 Είναι η Άγιση της Άγισης. Πρώτας όλοι, θα ευχαριστώ να ευχαριστώ για τις οργανίσεις της σημερινής που έχουν συγχωρήσει τη συμμερινή μου, μπορούμε να ξεκινήσουμε. Η προηγιστή στιγμή στην Κουκονίσση και η λιπτική λόγη της Άγισης δημιουργήθηκε στην πιο σημερινή εργασία του Μουδρος Μπέον Λιμνος, was excavated under the direction of Christus Lottis and the auspices of the Academy of Athens from 1994 to 2016 with intermissions. The excavations brought to light the remains of a densely occupied Brunzate settlement in the north part of the Islet, whose material culture shows strong links to the northeast Aegean and the western Atolian regions. The southward orientation of the bay would have ensured a safe anchorage for ships heading towards the north Aegean, Macedonia, Thrace, Troy or the Dardanelles, providing along with harbor facilities, replenishment of vitals and water supplies. The privileged geographical location of Cuconisi is surely one of the decisive reasons for its longevity as a major emborium for almost two millennia. Having followed closely the developments of the two other major settlements in the Early Bronze Age Limnos in the East Polyognia and Myrina, Cuconisi continued to flourish in the Middle Bronze Age and Early Late Bronze Age as the most important settlement of the island, providing an undisturbed sequence from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Late Bronze Age. The findings of the Early Mycenaean Period were also identified but were far less abundant, while the next substantial phase of occupation corresponds to the developed Late Bronze Age, namely the Late Eladic 3-2A and Late Eladic 3-B periods. The presence of Mycenaean pottery as well as other typical Mycenaean objects such as figurines of canonical phi and psi types is a clear indicator of a direct connection between Cuconisi and the Greek mainland during the 14th and 13th centuries. This period, however, was not the first time of Cuconisi's contact to people from the South Aegean. Μαινόαν or mynoanizing pottery and other small finds, among which textile tools discovered in fair quantities in the settlement, indicate contacts with Greek and the South Aegean as early as the Late Middle Bronze Age. Apart from approximately 130 spinning walls of various shapes and sizes, which are found in almost every strata of the excavation, more interesting appear to be circa 40 loom weights so far brought to light. These artifacts, which constitute the focal point of this paper, begin to appear in the settlement in the advanced or the close of Middle Bronze Age. Falling within the context of household activities in the early Late Bronze Age settlement, the loom weights are concentrated in a specific area, trend 7 and particularly in trends 8 and 9 of the settlement, where mynoanizing elements are prominent. In their vast majority they are discoyed in shape with one and rarely two suspension holes as well as a peripheral groove on the top. One of them features an impressed finger mark beneath a suspension hole closely comparable with a specimen from Agia 805. Similar in shape with the clay loom weights is a stone one, which was found in 1996 in the plowing surface. All of them belong to the prominent South Aegean and particularly the Cretan style discoyed loom weights, which are considered along with conical caps as one of the hallmarks of mynoan influence throughout the Aegean at the time. In the North Aegean, apart from Cuconici, discoyed loom weights have also been found at Microphonion Samothrace and at Troy. It is not worthy that from the 19 loom weights in total brought to light in contemporary Troy 6, which dates from 1780 to 1750 to circa 1300 BC, 9 of them belong to the discoyed type. You can see the amount of loom weights from Troy and especially the discoyed ones. In this framework, we would easily apply a catalyst suggestion for the southern to the northern Aegean claiming that in the majority of cases, the appearance of Cretan style loom weights appears to represent the adoption of the work weighted loom itself. The fact that elements of mynoan material culture among which the discoyed loom weights are concentrated in specific areas on Cuconici led the excavator to the conclusion that a mynoan population dwelt in a separate quarter of the settlement. This possibility suggests a degree of mobility within the Aegean during the Bronze Age and indicates one way in which Cretan weaving technology may have been transmitted. While complete sets of loom weights may have accompanied weavers, it is also possible that lower numbers were carried to act as templates for making further weights. Since loom weights are not objects that are likely to have any perceived intrinsic value, it is probable that the non-local weights travelled with their users rather than representing imports. Nevertheless, that does not seem to be applied to the related funds from Cuconici. A preliminary macroscopic examination of the loom weights indicates that they were probably made of local clay. In any case, though, a petrographic analysis of the material will be more accurate. Although the functional identification of funds as loom weights is highly controversial, see, for example, the so-called net singers. It does