Aegean Middle Bronze Age

Along the mountain slopes west of Agios Nikolaos (between 600 and 1400 m), over 330 farms of the Minoan Old Palace period and their relationship to the surrounding landscape were studied by the author for her PhD thesis. These Bronze Age installations also had – apart from house ruins – well discernible wall-enclosed courtyards and animal folds, in many ways characteristic of mixed agricultural mountain farms until recently. Most of them also had very long (often over 1 km) boundary walls (“perivoloi”). Usually the houses and walls were built using massive stones (“oncolithic masonry”) and are thus often well recognizable until today.

One of the remarkable features of the landscape surrounding these farms, datable (by surface pottery) to have been built between ca. 2000 and 1650 B.C., is a great number of roads and paths (over 140 km in total), often bordered and thus identifiable by these ancient walls on one or two sides, sometimes also furnished with a cobblestone surface and even steps. When drawn on a map these “roads” constitute an intricate network of connections between sites and towards the regions beyond the settled slopes.

In this paper examples of the Minoan roads/paths and their typical landscape features and construction details are discussed, as well as the question what information can be gained by their study, on connectivity in Minoan Protopalatial north-eastern Crete.

The first part of the book presents archaeological evidence from the Prehistoric Aegean and onward, which demonstrates the existence of an enduring, highly valued and advanced prehistoric Aegean apiculture. Some well known ceramic vessels from Knossos "palace" are identified here for the first time with beekeeping paraphernalia thus proving the existence of a systematic Minoan apiculture. In the second part, an alternative view is proposed for some of the most important scenes on Minoan and Mycenaean gold rings, seals, and clay sealings that have led Evans, Nilsson, and many others over the past century to various speculations regarding the nature of the Prehistoric Aegean religion. By applying a naturalistic context of interpretation on the depicted scenes, apiculture paraphernalia and practices are recognized, instead of the religious symbols of the "sacred tree", "flying gods", "baetyls and birds epiphany of deities", "great goddess", "horns of consecration", "altars", "temenos" and "double axes".
The authors conclude that established ideas about the prehistoric Aegean religion should be reconsidered, thus creating significant challenges for future research."

UPS AND DOWNS AT KANESH proposes a revised sequence of Old Assyrian eponyms and establishes a relative and an absolute chronology by way of linking textual evidence, dendrochronology and archaeological stratigraphy. This chronological framework is used to trace broader historical and social developments of political and territorial centralisation in Anatolia, as well as to offer new insights in the social and commercial history of the Old Assyrian trade.
A number of economic and social transformations in Assyrian society over the course of two centuries are identified by way of a statistical and prosopographical analysis. It is shown how the economic system that drove the well-known overland trade of the early Colony Period collapsed in a dramatic fashion after only thirty years (c. 1895-1865 BC), and that a series of changes in administrative organisation were created in immediate response. A primary vehicle in financing the trade – the joint-stock enterprise – was abandoned, and exchange came to be organised by way of venture trade. A distinct community of hybrid Assyrian-Anatolian households grew more prominent as mixed families came to be engaged mainly in local Anatolian trade and agriculture. In turn, a small and wealthy Assyrian elite functioned as permanently settled foreign trading agents, and a distinctive group of itinerant merchants continued to engage in the caravan trade and connect the Anatolian colonies to the mother city of Assur.

This paper investigates the Egyptian valuation of imported Minoan and locally produced Minoanizing pottery: that is, why Egyptians found this pottery desirable, which Egyptians wanted it, and which were able to acquire it. In order to address these questions, this study first reviews the archaeological contexts of all Minoan and Minoanizing pottery in Egypt, and then compares this archaeological evidence to the textual and iconographic data on Egyptian attitudes towards Minoan goods. The results suggest that while ownership of this pottery may have carried some cultural cachet as a mark of cosmopolitan sensibilities, it was not restricted to the highest officials. Instead, the more widespread availability of Minoan and Minoanizing pottery may have enabled Egyptians from various socioeconomic backgrounds to participate in an internationalizing cultural milieu.

The Aspis or Prophitis Ilias is one of the two hills – the other being the Larissa – that dominate the town of Argos. Both were fortified in the Bronze Age. The Aspis hilltop was first excavated by Vollgraff (1902–3) who uncovered numerous Middle Helladic buildings and sections of two successive enceintes. Fortified sites of the MBA, although well known in the Aegean islands, were particularly rare in Mainland Greece. Therefore, one of the main interests of the Aspis is precisely that it provides a rare example of a Middle Helladic fortified settlement. Another interest is the re-use of the outer enceinte, of Cyclopean masonry, in the fortification wall of the historic times. Recent excavations conducted by the French School brought to light new evidence on the exact dating, course and function of the MBA circuit walls, as well as their relationship to the historic fortification.

