Introduction

Abstract

Abstract It is a long time since the archaeology of the Aegean in the period between the collapse of the Mycenaean palace system and the formation of Early Greek towns has been thought an appropriate subject for detailed study. The period is often regarded as one of stagnation and isolation, and its study as having little to offer towards the understanding of either material culture, or social and political structures. It is, in fact, usually referred to as the Dark Age of Greece. The term ‘Dark Age’ has been used widely by scholars since the 1970s. It appears in the two main studies covering the period: The Dark Age of Greece by Anthony Snodgrass and The Greek Dark Ages by Vincent Desborough. These are still the main hand books for the period. Another important study, published in 1977, is Geometni Greece by Nicolas Coldstream, which offers the only comprehensive study of the ninth and eithth centuries BC.