Books by Anna Moles
https://www.barpublishing.com/urbanism-and-its-impact-on-human-health.html
Urbanism and its Impa... more https://www.barpublishing.com/urbanism-and-its-impact-on-human-health.html
Urbanism and its Impact on Human Health demonstrates how social, economic and political changes impacted the everyday lives of the people of Knossos, at the fundamental level of their health and diet, during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods. Knossos, in north-central Crete, was an important site in Aegean and Mediterranean networks throughout this timespan, though the city experienced cycles of urban development and decline. As an extensively studied and well-documented site, it provides a unique opportunity to study long-term phenomena associated with its varied past. The present osteological and isotopic research is integrated with previous work on material culture and textual sources to provide a contextualised interpretation of the lifeways and social history of the people of Knossos.
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Papers by Anna Moles
Paleo-Aktueel, 2023
Toevalsvondst: Een menselijke kies op een akker bij Noordhorn, gem. Westerkwartier (Gr.)
Chance ... more Toevalsvondst: Een menselijke kies op een akker bij Noordhorn, gem. Westerkwartier (Gr.)
Chance find: A human tooth from a field near Noordhorn, municipality of Westerkwartier (Groningen)
Alexander Nicolai, Anna C. Moles & Michael W. Dee
Paleo-Aktueel 33, 2023, pp. 57-64.
This article describes the discovery of and research into a human tooth from a field just west of the village of Noordhorn (province of Groningen). On September 30, 1581, a battle took place on this site. The molar likely surfaced due to dredging or ploughing work in the field. The research into the molar focused on the question of whether the find had a link with the 16th-century battle. However, using 14C dating, we found that this tooth was in fact much older than expected. This discovery adds previously unknown layers of history to this area. In addition to providing information about the person to whom the molar belonged, the research also indicates that a burial ground likely lay in the area.
https://ugp.rug.nl/Paleo-aktueel/article/view/42053
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Archaeological Reports, 2023
This article aims to overview the last 15 years of archaeological work on Crete (2007–2022) for t... more This article aims to overview the last 15 years of archaeological work on Crete (2007–2022) for the Roman and Byzantine periods. It is a resource that can provide the first step in the research process for those looking to investigate these time periods in Crete. It not only communicates recent discoveries and research, but also directs scholars to earlier key publications – which this article follows on from – and to an extensive bibliography of recently published research. After covering the main publications of the last 15 years and the workshops, congresses, and conferences that have taken place, it organizes the recent archaeological discoveries by site type. It begins by covering surveys of both the landscape and those conducted underwater that have been extensive across and around Crete. It then covers public buildings and infrastructure, domestic architecture, production and craft, and cemeteries. While it is not a complete listing of all finds, it summarizes the key discoveries, publications, and events in order to demonstrate the major developments for study of these time periods in Crete.
Moles A. 4 The past 15 years of archaeological work on Roman and Byzantine Crete. Archaeological Reports. 2023;69:85-106. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0570608423000042
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Change and Transition on Crete: Interpreting the Evidence from the Hellenistic through to the Early Byzantine Period, 2023
Change and Transition on Crete: Interpreting the Evidence from the Hellenistic through to the Ear... more Change and Transition on Crete: Interpreting the Evidence from the Hellenistic through to the Early Byzantine Period
Edited by Jane Francis, Michael J Curtis
https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803270562
Moles, A.C. 2023. Health, Diet and Lifeways at Knossos during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late-Antique Periods. In Francis, J. and Curtis, M.J. (eds.), Change and Transition on Crete: Interpreting the Evidence from the Hellenistic through to the Early Byzantine Period. Archaeopress.
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International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2022
OPEN ACCESS. Knossos was an important city on Crete and within Mediterranean networks during the ... more OPEN ACCESS. Knossos was an important city on Crete and within Mediterranean networks during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Late Antique periods. However, there were significant social, cultural and economic shifts that appear to have caused changes to daily lifeways, including diet. This paper sets out to explore dietary changes across these time periods by looking at dental caries, with reference also to antemortem tooth loss, calculus, and stable isotope data. This study also looks to contextualise these results using archaeological and textual information relating to diet. It presents a thorough methodological approach to the investigation and interpretation of caries and discusses some of the shortcomings of using a fragmentary and commingled skeletal assemblage. The Roman diet was more cariogenic than in the Hellenistic or Late Antique periods. The caries-zone analysis of the teeth suggests that there may have been a greater addition of sugars to the diet in the Roman period, though the increased caries could also be due to improved preparation techniques and technologies producing a more refined and sticky carbohydrate diet. Such changes could be due to either increased connectivity making certain foods more readily available, the cultural changes in food consumption or dental hygiene due to the influx of merchants, colonists, migrants and other newcomers to the Colonia Iulia Nobilis Cnosus that was Roman Knossos, or increased prosperity at the site in this period. There was a significant difference detected between females and males for caries indicating differential dietary practices between the sexes, which was most notable for the Roman period.
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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2022
OPEN ACCESS. Knossos was an important city on Crete and within Mediterranean networks in terms of... more OPEN ACCESS. Knossos was an important city on Crete and within Mediterranean networks in terms of trade and political status, though its status differed throughout the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods. This paper uses stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to consider whether people at Knossos had differential diets due to the social, political, cultural, and economic changes across this time frame, factoring in age, sex and social status. Samples of human bone were selected to represent this range of time periods and variables.
In this initial study, a small but insignificant increase in δ13C values was observed between the Hellenistic and Roman periods and there was a significant increase in δ15N values for the Late Antique period. No relationship between δ13C or δ15N and age was observed and while the female and male means were similar, the females had wider ranging values. No significant differences were detected by social status as represented by tomb type but there were small sample sizes for several of the tomb types.
