Kavousi Vronda

35°06′36″N 25°51′30″E / 35.110021°N 25.858300°E / 35.110021; 25.858300 (Kavousi Vronda)

Kavousi Vronda (also Vronda; Greek: Βροντάς or Βρόντας) is an archaeological site in eastern Crete, Greece, located about 1.25 km south of the modern village of Kavousi, a historic village in the municipality of Ierapetra in the prefecture of Lasithi.[1]

photograph
View of Kavousi Vronda looking east from the Institute for Aegean Prehistory Study Center for East Crete in Pacheia Ammos (2014). The location of the archaeological site is indicated by a star; the location of Kavousi Kastro is indicated by a circle.

It is situated in the northern foothills of the Thripti Mountains overlooking the Gulf of Mirabello, at an elevation of 427 m above sea level. The ancient name of the site is unknown. "Vronda" ("Thunder Hill"), as it was called by the pioneering archaeologist Harriet Boyd [Hawes] at the beginning of the 20th century,[2] is a local toponym; the entire ridge and surrounding area are also referred to as "Xerambela" ("Dry Vineyards"; Greek: Ξεράμπελα).[3] Most of the visible remains on the site belong to a "Dark Age" settlement[4] dating to the Late Minoan IIIC period (c. 1170–1050 BCE) and a slightly later, Early Iron Age cemetery (c. 1050–600 BCE).[5]

  1. ^ Boyd 1901; Gesell, Coulson, and Day 1983; Haggis 2005, p. 134, site 77; Day, Klein, and Turner 2009, pp. 1–2; Day et al. 2016, pp. 2–3.
  2. ^ Boyd 1901, p. 131.
  3. ^ Day, Klein, and Turner 2009, p. 3; Day et al. 2016, p. 3.
  4. ^ McEnroe 2010, pp. 147–150, 154–159; Wallace 2010, pp. 104–126; Day et al. 2016.
  5. ^ Day 2011; Day et al. 2016, pp. 209–213; Day and Liston 2023, 355–358.