EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS IN THE FIELD OF ARCHAEOLOGY: THE HELIKE EXAMPLE

Earth science applications are widely used in the field of archaeology today. The Helike Project made use of such applications at a time when archaeology in Greece was mostly limited to traditional methodology only. Thus Helike constitutes a pioneer study case of such investigations and of their usefulness in the field of archaeology. In searching for Ancient Helike, our team since 1988 combined extensively traditional archaeological research methods and geophysical and geological exploration. The results of this multidisciplinary approach were in most cases successful beyond expectations. In this paper, I present and discuss the most significant archaeological discoveries in the area of Helike based primarily on data from our geological and geophysical investigations the last 20 years

The Cult of Poseidon Helikonios

The cult of Poseidon Helikonios is associated with his primeval aspect of the powerful god of earthquakes and waters. His most antique cult in this capacity, dating from the Mycenaean times, originates from Helike of Achaea on the southwestern shore of the Gulf of Corinth, the place known to Homer as a centre of this worship. The sanctuary of Poseidon Helikonios located in Helike was the holiest for all Ionians; there were also located the ancient ancestral altars for the Ionic race. When the Ionians were expelled from Helike by the Achaeans at the end of the Mycenaean times, they settled in Asia Minor and carried with them the cult of Helikonios. In the paper, the spread of this particular cult from Helike to the Asia Minor coast and farther to the Black Sea region is discussed on the basis of literary, archaeological and numismatic evidence available from the places where the cult held prominent position.

Travelers in the Mediterranean: The Case for Ancient Parians

The island of Paros located in the centre of the Aegean Sea, emerged as an organized polis/state already in mid-8th century BC. Its geographical position favored early sea communications and foundation of colonies along the Mediterranean. In the article, I discuss the impressive phenomenon of itinerant Parians in the Mediterranean in relation to (a) the colonies founded by Paros in the Propontis, the North Aegean and the Adriatic Sea, (b) certain activities of travelling groups of artists in Greece proper and the periphery of the Greek world, and (c) two exceptional cases of itinerant Parians, Archilochos the poet (7th century BC) and Skopas the sculptor and architect (4th century BC). Finally, a short mention is made of another type of mobilization of fighters, under state control.The island of Paros located in the centre of the Aegean Sea, emerged as an organized polis/state already in mid-8th century BC. Its geographical position favored early sea communications and foundation of colonies along the Mediterranean. In the article, I discuss the impressive phenomenon of itinerant Parians in the Mediterranean in relation to (a) the colonies founded by Paros in the Propontis, the North Aegean and the Adriatic Sea, (b) certain activities of travelling groups of artists in Greece proper and the periphery of the Greek world, and (c) two exceptional cases of itinerant Parians, Archilochos the poet (7th century BC) and Skopas the sculptor and architect (4th century BC). Finally, a short mention is made of another type of mobilization of fighters, under state control.The island of Paros located in the centre of the Aegean Sea, emerged as an organized polis/state already in mid-8th century BC. Its geographical position favored early sea communications and foundation of colonies along the Mediterranean. In the article, I discuss the impressive phenomenon of itinerant Parians in the Mediterranean in relation to (a) the colonies founded by Paros in the Propontis, the North Aegean and the Adriatic Sea, (b) certain activities of travelling groups of artists in Greece proper and the periphery of the Greek world, and (c) two exceptional cases of itinerant Parians, Archilochos the poet (7th century BC) and Skopas the sculptor and architect (4th century BC). Finally, a short mention is made of another type of mobilization of fighters, under state control

Paros u četvrtome stoljeću prije Krista i osnivanje Farosa

101 Dora Katsonopoulou Greece, 84400 Páros The Institute for the Archaeology of Paros and the Cyclades Paroikia [email protected] UDC: 325.54Paros:Pharos(210.7Hvar)“-0400” (338.244.1+339)(262.1)Paros Original scientific paper Received: 30 October 2020 Accepted: 16 November 2020 The aftermath of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) found the Greek world in a state of general uneasiness, decimation of population, and weakening of political institutions. Soon, new high casualties were caused by the Corinthian War (395–387 BC). The peace imposed in 386 BC, brought autonomy for the Greek states of the mainland and most of the islands but new conflicts arose again, first upon the ascendancy of Thebes to power following the battle at Leuktra (371 BC), and after the middle of the century under the new rising power of Philip of Macedonia. In the paper, the political and socio-economic conditions of Paros during this period will be described, especially in the first half of the century when the colony of Pharos was founded in the Adriatic Sea. Secondly, the new building projects and artistic production in the city of Paros and other areas of the island will be presented in connection with Pharos’ foundation and the possible purposes served by such a colonial enterprise of the Parians. Finally, possible trade interactions and links among all three major Parian colonies in the Mediterranean will be considered.Nakon Peloponeskog rata (431. – 404. g. pr. Kr.) grčki se svijet našao u stanju sveopće uznemirenosti uz desetkovano pučanstvo i slabljenje političkih institucija. Ubrzo je Korintski rat (395. – 387. g. pr. Kr.) izazvao novi veliki broj žrtava. Mir nametnut 386. g. pr. Kr. donio je autonomiju grčkim kopnenim državama i većini otoka, ali opet su izbili novi sukobi, najprije slijedom tebanske prevlasti nakon bitke kod Leuktre (371. g. pr. Kr.), a poslije sredine stoljeća zbog sve većeg jačanja Filipa Makedonskoga. U radu su opisani politički i društveno-gospodarski uvjeti Parosa tijekom navedenog razdoblja, posebno u prvoj polovici stoljeća, kada je na Jadranu osnovana kolonija Faros. Povrh toga, predstavljeni su novi građevinski projekti i umjetnička proizvodnja u gradu Parosu i na drugim područjima otoka u vezi s osnivanjem Farosa i mogućim nakanama koje su Parani imali glede takvih kolonija. Na koncu, razmotrene su moguće trgovinske interakcije i veze svih triju glavnih parskih kolonija na Mediteranu

