Lefkandi
Encyclopedia
Lefkandi is a coastal village on the island of Euboea
. Archaeological finds attest to a settlement on the promontory locally known as Xeropolis, while several associated cemeteries have been identified nearby. The settlement site is located on a promontory overlooking the Euripos, with small bays forming natural harbours east and west of the site. The cemeteries are located on the hillslopes northwest of the settlement; the plots identified so far are known as the East Cemetery, Skoubris, Palia Perivolia, Toumba, in addition to further smaller groups of burials. The site is located between the island's two main cities in antiquity, Chalkis and Eretria
. Excavation here is conducted under the direction of the British School at Athens
, and is ongoing as of 2007 (Previous campaigns in 1964-8, 1981-4).
Occupation at Lefkandi can be traced back to the Early Bronze Age, and continued throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages, to end at the beginning of the Archaic period (early 7th century BCE). The known cemeteries cover only part of the periods attested in the settlement, dating to the Submycenaean through Subgeometric periods (ca. 1050-800 BCE). The abandonment of Lefkandi conincides with a rise in settlement activity in nearby Eretria, and it has been argued by the excavators that the site is, in fact, Old Eretria.
(settlement), Kalapodi
(sanctuary), and Elateia
(cemetery).
that started to appear with regularity some two centuries later.
One of the bodies in the grave had been cremated, the ashes being wrapped in a fringed linen
cloth then stored in a bronze
amphora
from Cyprus
. The amphora was engraved with a hunting scene and placed within a still larger bronze bowl. A sword and other grave goods were nearby. It is believed that the ashes were those of a man.
The woman's body was not cremated. Instead, she was buried alongside a wall and adorned with jewelry, including a ring of electrum
, a Bronze braziere, and a gorget
believed to have come from Babylonia
and already a thousand years old when it was buried. An iron knife with an ivory
handle was found near her shoulder. It is unknown whether this woman was buried contemporaneously with the man's remains, or at a later date. Scholars have suggested that the woman was slaughtered to be buried with the man, possibly her husband, in a practice reminiscent of the Indian custom of sati
. Other scholars have pointed to the lack of conclusive evidence for sati in this instance, suggesting instead that this woman may have been an important person in the community in her own right, who was interred with the man's ashes after her own death.
Four horses appear to have been sacrificed and were included in the grave. Some of them were wearing iron bits in their mouths.
which was forced to up root and move farther from Chalkis as a result of the Lelantine War
.
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
. Archaeological finds attest to a settlement on the promontory locally known as Xeropolis, while several associated cemeteries have been identified nearby. The settlement site is located on a promontory overlooking the Euripos, with small bays forming natural harbours east and west of the site. The cemeteries are located on the hillslopes northwest of the settlement; the plots identified so far are known as the East Cemetery, Skoubris, Palia Perivolia, Toumba, in addition to further smaller groups of burials. The site is located between the island's two main cities in antiquity, Chalkis and Eretria
Eretria
Erétria was a polis in Ancient Greece, located on the western coast of the island of Euboea, south of Chalcis, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow Euboean Gulf. Eretria was an important Greek polis in the 6th/5th century BC. However, it lost its importance already in antiquity...
. Excavation here is conducted under the direction of the British School at Athens
British School at Athens
The British School at Athens is one of the 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes in Athens, Greece.-General information:The School was founded in 1886 as the fourth such institution in Greece...
, and is ongoing as of 2007 (Previous campaigns in 1964-8, 1981-4).
Occupation at Lefkandi can be traced back to the Early Bronze Age, and continued throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages, to end at the beginning of the Archaic period (early 7th century BCE). The known cemeteries cover only part of the periods attested in the settlement, dating to the Submycenaean through Subgeometric periods (ca. 1050-800 BCE). The abandonment of Lefkandi conincides with a rise in settlement activity in nearby Eretria, and it has been argued by the excavators that the site is, in fact, Old Eretria.
