Keros-Naxos Seaways Project excavations 2016-2018: Season 2016
Excavation: Research excavation
Seven excavation trenches were opened this year on Dhaskalio. The structures investigated this season could be assigned mainly to Phase B of the site sequence: this was clear in the large open-area excavation in Trench A. A notable find was a small sealstone, the first to be found on Dhaskalio or Kavos. The structures of Trench F were securely dated by the accompanying pottery to Phase C. An interesting find here was a petroglyph, apparently the first such to be discovered in a secure EBA context in the Cyclades. There are also indications of Phase C material in Trench C at the northeast of the site. The widespread occurrence of potsherds with traces of copper, indicative probably of local copper working, were supplemented by much more numerous finds and indications on the eastern slope of the islet, including a floor surface with a burnt area revealing extremely high traces of metals after XRF analysis suggested casting procedures were undertaken in that location. Evidence also for the casting of lead artefacts. This year's finds may point to the presence of a workshop in this area. At the east edge of the island, Trench H revealed a stairway and drain which was clearly an entrance to Dhaskalio, perhaps the main entrance from the causeway which in EBA times connected it with Kavos. Cleaning operations at the north end of the site have revealed more clearly the complexity of the wall structures in that area. Eleven trenches were opened this year in the northwest part of Keros, in the area designated Polygon 2 during the Keros Island Survey. The excavation trenches in Polygon 2 on Keros established clearly the EBA date of the field walls and other structures previously observed on the surface. Ceramic study indicated that the pottery could consistently be attributed to Phase A of the Dhaskalio ceramic sequence and the period of both Special Deposits at Kavos, establishing that these structures could be assigned to the Keros-Syros culture, rather than to the later (Kastri) phase of the Cycladic EBA. Only in two tests were there sherds of Phylakopi I and Grey Minyan indicating limited continuation into Dhaskalio Phase C, and perhaps beyond in some parts, confirming the finds of the survey. It is hoped that further investigations here will add to our understanding of the relationship between the sanctuary and settlement at Dhaskalio and its Keros hinterland. The methodology adopted for the excavations of Dhaskalio and Keros combined worldwide best practice (open-area, single context excavation and digital recording) with specific experience of excavation in Greece and the Mediterranean. The open-area system envisages large open excavation trenches rather than small trenches, essential in order to understand how the settlement was spatially structured, while the single-context approach emphasises the recognition and interpretation of stratigraphy and the removal of strata in reverse order of their deposition.
Active from Aug 2016 to Oct 2016.
Renfrew, Professor Andrew Colin