A port settlement sitting on rugged white hills on the western coast of Karpathos, Leukos has been proposed to be the fourth city of the Hellenistic to Classical period tetrapolis on the island (Nelson et al 2015: 321–322). However the earliest archaeological evidence around the site dates to the first c. CE. What is certain is that the town, which consists of "consists of three natural and sandy harbors, two peninsulas, a fortified promontory (Sokastro)" (LSP: the Leukos Survey Project) flourished as a Christian trade hub (though perhaps not a large-scale manufacturer) in the 4–7th c. in large part due to the aforementioned geographical advantages and its position on intersecting shipping lanes.
Plan of excavations at Leukos (Begg et al 2010: Fig. 3)
