Site details
Volos: Kastro
| PK | C1269 |
| TITLE | Volos: Kastro |
| WGS84 | 39.363868° N, 22.93332° E |
| Accuracy | Exact |
| LAT/LON | 39.363868, 22.93332 |
| LON/LAT | 22.93332, 39.363868 |
| DMS | 39° 21' 49.9248" N | , | 22° 55' 59.952" E |
| W3W | expanded, backers, scooped |
| UTM | 34 S, 666554.99, 4358939.28 |
| EGSA87 | 407959, 4357412 |
| Elevation m | 11 |
| Elevation feet | 36.1 |
| Region | Pelasgiotis |
GENERAL SITE TYPE Palace
TYPE
1. Building. Simpson [1981], 161 Two large Mycenaean buildings discovered on this site.2. Palace. Simpson and Dickinson [1979], 273 'The LH strata have been partly removed by later terracing, but remains of two successive large buildings, taken to be palaces, have been found.'
3. Palace. Simpson [2018], 458 ' ... revealed successive large buildings of LH IIIA and LH IIIB with palatial features (stucco floors and fresco fragments), ... '
4. Pottery. Simpson [2018], 458 ' ... levels with Mycenaean pottery, mainly LH IIIB1 and LH IIIB2, ... '
5. Settlement. Mee and Spawforth [2001], 360 '.. traces of a substantial prehistoric settlement.'
6. Settlement. Iliad, ' ... and well-built Iolcus, these were led by the dear son of Admetus with eleven ships, ... '
SITE SIZE
- Simpson [1981] p. 161, Size: 108000 sq. m. 'The site is of "high mound" type, measuring about 400 m. by 270 m., towards the west end of modern Volos.'
- Simpson and Dickinson [1979] p. 273, Size: 108000 sq. m. 'A high mound c. 400 m. by 270 m. at the W end of the modern town.'
PERIOD (High Chronology)
1. Early Bronze Age I: (3300 BC - 3000 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 161, 'EB I-III MH LH I-IIIC PG G A C H'
b. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 273, The site seems to have been continuously occupied since EB I, ... '
2. Early Bronze Age II: (3000 BC - 2700 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 161, 'EB I-III MH LH I-IIIC PG G A C H'
3. Early Bronze Age III: (2700 BC - 2200 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 161, 'EB I-III MH LH I-IIIC PG G A C H'
4. Middle Helladic: (2000 BC - 1600 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 161, 'EB I-III MH LH I-IIIC PG G A C H'
b. Simpson [2018]: 458, 'Above MH strata ... were levels with Mycenaean pottery, mainly LH IIIB1 and LH IIIB2, with some LH IIIA2 and LH IIIC.'
5. Late Helladic: (1700 BC - 1050 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 161, 'EB I-III MH LH I-IIIC PG G A C H'
b. Mee and Spawforth [2001]: 360, '... it has been assumed that Volos was the principal Mycenaean site in eastern Thessaly and therefore the location of Iolkos, ...'
c. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 273, 'The LH strata have been partly removed by later terracing, but remains of two successive large buildings, taken to be palaces, have been found.'
6. Late Helladic II: (1635 BC - 1410 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 161, 'EB I-III MH LH I-IIIC PG G A C H'
7. LH IIIA: (1410 BC - 1315 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 161, 'EB I-III MH LH I-IIIC PG G A C H'
b. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 273, 'The earlier (building or palace, RHC) includes stucco and slab floors, and is attributed to LH IIIA; ... '
c. Simpson [2018]: 458, ' ... successive large buildings of LH IIIA and LH IIIB ... '
8. LH IIIA2: (1375 BC - 1320 BC)
a. Simpson [2018]: 457, ' ... and in LH IIIA2 a palace was built at Dimini and a building of palatial style at Kastro-Palaia.', 'Above MH strata ... were levels with Mycenaean pottery, mainly LH IIIB1 and LH IIIB2, with some LH IIIA2 and LH IIIC.'
9. LH IIIB: (1320 BC - 1190 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 161, 'EB I-III MH LH I-IIIC PG G A C H'
b. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 273, 'This building is attributed to LH IIIB ... '
c. Simpson [2018]: 458, ' ... successive large buildings of LH IIIA and LH IIIB ... '
10. LH IIIB1: (1320 BC - 1250 BC)
a. Simpson [2018]: 458, 'Above MH strata ... were levels with Mycenaean pottery, mainly LH IIIB1 and LH IIIB2, with some LH IIIA2 and LH IIIC.'
11. LH IIIB2: (1250 BC - 1190 BC)
a. Simpson [2018]: 458, 'Above MH strata ... were levels with Mycenaean pottery, mainly LH IIIB1 and LH IIIB2, with some LH IIIA2 and LH IIIC.'
12. LH IIIC: (1190 BC - 1060 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 161, 'EB I-III MH LH I-IIIC PG G A C H'
b. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 273, ' ... and stated to have been burnt in early LH IIIC, ... ', 'There are certainly LH IIIC strata on the site, ... '
c. Simpson [2018]: 458, 'Above MH strata ... were levels with Mycenaean pottery, ... with some LH IIIA2 and LH IIIC.', 'The 'palace' may have been destroyed at some time early in LH IIIC'
13. Protogeometric: (1100 BC - 900 BC)
a. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 273, ' ...; deep PG strata have also been found, ... ', 'The site appears to have retained some importance in PG, ... '
b. Simpson [2018]: 459, 'Habitation was resumed in PG ... '
14. Sub Mycenaean: (1060 BC - 1000 BC)
a. Simpson [2018]: 459, 'Continuity of habitation is suggested by the SMyc and PG burials (usually in cists) at Nea Ionia, not far from the Kastro ... '
NOTE
1. The Kastro is a sizeable feature and covers, by my count, about 25+ city blocks in modern Volos. The position marked is close to the W ramparts where the present day walls are most visible. For plans and photographs see this.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Iliad: Homer. Iliad. The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924., '2.712', Online here.
2. Mee and Spawforth [2001]: Mee, Christopher and Antony Spawforth. Greece; An Oxford Archaeological Guide. Oxford University Press. Great Clarendon Street. Oxford. 2001. , 'Volos: history', pg. 360.
3. Simpson [2018]: Simpson, Richard Hope. Mycenaean Greece and Homeric Tradition. published online under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. 2018, 'Iaolkos (Il. 2. 712)', pg. 456.
Online here.
4. Simpson [1981]: Simpson, Richard Hope. Mycenaean Greece. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press, 1981., 'H 1 Volos: Kastro (Ancient Iolkos)', pg. 161.
But the site of Iolkos is controversial. Some identify it with Dimini.
Online here.
5. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: Simpson, Richard Hope and O.T.P.K. Dickinson. A Gazetteer of Aegean Civilization in the Bronze Age, Vol. I: The Mainland and the Islands. Paul Åströms Förlag, Goteborg. 1979., 'H 1 Volos: Kastro (Ancient Iolkos)', pg. 273.
Online here.