Excavation at Assiros Toumba 1987: A preliminary report, Annual of the British School at Athens, 83, 1988, 375-387

Excavations at Assiros Toumba 1987. A Preliminary ReportAuthor(s): K. A. WardleSource: The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 83 (1988), pp. 375-387Published by: British School at AthensStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30103125 .

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EXCAVATIONS AT ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987 A PRELIMINARY REPORT

(PLATES 57-60)

A second major season of excavation took place at Assiros Toumba during July and August. I am grateful for the continued support of the sponsors who have made this work possible, for the assistance given by the Ephor of Antiquities for Central Macedonia, Dr loulia Vokotopoulou, and her staff, and for the hard work of all who helped with the project.' As predicted, the principal discoveries were architectural and our knowledge of the settlement plans has, with persistence, been augmented in several phases of its occupation, despite the poor preservation in many of the levels under excavation. Only those plans, where major additions have been made, are published here: for others the reader is referred to the Preliminary Report for 1988.2 The range of finds gave few surprises, although the greater area excavated of the Late Bronze Age levels has greatly increased the number of well-stratified Mycenaean sherds. The welcome discovery of the first stratified sherds of Proto-Geometric style of local manufacture should allow more precise dating of the Iron Age destruction level of Phase 2, while evidence for bronze working at the site in the later Bronze Age has increased.

THE 1987 EXCAVATION3

Two new trenches with a total area of c. 150 m2 were dug4 across the northern part of the site with the aim of exploring the remainder of the north apsidal building of Phase I and the underlying Phase 2 destruction. The unexcavated area in the SW of the site5 was opened to link the existing trenches which were then dug as a single area 8o m2 to the S of the Phase I walls in order to explore the upper LBA levels.

Work continued in the existing trench immediately to the east6 and in the deeper trenches in the west and centre of the mound.7 In the NE areas clearance of the Phase 9 destruction level was almost completed and spoil was used to backfill the area above the

' Sponsors included, in addition to the British School,

the British Academy, Society of Antiquaries, University of Birmingham, University of Cambridge, the Twenty Seven Foundation, the Russell Trust, Institute of Aegean Prehis- tory and the National Geographic Society of America.

The excavation team was made up of twenty locally employed workmen and thirty volunteers, including students from the University of Thessaloniki. I have been very lucky in retaining the help of so many key assistants vital to the continuity of the project, some from its first season in 1975: Richard Hubbard, site supervisor; Glynis Jones, plant remains; Cressida Ridley, site supervisor; David Smyth, surveyor; Diana Wardle, potshed director and conservation; Paul Halstead, faunal remains and site supervisor; Graham Norrie, photographer; Sara Paton, pottery supervisor; Rayna Andrew, research assistant; Laurence Bowkett, assistant director on site 1987.

2 BSA 82 (1987) 313-29. See also discussion of agricultural practices in Greek Prehistory by G. Jones BSA 82 (1987) 115-23, submitted for publication before the 1986 excavation season.

3 I am particularly grateful to David Smyth for prepar- ing, as usual, such clear plans, and to Graham Norrie for the photographs.

4 Trenches HE in the west and HD in the east. The NE angle of this area had already been excavated in I980 as trench HD.

5 E.g. BSA 82 316, fig. i, between trenches NI and NG and NH. The whole trench is now known as NG/NH.

6 Trench NC. The northern boundary of this trench is 2 m. further north than that used last year.

7 Trenches HB and NA/HC. 8 Trench JO.



376 K.A. WARDLE

Phase 9 storeroom (Room 9) to protect the standing mud-brick walls on either side. In the centre of the site the stone footings of the Phase I apsidal buildings are still in position.

Working conditions were unusually difficult this year, both because of a heatwave in July and then three major rainstorms which left the deeper trenches waterlogged, preventing work in them for several days after each rainfall.

As in the previous season water sieving was used systematically on site for recovery of plant remains and, in the village, study of all materials continued at the same time as the excavation. The dig team was kept in excellent spirits by the cooking of Edna Jennings who left no corner unfilled.

PHASE I: EARLY IRON AGE C. 800-750 BC9 (for plan see BSA 82, 316)

It was hoped that the new area of excavation in the north of the toumba would reveal the remainder of the northern apsidal building discovered last year. Unfortunately, its northern wall had been entirely robbed away and its position only shown by the floors on either side. Two pits in the wall line show the wooden posts which would have been an essential part of the structure. A small patch of laid sherd floor in the extreme SW corner of the area continued that discovered in 1977 when the presence of the apsidal buildings was not suspected. This floor had a straight edge which marks the position of a cross wall within the building.

