Unit IV-1 at Nichoria

Nichoria is a settlement in Messenia that was occupied at various times from the Middle and Late Bronze Age through the Dark Age and into the Byzantine Era. During the Dark Age, a central megaron, designated Unit IV-1 by excavators, was built. In its first phase, it was rectangular and consisted of a large central hall entered from a vestibule or antechamber or from a small side door. In its second phase, however, it became more elaborate, with a porch in front of the vestibule and an apsidal room, perhaps for storage, added to the back of the central hall. The walls were several feet thick and made of mud-brick. The building is believed to have had a thatched roof. The presence of Unit IV-1 suggests some degree of centralization or hierarchal organization at the site during the Dark Age. The exact dates of construction and destruction are unknown, but it was built after 1050 BC and abandoned by the end of the Dark Age. The site of Nichoria was discovered in the 1960s when Professor William Allen McDonald from the University of Minnesota surveyed the area. Excavation on the site began in 1969, and Unit IV-1 was uncovered during this phase of research.