- Hellenistic Pottery, Corinth, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Archaeological Science, Maritime Trade Ceramics (Archaeology), and 45 moreAncient Seafaring, Sailing and Maritime history and archaeology, Trade, Cross-Cultural Contacts, Maritime Archaeology, Aegean Archaeology, Ceramics, Pottery Production, Statistics, Tradenetworks, Maritime History, Trade Routes, Mediterranean, Ports, Port cities, Islands, Insularity, Seafarers, Archaeological field survey, Greek Fortifications, Prehistoric Fortification (Archaeology), Mudbrick architecture, Earthen Architecture, Architectural Energetics, Aegean Bronze Age (Bronze Age Archaeology), Aegean Prehistory, Aegean Egyptian Interrelatlations, Aegean Late Bronze Age, Aegean Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age archaeology, Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), Ceramic Analysis (Archaeology), Ceramics (Archaeology), Ceramic Petrography, Pottery kilns, submycenaean Greece, Early Iron Age, Neolithic Archaeology, Mycenaean era archaeology, Network analysis in archaeology, Mobility (Archaeology), Archaeological Predictive Modeling, Landscape Archaeology, Bronze Age of the Carpathian Basin, and Bow and Arrow Technologyedit
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The theatre terrace of ancient Aigeira is considered to be one of the most interesting architectural ensembles of the Hellenistic period on the Peloponnese. Its exploration is one of the foci of the long-term activities of the Austrian... more
The theatre terrace of ancient Aigeira is considered to be one of the most interesting architectural ensembles of the Hellenistic period on the Peloponnese. Its exploration is one of the foci of the long-term activities of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Aigeira. This volume, edited by Walter Gauß, presents both results from the earlier excavations by Wilhelm Alzinger in the 1970s and 1980s as well as recent research conducted under the direction of the editor in this area between 2011 and 2018. The lavish expansion of the previously scarcely built-up area into a new public centre with religious and secular buildings began around the middle of the 3rd century BC and marks the beginning of Aigeira's heyday. This is closely linked to the history of the Achaian League and lasted into the Roman imperial period. Until the 1st century BC, the theatre, a Doric peripteros, a large peristyle building and several small temple-like buildings, so-called naiskoi, were erected in the theatre area. The latter were probably used as treasuries, dining or cult buildings. While Aigeira remained an urban centre until the beginning of Late Antiquity, the theatre area had lost its function as a public centre by this time and served as a workshop area in the 4th/5th century AD. Fourteen contributions discuss aspects of the development and design of individual buildings, selected groups of small finds, and questions regarding the function of the area and its importance for the political and religious life at Aigeira.
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The Transmission of Technical Knowledge in the Production of Ancient Mediterranean Pottery. Proceedings of the International Conference Held at the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Athens, 23rd – 25th November 2012. Sonderschriften des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes 54 (Vienna 2015)more
Research Interests: Classical Archaeology, Mediterranean prehistory, Levantine Archaeology, Egyptian Archaeology, Aegean Bronze Age (Bronze Age Archaeology), and 10 moreAegean Prehistory (Archaeology), Aegean Archaeology, South Italian Archaeology, Mediterranean archaeology, Archaeology of Mediterranean Trade, Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology, Aegean Prehistory, Cypriote Archaeology, Aegean Archaeology, Mediterranean Archeology, the island of Crete, and Greek Prehistory
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Aegina has long been recognised as a major production centre of a variety of widely exported ceramic containers not only in the relatively recent past but also in Classical antiquity and especially during the Middle and Late Bronze Age.... more
Aegina has long been recognised as a major production centre of a variety of widely exported ceramic containers not only in the relatively recent past but also in Classical antiquity and especially during the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Moreover, the prehistoric ceramic industry based on Aegina has become an increasingly important phenomenon in recent scholarship dealing with the rise of complex societies in the Aegean world during 2nd millennium BC. Such persistence on pottery production on Aegina through time renders obvious that a combination of factors, such as socio-economic, historical and geographical ones, as well as the locally available raw materials and the attraction of Aeginetan ceramics at other sites, must be taken into consideration in addressing the development of a specialized potting centre on the island. This study is the first to undertake a comprehensive look at the Aeginetan ceramic industry during much of the Bronze Age (ca. 2500-1200 BC), aiming at shedding light upon the factors influencing transformations in potting traditions, and the growth and decline of a specialised pottery production centre on Aegina. Advocating a landscape approach, it concentrates not only on pottery production but also on supply and consumption of ceramic vessels on the island. The systematic stylistic study of the formal attributes of local products and imports at the site of Kolonna is combined with the investigation of their manufacturing technology and the compositional characterisation of their fabrics through petrographic and chemical analysis. This integrated archaeological and scientific examination of the pottery, together with research on the island’s resources, replication experiments and ethnoarchaeology, provides the ground for the reconstruction of the local potting traditions and the understanding variability observed within and across certain periods of the Bronze Age.
