Shortly before 1200 B.C. the Aegean, and soon afterwards much of the East Mediterranean, was shaken by disturbances and destructions which considerably changed the settlement patterns, as well as the political and social structures of those lands. This led to the decline of the Mycenaean world which eventually caused the so-called Dark Age in Greece. Crete, being an island located on the cross-roads between the Greek Mainland, Sicily and South Italy, and the Levant, may have been particularly affected by the problems referred to in ancient written sources under the name of "the Sea Peoples". The Dark Age in Crete is potentially better represented than in other areas of the Aegean and explorations in the mountainous hinterland of the island have shown site numbers and a density of habitation only vaguely suggested by the excavated samples of sites. This book is based on fifteen years of field research presenting about 120 defensible sites with comprehensive descriptions, sketches, plans and illustrations of surface pottery. Archaeological evidence (in a large part hitherto unpublished) is analysed in detail to reconstruct changes in settlement patterns alongside the political, social, ethnic and economic aspects of the Dark Age society in Crete. The problem of the function of defensible and fortified sites during the Dark Age is examined against a more general background of similar sites on the island from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age. The phenomenon of defensible settlements founded c. 1200 B.C. is discussed here in a wider Mediterranean context with reference to other Aegean islands, Cyprus and the Levant. One chapter presents the historical written sources from the Near East and Egypt which contain references to events that might have caused the dramatic changes suggested in archaeological evidence towards the end of the Bronze Age.

Shortly before 1200 B.C. the Aegean, and soon afterwards much of the East Mediterranean, was shaken by disturbances and destructions which considerably changed the settlement patterns, as well as the political and social structures of those lands. This led to the decline of the Mycenaean world which eventually caused the so-called Dark Age in Greece. Crete, being an island located on the cross-roads between the Greek Mainland, Sicily and South Italy, and the Levant, may have been particularly affected by the problems referred to in ancient written sources under the name of "the Sea Peoples". The Dark Age in Crete is potentially better represented than in other areas of the Aegean and explorations in the mountainous hinterland of the island have shown site numbers and a density of habitation only vaguely suggested by the excavated samples of sites. This book is based on fifteen years of field research presenting about 120 defensible sites with comprehensive descriptions, sketches, plans and illustrations of surface pottery. Archaeological evidence (in a large part hitherto unpublished) is analysed in detail to reconstruct changes in settlement patterns alongside the political, social, ethnic and economic aspects of the Dark Age society in Crete. The problem of the function of defensible and fortified sites during the Dark Age is examined against a more general background of similar sites on the island from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age. The phenomenon of defensible settlements founded c. 1200 B.C. is discussed here in a wider Mediterranean context with reference to other Aegean islands, Cyprus and the Levant. One chapter presents the historical written sources from the Near East and Egypt which contain references to events that might have caused the dramatic changes suggested in archaeological evidence towards the end of the Bronze Age.

A collection of sixteen papers focusing on the economic activities of prehistoric, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman Crete. The wide-ranging papers discuss the economy of prehistoric Crete, social development, production and symbolism in the pre-Palatial and Palatial periods, economic activities and social development in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, coinage and minting and relationships with other polities of the Aegean and east Mediterranean.

This book brings together for the first time scholars working on the Bronze Age settlement patterns and material culture of the southern Ierapetra Isthmus, a region that actively participated in the coastal and maritime trade networks of East Crete. During the past few decades, while various archaeological projects focused on the northern isthmus, the Ierapetra area remained largely neglected and unknown, a terra incognita. Yet, new excavations at Gaidourophas, Anatoli Stavromenos, Chryssi Island, Bramiana, and the ongoing research at the site of Myrtos Pyrgos are showing that the coastal area of Ierapetra was a vibrant and thriving settlement landscape during the Bronze Age. Far from being simply on the periphery of the major Minoan centers, the southern Ierapetra Isthmus played important roles in the cultural dynamics of Crete. Aiming to be the first building block in the development of an archaeological understanding of the region of the southern Ierapetra Isthmus, this book presents the status of the discipline and indicates future research trajectories.

This volume brings together a series of papers reflecting a number of lectures given at the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) in 2010-2012 in the frame of a seminar entitled La naissance des cités crétoises. Eight Cretan sites (Axos, Phaistos, Prinias, Karphi, Dreros, Azoria, Praisos, and Itanos), recently excavated or re-excavated, are considered in their regional and historical context in order to explore the origin and early development of the Greek city-state on the island.

This book presents an archaeological study of Crete in transition from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (c. 4000 to 3000 BC) within the broader South Aegean context. The study, based on the author’s own fieldwork, contains a gazetteer of over 170 sites. The material from these sites will prompt archaeologists in Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East to reconsider their understanding of the foundation of Bronze Age civilization in the Aegean.

In Achaios, thirty-five scholars from six different countries have contributed with thirty-one papers, as a small token of appreciation, gratitude and affection to a true scholar, who devoted his life studying and revealing the long journeys of the Mycenaeans and their culture.