The results indicated a C3 terrestrial diet with meat or other animal products included for most individuals. The slight increase in δ13C values in the Roman period may represent either the introduction of a small amount of C4 plant or marine food, or very low trophic level marine foods into some Roman diets. The higher δ13C and, in particular, δ15N values observed in the Late Antique samples, suggests an increased consumption of seafood, potentially linked to Christian dietary practices or advances in fishing technologies and preservation techniques. The wider spread values of females compared to males, indicating a more varied diet, could have resulted from differential participation in religious institutions connected to food or may have been caused by greater nutritional stress in females in relation to pregnancy and reproductive issues.
This study does not show a pattern of higher animal protein consumption in times of economic and cultural growth and prosperity but differences were detected between the different time periods in connection with the concurrent socio-economic changes.
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Mortuary Variability and Social Diversity in Ancient Greece: Studies on Ancient Greek Death and Burial, 2020
Moles, Anna. 2020. “Urbanism and Its Impact on Human Health and Diet: A Preliminary Study of the ... more Moles, Anna. 2020. “Urbanism and Its Impact on Human Health and Diet: A Preliminary Study of the Human Remains from Hellenistic to Late Antique Knossos, Crete.” In Mortuary Variability and Social Diversity in Ancient Greece: Studies on Ancient Greek Death and Burial, edited by Nikolas Dimakis and Tamara M. Dijkstra, 63–72. Archaeopress. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvwh8c61.9.
Knossos was a significant centre in Crete and within Aegean and Mediterranean networks during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods. This paper investigates how the changing urban status, and the associated social and environmental factors, impacted on age-at-death, skeletal and dental health, and human activity over time and within the population by social status, age and sex. It also demonstrates the types of research questions that can be addressed by fragmentary skeletal assemblages which have come from rescue excavations. As a site of long-term significance and having been intensively investigated and extensively excavated, Knossos offers an excellent setting for studying how demographic and economic growth (Hellenistic and Early Roman) and decline (Late Antique) can impact the lifeways of individuals. This presents some preliminary results from the skeletal analysis from Hellenistic to Late Antique contexts, and to demonstrate the value of such a study for the interpretation of society from this aspect of the mortuary record.
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Talks by Anna Moles
Netherlands Association for Physical Anthropology (NVFA) Special General Meeting, Saturday 10th December, Leiden, 2022
With the ‘Third Science Revolution’ in archaeology, bioarchaeology often comes to the forefront d... more With the ‘Third Science Revolution’ in archaeology, bioarchaeology often comes to the forefront due to its intimate relationship with a-DNA, stable isotope analysis and related scientific methods. While these methods can indeed be highly informative and even revolutionary, sometimes short cuts are taken and there is a tendency to skip past the traditional methods and use these new techniques in isolation. I not only want to reinforce the importance of using osteological methods in combination with these archaeological science techniques but also to question when it is appropriate to use these techniques (we should be critical and pragmatic) and also highlight the importance of incorporating a range of approaches and evidence. The incorporation of archaeological theory, archaeological context, historical evidence and iconographical sources with the osteological evidence is a core element of my bioarchaeological research and essential for the best interpretation of life in the past. I will draw on my research on Crete to demonstrate how the integration of different lines of evidence can be complementary and to reinforce the value of interdisciplinary approaches.
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Invited lecture, University of Warwick, 9 March 2022
Invited lecture, CRASIS Culture, Religion an... more Invited lecture, University of Warwick, 9 March 2022
Invited lecture, CRASIS Culture, Religion and Society – Interdisciplinary Studies in the Ancient World Seminar, 21 April 2022
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Conference Presentations by Anna Moles
International Congress of Roman Bioarchaeology (ICORB), Online, 20-21 October 2022, 2022
WATCH ONLINE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuVUtBp1_U
There has been very little systematic ... more WATCH ONLINE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuVUtBp1_U
There has been very little systematic study of human skeletal remains from Roman contexts on Crete, despite the fact that there has been no shortage of excavation of such remains. These have largely been rescue excavations and, due to the overwhelming preference in focus on their prehistoric (particularly Bronze Age Minoan) counterparts, the study of Roman and other historic periods has been side-lined on Crete, and in Greece more broadly.
One of my main focuses, and indeed the focus of our mortuary archaeology group at the University of Groningen, is all about the integration and contextualisation of different lines of evidence: osteological, archaeological, textual, iconographical, and epigraphical. This conference provides a forum for identifying opportunities for potential interregional and even interdisciplinary collaborations, where we can work together to see widespread and long-term patterns or comparisons in a holistic way. Therefore, it seems prudent to present a comprehensive overview of the bioarchaeology of Roman Crete: what has been done, the ongoing work, the difficulties and barriers to progress that arise, and the future prospects.
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Necropolis Research Network, Athens, Greece, 12-13 October 2022, 2022
Our research focuses on the mortuary sphere and aims to integrate a wide variety of available evi... more Our research focuses on the mortuary sphere and aims to integrate a wide variety of available evidence for understanding how changing mobility and increased connectivity in the Roman Empire impacted lifeways and society. We will present the main principles of an integrated interdisciplinary approach, bringing together osteological, isotopic, archaeological and historical data, to demonstrate how it can be achieved and its importance for the interpretation of life in the past. Coupling bioarchaeological data with a thorough contextual analysis enables us to explore variation among social groups and change through time at sites across Macedonia, the Peloponnese and Crete in the Early Roman period. We consider how sites with different characteristics and locations were differentially impacted by the socio-economic changes that occurred across these provinces at this time of increased connectivity. Our integrated interdisciplinary approach enables us to achieve better understanding of life and society in Roman Greece.