Lefkandi's contribution to archaeology
The site's importance is due to a number of factors. First, substantial occupation strata of the Late Helladic IIIC period (ca. 1200-1100/1075 BCE) excavated in the 1960s allowed the establishment of a ceramic sequence for this period, at that time insufficiently attested. The IIIC settlement furthermore stands in contrast to sites in the other parts of Greece, such as the Peloponnese, where many sites were abandoned at the end of LHIIIB (i.e. the end of the Mycenaean palatial period). This situation places Lefkandi within a group of sites in Central Greece with important post-palatial occupation, such as MitrouMitrou
The archaeological site of Mitrou is located on a tidal islet in the Gulf of Atalanti, in East Lokris in Central Greece. Excavation of the site is conducted under the direction of the American School of Classical Studies, and as of 2007 is ongoing....
(settlement), Kalapodi
Kalapodi
Kalapodi is a village in the Lokroi municipality, Phthiotis, Central Greece. The name also denotes an archaeological site ca. 1 km east of the village, where an ancient sanctuary was discovered. Cult activity here seems to have begun in the late Bronze Age and continued without break into the...
(sanctuary), and Elateia
Elateia
Elateia was an ancient Greek city of Phocis, and the most important place in that region after Delphi. It is also a modern-day town that is a former municipality in the southeastern part of Phthiotis. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is a municipal unit of the municipality...
(cemetery).
Heroon
The archaeological significance of the site was revealed in 1980 when a large mound was discovered to contain the remains of a man and a woman within a large structure called by some a heroön, or "hero's grave." There is some dispute as to whether the structure was in fact a heroön built to commemorate a hero or whether it was instead the grave of a couple who were locally important for other reasons. This monumental building, built c 950 BC, 50 meters long and 13.8 meters wide, with a wooden verandah, foreshadows the temple architectureArchitecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
that started to appear with regularity some two centuries later.
One of the bodies in the grave had been cremated, the ashes being wrapped in a fringed linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
cloth then stored in a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
amphora
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...
from Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. The amphora was engraved with a hunting scene and placed within a still larger bronze bowl. A sword and other grave goods were nearby. It is believed that the ashes were those of a man.
The woman's body was not cremated. Instead, she was buried alongside a wall and adorned with jewelry, including a ring of electrum
Electrum
Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. It has also been produced artificially. The ancient Greeks called it 'gold' or 'white gold', as opposed to 'refined gold'. Its color ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the...
, a Bronze braziere, and a gorget
Gorget
A gorget originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons...
believed to have come from Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
and already a thousand years old when it was buried. An iron knife with an ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
handle was found near her shoulder. It is unknown whether this woman was buried contemporaneously with the man's remains, or at a later date. Scholars have suggested that the woman was slaughtered to be buried with the man, possibly her husband, in a practice reminiscent of the Indian custom of sati
Sati (practice)
For other uses, see Sati .Satī was a religious funeral practice among some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion would have immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyre...
. Other scholars have pointed to the lack of conclusive evidence for sati in this instance, suggesting instead that this woman may have been an important person in the community in her own right, who was interred with the man's ashes after her own death.
Four horses appear to have been sacrificed and were included in the grave. Some of them were wearing iron bits in their mouths.
Xeropolis
Archaeological research has brought to light a settlement where continuous occupation can be demonstrated from the Mycenaean period through the Dark Ages and into historic times.http://lefkandi.classics.ox.ac.uk/index.html It has been suggested by the excavators that the site can be identified as the old EretriaEretria
Erétria was a polis in Ancient Greece, located on the western coast of the island of Euboea, south of Chalcis, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow Euboean Gulf. Eretria was an important Greek polis in the 6th/5th century BC. However, it lost its importance already in antiquity...
which was forced to up root and move farther from Chalkis as a result of the Lelantine War
Lelantine War
The Lelantine War was a long-remembered military conflict between the two ancient Greek city states Chalkis and Eretria in Euboea which took place in the early Archaic period, at some time between ca 710 and 650 BC. The reason for war was, according to tradition, the struggle for the fertile...
.