An irrigation dam project was carried out by DSI at the village of Kureyşler, Aslanapa district, Kütahya province and the construction has been completed. In this area, there are Höyüktepe, Attepe Settlement, Dereköy Necropolis and Almacık Bridge, which are registered as Grade 1 protected Archaeological Sites. Since the those archaeological sites are located in the dam lake basin, studies have been carried out by Kütahya Museum Directorate under the responsibility of Museum expert Archaeologist (MA) Serdar ÜNAN for three years. There is an avarage of 3 km distance between Höyüktepe, Attepe Settlement and Dereköy Necropolis and the studies were conducted between 2014 and 2016. The borders of Höyüktepe were determined as 200 m in east-west and north-south directions, and it was determined to be a medium sized mound which is the first place the Kureyşler Dam Rescue Excavation was started. Attepe Settlement is located northeast of Kureyşler village, approximately 3 km east of Höyüktepe. Dereköy Necropolis is located in Dere village, Kızlar Yeri locality. The first rescue excavation in this area was carried out in 2013 by Kütahya Museum Directorate. Field work was carried out for 6 mounths during the 2015 excavation season at three areas, namely Höyüktepe, Attepe Settlement and Dereköy Necropolis. 56 squares, each measuring 10.00x10.00m, at Höyüktepe, 31 squares at Attape and 7 at Dereköy were excavated. In the 2016 excavation season, it was possible to work for three months. 23 squares were studied at Höyüktepe and 1 square at Attepe. At Höyüktepe settlement; four different periods: Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Hellenistic and Late Roman Periods; at Attepe Settlement Late Eastern Roman Period settlement dated to 10-11st century AD were identified. Marble sarcophagi of secondary use dating to the Roman Imperial Period and tombs dating to the Late Eastern Roman Period (10-11st century AD) were unearthed at Dereköy Necropolis.
The results of the archaeological excavations conducted at the Höyüktepe Settlement and the Dereköy Necropolis in 2014 were immediately published in 2015 in the book titled “Kütahya, Kureyşler Dam Rescue Excavations 2014”1. This book titled “Kütahya, Kureyşler Dam Rescue Excavations 2015-2016” has been prepared for publication, this is the continuation of the mentioned book. This book contains the articles about these subjects: the Early Bronze Age II architecture, pottery, metallurgical finds, seals, bone tools, figurines, terracotta brushes, textile group, chipped and ground stones of Höyüktepe settlemet; and Middle Bronze Age architecture, pottery and small finds of the Höyüktepe Settlement. Also there are articles about the Late Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Period, its architecture, coins, metal artifacts, lead seals. Architecture and metal finds of Attepe Settlement are worth mentioning. The articles that evaluate findings of Höyüktepe, Attepe settlements and Dereköy Necropolis as a whole are about the tomb types and death practices, glass ware-, pottery, metal finds, archaeobotanical finds, anthropological remains, faunal studies. Beside these there are articles about Paleolithic researches, georadar, metal analyses, paleoclimatology and geomorphological researches. The findings were reflected in the studies by using carbon 14 age determination and dendrochronology methods within the scope of archaeometry. Dating results are also included in related articles.
This book includes articles particularly by Serdar ÜNAN, who took the scientific responsibility of the Kureyşler Dam Rescue Excavations, scientific consultants, archaelogists and academics working in different universities in Turkey and the World who participated and contributed to the Kureyşler Rescue Excavations.

Bu makalede İzmir İli, Cumaovası'nda yer alan Kocabaş Tepe Orta Tunç Çağı yerleşiminin metalürji faaliyetleri anlatılmıştır. Kocabaş Tepe'de yapılan kazılarda oldukça basit bir şekilde inşa edilmiş, mütevazı boyutlara sahip yapılardan oluşan bir yerleşim açığa çıkartılmıştır. Bu kalıntılarla birlikte ortaya çıkarılan üfleç, maden kalıbı ve madeni eserlerde yerleşimde maden atölye/atölyelerinin de olduğuna işaret etmektedir. Bu buluntulardan üzerinde kama/kılıç negatifi yer alan maden kalıbının, Anadolu'daki şu ana kadar saptanabilen ilk örnek olması kayda değerdir. Söz konusu eser, her ne kadar yüzeyde ele geçmiş olsa bile, Ege kılıçları olarak tanımlanan eser grubunun kökeni ile ilgili yeni değerlendirmeler yapılması gerekliliğini de dikkat çekmektedir. Kültepe'de ele geçen Assur Ticaret Kolonileri Dönemi'ne ait yazılı belgelerde ticaretin gümüşe dayalı olarak yapıldığı, başka metallerden yapılan ödemelerin ise gümüşe çevrildiği yazılmıştır. Kocabaş Tepe madeni eserler içinde yer alan kurşun halkalar yerleşimin bu ekonomik sistemin içinde olduğuna işaret etmesi bakımından da önem taşımaktadır. Mimari, seramik ve küçük buluntular değerlendirildiğinde Kocabaş Tepe'nin, şehir görünümünden uzak, yerel kaynakları kullanarak ihtiyaçları doğrultusunda üretim yapan; ancak bulunduğu bölgenin özelliklerini de içinde barındıran bir yerleşim olduğu saptanmıştır.

Excavations conducted in the 1950’s in the area of the Hera Temple have revealed a flourishing Early Bronze Age at Heraion dating in the Early Bronze Age II/late-III periods (ca. 2500-2000 BC), which was one of the most important local centres with early urban features in the ‘cultural entity of the North and East Aegean’. Rerecent excavations(2009-2013) north of the Sacred Road of Heraion testified the erection of the settlement in the Chalcolithic (ca.4500-4200 BC), as well as impressive house architecture and part of a communal building dating in the so far unknown Early Bronze Age I-II/early periods(ca.3000-2500 BC). Moreover, a part of the Early Bronze Age II-III fortification (ca. 2500-2000 BC) has been discovered, which marks the limit of the huge Early Bronze Age settlement towards east. In addition, successive architectural phases of a Middle Bronze Age strongly fortified settlement was investigated for the first time, demonstrating a longer use of Heraion for habitation than previously thought, as well as cultural interaction of the Middle Bronze age Heraion with the rest of the Aegean, including the old palaces of Crete.