Paros u četvrtome stoljeću prije Krista i osnivanje Farosa

101 Dora Katsonopoulou Greece, 84400 Páros The Institute for the Archaeology of Paros and the Cyclades Paroikia [email protected] UDC: 325.54Paros:Pharos(210.7Hvar)“-0400” (338.244.1+339)(262.1)Paros Original scientific paper Received: 30 October 2020 Accepted: 16 November 2020 The aftermath of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) found the Greek world in a state of general uneasiness, decimation of population, and weakening of political institutions. Soon, new high casualties were caused by the Corinthian War (395–387 BC). The peace imposed in 386 BC, brought autonomy for the Greek states of the mainland and most of the islands but new conflicts arose again, first upon the ascendancy of Thebes to power following the battle at Leuktra (371 BC), and after the middle of the century under the new rising power of Philip of Macedonia. In the paper, the political and socio-economic conditions of Paros during this period will be described, especially in the first half of the century when the colony of Pharos was founded in the Adriatic Sea. Secondly, the new building projects and artistic production in the city of Paros and other areas of the island will be presented in connection with Pharos’ foundation and the possible purposes served by such a colonial enterprise of the Parians. Finally, possible trade interactions and links among all three major Parian colonies in the Mediterranean will be considered.Nakon Peloponeskog rata (431. – 404. g. pr. Kr.) grčki se svijet našao u stanju sveopće uznemirenosti uz desetkovano pučanstvo i slabljenje političkih institucija. Ubrzo je Korintski rat (395. – 387. g. pr. Kr.) izazvao novi veliki broj žrtava. Mir nametnut 386. g. pr. Kr. donio je autonomiju grčkim kopnenim državama i većini otoka, ali opet su izbili novi sukobi, najprije slijedom tebanske prevlasti nakon bitke kod Leuktre (371. g. pr. Kr.), a poslije sredine stoljeća zbog sve većeg jačanja Filipa Makedonskoga. U radu su opisani politički i društveno-gospodarski uvjeti Parosa tijekom navedenog razdoblja, posebno u prvoj polovici stoljeća, kada je na Jadranu osnovana kolonija Faros. Povrh toga, predstavljeni su novi građevinski projekti i umjetnička proizvodnja u gradu Parosu i na drugim područjima otoka u vezi s osnivanjem Farosa i mogućim nakanama koje su Parani imali glede takvih kolonija. Na koncu, razmotrene su moguće trgovinske interakcije i veze svih triju glavnih parskih kolonija na Mediteranu

The Digital Helike Project in the early Helladic Period: further insights from archaeological and geological data through combined modelling, 3D reconstruction, and simulation

The Helike Project has located an Early Helladic II-III settlement buried 3—3.5m under the coastal plain on the Southwestern shore of the Corinthian Gulf. Evidence for elaborate town planning consists of buildings arranged across cobbled streets including a “Corridor House”. Large amounts of stored domestic accessories and exotic wealth points to the regional importance of the settlement concerning overseas trade in the middle and early second half of the 3rd millennium BC. Within this wider context of research, the first phase of the Digital Helike Project focusses on the Helike Corridor House (HCH). Using archaeological and geological data, 3D reconstruction of the HCH was performed followed by structural integrity analysis, an innovative and pioneering engineering technique within archaeology based on Finite Element Analysis. These new methods tested the existence of a second floor and roof structure, addressing conjectures regarding the plan and construction of such houses leading to hypotheses on their social and administrative roles. The research has provided solid evidence for the crucial structural function of the debated long narrow corridors [3]. It also demonstrated that the roof was tiled on the basis of the maximum weight the walls could support. Moreover, GIS-based predictive modelling placed the house in the context of the ancient shoreline based on five landscape variables (sea level rise, deposition, subsidence, tectonic uplift, and pulse tectonic). The results show that the Early Helladic coastline would be at 170m from the settlement (currently 1km from the shore). The location and proximity to the shore are consistent with data acquired from bore hole drilling in the area and with other contemporaneous Corridor Houses across the Peloponnese

