Poliochni on Lemnos was one of the most important Aegean settlements during the 3rd millenium B.C. It represents a culture that developed in the 3rd millenium B.C. on the islands of the northeast Aegean; the easternmost site where its remains have been found is Troy, on the coast opposite Lemnos.
  The site of Poliochni was continuously inhabited all through the 3rd millenium B.C. as is attested by the successive architectural phases. The settlement of the Yellow phase was destroyed by natural causes, perhaps by an earthquake, at the end of the 3rd millenium B.C. It was subsequently abandoned for quite a long period, and only sporadically reoccupied in the 2nd millenium B.C.
  The prehistoric settlement of Poliochni was discovered in the summer of 1930, during the archaeological investigation of the site carried out by the Italian Archaeological School of Athens. Two excavation campaigns were conducted by the Italians, the first lasting from 1930 until 1936 and the second, after the World War II, from 1951 to 1956. Excavations were resumed in 1986, along with clearing, consolidation and restoration work and were completed in 1995.
  The ancient walls of the settlement were restored in 1994. Work included the consolidation of the masonry and foundations, with the rebuilding of walls where necessary, repairs of joints, cement injections and covering with plaster.
  The prehistoric settlement, dated to the Early Bronze Age, was founded at the turn of the 4th to the 3rd millenium B.C. on a hill in the Vroskopos bay, on the east coast of the island. The successive architectural and cultural phases distinguished by the excavators have been characterized each with a different colour:
  Black period:
  In the earliest phase, the settlement occupied a very limited area. The preserved architectural remains belong mostly to spacious, oval huts.
  Blue period:
  The settlement gradually developed into a proper town protected on the landward and seaward sides by an imposing fortification wall built in dry-stone masonry. A few public buildings were also erected for the first time, including the so-called "bouleuterion" (used for the assembly of the inhabitants) and the communal granary.
  Green and Red periods:
  The settlement extended towards the west and a new section was added to the existing defensive wall, which was reinforced with circular bulwarks in the Red period. The private houses now consisted of clusters of rooms.
  Yellow period:
  Remains of the period have been uncovered on the top of the hill. The town was crossed by two paved streets. In the central, megaron-shaped building, spacious storage rooms were found.
  Brown and Violet periods:
  The architectural remains of the settlement are very sparse and do not supply evidence for its layout but it is certain that the area it covered was again restricted.