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13th International Congress of Cretan Studies, Agios Nikolaos, Crete 5-9 October 2022 , 2022
Studies in the past have considered whether the Roman invasion, establishment of a colony, and su... more Studies in the past have considered whether the Roman invasion, establishment of a colony, and subsequent increased connectivity within Mediterranean networks caused substantial social and cultural change or brought significant numbers of incoming people. These studies have considered epigraphy, linguistics, onomastics, (Baldwin Bowsky 1995; 1997; 2002; 2004), pottery (Eiring 2000; 2004; Forster 2001; 2009; Baldwin Bowsky 2011), baths (Kelly 2013) and other aspects of the archaeological and historical records (Paton 1994; 2004; Sweetman 2007; 2010). Sweetman has also discussed the changes that occurred in the Late Antique period and Christianisation (Sweetman 2004; 2005) but the study of the human bones can add to this knowledge. The burial sphere in general and the skeletal remains in particular have remained underutilised resources. The integration of all these different lines of evidence can enable a social history to be written for Knossos.
This paper considers the impact of the Roman invasion, establishment of a colony, the changing urban character, differential mobility and connectivity, and introduction of Christianity on the everyday lives of the Knossian people. The study of the human skeletal remains demonstrates increased social inequality in the early Roman period and a shift in dietary practices in the late Roman period.
Although certain key ‘Roman’ burial features, cremation in particular, are missing from Knossos (and Crete more broadly), there were noticeable changes to funerary customs though not detectable until the first century AD. The burial evidence (tomb types and grave goods) at Knossos demonstrates significant differences in funerary customs between the Hellenistic, Early Roman and Late Roman periods but while these changes can be connected with processes associated with the incorporation into the Roman Empire and introduction of Christianity, they were not immediate changes that coincided with the social changes. Therefore, a certain conservatism is evident in the delayed changes in tomb forms which makes it difficult to identify narrow dates for some of the burials.
The integration of the mortuary evidence with the other archaeological and historical evidence from Knossos enables a social history of life at Knossos to be posited in connection with the broad scale socio-political upheavals affecting Crete and the wider Roman Empire at this time.
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ICAS-EMME 3, 2022
ICAS-EMME 3: Third International Congress on Archaeological Sciences in the Eastern Mediterranean... more ICAS-EMME 3: Third International Congress on Archaeological Sciences in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, Nicosia, 14-18 March 2022
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Roman Archaeology Conference, 2022
Roman Archaeology Conference 2022, Split, Croatia, 6-8 April 2022
In the first century following... more Roman Archaeology Conference 2022, Split, Croatia, 6-8 April 2022
In the first century following the Roman invasion of Crete in 67-69 BC we do not see many new tomb forms or burial practices. However, there are some examples stretching back even to the Hellenistic period of what would become a widespread pattern by the second half of the 1st century AD and continue throughout the 2nd century. This consisted of a diversification in tomb forms that involved greater monumentality with a range of both eastern and western Mediterranean styles evident and a trend towards communal rather than individual burials. The spread of new tomb forms and burial types throughout the island not only demonstrates the relationship of various centres within wider Mediterranean networks but also shows the connections present within Crete and the roles that different types of centres were playing within those networks whether along the north or south coast, harbour or inland settlements, or those centres with special status, such as the capital at Gortyn or colony at Knossos.
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ICAS-EMME2, 2019
ICAS-EMME 2: Second International Congress on Archaeological Sciences in the Eastern Mediterranea... more ICAS-EMME 2: Second International Congress on Archaeological Sciences in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, Nicosia, 12-14 November 2019.
Anna C. Moles, Hazel Reade, Anne-Lise Jourdan and Rhiannon E. Stevens.
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was conducted on human bone samples from Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique Knossos to determine aspects of diet and assess whether the large-scale socio-political changes across this time frame impacted on what foods were being consumed at the site. A large enough sample size was used to compare different cemeteries surrounding the settlement and different types of tomb for the comparison of individuals of different social status. While changes in diet were detected over time, there was no significant difference detected by tomb type or cemetery group. In the Hellenistic period, the sample shows a C3 terrestrial diet with most individuals consuming some animal protein. The higher carbon isotope ratio values in the Roman period without any elevation in the nitrogen isotope values can be attributed to an increase in millet, a small amount of marine protein or low trophic level fish in the diet. The Late Antique isotope signatures indicate a greater number of individuals were consuming significant amounts of fish in this time period, which may be attributable to the Christian dietary regimen. This adds significantly to the isotopic information on diet for these time periods in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean as isotopic analyses have been an under-utilised technique for the investigation of diet and can be combined with other historical and archaeological (i.e. residue analyses, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology and human osteology) evidence to create a more complete picture of past human diets.
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Ε΄ Παγκρήτια Επιστημονική Συνάντηση “Αρχαιολογικό ‘Εργο στην Κρήτη”, 2019
Fifth Meeting for the Archaeological Work in Crete, Rethymno, 21-24 November 2019
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EAA, 2017
Session: Mobility and Migration in Mortuary Archaeology at the EAA 2017 Conference, Maastricht, 3... more Session: Mobility and Migration in Mortuary Archaeology at the EAA 2017 Conference, Maastricht, 30 August - 3 September 2017.
T.M Dijkstra and A.C. Moles
Under Caesar and Augustus several Greek poleis were colonized, in order both to establish a firmer grip on Greece, and to incorporate the area more fully in the Mediterranean-wide network of trade. Two of these Roman colonies, Knossos on Crete and Patras in the Northwest Peloponnese, are the subject of this paper.
