Mediterranean Early Iron Age chronology was mainly constructed by means of Greek Protogeometric and Geometric ceramic wares, which are widely used for chronological correlations with the Aegean. However, Greek Early Iron Age chronology that is exclusively based on historical evidence in the eastern Mediterranean as well as in the contexts of Greek colonisation in Sicily has not yet been tested by extended series of radiocarbon dates from welldated stratified contexts in the Aegean. Due to the high chronological resolution that is only achievable by (metric-scale) stratigraphic 14 C-age-depth modelling, the analysis of 21 14 C-AMS dates on stratified animal bones from Sindos (northern Greece) shows results that immediately challenge the conventional Greek chronology. Based on pottery-style comparisons with other sites, the new dates for Sindos not only indicate a generally higher Aegean Early Iron Age chronology, but also imply the need for a revised understanding of the Greek periodisation system that will foreseeably have a major impact on our understanding of Greek and Mediterranean history.

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Greek colonisation has been one of the most popular topics in historical and archaeological debate already since the early modern period. Its study began in the historical context of early European colonialism, followed by rising liberalism during the early independence wars and French Revolution. It gained popularity after the industrial revolution in the Romantic period, when Greece and Rome were conceptualized as founders of Western culture and particularly in the age of New Imperialism that represented a new phase of colonial expansion faced with a growing awareness of social differences. Traditional perceptions of Greek colonisation were finally challenged during the most recent decolonisation period, particularly after the mid-20th century. All major historical events and intellectual movements of Modernity left their particular socio-cultural fingerprint on the studies of the Greek colonisation. One concept remained unchanged throughout this period. Greek colonisation was not fully emancipated – even in the decolonisation period – from preconceptions that emerged in the Zeitgeist of Western colonialism.