The diverse forms of regional connectivity in the ancient world have recently become an important focus for those interested in the deep history of globalisation. This volume represents a significant ...contribution to this new trend as it engages thematically with a wide range of connectivities in the later prehistory of the Mediterranean, from the later Neolithic of northern Greece to the Levantine Iron Age, and with diverse forms of materiality, from pottery and metal to stone and glass. With theoretical overviews from leading thinkers in prehistoric mobilities, and commentaries from top specialists in neighbouring domains, the volume integrates detailed case studies within a comparative framework. The result is a thorough treatment of many of the key issues of regional interaction and technological diversity facing archaeologists working across diverse places and periods. As this book presents key case studies for human and technological mobility across the eastern Mediterranean in later prehistory, it will be of interest primarily to Mediterranean archaeologists, though also to historians and anthropologists.
The Punic Amphora Building (PAB) at Corinth, Greece, excavated in the late 1970s and dated to the mid-5th century BC, provided a remarkable archaeological context for the study of trade connections ...between Classical Corinth and the Punic West, based on the finding of hundreds of Punic amphorae and associated fish remains. The first studies indicated that these amphorae were mostly imported from the Straits of Gibraltar region, although the exact area/s of provenance remained undetermined. The recent macroscopic restudy of these amphorae suggested the existence of several fabrics, most probably associated with different production sites in southern Spain and/or northern Morocco. In order to verify this hypothesis, a provenance analysis of this material was performed. A total of 178 amphorae from Corinth’s PAB were analysed through a combination of thin section petrography and elemental analysis by WD-XRF. Further information was obtained from the analysis of reference materials from production areas, including amphorae from known Punic kiln sites in the western Mediterranean and associated potential raw materials for ceramic production. The results indicated that Punic
Gadir
, present-day Cádiz, was the main supplier of salt fish which was packaged in amphorae and shipped to Corinth in the fifth century BC, although other Punic sites, especially those located on the coast of present-day Málaga province, also participated in these commercial interactions. The results of this research are of particular importance for the study of long-distance trade networks between the eastern and the western Mediterranean in the Classical period.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
This paper presents the results of a diachronic and multidisciplinary investigation into the production and consumption of cooking ware in the ancient city of Priene (Turkey). Three major ...chronological horizons are considered, covering the fourth to the first century BCE: the late Classical/early Hellenistic period, the middle Hellenistic period, and the late Hellenistic/early Roman Imperial period. Following a thorough typological and macroscopic study of fabrics, an integrated analytical approach combining petrography and elemental analysis (wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence) was applied to investigate the main macroscopic types and fabrics that characterised cooking wares. Integration of the results from the typological study with the subsequent analyses of 90 representative samples has provided high-resolution insights into cooking ware production and consumption at Priene over the study period. In addition to tracing transformations in local and regional manufacture over time, the results show that cooking wares were imported to the city from several places and, moreover, at a scale at least equivalent to that for other categories of ceramic vessels at that time. Changes in the manufacturing technology of local and regional products and the origin of imports are discussed in the context of significant historical developments that took place in this region over the period covered by the study.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
This paper provides new data on an under‐documented topic in Aegean archaeology, that of the impact of Latin–Greek cohabitation on craftsmanship, socio‐economic organization and household pottery ...traditions. The chosen approach is a petrographic study of the provenance and technology of 37 cooking pots, jugs, basins and storage jars from the city of Thebes, Boeotia. The ceramics span from the late 12th to the mid‐14th century and thereby cover the periods of Byzantine, Frankish and Catalan control over the city. The analysis indicates that most pottery products were not locally made during these periods. Pottery consumption at Thebes involved, in the 12th/13th century, regional products from northern Boeotia, while pottery supplies from Euboea that had developed under Byzantine rule continued into the 14th century, well after Boeotia and Euboea came into the hands of, respectively, Frankish and Venetian lords in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1204). The petrographic analysis also allows for the characterization of Byzantine and Latin tempering practices of the pottery fabrics. These results highlight phenomena of regional economic reliance in central Greece and provide rare evidence for the cross‐cultural diffusion of technological knowledge in the late medieval Mediterranean.
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•Production and consumption of Hellenistic and Early Roman cooking ware pottery from Nea Paphos.•Technological and compositional characterisation of local and imported cooking ware pottery.•The ...results indicate a shift in the local pottery production in Early Roman times.
