Excavations at Mochlos, 1989

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. EXCAVATIONS AT MOCHLOS, 1989(PLATES 89-104) HE MOCHLOS EXCAVATION PROJECT involves the cleaning and excavation of a number of related sites on the island of Mochlos and its adjacent coastal plain, located just east of the Bay of Mirabello in eastern Crete. The island appears to have been connected to the plain at one time by a narrow isthmus and the area to have formed, as it still does, a geographical unit, stretching about five kilometers along the coast and isolated from the interior of Crete by the Ornos mountains (Fig. 1). The project, organized as a joint Greek-American excavation under the direction of the authors, began in the summer of 1989.1 It continues the cleaning and survey operations that the authors conducted in the 1970's and early 1980's but is the first systematic excavation on the island since the original excavations by Richard B. Seager in 1908.2 THE HISTORY OF EXCAVATIONThe area has been explored by several archaeologists, beginning with Seager, whose work on the island is well known, largely because of the important Prepalatial cemetery that he exposed on the western side of the island with its treasure hoards of gold jewelry, seals, and stone vases. He also found contemporary settlement remains along the south coast of the I The 1989 excavation was carried out by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and the Archaeological Institute of Crete under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens.We are indebted to the Greek Archaeological Service for granting the excavation permit. 1 ____ 2 3 _ 4 5 6 7~~~~~~~~~~~ M1OCH FIG. 2. Topographic map of the island of Mochlos (Frederick Hemans el al.) This content downloaded from 169.229.32.137 on Thu, 8 May 2014 22:00:11 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 416 JEFFREY S. SOLES AND COSTIS DAVARAS island and excavated parts of an extensive Neopalatial settlement, along with settlement remains of the Mycenaean, Roman, and Early Byzantine periods (Fig. 2). No further work was done in the area until the 1950's when Nicholas Platon, then Director of Antiquities in Crete and Director of the Heraklion Museum, carried out rescue operations and small trial excavations along the coastal plain opposite Mochlos. In 1955 he excavated a round tholos tomb, of a type normally found in the Mesara in southern Crete, at Galana Charakia, a short distance below Myrsini. It held pottery of the EM III, MM IA, and MM IB phases.3 He also reported Minoan buildings of uncertain character at Chalinom...

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“…The settlement continued to flourish until the Late Minoan IB period when it was destroyed by fire and although the cause is not known, Seager suggested that the presence of human bones in the destruction levels points out a violent attack rather than an earthquake as being responsible for its destruction. The main remains to be seen on the island today date from the LM I town (Figure 2) [18][19][20]. The second site under study is located on the islet Pseira, a couple of kilometers off the North coast of East Crete.…”

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“…Mochlos is a seaside settlement on the northern shore of east Crete (Figures 1 and 2). The site is famous for the Minoan settlement that was unearthed on a small islet just off its shore [1] (pp. 419, 442).…”

Η Επίδραση Των Περιβαλλοντολογικών Συνθηκών Στην Παλαιογεωγραφική Εξέλιξη Αρχαιολογικών Θέσεων Και Στη Διατήρηση Των Κατάλοιπων Αυτών

“…Σμ Αζβαίμ, πμο ζε μνζζιέκα ηιήιαηά ημο έπεζ οπμζηεί ζοζηδιαηζηή ηαζ έκημκδ ηεηημκζηή ακμδζηή ιεηαηόπζζδ ημο θθμζμύ ηδξ βδξ, είκαζ δ πενζμπή πμο ζπεηίγεηαζ άιεζα ιε ημ εθθδκζηό ηόλμ ηαζ αημθμοεεί ζηεκά ηα ζοβηθίκμκηα όνζα ιεηαλύ ηςκ βεζημκζηώκ θζεμζθαζνζηώκ πθαηώκ ηδξ βδξ (Flemming et al 1972(Flemming et al , 1973 ( Pirazzoli 1996, Lambeck 1996 (Soles & Davaras 1992, Branigan 1991. ηελ πεδηάδα ηνπ Λαζηζίνπ, εληνπίδνληαη πέληε Πξσηνκηλσηθέο κεγάιεο ζέζεηο, νη ηέζζεξηο απφ ηηο νπνίεο είλαη θαηλνχξγηεο.…”

“…Ζ ζέζε θαηαζηξάθεθε απφ ππξθαγηά θαηά ην ηέινο ηεο ΤΜΗΒ θάζεο, φπσο θαη ηα Γνπξληά. Πηζαλέο επηπηψζεηο απφ ηελ πξνγελέζηεξε έθξεμε ηνπ εθαηζηείνπ ηεο αληνξίλεο θαη ηε ζεηζκηθή δξαζηεξηφηεηα ζε ζπλδπαζκφ κε θνηλσληθέο αλαθαηαηάμεηο λα επέθεξαλ ηελ θαηαζηξνθή ηνπ Μφρινπ(Betancourt et al 1990, Warren & Hankey 1989, Manning 2002) Μάιηζηα έρεη ήδε δηαπηζησζεί παρχ ζηξψκα ηέθξαο κεηαμχ ηεο ΤΜΗΑ -ΤΜΗΒ θάζεο(Soles & Davaras 1992).Πάλησο ν Μφρινο είρε εκπνξηθέο ζπλαιιαγέο κε ην θεληξηθφ θαη δπηηθφ κέξνο ηνπ θφιπνπ ηνπ Μηξάκπειινπ. Σα αξρηηεθηνληθά κέιε ηνπ κηθξνχ αλαθηφξνπ ησλ Γνπξληψλ, πξνέξρνληαη απφ ην ιαηνκείν ηνπ Μφρινπ.…”

“…Σα αξρηηεθηνληθά κέιε ηνπ κηθξνχ αλαθηφξνπ ησλ Γνπξληψλ, πξνέξρνληαη απφ ην ιαηνκείν ηνπ Μφρινπ. Πξνθαλψο ηα Γνπξληά απνηεινχζαλ ην θχξην δηακεηαθνκηζηηθφ θέληξν ηεο πεξηνρήο(Watrous & Blitzer 1999, Soles & Davaras 1992.Οη ζέζεηο ζηελ πεδηάδα ηνπ Λαζηζίνπ γλψξηζαλ ηε κεγαιχηεξε εμάπισζή ηνπο θαηά ηελ ΜΜΗΗΗ πεξίνδν, ελψ ζεκαληηθή κείσζε ζεκεηψλεηαη θαηά ηελ ΤΜΗΒ. Πξφθεηηαη γηα κηθξέο αγξνηθίεο, θάπνηεο απφ ηηο νπνίεο ρξεζηκνπνηνχληαλ πεξηνδηθά(Watrous 1982).…”