainland.
able in the ceramic styles of the two islands, it is not
No indisputable stylistic similarities with Troy I or the
clear that there was much direct exchange in pottery.
EBA sequence from Thermi on Lesbos have been
It has, in fact, been suggested that in the Neolithic a
noted; it has been suggested, however, that the earliest
cultural dividing line should be drawn between them,
("black") phase of settlement at Poliochni on Lemnos
with Samos looking away from Chios toward the Cyc-
may be only slightly later than Tigani period IV.
lades and the southeast Aegean.203
Several artifacts from Tigani do, however, find par-
allels in EBA levels elsewhere in the Aegean area and The Dodecanese
habitation probably continued at the site, despite the The past decade has witnessed a veritable explosion
absence of an undisturbed EBA stratum. of new information relevant to the prehistory of the
Recently published finds from the excavations in southeast Aegean, although as yet excavation has been
the Heraion on Samos may close the gap between its limited and survey non-intensive. In the early 1980s,
sequence of EBA settlements and the Tigani se- the absence of clear evidence for pre-LBA settlement
quence.200 There, at some remove from EBA levels on most of these islands was particularly odd, as was
previously uncovered, four stages of construction the paucity of documentation for contact between the
were identified within prehistoric levels more than Dodecanese and Crete, the Cyclades, or the Greek
198 Contrast the opinion expressed in Renfrew (supra n. 200 See H. Kyrieleis, H.J. Kienast, and H.-J. Wei8haar,
19) 99-100. "Ausgrabungen im Heraion von Samos 1980/81," AA 1985,
199 Hadjianastasiou 1989 (supra n. 185) 206, 215, n. 59. 409-18; Felsch (Kastro Tigani 39, n. 92) sees no evidence
Parts of two vessels from the settlement are illustrated on pl. for overlap between stratified deposits from Tigani and from
40d-e. The sherd on pl. 40e may well derive from a bur- the Heraion.
nished krater of "Aiginetan" type and, if so, would point to 201 Cf. the head of a small marble figurine from the Her-
mainland, as well as Minoan, imports at the site. Several aion (Kyrieleis et al. [supra n. 200] fig. 42.1).
previously unillustrated terracotta vases from Apano Kou- 202 Emporio 699-712.
fonisi have now been published in Cycladic Culture 172-73, 203 Cf. A. Sampson, "The Neolithic of the Dodecanese and
nos. 178-80; additional EC terracotta vessels and stone fig- Aegean Neolithic Culture," BSA 79 (1984) 246, fig. 6. Local
urines from both Apano and Kato Koufonisi are illustrated sources of flint do seem to have been available on Chios; see
in Zafeiropoulou (supra n. 177) 30, 32-33, 37, 40. Hood and Bialor (supra n. 114).
12 3 4 16171 /
3 20 121 22
5 6 Q4 2 7
024 25 26 27
2 28
3 9 8c- 29 30
(10 1
337 334
35 V/36
10 31 32
9a 4-
) I
13
14
15
41
40
42 1
I
Fig. 21. Charact
4), broadly contemporary

mainland in with the Late Chalcolithic
pre
of Anatolia; each phase
exchange has been defined on the basis
betwe
tably of stratified deposits from recent
with Knid excavations and
Neolithic. The
from extensive surface finds (fig. 21).206 All Neolithic
phases sites
of thus far investigated
the in the Dodecanese are small
N
in comparison to those on either theof
distribution Anatolian or
ture to Greek
Late Chal
mainlands. Caves were frequently chosen for
The occupation.
general cha
can be Final reports on the results of recent excavations at
outlined.
best by five Neolithic
the sites in the Dodecanese
low have already
Cave on appeared:Rhodes,
the cave at Kalythies Ayios Yioryios on
ning of Rhodes; the
thecave at Arhangelos Koumelo
Lat on Rhodes;
land. The Late Neolithic of the Dodecanese has been and open-air sites at Partheni on Leros and at Kastro
divided into four phases (Late Aegean Neolithic 1- on Alimnia.207 These and sites on Yiali (below) were
204 Evidence prior to 1982 is summarized in J.L. Davis, Samos. An earlier find from Kalymnos, published by A.
"The Earliest Minoans in the Southeast Aegean," AnatSt 32 Furness ("Some Early Pottery of Samos, Kalimnos and
(1982) 33-41. Chios," PPS 22 [1956] pl. 19), is there republished and
205 For discussion, see Sampson (supra n. 203) 239-49; identified correctly as a "scoop" of FN type (pp. 112-13, n.
Neolithic Dodecanese; "NEohlt0tx6t Ev&iZaTa Wtr6 Tr P680," 487).
AAA 12 (1979) 24-39; "To N.A. Atyalo ora NrohltO6tx 207 Neolithic Dodecanese. The existence of the site of Par-
XQ6voa," ArchEph 1983, appendix 5-13; "Topographical theni on Leros was previously known from investigations by
Survey of Prehistoric Sites in the Dodecanese," in D.R. Keller Hope Simpson and Lazenby (Gazetteer 367). Material from
and D.W. Rupp eds., Archaeological Survey in the Mediter- Kalythies and Partheni is also illustrated in Sampson (supra
ranean Area (BAR-IS 155, Oxford 1983) 283-85; and "Pe- n. 203) 241, figs. 2-3, and 243, fig. 4; material from the
riodic and Seasonal Usage of Two Neolithic Caves in Koumelo Cave in Sampson 1979 (supra n. 205). For Par-
Rhodes," in Dodecanese 11-16.
theni, see also S. Marketou, "HTa@OEvt, Ono KovtaQ[ba,"
206 See Kastro Tigani 136-37 for an initial evaluation of ArchDelt 35 B' (1980) 557; for preliminary reports on the
the chronological system developed by Sampson and its Koumelo Cave, the Ayios Yeoryios Cave, the Kastro of Alym-
interconnections with the Neolithic sequence proposed for nia, Partheni on Leros, and for prehistoric material of less
Fig. 22. Kalythies Cave, Rhodes. Neolithic pottery
recovered
initially identified or examined as by
partsieving and im
of a genera
found on pottery.
survey of prehistoric archaeological resourcesPlentif
in al
islands of the Dodecanese mains
(withinclude a full range
the exception of As
typalaia) during 1977-1980.
ticatesThe
(cow,purpose of tha
pig, sheep, go
project was to supplement apparently
and clarifyraised forreport
earlier meat
products,
summarized in the Gazetteer: 60 newas well as various
prehistoric sit
were recorded, 35 of them on Rhodes.
cluding Several
a tunny-sized of
spe
Onlyonly
these have, however, yielded selected
findsjoints of d
of chipped
brought
stone and are not conclusively ofto the site. Fox, ha
pre-Mycenaean o
even prehistoric date.208been
Thus deliberate live impor
far little evidence fo
occupation anywhere in earliest domesticated
the southeast Aegeanchicke
prior
to the Late Neolithic has may
been also be attested.210 H
recognized.209
Three phases of the Late least four infants
Neolithic and rec-
have been eigh
ognized in the Kalythiesniles
Caveand adults are
excavations mainly
(fig. 22).
and foot
The most recent corresponds bones
to the and front
second phase t o
fore, have
occupation at Tigani on Samos. Here served as a site
as elsewhere in
the Neolithic Dodecanese, Melian
for obsidian
infants, whileisthe
commo
bon
were
(80% of the chipped stone), buttransferred to anoth
obsidian from Yial
burial.
and Anatolia is also represented. Plant remains wer
closely determinable date at seePylonas