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The Northern Peloponnese is not only home of a series of ancient poleis that are being studied by archaeologists, but it is also located on the southern shoulder of the most active extensional crustal structure in the world; the... more
The Northern Peloponnese is not only home of a series of ancient poleis that are being studied by archaeologists, but it is also located on the southern shoulder of the most active extensional crustal structure in the world; the Corinthian rift. This rift has shaped the Northern Peloponnese as we now see it today since the Pliocene. Normal faulting, the tectonic uplift of syn-rift sediments and sea level changes, has shaped a landscape of steps rising from the coast to the ridges in the hinterland that provides challenging conditions to a geophysical survey. Where we can find coarse grained slope and delta deposits of conglomerate on top of banks of marl on ridges and slopes, the lower marine terraces and the coastal plain as well as valleys show the protective caprock eroded and the marl covered by young alluvial deposits. These materials show only a small contrast in their magnetic properties, which reduces the importance of magnetic mapping for the archaeological prospection in t...
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Research Interests: Classical Archaeology, Greek Archaeology, Ancient numismatics (Archaeology), Roman Pottery, Ceramics (Archaeology), and 5 moreAncient Greek and Roman Theatre, Hellenistic Pottery, Archaeology, Classical archaeology, Greek and Roman history, Greek Colonization (Magna Graecia and Sicily), Material Culture Studies, Funerary Archaeology, Aigeira, and Achaia
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Gauß, W., R. Smetana, J.B. Rutter, J. Dorner, P. Eitzinger, C. Klein, A. Kurz, A. Lätzer-Lasar, M. Leibetseder, C. Regner, H. Stümpel, A. Tanner, C. Trainor, and M. Trapichler. 2013. “Aigeira 2012. Bericht zu Aufarbeitung und Grabung.”... more
Gauß, W., R. Smetana, J.B. Rutter, J. Dorner, P. Eitzinger, C. Klein, A. Kurz, A. Lätzer-Lasar, M. Leibetseder, C. Regner, H. Stümpel, A. Tanner, C. Trainor, and M. Trapichler. 2013. “Aigeira 2012. Bericht zu Aufarbeitung und Grabung.” ÖJh 82:69–91.
