ASSIROS: THE IRON AGE c 1050-700 BC
Despite the shallow deposits of this period, it was possible to separate five different Iron Age building levels, of which the first four (4-1.5) continue the architectural traditions of the Bronze Age. The same street alignments were preserved and there is no sign of a break in occupation at the transition to the Iron Age. The settlement plan for almost the whole of Phase 2 (c 900 BC) has been identified, together with numerous finds from every part of the complex. As the available area on the summit of the mound diminished with each rebuilding, it seems likely that the inhabitants abandoned the settlement around 850 BC for a more spacious site - perhaps Agia Anna some three km away. The site was reoccupied briefly in the 8th century, (Phase 1) when two large apsidal buildings were constructed side by side across the site.
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Assiros: Phase 2, Room 13 |
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Assiros: Phase 2, Room 1 O location of
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The Iron Age pottery and other finds continue the traditions of the Bronze Age with only minor signs of innovation. Made in a better, harder fabric but it is still hand made and uses the same basic shapes. The wheel-made Mycenaean tradition was not continued in this area - in contrast to coastal sites such as Toumba Thessaloniki and Kastanas. Small finds of stone and clay or bone and antler are usually mundane household items which also indicate continuity from the Bronze Age while metal objects (bronze, iron or lead) are very rare. The collection of objects found in a small pit in the earliest IA level is remarkable for the quantity and variety of everyday items which seem to have formed a child's cache of favourite playthings.
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Stratigraphy and Chronology Northern Greece