PhD research Ioanna Kostopoulou, joint PhD Ghent University - Universität Tübingen. The scheduled PhD project aims at achieving a better understanding of the multicultural character of the site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos and contributing to the discussion on migration and interaction during the late 13th and early 12th centuries B.C. in the Eastern Mediterranean. It will focus on the pottery finds made in the new excavations since 2014. This unpublished material allows one to address a number of issues that are of central importance for the understanding of the site itself and the role it played in the regional context of the island as well as on the “international” scene.
A first major goal of the envisaged study is to establish the exact date of the site by means of the pottery finds. This includes clarifying the precise moment of the foundation and the abandonment of the settlement. The new finds will allow a re-evaluation of the previous chronological assessments. Setting the precise chronological framework of the site will also enable the reconstruction of a detailed picture of its history in relation to other contemporary settlements around the Eastern Mediterranean. The undisturbed and closed stratigraphical layers of the site secured a good preservation of the findings, which can lead to safe results of a precise chronology.
The second issue to be treated concerns the areas involved in the Mediterranean exchange network, of which Pyla-Kokkinokremos formed part.
The origin of each pot and pottery class shall be defined by referring to its typological, stylistic and fabric characteristics. In addition, the quantitative analysis of the different vessel classes and types will provide a deeper insight into the character of those exchange processes.
Moreover, a spatial analysis of the findings will provide information related to social or even ethnic differentiation among the inhabitants, by investigating differences and similarities in access, which the inhabitants of different houses or quarters had to imported pots.
Lastly, a question that arises especially in areas, where locally produced pottery of foreign type and style appears, is whether its presence was only a matter of trade or also a result of population movement. The discussion of the new excavation results can contribute to an understanding of Pyla’s role in that time, as well as to a general review of the immigration hypothesis.