C. Doumas, Cave"II((Q66laDL
of Halil and ,"
981. For the site of Harkadio
Arhangelos Limani Papakonstanti, both on Tilos,on
see C. Doumas,
Rhodes, s
Sampson, "AQXdyyExkog" "Ti?og,"andArchDelt "Aylog
30 B' (1975) 369-72.Fe6qylog Ka
vUO~wv," ArchDelt 34 B' (1979)209 See "First448-49;
Colonization" 170-71 with reference to ex-
"Avaoxw?alxg eQ
cavations in the Harkadio Cave on Tilos. See also the results
yaoi eg: P6bog," ArchDelt 35 B' (1980) 558-59.
of investigationscontains
208 Neolithic Dodecanese 96-115 in a cave at Erimokastro on Rhodes where
a gazetteer tha
includes Neolithic, EBA,dwarf and elephantsome later
bones and possible traces findspots
of human occu- o
pation have been
Rhodes, Kos, Karpathos, Symi, noted, but in unstratified
Alymnia, Leros,contexts; and A.
Patmos
Halki, and Tilos. For a more complete
Sampson, list a7of
H NEo)tOt)l xarotilxr pre-Mycenae
oTo FvaAil rg Niuvov
sites on Kos, see Neolithic (Athens
Dodecanese
1988) 210 where the229-32. Four
possibility of Middle Palaeo- of th
lithic material from Yiali is
five sites catalogued for Karpathos areraised. discussed in mo
detail in Karpathos, Saros and210 P. Kasos
Halstead and (see
G. Jones,under
"Bioarchaeological Remains
A4-A6, E39
from Kalythies Cave,
E40, and J56). For finds of Cycladic Rhodes," in Neolithic Dodecanese
Keros-Syros type135- potter
45.
at the site of Vathy Elliniko on Astypalaia (Gazetteer 365
apsidal and rectangular structures. Habitation was

contemporary with the latest phase of occupation at
the Koumelo Cave, as were badly eroded buildings at
Partheni on Leros.
Neolithic settlements have also been investigated on

the tiny island of Yiali (fig. 23).212 Prehistoric remains
are rare in the northeast where deposits of obsidian
are located. On the neck that joins the northeast to
the southwest part of the island, pottery and ground
stone finds of FN and EBA date have been excavated
(fig. 24); only here has EBA pottery been recog-

nized.213 FN finds are widespread in the south, and
include terrace walls and the foundations for a three-
room house with curving walls (fig. 25). Many vessels
were associated with its destruction deposits as were
two crucibles for melting copper. Remnants of over
70 rectangular cist graves have been excavated. No
bones or grave goods were found in any, despite
sieving, but from the Neolithic pottery around them
there can be little doubt about their date. Ground
SHellenistic
stone tools were widespread. All appear to have been
INeolithic manufactured from local materials, with handstones
0 60 7Obsidian sources
of sandstone, limestone, and andesite, and querns
Fig. 23. Yiali. Obsidian sources and mostly of andesite. Axes
archaeological were not common.
sites.
(Courtesy Adamantios Sampson) Recent fieldwork in the Dodecanese does not sug-
gest that Yiali ever served as a major supplier of
Excavations at the Koumelo Cave on Rhodes un- obsidian to the Aegean; organized quarries have not
covered two superimposed surfaces: the lower been
of recognized. Although irregular flakes found
these was contemporary with the uppermost level bothof on Yiali and Alimnia were employed as tools for
the Kalythies Cave, the top with the Final Neolithic
expedient purposes, regular types of chipped stone
tools even on Yiali itself were manufactured of Melian
of the Cyclades. Above Neolithic levels the cave was
filled with a deep deposit of ash, apparently ejected
(and perhaps Anatolian) obsidian and of flint.214
by the Minoan eruption of the Santorini volcano.21' Early Bronze Age. Sites appear to have decreased in
number between the Neolithic and the EBA. Contact
On the tiny currently uninhabited island of Alimnia
between Rhodes and Halki, excavations also uncov- with the adjacent Anatolian mainland seems to have
ered parts of a settlement, including walls from both
been frequent. The earlier parts of the EBA are the
211 Problems in assigning volcanic ash found outside Thera ently not the availability of obsidian that attracted early
to the Minoan eruption of Santorini are discussed by R.B. inhabitants to the island. See also H.G. Buchholz and E.
Galloway et al., "Radio-isotope Analyses of Aegean Tephras: Althaus, Nisyros, Giali, Kos: Ein Vorbericht iiber archiiologisch-
Contribution to the Dating of Santorini Volcano," in TAW mineralogische Forschungen auf griechischen Inseln (Mainz
111.3, 135-44. There the likelihood of a post-Neolithic erup- 1982); and R. Torrence and J.F. Cherry, Archaeological Sur-
tion of the Yiali volcano, virtually contemporaneous with vey of the Obsidian Source on Giali in the Dodecanese (unpubl.
that of Santorini, is asserted-a suggestion that found little ms. in British School of Archaeology at Athens).
support from others in attendance at the TAW conference; 213 Sampson (supra n. 209) 23 has suggested that some
see the discussion of this paper on pp. 144-45. More gen- lithics may be earlier in date than the Neolithic. Matt-impres-
erally on the identification of volcanic ash likely to be Theran sions are present on the bases of so-called "cheese-pots"
in origin, see D.G. Sullivan, "Minoan Tephra in Lake Sedi- (p. 101). Neolithic pottery and obsidian from both Melos
ments in Western Turkey: Dating the Eruption and Assess- and Yiali have also been found on the islet of Pergousa, just
ing the Atmospheric Dispersal of the Ash," in TAW 111.3, to the west of Nisyros (Neolithic Dodecanese 252).
114-18, and the following discussion on p. 119. 214 Although Melian obsidian is not at all rare in the Do-
212 For the distribution in the Aegean of obsidian from decanese, the quantities in which it is found and a general
Yiali, see Sampson (supra n. 209) 216-18, supplemented by scarcity of evidence for other kinds of Cycladic imports may
references in J.L. Davis et al., "Keos and the Eastern Aegean: be indicative of much more limited interaction between the
The Cretan Connection," Hesperia 52 (1983) 365-66. This Cyclades and Dodecanese than among the Cyclades them-
obsidian does not appear to have been extensively used selves, or between the Cyclades and the Greek mainland (see
because of its poor fracturing properties. It was thus appar- also Melas 1988 [infra n. 237] 290).
Fig. 24. Yiali. Excavations in sector A. (Cour
least well documented.215 It has been suggested

finds from the Aspri Petra Cave on Kos shou
dated to EB II because one-handled cups and spo
jugs are present; other sherds from surface colle
at Troulli on Kos and on Astypalaia may also be
to EB II. In recent excavations material of similar
character has been found at Ayios Fokas on Kos and
on the island of Yiali. Finds from Askloupi and Mes-
saria on Kos, from Muskebi on the Anatolian main-
land, from Lindos on Rhodes, and from Nisyros have
sometimes been dated to EB III, but it has most
recently been argued that the material from Askloupi
and Messaria is of EB II date. EB II parallels from
Tsilimbiri on Kos and from new excavations of graves
at Tavla near Antimaheia on Kos have been ad-
duced.216
Rescue excavations at Seraglio on Kos and Asoma-

tos on Rhodes should clarify the EBA sequence con-
siderably.217 At Seraglio, a fortified settlement of EB
III has been revealed in deep soundings beneath the
later Bronze Age town; it was itself built on top of
earlier levels of EB III, including the remains of a
potter's kiln. Part of a single long house, possibly with
one "ellipsoidal" wall, has been cleared. Ceramics
215 For general discussion of the distribution and character