The process of colonization in both poleis shows some clear similarities: both were installed after the battle at Actium, both were located along the major searoutes of the Mediterranean, and both give evidence for the immigration of Italian settlers. However, research has shown that there are some striking differences in the development of the colonial communities. Changes at Patras were swift and profound, as demonstrated by the installation of a Roman political elite, Roman deities and the imperial cult (Rizakis 2009); the overwhelming use of Latin in both public and private inscriptions (Rizakis 1998); and the introduction of Italian architecture and styles in the public, domestic, and funerary spheres (Greco (ed.) 2009). At Knossos, on the other hand, the adoption of Roman practices and material culture was more gradual and selective, with, for example, investment in Roman monumental public, private and funerary architecture from the 1st-4th centuries AD, Latin inscriptions being introduced in certain spheres but a general predominance of Greek (Sweetman 2007), and the use of both local and imported pottery but with the popular Italian sigillata not appearing until late in the Augustan period (Baldwin Bowsky 2011). Most notably, while monumental funerary architecture is introduced and a great variety of tomb types are present at both sites, the concurrent burial practices are quite different, with a rapid increase in cremation at Patras, compared to the continuation of exclusively inhumation at Knossos.
In this paper our aim is twofold. First, we want to assess if and how the mortuary record in the two colonies was affected by colonization and migration, and second, to come closer to an understanding of what made the colonists of Patras and Knossos choose differently regarding burial practices, in either adhering to their home practices or adapting to their new surroundings.
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This paper aims to demonstrate the types of research questions that can be addressed by skeletal ... more This paper aims to demonstrate the types of research questions that can be addressed by skeletal assemblages which have come from rescue excavations at Knossos, to present some preliminary results from the skeletal analysis from Hellenistic to Late Antique contexts, and to demonstrate the value of such a study for the interpretation of society from this aspect of the mortuary record. My research aims to investigate the impact of urbanism, and other social and environmental factors, on age-at-death and skeletal and dental health, as well as intrapopulation variation by social status (as inferred by burial group and tomb architecture), age and sex. As a site of long-term significance and having been intensively investigated and extensively excavated, Knossos offers an excellent setting for studying how demographic and economic growth (Hellenistic and Early Roman) and decline (Late Antique) can impact the lifeways of individuals. Knossos, during the Late Hellenistic to Roman period, was an urban centre of a large enough scale that it could have suffered from the effects of dense, unhygienic living conditions and infectious disease. Warfare is attested to throughout the Hellenistic period in Crete. Population growth and the establishment of the Colonia Iulia Nobilis Cnosus represent new and increased contacts. Climate change in the 2 nd century, in the form of significant aridity and cooler temperatures, could have had significant ramifications for agriculture and productivity. The introduction of Christianity would have implemented dietary changes, particularly for those who could afford to adhere to monastic-style dietary regimens. These factors would all have had an impact on the population and the extent of this impact on different groups within the population can be determined from the skeletal analysis.
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“The Enigma of Late Hellenistic and Roman Crete: Unanswered Questions” 1st International Conferen... more “The Enigma of Late Hellenistic and Roman Crete: Unanswered Questions” 1st International Conference of the Colloquium on Roman Crete, University of Nottingham18-19 November 2016
Human skeletal remains are an under-studied resource for the Roman period in Crete. This paper aims to demonstrate the potential research questions that can be addressed by assemblages which have come from rescue excavations at Knossos, and to present some preliminary results from the skeletal analysis from Hellenistic to Late Antique contexts. This material has suffered twofold from being under-valued material at the time of excavation and an under-valued time period for the region. My research aims to investigate the impact of urbanism, and other social and environmental factors, on age-at-death and skeletal and dental health, as well as intrapopulation variation by social status (as inferred by burial group and tomb architecture), age and sex. As a site of long-term significance and having been intensively investigated and extensively excavated, Knossos offers an excellent setting for studying how demographic and economic growth (Hellenistic and Early Roman) and decline (Late Antique) can impact the lifeways of individuals. Skeletal health and age-at-death can be reflective of the urban environment, the climate and farming yields, impacts of warfare, natural disasters and plagues, and social differentiation within the population and over time. Knossos, during the Late Hellenistic to Roman period, was an urban centre of a large enough scale that it could have suffered from the effects of dense, unhygienic living conditions and infectious disease. Epidemics could be proposed as a factor in the 2nd century movement of population from Knossos to coastal Heraklion and the final abandonment of the site as a significant centre in the 7th century. Large numbers of deaths in the older sub-adult and young adult categories could be indicative of a high prevalence of infectious disease. Warfare is attested to throughout the Hellenistic period in Crete.
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Books by Anna Moles
Urbanism and its Impact on Human Health demonstrates how social, economic and political changes impacted the everyday lives of the people of Knossos, at the fundamental level of their health and diet, during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods. Knossos, in north-central Crete, was an important site in Aegean and Mediterranean networks throughout this timespan, though the city experienced cycles of urban development and decline. As an extensively studied and well-documented site, it provides a unique opportunity to study long-term phenomena associated with its varied past. The present osteological and isotopic research is integrated with previous work on material culture and textual sources to provide a contextualised interpretation of the lifeways and social history of the people of Knossos.
Papers by Anna Moles
Chance find: A human tooth from a field near Noordhorn, municipality of Westerkwartier (Groningen)
Alexander Nicolai, Anna C. Moles & Michael W. Dee
Paleo-Aktueel 33, 2023, pp. 57-64.
