 Remains of building walls at Poliochne | |
  Shown within Greece | |
| Alternative name | Poliochni |
|---|---|
| Location | Poliochni, Lemnos, Greece |
| Coordinates | 39°51′15″N 25°20′37″E / 39.85417°N 25.34361°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| Site notes | |
| Management | 20th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities |
| Public access | Yes |
| Website | Archaeological Site of Poliochni |
Poliochne, often cited under its modern name Poliochni (Greek: Πολιόχνη), was an ancient settlement on the east coast of the island of Lemnos. It was settled in the Late Chalcolithic and earliest Aegean Bronze Age and is believed to be one of the most ancient towns in Europe, preceding Troy I.[1] Anatolian features of the earliest layers were affected by cultural influences from Helladic Greece, about the start of Early Helladic II, ca. 2500 BC.
The site, with houses huddled together sharing party walls, was unearthed by excavations of the Italian School of Archaeology at Athens (Scuola archeologica Italiana di Athene), beginning in 1930.[2] It is believed that Troy was its main rival commercially; a rivalry that led to the decline of Poliochne circa 2000 BC.
- ^ Luigi Bernabò-Brea, ed. (the head excavator) Poliochni, città peristorica nell' isola di Lemnos, (Scuola Archeologica di Atene Rome, vol. I (1964), having assigned arbitrary color-names to the strata, coordinated Troy I with the third period (Verde) of Poliochne; vol. II was published Rome, 1976.
- ^ Site publications, such as S. Tibne, A.G. Benevuti, et al., Oi neoteres anaskaphese sten Poliochne, Athens 1994, and C.G. Doumas and V. La Rosa (eds.), He Poliochne kai he proime epoche tou Chalkou sto Voreio Aigaio/Poliochni e l'antica et del bronzo nell'Egeo settentrionale have appeared in Greek/Italian.