The Azoria Project: A Study of Urbanization in Early Iron Age and Archaic Crete

FAIN: RZ-50334-05

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1350)
Donald C. Haggis (Project Director: October 2004 to March 2011)

To support research on the development of a nascent Cretan polis and of cultural exchange in the Greek Aegean during the Early Iron Age. (36 months)

The project is the archaeological excavation of the Iron Age town of Azoria on the island of Crete in the Greek Aegean, exploring the development of the settlement from its Early Iron Age foundations (ca. 1200-700 B.C.) until its establishment as an urban center in the Archaic period (700-500 B.C.). This component of the project relates material patterns of crop processing and animal husbandry to models of land use and power relationships in order to identify corporate groups and to define the structure of the emerging Greek city-state (polis). The plan of work sets out to examine how the civic center was organized, how agricultural and pastoral production was managed on household and public levels, and what archaeological contexts of food storage, processing, and distribution can reveal about the social organization of the early city. The project's main objectives are to examine archaeological correlates for household and civic organization, establishing conceptual links between agricultural and pastoral production and economic structure and group identity. . . .

Media Coverage

Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) Names Best Practices in Site Preservation Award Winners (Media Coverage)
Author(s): AIA Site Preservation Program
Publication: Archaeological Inistitute of America Website
Date: 1/13/2012
Abstract: BOSTON—January 12, 2012—The AIA Site Preservation Program named Donald Haggis and Margaret Mook, directors of the Azoria Project and professors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Iowa State University, respectively, as winners of the AIA’s 2012 Best Practices in Site Preservation Award. The award, established in 2011 by the AIA Site Preservation Committee to identify and promote best practices in the interdisciplinary field of site preservation, was presented at the AIA’s 113th Annual Meeting this past weekend in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
URL: http://www.archaeological.org/news/currentprojects/7583

Discoveries from the Iron Age (Media Coverage)
Publication: Nea Krete (science section)
Date: 7/4/2005
Abstract: Discoveries from the Iron Age

A place of ritual brought to light (Media Coverage)
Publication: Nea Krete (Lasithi Section)
Date: 7/14/2006
Abstract: A place of ritual brought to light (????? ?at?e?a? ???e st? "f??") – ?as??? ?ep??t?? – 14 ??????? 2006 - 20:09

We Really “Are” What We Eat: Excavations at Azoria, Crete, reveal a 3,000-year-old diet and its surprising connection to early Greek city life (Review)
Author(s): Eti Bonn-Muller
Publication: Dug up, Eti Bonn-Muller
Date: 5/18/2011
Abstract: Today’s Mediterranean Diet is renowned for its delectable fish and vegetable dishes drenched in olive oil—and it is best enjoyed in good company over a carafe of wine. But how different was it in ancient times? Research undertaken by archaeologist Donald C. Haggis of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is starting to provide some mouthwatering answers.
URL: http://www.bonnmuller.com/2011/05/we-really-are-what-we-eat/

Haggis gets award (Media Coverage)
Publication: The Herald Sun, Durham, NC
Date: 2/14/2012
Abstract: Haggis gets award CHAPEL HILL — Donald Haggis, professor of classical archaeology at UNC Chapel Hill, has received a 2012 Best Practices in Site Preservation Award from the Archaeological Institute of America, North America’s oldest and largest archaeological organization. Haggis and his colleague, Margaret Mook of Iowa State University, were recognized for their work in co-directing the Azoria Project on the island of Crete, the largest island in Greece. The Azoria Project focuses on the excavation of an Early Iron Age-Archaic site. It explores the processes of urbanization and state-formation in the Early Iron Age and early Archaic period. Read more: The Herald-Sun - CAMPUS BRIEFS Feb 14
URL: http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/17512654/article-CAMPUS-BRIEFS--Feb--14

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: The Carolina Digital Repository (CDR) 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

Report on Conservation at Azoria (Web Resource)
Title: Report on Conservation at Azoria
Author: Stephania Chlouveraki
Abstract: A description of site conservation and preservation at Azoria, 2002-2009.
Year: 2002
Primary URL: http://www.unc.edu/~dchaggis/Conservation2008.html