To the north of the building was a large yard area scattered with sherds and stones. The surface sloped sharply to the NW and was limited by a rough row of stones. Beyond these the compacted brown earth, characteristic of the Phase I deposits, was deeper and suggested that the stones were the remains of a terrace wall.

Further cleaning of the pair of apsidal houses showed that each had been rebuilt. In the north building two successive floor surfaces were found both inside and outside the building. As an additional complication, some of the stones which were thought in 1986 to belong to partitions'l now appear to predate the apsidal buildings.

Particular care was taken to search for post pits when excavating below the level of the missing southern part of the south apsidal building. Some certain post settings were identified while other disturbances may indicate internal structures but their plan is not coherent. A complete 'bronze' pin of Geometric type with a conical head (PLATE 57a) was found on the yard surface to the north of the building and a number of restorable vessels on the floors."

PHASE 2: EARLY IRON AGE C. 950-900 BC (FIG. I, PLATES 58a and 59a)

With the removal of the Phase I yard levels at the northern end of the mound, the underlying destruction level was explored further. Excavation of three 'rooms' (3, 4 & 5) first identified in 1977 was completed and three more were found in a row to the north (8, 13 & 14). The wall lines were defined for all these rooms but the floor level was not reached in all of Room 13 or in Room 14. A small baulk was also left in the NW corner of Room 8 to be removed later. The new rooms have approximately the same dimensions as those already discovered, 6 x 4 m.

9 The dates for phases are notional, pending complete study of the Mycenaean pottery and the small number of painted Iron Age pieces together with the context of each group.

1o BSA 82 317. " Cf Phase I pottery published in BSA 75 (I980) 280,

fig. Io.



EXCAVATIONS AT ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987 377

lb

N

/

I

0o

9 10 11 12

Not yet excavated

~t3_

7 6

5 4

3 2

1 14 13, 8

door

ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987

PHASE\2 c.900 B.C.

'Mudbrick walls Stone circuit wall

Hearth 0 fO5 Om

FIG. I. Assiros 1975-1987, Phase 2 plan.



378 K.A. WARDLE

The destruction fire was particularly intense in this part of the settlement, resulting in partial firing of the mud-brick walls. In places these still stood to a height of nearly half a metre. Preservation was better than in any part of this level encountered previously. Rooms 4 and 13 had circular clay settings in the floor with slightly raised edges - perhaps hearths (PLATE 59a). In Room 5, for the first time at Assiros, patches of trodden clay floor were preserved by the conflagration. Several pottery vessels were found, bringing the total for the room to Io.12 Sixteen loomweights belonged in a group near the eastern wall of the room. Some were found on the floor, while others had fallen during the winter into the adjacent trench as the baulk eroded. Yet more were found elsewhere in the room, in addition to the large number of loomweights and jar handles used as weights which were found in the 'cupboards' in the SE of the room in 1975.13 Near the N wall a group of stones could be another 'cupboard'.

Room 8 also had several pots smashed on the floor and two 'cupboards' against its east wall. In the south wall a gap may indicate the position of a door to Room 4. In the SW corner mud-bricks had been placed in a quarter circle to form another 'cupboard', (like the one diagonally opposite in the NE corner of Room 3) which was full of loomweights.

Fragments of two local Proto-Geometric vessels - a hydria (PLATE 57b) and a bowl - were found in the upper destruction debris. These should assist the dating of this level when the chronology of this class is better defined.14

This Phase 2 settlement was clearly planned with a standard sized building unit in a very different way to any of the Late Bronze Age settlements, or indeed the immediately preceding Iron Age settlement of Phase 3. It is very unlikely that the whole block of 'rooms' at the northern end of the mound (i-5) was roofed. A flat roof is improbable this far north and a pitched roof would need a span of 12 m. It is a more practical arrangement to roof individual rooms and allow the run off of rain water into the yard areas between them.

I suggest that those areas where pots and loomweights were found in large numbers (3, 5, 8) were interiors. Those where there were hearths and few or no vessels could then be open yard areas within the block of buildings. On this basis it seems likely that Room lo, where loomweights found in 1986 showed a loom in position, 5 was also an interior but I I and I2 are too damaged to be certain. This pattern of building might reflect individual family units, each with similar accommodation - a pattern which so far is most remarkable for its absence in the Bronze Age settlements.

