Skarkos Ios Archaeological Site
The Skarkos archaeological site, we find it above a hill in the middle of the western side of the island a few kilometers from the port in one of the Ios wildest areas.
The oldest and most important prehistoric settlement of all the Cyclades Islands and the whole Aegean, even existed a thousand years before the famous Akrotiri in Santorini, has allowed scholars to understand with significant evidence how societies were organized in those times.
Dating back to the early Bronze Age (mid-3rd millennium BC) it is in the middle of one of the most sheltered natural harbors of the Cycladic Archipelago, between the most fertile plains and the sea. A crossroads of the main commercial routes with Mainland Greece, Crete, Asia Minor and considered the boats of the time equipped only with limited range oars, they meant that Skarkos was an excellent landing place to stop and rest, stock up on supplies and obviously trade. The Ios inhabitants were mainly dedicated to the export of stone obsidian tools from the nearby Milos island of which it was and is rich which was then transformed.
Skarkos with a circular shape still well preserved, spread over terraces that proceed along the natural relief of the hill covering an area of 1.1 hectares. From here its inhabitants had a perfect view of the port and the sea. A perfectly organized village that could accommodate from 200 to 300 people, with an effective road network with streets one to two meters wide and also public spaces, squares, two storey buildings with a rectangular shape with enclosed courtyards and stone paved attics where the the ground floor was dedicated to the kitchen while the first floor was used as a living room, storage for goods and ceramics as well as sometimes used as a laboratory. The different sizes of the houses varied according to the social position of the family that owned them. And still high walls of three or four meters, a perfect drainage system and a cemetery from the late Bronze Age. A citadel where nothing was missing and which gave great prosperity to the island.
The excavations of the Skarkos archaeological site started in 1984 until 1977 by the XXI Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture responsible for the Cyclades Islands. Many artifacts have come to light such as marble statuettes, ceramics, obsidian tools, animal bones, stone and marble vases, metal tools which confirm the fact of the rich trade with the nearby islands and the mainland. Some curious stamps and engraved symbols that were used by the inhabitants to declare their identity as well as clay seals on ceramics for the agricultural production control. All these beautiful finds can be found at the Chora Archaeological Museum.
The settlement was definitively abandoned in 2300 BC it is said due to a very strong earthquake and never repopulated again, this is the reason for its perfect state of maintenance.
Skarkos can be visited since 2007 after a long conservation and preservation intervention which in 2008 also allowed it to receive an award from the European Union for the excellent work done on such an important cultural heritage. It has two entrances, one of which is also accessible for wheelchair users.
An activity to be included among the things to see in Ios where you can dive into the past as a sort of time travel and admire the greatness of past peoples who have allowed us to get to where we are today.