The term "Dark Ages" refers to the 12th to 9th centuries BCE, characterized by the absence of written documents and the depletion of archaeological material. Nowadays, historians try to qualify their assessment by distinguishing various stages in this period and emphasizing the significance of the use of a new material, iron.
The 12th century and the first half of the 11th century are characterized by a rapid and brutal degradation of material culture and significant migratory movements. The decline in writing is accompanied by the disappearance of human or animal representations on ceramics, as well as stone constructions. The material in tombs becomes scarce in quantity and quality. Many sites appear abandoned, with the number of recognized settlements decreasing from 320 to 40. Those that remain are of mediocre size, likely indicating a decline in population.
This degradation is accompanied by significant population movements associated with the myth of the "return of the Heraclids" and, from the 19th century onwards, with the arrival of the Dorians. In the historiography of the period, the Dorians have long been held responsible for either the disappearance of a rich and brilliant civilization or the emergence of what would become classical Greece.
In the middle of the 11th century, migratory movements appear to stabilize, both in the Peloponnese and on the…