Excavations in the Archaic Civic Buildings at Azoria in 2005-2006,Hesperia 80 (2011) 1-70 (Article)
Title: Excavations in the Archaic Civic Buildings at Azoria in 2005-2006,Hesperia 80 (2011) 1-70
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: R.D. Fitzsimons
Author: C,M. Scarry
Author: L.M. Snyder
Author: W.C. West
Abstract: Continuing excavation on the South Acropolis at Azoria in northeastern Crete has exposed buildings of Archaic date (7th–early 5th century b.c.) that served communal or public functions. Work conducted in 2005 and 2006 completed the exploration of Late Archaic levels within the Communal Dining Building (putative andreion complex), the Monumental Civic Building, and the adjacent Service Building. These contexts and their assemblages, especially the animal and plant remains, permit the characterization of diverse dining practices and the interpretation of patterns of food production and consumption. Both the Communal Dining Building and the Monumental Civic Building show extensive evidence of communal feasting and the integration of cult.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/record?id=uuid%3ae1d7a002-a505-42e2-9120-bf7ae9612d63
Primary URL Description: D.C. Haggis, M.S. Mook, R.D. Fitzsimons, C.M. Scarry, L.M.Snyder, and W.C. West, "Excavations in the Archaic Civic Buildings at Azoria in 2005-2006," Hesperia 80 (2011) 1-70
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Hesperia
Publisher: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens

Excavation of Archaic Houses at Azoria in 2005-2006,Hesperia 80 (2011) 431-489 (Article)
Title: Excavation of Archaic Houses at Azoria in 2005-2006,Hesperia 80 (2011) 431-489
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: R.D. Fitzsimons
Author: C.M. Scarry
Author: L.M. Snyder
Abstract: This article reports on the excavation of Archaic houses (6th–early 5th century b.c.) in 2005 and 2006 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 b.c. and contribute to our understanding of the form of Archaic houses in the Aegean and the integration of domestic space into an urban context.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/record?id=uuid%3a9006246d-c9e7-4f07-9782-06c9a8924c71
Primary URL Description: D.C. Haggis, M.S. Mook, R.D. Fitzsimons, C.M. Scarry, and L.M.Snyder, “Excavation of Archaic Houses at Azoria in 2005-2006," Hesperia 80 (2011) 431-489.
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Hesperia
Publisher: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens

A Tholos Tomb From Azoria, Kavousi (Book Section)
Title: A Tholos Tomb From Azoria, Kavousi
Author: M. Eaby
Editor: M. Adrianakis
Editor: I. Tzachili
Abstract: Initial publication of a Protogeometric Tholos tomb excavated at Azoria in 2006.
Year: 2010
Primary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/record?id=uuid%3a68074203-08bf-4bd3-896d-b6f634da30a3
Primary URL Description: M. Eaby, “??a? ????t?? t?f?? ap? t?? ?????? ?aß??s???.” In M. Adrianakis and I. Tzachili (eds.), ???a???????? ‘???? ???t?? 1. ??a?t??? t?? 1?? S????t?s??, ????µ??, 28-30 ??eµß???? 2008. Rethymno 2010, pp. 170-178.
Publisher: University of Crete, Rethymnon
Book Title: ???a???????? ‘???? ???t?? 1. ??a?t??? t?? 1?? S????t?s??

The Early Iron Age-Archaic Transition in Crete: The Evidence from Recent Excavations at Azoria, Eastern Crete,” in The “Dark Ages” Revisited: An International Symposium in Memory of William D. E. Coulson (Volos: University of Thes (Book Section)
Title: The Early Iron Age-Archaic Transition in Crete: The Evidence from Recent Excavations at Azoria, Eastern Crete,” in The “Dark Ages” Revisited: An International Symposium in Memory of William D. E. Coulson (Volos: University of Thes
Author: D.C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Editor: A. Mazarakis Ainian
Abstract: Preliminary examination of the evidence for the transition from the Early Iron Age to the Archaic periods at Azoria, documenting parts of the nascent Greek city that are relevant to reconstructing sociopolitical and economic organization on Crete in the Archaic period; and using Azoria as a case study, to identify the stages of development of the settlement from 1200 to 500 B.C.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/record?id=uuid%3a50982e6a-c177-435f-a216-88aedecce76f
Primary URL Description: D.C. Haggis, M.S. Mook, “The Early Iron Age-Archaic Transition in Crete: The Evidence from Recent Excavations at Azoria, Eastern Crete,” in A. Mazarakis-Ainian ed., The “Dark Ages” Revisited: An International Symposium in Memory of William D. E. Coulson (Volos: University of Thessaly 2011) 515-527.
Publisher: University of Thessaly
Book Title: The “Dark Ages” Revisited: An International Symposium in Memory of William D. E. Coulson

