Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 2020, vol. 135, 1-99, 2020
Maritime commodity trade from the Near East to the Mycenaean heartland: Canaanite Jars in final p... more Maritime commodity trade from the Near East to the Mycenaean heartland: Canaanite Jars in final palatial Tiryns.
Canaanite jars from the palatial site of Tiryns in mainland Greece are shown to have been producedat a number of centres on the Levantine coast, emphasising the key role of the Argive coastal citadelin trade with the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the 13th century BCE. The analytical study ofthis assemblage draws on a detailed examination of key deposits connected to the last phase of thepalace at the site and its destruction, and combines thin section petrography and chemical analysis(NAA), providing major new insights into the specific production locations of these containers alongthe Levantine coast. Based on comparative material from other Aegean sites and especially theharbour of Kommos in southern Crete, typological, epigraphic and analytical data are combined todemonstrate that, towards the end of the 13th century BCE, Tiryns was interacting with differentLevantine centres than did Kommos roughly 100 years earlier. This diachronic shift in the source ofCanaanite jars reaching the Aegean has much to tell us about changing centres of political power,the emergence of regular commodity trade and even diplomatic problems, all at a time whencontainer shipment takes off and the demand for commodities starts to dominate relations betweenthe states surrounding the seaways of the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Late Bronze Age.
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Papers by Peter M Day
For most of Southern Europe, the process of Neolithic expansion was associated with the dissemination of a range of knowledge, both socio-economic and technological. Among the latter, pottery allows us to observe different traditions not only from the raw materials used, but also by providing information on different ways of doing. This work approaches both variables through the petrographic and microstructural observation of part of the ceramic record recovered from an open-air settlement documented in Colón Street of Novelda, Alicante, in the Vinalopó basin. The results obtained show differences in the way in which the raw materials were processed –i.e., tempering– and variable firing temperatures. Based on the composition of the ceramic pastes, most of the vessels are probably of local origin, while a smaller number of pieces do not match the geological environment of the site, which we interpret as imports. These results provide us with information on the strategies developed in the management of the surrounding space and the relationship with neighbouring regions and human communities.
Key words: Iberian Peninsula; Alicantine Zone; Early and Middle Neolithic; Ceramics; Optical Petrography; Scanning Electron Microscopy.
Aegean and western Anatolia during the third millennium BC. A recent study of
the substantial pottery assemblages from the pivotal site of Heraion has defined
a rich stratigraphy covering the entire Early Bronze Age (EBA). Currently the
only known EBA site on Samos, Heraion has provided the opportunity to
undertake a holistic ceramic study with the aim of defining and characterizing
local pottery production and, by extension, determining for the first time a secure
provenance of suspected imported vessels, through the application of an
integrated typological/morphological, macroscopic and microscopic (ceramic
petrography) analytical methodology. This diachronic ceramic study, alongside
a comparative fabric study of pottery of known origin from a number of
contemporary sites, shows clear evidence for the exchange/importation of specific
vessel shapes and, in the case of the collared jars, presumably their contents. This
enables the reconstruction of patterns of interaction during the later phases of EB
II, when there was a particular acceleration in the movement of goods. The
present paper draws on a distinctive ceramic class (blue and red schist/phyllite
fabrics/wares) and vessel types (transport jars with incised/slashed handles and
beaked jugs with a two-stage neck profile) particular to the EB II late period
and discusses them in relation to already published or analysed data from
selected Cycladic and Anatolian sites.
Keywords: Neolithic, Early Helladic, petrography, ceramics, technological tradition, northeastern Peloponnese
For most of Southern Europe, the process of Neolithic expansion was associated with the dissemination of a range of knowledge, both socio-economic and technological. Among the latter, pottery allows us to observe different traditions not only from the raw materials used, but also by providing information on different ways of doing. This work approaches both variables through the petrographic and microstructural observation of part of the ceramic record recovered from an open-air settlement documented in Colón Street of Novelda, Alicante, in the Vinalopó basin. The results obtained show differences in the way in which the raw materials were processed –i.e., tempering– and variable firing temperatures. Based on the composition of the ceramic pastes, most of the vessels are probably of local origin, while a smaller number of pieces do not match the geological environment of the site, which we interpret as imports. These results provide us with information on the strategies developed in the management of the surrounding space and the relationship with neighbouring regions and human communities.
Key words: Iberian Peninsula; Alicantine Zone; Early and Middle Neolithic; Ceramics; Optical Petrography; Scanning Electron Microscopy.
Aegean and western Anatolia during the third millennium BC. A recent study of
the substantial pottery assemblages from the pivotal site of Heraion has defined
a rich stratigraphy covering the entire Early Bronze Age (EBA). Currently the
only known EBA site on Samos, Heraion has provided the opportunity to
undertake a holistic ceramic study with the aim of defining and characterizing
local pottery production and, by extension, determining for the first time a secure
provenance of suspected imported vessels, through the application of an
integrated typological/morphological, macroscopic and microscopic (ceramic
petrography) analytical methodology. This diachronic ceramic study, alongside
a comparative fabric study of pottery of known origin from a number of
contemporary sites, shows clear evidence for the exchange/importation of specific
vessel shapes and, in the case of the collared jars, presumably their contents. This
enables the reconstruction of patterns of interaction during the later phases of EB
II, when there was a particular acceleration in the movement of goods. The
present paper draws on a distinctive ceramic class (blue and red schist/phyllite
fabrics/wares) and vessel types (transport jars with incised/slashed handles and
beaked jugs with a two-stage neck profile) particular to the EB II late period
and discusses them in relation to already published or analysed data from
selected Cycladic and Anatolian sites.
