| PK | C6074 |
| TITLE | Choiromandres; Guard House |
| WGS84 | 35.07175° N, 26.236374° E |
| Accuracy | Exact |
| LAT/LON | 35.07175, 26.236374 |
| LON/LAT | 26.236374, 35.07175 |
| DMS | 35° 4' 18.3" N | , | 26° 14' 10.9464" E |
| W3W | snooping, reminds, bluntest |
| UTM | 35 S, 430378, 3881267 |
| EGSA87 | 703764, 3882998 |
| Elevation m | 87 |
| Elevation feet | 285.4 |
| Region | Crete |
| Subregion | Siteia |
TYPE
1. Artifacts. Vokotopoulos[2022], 77 ' ..., they contained fragments of human and hollow bovine figurines, ... and some clay weights.'
2. Artifacts. Vokotopoulos[2022], 79 'On the other hand, it yielded but a few figurines.'
3. Building. Vokotopoulos[2022], 80 'The erection of the guard house on the height hitherto occupied by the sanctuary ... '
4. Cult. Vokotopoulos[2022], 77 ' ... a small open-air sanctuary was established at the south side of the valley, upon the rocky ridge later occupied by the guard house ... '
5. Cult. Vokotopoulos[2022], 79 ' ..., the sanctuary should rather be inserted into the wider category of hilltop shrines; ... '
6. Guard Post. Chryssoulaki et al [1990], 48 'Le poste de garde, ...'
7. Lithics. Vokotopoulos[2022], 77 ' ..., pieces of chert, ... '
8. Pottery. Vokotopoulos[2022], 80 'The pottery from the deposits that are associated with the foundation of the guard house (Figure 3.5–10) includes some examples of the Alternating Floral Style as well as bevelled cups decorated in the Diagonal Red and White Style.'
9. Walls. Vokotopoulos[2022], 80 'This was bounded on the uphill side by a stout wall, whose lower course was constructed with large blocks put in an upright position.'
PERIOD (High Chronology)
1. Protopalatial: (1925 BC - 1750 BC)
a. Vokotopoulos[2022]: 80, ' ...the elite architecture of the Protopalatial period.'
2. Middle Minoan IB: (1925 BC - 1850 BC)
a. Vokotopoulos[2022]: 79, 'According to the pottery, ritual activity started in MM IB (Figure 3.4) and the sanctuary continued to be frequented in MM IIA.'
b. Vokotopoulos[2022]: 80, 'The above are characteristic of MM IB.'
3. Middle Minoan IIA: (1850 BC - 1775 BC)
a. Vokotopoulos[2022]: 79, 'According to the pottery, ritual activity started in MM IB (Figure 3.4) and the sanctuary continued to be frequented in MM IIA.'
b. Vokotopoulos[2022]: 80, 'Consequently, the evidence suggests that the guard house was constructed in MM IIA ‒ specifically, in its course rather than at its start, given that the earlier sanctuary was still in use at this time.'
4. Middle Minoan IIB: (1775 BC - 1750 BC)
a. Vokotopoulos[2022]: 81, 'The (guard house, rhc) building yielded some diagnostic MM IIB sherds as well, ... '
5. Middle Minoan IIIB: (1700 BC - 1675 BC)
a. Chryssoulaki et al [1990]: 51, 'Les trouvailles sont datées du MM III ? (fragment de cruche 1. 28/88) 18, du MM III B/MR I A, du MR III et de l'époque gréco-romaine.'
6. Late Minoan IA: (1675 BC - 1625 BC)
a. Chryssoulaki et al [1990]: 51, 'Les trouvailles sont datées du MM III ? (fragment de cruche 1. 28/88) 18, du MM III B/MR I A, du MR III et de l'époque gréco-romaine.'
7. Late Minoan III: (1420 BC - 1075 BC)
a. Chryssoulaki et al [1990]: 51, 'Les trouvailles sont datées du MM III ? (fragment de cruche 1. 28/88) 18, du MM III B/MR I A, du MR III et de l'époque gréco-romaine.'
A good resource is the HYDRIA project page on Choiromandres. It is online here where the reader will find photographs and a concise text explanation.
Another discussion of the guard post of Choiromandres is in 'Les routes minoennes : Rapport préliminaire - Défense de la circulation ou circulation de la défense' by Chryssoulaki et al., Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique (113), pp. 43-75 esp. 66 ff., 1989. It is online here.
2. There are several components to Choiromandres. The proto-palatial period is represented by this open-air sanctuary and guard house, and a small protopalatial building (F8044). In LM I the farmhouse complex, C7622, was erected. At a later period a megalithic enclosure and round building were created at F8045 and F8046 respectively. A large triangular area to the immediate east of these sites was terraced and used for agriculture (F8048). Dams at F8047 were part of the hydrographic regime of the agricultural effort.
3. Oddo and Chalikias eds. [2022] 81 say " ..., the construction of the guard house at Choiromandres signals a major shift in the character of the site as well as in the historical trajectory of the region ‒ namely, the start of a process of state formation that ended with the rise of Zakros to the rank of a palatial center ... "
rhc
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Chryssoulaki et al [1990]: Chryssoulaki, Stella and Yannis Tzedakis, Yanna Veniéri, Maria Avgouli. ‘Les routes minoennes - Le poste de Choiromandres (gk.) et le contrôle des communications’, Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique (114-1) pp. 43-62, 1990., 'Le poste de Choiromandres (gk). : disposition architecturale', pg. 48.
Online here.
2. Oddo and Chalikias eds. [2022]: Oddo, Emilia and Konstantinos Chalikias (eds.). South by Southeast; The History and Archaeology of Southeast Crete from Myrtos to Kato Zakros. Archaeopress Archaeology. Oxford, U.K., '',
3. Vokotopoulos[2022]: Vokotopoulos, Leonidas. ‘Choiromandres: Periods of Use and Character of the Occupation; An Overview’, In Oddo and Chalikias (eds.) [2022] 75-91, '', pg. 75.