The joint Greek and British excavations of the last twenty-five years (1964-1986) at Leukandi on the island of Euboea, have created a landmark in the archaeology of the Early Historic Years. The new data produced from the finds of these excavations have radically altered the picture of the period, exclusively known until then as the”Dark Ages”. The term seemed to be perfectly suited to the era between the end of the Mycenaean civilization and the creation of the city-state in the eighth century BC. Our knowledge of this period was limited, vague and fragmentary and the overall idea of these centuries was of an isolated civilization in decline and deterioration. The intentional double meaning of the term “Dark Ages” was in full accordance both with our state of knowledge and the cultural level assigned to the interval from 1100 BC. to about 750 BC. However, the excavational finds from the settlement and mainly from the cemeteries of Leukandi gave another, completely different dimension to the archaelogical research and led to a radical reconsideration of the period. The wealth of finds and the presence of jewels made of gold and other precious and semi-precious materials bear witness to prosperity, while the various imports from the eastern Mediterranean basin are abundant and already start from the eleventh century BC. Thus, it is evident that complete isolation of Greek territory never existed and that the procedure of the development of Hellenism which resulted in the colonization of the West, the adoption of the alphabet and the creation of writing started much earlier than the eighth century BC.