BRONZE AGE: organisation of the settlement
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Organisation of the settlement in the Early Bronze Age
The settlement of the Early Bronze Age covers a fairly large area that overlaps partly with that of the Neolithic. It is not certain, however, that the whole area was occupied simultaneously.
Building remains of this period are preserved on the top of the mound (sector Α2, EBA Ι and ΙΙ), on the eastern slope (sector 6, only EBA Ι) and at the eastern foot (sector I/1961, only EBA ΙΙ). No traces have been found on the south side (sectors B2, V and 2).
Five successive habitation levels were identified in sector Α2 and six in sector I/1961, over 2 m thick, as well as a unique Early Bronze Age layer in sector 6 that does not exceed 50 cm.
They seem to overlay directly the levels of Late Neolithic II date, except maybe in sector I/1961, where the date of underlying layers remains uncertain.
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The total duration of the occupation is not known precisely: reliable radiocarbon dates are available only for the beginning of the period, which is set around 3300/3000 BC, but not for its end, which should be placed however well after 2800 BC. We therefore ignore the time interval that separates the last occupation of the Early Bronze Age from the first Late Bronze Age layer. The best information about the layout of the settlement comes from sector Ι/1961. Both the orientation (NE-SW) of the successive buildings, as well as the presence and orientation of the road that separates them, are reminiscent of the layout of the last Late Neolithic II settlement, thus revealing a certain affinity between the two periods despite the fact that they are separated by more than 1000 years. |
Last Update : 2/02/12 |
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