Site details

Arkalachori: Cave

PK	C5329
TITLE	Arkalachori: Cave
WGS84	35.144033° N, 25.260416° E
Accuracy	Exact

LAT/LON	35.144033, 25.260416
LON/LAT	25.260416, 35.144033

DMS

35° 8' 38.5188" N

25° 15' 37.4976" E

W3W	moved, earliest, journey
UTM	35 S, 341530.46, 3890401.01
EGSA87	614668, 3889454

Elevation m	441
Elevation feet	1446.9
Region	Crete
Subregion	Pedhiadha

GENERAL SITE TYPE Cave

TYPE

1.    Artifacts.   Hazzidakis [1912], 37    'On entering the cave they found more and more pieces of bronze, described as blades of knives and lances, as well as some beads, ... '
2.    Artifacts.   Kanta [1980], 80    A hoard of bronze and gold votive axes as well as sherds.
3.    Cave.   Panagiotakis [2003], 380    'La grotte bien connue d'Arkalochori se trouve au sommet ...'
4.    hab.   Sjögren [2003], 124    'Habitation site'
5.    Pottery.   Hazzidakis [1912], 37    The pottery was mostly broken up by the peasants as 'valueless'.
6.    Sherds.   Kanta [1980], 80    'Among the existing diagnostic sherds ...'
7.    Sherds.   Sjögren [2003], 124    'Scattered pottery sherds dating to the A and later periods have been reported from the area outside the cave, as well as from the hilltop above the cave and on the slopes around it.'

PERIOD (High Chronology)

1. Early Minoan: (3100 BC - 2200 BC)
    a.    Hazzidakis [1912]: 44, ' ... all the sherds found in the cave are Early Minoan ... '

2. Early Minoan I: (3100 BC - 2650 BC)
    a.    Kanta [1980]: 80, 'Most of the remaining sherds ....EM I and EM II in date, ...'

3. Early Minoan II: (2650 BC - 2200 BC)
    a.    Kanta [1980]: 80, 'Most of the remaining sherds ....EM I and EM II in date, ...'

4. Late Minoan IIIA1: (1420 BC - 1390 BC)
    a.    Kanta [1980]: 80, '...the diagnostic sherds one has a decoration of stippling inside which places its date in LM III A 1 or the very beginning of LM III A 2.'

5. Late Minoan IIIA2: (1390 BC - 1330 BC)
    a.    Panagiotakis [2003]: 380, 'MMIB-II, MM III-MR I, MR IIIA2-B, PG, O, A, H, R, V'
    b.    Kanta [1980]: 80, '...the diagnostic sherds one has a decoration of stippling inside which places its date in LM III A 1 or the very beginning of LM III A 2.'

6. Late Minoan IIIB: (1330 BC - 1200 BC)
    a.    Panagiotakis [2003]: 380, 'MMIB-II, MM III-MR I, MR IIIA2-B, PG, O, A, H, R, V'
    b.    Kanta [1980]: 80, 'The rest of the decorated sherds seem to be LM III B in date.'

7. Protogeometric: (1100 BC - 900 BC)
    a.    Panagiotakis [2003]: 380, 'MMIB-II, MM III-MR I, MR IIIA2-B, PG, O, A, H, R, V'

8. Archaic: (700 BC - 480 BC)
    a.    Sjögren [2003]: 124, ' ... sherds dating to the A and later periods ... '

NOTES

1.  Panagiotakis [2003], 380: 'Sur une colline pyramidale (pentes abruptes, sauf à l'E) à l'E d'Arkalochori (maintenant inclus dans la ville); le «bras Ouest du Kartéros» coule à l'O ; source (maintenant tarie et recouverte) au NE. Restes de constructions au pied et sur le versant E, surtout à Pétras et Monachi Élia. Affleurements de roche taillés pour servir de fondations à des maisons. La grotte bien connue d'Arkalochori se trouve au sommet (côté Nord) de la même colline. L'habitat dominait l'ensemble de la région entre «le bras Ouest du Kartéros» et le pied des monts du Lassithi à l'E, avec vue sur de nombreux sites, sanctuaires de sommet (Iouktas, Mégalos Drozitis , Mamaloukou Koriphî) et tous les soroi de la Haute-Pédiada.'

2.  The position is based on Panagiotakis [2003] 380 EGSA87 coordinates further refined with user-submitted photographs here and here.

3.  For a photograph of some of the metal finds see Hazzidakis [1912] 43, Fig. 7.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Hazzidakis [1912]: Hazzidakis, Joseph. ‘An Early Minoan Sacred Cave at Arkalokhori in Crete’, The Annual of the British School at Athens (19) 35-47. 1912-1913, 'An Early Minoan Sacred Cave at Arkalokhori in Crete.', pg. 35. Online here.

2. 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., '2. Arkalokhori', pg. 80.

3. Panagiotakis [2003]: Panagiotakis, Nikos. ‘L'évolution archéologique de la Pédiada (Crète centrale) : premier bilan d'une prospection’, Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique (127:2), 327-430. 2003., '7. Arkalochori Prophitis Ilias', pg. 380. Online here.

4. Sjögren [2003]: Sjögren, Lena. Cretan Locations; Discerning site variations in Iron Age and Archaic Crete (800 - 500 B.C.). BAR International Series, no 1185. BAR Publishing, Oxford, UK. 2003., 'C43. Arkalochori', pg. 124.