Knossos, Gypsades - 2018

Knossos, Gypsades. Ioanna Serpetsidaki (Ephorate of Antiquities of Herakleion), Gianna Ayala (Sheffield), Amy Bogaard (Oxford) and Eleni Hatzaki (Cincinnati) report on a mixed season of study and fieldwork on this collaborative project that seeks to investigate a neighbourhood within the southern suburbs of Minoan Knossos (Fig. 1).
Study of stratigraphy, architecture and ceramics led by Hatzaki confirmed and refined the sequence of occupation observed in the 2014 and 2015 excavation seasons, allowing the definition of architectural phases and associated contexts. The aim was to provide a framework within which all specialists in the study of different materials (artefacts, archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological materials, geoarchaeological samples) can complete their studies. Architectural remains were grouped into seven architectural phases and a series of ‘Buildings’ defined, associated with one or more architectural phases. The earliest phase (1) is represented by fragmentary remains of a building (3) dating to the Protopalatial (MM II) period in Trenches 1 and 7. Phase 2 (early Neopalatial, MM IIIA-B) is attested by more substantial remains of a building (2) in Trenches 1 and 6-8. The following phase (3; Neopalatial – late Neopalatial, LM IA–IB) appears in Trench 5, in the north of the investigated area, where the remains are termed building 7, and in Trench 7. The main focus of excavation, Building 1 (Trenches 1 and 6-7) belongs to Phase 4 (late Neopalatial-early Final Palatial, LM IB-II). It appears to have been founded in LM IB over the earlier Building 3 and using the east façade of Building 2 as its back wall. There is little evidence of occupation in LM IB-II due to its reoccupation in Phase 5 (Postpalatial, LM IIIB early). This occupation probably followed a hiatus in use and involved modifications to the building, including a reduction in overall size. It was destroyed by fire and abandoned, leaving behind the striking archaeobotanical residues mentioned in previous reports. Following the destruction parts of the building must have been dismantled in order to remove usable building materials such as wood and stone. The subsequent phases (6-7) represent the Hellenistic and Ottoman-early Modern periods and are attested in Buildings 4 and 5 in Trench 3.
Serpetsidaki, Ayala and Bogaard, with John Pouncett (Oxford), carried out geophysical and geoarchaeological field survey in order to place the excavated area within the wider context of the overall plot under investigation. Earlier gradiometer and resistance surveys carried out in 2010-11 suggested a ‘busy’ subsurface landscape, but, while the data indicated potential areas of interest, they did not provide a clear picture of the detailed layout of structures. The first objective of renewed geophysical survey in 2018 was to achieve a detailed mapping of subsurface features by integrating three intensive, high-resolution techniques: magnetometry, resistivity and ground penetrating radar (GPR). A second objective was to investigate the stratigraphy of key anomalies using sediment coring. This second objective also allowed for the retrieval of potential dating material. A third objective was to complete a microtopographical survey of the entire plot (Fig. 2). The most intensively surveyed parts of the plot were the open southern extent and the lower terrace (magnetometry and GPR), with only partial coverage of the wooded area (GPR only, as yet unprocessed).
Gradiometer survey in the southern part of the plot (Area 1) showed an extensive array of positive (black) and negative (white) anomalies consistent with archaeological features and deposits (Fig. 3). A broad positive linear magnetic anomaly aligned from north to south, thought to correspond to a road or trackway, was identified in the centre of the area, while a dense cluster of orthogonal negative magnetic anomalies, perhaps reflecting a complex of buildings, was identified immediately to its west. Further orthogonal negative magnetic anomalies, perhaps corresponding to additional buildings, were identified in the southern and eastern parts of the survey area. A series of curvilinear positive magnetic anomalies following the contours of the slope may indicate terraces visible in adjacent plots of land and identified as subtle earthworks in the microtopographic survey. On the Lower Terrace (Area 2) gradiometer survey shows two curvilinear dipolar (black and white) anomalies which correspond to the edges of terraces.
A single grid in the northern part of Area 1 was surveyed using the resistance meter (Fig. 4). Here high resistance anomalies thought to correspond to at least two rooms or buildings were identified in the western corner and along the north-eastern corner. All of Area 1 was surveyed by GPR, but only four data grids have been processed to date (Fig. 5). Parabolas consistent with walls were identified in the radargrams and orthogonal reflections at depths of c.0.3m to c.0.8m appear to correspond to the continuations of the rooms or buildings identified in the western corner of the grid surveyed using the resistance meter.
Geophysics and coring results show that there is a great deal of archaeological potential in the area and have highlighted the following issues. Firstly, it appears that an approach with multiple techniques and integration of sediment coring allows the identification of several archaeological features. Area 1, had by far the best preserved archaeological record. The potential of both the resistivity and GPR work, once fully processed, will be to seek to interpret the depth of the anomalies in conjunction with the results of the sediment coring.
Sediment coring has highlighted the complex stratigraphic sequence especially visible in the southern upper extent. Combination of coring and geophysical results show that this is due to manipulation of the hillside in the past with terraces and structures at varying depths across the plot. Coring and geophysical results suggest that there may be 2 to 3 terraces that have been highly degraded across the open extent). The wooded area, of the three areas, shows the most accumulation of hill wash over time, with indications of historic terraces.
The lower terrace appears to have been truncated, with the marl substrata at c. 50 cm depth. This was a surprise: it was expected that this area would have had the greatest accumulation of soil material and therefore the greatest archaeological preservation. Only very slight archaeological traces were captured at quite shallow depths, suggesting that this area may have been highly modified and terraced when the modern road was re-laid, removing what archaeology was present and leaving the hillside as it appears today.
The results of the 2018 field season show considerable potential for integrated geophysical and geoarchaeological prospection. Refinement of the stratigraphic sequence of anomalies detected can be achieved through radiocarbon dating of samples recovered from some boreholes. Analysis of historic maps and aerial photographs should also facilitate an understanding of the area. Once complete, this team’s survey can be integrated with the larger survey geophysical survey undertaken in 2010-11, the excavation data from Trenches 1-7 from the previous excavation seasons and the high-resolution ploughzone data collected by the Knossos Urban Landscape Project (KULP).