Chapter One: Ancient Eleon in Boeotia: An Overview of the Greek–Canadian Excavations

Abstract

The first phase of Greek–Canadian excavations at the site of ancient Eleon in eastern Boeotia was conducted from 2011 to 2015. Fieldwork on the elevated plateau located between Thebes and the Euboean Gulf provided new evidence for occupation of Bronze Age and historical periods. Tombs of the early Mycenaean period have been found within and around a funerary structure known as the Blue Stone Structure. By the later Mycenaean period, settlement deposits dating to the Late Helladic IIIA and IIIB periods include evidence for participation in regional economic and crafting networks. Substantial Postpalatial settlement remains allow a better understanding of domestic architecture through several phases of reconstruction in the Late Helladic IIIC period, as well as industrial and ceremonial practices. Excavations have yet to locate evidence for domestic activity on the acropolis during the Iron Age, but the site is renewed in the Archaic period by the construction of the a major polygonal wall and associated entryway on the east side. Deposits here of fineware ceramics and figurines suggest that a cult focused on female divinity was active throughout the fifth century bc.