Fortress of Aspro Nero
| PK | C5686 |
| TITLE | Fortress of Aspro Nero |
| WGS84 | 35.041694° N, 26.180924° E |
| Accuracy | Exact |
| LAT/LON | 35.041694, 26.180924 |
| LON/LAT | 26.180924, 35.041694 |
| DMS | 35° 2' 30.0984" N | , | 26° 10' 51.3264" E |
| W3W | niece, collate, distort |
| UTM | 35 S, 425295, 3877973 |
| EGSA87 | 698780, 3879552 |
| Elevation m | 469 |
| Elevation feet | 1538.7 |
| Region | Crete |
| Subregion | Siteia |
GENERAL SITE TYPE Fort
TYPE
1. Fort. AR[1996], 118 '...lies a fortification wall of 'Cyclopean' masonry with strong bastions at either end...'2. Fort. Schlager et al. [2010], 232 '...Kastell angesprochenen >kyklopischen< Ruinen von Aspro Nero...'
3. Wall. AR[2008], 80 '...further Cyclopean walls were found abutting the N bastion to the N.'
PERIOD (High Chronology)
1. Bronze Age: (3200 BC - 1050 BC)
a. AR[1996]: 118, ? 'The pottery found, together with the Cyclopean walls, suggest a date in the second millenium BC, ...'
2. Middle Minoan: (2100 BC - 1675 BC)
a. AR[2008]: 80, 'Most datable sherds in the area of these walls (and elsewhere on the site) are MM, ...'
3. Middle Minoan I: (2100 BC - 1900 BC)
a. Schlager et al. [2010]: 240, Cat. 12A/08 'MM I - LM I'
b. Schlager et al. [2010]: 240, Cat. 12A/07 'Dating: MM I - LM I'
4. Late Minoan: (1675 BC - 1075 BC)
a. AR[2008]: 80, '...with some LM...'
5. Late Minoan I: (1675 BC - 1470 BC)
a. Schlager et al. [2010]: 240, Cat. 12A/08 'MM I - LM I'
NOTES
1. For full details on dating see the catalogue in Schlager et al.[2010], p. 240. There is also a fine map of Aspro Nero (p. 234, no. 2) and good quality photographs (pp. 236-7, nn. 3 - 6).
2. The exploration of Aspro Nero is being led by Dr. Norbert Schlager of the University of Vienna.
The primary work on this fortress (I have not seen it) is 'A Town of Castles: An MM-LM Fortified Site at Aspro Nero in the Far East of Crete' in Laffineur, R. POLEMOS. Le contexte guerrier en Egée a l'age du bronze. Actes de la 7e Rencontre égéenne internationale, Université de Liége, 14-17 avril 1998. Liége Austin, 171-7.
Additional works by Dr. Schlager are:
- SCHLAGER N. 2000. 'Überlegungen zur Interpretation sog. kyklopischer oder megalithischer Bauten in Ostkreta am Beispiel von Epano Limnia/Paralaki Mantra, Aspro Nero [stou] Paletsi und Dasonari in Südostsitia' in: DOLLHOFER L. ET AL. (eds.): Altmodische Archäologie. Festschrift für Friedrich Brein. Forum Archaeologiae 14/III/2000. The paper is online here.
- SCHLAGER N. ET AL. 1997. Minoische bis Rezente Ruinen im fernen Osten Kretas. Dokumentation 1996. ÖJh 66, 1-83.
- SCHLAGER N. ET AL. 2001. Pleistozäne, Neolithische. Bronzezeitliche und Rezente Befunde und Ruinen im Fernen Osten Kretas. Dokumentation 2000. ÖJh 70, 157-220.
For a photograph of this site and background on others nearby see this.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. AR[1996]: Archaeological Reports, The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. (43) 1996., '', pg. 117.
Last par. on page: 'A focal point of the documentation work ...'
Online here.
2. AR[2008]: Archaeological Reports, The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. (55) 2008., 'Aspro Nero (Paletsi)', pg. 80.
Online here.
3. Schlager et al. [2010]: Schlager, Norbert and Tomas Alusik, Michael Brandl, Ludwig Fuchs, Ute Gunkel-Maschek, Christian Kurtze, Elisabeth Mlinar, Marco Pietrovito, Wolfgang Reiter, Rhea Schlager. ‘Aspro Nero, Agia Irini, Livari in Sudostkreta: Dokumentation 2008’, JAHRESHEFTE DES ÖSTERREICHISCHEN ARCHÄOLOGISCHEN INSTITUTES IN WIEN (79) pp. 231-358, 2010., 'SITE 12A/12B: Aspro Nero, [stou] Paletsi', pg. 233.
Online here.