Life on a Hilltop in Dark Age Crete (1100–700 BCE)

A fortified Early Iron Age settlement, not a medieval castle

High in the hills of eastern Crete lies a site that quietly reshapes what we think we know about the so-called Greek Dark Ages. Known as Kavousi Kastro (from the Greek word kastro, meaning “fort” or “citadel”), this Early Iron Age settlement offers a rare and detailed view of how communities survived—and even flourished—after the fall of the Mycenaean world.

Built on a steep mountain ridge overlooking the Gulf of Mirabello, Kavousi Kastro was first settled around 1100 BCE, just as Mycenaean palaces were crumbling across the Aegean. But rather than representing collapse, this site tells a story of continuity, adaptation, and resilience.

The people who lived here built their homes in stone, arranged in terraces carved into the slope. They lived in small family units, cooked in shared courtyards, and stored food in clay jars tucked into narrow rooms. Some houses even show signs of rebuilding and expansion over generations, evidence of a stable, long-term community.

What makes Kavousi Kastro remarkable is the duration and quality of its occupation. The site was continuously inhabited for over 400 years. During this time, it maintained not only a basic economy based on farming and herding, but also participated in local and regional trade networks, exchanging pottery and goods with neighboring sites.

This was not an isolated outpost. It was part of a broader pattern in Crete and mainland Greece, where highland settlements provided safety during a time of political uncertainty. Unlike the palaces of earlier centuries, places like Kavousi Kastro were communal, practical, and defensible—and yet they still supported art, ritual, and social order.

Excavations have uncovered loom weights, indicating textile production; small sanctuaries, suggesting shared religious practices; and imported pottery, showing long-distance contacts even in times of supposed isolation.

Today, Kavousi Kastro offers a powerful counterpoint to the idea that the Dark Age was a time of total cultural collapse. It reminds us that while great palaces may fall, people continue—building, adapting, and forming new ways of life in challenging times.

Photo by Kevin T. Glowacki, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.