"Μινυακή και μινυάζουσα κεραμική. Ένα μεσοελλαδικό αρχέτυπο ανάμεσα στο μύθο και την πραγματικότητα

Η μινυακή κεραμεική αποτελεί ένα τυπικό γνώρισμα της ΜΕ περιόδου. Η χαρακτηριστική όψη και η ευρείας κλίμακας διασπορά της την καθιστούν ένα ασφαλή χρονολογικό δείκτη, αλλά και μάρτυρα επαφών ανάμεσα σε γεωγραφικές ή πολιτισμικές περιοχές. Η εμφάνισή της συνδέθηκε με τα κατά καιρούς ισχύοντα ιδεολογικά ρεύματα ή με αντιτιθέμενες προσεγγίσεις που οδήγησαν συχνά σε προκαταλήψεις, σύγχυση και εσφαλμένες ερμηνείες.

Ένα από τα συχνότερα προβλήματα είναι η διάκριση ανάμεσα στη «γνήσια» Μινυακή, τις τοπικές παραλλαγές και τις απομιμήσεις. Αυτό το ζήτημα είναι ακόμη αρκετά περίπλοκο, καθώς 1) η ποικιλότητα της γνήσιας Μινυακής δεν είναι αρκετά γνωστή, 2) σε κάποιες περιοχές απαντούν παρόμοιες κατηγορίες και 3) τα ποσοστά των κεραμεικών κατηγοριών δημοσιεύονται σπάνια, με αποτέλεσμα να μην προσδιορίζεται ο πραγματικός χαρακτήρας της εκάστοτε τοπικής παραγωγής.

Μία σύγχρονη προσέγγιση του ζητήματος προϋποθέτει τη συνεκτίμηση διαφόρων παραμέτρων, όπως είναι τα νέα αρχαιολογικά δεδομένα, οι στατιστικές μελέτες, το κοινωνικο-οικονομικό πλαίσιο και οι γεωφυσικοί παράγοντες. Η πραγμάτευση της μινυακής κεραμεικής στην Ιστορία της Αρχαιολογίας μας διδάσκει ότι ο μύθος και οι ιδεολογίες δεν μπορούν πλέον να εξηγήσουν το ρόλο του υλικού πολιτισμού."

The local painted ceramic traditions of the Middle Helladic period (ca. 2050-1675 BCE) in central Greece are very poorly understood due to the lack of archaeological material from secure contexts connected to well-defined stratigraphy. The newly excavated site of Mitrou in East Lokris provides the first opportunity to examine this pottery from a diachronic perspective spanning the entirety of the period. From this material it is clear that two separate local painted traditions with very different chronologies existed during the MH period at Mitrou. The distinction between locally produced “Dull” and “Matt” Painted pottery is an important observation that has the potential to impact our understanding of social and technological development in central Greece. This article therefore aims to fully describe both categories of pottery and to define their chronological distributions in order to assist identification of this material by other ceramicists working in central Greece and to encourage further discussion about its significance.

The discovery at Tsoungiza of discrete deposits of pottery datable to several different stages of the terminal Middle
Bronze Age (MH III) and initial Late Bronze Age (LH I, LH IIA) enable a fairly detailed assessment of technological
changes in ceramics at generation-long intervals over a period of roughly two centuries (ca. 1700–1500 B.C.). The
changes in question involve the selective adoption of the wheel for vessel manufacture, the deployment of multiple
colors of painted ornament, shifting preferences in surface treatments and paste compositions, and modifications in the
standardization of vessel sizes as well as forms. The presence of plentiful imports during various chronological stages
facilitates the identification of potential sources for particular aspects of technological change. But methodologies for
reconstructing the specific social mechanisms whereby these changes were introduced and eventually adopted remain
to be devised.

The main aim of the Argos ‘Tumuli’ Project is to publish the assemblage of the Argos ‘tumuli’ cemeteries, excavated during rescue excavations in the late ‘70s. The ‘Tumuli’, i.e. groupings of ca. 110 tombs found in the important settlement of Argos, were interpreted as burial mounds by the excavator, the late Dr E. Deilaki.

These tombs are very important for our understanding of social organisation during a crucial phase of Greek prehistory: the Middle Bronze Age and the transition to the Late Bronze Age, a period marked by rapid and pervasive social change which eventually led to the formation of the Mycenaean palatial polities. The ultimate aim of our study is to understand the position of Argos in the changing political landscape of the Middle Bronze Age Argolid.

The project involves an up-to date study of the burial assemblage and the funerary practices, and the re-examination of archival information pertaining to the Argos ‘tumuli’. The project includes a full osteological examination of the (extant) skeletons, while various scientific methods of analysis (radiocarbon analysis, stable isotopes analysis in order to establish dietary variation and ancient DNA analysis in order to establish kinship relations) are planned for the immediate future.
In this paper we will focus on the following questions:

• Do these graves belong to an elite? Do they reflect social differentiation in the

• When were individual graves, or the ‘tumuli’ as a whole, in use?

• Can we reconstruct the history of use of grave groupings or ‘tumuli’?

• Are we dealing with real and typical tumuli?
community?

