MIDEA - 2007

Midea. The Gr-Swedish excavations on the Myc acropolis of Midea continued in 2007 under the direction of K. Demakopoulou (Director Emerita, National Museum) with the collaboration of A.-L. Schallin (Director, Swedish Institute) and N. Divari-Valakou (Γ' ΕΠΚΑ). The Gr team excavated in the SW part of the lower acropolis and the Swedish team in the area E of the E Gate.

The Gr team worked in 2 sectors: in the W part of the building complex (previously excavated in the W Gate area) and on the lower W terrace of the acropolis. In both areas excavation continued in trenches opened in 2006. Investigation of room XIV in the W part of the building complex, abutting the fortification wall in the W Gate area, was concluded. It is a roughly square room (3 x 2.7m) built against the fortification wall. Its other 3 walls are almost ruined, evidently by the earthquake that struck Midea at the end of the 13th Ct BC. The room is founded partly on bedrock and has a sloping floor of beaten earth. The destruction deposit which covered the entire room yielded much fragmentary LH IIIB2 L pottery. A number of vases have been partly restored: a narrow-necked jug with panelled decoration on the shoulder and another wide-necked jug with linear decoration, a rosette deep bowl (Fig. 1), a stemmed bowl, a deep bowl of Group B, a medium-coarse askos and a cooking-jar. There are also many fragments of plain vessels such as kylikes, jars and hydriae. Notable among the coarsewares are fragments of a large hydria and a basin, as well as of cooking jars and pithoi. Other finds from room XIV include fragmentary human and animal figurines, stone tools, pieces of mother-of-pearl, sea shells and remains of carbonized fruits. An important find is a lentoid seal of haematite depicting a frontal human face flanked by 2 arms with forearms and hands suspended (Fig. 2). The whole scene is surrounded by a snake, almost touched by the figure’s left hand, recalling cult scenes with deities and snakes in Cretan-Myc iconography.

On the lower W terrace of the acropolis, trench C was extended 3.5m to the W to clear the entire upper surface and the outer face of a large section of the fortification wall uncovered in 2006. The full w. (5m) of this section of the wall was exposed; a 5m l. stretch, occupying the whole space of the trench, was uncovered. The 2 faces of the wall are constructed with boulders and the filling is composed of large and small stones. Part of a room was revealed against the inner face of the wall. Next to this (to the S), a large area was investigated to ca. 3.7m d. Thick accumulated deposits with piles of large stones and boulders fallen from the wall were removed. Below these, ruins left by a great destruction were uncovered, with the remains of human victims, evidently from the devastating earthquake. Marked traces of burning were also visible. With the removal of the debris, a large part of the inner face of the fortification wall was uncovered. An opening leading to a tunnel through the thickness of the wall was found. Only a small part of the interior of this was partly cleared: it is constructed in the corbelled system. The opening, which has a boulder as a monolithic lintel, is flanked by a wall and a megalithic construction. The vaulted gallery probably led down to an underground cistern or spring − a water supply system similar to that of Mycenae and Tiryns, and of the Myc acropolis of Athens.

The pottery from the destruction layer, as from all other destruction layers at Midea, dates to LH IIIB2 L. It is fragmentary, but includes all typical painted, plain and coarseware shapes of the period. The most common painted ware shapes are Group A deep bowls, stemmed bowls and kraters. A fragmentary krater is decorated with antithetic whorl-shells and added white paint. Closed shapes include stirrup jars, feeding bottles, jugs and amphorae. Plainwares include many fragments of conical and carinated kylikes, as well as a large mug found in front of the gallery opening together with a fragmentary coarse stirrup jar. Many fragments of other coarse or transport stirrup jars were found, including sherds of a stirrup jar with light-on-dark decoration and a Linear B sign. The abundant coarseware comprises many fragments of storage and cooking vessels, and hydriae and 2-handled jars, which were probably used to transport water from the underground cistern. Fragmentary sherds of the much discussed Handmade Burnished Ware were also recovered; large parts of jars with appliqué cordon and horseshoe handles have been restored.

