Paper abstract
Chios in the `Dark Ages´: new evidence from Kato Phana
- Beaumont Lesley A.
Recent archaeological work at Kato Phana on Chios has produced new evidence which causes us to question the previously held view that the cult centre at ancient Phanai was first established in the Late Geometric period. Excavations undertaken between 1999 and 2005 by Lesley Beaumont, on behalf of the British School at Athens and the University of Sydney, and Aglaia Archontidou-Argyri, on behalf of the K' Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, have unearthed finds stretching back through the EG, MG, and PG periods to LHIIIC. These discoveries raise questions about the nature of the early occupation of the site, and point to the probable existence of pre-LG cult worship at ancient Phanai. In addition to presenting and discussing these finds, the paper will attempt to contextualise this new evidence from Kato Phana in the wider framework of what we know to date of the settlement of Chios during the Dark Ages.
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