Axiochori Mound (Vardarovtsa)
| PK | C1661 |
| TITLE | Axiochori Mound (Vardarovtsa) |
| WGS84 | 40.869558° N, 22.643695° E |
| Accuracy | Exact |
| LAT/LON | 40.869558, 22.643695 |
| LON/LAT | 22.643695, 40.869558 |
| DMS | 40° 52' 10.4088" N | , | 22° 38' 37.302" E |
| W3W | observe, quashing, piano |
| UTM | 34 T, 638512, 4525577 |
| EGSA87 | 385557, 4524877 |
| Elevation m | 99 |
| Elevation feet | 324.8 |
| Region | Macedonia |
GENERAL SITE TYPE Sherds
TYPE
1. Mound. Leekley and Efstratiou [1980], 103 'A prehistoric toumba ... '2. Pottery. Aslaksen [2013], 96 'appear at the same point in time as the Mycenaean pottery.', A considerable discussion of Mycenaean pottery at Axiochori is available in Aslaksen [2013] 94-96.
3. Settlement. Desborough [1964/2007], 140 ' ... that site which was more extensively excavated, ... ', Desborough uses the term 'site' but from his and other's descriptions it was obviously a settlement.
4. Sherds. Simpson [1981], 182 'The LB deposits were unusually thick; and there is evidence of a destruction at some time during the LH IIIC period. Mycenaean pottery continued in use, however, even after the occupation by northern invaders.'
5. Sherds. French [1967], 57 ' ...; some sherds (not numbered) in the University collection.'
PERIOD (High Chronology)
1. Early Bronze Age: (3200 BC - 2100 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 182, 'EB MB? LB LH IIIB-C "PG" G C H'
b. Leekley and Efstratiou [1980]: 103, 'The toumba was continuously occupied from the Early Bronze Age to the 3rd century B.C.'
2. Middle Bronze Age: (2100 BC - 1550 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 182, 'EB MB? LB LH IIIB-C "PG" G C H'
3. Late Helladic: (1700 BC - 1050 BC)
a. Leekley and Efstratiou [1980]: 103, 'The site was probably most important in the Late Helladic Period, when Mycenaean type pottery was made locally.'
4. Late Bronze Age: (1570 BC - 1200 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 182, 'EB MB? LB LH IIIB-C "PG" G C H'
5. LH IIIB: (1320 BC - 1190 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 182, 'EB MB? LB LH IIIB-C "PG" G C H'
b. Desborough [1964/2007]: 141, ' ..., the earliest Mycenaean material is not earlier than LH. III B. In fact, ..., it could be advanced LH. III B; ... '
c. Aslaksen [2013]: 95, 'Jung (2002: 230) correlates the earliest Mycenaean pottery found at Axiochori with layer 15 at Kastanas - thus placing this layer at the end of the Late Helladic IIIB period.'
6. LH IIIC: (1190 BC - 1060 BC)
a. Simpson [1981]: 182, 'EB MB? LB LH IIIB-C "PG" G C H'
b. Desborough [1964/2007]: 141, ' ..., and this, if correct, should belong to LH. III C ... '
c. Aslaksen [2013]: 95, 'Thus it can be assumed that the Mycenaean presence at Axiochori mainly dates to the Late Helladic IIIB-IIIC period.'
7. Protogeometric: (1100 BC - 900 BC)
a. Leekley and Efstratiou [1980]: 103, ' ... replaced by local proto-Geometric pottery ... '
NOTES
1. For more see:
- W. A. Heurtley and R. W. Hutchinson, 'Report on Excavations at the Toumba and Tables of Vardaróftsa, Macedonia, 1925, 1926: Part I. The Toumba', The Annual of the British School at Athens (27) 1925/1926, pp. 1-66 which is here.
- O. Davies, W. A. Heurtley and W. L. Cuttle, 'Report on Excavations at the Toumba and Tables of Vardaróftsa, Macedonia, 1925, 1926', The Annual of the British School at Athens (28) 1926/1927, pp. 195-242 which is here.
2. See the discussion of Axiochori in Aslaksen [2013], pp. 94 - 98.
3. For an Archaic grave found ' ... near the Toumba located west to the modern town' see the Aristeia Project page here.
4. Comparing the toumba with Rey's map (Rey [1921] planche IV) makes the identification certain. Rey has the toumba 650 m. east of the village of Vardarovtsi (Aspros) and his map (pg. 29, Fig. 15) explains how that's possible even though present-day Aspros has a very different aspect.
5. French [1967] 57 mentions 'Excavation material in the Thessaloniki Museum; ... '
6. The Mycenaean Atlas Project would like to thank Dr. Stratos Nanoglou of the University of Thessalonika for making available a copy of French [1967] which would have been otherwise difficult to obtain.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Aslaksen [2013]: Aslaksen, Ole Christian . Global and local in Late Bronze Age Central Macedonia; Economy, mobility and identity. Gotarc Series B. Archaeological Theses 61, University of Gothenburg; Department of Historical Studies, Sweden, '7.2.1 Axiochori', pg. 94.
Online here.
2. Desborough [1964/2007]: Desborough, V.R.d'A.. The Last Mycenaeans and Their Successors: An Archaeological Survey, c. 1200 - c. 1000 B.C.. Wipf & Stock, 2007. Originally published in 1964 by Oxford University Press. , '', pg. 140.
3. French [1967]: French, D.H.. Index of Prehistoric Sites in Central Macedonia and Catalogue of Sherd Material in The University of Thessaloniki. Athens, 'Axiochori (Vardarophtsa) A 4', pg. 7.
4. Leekley and Efstratiou [1980]: Leekley, Dorothy and Nicholas Efstratiou. Archaeological Excavations in Northern Greece. Noyes Press, Park Ridge, New Jersey. 1980, 'Vardarophtsa (Kilkis)', pg. 103.
5. Rey [1921]: Rey, Léon. Observations sur les premiers habitats de la Macédoine; Recueillies par le Service Archéologique de l'Armée d'Orient; 1916-1919 (Région de Salonique). E. De Boccard, Paris, '4. - Vardarovtsi Toumba sur tables.', pg. 27.
Online here.
6. Simpson [1981]: Simpson, Richard Hope. Mycenaean Greece. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press, 1981., 'L 45 Axiochori (Vardarophtsa)', pg. 182.
DH French, CM No. A 4
Online here.