The Minoan Settlement at Myrtos-Pyrgos
Jan Driessen

The grant will be used to complete the study and publish the architectural remains of the settlement at Myrtos-Pyrgos, a Bronze Age hill site located on the south coast of Crete. Situated at 35° 00" North, 25° 35" East, and located on the top of the 77.63 m. high, steep Pyrgos hill, immediately opposite the modern village of Myrtos and next to the mouth of a river with the same name, the site was obviously chosen initially for its defensible qualities as well as its link to good agricultural land, water supply and one of the most important east-west routes through the island. It was excavated between 1970 and 1973, with additional work in 1975-1976, 1980, 1982 and 1994. Both the excavation campaigns and the subsequent studies for publication are under the direction of G. Cadogan for the British School at Athens with J. Driessen responsible for the architecture.

The history of the Minoan settlement at Myrtos-Pyrgos extends from at least Early Minoan II until the end of Late Minoan IB (ca. 2900-1425 BCE) over four main periods (Pyrgos I-IV), with major monuments of three of these four principal periods: a fine communal tomb constructed in Pyrgos II and used through Pyrgos III and IV; two cisterns, a tower and terrace walls of Pyrgos III; and the “country house” surrounded by a village of Pyrgos IV. Each of these monuments is in some sense unique: no other Minoan site preserves similar Middle Bronze Age fortifications, and the architectural sophistication of the Pyrgos IV main building exceeds even that of most “conventional” palaces apart from Knossos. Apart from needing a more detailed assessment of materials and techniques used, it is one of the aims of this project to present the full study of this architecture and to place it in a proper chronological and socio-political context, taking into account the evidence provided, amongst others by administrative records and foreign imports found on the site. Our aim is to present a final report three years after the beginning of the grant.