Site details

Apesokari: Tholos A

PK	C5302
TITLE	Apesokari: Tholos A
WGS84	35.004307° N, 24.946546° E
Accuracy	Exact

LAT/LON	35.004307, 24.946546
LON/LAT	24.946546, 35.004307

DMS

35° 0' 15.5052" N

24° 56' 47.5656" E

W3W	folks, commentator, sweep
UTM	35 S, 312615, 3875447
EGSA87	586222, 3873641

Elevation m	219
Elevation feet	718.5
Region	Crete
Subregion	Kainourion

GENERAL SITE TYPE Tholos

TYPE

1.    Tholos.   Kanta [1980], 93    'The village is mainly known for its MM I tholos tomb ...'
2.    Tholos.   Flouda [2012], 111    'After its partial looting by tomb robbers, the tholos was excavated in the summer of 1942...'
3.    Tholos.   Dederix [2019], 188    'To the south-west of the village, three Bronze Age sites have been identified: a settlement and two circular tombs (dubbed Tholos A and Tholos B) ... '
4.    Tomb.   Goodison and Guarita [2005], 171    'The Mesara-type tombs are circular stone-built structures a number of which show traces of an original corbelled 'tholos' roof.'

PERIOD (High Chronology)

1. Early Minoan III: (2200 BC - 2100 BC)
    a.    Goodison and Guarita [2005]: 179, 'Dating: ?EMIII, ... '
    b.    Dederix [2019]: 190, 'Tholos A (Fig. 3) was constructed ca. 200 m to the west of Tholos B, at least five centuries later than Tholos B: the circular chamber and the rectangular complex of annex rooms were built in EM III (ca. 2200 - 2100/2050 BCE) ... '

2. Middle Minoan IA: (2100 BC - 1900 BC)
    a.    Flouda [2012]: 111, '..., tholos A at Apesokari was probably constructed during the MM IA period.'
    b.    Goodison and Guarita [2005]: 179, ' ..., MMIA - MMII.'

3. Middle Minoan I: (2100 BC - 1900 BC)
    a.    Kanta [1980]: 93, '...mainly known for its MM I tholos tomb (Matz 1951, p. 13-26).'

4. Middle Minoan IB: (1900 BC - 1850 BC)
    a.    Flouda [2012]: 111, 'Its use continued without interruption at least up to the end of MM IB.'
    b.    Goodison and Guarita [2005]: 179, ' ..., MMIA - MMII.'

5. Middle Minoan II: (1850 BC - 1750 BC)
    a.    Goodison and Guarita [2005]: 179, ' ..., MMIA - MMII.'

6. Middle Minoan IIB: (1775 BC - 1750 BC)
    a.    Flouda [2012]: 111, 'The paved area with the open-air altar was probably used ... to the MM IIB, ...'
    b.    Dederix [2019]: 190, 'Burial depositions continued in Tholos A until MM IIB, ... '

7. Middle Minoan III: (1750 BC - 1675 BC)
    a.    Flouda [2012]: 111, '..., while there are just signs of sporadic visits during the MM III.'
    b.    Dederix [2019]: 190, ' ..., while subsequently, in MM III, only the forecourt remained in use for occasional ritual activities (ca. 1750/1700 - 1700/1675 BCE).'

NOTES

1. See, if possible, the essay by the original excavator, A. Schörgendorfer, "Ein mittelminoisches Tholosgrab bei Apesokari." in Forschungen auf Kreta 1942 (ed. F.Matz) 13-22. Berlin. This book could still be located at Abebooks.com at the time of writing (2/18). Also there is a useful video (with a transcript) by Georgia Flouda, Video on Minoan Communities and Commemorative Practices: The Late Prepalatial to Protopalatial Tholos Tomb A at Apesokari/Crete http://www.chs-fellows.org/2015/03/02/minoan-commemorative-practices/

2. For a plan of Tholos A see Dederix [2019] 190, Figure 3. And the clear photographs on 191-2, Figures 4 and 5.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Dederix [2019]: Déderix, Sylviane. ‘Patterns of Visibility, Intervisibility and Invisibility at Bronze Age Apesokari (Crete)’, Open Archaeology (5), 187-203. (DeGruyter 2019), 'Introduction', pg. 187. Online here.

2. Flouda [2012]: Flouda, Georgia. ‘Reassessing the Apesokari Tholos. A Funerary Record: Preliminary Thoughts’, Rivista di Archeologia (35) 111-121. 2012., 'Reassessing the Apesokari Tholos. A Funerary Record: Preliminary Thoughts', pg. 111. Online here.

3. Goodison and Guarita [2005]: Goodison, Lucy and Carlos Guarita. ‘A New Catalogue of the Mesara-Type Tombs’, Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici [47], pp. 171-212, 2005, '1. Apesokari A', pg. 179. Online here.

4. Kanta [1980]: Kanta, Athanasia. The Late Minoan III Period in Crete; A Survey of Sites, Pottery and their Distribution. Paul Åströms Förlag, Göteborg. Sweden. 1980., '8. Apesokari', pg. 93.