ATOP THE KADMEIA: MYCENAEAN ROOF TILES FROM THEBES IN CONTEXT

Questions were raised in the past regarding the use of Mycenaean tiles as ‘roof tiles’ on the basis of the small numbers of them recovered in excavations and their overall scarcity in Mycenaean domestic contexts. The investigation of the Theodorou plot in 2008 in the southern part of the Kadmeia hill at Thebes yielded the single and, so far, largest known assemblage per square metre of Mycenaean tiles from a well-documented excavation. This material allows, for the first time convincingly, to identify the existence of a Mycenaean tiled roof. This paper presents the results of our work on the Theodorou tiles, placing emphasis on their construction, form and modes of production, offering the most systematic study of Mycenaean tiles to date. It also revisits contexts of discovery of similar material from excavations across Thebes. Popular as tiles might have been in Boeotia, and despite their spatially widespread attestation, their use in Aegean Late Bronze Age architecture appears, on the whole, irregular with central Greece and the north-east Peloponnese being the regions with the most sites known to have yielded such objects. Mycenaean roof tiles date mostly from the mid- and late fourteenth centurybcto the twelfth centurybc. A study of their construction, form, production and contexts suggests that their role, apart from adding extra insulation, might have been one of signposting certain buildings in the landscape. We also present the idea that Mycenaean tile-making was guided by a particular conventional knowledge which was largely influenced by ceramic-related technologies (pottery- and drain-making). While production of roof tiles might have been palace-instigated to begin with, it does not appear to have been strictly controlled. This approach to Mycenaean tile-making may also help explain their uneven (in terms of intensity of use) yet widespread distribution.</jats:p

Establishing the Middle Sea: The Late Bronze Age of Mediterranean Europe (1700–900 BC)

The Late Bronze Age (1700–900 BC) represents an extremely dynamic period for Mediterranean Europe. Here, we provide a comparative survey of the archaeological record of over half a millennium within the entire northern littoral of the Mediterranean, from Greece to Iberia, incorporating archaeological, archaeometric, and bioarchaeological evidence. The picture that emerges, while certainly fragmented and not displaying a unique trajectory, reveals a number of broad trends in aspects as different as social organization, trade, transcultural phenomena, and human mobility. The contribution of such trends to the processes that caused the end of the Bronze Age is also examined. Taken together, they illustrate how networks of interaction, ranging from the short to the long range, became a defining aspect of the “Middle Sea” during this time, influencing the lives of the communities that inhabited its northern shore. They also highlight the importance of research that crosses modern boundaries for gaining a better understanding of broad comparable dynamics

Mnemonic Landscapes and Monuments of the Past: Tumuli, Tholos Tombs and Landscape Associations in Late Middle Bronze Age and Early Late Bronze Age Messenia (Greece)

The paper explores the landscape associations between tumuli and tholos tombs in the Aegean. In doing so, emphasis is placed on issues of visibility, proximity and placement of the tombs in the landscape. The extent to which tumuli may have influenced the location of tholos tombs is reconsidered by looking at the process of creation of a new funerary tradition which made claims to the monuments of the past. It is argued that location and landscape associations, as opposed to physical prominence, may have played a crucial role in strategies of display and particularly in the construction and/or reconfiguration of mnemonic landscapes.Galanakis Yannis. Mnemonic Landscapes and Monuments of the Past: Tumuli, Tholos Tombs and Landscape Associations in Late Middle Bronze Age and Early Late Bronze Age Messenia (Greece). In: Ancestral Landscape. Burial mounds in the Copper and Bronze Ages (Central and Eastern Europe – Balkans – Adriatic – Aegean, 4th-2nd millennium B.C.) Proceedings of the International Conference held in Udine, May 15th-18th 2008. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 2012. pp. 219-229. (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée. Série recherches archéologiques, 58

Exhibiting the Minoan Past: From Oxford to Knossos

More than160 years after his birth and 70 years from his death, Arthur Evans’s legacy remains strong. Through his excavations, publications, lectures, and extensive restorations, he solidified his vision of the Minoan past that dominated Aegean archaeology for generations. Yet Evans was not only a leading archaeologist; he was also a successful Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford between 1884 and 1908. The present paper aims to address his role as Keeper and assess how his position withi..

Mnemonic Landscapes and Monuments of the Past: Tumuli, Tholos Tombs and Landscape Associations in Late Middle Bronze Age and Early Late Bronze Age Messenia (Greece)

The paper explores the landscape associations between tumuli and tholos tombs in the Aegean. In doing so, emphasis is placed on issues of visibility, proximity and placement of the tombs in the landscape. The extent to which tumuli may have influenced the location of tholos tombs is reconsidered by looking at the process of creation of a new funerary tradition which made claims to the monuments of the past. It is argued that location and landscape associations, as opposed to physical prominence, may have played a crucial role in strategies of display and particularly in the construction and/or reconfiguration of mnemonic landscapes.Galanakis Yannis. Mnemonic Landscapes and Monuments of the Past: Tumuli, Tholos Tombs and Landscape Associations in Late Middle Bronze Age and Early Late Bronze Age Messenia (Greece). In: Ancestral Landscape. Burial mounds in the Copper and Bronze Ages (Central and Eastern Europe – Balkans – Adriatic – Aegean, 4th-2nd millennium B.C.) Proceedings of the International Conference held in Udine, May 15th-18th 2008. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 2012. pp. 219-229. (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée. Série recherches archéologiques, 58

Introduction & overview

This brief introduction presents the structure and contents of the current issue of Archaeology in Greece, linking the various contributions to events or very recent discoveries that were reported in the press in the period immediately before the completion of this issue in September. It also offers an overview (not meant to be exhaustive) of archaeological activity in Greece over the past 12 months, focusing on major exhibitions and important recent publications