PHASE 3: EARLY IRON AGE C. 1050-950 BC (FIG. 2, PLATES 58b, 59b & c)

At the southern end of the site the majority of the soft grey levels which characterize this phase have now been removed. As usual they were thoroughly disturbed by animal burrows. Buildings or terrace platforms were indicated by footings of stone, or stones

packed with clay, which have been largely robbed away or eroded. A good street surface of

12 Vessels from this room include that illustrated in BSA

75 (1980) 259, fig. i8. 13 Ibid 256, PLATE 20C. 14 There has not yet been time to study all the sherds

from the relevant levels nor to determine whether these

pieces were on the destruction floor, or belong to the later reuse. In any case the date of the appearance of the local Macedonian pottery of Proto-Geometric style is still

uncertain. I feel that it is unwise to date it higher than 900 BC on present evidence but the imminent publication of the wheel-made Iron Age pottery from Kastanas, and recent finds at Torone and near Dion should improve the

position. It is equally difficult to see how rapidly the style changed, if at all, after its introduction.

15 BSA 82 (1987) 318, PLATE 50C.




8

N

I

/

I

(0

/o

Early Iron Age Pit

28

24

26 25

sued-,- m

21 20

-Ii 2

91

5

ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987

Phase 3 c.1000 B.C.

0 5 fOm

FIG. 2. Assiros 1975-1987, Phase 3 plan.



380 K.A. WARDLE

sherds and pebbles (24) was found running E-W (PLATES 58b and 59b). The walls to the north and south of the street were built on mud-brick walls of the Bronze Age Phase 5, with almost the same alignment, and the street between had been resurfaced several times. There was, however, no obvious distinction between the Bronze and Iron Age surfaces. This reuse, or perhaps even continued use, of wall alignments and a street between them is the clearest indication of the very slight gap, if any, between the latest Bronze Age and earliest Iron Age occupation at Assiros.

Traces of the settlement of this phase have now been found everywhere on the site and its plan is published here for the first time EFIG. 2). As has already been observed'6 this represents at least two separate stages of building activity.

The southern wall of the building (25, 26) is not preserved, but may have been built on the underlying Phase 6 wall at the western end and undermined by the large pit at the eastern end." The north wall rests on Phase 5 walls and the street (24) beyond seems to open into a yard area to the east (28). To the north of the street the thick stone walls of (20) (PLATES 59b and c) suggest a terrace-like construction to the west of the Phase 5 room (2I) whose mud-brick walls are reused in the footings of Room 2 I in Phase 3, indicated only by the survival of a single row of stones.

In the central part of the site the underlying levels sloped sharply down from east to west and the wall fragments found here (91) may indicate the construction of another 'terrace' platform. Some of these were reused in Phase 2 buildings. Westwards, we have found no trace of any structures until the perimeter wall (95) which was built of stone.

In the NE some walls were built on the existing ruins of Phase 5 (I) while others rested on the firm debris of that destruction (2).'8 One of these was reused as the footing of the eastern wall of Room 5 in Phase 2. North of this group of walls was a small apsidal building (5), built of mud-brick19 but the extension to the east, although joining, is probably not part of the same building. No significant levels or features were found to the north of this and they may have been eroded away.

There were traces of burning in several places and this settlement, too, may have been destroyed by fire. No clear differentiation can yet be seen between the pottery of Phases 2 and 3. The wheel-made grey class is present throughout. It would however be unsafe to place any reliance on the precise composition of the Phase 3 pottery assemblage since animal burrows have caused considerable disturbance and there are very few restorable pots from these levels.

(Phase 4 - not used)

PHASE 5: LATE BRONZE AGE C. I I00-I50 BC (FIG. 3, PLATES 58b and c)

More coherent building remains of this phase were found on the south and west of the mound than in earlier seasons. Their plan, published here for the first time (FIG. 3), shows the extent of the buildings discovered. It is again clear that the destruction of the Phase 6 settlement was followed by major replanning of the settlement in the following phase. For

'6 Ibid. Given the state of preservation of the structures it is unlikely that it will be possible to distinguish all interiors and exteriors. 'Room' numbers have therefore been allotted arbitrarily for purposes of identification only.

"7 Ibid 320. It is increasingly likely that this pit is to be dated to Phase 3, but not yet demonstrated conclusively.