of EBA material in the southeast Aegean, see Neolithic Do-
decanese 118-19; Sampson 1983 (supra n. 205) 12. For an
update, see T. Marketou, "Asomatos and Seraglio: EBA
Production and Interconnections," Hydra: Working Papers
in Middle Bronze Age Studies 7 (1990) 40.
216 For Tavla, see H. Kantzia, "AvTtd'XtLa: Ktltpa EX.
Zapou'," ArchDelt 39 B' (1984) 335. Fig. 25. Yiali. Foundations of a Neolithic house. (Courtesy
217 Marketou (supra n. 215). Adamantios Sampson)
(wheelmade red-burnished
fied group of bowls, find
tankards) find close
floor, parallels not clearly both i
the western Aegean.features, At Asomatos southwest ne
of Trianda on the of north similar coast characte of Rh
"megaron-like" buildings
beneath the have been
templ
were associated with
acropolis. similar Only pottery und
the latest phase of the
floor; most have thsite and overl
on a different orientation. Fortificatio
Small finds are both of MBA and LBA varieties and
because include a stone lidof
of the density of MM type, a spindle whorl, a
architectur
Middle Bronze Age. The
terracotta scuttle, a discoid Middle
loomweight, stone vases,Bro
Dodecanese remains a mystery
marble pommels, and a bronze mirror. on w
Late Bronzelittle
plorations have shed I and II. LB I patterns of settlement
light.219
Asomatos came contrast
to radically
an withabrupt end
their predecessors. In northern
basis of finds (mainly
Rhodes, the focus of carinated bow
activity shifted from Mt. Fileri-
pressed levels found
mos to Trianda stratified in se
on the coastal plain below, where there
between EB III and LB
is, for the Ievidence
first time, layers,221
for widespread habita- i
that occupation at Seraglio
tion. Recent was
excavations have filled out the picturecont
of
end of the EBA to the
occupation sketched by LBA,
extensive Italianbut
excavations it i
before
that all phases of theWorld WarMBAII.226 The LB I settlement
are atrepr
for firing the bowls has
Trianda was large also
by island standards, been
and has been in
noanizing pottery with
estimated at light-on-d
over 12 ha. Moreover, the thoroughly
CretanDodecanese
widespread in the character of the settlement has been and
rein- of
the MBA, is moreforced by new discoveries.
likely to Buildings
belonghad plastered to
of the LBA, both in
floors the
and walls; southeast
characteristically Minoan architec- A
Cyclades where it was
tural features such asimported.223
the polythyron and ashlar ma-
little evidence forsonry were employed; and
earlier new fresco fragments,of
versions t
Later phases of the
including oneMBA are
with a painted lily best
and another with a r
double-axe and sacral knot are inon
finds from Mt. Filerimos the Minoan idiom.
Rhode
northern coastal Horns
plain, southeast
of consecration in stone suggest Cretan reli- of
Profitis Elias on the most
gious practices, as do new bronze eastern
figurines of Minoan spu
survey and excavation
types. have yielded u
and Results from recent excavations at Trianda
traces of architecture. Jugs in the mor
Cretan in appearance
Theoharis plot have were found wi
been fully published. Excavations
conical cups; there in 1975, pottery
some 1978, and 1980 uncovered structuresbelong
existence of MBA within
material
an area of approximately on
360 m2.227 Mt.
Three Filer
now been clearly main
demonstrated.
constructional phases were recognized, Trianda The
218 On Asomatos, see Marketou (supra n. 215) 40-47. Benzi, "Evidence for a Middle Minoan Settlement on the
219 Neolithic Dodecanese 119-20. Acropolis of Ialysos (Mt. Philerimos)," in Minoan Thalasso-
220 See Marketou (supra n. 215) fig. 5b. cracy 93-104 (including p. 102, for the possibility of MM
221 Marketou (infra n. 230) 101-104. See also the report material from the region of Ayios Isidoros in the central
of MBA pottery, including fragments of polychrome bird- western part of Rhodes).
jugs (infra n. 236). 226 For older bibliography, see Gazetteer 348. The recent
222 Marthari et al. (infra n. 223) 175. bibliography is already extensive. In addition to references
223 Marketou (infra n. 230) 103; M. Marthari, T. Marketou, already cited (supra n. 225), see Doumas (infra n. 230) and
and R.E. Jones, "LB I Ceramic Connections between Thera Marketou (infra n. 230). Papagiannopoulou, Minoan Influ-
and Kos," in TAW III.1, 171-84; Davis et al. (supra n. 212) ence 218-22, remarks on the character of pottery from both
361-66.
older and recent excavations at Trianda and at Seraglio on
224 Recently published results of excavations in the Theo-
Kos.
haris plot at Trianda on Rhodes (infra n. 227) provide the 227 L. Papazoglou-Manioudaki, "Avaoxa)il tov MLVtL-
only well-documented evidence in support of an early date
xo0 oLXLtooto ora ToQ1VT-ca rlg P60ov," ArchDelt 37 A'
for Dodecanesian light-on-dark wares. Only a single sherd (1982) 139-87. Initial results of this excavation had previ-
from a pre-LM IA context has been published and the bulk ously been described in a preliminary report by C. Doumas
of the ware clearly belongs to the LBA. and Papazoglou, "Santorini Ash from Rhodes," Nature 287
225 T. Marketou, "New Evidence on the Topography and (1980) 322-24.
Site History of Prehistoric lalysos," in Dodecanese 27-28; M.
walls are quite substantial

