The Poignant Nobility of Katalimata

 

DefensibleSitesInCreteBk.jpg  Source of book image:  the web site cited below.

 

Years ago I saw a program on the History Channel that has stuck in my mind.  (But, alas, I do not remember the title.)  Near the end, I think, they discussed an ancient horde of invaders that created a dark age in the Mediterranean region.  An on-sight scholar discussed a tiny cliff-side settlement that a family of natives had retreated to, to defend what little they had.

Attacking the tiny enclave would have been difficult.  It was a long way up a treacherous and visible trail.  But for the same reasons, living there would have been difficult too.

How human these unknown ancients were who defended their family and property; how poignantly noble.

 

 

When I watched the program, I jotted down a single word, the name of the site:  Katalimata.

In doing a web search, I encountered the book (a monograph in the Aegean series), whose image appears above.  I’m guessing that the book discusses the site I saw in the program, since the book description says that its author participated in digs at Katalimata.

 

The reference to the book is:

Nowicki, Krzysztof.  "Defensible Sites in Crete C.1200 – 800 B.C."  Aegaeum Vol. 21, 2000.

 

For more information on the book, see:

http://www.ulg.ac.be/archgrec/aegaeum21.html

 

 

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