simple clay objects with a perforation. The so-called torus weights, the spool-shaped waves or the crescent-shaped weights and, of course, a torus study of the related material from Cuconici is imminent. We can, on the present evidence, correlate the appearance of this coiled loom weights with the adoption of the work-weighted loom in the settlement in the advanced or the close of Middle Bronze Age. Taking into consideration the assumption that where this coiled loom weights represent the first appearance of loom weights at the settlement, it is likely that a different method of waving was practiced prior to the adoption of the work-weighted loom. I cannot avoid wondering what was the predecessor of the work-weighted loom on Cuconici or what was the waving technology practiced earlier. Apart from the work-weighted loom, which was used in Crete from the Neolithic onwards, during the Bronze Age there is evidence for the use of two other types of loom in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The horizontal ground loom and the vertical loom with two beams. The oldest loom time among them is considered to be the horizontal ground loom. There are different types of horizontal ground looms which operate in slightly different ways. For the Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean information of how this loom functions comes principally from Egypt. Our iconographic representations and models show the work threads stretched over two beams that have been fastened with four corner pegs. In general, two weavers are depicted, sitting on either side of the loom, changing the set, entering and beating the weft. The head road is supported with heddlejacks. The available evidence indicates that this loom type was mainly used for waving tabby and basket weavers. On the other hand, the vertical loom with two beams stands upright like the work-weighted loom, although it had been suggested that it originated in Syria or Mesopotamia, but the earliest representation occurs in Egypt during the last part of the second millennium BC. It could have been developed in connection with the introduction of wool. Wool is quite easy to dye and this could have inspired tapestry waving, for which the two-beam loom is considered to be the most convenient type. Nevertheless, tabby and twill fabrics can also be produced on this loom. The length of the warp is limited to the size of the loom since the warp threads are stretched by beams attached to the loom. Unlike the work-weighted loom on the vertical loom with the two beams, the weft is packed from the bottom and up. The warp threads are played side by side and not in layers. It is of course possible to also wave twill by using more head rods in this case. However, the preserved depictions of this type of loom show only one head rod. All the above mentioned loom types have advantages and disadvantages. I should also note that the studies on loom types in Egypt demonstrate that in the same period in society different looms can be used for producing different types of textiles. In every case, it depends on how someone can get the best yield and the most desired result. It is clear that the Bronze Age textile crafts people had knowledge of other techniques as well, such as making different types of bands using different braiding techniques and probably many other textile production techniques that are not evident from the archaeological record, which is partly due to the fact that these techniques either do not require any tools at all or the tools are made of perishable material. The introduction of the warp weighted vertical loom on Hukonisi reflects probably an increased specialization in the textile industry and innovation, which becomes more striking when evidence from earlier habitation levels is considered. Since so far, there are no preserved textiles from the settlement and given the fact that the looms themselves were made of perishable material and they are therefore rarely preserved, the possibility that other waving techniques were also being practiced cannot be ruled out. The few fragments of Bronze Age textiles recovered in the Aegean to today are tabby waves, also known as plane waves. However, since the existing sample of preserved textiles is so small, the loom waves recovered from sites across the Aegean can provide significant insight into the range of fabrics that could have been made with them to conclude. To conclude, the presence of loom waves in the Bronze Age settlement on Hukonisi islet indicates the use of a warp weighted loom and upright type of loom on which weights are used to apply tension to the vertical hanging wall fetch from the advanced or the close of the middle Bronze Age. The most probable predecessor of the warp weighted loom in the settlement that would have been the horizontal ground loom given the longevity of this type of this loom type in the Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean although the possibility that other waving techniques were also being practiced cannot be ruled out. In any case, only the systematic study of the corpus of the textile tools on Hukonisi, which is imminent, will shed light on the same operator of textile production in this Bronze Age settlement.