An irrigation dam project was carried out by DSI at the village of Kureyşler, Aslanapa district, Kütahya province and the construction has been completed. In this area, there are  Höyüktepe, Attepe Settlement, Dereköy Necropolis and Almacık Bridge, which are registered as Grade 1 protected Archaeological Sites. Since the those archaeological sites are  located in the dam lake basin, studies have been carried out by Kütahya Museum Directorate under the responsibility of Museum expert Archaeologist (MA) Serdar ÜNAN for three years. There is an avarage of 3 km distance between Höyüktepe, Attepe Settlement and  Dereköy Necropolis and the studies were conducted between 2014 and 2016. The borders of Höyüktepe were determined as 200 m in east-west and north-south directions, and it was determined to be a medium sized mound which is the first place the  Kureyşler Dam Rescue Excavation was started. Attepe Settlement is located northeast of  Kureyşler village, approximately 3 km east of Höyüktepe. Dereköy Necropolis is located  in Dere village, Kızlar Yeri locality. The first rescue excavation in this area was carried out in 2013 by Kütahya Museum Directorate. Field work was carried out for 6 mounths during the 2015 excavation season at three  areas, namely Höyüktepe, Attepe Settlement and Dereköy Necropolis. 56 squares, each measuring 10.00x10.00m, at Höyüktepe, 31 squares at Attape and 7 at Dereköy were excavated. In the 2016 excavation season, it was possible to work for three months. 23 squares  were studied at Höyüktepe and 1 square at Attepe. At Höyüktepe settlement; four different  periods: Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Hellenistic and Late Roman Periods; at Attepe Settlement Late Eastern Roman Period settlement dated to 10 11st century AD were  identified. Marble sarcophagi of secondary use dating to the Roman Imperial Period and  tombs dating to the Late Eastern Roman Period (10-11st century AD) were unearthed at  Dereköy Necropolis.  The results of the archaeological excavations conducted at the Höyüktepe Settlement and  the Dereköy Necropolis in 2014 were immediately published in 2015 in the book titled  “Kütahya, Kureyşler Dam Rescue Excavations 2014”. This book titled “Kütahya, Kureyşler  Dam Rescue Excavations 2015-2016” has been prepared for publication, this is the continuation of the mentioned book. This book contains the articles about these subjects: the  Early Bronze Age II architecture, pottery, metallurgical finds, seals, bone tools, figurines,  terracotta brushes, textile group, chipped and ground stones of Höyüktepe settlemet; and  Middle Bronze Age architecture, pottery and small finds of the Höyüktepe Settlement. Also there are articles about the Late Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Period, its architecture,  coins, metal artifacts, lead seals. Architecture and metal finds of Attepe Settlement are  worth mentioning. The articles that evaluate findings of Höyüktepe, Attepe settlements  and Dereköy Necropolis as a whole are about the tomb types and death practices, glass  ware, pottery, metal finds, archaeobotanical finds, anthropological remains, faunal studies. Beside these there are articles about Paleolithic researches, georadar, metal analyses,  paleoclimatology and geomorphological researches. The findings were reflected in the studies by using carbon 14 age determination and dendrochronology methods within the  scope of archaeometry. Dating results are also included in related articles.  This book includes articles particularly by Serdar ÜNAN, who took the scientific responsibility of the Kureyşler Dam Rescue Excavations, scientific consultants, archaelogists and  academics working in different universities in Turkey and the World who participated and  contributed to the Kureyşler Rescue Excavations.

Kolonna est le site préhistorique le plus renommé et le plus important d’Égine. On en a cependant
découvert un autre en 1979, dans la région Est de l’île, dans le village moderne de Lazaridès. Les
fouilles y ont mis au jour des vestiges d’habitat et un cimetière de tombes à chambre construites.
D’après le matériel, le site connut son apogée entre le début de l’HR IIIA2 et celui de l’HR IIIC
initial. Cependant, des trouvailles céramiques faites dans l’habitat et surtout dans le cimetière
suggèrent que l’occupation pourrait remonter au moins à la fin du BM – début du BR. Le matériel
associé à cette période inclut des tessons de céramique minyenne grise et de céramique à peinture
mate, grossière et fine, ainsi qu’un fragment rouge poli. Leur nombre est certes encore très limité
mais suffisant pour prouver l’existence d’une forme d’activité (habitat ?) sur le site pendant la
phase de transition du BM au BR. Éloigné de Kolonna, le site se trouve de l’autre côté d’Égine, à
une heure de la côte mais à un endroit d’où l’on a une excellente vue sur la route maritime qui longe
la côte orientale de l’île.

