Phylakopi

Phylakopi (Greek: Φυλακωπή), located at the northern coast of the island of Milos, is one of the most important Bronze Age settlements in the Aegean and especially in the Cyclades.

[2] The excavation was remarkably ahead of its time, with Duncan MacKenzie (the later foreman to Sir Arthur Evans at Knossos) recording detailed stratigraphic information.

The earliest settlement at this site, founded directly on bedrock, was a small village with pottery characteristic of the early Bronze Age Grotta-Pelos culture.

The vessels often contain stylised plant and animal motifs in black and red matt paint, though most famous are the Melian bird jugs exported to Knossos.

[9] The so-called 'Mansion' likely served as an administrative centre for the settlement, owing to discovery of a Linear A tablet fragment found within the structure.

In any case, Minoan ideas and culture became popular at this time within the elite circles in the Aegean and were adopted as a marker of social differentiation and "prestige".

Phylakopi III:ii sees a regression of Minoan influence after the eruption of the Thera (Santorini) volcano in LM IA (c. 1500 B.C).