I, II, and III, and two architectural and ashlar masonry
subphases was
distin
guished within the thirdsparsely employed; in the
phase.228 Bothwestern part of the house,
Trianda I an
II were explored mainly a second
instory was reached by wooden
soundings stairs within th
beneath
courtyard of a large building stairwells. After
ofa Trianda
destruction (perhaps
III.caused
No by tra
an
of the LM IA style was recognized earthquake), lighter less consequential
in the potterywalls, which o
Trianda I. It is necessary, therefore,
infringed to redate
on the area of the courtyard, were added t
earliest occupation at Trianda to the complextointhe Trianda IIIB. Individual
later MBA, strati-ap
proximately contemporary graphical levels could
with not be assigned
finds from to phase
Mt.IIIA; F
erimos. Trianda I appears the to
final abandonment
be the levels of phase IIIB
earliest are dom-
stratum
at the site; in places, excavation inated by LM IB/LH reached bedrock an
II ceramic types.231
Trianda should still be viewed as a new foundation in Other recent soundings at Trianda have provided
the New Palace period of Crete. important details concerning the extent and duration
The character of the shapes and decoration of pot- of the prehistoric settlement. Excavations since 1982
tery in Trianda I is overwhelmingly Minoan, and in the Markos plot (300 m west of the Theoharis plot)
Cretan features such as discoid and cylindrical loom- have exposed the most western part of the Minoan/
weights, a bull figurine, a stone vase, potters' disks, Mycenaean settlement, including parts of an LM IA
fragments of faience, and frescoes decorated with building with a polythyron.232 In the Kattavenos plot
bands or curvilinear motifs are all represented.229 (300 m south of the center of the Italian excavations
Other small finds include fragments of small gold at Trianda), LM IB remains lay above volcanic ash,
bands, a bronze sickle, bronze needles, and a lead rod. with LM IA remains beneath.233 These and other
The cause for the destruction of Trianda I is not recent soundings suggest that the southern part of
the LM IA settlement had been abandoned after the
readily apparent. Phase II, on the other hand, showed
eruption of the Thera volcano; in LM IB, new struc-
obvious traces of destruction by fire, perhaps precip-
itated by an earthquake. The damaged remains of thetures, including a possible defensive system, were built
settlement were soon partly covered by a layerabove of the ash layer in northern parts of the site, and
volcanic ash from the Santorini eruption; the latest
the settlement decreased in size. Imports from Crete
pottery sealed beneath the ash belongs to the LM continued
IA in LM IB and Cypriot wares were also
style. The Minoan LM IB style is only representedpresent.
in
strata above the ash layer. Elsewhere on Rhodes, lay-Evidence of expansion of settlement in LB I is also
evident in areas east and west of Trianda: contem-
ers of ash from the Santorini eruption have been
investigated: near the airport at Paradeisi and on the
porary remains have been explored in five other lo-
east coast at Kolymbia the layer exceeded a half meter
cations. These are spread over an area of more than
in thickness.230 14 km along the coast, and from the village of Trianda
In Trianda IIIA, a large house with rooms around to the foot of Mt. Filerimos. In addition, on the east
coast of Rhodes LB I artifacts have been excavated in
a central court was built in the Theoharis plot. Many
228 Phases defined by the new excavations can be approx- from Rhodes and Kos: Some Chronological Remarks Based
imately equated with those defined by A. Furumark ("The on the Stratigraphy," in TAW 111.3, 100-12; C. Doumas,
Settlement at Ialysos and Aegean History c. 1550-1400 "The Prehistoric Eruption of Thera and Its Effects," in
B.C.," OpArch 6 [1950] 150-271) as follows: Trianda Dodecanese 34-38.
II= Furumark Trianda I; Trianda IIIA and B= Trianda IIA 231 Later Mycenaean finds include a bronze arrowhead,
and B, respectively. Trianda I, on the other hand, represents and a phi-figurine was recovered nearby at the so-called
an initial stage in the settlement not defined by earlier in- Pyrgos of Paraskevas; see Papazoglou-Manioudaki (supra n.
vestigators. 227) 181.
229 There are several striking differences between this Mi- 232 See S. Marketou, "086g IEQo3 A6X'ou (otLx6OE60
noanized assemblage from Trianda and contemporary de- Kcwvor. MaQ'xov, KT. MeQ. 551," ArchDelt 39 B' (1984)
posits in the Cyclades. Obsidian from Melos was present but 325-26, where long parallel walls perhaps belonging to a
scarce; mainland matt-painted and Minyan wares do not drainage work of LM IB date are reported as well as frescoes,
appear to be represented at all; and there is little evidence Cypriot vases, and limestone horns of consecration. This is
for the importation of Cycladic pottery. Not surprisingly, the plot described as plot 3 and marked on T. Marketou's
imports from Western Anatolia are indicative of exchange map in Dodecanese (supra n. 225) 29, fig. 4; there a possible
between Rhodes and the adjacent mainland; see Papazoglou- defensive function is suggested for the long walls.
Manioudaki (supra n. 227) 171-72.
233 S. Marketou, "-IdQooog 9%g Matov (P6OQog oLXOJTo-
230 On Theran ash, see T. Marketou, "Santorini Tephra 8ov KaTrcapevo6)," ArchDelt 39 B' (1989) 327.
the cave of Koumelo234 parallel either in the and are
Cyclades or on repr
Crete. EBA and
surface finds from Kolimbia-Theotokos.235 earlier MBA assemblages have not yet been well de-
Results from recent excavations at Seraglio on Kos fined.
echo those from Trianda.236 The LM IA town at By the later MBA, it seems clear that Karpathos,
Seraglio also increased markedly in size, and two Kasos,
ar- and Saria had been drawn into the Minoan
chitectural phases have been recognized. Afterorbit.
the The finest Minoan Kamares types characteristi-
first was destroyed by earthquake, there was a major
cally found at Phylakopi or Ayia Irini already in the
reorganization of the town and a main street earlier
was MBA, however, have not yet been reported
established that led from the harbor up the hill toand
thethere is only slight evidence for the importation
main focus of the settlement. The second phase of of
Cycladic wares.238 Definite or possible finds have
the settlement was destroyed before the end of LM been published from more than 40 separate locations.
IA (probably also by earthquake); remains of human Accumulating data suggest the existence of an exten-
sive Minoanized center at Pigadia, capital of modern
victims were found in its rubble. As at Trianda, a layer
of volcanic ash covered this debris in part, but theKarpathos.
ash This settlement lay in the southeast part
appears to have fallen measurably later than of
the
the island on the south side of a large bay that
earthquake destruction. faced the southern tip of Rhodes.239 The focus of
Recent research on Karpathos, Kasos, and Saria
prehistoric occupation appears to have been the
paints a picture similar to that being established coastal
for plain, bordered on the west by the hill of Skopi
Rhodes and Kos.237 Here too there is considerable and on the east by the acropolis of Sissimos; chamber
question about the date and extent of earlier (i.e., pre-
tombs, some as early as MM III/LM IA, were dug into
Mycenaean) settlement. Surface investigations havethe slopes of both.
documented considerable activity in the later Neo- The existence of prehistoric settlement at the Xe-
lithic period and during transitional Neolithic/EBAnona site has long been recognized, but it is now
phases, but finds are extremely worn and difficult obvious
to that occupation in the Pigadia area was much
234 See Sampson, in Dodecanese (supra n. 205) 13-14; in IIIC; two potter's kilns of MM/LM IA date; EBA sherds);
the Koumelo Cave, early LBA pottery (said to be of LM/LC "O66; AnTpkov xla KokoxotLWVq (otx6~e6bo A.
and Cypriot types, including a base-ring jug) was found to Mvukvmx)," ArchDelt 38 B' (1983) 396 (reached the top of
be stratified both above and below the ash layer (Neolithic Mycenaean levels); "066g EX. BEvt?kXov Xat Koko-
Dodecanese 214). See also Neolithic Dodecanese 74. Layers of xoTrg&vq (otx6bE6ro E. Ataxavao'rdorq)," ArchDelt 38 B'
ash associated with archaeological finds have also been rec- (1983) 396 (excavation of part of the Mycenaean settlement);
ognized on Tilos, Karpathos, and Halki. For further remarks H. Kantzia, "066g KokoxoTr; bvYq 25 (otx6rbE6o Avt.
see Melas 1983 (infra n. 237) 58. OacXaoLvoV)," ArchDelt 39 B' (1984) 329-30 (LH III above
235 Melas 1988 (infra n. 237) 300-302. MM/LM IA; stratified EBA including part of a wall and a
236 See T. Marketou, "Marine Style Pottery from the Ser- partly intact potter's kiln); "Fwvta WT v o6&v Iw. Ocok6yov
aglio in Kos," BSA 82 (1987) 165-69, and brief reports on xat AnFkkov (otx6no6co FTQC . HLLdvta)," ArchDelt 39 B'
recent rescue excavations in the Seraglio, including I.H. (1984) 330 (LH III, MM/LM IA, with EBAjust above virgin
Papahristodoulou, "066g BEgototnokoXov 40 (otx6rbE6o EX. soil); "O66g H(caIoFov (otx6n'6co Aeon. Kakoy-ilov),"
XaTrratGoryov)," ArchDelt 34 B' (1979) 452-54 (pure My- ArchDelt 39 B' (1984) 331 (reached top of LH IIIC stratum).
cenaean finds, including a phi-figurine, from soundings near 237 For recent work on these islands, see M. Melas, "Minoan
the temple of Demeter); "066g EX. BEvL~XEov 30 (otx6nEbo and Mycenaean Settlement in Kasos and Karpathos," BICS
N. TovrESil)," ArchDelt 34 B' (1979) 456-57 (two prehis- 30 (1983) 53-61; "Survey of Karpathos, Kasos and Saria,
toric building levels, equivalent to Morricone's first and sec- Dodecanese," in Keller and Rupp (supra n. 205) 287-89;
ond city, in a sounding near the northeast corner of Karpathos, Saros and Kasos; "Exploration in the Dodecanese:
Morricone's zone I; from the foundation levels for the walls New Prehistoric and Mycenaean Finds," BSA 83 (1988) 283-
of the older phase came sherds with representations of birds, 311. See also "2jil~XLato EXXqvoxcaitCag," ArchDelt 37 B'
apparently in the Cycladic Black and Red style; in higher (1982) 417 for explorations by the Ephoreia of Caves in the
levels LM I and LH II-IIIB types were represented, along cave of Ellinokamaras on Kasos (for earlier bibliography see
with jugs of the familiar Dodecanesian light-on-dark style); Gazetteer 359). For copper in Karpathos in the LBA, see
"O66g TocXa&bdXl at 25rg MaCL'ov (otx6Orc6o ELQ. Xo- Stos-Gale (supra n. 39) 276.
(ov')," ArchDelt 35 B' (1980) 552-53 (in the Pizzoli zone of 238 Karpathos, Saros and Kasos no. 558, from the site of
earlier Italian excavations; four major stratified levels were Palio Mitato (D23), appears to be a sherd from a Melian jug.
recognized, dating from later MM to LH IIIB/C); "066g M. 239 A large limestone figure found there was presented by
AhXE&vbgov xLat EX. BEvtEkXov (otx6bE60o Caq(v Xcaql- J.T. Bent to the British Museum in 1886. Melas (Karpathos,
odCpa)," ArchDelt 35 B' (1980) 553 (LH architectural re- Saros and Kasos 147-48) has suggested that it may have
mains farther west than the previously postulated limits of served as a cult statue; cf. Renfrew's remarks concerning
the settlement); "066g EhXEveOiLov BEvL~Xov a L Ay. similarly "colossal" figures from the southeastern Cyclades
HacgaoxvFvlS (otx6nbE6o ahx6E6v BaclOhnlov)," ArchDelt 36 ("Speculations on the Use of Early Cycladic Sculpture," in
B' (1981) 409 (opposite zone I of the Italian excavations; Cycladica 24-30).
five architectural phases recognized, dating from MM to LH
more extensive; some Since thousands