Da quando Sir Arthur Evans pubblicò, poco più di un secolo fa, le prime osservazioni sui documenti in geroglifico cretese, la discussione relativa alla questione se i sigilli incisi con questo sistema fossero portatori di iscrizioni provviste di un’univoca e normativa esecuzione linguistica o, piuttosto, di segni grafici sprovvisti di una precisa codifica in tal senso ha punteggiato costantemente gli studi sull’argomento, né si può dire, ad oggi, essere giunta ad una conclusione condivisa. Il nodo di tale querelle è costituito dalla compresenza, sui sigilli medio-minoici, di segni di scrittura, motivi decorativi e rappresentazioni iconografiche, la quale ha indotto a definire tale sistema scrittorio, quando occorrente su glittica, variamente come una “dubious writing”, una “écriture ornamentale” o “definitely not a true writing”.
Liberi dal preconcetto che l’unica lettura possibile dell’eterogeneo complesso di segni grafici ricorrenti su glittica fosse esclusivamente quella fonetica, ci si è qui interrogati su come questi dovessero essere letti nei loro diversi contesti di occorrenza, ovvero quale fosse il piano (linguistico o grafico) sul quale doveva avvenire, di volta in volta, la loro decodifica. Si è inteso, pertanto, tentare di tratteggiare un quadro interpretativo pluridimensionale dell’atto scrittorio su glittica, che tenga conto del ruolo, delle funzioni e delle connotazioni della scrittura geroglifica minoica, sulla base di una impostazione teorica definibile, in prima approssimazione, antropologica. A questo fine sono stati analizzati anche i “contorni” dell’atto scrittorio, quali la scelta dei materiali in cui sono lavorati i sigilli; il rapporto tra tipologia glittica e contenuto delle iscrizioni; gli strumenti di esecuzione dei segni; la retorica compositiva delle iscrizioni (sia sulle singole facce dei prismi sia nelle loro relazioni transfacciali); le norme grafiche operanti nella loro stesura; il rapporto tra diversi gruppi di segni in relazione al loro significato; l’uso sfragistico dei sigilli iscritti e il contesto culturale e sociale al quale risultano intimamente legati.
L’analisi di tali fattori dimostra l’esistenza di una sorta di “canone” attraverso il quale i testi su sigillo venivano eseguiti, classificati e – dunque –, interpretati, essendo evidente un costante collegamento tra significato dell’iscrizione, supporto al quale è affidato, tipologia dei materiali impiegati nella sua produzione (sempre più preziosi con l’aumentare della complessità testuale e/o del significato dell’iscrizione affidata al sigillo) e categorie segniche coinvolte nell’atto scrittorio. L’insieme di questi fattori, agenti come stimoli surrogati, avrebbe suggerito la corretta decodifica del messaggio affidato alla superficie glittica, trasmesso attraverso regole e schemi condivisi e immediatamente percepibile dagli utenti del sistema, anche se veicolato su piani e attraverso codici diversi. Lungi dal rappresentare un’anomalia, infatti, la presenza congiunta di segni dallo statuto diverso si impone come una caratteristica peculiare delle iscrizioni in geroglifico minoico quando ricorrenti sul supporto glittico, dove quella attraverso il medium linguistico era solo una delle possibili codifiche. Quando operante su sigillo, infatti, il sistema dimostra di poter passare, a seconda dei contesti, dal piano della comunicazione visiva a quello della comunicazione linguistica, mettendo in atto contemporaneamente procedimenti comunicativi basati su codici diversi. In uno stato di tensione continua tra il carattere iconico e il carattere fonico dei segni, tra la natura multidimensionale dell’icona e la dimensione lineare della sequenza univoca di segni grafici normativamente eseguibili foneticamente, il registro visivo e quello scrittorio sembrano, dunque, agire parallelamente.
In questo contesto, anche i segni privi di esecuzione linguistica normativa sembrano essere stati usati secondo regole riconoscibili e si dimostrano già selezionati e codificati nell’ambito del patrimonio simbolico della glittica antico e medio minoica. Ciò permettere di istituire, per la Creta del periodo prepalaziale, un collegamento tra gli stadi più antichi dell’elaborazione di sistemi semiotici caricati di un profondo valore simbolico e il patrimonio emblematico proprio della glittica. Pertanto, anche questi segni grafici (fungenti, in alcuni casi, da vere e proprie icone) appartengono al dominio dei segni codificati dalla comunità a fini comunicativi, che sembrano aver dato luogo a significati convenzionali, riproducibili e identificabili sulla scorta di competenze condivise; ciò che vi sarebbe precipitato, però, sarebbe stato immediatamente un universo concettuale (tipi cognitivi) e non la sua codificazione in termini linguistici.
Dunque, quelle ricorrenti su sigillo sono “vere” iscrizioni, destinate, però, a essere lette con la retorica propria di questo supporto e secondo un processo complesso di decodifica del significato dei segni grafici. Sebbene con ampi margini di incertezze sul riconoscimento di aspetti specifici, rispetto ai quali ci si muove ancora nel campo delle ipotesi, sembra ormai chiaro che il sistema scrittorio geroglifico minoico, quando usato su supporto glittico, si configuri come il portato di un sistema semiotico con una propria, precisa fisionomia, profondamente legato alle dinamiche culturali e comunicative della società che lo ha inventato e utilizzato.

The edited volume consists of the proceedings of an International Conference entitled ‘Explaining Change in Aegean Prehistory’, which was held in Groningen, the Netherlands on 16-17 October 2013. The aim of the conference was to explain processes of social and economic change from the Early Bronze Age III to the Late Bronze Age I period (ca. 2200 - 1600 BC) in the southern Aegean. The beginning of this period (the end of the EBA) witnesses a severe crisis which is followed by social regression (during the early phases of the MBA) and slow recovery and a precipitation of social change in the transition to the LBA. The focus is on the southern mainland, although we adopt a comparative approach and examine parallel (or divergent) processes in the surrounding islands and Crete.
The volume starts with an introduction by the editors, where we introduce the problem, the explanation of social change in Aegean prehistory, and outline the development of the debate in the last 40 years. We also provide an outline of the book and present the main themes addressed in the various papers. The introduction is followed by 10 papers presented at the conference. The first two (Gauss & Lindblom, Rutter) address the problems of periodization and the correlation of ceramic sequence (on which the traditional chronological sub-divisions are based) with the social developments taking place in this period, i.e. the successive cycles of crisis, recovery and growth. The next paper (Weiberg) offers a new and provocative interpretation of the causes and consequences of the severe crisis at the end of the EBA.  Three papers (Pullen, Wiersma, Voutsaki & Milka) examine different aspects of the evidence (pottery, architecture, funerary data) and different social practices (feasting, organization of space,  mortuary practices) in order to reconstruct and interpret social, economic and cultural changes during the period under discussion. The variety of  factors considered – demographic changes, reciprocal relations and sumptuary behaviour, household organization and kin structure, age and gender divisions, internal tensions, connectivity and mobility – attest to the liveliness of the debate.  The emphasis is not only on the wider processes, but also on the variety of responses by different communities and social groups and even different individuals. One paper (Gorogianni & Fitzsimons) adopt a comparative approach. They examines architectural changes in one highly interconnected harbor town in the Cyclades. The last paper (Bintliff) adopts a broader geographical view and examines changing settlement systems in the Aegean and on the Greek mainland. The volume is concluded by a response by J.F. Cherry