'8 BSA 75 (1980) PLATE 20oa. '9 AR ig80-81 31.




b

oN

/

L

NO

e

Early Iron Age Pit

26

27 28

24 23 Street

2;: 21

1

11

8

16

20

4

ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987

Phase 5 c.1100B.C.

O 5 fOm




382 K.A. WARDLE

example, the E-W street, described above (Phase 3) overlies one of the Phase 6 walls. All the mud-brick walls in the southern area were built with substantial stone foundations, often wider than the wall proper, since they were built on fallen debris rather than on earlier wall alignments (PLATE 58b). Some Phase 6 walls may have stood high enough to have been used in the new buildings.

At the southern end of the site was found a row of small rooms (26-28) each measuring approximately 4 x 2 m. The street to the north (23-24) was surfaced with sherds and pebbles. Another range of rooms (21-22) lay beyond but has not yet been explored. The substantial walls discovered in the central part of the site in the earlier excavations align with these, but the rooms which they enclosed lay outside the area of excavation. In the NE there seems to have been another range of small rooms (ii), this time running N-S, with the same wall alignments. The area in the NW of the site remained an open yard, as in earlier phases (20). Traces of a perimeter wall were found here above the western slope.

Numerous pits were dug into the levels below during this phase but no attempt has been made to show these in FIG. 3.

PHASE 6: LATE BRONZE AGE C. I 150-I IQ0 BC (FIG. 4, PLATES 57c and d, 58c)

In the south eastern part of the site, mud-brick walls of this phase were reached below the Phase 5 levels. The walls found last year (Room 40) can now be confidently assigned to this phase but it is still not possible to predict the position of any other E-W street. In Room 44 a complete pithos was found with its neck just below the Phase 5 floor level and its base set in the Phase 6 floor 0.75 m below, (PLATE 58c) while the base of a second pithos was found to the south. This repeated the pattern of scattered storage in this phase already discovered in other parts of the site. Finds in this area included a stone mould in the fill and a bone pyxis lid with incised concentric circles on the floor. (PLATES 57C and d).

On the western edge of the mound only the stone footings remained of the perimeter wall of this period. Neither this wall, nor the room (34) exposed on the eastern side of the trench, extended northwards and the northern part of the trench was an open area.

In the central part of the site, the poorly preserved walls which separate the street (Room 22) from the rooms to the north, were removed. Since their alignment was slightly different from their Phase 7 predecessors, the level from which they were built could be accurately determined. This was 0.3-0.5 m deeper than expected and it is clear that, contrary to my earlier opinion, the phase lasted long enough for a deep deposit to build up in the street and some of the neighbouring rooms after the construction of the Phase 6 walls and before their destruction by fire. The final stage of activity in Room 28 assigned in the last report20 to Phase 7 must therefore belong to Phase 6.

PHASE 7: LATE BRONZE AGE C. I200-I I50 BC (PLATES 59d, 6ob-e. For plan see BSA 82 FIG. 5) On the western edge of the mound a mud-brick wall, underlying the Phase 6 wall of Room 34, probably marked the limit of the roofed area in this period. Ten metres to the west the most impressive of the perimeter walls yet discovered followed the edge of the mound closely for over 7 m but did not reach the northern baulk of the trench. The area between this and Room 34 showed a gradual build up of deposit, probably during the life of Phase

20 BSA 82 323. In the earlier excavations only the material from the destruction level itself had been

assigned to Phase 6 and anything below this was treated as Phase 7.




l

o

/

b

'5

Early IroA Age PiA

40

44

4

5

. 7 3 f i

15

9

,8 k7

*

6

372

22

23, 24-

25

28.

27j iL9

34

10 20

21 '11.

12 13 d"

14

16: 117

-A4-

Mudbrick walls Clay bins Pithoi Yards

,Posts PHASE

c.1150 B.C. ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987

o . ,o




384 K.A. WARDLE

7, which graded from yellowish mud-brick debris in the S to greyer earth with little sign of mud-brick in the north. Thus it is likely that the north western edge of the mound was already an open space at this time.

The substantial perimeter wall (PLATE 59d) was formed of stones packed with clay. It varied in width from 40-50 cms and has so far been exposed to a depth of nearly 50 cms. Short walls built with stones and mud-bricks ran outwards from it but it is not yet certain whether these narrower walls represent structures built against the outer face of the circuit wall, despite the steep drop, or whether they are the crosswalls of a casemated defensive circuit which has lost its outer face.

