The first results of the field survey of Ayios Vasilios in Laconia (Greece).
At Ayios Vasilios, remains of a Late Bronze Age palatial site have been identified by means of geophysical survey and excavations. The Ayios Vasilios Survey Project was initiated in 2015, among other things to investigate the extent and spatial development of the site though time. In this article, the preliminary results of the pedestrian field survey of the site are presented. The survey data show that pre-Mycenaean habitation at the site was of limited extent. The settlement expanded rapidly in the Late Helladic III period, but also the Mycenaean palatial settlement was small compared to other known palatial settlements: ca 5-6 ha. The rapid expansion and limited size may be better understood when contextualized with social and political developments in the Sparta Basin.