Excavations at Azoria and stratigraphic evidence for the restructuring of Cretan landscapes ca. 600 B.C. (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Excavations at Azoria and stratigraphic evidence for the restructuring of Cretan landscapes ca. 600 B.C.
Author: D.C. Haggis
Abstract: This paper investigates evidence from excavations at the site of Azoria for an abrupt phase transition or punctuated change occurring roughly in the transition from the 7th to the 6th centuries B.C. The paper reflects on evidence of urbanization from excavated contexts at the site of Azoria, suggesting that the analysis of the construction of the city center itself informs our understanding of patterns of changing intra-site relationships; both indicate an abrupt change in the agricultural economy, in which new contexts and practices of food production and consumption, in the late 7th and early 6th centuries B.C., were of central importance in ordering social, and by extension, economic and political relationships in the Archaic city.
Date: 5/20/2011
Conference Name: A New Picture of Crete in the Archaic and Classical Periods: Cultural Practices and Material Culture in 6th and 5th Century Crete, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat Mainz

Public Dining and Ritual Consumption in the Archaic Civic Buildings at Azoria, East Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Public Dining and Ritual Consumption in the Archaic Civic Buildings at Azoria, East Crete
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: Continuing excavation on the South Acropolis at Azoria in eastern Crete has exposed buildings of Archaic date (7th–early 5th century B.C.), which served ostensibly public or civic functions: the putative andreion complex on the upper west side of the peak, and the Monumental Civic Building and its adjacent Service Building on the southwest slope. This paper discusses the results of excavations of Late Archaic levels within these buildings, providing details of their forms, and allowing us to characterize dining and ritual practices, and important differences in patterns of food production and consumption. The results show extensive evidence in both buildings of communal feasting, the provisioning of food, and the integration of cult activities. The economic and sociopolitical implications of public feasting are discussed in the context of evidence for centralized storage and scaled-up production of certain foods such as olive oil, which is represented by a lever-beam press. Community integration and civic identity are reflected in both buildings, but in different ways. The Monumental Civic Building encouraged a communal feast in which status distinctions were probably emphasized through the nuances of rituals and perhaps ceremonial allocation of sacrificial meat or special meals. On the other hand, the separate and segregated dining rooms within the andreion made it possible for participants to dine together, but separately; to be part of the civic community, while at the same time expressing corporate or kinship distinctions. The nature of the ceremonies and feasts in these two civic contexts suggests distinct but parallel modes of interaction and expressions of sociopolitical identity in the early city.
Date: 10/23/2011
Primary URL: http://www.iler.gr/index.php?english
Primary URL Description: Association on History and Folklore Studies in Rethymnon (I. L. E. R. )
Conference Name: 11th International Cretological Congress, Rethymnon

Social Organization and Aggregated Settlement Structure in an Archaic Greek City on Crete (ca. 600 B.C.) (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Social Organization and Aggregated Settlement Structure in an Archaic Greek City on Crete (ca. 600 B.C.)
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: One aspect of urbanization in the Aegean at the end of the Early Iron Age (ca. 800-600 B.C.) is the nucleation of population—settlement aggregation and the restructuring of social, political and economic landscapes, giving rise to Classical Greek cities and city-states. This paper presents a case study of an excavation of one such early emergent center, the site of Azoria on Crete (700-500 B.C.), examining patterns of agropastoral production and consumption in specific contexts (domestic and communal) of emerging public and civic institutions and buildings that mediated social and political interaction and formed mechanisms of community organization and integration.
Date: 3/31/2011
Conference Name: Come Together: Regional Perspectives on Settlement Aggregation, 76th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Sacramento, CA, March 30 – April 3, 2011.

The Archaic Cretan City: Excavations at Azoria 2002-2006 (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: The Archaic Cretan City: Excavations at Azoria 2002-2006
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: The paper discusses stratigraphic evidence for urbanization at Azoria at the the end of the 7th century B.C.
Date: 2/2/2010
Conference Name: La naissance de cités crétoises, Archéologie et Histoire de l'Art, Collège Erasme, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve

Archaic Olive Oil Production at Azoria in Eastern Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Archaic Olive Oil Production at Azoria in Eastern Crete
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: C. Margaret Scarry
Abstract: Excavations conducted by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens at the Archaic site of Azoria in eastern Crete (Hesperia 73 [2004] 339-400; 76 [2007] 243-321, 665–716) have recovered evidence for centralized olive-oil production associated with a large civic meeting hall. The results of work conducted during two study seasons (2007 and 2008) now permit the detailed reconstruction of olive storage and stages of olive-oil extraction in a two-room industrial building destroyed in the early 5th century B.C. One room was evidently used for storage of olives in pithoi, while the other, for various stages of processing: crushing, pressing, and oil separation. Evidence in the main room consists of a crushing block and basin; a hearth; sockets for three wooden press beams; a stone press weight, and fragments of two press beds apparently dislodged from a bench. The presence of olives, an oil-separation jar and mortar in adjoining store rooms; crushed olive in the main press room; and oleic acid residue on the press-bed fragments corroborate the architectural evidence. Our understanding of olive-oil extraction in the Aegean comes principally from vase painting, and prehistoric or 4th century and later contexts (Margaritis and Jones 2007; Foxhall 2007). The only known Archaic findspot in the Aegean is Klazomenai (Koparal and Iplikci 2004), where little actual equipment has survived the fourth-century reoccupation. This paper thus presents the most detailed archaeological evidence to date on Archaic olive-oil processing within the context of food production for public consumption in an early Greek city.
Date: 8/2/2009
Conference Name: 110th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, Philadelphia, PA, January 8 – 11, 2009

Azoria (Crete) in the Early Iron Age-Archaic Transition (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Azoria (Crete) in the Early Iron Age-Archaic Transition
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: Presentation in the graduate seminar, “Crete: History and Culture (ca. 1190-67 B.C.E.)” (P. Perlman), Department of Classics, University of Texas at Austin, September 17, 2007.
Date Range: 9/17/2007
Location: Department of Classics, University of Texas at Austin

The Early Iron Age-Archaic transition in Crete: The Evidence from Recent Excavations at Azoria, Eastern Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: The Early Iron Age-Archaic transition in Crete: The Evidence from Recent Excavations at Azoria, Eastern Crete
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: The paper reports on excavations in 2006 that exposed stratigraphy demonstrating that in the mid-to-late 7th century a sociopolitical change had occurred on the site involving or instigating a deliberate break from the Early Iron Age past and its five century-old patterns of occupation. The stratigraphic work in 2006 sheds light on this abrupt transition, and has shown the potential of refining the date of a critical threshold of culture change. Furthermore On the southwest slope of the South Acropolis the southern end of a large building of Late Geometric date was recovered that appears to be an Early Iron Age hearth temple.
Date: 6/15/2007
Conference Name: The “Dark Ages” Revisited: An International Symposium in Memory of William D. E. Coulson, University of Thessaly, Department of History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology, Volos

Recent Excavations at Azoria in Eastern Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Recent Excavations at Azoria in Eastern Crete
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: Paper presentation at the Institute of Archaeology in Oxford on results of fieldwork at Azoria in 2005.
Date: 5/18/2006
Conference Name: Institute of Archaeology, Ancient History & Classical Archaeology, University of Oxford

Excavations at Azoria, Crete in 2005: The Archaic Civic Complex (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Excavations at Azoria, Crete in 2005: The Archaic Civic Complex
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Abstract: Report on excavations at Azoria in 2005, discussing the discovery of the Monumental Civic Building and Communal Dining Building (andreion complex).
Date: 1/7/2006
Conference Name: 107th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, Montreal Canada

Excavation of an Archaic City at Azoria in Eastern Crete (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Excavation of an Archaic City at Azoria in Eastern Crete
Author: M.S. Mook
Author: D.C. Haggis
Abstract: The paper reviews recent discoveries at Azoria, 2002-2005, concentrating discussion on Archaic levels.
Date: 1/28/2006
Conference Name: Crete in the Geometric and Archaic Period, an international colloquium at the German Archaeological Institute at Athens, January 28th - 29th 2006

Farming, Feasting and the Foundations of the Early Greek City: Recent excavations at the site of Azoria, Crete (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Farming, Feasting and the Foundations of the Early Greek City: Recent excavations at the site of Azoria, Crete
Abstract: Public presentation at the Embassy of Greece: "Farming, Feasting and the Foundations of the Early Greek City: Recent excavations at the site of Azoria, Crete,” in the series, “Health, Nutrition and Fitness: From Ancient to Modern Times” Embassy of Greece, Washington, DC, Monday, March 14, 2011.
Author: Donald C. Haggis
Date: 03/03/2011
Location: Embassy of Greece, Washington, DC
Primary URL: http://greekcultureintheus.blogspot.com/2011/03/health-nutrition-and-fitness-from.html

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