Late bronze – early iron age agro-systems in northern Greece: new insights through stable isotope analysis from Methone, Pieria

Journal article

Throughout the Aegean, the Late Bronze Age (LBA) to the Early Iron Age (EIA) has been characterised as a period of societal change. After the collapse of palatial economies in the south (c.1200 BC), Greece entered a phase referred to in the past as the ‘Dark Ages’. Research into the nature of EIA agriculture has been relatively limited and although this situation has improved within the last decade there are still significant knowledge gaps. This paper will shed new light on LBA-EIA arable agriculture by presenting crop stable isotope analysis from the site of Methone in northern Greece. These data are used to examine sitespecific agricultural strategies as well as allowing for an evidence-based understanding of economic variability in this region. The results reported show that at Methone and likely throughout Greece in the Early Iron Age, inhabitants continued to pursue relatively ‘lowinput’ agricultural systems that were adapted to specific local settings and environmental conditions, even in the face of a period of potential aridity. Ultimately, this research provides a fresh approach to Iron Age (IA) Aegean agriculture whilst also highlighting the need to proceed with further research from other IA Aegean sites.

Authors: Diffey, C; Styring, AK; Orengo, HA; Athanassiadou, A; Bessios, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Journal: Environmental Archaeology: The Journal of Human Palaeoecology
• Pages: 1-14
• Publication date: 2025-07-30
• Acceptance date: 2025-07-14
• DOI: 10.1080/14614103.2025.2535768
• EISSN: 1749-6314
• ISSN: 1461-4103
• Language: English
• Keywords: late bronze – early iron age; Aegean agriculture; cropstable isotopes; farmingsystems; methone