Early Helladic II (in some schemes Early Helladic IIA) was an early phase of Bronze

Age Greece, in the Early Helladic period, lasting from around 2650 to c.2200 BC. In
the Helladic chronology it was preceded by the Eutresis culture of c. 3200 – c.
2650 BC (also called Early Helladic I) and followed by the Tiryns culture (2,200–
2,000 BC) or Early Helladic III. In some parts of Greece a Lefkandi culture, or
Early Helladic IIB, follows the Korakou; elsewhere the Korakou transitions directly
into the Tiryns.[1]

Remains of the culture have been excavated widely across south and central mainland
Greece, in the Peloponnese, Attica, Euboea, Boeotia, Phocis, and Locris. Examples
of Korakou pottery have been found still more widely, as far as Knossos in Crete,
Lefkas in the west, Thessaly, and on Ios and Keos in the Cyclades.[2]

Many coastal sites were fortified, and in several areas the period ends with a
destruction by burning; some settlements are reoccupied by the Tiryns culture,
while many remain unoccupied until the Mycenean period.[3]

Lefkandi (Greek: Λευκαντί) is a coastal village on the island of Euboea, Greece.

Archaeological finds attest to a settlement on the promontory locally known as
Xeropolis, while several associated cemeteries have been identified nearby. The
settlement site is located on a promontory overlooking the Euripos, with small bays
forming natural harbours east and west of the site. The cemeteries are located on
the hillslopes northwest of the settlement; the plots identified so far are known
as the East Cemetery, Skoubris, Palia Perivolia, Toumba, in addition to further
smaller groups of burials. The site is located between the island's two main cities
in antiquity, Chalkis and Eretria. Excavation here is conducted under the direction
of the British School at Athens and is ongoing as of 2007 (previous campaigns in
1964–68, 1981–84).[needs update]

Occupation at Lefkandi can be traced back to the Early Bronze Age, and continued
throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages, to end at the beginning of the Archaic period
(early 7th century BCE). The known cemeteries cover only part of the periods
attested in the settlement, dating to the Submycenaean through Subgeometric periods
(c. 1050–800 BCE, the "Greek Dark Ages"). The abandonment of Lefkandi coincides
with a rise in settlement activity in nearby Eretria, and it has been argued by the
excavators that the site is, in fact, Old Eretria. Some scholars have identified
Lefkandi as the site of the ancient city of Argura.[1]

Contents
1 Lefkandi's contribution to archaeology
2 Potential Heroon
3 Xeropolis
4 Notes
5 References
6 Εxternal links
Lefkandi's