Leaving behind (or not). Abandonment practices and selected assemblages at Middle Bronze Age Erimi‑Laonin tou Porakou

According to scholar discussion, the decision to take or to leave objects from a settlement is crucial when its abandonment is planned and the return is not anticipated. This kind of decision depends on multiple factors, such as dimensions, weight, absence of damages or repairs, means of transportation, distance to the new settlement, and ritual practices. The aim of this paper is to present a comparative analysis of the material assemblage discovered in six roofed rooms (named Units) of the workshop complex at the Middle Bronze Age site of Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou, in order to better understand the abandonment processes. The presence of fire destruction, and the distribution and state of preservation of the artefacts, provide interesting information to suggest some practices which preceded the abandonment and how some objects entered the archaeological context.