150 m of tombs
to thehave been looted and
east of Xen
principal focus of LB their
I contents transferred to museum
settlement hascollections
beenout- iden
at Vroulidia. Here recent construction work afforded side Greece, a great many artifacts both on Rhodes
opportunities to examine stratigraphy. Finds are of and abroad have little or no context. A pleasant ex-
types characteristically found at Minoan and Minoan- ception are tombs in the Lindos area excavated in
izing centers elsewhere in the southern Aegean and 1925 in a salvage operation designed partly to com-
include plentiful conical cups, red wall-plaster, pottery pensate for damage done by tomb-robbers. The re-
of MM III/LM I varieties, and extensive deposits of sults of these excavations have recently been
murex shells. published, and many tomb-groups now divided be-
Elsewhere on Karpathos, on Saros, and on Kasos, tween Turkish and Danish museums have been reas-
similar ceramics are widespread, if not so closely dat- sembled on paper.245 It has also been possible, in most
able. Sites are generally small with undistinguished cases, to relocate the sites of the original excavations.
finds (occasional loomweights of Minoan type are not- The restudy of Mycenaean finds from Italian ex-
able); most are located on, or near, coasts. Pottery cavations at Trianda (lalysos) has clarified the later
actually imported from Crete appears to be excep- history of northern Rhodes. There the identity of
tional outside Pigadia. Trapeza (L60) on Kasos is an those who used the numerous chamber tombs (of LH
exception; Minoan finds were plentiful there and ash- IIB-IIIC date) at Makra Vounari and Moschou
lar masonry was possibly employed. On Kasos the Vounari has long been at issue. Very little pottery
primary focus of occupation seems to have shifted later than LH IIIA: 1 was published in the report of
from the southwest area, that part of the island closest Italian excavations at Trianda, nor have excavations
to Crete, to the north coast at some time between LB on Mt. Filerimos yielded substantial numbers of LBA
I and LB III. finds.246 Furumark, in his reanalysis of the excavations
Minoan finds have also been recognized on manyof Trianda, all but ignored the scanty Mycenaean
of the smaller islands of the southeast Aegean, evidence
e.g., and assumed that the settlement was aban-
doned in LH IIIA:1.
at Garipa on Telos,240 and at Pontamos Ayioi Anargyroi
on Halki.241 It is now clear, however, that substantial number
Late Bronze III. Study of the Mycenaean period in of LH IIIA:2 sherds were found in the older exca-
the southeast Aegean continues to be hampered by a vations; these were distributed over so large an area
lack of properly excavated and completely published that it is unlikely that they were transported from
settlement sites; fullest information comes from ex- elsewhere, despite a lack of associated architectural
cavations conducted in the 1920s and '30s when these remains.247 Current excavations at Trianda may re-
islands were under Italian occupation.242 Recent solve the matter soon. Thus far they have produced
syntheses of previous archaeological investigations on some evidence for occupation later than LH IIIA: 1,
Rhodes provide convenient points of departure for including a few sherds of LH IIIB; LH IIIC is possibly
any discussion of the complex history of settlement in also represented.
the Dodecanese during the Mycenaean period.243 The first chamber tombs at Ialysos were built in LH
Findspots are concentrated in the more fertile areas IIB/IIIA: 1; weapons were prominent in these earliest
of the north, particularly around Trianda, but cham- burials.248 Minoan influence and imports had almost
ber-tomb cemeteries have been recognized in most totally disappeared. Elsewhere on Rhodes, contem-
other parts of the Rhodian periphery and at several porary finds are thinly distributed. In LH IIIA:2,
sites in the interior.244 however, an island-wide pattern in the geographical
246 For a current summary of the evidence, see M. Benzi

