Koukonisi at Lemnos and its Trojan Connections

The island of Lemnos, lying quite close to the Dardanelles, played a decisive role within the N.E. Aegean's cultural sphere - including Troy too -, especially during the Early Bronze Age, as it has already been demonstrated by the Italian excavations at the early urban center of Poliochni. Additional surface searches, however, led to the discovery of a dense network of more Early Bronze Age settlements. Systematic excavations began at two of these, Myrina and Kouokonisi, attesting the existence of even more early urban centers, almost equ�valent to Poliochni.

Koukonisi, a low islet of elliptical shape (max. length: 470 m; width: 370-380 m.), covered with wheat fields, lies in the most inner part of the Moudros bay, at a distance of 400 m. from the closest coastline, and is today connected with it by means of a paved road. Taking into consideration the geomorphological changes of the surrounding area, it is apparent that the islet must have been naturally joined to the eastern side of the bay, at least in prehistoric times.

The first trial trench (1992) and three systematic excavation campaigns which have followed (1994-1996) at the highest plateau in the northern half of the islet (altitude 10.65 m.) justified our hypothesis that an extended settlement flourished there throughout the Early and Middle Bronze Age. Furthermore, Mycenaean relics, including characteristic types of clay figurines, testifies to the existence of a permanent Mycenaean installation at the islet.

The successive habitation phases, the impressive architectural elements, the abundance, variety and quality of the finds, some of which reveal commercial relations especially with the neighbouring Troad, but also with continental Greece and southern Aegean, are anticipated to shed more light to the early urban character of Lemnos, by contributing even to the revision of certain chronological questions. It is also expected that they have a broader impact on the entire Aegean prehistory.

Two reasons of Koukonisi's continuous and flourishing habitation for at least two millenia are to be found, on the one hand in its privileged geographical location in Moudros bay, one of the safest natural harbours of the Aegean (7 kms. in length), and on the other, in the fact that the valleys surrounding the bay of Moudros are Lemnos' largest and most fertile. Thus Koukonisi, with an overabundance of agricultural and cattle produce, would at the same time reap the benefits of being a crossroad for maritime communications and commercial activities during that period, not only because of their proximity to the Troad and the Dardanelles, but also because some of the strongest sea currents favourable to navigation end up in the Moudros bay.