Structural Integrity Modelling of an Early Bronze Age “Corridor House” in Helike of Achaea, NW Peloponnese

Structural integrity modelling and simulation studies were performed on the Helike Corridor House (HCH), a monumental building excavated at the Early Helladic (EH) site of Ancient Helike on the NW Peloponnese, Greece. The aims of the research were to explore building materials and plan alterations of an earlier phase into an EH II-III period Corridor House. Static load analysis followed by buckling (failure) analysis was simulated using ANSYS. Results demonstrate that buckling would develop in the narrow corridor area, being the critical spot in the structure due to its configuration of long tall sidewalls. It is shown that when stairs are introduced, the structure becomes less susceptible to buckling. We conclude that the doubling of the outer walls was a high structural and functional technical innovation which required specialized knowledge on planning and construction highlighting the critical role architecture played in response to upcoming social transformations

Environmental Analysis of Cores from the Helike Delta, Gulf of Corinth, Greece

The fan delta southeast of Aigion on the southwest shore of the Gulf of Corinth was the site of ancient Helike, a city destroyed and submerged by an earthquake and seismic sea wave in 373 BC. Bore holes drilled on the Helike Delta yielded numerous ceramic fragments in the upper 12 meters, and a record of changing local environments on the delta during the Holocene period. At about 8 m below present sea level the core profiles show a general upward transition from marine to lacustrine/lagoonalc onditions.T he transition dates from about 8 kyr BP and is probably due to the deceleration of global sea level rise at the end of the last Ice Age. The deceleration apparently induced an upward and seaward progression of a zone of green clay and silt associated with brackish fauna

Creating interactive 3D visualizations of archaeological data : a case study of the Early Bronze Age Helike Corridor House

Recent review of Geoinformatic Technologies for landscape archaeology [1] has highlighted methodological issues concerning state-of-the-art digital techniques available to archaeologists. Virtual environments and data visualization help the archaeologist to explore, comprehend and explain data and information acquired from vastly diverse sources [2]. This paper advances research by addressing interactive visualization issues in archaeology [3, 4] through a methodological approach for fully geo-referenced, 3D interactive visualizations using open source tools. The method is focused on the generation of 3D models, and on placing archaeological datasets and artefact representations over large landscapes visualized on Google Earth (GE). A time-line for each object is defined so that relevant period data can be displayed. The Helike Corridor House (HCH) and related archaeological and borehole data are used here as a case study [5]. First, we discuss how items from a geoarchaeological database (e.g. borehole data) organized on a spreadsheet or on a MySQL database are augmented by a tag-based structure with attributes using the XML-Extensible Markup Language for conversion into KML file format for GE display. Second, we examine the methodology for creating geo-referenced 3D models using SketchUp by direct manipulation of the geographic area imported from GE into SketchUp. With regards to this issue, we explore the addition of textures and the exporting of the final 3D model to KML format. Finally, we submit our propositions on how overlays and animations in GE are created in the perspective of acquiring a powerful interactive experience and easy sharing of archaeological data. Overall the paper enhances the range of insights on the digital relationships with archaeological data that enable new inferences and knowledge by the implementation of universally shared low cost applications

On roof construction and wall strength : non-linear structural integrity analysis of the Early Bronze Age Helike Corridor House

We have demonstrated [1] through Structural Integrity Analysis that the Adobe brick Early Helladic (EH II-III) Helike Corridor House design was sound and it was able to support a second floor. This paper furthers the research focusing on roof loads by performing non-linear and sensitivity analyses addressing two research questions: 1) Was the roof of a light tiled construction or was it heavy as described in [2] about four times heavier than a tiled roof; and 2) What would the behaviour of the structure be when subjected to adverse wet weather under light and heavy roof loads. Previous research has shown that Adobe bricks can absorb large quantities of water from 2 to 10kg/m2 [3, 4]. Furthermore, if it absorbs 4kg/m2 the overall strength of the wall is reduced by 50% [3]. Using mechanical properties of dry and wet Adobe bricks, we have performed non-linear analysis using ANSYS aimed at determining whether or not the structure would collapse under four conditions: LIGHT-DRY (light roof, dry Adobe), LIGHT-WET, HEAVY-DRY and HEAVY-WET. The results show that under a light roof the structure would stand. However, a heavy roof similar to early Minoan structures [2] would lead to total collapse of the house as the Yield Stress on the wall structure is greater than the maximum allowed for wet and for dry Adobe. This points to sophisticated construction techniques with tiled rooves and the possible use of stabilising materials such as lime, ash or organic to protect the tiles [5]. The theory that Helike builders were aware of such techniques could only be supported by planned forthcoming detailed soil analysis to identify possible stabilisers and this would raise further questions on wider interactions such as trade. This research offers new understandings of roof techniques and weight limitations for Adobe building Corridor Houses in a period where only scant evidence is available