This article describes the discovery of and research into a human tooth from a field just west of the village of Noordhorn (province of Groningen). On September 30, 1581, a battle took place on this site. The molar likely surfaced due to dredging or ploughing work in the field. The research into the molar focused on the question of whether the find had a link with the 16th-century battle. However, using 14C dating, we found that this tooth was in fact much older than expected. This discovery adds previously unknown layers of history to this area. In addition to providing information about the person to whom the molar belonged, the research also indicates that a burial ground likely lay in the area.
https://ugp.rug.nl/Paleo-aktueel/article/view/42053
Moles A. 4 The past 15 years of archaeological work on Roman and Byzantine Crete. Archaeological Reports. 2023;69:85-106. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0570608423000042
Edited by Jane Francis, Michael J Curtis
https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803270562
Moles, A.C. 2023. Health, Diet and Lifeways at Knossos during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late-Antique Periods. In Francis, J. and Curtis, M.J. (eds.), Change and Transition on Crete: Interpreting the Evidence from the Hellenistic through to the Early Byzantine Period. Archaeopress.
In this initial study, a small but insignificant increase in δ13C values was observed between the Hellenistic and Roman periods and there was a significant increase in δ15N values for the Late Antique period. No relationship between δ13C or δ15N and age was observed and while the female and male means were similar, the females had wider ranging values. No significant differences were detected by social status as represented by tomb type but there were small sample sizes for several of the tomb types.
The results indicated a C3 terrestrial diet with meat or other animal products included for most individuals. The slight increase in δ13C values in the Roman period may represent either the introduction of a small amount of C4 plant or marine food, or very low trophic level marine foods into some Roman diets. The higher δ13C and, in particular, δ15N values observed in the Late Antique samples, suggests an increased consumption of seafood, potentially linked to Christian dietary practices or advances in fishing technologies and preservation techniques. The wider spread values of females compared to males, indicating a more varied diet, could have resulted from differential participation in religious institutions connected to food or may have been caused by greater nutritional stress in females in relation to pregnancy and reproductive issues.
This study does not show a pattern of higher animal protein consumption in times of economic and cultural growth and prosperity but differences were detected between the different time periods in connection with the concurrent socio-economic changes.
Knossos was a significant centre in Crete and within Aegean and Mediterranean networks during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods. This paper investigates how the changing urban status, and the associated social and environmental factors, impacted on age-at-death, skeletal and dental health, and human activity over time and within the population by social status, age and sex. It also demonstrates the types of research questions that can be addressed by fragmentary skeletal assemblages which have come from rescue excavations. As a site of long-term significance and having been intensively investigated and extensively excavated, Knossos offers an excellent setting for studying how demographic and economic growth (Hellenistic and Early Roman) and decline (Late Antique) can impact the lifeways of individuals. This presents some preliminary results from the skeletal analysis from Hellenistic to Late Antique contexts, and to demonstrate the value of such a study for the interpretation of society from this aspect of the mortuary record.
Talks by Anna Moles
Invited lecture, CRASIS Culture, Religion and Society – Interdisciplinary Studies in the Ancient World Seminar, 21 April 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOQBvCFRFqg&t=1537s
Conference Presentations by Anna Moles
There has been very little systematic study of human skeletal remains from Roman contexts on Crete, despite the fact that there has been no shortage of excavation of such remains. These have largely been rescue excavations and, due to the overwhelming preference in focus on their prehistoric (particularly Bronze Age Minoan) counterparts, the study of Roman and other historic periods has been side-lined on Crete, and in Greece more broadly.
One of my main focuses, and indeed the focus of our mortuary archaeology group at the University of Groningen, is all about the integration and contextualisation of different lines of evidence: osteological, archaeological, textual, iconographical, and epigraphical. This conference provides a forum for identifying opportunities for potential interregional and even interdisciplinary collaborations, where we can work together to see widespread and long-term patterns or comparisons in a holistic way. Therefore, it seems prudent to present a comprehensive overview of the bioarchaeology of Roman Crete: what has been done, the ongoing work, the difficulties and barriers to progress that arise, and the future prospects.
This paper considers the impact of the Roman invasion, establishment of a colony, the changing urban character, differential mobility and connectivity, and introduction of Christianity on the everyday lives of the Knossian people. The study of the human skeletal remains demonstrates increased social inequality in the early Roman period and a shift in dietary practices in the late Roman period.
Although certain key ‘Roman’ burial features, cremation in particular, are missing from Knossos (and Crete more broadly), there were noticeable changes to funerary customs though not detectable until the first century AD. The burial evidence (tomb types and grave goods) at Knossos demonstrates significant differences in funerary customs between the Hellenistic, Early Roman and Late Roman periods but while these changes can be connected with processes associated with the incorporation into the Roman Empire and introduction of Christianity, they were not immediate changes that coincided with the social changes. Therefore, a certain conservatism is evident in the delayed changes in tomb forms which makes it difficult to identify narrow dates for some of the burials.
The integration of the mortuary evidence with the other archaeological and historical evidence from Knossos enables a social history of life at Knossos to be posited in connection with the broad scale socio-political upheavals affecting Crete and the wider Roman Empire at this time.
In the first century following the Roman invasion of Crete in 67-69 BC we do not see many new tomb forms or burial practices. However, there are some examples stretching back even to the Hellenistic period of what would become a widespread pattern by the second half of the 1st century AD and continue throughout the 2nd century. This consisted of a diversification in tomb forms that involved greater monumentality with a range of both eastern and western Mediterranean styles evident and a trend towards communal rather than individual burials. The spread of new tomb forms and burial types throughout the island not only demonstrates the relationship of various centres within wider Mediterranean networks but also shows the connections present within Crete and the roles that different types of centres were playing within those networks whether along the north or south coast, harbour or inland settlements, or those centres with special status, such as the capital at Gortyn or colony at Knossos.
