Author(s)

George Malaperdas, Nikolaos Zacharias

Department of History, Archaeology and Cultural Resources Management, University of the Peloponnese, Kalamata, Greece.

In this study GIS and spatial analysis were applied in order to thoroughly examine possible relationships between the location of Mycenaean (16^th - 11^th c. BC) settlements in Messenia and the geomorphological characteristics of the area of their establishment. The idea lying behind this attempt is that the Mycenaeans would not have established their habitation sites randomly but according to decisive criteria, among which geomorphological characteristics played an important role. Such criteria include land aspect, terrain slopes, the hydrographic network and the geology of the area, all significant factors which need to be taken into consideration in order to evaluate the choice of settlement establishment. The combination of all available geological and environmental data with archaeological records provides a better view of the way local environments were built up in the past in association with the human site exploration and habitation; this view, hereafter defined as the Geocumulative versus Habitation (GCH) approach, constitutes the axis of the present study. The results of the study show a clear tendency in choosing settlement locations according to GCH criteria, resulting in a preference for flat to low-lying ground, in an environmentally friendly orientation (with environmental conditions such as protection from the north wind and at the same time profit by the sunlight), facilitating exploitation of local geological resources and of the hydrographic network.

GIS, Environmental Parameters, Mycenaean Era, Messenia Greece, Site Location

Malaperdas, G. and Zacharias, N. (2018) A Geospatial Analysis of Mycenaean Habitation Sites Using a Geocumulative versus Habitation Approach. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 6, 111-131. doi: 10.4236/gep.2018.61008.