Living on the Margin: Chryssi Island and the Settlement Patterns of the Ierapetra Area, South-Eastern Crete

Konstantinos Chalikias

City: Oxford

Year: 2013

Publisher: Archaeopress

Series: BAR International Series 2549

Description: Paperback, vii &154 p., 29 b/w figures, 32 b/w plates, 29.7x21 cm

Abstract

Τhis monograph examines the settlement history of a small island off the coast of southeast Crete and its exploitation by the settlements in the southern part of the Ierapetra Isthmus. Recent archaeological discoveries by the 24th Ephorea on Chryssi Island led to an intensive survey that uncovered numerous sites, dating from the Final Neolithic to the Ottoman period. The results from this study provided significant evidence for the exploitation of this small island (i.e. purple dye) through the centuries, and in turn the broader changes in settlement patterns that occurred along the south coast of Crete. Further, the archaeological investigation on Chryssi Island helped better our understanding of the ‘colonization’ of such marginal landscapes, the insular character of their communities, and their ties with the nearby coastal towns.

Contents

List of figures [ii]
List of Plates [iii]
Acknowledgements [vi]
Abstract [vii]

1. Introduction [1]

1.1 History of Research [1]
1.2 Goals of the Project [3]

2. The Geography of the Study Area

2.1 The Physical Landscape of the Ierapetra Region [6]
2.2 The Physical Landscape of Chryssi Island [7]

3. The Archaeological Project

3.1 The Project Methodology [10]
3.2 Site Definition, Classification, and Site Recording [10]
3.3 The Survey Pottery [12]

4. The settlement history of Chryssi Island and the settlement patterns of the Ierapetra area

4.1 The Final Neolithic period [17]
4.2 The Early Minoan I – II periods [19]
4.3 The Early Minoan III – Middle Minoan IA periods 21
4.4 The Middle Minoan IB – II periods [23]
4.5 The Middle Minoan III – Late Minoan I periods [26]
4.6 The LM III – Classical periods [31]
4.7 The Hellenistic period [32]
4.8 The Roman period [36]
4.9 The Byzantine period [40]
4.10 The Venetian and Ottoman periods [42]

5. The Recent Exploitation of Chryssi Island – An Ethnographical Approach [45]

6. Chryssi and Island Archaeology around Crete [47]

6.1 The Neolithic period [47]
6.2 The Early Minoan period [48]
6.3 The Middle Minoan period [48]
6.4 The Neopalatial period [49]
6.5 The LM III – Classical periods [50]
6.6 The Hellenistic period [50]
6.7 The Roman period [51]
6.8 The Byzantine period [52]
6.9 The Venetian period [53]
6.10 The Ottoman period and the recent history [53]
6.11 Discussion [54]

7. Appendix I: Catalog of Archaeological Sites on Chryssi Island [57]

8. Appendix II: Catalog of Offshore Islands around Crete and their Settlement History [69]

9. Conclusions [73]

Abbreviations [75]
Bibliography [76]
Figures