Archaeobotanical Insights from the Final Neolithic/Early Minoan Site of Merarchia, in Chania, Crete
The site, known as ‘Merarchia’ in Kastelli within the Old Town of Chania, in Western Crete has produced, so far, the earliest finds of the city of Chania, and seem to be dated to the Final Neolithic/ Early Bronze Age. No Neolithic site has been excavated, as yet, in the Old town of Chania and we know very little from this period in this area. The archaeobotanical material will be presented in a preliminary form, as the rest of the material (architecture, bones, pottery etc.) does still represent work in progress.
Some 34 funnel-shaped, rock pits most probably made in the FN II were excavated in 2003. On top of these, Early Minoan strata sealed these pits, so that their contents could include FN II and/or Early Minoan. 40 samples of soil were water floated for environmental and archaeological data. Although the density of seeds is not high, the information which they provide is throwing some insight into Minoan agriculture of these periods for which very little is known in Crete. The study of microfauna and obsidian from the same levels reinforces the premise that the rock pits were dug in the FNII and that the fillings, in certain samples, represent mixed material from earlier phases.
This time, the in-house colloquium will take place in the Lepsius-Kolleg of the DAI (Entrance: Im Dol 2-6, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem)
If you are interested in attending, we kindly ask you to register in advance via email: veranstaltung.zentrale@dainst.de.
The lecture will also be broadcast online via Zoom. Please register for the online event using the following link: