Geoarchaeological investigations on the northeastern shore of Lake Ohrid revealed 3.5 m thick deepwater lacustrine sediments overlying terrestrial vegetation macrofossils, worked wood and abundant potsherds dated to the Late Bronze Age (LBA). Distinct contact of deepwater sediment with the sub-aerial weathered limestone bedrock point to a sudden increase in lake level. According to radiocarbon data, catastrophic flooding occurred shortly after 1214 yr BC. Because the area is located in a highly active seismic zone, we propose that this event was caused by tectonically induced, metre-scale coseismic subsidence related to faults bordering the Ohrid alluvial plain. Moreover, this event coincides well with a dramatic switch in the habitation and settlement strategy in the region. More important, however, is the finding that the age of the proposed massive tectonic event and change in habitation lies within the interval of the proposed 'earthquake storm' in the eastern Mediterranean dated to 1225-1175 BC. As the Ohrid-Korça zone belongs to the same tectonic province, a relationship between the abovementioned earthquakes and the proposed event can be expected. This research therefore might provide the first direct evidence of a large-scale earthquake event linkable to the LBA collapse of Europe's first urban civilisation in the Aegean.
This article argues that Ionia, located in the central part of western Anatolia, was one of key areas of metallurgical innovation in the Aegean during the transitional period from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age. Recent evidence from this region challenges the established narrative that envisions a rather consistent diffusion of iron technologies from Cyprus arriving predominantly via the western part of the Aegean region. This contribution provides a new understanding of the spread of iron technologies in the Aegean by paying particular attention to the social context of technological change and by stressing the need for regional approaches within the Aegean. Crucially, it reassesses the latest evidence from central western Anatolia, and contextualises it within the key cultural, social and technological axes of continuity and change between the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age. This study complements the recent methodological discussions related to the integration of bronze and iron technologies that foreground regional perspectives and pay attention to local knowledge-scapes.
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