In Room 34 were discovered numerous lumps of sandy material with corroded copper adhering to them, which, Dr Catling has suggested, are fragments of a failed mould using the lost wax process. A large block of stone about 20 cm long was found in the same area. This had been deeply grooved along its length in several places and there were signs that pieces of stone had been broken away between some of the grooves (PLATE 6ob-e). It is not clear whether this is the matrix from which pieces of stone had been cut to make other artefacts or whether it is itself the artefact with some role in metal working, perhaps a swage block as suggested by Dr Catling.

Polished stone axes, including one made of the same stone as the block, were also found in the same area. The impression gained earlier that 'Neolithic' axes were still being made in the Late Bronze Age for agricultural or industrial purposes was thus reinforced and I have been intrigued to notice that the same may be true of the near contemporary mountain-top settlement of Karphi in Crete.21

In the southern part of the site, Phase 7 walls were reached which formed the foundations for those of Phase 6 but the floors have not yet been cleared. The very substantial walls found last year in the SE trial trench22 must, however, belong to the same group of buildings.

PHASE 8: LATE BRONZE AGE C. 1250-1200 BC (FIG. 5, PLATES 57e and 58d)

Excavation continued in the NE part of the site below the Phase 7 floors in Rooms 3, 5 and the street (io). In Room 3, a floor level was reached, below a deep fill of mud-brick, on which a number of circular bins could be identified, although unburnt, by the cleaner clay amid the mud-brick debris (PLATE 58d). One of these bins had clearly been replaced several times, since there were traces of earlier bin walls around the base of the latest. In this area the walls of the rooms were almost exactly below those of Phase 7.

Both streets (Rooms 2/4 and Io) in the E of the site were already in existence and continued to be used in later phases. Here the area of the southern street (2/4) within the trench was too small to do more than test its presence, but the northern one (Room Io) was completely cleared. About 50 cm of gritty greenish levels with abundant sherds and bone accumulated in the street.23 The north wall of the street had been rebuilt at some

point during this lengthy phase. In the central part of the mound, levels were excavated below Rooms 24 & 25 and Street

22 of Phase 7. A deep fill of moist greyish clayey soil with quantities of charcoal flecks was

BSA 38 (1937-8) PLATE XXX.2. I am not sure whether this idea has been explored by anyone else and have not yet had the opportunity to search systematically for examples.

22 Trench OB. 23 It was very similar to the 'street' deposits found in

the trench on the side of the mound, BSA 75 (1980) 236.




_4 2L.

5 3

9

10

12

11

14

24 25

Mudbrick walls I I

PHASE 8 c.1250 B.C.

ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987

rf


found but there was little pottery. Nothing like this deposit has been found elsewhere on the site at any period and it is to be presumed that this major difference in character reflects a different use. Two Rooms, 24 and 25 under rooms 24 and 25 in Phase 7, were partly excavated. The street 2/4 did not continue this far westwards, but was only extended in the following Phase 7. The south wall of the large Room 24, (length c. 5 m.) lay underneath the southern wall of this later extension to the street (cf. FIG. 4, Room 22). The wall dividing the two rooms was further west than that between Rooms 24 and 25 in Phase 7. No eastern wall has yet been located to limit Room 24.

In the lower part of the grey deposit in Room 24 were enormous quantities of grape pips still preserved in partly organic form thanks to the exceptionally wet conditions (PLATE 57e). The most likely source of grape pips in this quantity is from the pressing of grapes for wine on the site. No laid floors were found in these rooms and the grey levels ended on the Phase 9 destruction debris below. It is possible that the western room (25) had contained pithoi for crop storage in its first phase of use (see Phase 9 below).

Although pottery was not particularly common in these Phase 8 levels, there was a larger quantity of Mycenaean sherds, especially from imported vases, than found in earlier seasons. These will assist with closer definition of the date of these levels after study.

PHASE 9: LATE BRONZE AGE C. 1300 BC (FIG. 6. PLATES 57f and 6oa) In the NE of the toumba, Room 12 was completely cleared to floor level, following the

relocation of the steel support for the modern roof which protects the northern end of the



386 K.A. WARDLE

O 5 fOm , |-A

5 3

9 "door

dool\ 10

181

12

14

24 25

Phase 9 c.1300B.C.

ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987


site. Only the east wall of this room has been exposed and the rest are presumed to lie under and support the later walls. Excavation was continued below the Phase 8 street, Room io, to determine whether a street or passage already existed in Phase 9, or whether this area was part of Room 12.

