Space 28 (“Granary”)
Space 28, known as the “Granary”, is a large building of oblong plan, oriented on the S/SW-N/NE axis and measuring 16.80 x 3.75 m internally and approximately 19.50 x 6.50 m externally. It is surrounded on all four sides by robust masonry up to 1-1.50 m thick at the top and 2 m thick at the base, while its virtually perpendicular height all round ranges from 4.50 to 5.40 m. The walls are built in the emplecton system, with an obvious attempt to form horizontal separating zones. This is the largest space uncovered in the settlement at Poliochni (fig. 1).
Figure 1
Figure 2
The IASA excavated Space 28 during the 1934 season and subsequently in 1936. At a level deeper than its foundation, earlier architectural remains were found, which are dated to the Archaic Blue phase (EBA Ι/3100-2900 BC). Specifically, cross walls and horizontal walls were revealed, which formed rectangular spaces or casemates (fig. 2). These spaces were abolished when the long and narrow “Granary” was built on top of them. The homogeneous stratigraphy of the said space, from the lowest to the highest layer, led the excavators to propose that it was a single construction, which was built in the late Blue phase and was kept unchanged until at least the end of the Red period (fig. 3).
In relation to the general urban plan of Poliochni in the Late Blue phase (EBA Ι/2900-2700 BC), that is the first period of construction of the “Granary”, we should imagine that it was an isolated, free-standing structure built in the casemate walls technique, with the east wall functioning as a retaining wall on the slopes of the settlement. From the west it would have formed a free façade, with access to the west plain of the hinterland. Consequently, during the next settlement phases (Green-Red phase /EBA ΙΙ) and with the expansion of the settlement westwards, it was incorporated in the nucleus of the settlement, offering an additional space probably of public character, since it is a structure included in the wider planning of the enclosure wall and the retaining works at Poliochni (fig. 4).
Figure 3
Figure 4
With regard to the interpretation of the use of this space, the term “Granary” or “Silo” was given by the Italian excavators because some carbonized seeds and fruits were found in it. One of these (a burnt fig) gave an absolute date of ca 2800 BC, placing the presence and use of the space at least from the Late Blue phase of habitation.
Today the space is largely back-filled, in order to protect the architectural remains located at a deeper level, and at the same time to retain and support the side walls.