Assiros Toumba: Weed ecology and Bronze Age cultivation intensity 

Project summary

This project will investigate how agricultural production shaped the development of Bronze Age societies in Greece by examining crop remains from the late second-millennium BCE grain storage complex at Assiros Toumba. Using high-resolution imaging of archaeological and modern weed seeds alongside existing stable isotope data, the research will identify the environmental conditions and farming practices associated with ancient crop production. These complementary methods will determine whether grain surpluses were produced through intensive or extensive cultivation, providing new evidence for how different forms of social organisation managed agricultural resources.

The findings will contribute to long-standing debates on the emergence of complex societies in Bronze Age Europe and the relationship between farming practices and political organisation. By applying innovative archaeobotanical methods to an exceptional archaeological assemblage, the project will strengthen UK-led research in this field, enhance reference collections for future study, and generate results of international significance through collaboration with the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and the British School at Athens.