240 A. Sampson, "ML0vwLXd a6r Trlv TXo," AAA 13 (1980)
68-73; "Fta Ua," ArchDelt 34 B' (1979) 461. (supra n. 225) 100-102; and M. Martelli, "La stipe votiva
241 Melas 1988 (supra n. 237) 307. dell'Athenaion di Jalysos: Un primo bilancio," in Dodecanese
242 See M. Benzi, "Mycenaean Rhodes: A Summary," in 104-20, esp. 115, n. 1.
Dodecanese 59-72.
247 M. Benzi, "Mycenaean Pottery Later than LH IIIA:I
243 C. Mee, Rhodes in the Bronze Age: An Archaeological from the Italian Excavations at Trianda on Rhodes," in
Survey (Warminster 1982), subsumes bibliography and dis- Dodecanese 39-55.
cussion included in the Gazetteer, and reevaluates much un- 248 Benzi (supra n. 242); see also "Tombe micenee di Rodi
published material from earlier excavations; see also Benzi riutilizzate nel TE IIIC," SMEA 23 (1982) 323-44 (where
(supra n. 242). contexts are clarified for chamber tombs at Ialysos, Kala-
244 More recently Sampson, in Neolithic Dodecanese 101, varda, and Mandriko); and "Rhodes in the LH IIIC Period,"
has reported the presence of Mycenaean pottery in a cave in Greek Prehistory 253-62. My summary is based largely on
at Kakoskali near Arhangelos on Rhodes. Benzi's account in Dodecanese, the most comprehensive and
245 S. Dietz, Excavations and Surveys in Southern Rhodes: authoritative recent conspectus of the evidence.
The Mycenaean Period (Lindos IV. 1, Copenhagen 1984).
Trianda on Rhodes.was
distribution of tombs In LH III, there appear to have
establish
been far fewer sites
until LH IIIC. LH IIIB finds are, than in MM III/LM IA and none how
uncommon, and it has yethas
been locatedbeen
on Saria; most settlements
argued and t
reflects an actual decrease in settlement.249 In LH cemeteries were in naturally fortifiable locations
IIIB, there was a substantial decrease in the numberwhere no evidence of earlier LB I occupation has
of tombs built or in use at Ialysos and perhaps morebeen recognized. LM/LH IIIA and earlier LH IIIB
generally in northwest Rhodes. In other parts of thetypes of ceramics are well represented; the later
island, the number of tombs in use also appears to phases of LM/LH IIIB and IIIC are curiously absent.
Imports from the mainland have been recognized but
have decreased substantially, except in the southeast
Cretan types remained dominant, in contrast to the
where there are slightly more IIIB finds than in pre-
vious periods. situation on Rhodes and Kos.251 Cemeteries with
LH IIIC, on the other hand, witnessed a sudden chamber tombs of Mycenaean type became the rule
increase in the number of burials at Ialysos; many on Kos, Kalymnos, and Astypalaia.252
older tombs were reused and more Mycenaean figu- Excavations at Kardamaina (ancient Halasarna) on
rines were deposited in burials. Most interments ap- the south coast of Kos may help sort out details of
pear to date early in LH IIIC. A "continuous but thin Dodecanesian relative chronology in LB III; a strati-
thread" seems to have been maintained between the graphical sequence of deposits is said to run unbroken
Argolid and Rhodes throughout the IIIC period, but from LH IIIA: 1 through Greek and Roman times.253
at most sites there is no pottery of the later stages ofMycenaean finds have now also been recognized even
LH IIIC. It has been suggested that there may have on smaller islands of the southeast Aegean such as
been internal migration in early IIIC from other partsLeros.254
of the island into the Ialysos area.250
Recent research on Kos, Karpathos, Kasos, andAmorgos
Saria has also clarified the pattern of Mycenaean set- Many new prehistoric sites have been reported on
tlement. In Karpathos, Kasos, and Saria there remainsAmorgos and the locations of older finds identified
an unexplained gap in the local sequence of habitationwith greater certainty through recent surface explo-
during LM IB and LM II, a peculiar absence givenrations. Some 18 sites can now be dated to the Early
the presence of substantial amounts of LM IB atCycladic period.255 A fortified EC stronghold at Mar-
249 C. Mee, "The LH IIIB Period in the Dodecanese," in ristodoulou, "MEoagt&," ArchDelt 34 B' (1979) 457-58; also
Dodecanese 56-58. Papazoglou 65-66, n. 9. For LH/LM chamber tombs on
250 On the issue of internal migration and more generally
Kalymnos, see AR 30 (1984) 70. For the investigation of two
concerning regional variation in material culture duringchamber
LH tombs on Astypalaia at Synkairos, located on the
IIIC, see C. Macdonald, "Problems of the Twelfth Centurynorth shore of the island between Steno and Trito Marmari,
B.C. in the Dodecanese," BSA 81 (1986) 125-51; on LHsee C. Doumas, "AotvnXCuLa," ArchDelt 30 B' (1975) 372
IIIC pottery in the eastern Aegean, see S. Sheratt, "The
(finds included a bronze spearhead, a fishhook, lead weights,
Development of Late Helladic IIIC," BICS 32 (1985) 161.
chisels, and spatulas; bones in one tomb were fully disarti-
See also J.H. Crouwel, "Fragments of Another Octopus culated and in both tombs they showed strong signs of
Stirrup Jar from Kalymnos in Amsterdam," BABeschburning);
59 for Mycenaean Astypalaia in general, see Macdon-
ald (supra n. 250) 148.
(1984) 63-68 (two fragments of an unpublished LH/LM IIIC
vessel said to have been found on Kalymnos). 253 G. Aleura et al., "Avaoxa~il orlv Ka Gcatcalva (AQ-
251 See Karpathos, Saros and Kasos 180; but also R. Jones
XaLa Aka<xava) trqg K6," ArchEph 1985, Chronika 1-18
and C. Mee, "Provenance Studies of Aegean Late Bronze (for description of the prehistoric material, see p. 18).
Age Pottery," in R.E. Jones, Greek and Cypriot Pottery: 254
A Marketou (supra n. 207); A. Sampson, "AvacoxacLxig
Review of Scientific Studies (The British School at Athens,
ECyacOEg: P66og," ArchDelt 35 B' (1980) 559.
Fitch Laboratory Occasional Paper 1, Athens 1986) 510. For
255 L. Marangou, "Evidence for the Early Cycladic Period
Arkasa Vonies on Karpathos, see O. Zahariadou, "El)aa-
on Amorgos," in Cycladica 99-115. Marangou also publishes
~oet6ilg tr4og; oTrlv AQx&o'l Kagntd0ov," ArchDelt 331)A'fragments of EC pottery from various surface collections;
(1978) 249-95; and A. Sampson, "AQxdoal KaCrO0tov,"
and 2) previously unpublished vessels of terracotta and mar-
ArchDelt 34 B' (1979) 459-60. The principal burial (of ble
LB and six marble figurines that are now in the collection of
III date) in this case had been deposited in a terracotta
the museum of Chora on Amorgos; L. Marangou, "Avao-
larnax; various bronzes were included with it. Evidence for
xc?a(i MLvbwag Aptogyo5," Prakt 1985, 199-200, describes
LBA settlement in the area, particularly at Arkeseia, is also
EC finds subsequently acquired by the museum. Marangou,
discussed by Zahariadou. "D6couvertes r6centes a Amorgos," in Les Cyclades 121, men-
252 For the publication of a recently explored LH III cham-
tions fragments of frescoes from the site of Xylokeratidi, on
ber tomb on Kos at Kastello (or Kastelles), southeast of the
the east side of the bay of Katapola, and Marangou, "Evi-
modern Chora, see L. Papazoglou, "MvxvarLx6cg Oakactwo-
dence for the Early Cycladic Period on Amorgos," in Cyclad-
T6g t&og o-to K6ort~ho K6," AAA 14 (1981) 62-75, ica
and99, no. 3, makes reference to numerous Mycenaean
sherds there. See also Marangou, "Avaoxac?il MLVW&ag
I.H. Papahristodoulou, "Kacou~XEcUg," ArchDelt 34 B' (1979)
458-59; for a chamber tomb at Messaria on Kos, see Papah-
AptoQyou," Prakt 1984, 388, where remains of a fortification,
kiani has been finds

surveyed and from the Pelos cemetery on
excavated.256 Melosse
Two w
sons of excavations documented stratified finds material from the fortified acropolis of Kastr
fell in the middle, and the first city at Ph
mainly of Grotta-Pelos, Kampos, and Kastri types.
the end.259 No single site in the Cyclades h
Burnished rolled-rim bowls with "tubular tunnel lugs"
dominate in the earliest levels and are associated with ified sequence that could be argued to span t
a circuit of fortifications, the oldest recorded in the of the EBA. At Phylakopi itself, it could b
Cyclades. that the site had been occupied at a time c
Elsewhere on Amorgos, excavations both on the rary with EH II on the Greek mainland.260
acropolis and in the lower town of Minoa have yielded Although Phylakopi was admirably pub
finds of the Neolithic and EBA, principally in post- the standards of its day, because of the met
Bronze Age contexts (such as the filling of a tower in publication, any reevaluation of its conclusio
the Geometric fortifications), but also unmixed in of subsequent developments in Aegean pre
bedrock pockets.257 A fragmentary EC folded-arm a formidable task. The contexts of finds from the
figurine, found in the filling of a Roman cistern, is excavations were generally described only with ref-
the first EBA marble figurine found on Amorgos in erence to successive broad phases or "cities" into
proper excavation since the 19th century.258 which the history of the settlement was divided.
Groups of finds were not published as units; in most
BEYOND PHYLAKOPI: TOWARD A PAN-AEGEAN
cases, it is not possible to determine which specific
PREHISTORY
finds were found associated in a single excavation
The study of the prehistory of the Aegean islands
level.261 Furthermore, since the publication of Phylak-
has long been hampered by the absence opi,
ofvarious additional "groups" have been defined,
a flexible
relative chronology based on a seriesconsisting
of published
of artifactual types that have consistently
deposits from settlement contexts. In been
the found
absence of
in association with each other in Cycladic
competition, the stratigraphy of a single well-docu-
graves. There has been considerable controversy over
mented and long-lived site, Phylakopi the
on relative
Melos,chronology
mo- of some of these groups; it
nopolized center-stage for much of thishas even beenThe
century. suggested that the so-called Kampos
dominance of this type-site has often encouraged the
group, often assigned to a stage intermediary between
proliferation of uniformitarian assumptions about
the Grotta-Pelos and Keros-Syros assemblages, may
Aegean island prehistory and it has consequently
not representbeena chronologically significant develop-
very difficult either to define or explain
mentvariation in
at all but rather a series of wealthy burials for
material culture between one part of the"socially
Aegean conspicuous
and individuals."262
another. Many of these chronological conundrums may soon
be resolved. Our understanding of the Neolithic in
It could still be said in 1979 that our comprehension
of the cultural history of the Cycladicthe EBA had
islands is not
improving at a rapid pace. In another
decade
improved greatly since the results of the firstdeposits
excava-of the Cycladic EBA will have been
published
tions of Phylakopi were published in 1904. from Ayia Irini on Keos (periods II and
Already
then three main groups of material dating to the
III), from theEBA
equally important site of Skarkos on
were recognized and there was considerable
los, andconsen-
from Markiani on Amorgos. The stratigra-
sus about the order in which they were to
phybeofarranged:
these three sites will provide a broad geograph-
other architectural features, and EBA pottery are reported

