Controls Help Blog
Site details

Assiros Toumba

PKC1639
TITLEAssiros Toumba
WGS84 40.802635° N, 23.019985° E
Accuracy Exact

LAT/LON 40.802635, 23.019985
LON/LAT 23.019985, 40.802635

DMS 40° 48' 9.486" N,23° 1' 11.946" E

W3Wglum, span, thrilling
UTM34 T, 670394.8, 4518811.25
EGSA87 417184, 4517024

Elevation m151
Elevation feet 495.4
RegionMacedonia





GENERAL SITE TYPE  Sherds

TYPE

1.    Buildings.   AR[1975], 19    'Most walls were constructed of neatly-coursed mud-bricks interlaced with substantial oak posts ... '
2.    Pottery.   AR[1976], 44    ' ... and locally-made Mycenaean pottery, ... '
3.    Pottery.   Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015],     ' ... signs of contact with southern Greece, (Mycenaean and then PG pottery), ... '
4.    Pottery.   Aslaksen [2013], 108    ' ..., the presence of large quantities of Mycenaean pottery, and before that a few Minyan sherds ... '
5.    Settlement.   Leekley and Noyes [1975], 78    'The site was occupied c. 2000 B.C. and the first settlement was surrounded by a clay bank, ... '
6.    Settlement.   AR[1975], 19    ' ... a first season of excavation at the prehistoric settlement mound of Assiros Toumba, ... '
7.    Settlement.   AR[1976], 44    'The continuity of the settlement is shown by the persistence of the local Macedonian pottery and by the reuse of earlier walls as foundations ... '
8.    Settlement.   Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015],     'Type: Settlement', 'At Assiros the settlement covers the LBA and EIA period.'
9.    Sherds.   Simpson [1981], 181    '...contained many fragments of Mycenaean pottery, some imported, but most of local Macedonian manufacture.'


SITE SIZE

- Aslaksen [2013]  p. 108,  Size: 7700 sq. m.  'Assiros is 110x70m, and has a maximum settlement surface of 7700m2, ... '

- Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015]  p. ,  Size: 2800 sq. m.  'By the beginning of the IA the area available on the summit of the mound was reduced to some 70x40m. and ... '

PERIOD (High Chronology)

1. Early Bronze Age: (3200 BC - 2100 BC)
    a.    Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015]: , 'The settlement at Assiros Toumba was first established around 2000 BC ... '

2. Middle Bronze Age: (2100 BC - 1550 BC)
    a.    Simpson [1981]: 181, 'MB LB LH IIIB-C "PG"'
    b.    Leekley and Noyes [1975]: 78, 'The site was occupied c. 2000 B.C. ... '

3. Middle Helladic: (2000 BC - 1600 BC)
    a.    Leekley and Noyes [1975]: 78, ' ... dated by a local imitation of a Late MH Grey Minyan goblet.'

4. Late Helladic: (1700 BC - 1050 BC)
    a.    AR[1975]: 19, 'In an adjacent area a Late Mycenaean cup ... '
    b.    AR[1976]: 44, ' ... as well as a Mycenaean cup.'
    c.    Aslaksen [2013]: 108, ' ..., the presence of large quantities of Mycenaean pottery, and before that a few Minyan sherds ... '

5. Late Bronze Age: (1570 BC - 1200 BC)
    a.    Simpson [1981]: 181, 'MB LB LH IIIB-C "PG"'
    b.    Leekley and Noyes [1975]: 78, 'Three Late Bronze Age strata were revealed covering the period 1300 - 1100 B.C., ... '
    c.    AR[1975]: 20, ' ... was a typical LBA brown-burnished bowl with large splaying handles ... '
    d.    Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015]: , 'Overall Phases of Use: From LBA to EA'

6. LH IIIA: (1410 BC - 1315 BC)
    a.    Leekley and Noyes [1975]: 78, 'Remains of a later stone defensive wall (c. 1400 B.C.) ... '

7. LH IIIA2: (1375 BC - 1320 BC)
    a.    Leekley and Noyes [1975]: 78, 'Both imported LH III A2 or IIIB pottery and locally made imitations were found.'
    b.    Aslaksen [2013]: 108, 'The first Mycenaean pottery arrived by 1400-1350 BC attested by Late Helladic III A2 and Late Helladic III B sherds ... '