Importance to Field
This volume is of interest to scholars specializing in the Aegean Bronze Age, as well as scholars researching social and material change.
The Middle Bronze Age (MBA) societies in the Greek mainland have long been considered as simple, static and homogeneous, and it has long been thought that social and economic differences emerge towards the later MBA. However, recent research, presented at the Mesohelladika conference, suggests that the MBA witnesses important changes and divergent developments which are still imperfectly understood. However, our interpretation of these changes is based mostly on mortuary data. Therefore, in this volume, other spheres of life receive a systematic treatment, including houses and settlement organization, changes in material culture and shifting patterns of interaction in correlation with social change.
Any discussion of the MBA has to start with a serious reconsideration of social conditions during the unstable EB III period. This period of crisis, depopulation, material poverty and increased regionalism is usually set against the preceding EBA II period, which was characterized by population growth, differentiation, prosperity and increased interaction. As a result, the EBA III period has received little scholarly attention. In this volume, various papers discuss the EBA III material culture and communities in more detail, and compare these developments to what happens during the MBA.
While research in the last 30 years has rightly criticized monocausal diffusionist interpretations, we have not been able to come up with alternative explanations combining environmental factors, internal developments and shifting networks of mobility and interaction. Considerations of social change raise questions of periodization; indeed, one of the aims of the volume is to discuss whether the traditional chronological sub-divisions based on the ceramic sequence can adequately describe periods of change and increased regionalism.

Abstract: In recent years the development of phenomenological approaches, seeking to understand landscapes, as they are experienced through the perceptions of subjects, has begun to transform our understanding and interpretation of the traces of past human activity. In this paper, we examine the social practices attested in the Final Neolithic, Early Helladic II, and Middle Helladic periods at the site of Proskynas, east Lokris in central Greece, and how they were inscribed in the archaeological landscape of the site. Moreover, the role of social memory in this long-term process of organizing space through continuities and discontinuities on the hill of Proskynas is further
explored.

"This poster presents the first results of the radiocarbon analysis of human bones from MH Lerna, carried out at the Centre for Isotope Research, Groningen using the AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectroscop) method. The discussion will focus is on the problems arising when attempting to correlate radiocarbon results with the relative dates, based on the complex stratigraphy of MH Lerna.
This research is part of a large-scale programme of 14C analyses whose aim is to refine the MH sequence by providing a coherent set of radiocarbon data from different sites and different phases of the MH period. It is the first time that such a systematic programme is undertaken in the mainland which has been largely absent from the recent chronological debates in Aegean prehistory. We therefore hope that our analyses will not only contribute to a better understanding of mainland chronology, but also add a new dimension to the discussions around the chronology of the Aegean Bronze Age, especially the heated debate about the ‘High’ versus the ‘Low’ Chronology."

Amongst specialized vessels discovered at Phaistos during Doro Levi’s excavations, a fragment of a basin rim from the Strada dal Nord was rightly deemed significant for its rare painted representation of a lion.
This fragment was recently restudied and re-joined to another rim fragment from the same excavation area. The vase was doubtless an ostentatious prestige item for elite ceremonial display, and may have also had a ritual use, rather than a purely utilitarian one. The unusual painted decoration, especially that on the inside, probably reflects the symbolic transference and maintenance of an older “speaking emblem” established in the glyptics of the Mesara plain, namely the Parading Lions group.

Ραπτόπουλος Γ. Σωτήριος
Δύο Πρωτοελλαδικές βραχογραφίες από την Ιτέα (παραλιακή Δυτική Λοκρίδα).
6o ΑΕΘΣΕ Βόλου,, 02.03.2018.

                                                                              Στον † Βαγγέλη Πεντάζο,
    Έφορο Δελφών 1980 – 1995,                                                                                                   
                                                                      ο οποίος προσπάθησε να σώσει τον
    ενάλιο βιότοπο της Αγκάλης,
καταργώντας, στην Υ.Α. του 1991,
    τον παράλιο χώρο απόθεσης
          βωξίτη Καμνιώτισας.


    Καθώς οδηγεί κανείς στον παραλιακό δρόμο Ιτέας – Γαλαξειδίου (Νομός Φωκίδας), μετά την διασταύρωση προς Τριταία, και αφήνει αριστερά του τον ερειπωμένο νερόμυλο, σε απόσταση περίπου 2,5 χλμ από την πόλη της Ιτέας, παρατηρεί στα δεξιά, και σε απόσταση λίγων εκατοντάδων μέτρων πέρα από το ρείθρο του αυτοκινητόδρομου, ένα μικρό υψίπεδο, το οποίο κορυφώνεται σε βραχώδες έξαρμα ύψους 50, περίπου, μέτρων. Πρόκειται για την θέση Ροδιά, η  οποία δεσπόζει στην παραλιακή Λοκρίδα, μεταξύ του όρμου της Αγκάλης (του βασικού ψαρότοπου, άλλοτε, του Κιρραίου Κόλπου) και της Χερσοννήσου Τρίπορι, οριακού τοπόσημου μεταξύ Ιτέας και Γαλαξειδίου.
    Ήδη από τις επιφανειακές έρευνες που πραγματοποιήθηκαν το 2008, η περιοχή  είναι γνωστή για την παρουσία προϊστορικής κεραμεικής ( θραύσματα Πρωτοελλαδικών και Μεσοελλαδικών αγγείων απαντώνται τόσο στην θέση Ροδιά όσο και στις θέσεις Κακιά Στράτα και Καμνιώτισσα, αμέσως προς Βορράν Της Ροδιάς  ).

