Flora Michelaki

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EDUCATION:
BSc, Archaeology (Cardiff University); MA, Archaeology & Prehistory (University of Sheffield) ; PhD, Archaeology (University College London)

WORK EXPERIENCE:
I have been working as an archaeologist, mainly in the Heraklion area, but also throughout Crete. My work with short-term contracts for the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion and the Ephorate of Hellenic Archaeological Service, has involved supervising fieldwork, studying, documenting and writing-up material for excavations, and working as a cataloguer for both Museum and Ephorate.
I have been involved in a number of archaeological research projects (Moni Odigitria, Trypiti, Skinias, Knossos Urban Landscape Project, Knossos Gypsades Project) mainly based on Crete, carried out by institutions which are directly involved with the British School at Athens (BSA), the Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP), the Greek Archaeological Service and collaborations with scholars from universities in Greece and abroad. During the years 2010-2015 I have been working as INSTAP Funded Curatorial Project Assistant, being responsible about the curation and documentation of the holdings of the Stratigraphical Museum of Knossos, digitised under KE Software’s Electronic Museum management system. I have also worked as a research assistant in the Classics Department at the University of Glasgow.
Currently I'm working as the London Administrator for the British School at Athens.

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Papers by Flora Michelaki

Michelaki, F. (2026). The Cretan tholos cemeteries: continuities and discontinuities during the Pre- and Protopalatial periods, Proceedings of the 13th International Congress of Cretan Studies (Agios Nikolaos 2022).

Based on three main categories of evidence (architecture, pottery and other finds), close analysi... more Based on three main categories of evidence (architecture, pottery and other finds), close analysis of thirteen Pre-and Protopalatial period tholos cemeteries within south-central Crete provides a useful point of reference from which to consider recent theoretical and interpretive approaches. Taking into account the similarities and differences in spatial behaviour over broad chronological phases, comparing examples of small (i.e. Miamou) and large (i.e. Platanos), central (i.e. Agia Triada) and remote (i.e. Skaniari Lakkos) cemeteries, one can argue that they represented communities interacting at a small scale, sharing some common mortuary traditions, which possibly converged through time into increasingly common patterns, potentially paralleling the changing scales of regional social and political integration. However, each cemetery appears to follow varying trajectories through three major phases (EM I-EM II, EM III-MM IA and MM IB-MM II). In particular, the previously suggested homogeneous pattern of the earlier phase does not appear to be so clearly defined when taking into consideration the architectural and material data in detail. Even in smaller sub-regions, there are variations showing that communities are doing things differently. But still, for the Mesara and Asterousia regions, no cemetery followed a distinct, community-specific pattern of development; there are common patterns and comparable sequences of changes among them. The tholos tomb was the core of each cemetery, but additions and extensions differ from site to site throughout their history of use, and some changes do not happen simultaneously in all tholos cemeteries across the region, even if there is more standardization in mortuary tradition in this region than in others in Crete. The aim of this presentation, therefore, is to outline the continuities and discontinuities in mortuary practices emerging from comparisons among the better documented tholos cemeteries that date from 3000 to 1700 BCE.

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Michelaki, F. (2018). Mortuary Architecture and Depositional Behavior in the Tholos Cemeteries of South-Cetral Crete, 3000-1700 BC: the Case of Kephali Odigitrias at Skaniari Lakkos. Proceedings of 11th International Congress of Cretan Studies (Rethymno 2011), A1.2. Rethymno, 289-300.

( ) , -. for the Pre-and early Protopalatial societies of Crete comes from cemetery sites, and pa... more ( ) , -. for the Pre-and early Protopalatial societies of Crete comes from cemetery sites, and particularly from the monumental round (tholos) tombs of south-central Crete, largely excavated early in the 20th century, or salvaged a/er extensive looting, from the 1950s to 1980s 1 . 0e tombs, o/en occurring in pairs and within more complex cemeteries (including rectangular buildings, extra-mural burials, and enclosed and paved areas), have been particularly intensively investigated in the western Mesara plain and the Asterousia mountains immediately to the south (Fig. ). For over a millennium, this was the type of tomb principally used for burial throughout this region, only rarely occurring elsewhere on the island. Along with localized patterns in artefact styles, increasingly recognized, this mortuary tradition serves to de1ne a common cultural area, which can be analyzed as a coherent microcosm, providing a detailed perspective on social and political transformations during the period of the development of the 1rst complex societies in Crete, represented by the palace states of the Middle Bronze Age. 0e longevity of these monuments due to their repeated use, repair and elaboration through time, emphasizes their signi1cance to their burying groups, seemingly symbolizing lineality and stability in the face of signi1cant changes in society. 0eir gradual abandonment during the consolidation and expansion of the State represents a shi/ in the bases for and symbolism of social power. 0is documents a gradual shi/ in ritual and identity from the individual community's mortuary context, to the regional palace as a political, social and ritual centre, 1. Many thanks to: the excavator of this cemetery, Dr. A. Vasilakis for his permission; the 23 rd Ephoreia for Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities; the sta2 at Knossos of the British School at Athens; my principal supervisor, Prof. T. Whitelaw; Ms P. Stefanaki for improving some 1gures; and the I. Costopoulos Foundation and British School at Athens (Vronwy Hankey Memorial Fund for Aegean Studies).

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