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Ceramic kilns are an indispensable part of the study of ceramic technology. Studies on the construction and maintenance of ancient ceramic kilns are mostly based on field observations during excavation. Here we report on the... more
Ceramic kilns are an indispensable part of the study of ceramic technology. Studies on the construction and maintenance of ancient ceramic kilns are mostly based on field observations during excavation. Here we report on the micromorphological study of a Late Helladic updraft ceramic kiln from the archeological site of Kolonna, Aegina Island, Greece. The study is focused on the construction details and stratigraphy of the interior of the kiln and also on the ashy sediments of the entrance area with the aim to better understand the operation of the kiln. In addition, X-ray power diffraction (XRPD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and FTIR microspectroscopy, applied directly on thin sections, provided information on the temperature of firing and on the observed mineralogical transformations. A highly calcareous clay was used for the construction of the kiln. The main construction of the kiln was followed by two major reconstructions affecting both the walls and floor, but not the door area. In between the reconstruction phases, the kiln was left open for considerable periods, probably during the rainy seasons as attested by the preservation of water-lain sedimentary crusts on the floor of the kiln. The firing process formed a poreless, well-reacted sealing crust on the inner surfaces of the kiln which presumably acted as an insulating shell. Calcitic ashes have been transformed to quicklime and hard indurated surfaces resembling lime constructions. The mineralogical transformations suggest firing temperatures in excess of 700 °C but probably lower than 900 °C. The use of highly calcareous material for the construction of the kiln, generally considered not suitable for its inferior thermal insulating properties and strength, is discussed in the light of the observed mineralogical transformations and fabric.
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Aegina Kolonna, located in the center of the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Mediterranean (Greece), is one of the major archaeological sites of the Aegean Bronze Age with a continuous stratigraphic settlement sequence from the Late Neolithic... more
Aegina Kolonna, located in the center of the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Mediterranean (Greece), is one of the major archaeological sites of the Aegean Bronze Age with a continuous stratigraphic settlement sequence from the Late Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age. Due to its position next to the maritime cross roads between central mainland Greece, the northeast Peloponnese, the
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2000. Neue Forschungen zur prähistorischen Akropolis von Athen.” Österreichische Forschungen zur ägäischen Bronzezeit 1998. Akten der Tagung am Institut für Klassische Archäolgogie der Universität Wien, 2. - 3. Mai 1998, edited by F. Blakolmer, 167–89. Wiener Forschungen zur Archäologie Bd. 3. Wien.more
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The current paper summarises the development Aegean fortifi cation systems from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age. The impressive multi-phased fortifi cations of sites such as Kolonna on the island of Aegina will be used as case studies... more
The current paper summarises the development Aegean fortifi cation systems from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age. The impressive multi-phased fortifi cations of sites such as Kolonna on the island of Aegina will be used as case studies to explain the development of Early to Middle Bronze sites in the central Aegean.
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CVA SUPPLEMENT 1. E. Trinkl) (ed.) Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum. Österreich. Beiheft 1. Interdisziplinäre dokumentations- und visualisierungsmethoden. Pp. 212, b/w & colour figs, b/w & colour ills. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2013. Paper, €69. ISBN: 978-3-7001-7145-4more
riors fight for the corpse of a fallen comrade (figs 59–60). She opts for the scenes representing two moments in the same rescue; I am inclined to think they are separate. More important is her suggestion that when the symposiast drank... more
riors fight for the corpse of a fallen comrade (figs 59–60). She opts for the scenes representing two moments in the same rescue; I am inclined to think they are separate. More important is her suggestion that when the symposiast drank from the cup, holding it by the stem and foot, the prow of Dionysus’ boat would be pointed straight at his mouth. I am not sure I believe that the drinker ‘is metaphorically swallowing the god when he drinks: another way of becoming filled with the god’s presence’ (p. 123), but I think M. is correct about how the cup would have been held by the imbibing symposiast (assuming it was ever actually used). On Munich 8935, a calyx-krater by Euphronios, a symposiast inscribed Thodemos holds his cup in exactly this manner (Addenda, p. 152; Euphronios der Maler [1991], p. 89 and p. 90: ill). In the epilogue, following a general summary, M. raises the possibility that some of Exekias’ scenes may allude to political events and mentions a few that occurred during the reign of Peisistratos. The Kerameikos was in central Athens and Athenians may have made connections between the visual material easily accessible to them and possibly relevant incidents. She then asks what makes these vases so attractive. Quality is an obvious criterion, but more important is the power of the figural content: ‘the primary impact is instant’ (p. 129). Her final sentence about how remarkable these vases are sums up everything. ‘These are . . . the normal indicators of great art: acknowledged quality, wide dissemination, public appreciation, critical and scholarly attention, and the indefinable mix of these and other, often more individual reactions which underwrite our pleasure in a beautiful and speaking object’ (p. 131). Put another way: this book is a pleasure to read.