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        Λίγα μέτρα προς Ανατολάς του βραχώδους εξάρματος, και στο επίπεδο του τελευταίου αναβαθμού του υψιπέδου, πριν από το καθαυτό έξαρμα, στην κάθετη επιφάνεια ενός βράχου διαστάσεων 0,70 χ 1,00 μ, εικονίσθηκε (την ΠΕ, πιθανότατα, εποχή) η πρώτη βραχογραφία της παρουσίασης αυτής. Αποτελείται από ένα γραμμικό συνεχές, το οποίο, με την σειρά του, διαιρείται σε πολλές μικρές κρουστές επιφάνειες. Οι επιφάνειες αυτές που δημιουργούν ένα βαθύτερο «κάμπο», ο οποίος εικονίζει μία σκηνή αλιείας:

___φωτογραφία 3, 4___
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    Δύο πλοία εικονίζονται, σε απόσταση περίπου 10-12 εκατοστά απόσταση μεταξύ τους. Σε επαφή με το αριστερό άκρο ενός από τα πλοία εικονίζεται ένα ψάρι, σε μέγεθος ανάλογο εκείνου των πλοίων.
  Τα πλοία εικονίζονται να πλέουν παράλληλα -το ένα “υπέρκειται” του άλλου, ώστε να δηλωθεί κατά τον τρόπο αυτόν ένα είδος “προοπτικής”.
Πρόκειται για πλοία παρόμοιας τεχνικής κατασκευής, τα οποία εξυπηρετούν την ίδια λειτουργία (την αλιεία).

    Το μηνοειδές σώμα του σκάφους διατρέχεται και στις δύο περιπτώσεις από κάθετες διπλές γραμμές (“μπάντες”). Φαίνεται ότι ακολουθούν την μέθοδο ναυπήγησης "πρώτα-το-πέτσωμα", έχει, δηλαδή, κατασκευασθεί πρώτα το σκάφος και μετά έχει κτισθεί ο ενδοσκελετός και τα πλευρά του.
Τα πλοία μοιάζουν με μια κατηγορία πλοίων των τηγανόσχημων κυκλαδικών σκευών . Τα εγγύτερα παράλληλά τους, λοιπόν, είναι τα Κυκλαδικά/ αιγαιακά της Πρωτοκυκλαδικής περιόδου. Η “πλώρη”, η οποία διατηρείται μόνον στο “υποκείμενο” πλοίο, δηλώνεται με μία απλή γραμμή (όπως και στα “Πρωτοκυκλαδικά” παράλληλά του).

    Το αριστερό άκρο των δύο φαίνεται ότι είναι εκείνο της πρύμνης: Στο αριστερό άκρο του “υπερκείμενου” πλοίου φαίνεται ότι εικονίζεται και μία “λαγουδέρα” (πηδάλιο), ενώ  ένα εξάρτημα της “πρύμνης”, που εικονίζεται και στα δύο πλοία (ένα είδος κυρτής απόληξης) φαίνεται ότι έχει σχέση με την μέθοδο αλιείας.
    Το “εξάρτημα” αυτό μας οδηγεί στην υπόθεση ότι η μέθοδος αλιείας που εικονίζεται είναι εκείνη της "βαθείας καθετής": Η “πετονιά”, συνδεόμενη με βαρίδια, θα εξοπλιζόταν με διάφορες απολήξεις αγκιστριών που φέρουν δόλωμα, σε διαφορετικά βάθη, και μπορεί να εξυπηρετήσει ακόμη και την αλιεία μεγάλων ψαριών.
  To εξάρτημα της “πρύμνης”, είναι, στην περίπτωση που η ερμηνεία μας είναι ορθή, το βαρούλκο / τροχαλία που ανασύρει την πετονιά και τα αγκιστρωμένα ψάρια.

  Το ψάρι έχει τα χαρακτηριστικά κητοειδούς: Μεγάλο ρύγχος (που τονίζεται από το ανοιχτό του στόμα), ραχιαίο πτερύγιο και μεγάλη ουρά (η οποία φαίνεται να συστρέφεται με σχεδόν φυσιοκρατικό τρόπο, σε επαφή με την “πρύμνη” του “υπερκείμενου” σκάφους).

