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The Australian Paliochora Kythera
Archaeological Survey (APKAS)

KYTHERA 2004 FIELD SEASON

The first of a series of study seasons was held from July 3 until August 8, 2004, with Dr S.A. Paspalas as Director and Professor T.E. Gregory as Deputy Director. The team consisted of a small number of members who were principally occupied with processing the data collected during the previous field seasons.

A large part of the work was carried out on the grounds of the Archaeological Museum, Chora, where the finds from the Survey are housed. Attention was focused upon selected groups of the ceramic finds. The finds from the Vythoulas region in the northeast of the survey area were subjected to scrutiny, and their study has confirmed that the area was an important center of activity in the Archaic to Hellenistic periods, and the surface finds may be interpreted to indicate both that agricultural produce was stored here and that activities associated with domestic activities (weaving, dining) were also undertaken. A special effort was made to compare some of our finds, especially from Ammoutses and Phoinikies, with the prehistoric material excavated by the British School at Kastri in the 1960s. The result was that we have been able to refine the chronology of many of the finds, resulting in the better identification, especially, of the plentiful Middle Minoan material. Examples of this pottery is a large number of tripod cooking pot fragments, including this (8048.002) from Ammoutses and these two (7736.01, 8016.001) from Phoinikies.

Dr William Caraher worked on computer-related tasks involved in the overall analysis and presentation of the finds, and prepared a series of tables and graphic displays which present the ratios of the finds by period. Especially important was his examination of the density and period density information against the background of visibility and other factors influencing observation and a first-look at the areas where re-survey took place.

Time was also spent checking earlier observations in the field, such as GPS points and dimensions of standing structures and further recording of the road system of the survey area.