Anna C. Moles, Hazel Reade, Anne-Lise Jourdan and Rhiannon E. Stevens.
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was conducted on human bone samples from Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique Knossos to determine aspects of diet and assess whether the large-scale socio-political changes across this time frame impacted on what foods were being consumed at the site. A large enough sample size was used to compare different cemeteries surrounding the settlement and different types of tomb for the comparison of individuals of different social status. While changes in diet were detected over time, there was no significant difference detected by tomb type or cemetery group. In the Hellenistic period, the sample shows a C3 terrestrial diet with most individuals consuming some animal protein. The higher carbon isotope ratio values in the Roman period without any elevation in the nitrogen isotope values can be attributed to an increase in millet, a small amount of marine protein or low trophic level fish in the diet. The Late Antique isotope signatures indicate a greater number of individuals were consuming significant amounts of fish in this time period, which may be attributable to the Christian dietary regimen. This adds significantly to the isotopic information on diet for these time periods in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean as isotopic analyses have been an under-utilised technique for the investigation of diet and can be combined with other historical and archaeological (i.e. residue analyses, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology and human osteology) evidence to create a more complete picture of past human diets.
T.M Dijkstra and A.C. Moles
Under Caesar and Augustus several Greek poleis were colonized, in order both to establish a firmer grip on Greece, and to incorporate the area more fully in the Mediterranean-wide network of trade. Two of these Roman colonies, Knossos on Crete and Patras in the Northwest Peloponnese, are the subject of this paper.
The process of colonization in both poleis shows some clear similarities: both were installed after the battle at Actium, both were located along the major searoutes of the Mediterranean, and both give evidence for the immigration of Italian settlers. However, research has shown that there are some striking differences in the development of the colonial communities. Changes at Patras were swift and profound, as demonstrated by the installation of a Roman political elite, Roman deities and the imperial cult (Rizakis 2009); the overwhelming use of Latin in both public and private inscriptions (Rizakis 1998); and the introduction of Italian architecture and styles in the public, domestic, and funerary spheres (Greco (ed.) 2009). At Knossos, on the other hand, the adoption of Roman practices and material culture was more gradual and selective, with, for example, investment in Roman monumental public, private and funerary architecture from the 1st-4th centuries AD, Latin inscriptions being introduced in certain spheres but a general predominance of Greek (Sweetman 2007), and the use of both local and imported pottery but with the popular Italian sigillata not appearing until late in the Augustan period (Baldwin Bowsky 2011). Most notably, while monumental funerary architecture is introduced and a great variety of tomb types are present at both sites, the concurrent burial practices are quite different, with a rapid increase in cremation at Patras, compared to the continuation of exclusively inhumation at Knossos.
In this paper our aim is twofold. First, we want to assess if and how the mortuary record in the two colonies was affected by colonization and migration, and second, to come closer to an understanding of what made the colonists of Patras and Knossos choose differently regarding burial practices, in either adhering to their home practices or adapting to their new surroundings.
Human skeletal remains are an under-studied resource for the Roman period in Crete. This paper aims to demonstrate the potential research questions that can be addressed by assemblages which have come from rescue excavations at Knossos, and to present some preliminary results from the skeletal analysis from Hellenistic to Late Antique contexts. This material has suffered twofold from being under-valued material at the time of excavation and an under-valued time period for the region. My research aims to investigate the impact of urbanism, and other social and environmental factors, on age-at-death and skeletal and dental health, as well as intrapopulation variation by social status (as inferred by burial group and tomb architecture), age and sex. As a site of long-term significance and having been intensively investigated and extensively excavated, Knossos offers an excellent setting for studying how demographic and economic growth (Hellenistic and Early Roman) and decline (Late Antique) can impact the lifeways of individuals. Skeletal health and age-at-death can be reflective of the urban environment, the climate and farming yields, impacts of warfare, natural disasters and plagues, and social differentiation within the population and over time. Knossos, during the Late Hellenistic to Roman period, was an urban centre of a large enough scale that it could have suffered from the effects of dense, unhygienic living conditions and infectious disease. Epidemics could be proposed as a factor in the 2nd century movement of population from Knossos to coastal Heraklion and the final abandonment of the site as a significant centre in the 7th century. Large numbers of deaths in the older sub-adult and young adult categories could be indicative of a high prevalence of infectious disease. Warfare is attested to throughout the Hellenistic period in Crete.
Urbanism and its Impact on Human Health demonstrates how social, economic and political changes impacted the everyday lives of the people of Knossos, at the fundamental level of their health and diet, during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods. Knossos, in north-central Crete, was an important site in Aegean and Mediterranean networks throughout this timespan, though the city experienced cycles of urban development and decline. As an extensively studied and well-documented site, it provides a unique opportunity to study long-term phenomena associated with its varied past. The present osteological and isotopic research is integrated with previous work on material culture and textual sources to provide a contextualised interpretation of the lifeways and social history of the people of Knossos.
Chance find: A human tooth from a field near Noordhorn, municipality of Westerkwartier (Groningen)
Alexander Nicolai, Anna C. Moles & Michael W. Dee
Paleo-Aktueel 33, 2023, pp. 57-64.