The current paper provides insights into the production and consumption of Hellenistic and Early Roman cooking ware unearthed in Nea Paphos on Cyprus. Based on macroscopic examination of cooking ware from two distinct areas of Nea Paphos, the Agora and Maloutena, a total of 136 samples were analysed through thin section petrography, and a subset of 47 samples additionally by elemental analysis (wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence). Their compositional and technological characterisation indicated that locally produced pottery dominated the cooking vessel assemblage in Nea Paphos during the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. There is, however, an apparent diversification in the local products, in terms of both clay pastes and vessel types, in the Early Roman period. While imported vessels are attested in both assemblages and originate from a variety of sources in the Mediterranean, they appear to have played only a very limited role in the local market and seem to have had little influence on local cooking vessel manufacture.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
This article explores human mobility and cultural transmission among small-scale societies in prehistory through the analysis of technological, demographic, and landscape data from the Aegean island ...of Kythera during the Prepalatial period (mainly the Early Bronze Age of the third millennium B.C.E.). Since excavations at the coastal site of Kastri on Kythera were conducted in the 1960s, the island has played a major role in interpretations of Minoanization in the Aegean due to the intensity of Cretan influence on local culture and the precocious date at which this begins. These factors have prompted Kastri's identification as a Cretan colony. This paper reexamines the dynamics of early Kythera, drawing on a reanalysis of material from Kastri (with a focus on potting traditions) coupled with new evidence from an intensive surface survey. The results uphold the case for population movement from Crete but embed this within a longer history of regional interaction. Equally, however, they demonstrate the substantial nature of preexisting communities, some of which probably continued alongside Cretan elements until the threshold of the second millennium B.C.E. Only at the start of the Palatial age in the Aegean did the former tradition vanish and Kythera become, in essence, a part of Crete. Explanations for early Cretan interest in Kythera should avoid the anachronism of applying Palatial-period models to the smaller-scale societies and distinct interaction networks of the Prepalatial Aegean. More generally, this article advocates the potential for archaeological investigation of migrational processes in and beyond the Aegean.
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BFBNIB, INZLJ, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK, ZRSKP
The current paper contributes new evidence to the ongoing discussion of the location and organisation of production of Hellenistic colour-coated ware (CCW), through interdisciplinary investigation of ...morphological style, technology and provenance of relevant pottery from a Late Hellenistic deposit found in a well in the Agora of Nea Paphos on Cyprus. Through naked eye examination, four major macroscopic groups were identified based on vessel typology and fabrics. Subsequently, 53 representative samples were selected and analysed through a combination of refiring tests, chemical analysis, thin section petrography and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that the sheer majority of this pottery, despite some compositional and technological variability, reflects the use of similar raw materials compatible with the geology of Paphos. Therefore, during the Late Hellenistic period, most of the CCW consumed in Paphos were locally produced. The observed variation in the assemblage can be associated with several factors, such as natural diversity of raw materials, a number of co-existing pottery workshops, technological choices made by the potters and to a lesser extent post-depositional processes. This integrated research has a profound impact on studies of production and consumption of the Late Hellenistic pottery on Cyprus.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
•This study focuses on Roman and early Byzantine ceramics from Chhim in Lebanon.•Amphorae and common wares were analysed with thin section petrography and WD-XRF.•Most of the samples form one ...compositional group, compatible with local geology.•The assumed local group shows high compositional and technological variability.•The pottery production seems to be related to the local olive-oil industry.
The current paper presents new evidence on pottery production in Chhim, Lebanon/Phoenicia, during the Roman and early Byzantine periods (end of 1st c. BCE - 5th c. CE), based on the results of scientific analysis integrated with macroscopic studies. Thirty-three samples of amphorae, common ware and kitchen ovens were selected and analysed through a combination of thin section petrography and elemental analyses. The results suggested that the majority of the analysed pottery, despite some compositional and technological variability, was produced with the use of raw materials similar to those used for the kitchen ovens excavated in the same site and was compatible with the local geology. The observed variation in the assemblage probably indicates that the ancient potters did not make standardised choices concerning raw materials and clay paste preparation techniques. The potentially local pottery production seems to have been related to the olive oil industry, which was operating at the site during the Roman and early Byzantine periods.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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