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Die Arbeiten der Kampagne des Jahres 2008 betrafen den Westkomplex (Nordbau, Raum I und III; ostlicher Anschluss; Nordostbau mit Nordstrase; Sudbau, Hof; Strase sudlich des Diateichismas), umfassten weitere stratigraphische Untersuchungen... more
Die Arbeiten der Kampagne des Jahres 2008 betrafen den Westkomplex (Nordbau, Raum I und III; ostlicher Anschluss; Nordostbau mit Nordstrase; Sudbau, Hof; Strase sudlich des Diateichismas), umfassten weitere stratigraphische Untersuchungen im Bereich Sudhugel sowie Mauerfestigungsmasnahmen an den prahistorischen Befestigungen nordlich des Apollontempels.
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Bioarchaeological investigations at Kolonna, Aegina (Early Helladic III to Late Helladic III)
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The introduction of novel ideas and skills in pottery manufacture at the settlements of Kastri, Kolonna, and Lernaare used to illustrate how different potting traditions in the Bronze Age Aegean intersected. The insertion of... more
The introduction of novel ideas and skills in pottery manufacture at the settlements of Kastri, Kolonna, and Lernaare used to illustrate how different potting traditions in the Bronze Age Aegean intersected. The insertion of foreignceramic traits into previously established production environments are discussed as examples of acceptance (Kastri),rejection (Kolonna), and mediation (Lerna) in an attempt to nuance the complex process of ›Minoanization‹ in theAegean Bronze Age.
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Die Ergebnisse der langjährigen Ausgrabungen auf Ägina-Kolonna, die die Bedeutung dieser Stätte während der Mittleren Bronzezeit für den gesamten ägäischen Bereich deutlich zu erkennen geben, waren Anlass dafür, einen internationalen... more
Die Ergebnisse der langjährigen Ausgrabungen auf Ägina-Kolonna, die die Bedeutung dieser Stätte während der Mittleren Bronzezeit für den gesamten ägäischen Bereich deutlich zu erkennen geben, waren Anlass dafür, einen internationalen Workshop mit dem Thema „Middle ...
The introduction of novel ideas and skills in pottery manufacture at the settlements of Kastri, Kolonna, and Lerna are used to illustrate how different potting traditions in the Bronze Age Aegean intersected. The insertion of foreign... more
The introduction of novel ideas and skills in pottery manufacture at the settlements of Kastri, Kolonna, and Lerna are used to illustrate how different potting traditions in the Bronze Age Aegean intersected. The insertion of foreign ceramic traits into previously established production environments are discussed as examples of acceptance (Kastri), rejection (Kolonna), and mediation (Lerna) in an attempt to nuance the complex process of "Minoanization" in the Aegean Bronze Age.
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Ägina-Kolonna 2005. Vorbericht über die Grabungen des Fachbereichs Altertumswissenschaften/Klassische und Frühägäische Archäologie der Universität Salzburg. Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes in Wien|Band 75/2006 Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes...more
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Research Interests: Archaeology and Pottery
Die Ergebnisse der langjährigen Ausgrabungen auf Ägina-Kolonna, die die Bedeutung dieser Stätte während der Mittleren Bronzezeit für den gesamten ägäischen Bereich deutlich zu erkennen geben, waren Anlass dafür, einen internationalen... more
Die Ergebnisse der langjährigen Ausgrabungen auf Ägina-Kolonna, die die Bedeutung dieser Stätte während der Mittleren Bronzezeit für den gesamten ägäischen Bereich deutlich zu erkennen geben, waren Anlass dafür, einen internationalen Workshop mit dem Thema „Middle ...