Investigation of the room next to the area with the gallery opening continued. The part of this room uncovered is defined by the fortification wall and a cross wall. Under an accumulated layer of many fallen stones, a beaten earth floor was reached on a higher level than that of the area with the gallery. The room was founded on a stratum above the debris of the great destruction. The floor deposit contained fragmentary LH IIIC E pottery, including rosette bowls, as well as Group A and B deep bowls with antithetic and running spirals, kraters with similar decoration and monochrome interior, and 2 characteristic vases of the period, a deep semiglobular cup with monochrome interior and a medium band around the rim, as well as a stirrup jar with triangular patch on the shoulder and foliate band in the belly zone. On the floor of the room, an intact (0.11m l.) bronze violin-bow fibula was found. This pottery and the fibula demonstrate that the room belongs to a building constructed after the destruction, in LHIIIC E. Sherds of this period were also found in the upper layers of the adjoining space S of the room. These finds are of considerable interest and add to our knowledge of the post- Palatial settlement of Midea.

The work of the Swedish team was divided between 3 sites: (1) the baulk between trench 3 and room 9, in the row of basement rooms abutting the citadel wall (Fig. 3), where excavation commenced in 2006; (2) trench 9, last examined in 2004; (3) trench 14, partly excavated in 2005. The 2 latter sites were chosen in the hope of mapping the use of the interior side of the citadel wall, and the adjacent rooms, during the Myc period.

In the baulk between trench 3 and room 9, work resumed in the massive destruction layer 4; a light grey and finely grained soil (largely ash) containing charred seeds and figs. Pottery fragments and animal bones were frequent. Parts of Myc female figurines, one pierced faïence bead and 2 separate pieces of a figurative relief plaque of bone were collected. The baulk has now been taken down to floor level and forms part of room 9 excavated by Åström. Perpendicular to the citadel wall and bordering trench 3 is a well-preserved wall; facing the citadel wall is a wall with fewer courses.

In 2004, work in trench 9 had concluded at a point when most of the area was seen to be covered with small- to medium-sized stones. Some may have been part of a paving, but now they have the appearance of rubble. In the neighbouring trench 3, the aim was to determine the relationship between a room earlier excavated next to the citadel wall and the area of trench 9. Due to lack of time and resources, work in trench 9 concentrated on the NE quadrant. Excavation recommenced at layer 4, with the removal of stone rubble. Especially in the NW corner of the investigated area, there was clear evidence of a conflagration. The stones had clearly been scorched and the soil between was dark grey and contained charred seeds and figs as well as charred sherds. The area was excavated down to bedrock and, except for pottery, animal bones, shells and charred seeds, only a chert arrowhead was recovered. No structures were identified.

Work continued in the baulk between trench 3 and trench 9: NE quadrant, at the level (layer 2) where excavation stopped in 2004. This is a dark brown soil containing large pottery fragments, one spindle-whorl and one obsidian arrowhead. Again, stones were numerous, but did not form any structures: bedrock was reached in the larger part of the baulk.

The area of trenches 13, 14 and 15 is not yet fully understood: it slopes down towards Åström’s rooms 6 and 7, and erosion has affected it severely. Trenches 14 and 15 yielded a post-disaster paving of small stones and in trench 13 is a platform-shaped structure of later date, but only at the N end of trench 14 has the Myc ground level been excavated. The S end of trench 14 was, therefore, further investigated, in an area of 1m x 1.5m, to find the corresponding level.

Work in the S end of trench 14 had been discontinued in layer 2 in 2005, i.e. in a dark brown loose soil. Only a few cm remained before layer 3 appeared as a hard, light grey soil that mostly consists of fine ashes. Charred seeds were noticed, but few could be collected in one piece. At the top of the layer was the head of a Myc female figurine and an incised pottery fragment, probably of later date; at the bottom of the layer were one flat lump of molten lead and half a spindle-whorl. Layer 4 consists of densely packed small stones between which were found sherds and a conical spindle-whorl. It appears to be paving and is the only level in trench 14, S end, that could be associated with the neighbouring Myc building (rooms 6 and 7). Layer 5, with reddish-brown soil, continues to bedrock with an increasing number of stones and pottery fragments in the lower part.