  Επειδή μέχρι σήμερα δεν έχουν βρεθεί παρόμοιες βραχογραφίες στην παραλιακή Φωκίδα, και είναι λογικό ο ερευνητής που προσέρχεται σε ένα νέο θέμα να χρειασθεί κάποια στοιχεία θαλάσσιας πανίδας και γεωλογίας του Κορινθιακού Κόλπου, θα πρέπει να επισημάνουμε τα ακόλουθα στοιχεία, που μπορούν να βοηθήσουν στην διαμόρφωση άποψης για το κατά πόσον είναι δυνατή η παρουσία παρόμοιων ψαριών στα νερά αυτά :
  Ο Κορινθιακός Κόλπος είναι μία θάλασσα μεγάλου βάθους: Το βάθος του κεντρικού τμήματος φθάνει τα 800 μέτρα -ενώ, κοντά στην απόληξη της Χερσοννήσου της Δεσφίνας, παρουσιάζεται το μέγιστο βάθος του (930 μέτρα). Στην περιοχή αυτή αλιεύονταν παλαιότερα από τους Ιτιώτες αλιείς, με “βαθεία καθετή”,  μεγάλα ψάρια.
  Στον Κορινθιακό υπάρχει ενδημικό δελφίνι, το Ζωνοδέλφινο του Κορινθιακού  (που συμβιώνει σε μικτές ομάδες με το Σταχτοδέλφινο και το κοινό Δελφίνι).
  Μέχρι τα μέσα του προηγούμενου αιώνα, στον Κορινθιακό υπήρχαν φώκιες .
  Μέχρι την δεκαετία του 1960, η Αγκάλη, στα Β. Της Ροδιάς και αμέσως στα Δ. Της Ιτέας, και πριν καταστεί λιμένας απόθεσης βωξιτούχου μεταλλεύματος και ιλύος (για το εργοστάσιο Αλουμινίου), ήταν ο κύριος όρμος αναπαραγωγής ψαριών στον Β. Κορινθιακό.

  Ο λόγος της δημιουργίας της «βραχογραφίας της αλιείας» δεν μπορεί παρά να είναι εκείνος της τελετουργικής αναπαράστασης μίας επιτυχημένης πράξης αλιείας, από τους κατοίκους της τοπικής “κώμης – πατριάς”, ως εξέχοντος-αξιομνημόνευτου προγονικού επιτεύγματος, στο πνεύμα του πρωταρχικού Τοτεμισμού (της προστασίας της ανθρώπινης ομάδας από την Θάλασσα – Τροφό).

  Η ερμηνεία αυτή ισχύει και στην περίπτωση της δεύτερης βραχογραφίας μας:

___φωτογραφία 5___
___φωτογραφία 6___

    Στην ενδοχώρα της προηγούμενης θέσης (της Ροδιάς) και σε ένα από τα βαθύπεδα μεταξύ Τριταίας και Γαλαξειδίου, στη θέση “Ελληνικό” (γνωστή στην έρευνα από την παρουσία πύργου των Ελληνιστικών χρόνων ) και στην κορυφή βραχώδους εξάρματος (απ' όπου είναι ορατή ολόκληρη η ακτογραμμή μεταξύ Ιτέας και ακρωτηρίου Πάγκαλος Δεσφίνας), σε επίπεδο βράχο επιφάνειας 1,00 χ 1,50 μ., εικονίζεται η δεύτερη βραχογραφία της παρουσίασης: Με την ίδια μέθοδο -της στιγμογραφίας (γραμμικού συνεχούς, το οποίο, με την σειρά του, διαιρείται σε πολλές μικρές κρουστές επιφάνειες, οι επιφάνειες αυτές, δε, δημιουργούν ένα βαθύτερο «κάμπο»)- παριστάνεται ένα φίδι με τις τρεις διαδοχικές καμπύλες της κίνησής του (διακρίνεται, στα αριστερά, το -μικρό- κεφάλι του και στα δεξιά η απόληξη της ουράς του).

    Η παράσταση του φιδιού μας φέρνει στον νου τον Τοτεμισμό των φυλών των πρώϊμων ιστορικών χρόνων της γειτονικής Αιτωλίας (βλ., π.χ., το όνομα των Οφιονέων Αιτωλών): Οι εγκαταστάσεις των φατριακών οικογενειών της Πρώιμης και Μέσης Εποχής του Χαλκού των ακτών του βόρειου Κορινθιακού αποτελούν τους προγόνους των μικρών αυτόνομων Λοκρικών πολισμάτων των Ιστορικών Χρόνων.

  Ο Τοτεμισμός, ως παραθρησκευτική πρακτική, συνδεόμενη με δοξασίες και “μαγικές” προστατευτικές πρακτικές, είναι και σήμερα ανιχνεύσιμος στην Κεντρική Στερεά και σε τοπόσημα συνδεόμενα με την άϋλη πολιτιστική κληρονομιά (όπως είναι, π.χ., το “Μνήμα του όφι” στην Τσαμαδόρραχη Ευπαλίου και η αφήγηση που το συνοδεύει, της μετατροπής ανθρώπου σε φίδι).

___φωτογραφία 7___

Ευχαριστίες οφείλονται στον φίλο και συνοδοιπόρο μου, Ιτιώτη Λόγιο, κ. Ιωάννη Πιλάλα.

Σωτήριος Γ. Ραπτόπουλος


ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΑ
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Ραπτόπουλος 2008 α΄ _ Σ. ΡΑΠΤΌΠΟΥΛΟΣ, Χρονικά αρχαιολογικών ερευνών (Φωκίδα, Δ. Λοκρίδα, Ν. Αιτωλία, Οίτη, Δωρίς), Δελφοί 2008.

Ραπτόπουλος 2008 β΄ _ Σ. ΡΑΠΤΌΠΟΥΛΟΣ, Η Μνημειακή Τοπογραφία της Δυτικής Λοκρίδας μετά τις νεώτερες ανακαλύψεις, ΤΕΤΡΑΜΗΝΑ 82-87, 2009.

Ραπτόπουλος, Πιλάλας 2012 _ Σ.ΡΑΠΤΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ, Ι.ΠΙΛΑΛΑΣ, Πύργοι και αμυντικό δίκτυο στην Δ. Λοκρίδα των ελληνιστικών χρόνων, 4ο ΑΕΘΣΕ, Βόλος 2012.

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