Poliochne, often cited under its modern name Poliochni (), was an ancient settlement on the east coast of the island of

Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...

. It was settled in the

Late Chalcolithic The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in diff ...

and earliest

Aegean Bronze Age Aegean civilization is a general term for the Bronze Age civilizations of Greece around the Aegean Sea. There are three distinct but communicating and interacting geographic regions covered by this term: Crete, the Cyclades and the Greek mainlan ...

and is believed to be one of the most ancient towns in Europe, preceding Troy I.

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

n features of the earliest layers were affected by cultural influences from Helladic Greece, about the start of Early Helladic II, ca. 2500 BC. The site, with houses huddled together sharing party walls, was unearthed by

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

of the

Italian School of Archaeology at Athens The Italian School of Archaeology at Athens (; ) is one of the 19 foreign archaeological institutes headquartered in Athens, Greece, with branch offices in Crete, Limnos and Rome. Following earlier Italian research in Greece (as an archaeologic ...

(''Scuola archeologica Italiana di Athene''), beginning in 1930. It is believed that

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

was its main rival commercially; a rivalry that led to the decline of Poliochne circa 2000 BC.

Archaeology

Following initial soundings, regular campaigns at Poliochne were undertaken under A. Della Seta ( it) in 1931-36, when they were suspended. Following Della Seta's death, excavations were resumed in 1951-53, 1956 and 1960. During 1994-1997, Greek

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

discovered a more recent

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

settlement on the tiny uninhabited island of Koukonesi situated in the Moudros harbour, west of Poliochne. This settlement was developed circa 2000-1650 BC, and the findings again prove commercial ties with

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, and with Aegean islands and mainland Greece. Mycenaean ceramics of the 13th century BC found on Koukonesi could prove that, around when the traditional era of the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

took place, the Greeks had a permanent settlement there, rather than just a commercial outpost, understanding the importance of the straits connecting the Aegean and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

Periodisation

From 1951 the site was excavated under the direction of

Luigi Bernabò Brea Luigi Bernabò Brea (Genoa, Genua, 27 September 1910 – Lipari, 4 February 1999) was an Italian archaeologist. Together with Madeleine Cavalier, a very close collaborator who was briefly his wife, he was responsible for the establishment of the ...

. He clarified the stratigraphy by assigning colors to different phases of the settlement. There are seven numbered phases altogether, and the names are given here in Italian, as well as English. Black/Nero (I), Blue/Azzurro (II), Green/Verde (III), Red/Rosso (IV), Yellow/Giallo (V), Brown/Bruno (VI), and Mycenaean (VII).

Black Period

This period corresponds to the Early Bronze I period in the Aegean. It has 7 different levels of construction, thus testifying to a long and continuous occupation over a long period. The villages during this phase consist of huts that are generally round or oval in shape with stone bases. For this period, the site has only been excavated under megaron 605 and megaron 832. Under megaron 832, excavations have shown 7 consecutive layers over 2 meters in depth. Under the megaron 605, only 3 levels are visible. As for the ceramics, it has painted decorations, white in color, with linear patterns. There are some similarities to the

Eutresis culture Eutresis culture is a Final Neolithic and Early Bronze Age culture in mainland Greece, also known as Early Helladic I in Helladic chronology. It was developed directly out of central and southern Greek Final Neolithic culture and lasted roughly fr ...

ceramics. Myrina, also on Lemnos, and Koukonesi (very close by), have also been excavated recently. Myrina is considered contemporary with Poliochni Black period.

Blue Period

It follows the black period, and we notice during this period an enlargement of the city with the construction of a defensive wall. There's also the construction of a typically Cretan

megaron The ''megaron'' (; , , : ''megara'' ) was the great hall in very early Mycenae, Mycenean and Ancient Greece, ancient Greek palace complexes. Architecturally, it was a rectangular hall that was supported by four columns, fronted by an open, two- ...

, testifying to an exchange between Crete and the city of Poliochni. This period, like the previous one, has 7 construction phases. Now is the first appearance of metal items. The finds include pins, awls, and a dagger. A mould for a shaft-hole axe has also been found, which indicates local casting of various tools. Stamp seals also appear at this period. This phase may correspond to early Troy I (Renfrew), or to the Troy I/II transition (Podzuweit).

Green period

This is the shortest period of the site, but it may be associated with Troy I or II, through ceramics. It has only 3 architectural phases.

Red period

This period has 4 to 8 different architectural phases. A hoard of bronze items was found from this period that includes a shaft-hole axe, daggers and other tools and weapons.

Yellow period

The yellow period features a large fortified town. Houses are constructed as large multi-roomed blocks with megaron units at the core. These architectural ensembles are quite different in detail from the corresponding architecture of Troy I-II, or Thermi III-V. Similar to Troy IIg, a lot of gold jewellery was found. An imported cylinder seal was also found. This phase was contemporary with late Troy II, and Troy III. There may also be some correspondences with Troy IV. A gap in occupation has been detected after the Yellow period.

Brown period

Poliochni is resettled during the Brown period, which may be contemporary with Troy V.Lesson 7: Western Anatolia and the Eastern Aegean in the Early Bronze Age.
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Gallery

File:Necklaces Bronze age, NAMA 080811.jpg File:Earrings Bronze age, NAMA 080810.jpg File:Gold treasure from Poliochni NAMA.jpg File:Depas Amphikypellon from Poliochni on Lemnos.JPG File:Pottery piggy vase, 3rd millennium BC, NAMA, 191129.jpg File:Poliochni, Lemnos, model of site.jpg File:ΛΗΜΝΟΣ ΧΙΟΝΙΑ 2006 079.jpg File:Poliochni, Lemnos, Yellow period drainage.jpg File:Poliochni Lemnos central granary.jpg File:Vroskopos Limnos L8a.jpg

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Official website

{{Authority control Former populated places in Greece Mycenaean sites Ancient Lemnos Cycladic civilization