At the northwestern tip of the island, on a rocky promontory north of Sifneikos Gialos, lie the remains of the ancient settlement of Agriokastro, which, as the pottery shows, flourished during the late Middle Cycladic and early Late Cycladic (LC IA) periods, that is, at the end of the first half of the second millennium BC. A little southwest of the settlement is situated the cemetery. A limited rescue excavation carried out by the then 21st Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities revealed two built chamber tombs, pit-like wall-lined tombs, as well as disturbed burials.
The Agriokastro cemetery is one of the few from this period to have been excavated in the Aegean region; its finds are comparatively-speaking particularly rich. They include characteristic vessels of the Cycladic tradition (such as the two-coloured nippled jugs, as known from the Theran and Melian ceramics) as well as local vessels that imitate Minoan types (such as rhyta and hole-mouthed jars). Important finds include a bronze knife and a marble sword pommel.
The architecture of the new types of tombs, and the comparatively large number of special-purpose vessels found in the built chamber tombs testify to the changes taking place in the Greek region at the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. They also demonstrate the participation of Agriokastro in networks of contacts and exchanges with important centres of this period, such as Thera, Melos and the northeastern Peloponnese.
The ‘nippled jug with the birds’ is decorated in the two-tone Cycladic style. The high neck is slightly swollen in the middle, where are sited the protrusions. An eye adorns the side of the rim, while at the transition to the neck are a series of solid-coloured circles, like a necklace. These all intensify the anthropomorphic feel of the vessel.
Almost the entire body is occupied by a decorative zone with a representation of three birds to the right. The body of the bird is portrayed by the glossy-red solid-painted circle with a black outline typical of the period, while the remaining anatomical features are rendered in black and red.
The three birds are preserved but fragmentarily and only one has its head turned backwards. It has an elongated, curved beak, apparently in an attempt to represent a bird of prey.
The ‘nippled jug of the potter’ is also decorated in the two-tone Cycladic style. This time there are wide brownish-red bands framed by a pair of thinner brownish-black ones, which on the body alternate with thin wavy lines. The two mastoid protrusions are placed on the shoulder, while on the rim, on either side of the spout, are the painted eyes. The vase is marked with an elegant tripartite potter’s mark on its back.