ical Approach," in Davis and Cherry (supra n. 26) 48-50; C.
to have been found at Mandres tou Nikita Roussou and are Renfrew, "Terminology and Beyond," in Davis and Cherry
to be associated with tombs excavated nearby by Tsountas (supra n. 26) 51-63; and J.E. Coleman, "Remarks on 'Ter-
at Kat' Akrotiri (Gazetteer 340). minology and Beyond'," in Davis and Cherry (supra n. 26)
256 See Annual Report of the Managing Committee, the Brit- 64-65.
ish School at Athens (1986-1987) 32; (1987-1988) 28; (1988- 260 J.L. Caskey, "Greece, Crete, and the Aegean Islands in
1989) 23; and (1989-1990) 19; AR 36 (1989-1990) 69; and the Early Bronze Age," in CAH3 I, ch. 36a, 794-95.
Renfrew (supra n. 19) 44, 45, 96. 261 It has sometimes been possible to reconstruct more
257 See Marangou 1985 (supra n. 255) 184-86, 191, 196- specific contexts by recourse to the original excavation rec-
98. The Neolithic pottery from Minoa includes white- ords: namely, D. Mackenzie, Daybook of the Excavations at
painted types: see Hadjianastasiou in Greek Prehistory (supra Phylakopi in Melos, 1896, 1897, 1898 and 1899 (unpub-
n. 180) 18. See also Marangou 1984 (supra n. 255) 357, 377, lished transcript by Colin Renfrew), or by a close reading of
and 380 for possible EC from both the Acropolis and lower the text of the excavation report itself (e.g., E.T. Blackburn,
town, and p. 388 for a report of EC surface finds on the east The Cyclades in the Middle Bronze Age (M.A. thesis, Univ. of
slope of the Acropolis. Cincinnati 1964).
258 Ergon 1990, 113, 114, fig. 157. 262 See C. Renfrew, "From Pelos to Syros: Kapros Grave D
259 See esp. the discussion in J.E. Coleman, "Chronological and the Kampos Group," in Prehistoric Cyclades 41-54.
and Cultural Divisions of the Early Cycladic Period: A Crit-
icalscope and gos appears to haveallow,

should been fortified already
forat the veryth
construction of a of
beginning relative chron
the EBA. It seems less likely that the
Cyclades that isKastri phase was the only,
based almostor even a special, time
enti of
stratigraphy. Oftroubles in the EBA Cyclades.
special The existence of weap-
importanc
ons manufactured
cation of material of the from bronze initial
of a composition sim- ph
Markiani: these ilar
finds
to that employed in tandem
for bronzes in use at Troy also w
vated "pre-city" need not point to invaders at
deposits from that part of the
Phylak
Neolithic-EBA strata from the Cave of Zas on Naxos
Aegean. More recent analyses of metal artifacts from
Troy and the islands of the northeast Aegean suggest
should permit firm definition of the beginning of the
Cycladic EBA. that a northwest Anatolian provenance for the Trojan
The position of the Keros-Syros phase of the Cy- bronzes themselves is in doubt, and it now is generally
cladic EBA is solidly established as contemporary with agreed that the Anatolian ceramic types that charac-
EH II on the Greek mainland. Ayia Irini period II, terize the Kastri Group are of southwestern Anato-
the principal deposits at Skarkos, and pre-city phase lian, rather than Troadic, derivation.263 The Kastri
A2 from Phylakopi will allow this stage to be more phase may be more plausibly seen as a phase of in-
tightly defined both in the western and southern Cyc- creased interaction between the Cyclades and the
lades. The final stages of the EBA present greater southeast Aegean.
problems. The Kastri Group and its Euboian equiva- After Ayia Irini period III and the abandonment
lent, Lefkandi phase I, remain poorly understood. of Kastri, the ground is very shaky until the inception
Although its type features have been recognized at of Ayia Irini period IV. There is certainly a gap in
many sites in both the northern and southern Cyc- the stratigraphy of Ayia Irini between periods III and
lades, only at Ayia Irini is there abundant contextual IV. Period III must be more or less contemporary
information from an excavated settlement. There it with the later stages of EH II on the mainland, while
is clear that the Anatolian features in the ceramics are period IV does not begin until the earliest phases of
displayed in only a small minority (about 10%) of the the mainland and Cretan MBA have passed. Periods
pottery in use. There is an obvious continuity in ma- equivalent to mainland EH III and earlier MH are
terial culture from the preceding Keros-Syros phase. completely unrepresented. More serious is the fact
The hypothesis that the Cyclades were invaded and that almost no evidence has yet been recognized any-
settled by new immigrants at the time of the Kastri where in the Cyclades for occupation contemporary
Group is weak. It has often been argued that the sites with EH III on the Greek mainland, nor is there a
of Kastri on Syros and Panormos on Naxos were stratigraphical sequence in the Cyclades that bridges
settled by Anatolian newcomers, but neither has been fully the centuries of transition between the Cycladic
fully published and it is not possible, as at Ayia Irini, EBA and MBA. This fact has led to the provocative
to assess the extent of Anatolian influence on their
suggestion that there is a general "gap" in the Cycladic
ceramics. Kastri types from Mt. Kynthos on Delos are
sequence: whether this is an accident of excavation or
totally devoid of stratigraphical context. reflects a time of generally thin settlement remains to
Ceramic characterization studies of Kastri Group be determined.264
ceramics are badly needed. The possibility that Ana- With the start of period IV at Ayia Irini, we again
tolian types were brought to some Cycladic islands have a firm footing. Indeed, periods IV and V at Ayia
through exchange with the eastern Aegean cannot beIrini appear to cover most of the later MBA.265 Details
excluded. The suggestion that sites such as Kastri of chronology become controversial again at the very
were established as forts by Anatolian invaders is even
end of the MBA. In Cretan terms, the latest imports
less convincing now that the site of Markiani on Amor-in period V at Ayia Irini appear to date to the begin-
263 On the relevant analyses from Kastri, see Z.A. Stos- 25-29; and J.B. Rutter, "The 'Early Cycladic III Gap': What
Gale, N.H. Gale, and G.R. Gilmore, "Early Bronze Age It Is and How to Go about Filling It without Making It Go
Trojan Metal Sources and Anatolians in the Cyclades," OJA Away," in Prehistoric Cyclades 95-107. Arguments are sum-
3 (1984) 23-43. On the southwestern Anatolian origin of marized and discussed at length in Manning 1992 (supra n.
Kastri Group types, see M.J. Mellink, "The Early Bronze 160).
Age in West Anatolia: Aegean and Asiatic Correlations," in 265 Recent excavations at Phylakopi have not produced
G. Cadogan ed., The End of the Early Bronze Age in the detailed stratigraphy for the MBA. For this and other infor-
Aegean (Leiden 1986) 139-52, and Wilson and Eliot (supra mation concerning the second city of Phylakopi, I am grate-
n. 35). ful to Robin Barber, who has allowed me to study his
264 For arguments pro and con, see "Perspectives"; refer- unpublished report on newly excavated Middle Cycladic
ences in n. 123 (supra); Warren and Hankey (supra n. 158) pottery.
ning of MM III. The earlier stage