This article describes the discovery of and research into a human tooth from a field just west of the village of Noordhorn (province of Groningen). On September 30, 1581, a battle took place on this site. The molar likely surfaced due to dredging or ploughing work in the field. The research into the molar focused on the question of whether the find had a link with the 16th-century battle. However, using 14C dating, we found that this tooth was in fact much older than expected. This discovery adds previously unknown layers of history to this area. In addition to providing information about the person to whom the molar belonged, the research also indicates that a burial ground likely lay in the area.
https://ugp.rug.nl/Paleo-aktueel/article/view/42053
Moles A. 4 The past 15 years of archaeological work on Roman and Byzantine Crete. Archaeological Reports. 2023;69:85-106. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0570608423000042
Edited by Jane Francis, Michael J Curtis
https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803270562
Moles, A.C. 2023. Health, Diet and Lifeways at Knossos during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late-Antique Periods. In Francis, J. and Curtis, M.J. (eds.), Change and Transition on Crete: Interpreting the Evidence from the Hellenistic through to the Early Byzantine Period. Archaeopress.
In this initial study, a small but insignificant increase in δ13C values was observed between the Hellenistic and Roman periods and there was a significant increase in δ15N values for the Late Antique period. No relationship between δ13C or δ15N and age was observed and while the female and male means were similar, the females had wider ranging values. No significant differences were detected by social status as represented by tomb type but there were small sample sizes for several of the tomb types.
The results indicated a C3 terrestrial diet with meat or other animal products included for most individuals. The slight increase in δ13C values in the Roman period may represent either the introduction of a small amount of C4 plant or marine food, or very low trophic level marine foods into some Roman diets. The higher δ13C and, in particular, δ15N values observed in the Late Antique samples, suggests an increased consumption of seafood, potentially linked to Christian dietary practices or advances in fishing technologies and preservation techniques. The wider spread values of females compared to males, indicating a more varied diet, could have resulted from differential participation in religious institutions connected to food or may have been caused by greater nutritional stress in females in relation to pregnancy and reproductive issues.
This study does not show a pattern of higher animal protein consumption in times of economic and cultural growth and prosperity but differences were detected between the different time periods in connection with the concurrent socio-economic changes.
Knossos was a significant centre in Crete and within Aegean and Mediterranean networks during the Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods. This paper investigates how the changing urban status, and the associated social and environmental factors, impacted on age-at-death, skeletal and dental health, and human activity over time and within the population by social status, age and sex. It also demonstrates the types of research questions that can be addressed by fragmentary skeletal assemblages which have come from rescue excavations. As a site of long-term significance and having been intensively investigated and extensively excavated, Knossos offers an excellent setting for studying how demographic and economic growth (Hellenistic and Early Roman) and decline (Late Antique) can impact the lifeways of individuals. This presents some preliminary results from the skeletal analysis from Hellenistic to Late Antique contexts, and to demonstrate the value of such a study for the interpretation of society from this aspect of the mortuary record.
Invited lecture, CRASIS Culture, Religion and Society – Interdisciplinary Studies in the Ancient World Seminar, 21 April 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOQBvCFRFqg&t=1537s
There has been very little systematic study of human skeletal remains from Roman contexts on Crete, despite the fact that there has been no shortage of excavation of such remains. These have largely been rescue excavations and, due to the overwhelming preference in focus on their prehistoric (particularly Bronze Age Minoan) counterparts, the study of Roman and other historic periods has been side-lined on Crete, and in Greece more broadly.
One of my main focuses, and indeed the focus of our mortuary archaeology group at the University of Groningen, is all about the integration and contextualisation of different lines of evidence: osteological, archaeological, textual, iconographical, and epigraphical. This conference provides a forum for identifying opportunities for potential interregional and even interdisciplinary collaborations, where we can work together to see widespread and long-term patterns or comparisons in a holistic way. Therefore, it seems prudent to present a comprehensive overview of the bioarchaeology of Roman Crete: what has been done, the ongoing work, the difficulties and barriers to progress that arise, and the future prospects.
This paper considers the impact of the Roman invasion, establishment of a colony, the changing urban character, differential mobility and connectivity, and introduction of Christianity on the everyday lives of the Knossian people. The study of the human skeletal remains demonstrates increased social inequality in the early Roman period and a shift in dietary practices in the late Roman period.
Although certain key ‘Roman’ burial features, cremation in particular, are missing from Knossos (and Crete more broadly), there were noticeable changes to funerary customs though not detectable until the first century AD. The burial evidence (tomb types and grave goods) at Knossos demonstrates significant differences in funerary customs between the Hellenistic, Early Roman and Late Roman periods but while these changes can be connected with processes associated with the incorporation into the Roman Empire and introduction of Christianity, they were not immediate changes that coincided with the social changes. Therefore, a certain conservatism is evident in the delayed changes in tomb forms which makes it difficult to identify narrow dates for some of the burials.
The integration of the mortuary evidence with the other archaeological and historical evidence from Knossos enables a social history of life at Knossos to be posited in connection with the broad scale socio-political upheavals affecting Crete and the wider Roman Empire at this time.
In the first century following the Roman invasion of Crete in 67-69 BC we do not see many new tomb forms or burial practices. However, there are some examples stretching back even to the Hellenistic period of what would become a widespread pattern by the second half of the 1st century AD and continue throughout the 2nd century. This consisted of a diversification in tomb forms that involved greater monumentality with a range of both eastern and western Mediterranean styles evident and a trend towards communal rather than individual burials. The spread of new tomb forms and burial types throughout the island not only demonstrates the relationship of various centres within wider Mediterranean networks but also shows the connections present within Crete and the roles that different types of centres were playing within those networks whether along the north or south coast, harbour or inland settlements, or those centres with special status, such as the capital at Gortyn or colony at Knossos.
Anna C. Moles, Hazel Reade, Anne-Lise Jourdan and Rhiannon E. Stevens.