A short section of wall was located at the eastern end of the street, with, apparently, a door jamb less than 70 cm further west.24 This showed that there was indeed a passage separated from the room to the north by this wall, with a door at this point. It was not possible (without demolishing the overlying walls) to reveal the wall further west but the nature of the destruction fill in the passage was so different from that in the room to the north that its existence is not in doubt. To the east a large Iron Age pit, excavated in i977, had removed any trace of the E end of this wall.

The upper fill contained burnt bricks and enormous lumps of clay with timber and branch impressions. Below this level there was a thin layer of what was clearly straw, preserved in silica form, (PLATE 57f). The direction of the individual stalks was evident in many places. The surface below this was of clay rather than the gravel found in all the street levels above the destruction. This suggests a covered passage with the remains of sheaves stored in it. Similar evidence was found in 1980 during the excavation of the small part of the passage against the eastern baulk of this trench. Although quantities of cereal were recovered from the upper destruction fill, little, if any, lay on the floor of the passage.

24 Since, in Phases 6 & 7, these walls separated the street from a yard area to the north they were not built

with any great care and it was decided to remove a short section to expose the E end of the underlying Phase 9 wall.




Excavation was also carried out in the SE corner of the trench, Room 5. A thin spread of burnt material covered the floor but was cut in several places by pits. Small amounts of crop remains were observed but overall it seems that this was an open yard area relatively unaffected by the destruction. A more substantial destruction level was observed immediately below the Phase 8 floor in the adjacent Room 3 but it has not yet been excavated.

In the central area of the site were found parts of two rooms. One, Room 25, was certainly a crop storeroom. There were pithos-sized pits in the area of floor exposed so far (PLATE 5oa) and the destruction debris was thick with charred plant remains including wheat, barley and millet. In places the pits appeared to have been recut but both pit-fills contained destruction debris and it is likely that the recut represents the reuse of the area as a storeroom, after the destruction. The destruction level was encountered at a higher level in Room 24, which confirms that there was a separate room here. Fragments of clay bins together with abundant remains of cereals were found amongst the debris. The heavy rain prevented completion of excavation in these two rooms and only one heavily burnt wall face has been exposed on the north. It seems likely, however, that the N-S length of these rooms is about 5 m and the width 3-4 m.

It is remarkable that approximately 75% of the total area excavated at this depth is devoted to crop storage. So far we have found storerooms totalling 145 m2 in area and there is no reason to suppose that we will not find more. Since the summit of the mound at this period had an area of c. 1700 m2, the provision for storage at Assiros in relation to the size of the settlement is not dissimilar to that at any of the major Southern Greek palatial centres.

The large architectural units of Phases 9 and 8, and the concentrated storage obvious in Phase 9 (and likely in Phase 8), were replaced by the smaller units and dispersed storage of Phases 7 and 8. This may imply some reorganisation of the community or even a wider social change. Is it purely fortuitous that this can be dated to approximately 1200 BC and is roughly contemporary with the far-reaching changes in Southern Greece that followed the destruction of the major palatial centres?

K.A. WARDLE



B.S.A. 83 PLATE 57

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(I)

EXCAVATIONS AT ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987

(a) Bronze pin, Phase i, (b) Local Proto-Geometric Hydria, Phase 2; (c) Stone mould, Phase 6; (d) Bone pyxis lid, Phase 6; (e) Grape pips, Phase 8; () Straw, Phase 9



PLATE 58 B.S.A. 83

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

EXCAVATIONS

AT

ASSIROS

TOUMBA

1987

(a)

Phase

2 buildings

at north

end

of site;

(b)

Street:

Phase

3 and

Phase

5; (c) Stone

footings

of Phase

5 wall

and

Phase

6

pithos;

(d)

Unburnt

clay

bins,

Phase

8



B.S.A. 83 PLATE 59

(a) (b)

(c) d) EXCAVATIONS AT ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987

(a) Circular clay 'hearth' Phase 2, Room 13; (b) Phase 3 street surface from W; (c) Phase 3 walls to N of street; (d) Perimeter wall, Phase 7



PLATE 60 B.S.A. 83

(a)

(b) (c)

(d) (e) EXCAVATIONS AT ASSIROS TOUMBA 1987 (a) Pithos pits in Phase 9 floor showing recuts; (b-e) Stone block, Phase 7



Excavation at Assiros Toumba 1987: A preliminary report, Annual of the British School at Athens, 83, 1988, 375-387

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