Research at Priniatikos Pyrgos
Priniatikos Pyrgos is a rare example of a single site which has clear evidence for activity over an exceptional stretch of time, from the first widespread settlement of the island over 5000 years ago in the Final Neolithic through the Minoan periods and Iron Age into Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian times with modern agricultural exploitation to this day. Our
research questions take full advantage of this great duration of use as we seek to provide a unique window into the exploitation of a specific space in relation to its setting in an ever changing landscape from the time of earliest widespread settlement in Crete to the present day.
The available evidence suggests that Priniatikos Pyrgos was never a central focus for high-status settlements, rather it represents the archaeology of the daily lives of the inhabitants of past societies of this region in Crete. In this context, one of the primary research objectives will be to investigate the varying regional functions and importance of Priniatikos Pyrgos throughout prehistoric and historic times in relation to exchange networks, settlement systems and manufacturing industries. The varying fortunes of this site through time thus provide an exciting window into human interactions with changing land and sea-scapes, natural resources, environmental conditions and ultimately, with each other.
The site and the sea
The site of Priniatikos Pyrgos today is a limestone headland jutting out into a small bay in the Gulf of Mirabello, flanked by beaches to the east and west. Sea-level changes over the millennia mean that the aspect of the site we see today is not the way things have always been, as throughout much of prehistory the coastline was further out past the tip of the modern headland, revealing the site as a hillock just inland from the sea. This revelation, along with further work of the Istron Geoarchaeological Project tells us that the site we look at today has seen great environmental change since the first humans arrived in this area. By late antiquity, rising sea-levels had left Priniatikos Pyrgos exposed as the headland we see today, and the remains of walls of long since collapsed buildings can be seen in the seas all around the site.
History of Research
The history of research in the area around Priniatikos Pyrgos
stems back nearly a century to the work of Edith Hall at the site of
Vrokastro, following her investigations of this defensible site some
trial trenches were also placed on the promontory down below in
1912. Though Hall's interest in the site was limited due to the
disturbance of historic period building works, her work revealed
that the activity at the site was spatially intensive and
chronologically extensive, and the quality of artefacts retrieved
showed the potential for further work at the site.
Barbara Hayden of the University of Pennsylvania Museum
has been at the forefront of investigation of this area
along with Greek and American colleagues since the 1980's.
The first step was to intensively survey the wider area
around the Late Bronze / Iron Age citadel of Vrokastro (the
Vrokastro Survey Project, vols. 1-3, 2002-5), which revealed
a landscape with considerable settlement variety and extent
through time. The industrial or economic development of the
region, however, underlies settlement growth and relates to
many of these potential studies. The regional economy and
its development were deemed, therefore, overarching themes
most worthy of future consideration following completion of
the survey.
One primary goal of the Vrokastro survey was to identify a
regional site that would explicate the development of the area and
the extent and nature of trade contacts. Results of the survey
indicated that several sites, with further exploration, could
provide data on issues ranging from polis development (Oleros,
Istron) to the function and chronology of Bronze Age farmsteads.
Priniatikos Pyrgos stood out as a site which had the combination of
variables present best suited to comprehensively addressing these
themes.
The characterisation of settlement and natural resource
exploitation is contingent on characterisation of the landscape in
which these activities take place, and to this end the Istron
Geoarchaeological Project was initiated in 2002 with collaborators
from the Demokritos Laboratory in Athens and the FORTH based in
Rethymnon. The objectives of this project were to conduct a sutie of
geophysical survey methods on Priniatikos Pyrgos and the surrounding
area and to undertake deep coring to provide critical data regarding
the geological history of the area.
Observations made during the survey and subsequent
geophysical prospection revealed two kilns eroding out of
the western scarp of Priniatikos Pyrgos which appeared to be
prehistoric in date. Metaxia Tsipopoulou, then of the 24th
Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities at Aghios
Nikolaos undertook two seasons of rescue work at the site
with Hayden as field director in 2005 and 2006. This work
reaffirmed the importance of the site and it became clear
that a comprehensive program of excavation had the potential
to contribute a host of information which would elucidate
critical questions raised during the Vrokastro Survey. In
consultation with the Irish Institute of Hellenic Studies at
Athens, it was decided to apply for a permit to the Greek
Ministry of Culture to continue work at the site for a
further 5 seasons beginning in 2007 in collaboration with
Barry Molloy of the above institute. 2007 marked the
beginning of another chapter in a century old program of
research, with a multinational team cooperating together
under the auspices of the Irish Institute.
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FEATURES
Current News:
View our reports online
Co-Director Barry Molloy will run the Athens Marathon 2010 to raise money for Priniatikos Pyrgos.
More HERE
What are our Research Questions at PP?
Support funding provided
for sixth consecutive year by the Institute of Aegean Prehistory.
Visit our Excavation Page to learn more about how we conduct our
work
To view our detailed excavation guidelines and
documentation used, visit our manual and documents page
Trenches II and III to be targeted in 2010
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