Preliminary remarks on the Middle and Late Bronze Age pottery from D. Theocharis’ excavations at the site of Pefkakia Magoula

This preliminary report examines prehistoric pottery from D. Theocharis’ 1957 excavations at Pefkakia Magoula, near Volos (Thessaly, Greece). The site reveals continuous occupation from the Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age (LBA), with a particularly intensive settlement activity during the Late Helladic (LH) IIIA2/B phase. The study provides the first comprehensive look at the LBA ceramic sequence of Pefkakia. Noteworthy finds include a single Minoan Kamares ware import, matt-painted and Fine Gray Burnished ware of LH I, a significant collection of Early Mycenaean LH II/IIIA1 pottery, a few early Aeginetan imports from LH II/IIIA1, a large repertoire of LH IIIA2/B pottery which constitutes most of the assemblage, and a number of vessels datable to LH IIIC. The published pottery of LH I–LH IIIA1 provides the first definite evidence for continuous occupation of Pefkakia during that period. Variety of imports highlights Pefkakia’s connectivity throughout the LBA, while the numerous transport stirrup jars testify to the site’s role as a major Aegean harbor of the Mycenaean palatial period (LH IIIA2/B). A few finds datable to the post-palatial period (LH IIIC) demonstrate that the site was not completely abandoned at that time.