Site details

Lyttos/Xidas

PK	C4497
TITLE	Lyttos∕Xidas
WGS84	35.207875° N, 25.367838° E
Accuracy	Exact

LAT/LON	35.207875, 25.367838
LON/LAT	25.367838, 35.207875

DMS

35° 12' 28.35" N

25° 22' 4.2168" E

W3W	rehash, breakdown, aimed
UTM	35 S, 351433, 3897316
EGSA87	624357, 3896664

Elevation m	630
Elevation feet	2066.9
Region	Crete
Subregion	Pedhiadha

GENERAL SITE TYPE Settlement

TYPE

1.    Artifacts.   Sjögren [2003], 123    'Scattered relief-pithos fragments from the acropolis of ancient Lyttos.'
2.    hab.   Nowicki [2000], 177    'Not much is known about the origin and earliest phases of the Drk Age town on the summit.'
3.    settlement.   Eaby [2007], 128    'The ancient settlement of Lyttos ... '
4.    Sherds.   Sjögren [2003], 123    'The A pottery lies in some cases above the Hellenistic vases.'

SITE SIZE

- Nowicki [2000]  p. 177,  Size: sq. m.  '..., it is impossible to determine the size of the Dark Age settlement.'

PERIOD (High Chronology)

1. Late Minoan IIIB: (1330 BC - 1200 BC)
    a.    Nowicki [2000]: 177, '...the settlement was founded here in the hard times of LM IIIB/IIIC and ...'
    b.    Eaby [2007]: 128, '... it was founded, probably in LM IIIB/C as a type of defensible settlement, ... '

2. Late Minoan IIIC: (1200 BC - 1075 BC)
    a.    Nowicki [2000]: 177, '..., several LM IIIC and ...'
    b.    Eaby [2007]: 128, '... it was founded, probably in LM IIIB/C as a type of defensible settlement, ... '

3. Protogeometric: (1100 BC - 900 BC)
    a.    Nowicki [2000]: 177, '...and even more PG and G potsherds visible here and there, ...'

4. Geometric: (900 BC - 700 BC)
    a.    Nowicki [2000]: 177, '...and even more PG and G potsherds visible here and there, ...'

5. Archaic: (700 BC - 480 BC)
    a.    Nowicki [2000]: 177, ..., A, ...'
    b.    Sjögren [2003]: 123, 'O, EA'

6. Orientalizing: (700 BC - 630 BC)
    a.    Sjögren [2003]: 123, 'O'

NOTES

1.  This marker corresponds to Nowicki's [2000] point 'b' (fig. 102, p. 178) but this site has some extent. For discussion of the topography see Nowicki [2000] 177 and see fig. 102 on p. 178.

2.  This site was contributed by Professor Sarah Murray, University of Toronto.

3.  Sjogren [2003] 123 mentions two finds from the 'acropolis of ancient Lyttos'. The first is 'Koutela' which is described as '... A(rchaic) pottery lies in some cases above the Hellenistic vases.' The second is 'Lakkoudia' which was a 'Chance find' of 'Scattered relief-pithos fragments ...' of an orientalizing type.

rhc

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Eaby [2007]: Eaby, Melissa Suzanne. Mortuary Variability in Early Iron Age Cretan Burials. Dissertation for Ph.D. submitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 2007., '85. Lyttos (Formerly Xidas)', pg. 128. Online here.

2. Nowicki [2000]: Nowicki, Krzysztof. Defensible Sites in Crete; c. 1200 - 800 B.C. (LM IIIB/IIIC through Early Geometric). Aegaeum (Annales d'archéologie égéenne de l'Université de Liège et UT-PASP), 21., '76. Lyttos (Xidas)', pg. 177.

3. Sjögren [2003]: Sjögren, Lena. Cretan Locations; Discerning site variations in Iron Age and Archaic Crete (800 - 500 B.C.). BAR International Series, no 1185. BAR Publishing, Oxford, UK. 2003., 'C39. Lyttos', pg. 123.