Site details

Onchestos or Tsumbitses East

PK	C737
TITLE	Onchestos or Tsumbitses East
WGS84	38.364633° N, 23.15562° E
Accuracy	50 m.

LAT/LON	38.364633, 23.15562
LON/LAT	23.15562, 38.364633

DMS

38° 21' 52.6788" N

23° 9' 20.232" E

W3W	bottle, latecomers, massively
UTM	34 S, 688327, 4248472
EGSA87	426084, 4246323

Elevation m	145
Elevation feet	475.7
Region	Boeotia

GENERAL SITE TYPE Settlement

TYPE

1.    Artifacts.   Syriopoulos [1995], 1084
2.    Building.   Simpson [1965], 118    'On the south side of the hill, ..., some ancient blocks appear to be the foundations of a small square building.'
3.    Pottery.   Fossey [1988], 310    'Pottery ... '
4.    Settlement.   Farinetti [2011 AI8], 11    'The site showed not only presence of EH and MH material, but also Neolithic and less strong LH. The EH and MH activity focuses became 'settlement/habitation' in character'
5.    Settlement.   Fossey [1988], 309    'Ploughed-up stones North of the Steni defile show ancient occupation here; the greater concentration is, however, South of the defile.'
6.    Sherds.   Simpson [1965], 118    'On the top of the hill, and for a radius of about 50 metres in all directions, especially to south-east, EH, MH (Minyan), and some LH IIIA-B sherds were picked up by Lazenby and myself ... '
7.    Sherds.   Simpson and Dickinson [1979], 242    'On the top of the hill and for a radius of c. 50 m. in all directions, especially to the SE, EH, MH and LH sherds were found.'
8.    Sherds.   Simpson [1981], 65    ' ..., and some Bronze Age sherds, including some Mycenaean, were found .. for a radius of about 50 m. in all directions, ... '
9.    Sherds.   AR[1961], 31    ' ... considerable quantities of Early and Middle Helladic sherds had been turned up by recent ploughing, together with a few Mycenaean.'

SITE SIZE

- Simpson [1981]  p. 65,  Size: 7853 sq. m.  ' ..., for a radius of about 50 m. in all directions, ... '

- Simpson [1965]  p. 119,  Size: 7853 sq. m.  On the top of the hill, and for a radius of about 50 metres in all directions, especially to south-east, EH, MH (Minyan), and some LH IIIA-B sherds were picked up by Lazenby and myself ... '

PERIOD (High Chronology)

1. EH: (3100 BC - 2000 BC)
    a.    Farinetti [2011 AI8]: 11, Component HA_37
    b.    AR[1961]: 31, ' ... considerable quantities of Early and Middle Helladic sherds ... '
    c.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 242, ' ..., EH, MH and LH sherds were found.'
    d.    Simpson [1965]: 118, 'EH MH ... '

2. EH I: (3100 BC - 2700 BC)
    a.    Fossey [1988]: 310, 'EH I, II and III (especially on Kazárma), ... '

3. EH II: (2700 BC - 2200 BC)
    a.    Fossey [1988]: 310, 'EH I, II and III (especially on Kazárma), ... '

4. EH III: (2200 BC - 2000 BC)
    a.    Fossey [1988]: 310, 'EH I, II and III (especially on Kazárma), ... '

5. Middle Helladic: (2000 BC - 1600 BC)
    a.    Farinetti [2011 AI8]: 11, Component HA_38
    b.    Simpson [1981]: 65, ' ... MH LH III(A-Bf) ... '
    c.    AR[1961]: 31, ' ... considerable quantities of Early and Middle Helladic sherds ... '
    d.    Fossey [1988]: 310, ' ..., MH (including Grey and Yellow Minyan), ... '
    e.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 242, ' ..., EH, MH and LH sherds were found.'
    f.    Simpson [1965]: 118, 'EH MH ... '

6. Late Helladic: (1700 BC - 1050 BC)
    a.    Farinetti [2011 AI8]: 11, '... and less strong LH.'
    b.    Simpson [1981]: 65, ' ..., including some Mycenaean, ... '
    c.    AR[1961]: 31, ' ..., together with a few Mycenaean.'
    d.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 242, ' ..., EH, MH and LH sherds were found.'

7. LH IIIA: (1410 BC - 1315 BC)
    a.    Simpson [1965]: 118, ' ... LH IIIA-B ... '
    b.    Syriopoulos [1995]: 1084,
    c.    Simpson [1981]: 65, ' ... MH LH III(A-Bf) ... '
    d.    Fossey [1988]: 310, ' ... LH IIIA-B, ... '

8. LH IIIB: (1320 BC - 1190 BC)
    a.    Simpson [1965]: 118, ' ... LH IIIA-B ... '
    b.    Syriopoulos [1995]: 1084,
    c.    Simpson [1981]: 65, ' ... MH LH III(A-Bf) ... '
    d.    Fossey [1988]: 310, ' ... LH IIIA-B, ... '

NOTES

1.  This site was placed following the map in Farinetti [2009 A18], p. 1, Fig. 2 (no. 17 in her taxonomy). This corresponds to 'Onchestos EH', 'Onchestos MH', and 'Onchestos LH' in her Table 1. 'List of intensive survey sites ...', p. 24.

2.  For an account of Onchestos in the historical period as well as an early bibliography see the entry in Frazer's Pausanias, vol. 5, 139. It is online here (.pdf).

3.  The area called Kazarma (F6055) consists of the highlands just to the north of the Thebes-Levadeia road. It is on this hill that Onchestos sat.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. AR[1961]: Archaeological Reports, The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. (8) 1961., '', pg. 31. Online here.

2. Farinetti [2011 AI8]: Farinetti, Emeri. Boeotian Landscapes; A GIS-based study ... Appendix I.8; The Copais area: Haliartia. British Archaeological Reports, no. 2195. 2011., '17. Steni North - Tsumbitses East: Components HA_37 and HA_38', pg. 11. Especially component HA_38

3. Fossey [1988]: Fossey, John M.. Topography and Population of Ancient Boiotia. Ares publishers Inc., Chicago, Illinois. 1988., '2. Kazárma, Stení - Onkhestos', pg. 308.

4. Simpson [1965]: Simpson, R. Hope. A Gazetteer and Atlas of Mycenaean Sites. London, Institute of Classical Studies, 1965., ''408 Kasarma (Onchestos)'', pg. 118.

5. Simpson [1981]: Simpson, Richard Hope. Mycenaean Greece. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press, 1981., 'C 15 Ancient Onchestos', pg. 65. Online here.

6. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: Simpson, Richard Hope and O.T.P.K. Dickinson. A Gazetteer of Aegean Civilization in the Bronze Age, Vol. I: The Mainland and the Islands. Paul Åströms Förlag, Goteborg. 1979., 'G 16 Ancient Onchestos', pg. 241. Online here.

7. Syriopoulos [1995]: Syriopoulos, Konstantinos. Γενικος Συνοπτικος Καταλογος Των Περιεχομενων και των Δυο Τομων: Δευτερος Τομος. Athens: Athens Archaeological Society. 1995., '', pg. 1084.