Skarkos

Skarkos is the largest, most important, and best-preserved Early Bronze Age Cycladic settlement known to date, located on the island of Ios in Greece. Built in a circular layout on high ground overlooking the port, it featured two-storey buildings with four-metre-high walls, a well-organized street plan with squares, and defensive walls. Excavated 1984-1997, the site yielded marble figurines, obsidian tools, ceramics, and clay seals indicating organised agricultural production. Skarkos prospered at the junction of trade routes linking the Cyclades with mainland Greece, Crete, and Asia Minor before being abandoned around 2300 BC, possibly after an earthquake. It received the Europa Nostra Grand Prix in 2008.