International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Konstantinos Roussos
Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands; 
[e-mail] 
Reconstructing the Cycladic Settled Landscape 
in Late Antiquity and the Byzantine Early Middle Ages (4
th
– Mid-9
th
C.): 
The Islands of Paros and Naxos
The Cyclades island group in the Aegean Archipelago has often been a protagonist in academic 
debates on issues of insular and landscape archaeology.
The aim of this paper is to offer a fresh approach to the history and archaeology of the Cyclades 
in Late Antiquity and the Byzantine Early Middle Ages under the light of current archaeological 
investigations, setting a new framework for the discussion and examination of the material culture 
dated between the 4
th
and the middle-9
th
centuries. It is an attempt to identify and interpret human 
interaction with the landscape in order to “read” the relationship between islands, settlements, cultural 
groups, landscapes and seascapes. The period in question is usually characterized by the progressive 
transformation of the ancient world from the 4
th
to the 6
th
c., and subsequently throughout the 7
th
to 9
th
c., marked by the Byzantine-Arabic struggle for control over the Aegean. The methodology established 
deals with archaeological evidence, literary sources, and observations of the sites and micro-landscapes 
as a whole, by offering a critical and complete analysis of the data available. The geographical parameter 
is used as the main interpretive tool whilst the assessment of micro-geographical characteristics of 
settlement territories permits a better understanding of their economic potential. 
The diversity of the islands makes clear that these geographical entities can be approached 
as different case studies, and can subsequently be integrated in wider contexts. Viewing islands as 
distinct units does not preclude from identifying them as nodes of broader networks. In order to 
illustrate this diversity, Paros and Naxos, two neighbouring islands of different size within a complex 

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Aegean world, will be used as case-studies. Both islands constituted two of the most dynamic 
spaces in the Aegean Archipelagos with enduring cultural activity fully integrated in military and 
commercial maritime routes. The history of these insular communities was strongly affected by 
their prominent strategic position, their geography and their resources. Nevertheless, Paros and 
Naxos differ significantly regarding the specific features of their landscapes. Thus, a new tantalizing 
question needs to be answered: whether the local diversities of the Parian and Naxian landscapes 
have determined the historical evolution of the settlement pattern as well as the ways in which 
these two adjacent insular spaces were integrated and interacted with broader worlds in specific 
conditions and periods of time.
The rich mountainous hinterland of Naxos with a wide range of geological formations in 
connection with the fertile land and the climate conditions have diachronically influenced the 
residents’ occupations forming a settlement pattern mainly oriented towards the islands’ interior. On 
the contrary, the lacework shoreline of Paros with the extensive coastal fertile plains and the numerous 
safe anchorages in conjunction with the barren and mountainous hinterland created a mainly sea-
oriented settlement network extending along the coastal zone of the island. Especially, during the 
course of Late Antiquity and the turbulent Byzantine Early Middle Ages, it will be a challenging task to 
trace how these two neighbouring insular communities reacted under the same general circumstances 
pertaining in the Aegean and to what extent the landscape played a role in this process.