4th ARCHAEOLOGICAL MEETING OF THESSALY AND CENTRAL GREECE, 2009-2011
FROM PREHISTORY TO THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD

Paper abstract

Vitale Salvatore
University of Calabria, Italy
Late Helladic IIIB Pottery from Mitrou, East Lokris: Relative Chronology, Typology, and Wider Significance
(poster paper)

This paper illustrates the results of the study of Late Helladic (LH) IIIB ceramics from Mitrou, East Lokris, with particular reference to three significant deposits from the northeast sector, one dating to LH IIIB1, the other two to LH IIIB2 Late. The evidence is presented in three main sections: a stratigraphic and contextual overview of the deposits, a description of the most important chronological and typological features of the pottery, and a discussion of the possible significance of the materials in the wider perspective of Mycenaean ceramic developments in central Greece. Two interesting elements emerge from the examination of the LH IIIB2 Late assemblages. First, they include some features that are uncommon in non-Palatial sites, among which the comparatively high frequency of Rosette deep bowls is particularly striking. Second, LH IIIB2 deposits from Mitrou appear to be contemporary with the final catastrophes that affected the palaces of Mycenae, Tiryns, Midea, and Thebes, later than the destructions of Gla and Orchomenos, and slightly earlier than that of Dimini. The combination of these factors raises intriguing questions concerning the political geography of East Lokris in the final decades of the 13th century B.C.: were Mitrou and the surrounding region under the control of a Mycenaean Palace during this period? If this was the case, which of the powerful centres situated in the vicinity may be considered the best candidate?

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