Keywords: Neolithic, Early Helladic, petrography, ceramics, technological tradition, northeastern Peloponnese
Following the book’s introduction, there is a gazetteer of sites where this and related pottery has been found in Italy. The next chapter provides a comparative chronology between the Aegean and Italy. There is then the presentation of the pottery itself, its characterisation by style and with science-based analysis to determine its origins and technological attributes; the results of experimental reconstruction are included. The impact of external influences on the indigenous cultures within Italy and Italy’s role in the so-called Late Bronze Age ‘International Age’ in the Mediterranean are among the main issues considered in the last chapter.
Projekti ka afat 3 vjeçar (2015-2018).
Projekti është miratuar nga KKA (Këshilli Kombëtar i Arkeologjisë) pranë Ministrisë së Kulturës.
While much was expected from initial studies in offering an objective approach to provenance, the assumptions behind the chemical analysis were heavily reliant on archaeological opinion and expectation which turned out to be misleading. Epigraphy has often been pitted against 'science' and there has been a lack of understanding as to how integrated ceramic studies should operate.
Relating new work which highlights the production of these jars as much on the Greek mainland and islands as on the island of Crete, these jars are also seen in a changing historical context, revealing a history of their use that spans the whole Bronze Age. It is contended that we need to make fully integrated studies of these vessels, which acknowledge the importance of contextual, comparative archaeological material in analytical characterisation, in a similar way to that required in typological and epigraphical studies.
Subsequently, the discovery of a craft production installation at the site of Alimos, just 4 kilometers south of the Athenian Acropolis, has provided a wealth of new evidence, including kiln wasters, suggesting the manufacture of a range of ceramic vessel types similar to those identified to be of an Attic origin. Preliminary examination through thin-section petrography coupled with traditional typological fabric analysis indicates that the pottery produced at Alimos includes specialized vessel types such as fine tablewares, quality cooking vessels and tubs in a range of sizes with a wide distribution of entire assemblages reaching at least as far as Thorikos in southeast Attica, Kanakia in the west and perhaps farther into the Aegean world during the LH IIIB period.
The scope of this paper is to illuminate that the distribution of pottery in Attica and parts of the Saronic Gulf during the LH IIIB period through characterizations of the ceramic material that we have identified to have been manufactured at Alimos through the use of thin-section petrography. Consumption patterns of ceramics in and around the gulf supply new and exciting information that provides key insight about the inter- and intra-regional relationships during a period of prehistory where craft production and distribution is usually considered to have been centrally controlled by local palatial centers. Finally, by concentrating on the production and movement of entire assemblages, we attempt to locate the place of the potter’s craft within the palatially centered Mycenaean society.
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choices over time. Key amongst our results has been the identification of a fabric characterised by sandstone and low-grade metamorphic rocks, thought to originate in the area of the Talioti Valley, and indicating the presence of a major centre of production in the Argolid. Other fabrics testify to shared technological traditions and raw material choices across the northeastern Peloponnese, which have a very long history of use. Significant changes are presented, not only in specific technological choices, but also in the distribution of vessels from particular production centres. These reflect increased interaction between communities in the Argolid and Corinthia over time.
This paper presents the analysis of Early Helladic II (EH II) pottery from Keramidaki (Ancient Corinth) and the nearby settlement of Korakou. Based on macroscopic, petrographic and SEM-EDS data, the work builds on pioneering chemical research by Michael Attas who demonstrated the limited circulation of finewares in the region and posited the existence of a workshop in the area of the Corinthian Plain. The current research adds substantial detail to Attas' insights by characterising the varied range of pottery fabrics encompassed within his chemical groups, differences in raw material choice and manipulation, and the presence of both oxidation and reduction firing regimes to achieve different surface finishes. It is suggested that the area hosted a number of potters during this period, some making a broad range of pottery types to satisfy daily consumption needs of the local community, whilst others produced a more restricted repertoire.
millennia of geological transformation. Human presence in the area had a strong impact on landscape change since
the Final Neolithic (second half of the 4th millennium BC), when the first signs of land erosion and deforestation
appeared. This phase has been considered in Crete as “transitional” due to emergence of new settlement patterns and
material culture. The main site on the Plain is Phaistos, which is located on a hilltop near the Yerapotamos River.
The site offers great potential for the examination of the Final Neolithic-Early Bronze Age transition in Crete, on
account of the landscape and changes in the human occupation and manufacturing activity. Pottery manufacture of
these transitional phases has been examined in detail, revealing a complex picture of continuity and change in raw material
use. Similarly, our understanding of the landscape surrounding the site has been transformed with the discovery
of the formation of a lake to the South of the hill site from the mid-3rd millennium. This paper presents collaborative
research on landscape change and its influence on raw material availability for pottery manufacture in the area.
Canaanite jars from the palatial site of Tiryns in mainland Greece are shown to have been producedat a number of centres on the Levantine coast, emphasising the key role of the Argive coastal citadelin trade with the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the 13th century BCE. The analytical study ofthis assemblage draws on a detailed examination of key deposits connected to the last phase of thepalace at the site and its destruction, and combines thin section petrography and chemical analysis(NAA), providing major new insights into the specific production locations of these containers alongthe Levantine coast. Based on comparative material from other Aegean sites and especially theharbour of Kommos in southern Crete, typological, epigraphic and analytical data are combined todemonstrate that, towards the end of the 13th century BCE, Tiryns was interacting with differentLevantine centres than did Kommos roughly 100 years earlier. This diachronic shift in the source ofCanaanite jars reaching the Aegean has much to tell us about changing centres of political power,the emergence of regular commodity trade and even diplomatic problems, all at a time whencontainer shipment takes off and the demand for commodities starts to dominate relations betweenthe states surrounding the seaways of the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Late Bronze Age.