The Azoria Project: Excavation of an Early Iron Age-Archaic Town in Eastern Crete, Greece

FAIN: RZ-20812-02

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1350)
Donald C. Haggis (Project Director: September 2001 to September 2006)

To support research on the development of a nascent Cretan polis and of cultural exchange in the Greek Aegean during the Early Iron Age (ca 1200-600 B.C.).

Media Coverage

UNC team excavates lost Greek city (Media Coverage)
Author(s): JANE STANCILL, Staff Writer
Publication: News & Observer
Date: 9/23/2002
Abstract: Summary of the discoveries during the first season of excavation, in 2002; interviews with students and staff members; description of the overall significance of the excavation and the site.

Lost city found in northeast corner of Crete; archaeologists say it will add to Greek history (Media Coverage)
Author(s): DAVID WILLIAMSON
Publication: UNC News Services
Date: 9/17/2002
Abstract: Article on discoveries at Azoria following the 2002 season.
URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep02/haggis091002.htm

Ancient City Discovered at Azoria (Media Coverage)
Publication: Nea Krete
Date: 6/28/2004
Abstract: Ancient City Discovered at Azoria

Dig unearths B.C.-era Greek town square (Media Coverage)
Author(s): JANE STANCILL, Staff Writer
Publication: Raleigh News and Observer
Date: 9/6/2004
Abstract: A team of archaeologists and students recently uncovered what may be the oldest civic building yet found in the ancient Greek world. Led by Donald Haggis, associate professor of classical archaeology at UNC-Chapel Hill, the team has worked for three straight summers at a site called Azoria, on the Greek island of Crete.

Associated Products

Azoria Project Archive (Acquisitions/Materials Collection)
Name: Azoria Project Archive
Abstract: The Azoria Project Archive is a collection of original documents and publications generated from fieldwork and research of the Azoria Project, an excavation of the Department of Classics and the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Azoria is an Early Iron Age and Archaic site in eastern Crete, originally explored by Harriet Boyd Hawes for the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 1900. Subsequent work at the site (the Azoria Project) has been conducted annually since 2001, including phases of topographical survey (2001); excavation (2002-2006); site conservation (2003-2008); and study and publication (2007-2012). The documents in this collection comprise an archive of original field notes, excavation notebooks, stratigraphic sections, manuscript drafts, artifact catalogs, and illustrations (plans, drawings, maps, and photographs) produced by this research project.
Director: Donald C. Haggis
Year: 2011
Address: Carolina Digital Repository Electronic Records University Archives and Records Management Services Wilson Library, CB #3926 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
Primary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/record?id=uuid%3a1add9fbc-f5c4-49a8-848e-96a52e3ade9c
Primary URL Description: The Carolina Digital Repository (CDR) is a digital archives for materials produced by members of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill community. The main goal of the CDR is to keep UNC digital scholarly output safe and accessible for as long as needed. It also serves as a repository of historical materials that broadly support the University's academic mission. More specifically, the CDR aims to acquire UNC digital material, ensure it is accessible, searchable and safe from alteration.
Secondary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/
Secondary URL Description: The Carolina Digital Repository (CDR) safeguards and provides access to the scholarly work and research files produced or collected by faculty, students and staff at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The University of North Carolina Iowa State University Excavations at Azoria in Eastern Crete (Web Resource)
Title: The University of North Carolina Iowa State University Excavations at Azoria in Eastern Crete
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: Website of the Azoria Project excavations (2002-present), containing season summary reports of fieldwork; grant applications; project bibliographies; links to preliminary and final publications in digital form; and reports on conservation.
Year: 2002
Primary URL: http://www.unc.edu/~dchaggis/
Secondary URL: http://www.azoria.org

Azoria Project Archive (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: Azoria Project Archive
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: The Azoria Project Archive is a collection of original documents and publications generated from fieldwork and research of the Azoria Project, an excavation of the Department of Classics and the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Azoria is an Early Iron Age and Archaic site in eastern Crete, originally explored by Harriet Boyd Hawes for the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 1900. Subsequent work at the site (the Azoria Project) has been conducted annually since 2001, including phases of topographical survey (2001); excavation (2002-2006); site conservation (2003-2008); and study and publication (2007-2012). The documents in this collection comprise an archive of original field notes, excavation notebooks, stratigraphic sections, manuscript drafts, artifact catalogs, and illustrations (plans, drawings, maps, and photographs) produced by this research project.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/record?id=uuid%3a1add9fbc-f5c4-49a8-848e-96a52e3ade9c

