Tracing the missing fragments of Cycladic architecture: a geo-ethnoarchaeological study on the degradable architectural elements of the Cyclades.

Cycladic architecture has been the focus of archaeological, ethnographic and architectural studies, which have produced significant knowledge about the islands’ built environment. Despite the number of published studies, there is little archaeological evidence related to the parts of buildings, such as roofs and second storeys made of degradable materials (i.e. sediments and organic materials), which are nowadays lost or poorly preserved. On the other hand, ethnographic and architectural studies lack the details of local variabilities regarding the construction of the fragile architectural components. This geo-ethnoarchaeological study applied a high-resolution analysis including soil micromorphology and phytoliths to the roofs of abandoned traditional farmsteads (mitata) on two islands, Kato Kouphonisi and Naxos in the Cyclades, supplemented by oral testimonies from elderly residents and published ethnographic information. This was combined with comparable microstratigraphic analysis conducted on sediments from the nearby Early Bronze Age site of Dhaskalio, Keros. The analysis of abandoned farmsteads generated a high-resolution dataset of micro-characteristics linked to known practices and materials of traditional roof construction. These were then traced into our archaeological samples to detect similar features and ultimately improve on contextual interpretation beyond field observations. We therefore suggest that this geo-ethnoarchaeological approach is useful in the identification of roof sediments in archaeological deposits, enhancing the ability to recognise such events in the field and demonstrating that a signature of collapse events can be defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]