Report on Investigations in Greece. XIV. Studies in 2014 –2015

Abstract

This paper presents the results of my investigations in Crete undertaken in 2014 and 2015. Fieldwork during these two seasons was focused on settlement changes between the Final Neolithic and Middle Minoan (MM) II periods, Middle Minoan peak sanctuaries and the identification of all the occupation phases at the defensible Late Minoan (LM) IIIC sites studied in the past and published in the book “Defensible Sites in Crete, c. 1200–800 B.C.” (2000). Nearly 30 new Final Neolithic sites complement the Gazetteer published in the book entitled “Final Neolithic Crete and the Southeast Aegean” (2014). Especially important in this group are sites from the early phase of the Final Neolithic (FN I), much more poorly represented in archaeological evidence than those of the late phase (FN II). Another important result of the most recent research was the identification of a series of short-lived FN II–EM I sites on defensible hills and ridges along the northern edge of the Asterousia Mountains, immediately above the Mesara plain, often near the later, much more stable EM–MM settlements. This group of sites may shed new light on the interpretation of settlement expansion from the southern coast across the Asterousia Mountains at this time, and the origins and development of the tholos tombs in southern Crete. The 2014–15 fieldwork also brought to light several new peak sanctuaries, two in the East Siteia region, two in the southern part of central Crete, and two in the Rethymnon Isthmus.