Excavations at Azoria, 2002, Hesperia 73 (2004) 339-400 (Article)
Title: Excavations at Azoria, 2002, Hesperia 73 (2004) 339-400
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: C.M. Scarry
Author: L.M. Snyder
Author: W.C. West
Abstract: This report summarizes the results of the first season of excavation at Azoria in eastern Crete and provides an overview of the project's goals and problem orientation. Work in 2002 concentrated on the peak of the South Acropolis and the occupational phases of the seventh-sixth centuries B.C. The recovery of a possible andreion complex suggests the urban character of the site in the sixth century and forms a starting point for discussing the political economy of the Archaic city. The excavations revealed important evidence for the organization of the sixth-century settlement and for the complex stratigraphic history of the site, including the Final Neolithic, Late Prepalatial, Early Iron Age, Archaic, and Hellenistic periods.
Year: 2004
Primary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/record?id=uuid%3a90e66eaf-d244-45c4-9e99-770404c10767
Primary URL Description: D.C. Haggis, M.S. Mook, C.M. Scarry, L.M. Snyder, and W.C. West, “Excavations at Azoria, 2002,” Hesperia 73 (2004) 339-400.
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Hesperia
Publisher: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Excavations at Azoria , 2003-2004, Part 1, The Archaic Civic Complex, Hesperia 76 (2007) 243-321 (Article)
Title: Excavations at Azoria , 2003-2004, Part 1, The Archaic Civic Complex, Hesperia 76 (2007) 243-321
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: C.M. Scarry
Author: L.M. Snyder
Author: R.D. Fitzsimons
Author: E. Stephanakis
Author: W.C. West
Abstract: This article constitutes the first of two reports on fieldwork conducted at Azoria in eastern Crete during the 2003 and 2004 excavation seasons. The focus of excavation was on the South Acropolis, where buildings of Archaic date (7th–early 5th century b.c.) suggesting public or civic functions have come to light. The complex includes a possible andreion on the west slope, a cult building on the terrace south of the peak, and storerooms and kitchens associated with a monumental public building on the southwest terrace. A 3rd-century b.c. dump on the southeast slope provides important information about the limited reoccupation of the site in the Hellenistic period.
Year: 2007
Primary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/record?id=uuid%3a2fb14bec-850a-4223-b55e-dc854004eeee
Primary URL Description: D.C. Haggis, M.S. Mook, C.M. Scarry, L.M. Snyder, R.D. Fitzsimons, E. Stephanakis, and W.C. West, “Excavations at Azoria , 2003-2004, Part 1, The Archaic Civic Complex,” Hesperia 76 (2007) 243-321.
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Hesperia
Publisher: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Excavations at Azoria 2003-2004, Part 2, The Early Iron Age, Late Prepalatial and Final Neolithic Occupation, Hesperia 76 (2007) 665–716 (Article)
Title: Excavations at Azoria 2003-2004, Part 2, The Early Iron Age, Late Prepalatial and Final Neolithic Occupation, Hesperia 76 (2007) 665–716
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: L.M. Snyder
Author: T. Carter
Abstract: This article constitutes the second of two reports on fieldwork conducted at Azoria in eastern Crete during the 2003 and 2004 excavation seasons. Evidence of Final Neolithic and Early Iron Age occupation and traces of Late Prepalatial activity were found underlying the Archaic civic buildings on the South Acropolis, particularly along the southwest terrace. The recovery of substantial Final Neolithic architectural and habitation remains contributes to our understanding of the 4th millennium in eastern Crete. Stratigraphic excavations have also clarified the spatial extent of the settlement from Late Minoan IIIC to the Late Geometric period, and brought to light evidence for the transition from the Early Iron Age to the Archaic period, and the transformation of the site in the 7th century b.c.
Year: 2007
Primary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/content?id=uuid:95b5dffc-9331-48a0-8c00-1435051d409f&ds=DATA_FILE
Primary URL Description: D.C. Haggis, M.S. Mook, L.M. Snyder, and T. Carter, “Excavations at Azoria 2003-2004, Part 2, The Early Iron Age, Late Prepalatial and Final Neolithic Occupation,” Hesperia 76 (2007) 665–716.
Secondary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/record?id=uuid%3a95b5dffc-9331-48a0-8c00-1435051d409f
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Hesperia
Publisher: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens

