archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

the term Toumba ( el, Τούμπα) or Magoula ( el, Μαγούλα) in Thessaly is a Greek word which describes mounds created by Bronze and early

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

settlements in northern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. At first they were considered as grave mounds but excavations since the early 1900s showed that most were the remains of settlements built up century after century from the collapse and rebuilding of

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

mudbrick structures. They correspond to the Tell sites found in the Near East. For example, a Toumba near

Assiros Assiros ( gr, Άσσηρος, before 1926: Γιουβέσνα - ''Giouvesna'', bg, Гвоздово, Gvozdovo) is a village and a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of ...

in Greek

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...

was occupied from 2000 BC to 900 BC. Here the earliest levels explored included a series of

granaries A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...

containing one of the largest accumulations of charred crops from Prehistoric Europe. Later levels revealed many aspects of domestic life at the period including storage jars, cooking hearths, pottery and weights from upright looms. A single burial had been inserted during a short period of abandonment. Similarly, Toumbas in other parts of Macedonia have been found to contain fragments of processed cereal grains. These have been dated to 2100-1900 BC.Soultana Maria Valamoti, June 2002, “Food remains from Bronze Age Archondiko and Mesimeriani Toumba in Northern Greece?” Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 11(1-2), 17-22.

References

Types of monuments and memorials Ancient Greece Archaeological sites Archaeological sites in Greece Former populated places {{Greece-archaeology-stub

See also

References