8. LH IIIB: (1320 BC - 1190 BC)
    a.    Simpson [1981]: 181, 'MB LB LH IIIB-C "PG"'
    b.    Leekley and Noyes [1975]: 78, 'Both imported LH III A2 or IIIB pottery and locally made imitations were found.'
    c.    Aslaksen [2013]: 108, 'The first Mycenaean pottery arrived by 1400-1350 BC attested by Late Helladic III A2 and Late Helladic III B sherds ... '

9. Iron Age: (1200 BC - 535 BC)
    a.    AR[1976]: 44, ' ... were found vessels of Iron Age type ... '

10. Early Iron Age: (1200 BC - 960 BC)
    a.    AR[1975]: , 'The majority of the structures distinguished in 1975 belong to the Early Iron Age and may be dated ... between 1050 and 900 B.C.'
    b.    AR[1975]: 20, ' ... and a jar of EIA type were found on the same floor.'

11. LH IIIC: (1190 BC - 1060 BC)
    a.    Simpson [1981]: 181, 'MB LB LH IIIB-C "PG"'
    b.    Aslaksen [2013]: 110, 'In some instances both the yards and the rooms had pithoi and scattered sherds including those from Mycenaean Late Helladic III C pots ... '

12. Protogeometric: (1100 BC - 900 BC)
    a.    Aslaksen [2013]: 111, 'Phase 4 (1050-1000 in conventional dates and 1100-1080 cal.BC) follows the same settlement plan as phase 5, yet in terms of pottery, there was now a transition from Sub-Mycenaean to Proto-Geometric; .... '
    b.    Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015]: , 'Chronological Period: From PG to EA'

13. Sub Mycenaean: (1060 BC - 1000 BC)
    a.    Aslaksen [2013]: 111, 'Phase 4 (1050-1000 in conventional dates and 1100-1080 cal.BC) follows the same settlement plan as phase 5, yet in terms of pottery, there was now a transition from Sub-Mycenaean to Proto-Geometric; .... '

14. Geometric: (900 BC - 700 BC)
    a.    Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015]: , 'Chronological Period: From PG to EA'

15. Early Archaic: (700 BC - 600 BC)
    a.    Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015]: , 'Chronological Period: From PG to EA'

NOTES

1.  Additional: K.A. Wardle et al., 'Excavations at Assiros, 1975-9: A Settlement Site in Central Macedonia and Its Significance for the Prehistory of South-East Europe', The Annual of the British School at Athens (75), pp. 229-267. 1980.  It is online here.

2.  The relevant Aristeia Project page is here

3.  The Mycenaean Atlas Project would like to thank Dr. Stratos Nanoglou of the University of Thessalonika for making available a copy of French [1967] which would have been otherwise difficult to obtain.

rhc

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.  AR[1975]:  Archaeological Reports, The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. (22) 1975-1976., 'Assiros.', pg. 19. Online here.

2.  AR[1977]:  Archaeological Reports, The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. (24) 1977., '', pg. 44. Online here.

3.  Aslaksen [2013]:  Aslaksen, Ole Christian . Global and local in Late Bronze Age Central Macedonia; Economy, mobility and identity. Gotarc Series B. Archaeological Theses 61, University of Gothenburg; Department of Historical Studies, Sweden, '7.4.1 Assiros' Settlement History', pg. 109. Online here.

4.  French [1967]:  French, D.H.. Index of Prehistoric Sites in Central Macedonia and Catalogue of Sherd Material in The University of Thessaloniki. Athens, 'Assiros Toumba (Giouvesne) L 6', pg. 6.

5.  Leekley and Noyes [1975]:  Leekley, Dorothy and Robert Noyes. Archaeological Excavations in the Greek Islands. Noyes Press, Park Ridge, New Jersey. 1975, 'Assiros (Thessaloniki)', pg. 78.

6.  Mazarakis-Ainian ed. [2015]:  Mazarakis Ainian, Alexander . Η Κοινωνική Αρχαιολογία του Ελληνικού Κόσμου κατά την Πρώιμη Εποχή του Σιδήρου και την Πρώιμη Αρχαϊκή περίοδο (The Aristeia Project: The Social Archeology of the Greek World during the Early Iron Age and the Early Archaic period), 'Assiros Toumba', Online here.

7.  Simpson [1981]:  Simpson, Richard Hope. Mycenaean Greece. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press, 1981., 'L 31 Assiros Toumba', pg. 181. DH French, CM No. L 6
Online here.

Nearest shoreline

The closest shoreline to C1639 is at 40.63699° N, 22.9298° E, a straight-line distance of 19 km and 948 m.