The Archaic Houses at Azoria,in Stega: The Archaeology of Houses and Households in Ancient Crete (Princeton: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 2011) 367-380 (Book Section)
Title: The Archaic Houses at Azoria,in Stega: The Archaeology of Houses and Households in Ancient Crete (Princeton: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 2011) 367-380
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Editor: N. Vogeikoff-Brogan
Editor: K.T. Glowacki
Abstract: Initial study of Archaic houses at Azoria, with the goalto examine differential material patterns that might help us understand varying social roles within the community as reflected in architecture, artifact and ecofact assemblages, and physical proximity to the center of civic life. One focus of such work is to discern modes of mobilization, production, storage, and consumption of different kinds of resources—especially food—that might elucidate differences among domestic contexts and between habitation and civic space. This brief paper presents only the first step in this analysis, surveying the basic syntax of Archaic house forms recovered so far on the site.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/record?id=uuid%3aa1694546-1eba-44d6-b0a8-88895d403540
Primary URL Description: D.C. Haggis and M.S. Mook, “Chapter 31. The Archaic Houses at Azoria,” in K.T. Glowacki and N. Vogeikoff-Brogan, eds., Stega: The Archaeology of Houses and Households in Ancient Crete (Princeton: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 2011) 367-380. Hesperia Supplement series 44 (ISSN 1064-1173)ISBN 978-0-87661-544-7 Papers of an international colloquium held in Ierapetra in May 2005.
Publisher: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens
Book Title: Stega: The Archaeology of Houses and Households in Ancient Crete
ISBN: 978-0-87661-54

Excavations at Azoria 2002-2006 and urbanization in Early Iron Age and Archaic Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Excavations at Azoria 2002-2006 and urbanization in Early Iron Age and Archaic Crete
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: Summary report on excavations at Azoria, 2002-2006.
Date: 10/4/2006
Conference Name: The 10th International Cretological Congress, Chania, Crete, 7th Session: New excavations

The Corridor Houses at Azoria and the Organization of Urban Space in a Sixth Century Polis (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: The Corridor Houses at Azoria and the Organization of Urban Space in a Sixth Century Polis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: D.C. Haggis
Abstract: Description and analysis of domestic units, reporting on the excavation of Archaic houses (6th–early 5th century B.C.) in 2002-2005 at Azoria in eastern Crete. Five houses are discussed: four on the South Acropolis on the periphery of the civic center, and one on the North Acropolis. Well-preserved floor deposits provide evidence for room functions and permit a preliminary analysis of domestic space. The houses fill a lacuna in the published record of the 6th and early 5th centuries and contribute to our understanding of the form of Archaic houses in the Aegean and the integration of domestic space into an urban context.
Date: 5/27/2005
Conference Name: STEGA: The Archaeology of Houses and Households in Ancient Crete from the Neolithic Period through the Roman Era, a colloquium in Ierapetra, Crete

Excavations at Azoria, East Crete 2004 (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Excavations at Azoria, East Crete 2004
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: L.M. Snyder
Abstract: Presentation of results of the 2004 excavation season at Azoria.
Date: 1/7/2005
Conference Name: 106th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, Boston, Massachusetts January 6-9, 2005

Azoria and the problem of urbanization on Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Azoria and the problem of urbanization on Crete
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: Discussion of Early Iron Age and Archaic urbanization in the context of excavations at Azoria.
Date: 3/20/2004
Conference Name: Brock University Archaeological Society Symposium, States of Complexity: Perspectives on Sociopolitical Development in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean, Brock University, March 20, 2004

Excavations at Azoria, East Crete 2004 (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Excavations at Azoria, East Crete 2004
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Abstract: Presentation of results of excavations at Azoria in 2004.
Date: 11/4/2004
Conference Name: Eighty-Fourth Anniversary Meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Southern Section, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, November 4-6, 2004

Excavations at Azoria in Eastern Crete in 2003 (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Excavations at Azoria in Eastern Crete in 2003
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: L.M. Snyder
Abstract: Presentation of results of excavations at Azoria in 2003.
Date: 1/3/2004
Conference Name: 105th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, San Francisco, California, January 2-5, 2004

Excavations at Azoria, East Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Excavations at Azoria, East Crete
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: L.M. Snyder
Abstract: Report on results of excavations at Azoria in 2002.
Date: 4/12/2003
Conference Name: 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 9-13, 2003

Excavations at Azoria, East Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Excavations at Azoria, East Crete
Author: L.M. Snyder
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Abstract: Report on results of excavations at Azoria in 2002.
Date: 1/4/2003
Conference Name: 104th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, New Orleans Louisiana, January 3-6, 2003

Recent Excavations at Azoria and the Evidence of Urbanization in Archaic Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Recent Excavations at Azoria and the Evidence of Urbanization in Archaic Crete
Author: D.C. Haggis
Abstract: Presentation of results of current, 2002-2003, excavations at Azoria to the Institute of Aegean Prehistory Study Center for East Crete.
Date: 7/25/2003
Conference Name: Summer Lecture Series, INSTAP Study Center for East Crete, July 25, 2003

Excavations at Azoria, East Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Excavations at Azoria, East Crete
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: L.M. Snyder
Abstract: Presentation of results of the initial (2002) season of excavations at Azoria, East Crete.
Date: 11/7/2002
Conference Name: Eighty-Second Anniversary Meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Southern Section, Birmingham, Alabama, November 7, 2002

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