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was conducted on human bone samples from Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique Knossos to determine aspects of diet and assess whether the large-scale socio-political changes across this time frame impacted on what foods were being consumed at the site. A large enough sample size was used to compare different cemeteries surrounding the settlement and different types of tomb for the comparison of individuals of different social status. While changes in diet were detected over time, there was no significant difference detected by tomb type or cemetery group. In the Hellenistic period, the sample shows a C3 terrestrial diet with most individuals consuming some animal protein. The higher carbon isotope ratio values in the Roman period without any elevation in the nitrogen isotope values can be attributed to an increase in millet, a small amount of marine protein or low trophic level fish in the diet. The Late Antique isotope signatures indicate a greater number of individuals were consuming significant amounts of fish in this time period, which may be attributable to the Christian dietary regimen. This adds significantly to the isotopic information on diet for these time periods in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean as isotopic analyses have been an under-utilised technique for the investigation of diet and can be combined with other historical and archaeological (i.e. residue analyses, archaeobotany, zooarchaeology and human osteology) evidence to create a more complete picture of past human diets.
T.M Dijkstra and A.C. Moles
Under Caesar and Augustus several Greek poleis were colonized, in order both to establish a firmer grip on Greece, and to incorporate the area more fully in the Mediterranean-wide network of trade. Two of these Roman colonies, Knossos on Crete and Patras in the Northwest Peloponnese, are the subject of this paper.
The process of colonization in both poleis shows some clear similarities: both were installed after the battle at Actium, both were located along the major searoutes of the Mediterranean, and both give evidence for the immigration of Italian settlers. However, research has shown that there are some striking differences in the development of the colonial communities. Changes at Patras were swift and profound, as demonstrated by the installation of a Roman political elite, Roman deities and the imperial cult (Rizakis 2009); the overwhelming use of Latin in both public and private inscriptions (Rizakis 1998); and the introduction of Italian architecture and styles in the public, domestic, and funerary spheres (Greco (ed.) 2009). At Knossos, on the other hand, the adoption of Roman practices and material culture was more gradual and selective, with, for example, investment in Roman monumental public, private and funerary architecture from the 1st-4th centuries AD, Latin inscriptions being introduced in certain spheres but a general predominance of Greek (Sweetman 2007), and the use of both local and imported pottery but with the popular Italian sigillata not appearing until late in the Augustan period (Baldwin Bowsky 2011). Most notably, while monumental funerary architecture is introduced and a great variety of tomb types are present at both sites, the concurrent burial practices are quite different, with a rapid increase in cremation at Patras, compared to the continuation of exclusively inhumation at Knossos.
In this paper our aim is twofold. First, we want to assess if and how the mortuary record in the two colonies was affected by colonization and migration, and second, to come closer to an understanding of what made the colonists of Patras and Knossos choose differently regarding burial practices, in either adhering to their home practices or adapting to their new surroundings.
Human skeletal remains are an under-studied resource for the Roman period in Crete. This paper aims to demonstrate the potential research questions that can be addressed by assemblages which have come from rescue excavations at Knossos, and to present some preliminary results from the skeletal analysis from Hellenistic to Late Antique contexts. This material has suffered twofold from being under-valued material at the time of excavation and an under-valued time period for the region. My research aims to investigate the impact of urbanism, and other social and environmental factors, on age-at-death and skeletal and dental health, as well as intrapopulation variation by social status (as inferred by burial group and tomb architecture), age and sex. As a site of long-term significance and having been intensively investigated and extensively excavated, Knossos offers an excellent setting for studying how demographic and economic growth (Hellenistic and Early Roman) and decline (Late Antique) can impact the lifeways of individuals. Skeletal health and age-at-death can be reflective of the urban environment, the climate and farming yields, impacts of warfare, natural disasters and plagues, and social differentiation within the population and over time. Knossos, during the Late Hellenistic to Roman period, was an urban centre of a large enough scale that it could have suffered from the effects of dense, unhygienic living conditions and infectious disease. Epidemics could be proposed as a factor in the 2nd century movement of population from Knossos to coastal Heraklion and the final abandonment of the site as a significant centre in the 7th century. Large numbers of deaths in the older sub-adult and young adult categories could be indicative of a high prevalence of infectious disease. Warfare is attested to throughout the Hellenistic period in Crete.
The Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique periods at Knossos, Crete, represent a major cycle of urban development and decline, from the growth and expansion of the settlement during the Hellenistic period, to its establishment as a Roman colony in the 1st century BC, and into a period of gradual decline during the Late Roman and Early Byzantine periods. Using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bone collagen to identify characteristics of human diet, an investigation of changes over time and variation within the population, by sex or burial type, is presented. The Hellenistic population growth, Roman invasion and subsequent establishment of a colony at Knossos would have resulted in increased trade, new contacts and changes in political administration, introducing new produce, technologies and fashions that would have affected a change in the diet. A reduced population size in the Late Antique period could have lessened the pressure on resources and increased per capita income, and changes in politics, trade, land ownership and food distribution could all have resulted in changes in diet. Additionally, environmental considerations including particularly warm, wet conditions during the 1st century AD on Crete and significant aridity and cooler temperatures from 2nd-5th centuries, had significant ramifications for agriculture, productivity, and consequently diet. The significance of the changes in diet are assessed in terms of the internal dynamics and the broader context of Knossos’ changing off-island importance within political and economic networks, rooting this research within the wider themes concerning urbanism, economy, demography, environment, colonisation, and migration in Crete and the Mediterranean.
https://twitter.com/BSAthens/status/1236957808165294080/photo/1