Pefkakia is a hillock on the west coast of the Pagasitikos gulf. The German excavations (1967-73 and 1976-77) revealed that the site was inhabited constantly from the Chalkolithic Age until the Mycenaean period. According mainly to the settlement remains of the excavation area E-F VIII, the strata of the Middle Helladic settlement are distinguished in seven building phases and begin with a transition period from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age.

The transition from the Early Helladic to the Middle Helladic period evolved normally. It is characterized by an innovation in town planning. The Middle Helladic buildings were built on different levels on the slope of the hill and were integrated in perimetrical arcs according to a town planning which occurs in the settlement Aspida of Argos as well. This town plan was adapted to the topography of the site and presents a fairly efficient exploitation of the area. Two trends are distinguished in the architecture of the settlement. The first consists of long rectangular buildings which had large rooms and central hearths and the second of houses with small rooms.

 
  Building remains of the periods 5 and Early 6 at Pefkakia, sector E-F VIII.


The building evolution of the settlement was interrupted abruptly after the Middle Helladic period 6 which is the transition period to the Mycenaean period. In the occupied area a cemetery with cist graves was now founded. This drastic innovation may mean that the need for a more flexible building shape had been created which may also be related to the more general economic changes of the early Mycenaean period.

The study of the stratigraphy and pottery of Pefkakia has given very important information on the evolution of the regional production and chronological correlation of the settlements of Thessaly with those of south Greece. Thus, it seems that the beginning of the Middle Helladic period in Pefkakia is characterized of strong regional elements which are preserved until later periods at a considerable degree. But from period 4 certain elements of south Greece such as the Gray Minyan pottery occupied an important position in regional production, Pottery of the lower Middle Helladic strata also indicates that the Matt Painted pottery appeared earlier in Thessaly than in south Greece. The foreign influence on regional production and the imported objects that appear in Pefkakia more frequently than in Argissa of the inland of Thessaly reveal that the practice of external trade was highly dependent of the distance of the settlements from the sea.