stratigraphical sequences ofof period
each and VI h
every site and
island need first to be considered
been considered more or less contemporary with t individually and
Seismic Destruction Level at related
only then Akrotiri on
to those of other Thera,
islands: it is partic- an
both have been dated in ularlyCretan
important that terms
stratified groupsto the ve
of material
beginning of LM IA. Thisfromis Cycladic
also settlements
the continue
time to be published, th
when
Second City of Phylakopirather than was destroyed.
selections of finds arranged by phases Ther
would, therefore, appearestablished
to be at some
a gapother site
in such as Phylakopi
the Ayia or Iri
sequence. On Crete, the Ayia Irini. Such a procedureMM/LM
transitional is complicated, butphase
the
have never been closely complexity
defined; refinements
is only reflective of the truly intricatetherna-
should allow the nature ture
and of the archaeological record
duration of itself. Our purpose
this gap t
after all is not to establish a chronological system of
be described in greater detail.
mnemonic
The beginning of the LBA in simplicity
the for students.
Cyclades is clearl
represented by depositsEnormous progress is period
of early also being madeVI
in sorting
at Ay
Irini and from the Seismic Destruction Level at Ak- out the relative chronology of other islands and island
rotiri. The publication of these deposits will provide groups of the Aegean. More detailed publication of
definitions for early LC I that are practicable withinfinds from excavations in the prehistoric settlements
the Cyclades. It would be unwise to redefine the be- at Manika should clarify the material cultural se-
ginning of LC I in reaction to revisions in Cretan quence of Euboia for Bronze Age periods earlier than
terminology. Subtle definitions of MM III and LM I, the first phase of Lefkandi. Our understanding of
of the sort currently being proposed by Minoan spe- later EBA and MH phases will profit from the com-
cialists, could only be distinguished in the islands of plete publication of the results of excavations in the
the Aegean were substantial quantities of Cretan im- Vouratsas plot at Eretria, and from Palamari on Sky-
ports present. This is rarely the case, even in theros. In the northern Aegean, stratigraphy from Skala
Cyclades, where Minoan pottery never amounts to Sotiros and Kastri on Thasos will be of great impor-
more than a fraction of the total in an assemblage. tance in linking the cultural sequences of the northern
For the remainder of the LBA, recent publications Aegean to those of the south, both in the EBA and
have clarified many details of relative chronology. TheLBA. Emborio on Chios and Tigani and the Heraion
eruption of the Santorini volcano represents a pivotal on Samos also emerge as pivotal sites that tie the later
stage and it is now obvious that the material in the Neolithic and EBA Cyclades to the eastern Aegean
Volcanic Destruction Deposits at Akrotiri is contem- and Anatolia.
porary with a later, but not the latest, stage of LM IA Recent developments in the Dodecanese have al-
on Crete. Stratigraphy at Phylakopi on Melos suggests ready made important contributions to our under-
that only some time after the eruption of the Santorini standing of the cultural history of the latest MBA and
volcano did the first LM IB imports reach that site.266earlier LBA. The systematic inventory of archaeolog-
Times contemporary with LM IB on Crete and LH ical remains and the identification of new sites have
II on the Greek mainland are well represented by radically changed our picture of the density and dis-
Ayia Irini period VII, which can itself now be subdi- tribution of settlements, particularly in the Middle
vided. Plentiful finds of the LB III period have been and Late Bronze Ages. The earlier MBA is, however,
illustrated, including destruction deposits at Kou- still poorly understood, as is the EBA. The investiga-
kounaries on Paros (dated to an early stage of LH tion of EB III levels at Asomatos on Kos is thus of
IIIC), a long sequence of ceramic assemblages in the great importance. We are still a long way from un-
sanctuary at Phylakopi (LH IIIA-C), and groups in derstanding the significance of substantial gaps in
the temple at Ayia Irini (LH IIIC). Publication of LH habitation sequences present on many of the islands
IIIA-B deposits from Ayia Irini will also be invalu-of the Dodecanese.
able. It should also be evident from this review that
We thus seem well on our way to establishing a relative chronology has not been the only, or perhaps
relative chronology for the Cyclades that reflects the even the principal, emphasis of recent fieldwork in
full range of variation within these islands as a whole. the Aegean islands. Excavations such as those of house
If this goal is to be accomplished we must resist the A on Keos or the sanctuary on Melos have been
temptation to impose rigid chronological frameworks published with an opulence of detail that makes it
on a pan-Cycladic or pan-Aegean scale. Rather the now possible to begin to reconstruct the social and
266 See Davis and Cherry (supra n. 41).
756 JACK L. DAVIS
economic organization much better of known than it was only a decadeisla

prehistoric ago,
for the first time. The full documentation of se- and, perhaps of greater importance, excavations of
quences at Akrotiri, Melos, and Keos permits ussettlement
to sites have established local stratigraphical
hypothesize about the processes responsible for sequences in all major parts of the Aegean. The pub-
changes in material culture there. Intensive surveyslication of current excavations and advances in the
on Keos and Melos, and systematic efforts also study to of absolute chronology promise to resolve long-
standing problems in relative chronology and should
inventory prehistoric resources in parts of Naxos, los,
Siphnos, Keros, Amorgos, Euboia, Skyros, Chios, in make it possible for archaeologists to shift at last the
the Sporades, and in the Dodecanese are giving focus us of their efforts from matters of chronology to
the first reliable pictures of patterns in settlement reconstruction of the societies and economies of
the
within entire prehistoric island landscapes. the islands of the prehistoric Aegean.268 Indeed, the
next
It seems fair to say that the Aegean islands should decade promises to be exciting.
no longer be viewed as a backwater but as one of the DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS (M/C 129)
best-documented areas of prehistoric Greece, or evenUNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
of prehistoric southern Europe.267 Great progress has BOx 4348
been made. The relative chronology of settlement isCHICAGO, ILLINOIS 6o68o
267 Indeed, the prehistoric archaeology of Melos has been 268 Two important syntheses of available evidence for ab-
employed as one principal case in a textbook now widely solute and relative chronology in the Aegean are in press
used in archaeology classes in North America: see C. Ren- and deserve special notice: see Coleman (supra n. 8) and
frew and P. Bahn, Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Prac- especially the detailed treatment of the islands provided by
tice (London 1991) 438-45. Manning 1992 (supra n. 160).

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Review of Aegean Prehistory I: The Islands of the Aegean

Author(s): Jack L. Davis

INTRODUCTION of the Bronze Age, and it is no surprise that its se-

American Journal of Archaeology 96 (1992) 699

THESSALY NORTHERN SPORADES

ARGOLID 9 AYIA IRINI TINOS IKARIAHERMION

FRANCHTHI CAVE KYTHNOS SYROS OS

MELOS IOS ASTYPALAIA NISYR

Fig. 1. Principal Aegean archaeological sites discussed in this review

framework within which

the islands literature has been summarized in the volume

cifically on the EBA and hasof the included

and Samos remain apparently established de novo on virgin

north on which Minoan

(of large roughly squared limestone blocks with rec-

The Middle Bronze Age at Ayia Irini has been

the settlement was fortified, its principal gateway

t.- ??-- ??LL 1 ,?..,.,. ..............,...~.. ............~~~~~

-. '- ..... ' "

--......... ??-------?---- ------------?---------- ?---

-- --- --- ----

different parts of the site indicate continuation of

Troy I character), and MBA manent,

Karystos at Ayios Nikolaos; finds include plentiful

- -i-~l-_---'---:':- m ::- m::

Fig. 6. Skoteini Cave, Tharrounia, Euboia. F

Manika, at Tharrounia Skoteini Cave, the l

62 Few details concerning

Ni?:-:_o- ?:::::- I__l:- ?s.i

::i~:::-:::: __ -- :- ' --: ::6J,- _: _ ::_:~!i~i,;';l:-i~ii:-_ _ :::;40i

Fig. 8. Manika, Euboia. Foundations of EBA buildings in Zou

of the skeleton seems to point to the

Fig. 9. Manika, Euboia. Fragment of frying p

been identified. There 1985, its maximum

one has a spiral, another, a leaf-shape imprint, and

mains, including a storeroom that still contained a 15-

Fig. 12. Excavations at Kaloyero

76 See A. Sampson, "KaXoyEQ61oQvouP

Magoula;s3 prehistoric Inremains

finds its closestdard Mycenaean type.92 Evidence

nodule had been with iron (the well-known "tin

the life of the settlement, reaching more than 50% The

Anatolian in cylindrical in shape, from although

The Western manufactured was being produced on Kythnos. All

parts of the island may also

137 On these surface collections,

Fig. 13. Phylakopi, M

Fig. 14. Skarkos, los. General view. (Courtesy Mariza Marthari)

- --:Ci::: ::~iii- iiii:-~_::: ::::~ .: i. :i~i' .: - i-: :_ :.r:.:

:i~L~~~~~-_ ~8~99~1 III ~rp~ -rs~?ns~~?:~ge~a~k~li~%gpge~~~:~g i-Zi~~:__i : : ii:iii :

:?--illi~--i;i-;-: :~:~_:i:: -:::::::_;i:-_~i :-i:-::~:------

been recognized. After the abandonment of the set-

sia.'43 It is now clear that these islands were densely

7 of the West House has been investigated and there

Fig. 17. Akrotiri, Thera. Isometric drawing of the eas

17), within rooms 3B and House

I I /~/ I I I II I/:-) >

Akrotiri was destroyed twice

150 M. Marthari, "The Destruction of the Town at Akrotiri,

the introduction volcanic

162 T.D. Devetzi, "The Stone Industry

fully published. In 1982-1985,