Phylakopi 1911 and the History of the Later Cycladic Bronze Age

Abstract

For many years, interpretation of the history of the Middle and Late Bronze Age in the Cyclades has depended almost entirely on the late nineteenth-century excavations of the British School at Phylakopi on Melos. This site has been especially significant as the only one with a comprehensive stratigraphie sequence.Recent major excavations on Kea (Ayia Irini) and Thera (Akrotiri) have vastly increased our knowledge of the second-millennium Cyclades, but Phylakopi remains of outstanding importance. From the publication and from the Daybooks kept by Duncan Mackenzie it is clear that the technical standards of the excavation were extremely high for their time. It is unfortunate, however, that precise details about the contexts of individual finds are lacking from Phylakopi. Such details are vital if we are to make any useful reassessment of the history and external relations of the site in terms of subsequent excavations and studies.