ΑΡΘΡΑ | 2023
The provenance of some glass ingots from the Uluburun shipwreck
Journal of Archaeological Science 37.2 (February 2010): 295-301.
The discovery of a Late Bronze Age trading vessel at Uluburun near Kaş off the Turkish coast offers exciting possibilities for our understanding of Bronze Age trade. On board the ship was a large consignment of glass ingots that were assumed to originate either from Mesopotamia or Egypt.The latest Prepalatial period and the foundation of the first palace at Phaistos: a stratigraphic and chronological re-assessment
Creta Antica 10/I (2009): 105-145.
The dating of the first palace at Phaistos has been particularly problematic because the architectural complex is comprised of two blocks that were set at different levels on the slope of the hill, and they have been dated to different ceramic phases due to the lack of accuracy in the selection of the relevant deposits, and a rather loose application of Evans’ chronological system. The materials retrieved from the sub-floor excavations that were conducted in the area between piazzale I and cortile 40 of the palace have proved to be a major problem.I resti faunistici provenienti dal saggio sotto il vano XIX a Festòs (The faunal remains from the trench-pits conducted beneath room XIX at Phaistos)
Creta Antica 10/I (2009): 97-103.
The faunal remains include a bone sample comprised of 679 fragmentary bones and 86 sea-shells. These finds have been divided into two groups: one attributed to the FN and the other to a period ranging from FN to MM IB. Both groups are largely comprised of sheep/goats, followed by pigs and cattle. Dog, marine turtle and agrimi are attested by very scant remains. In the FN-MM IB group, sheep/goats are prevalent over the other domesticated species - pigs and cattle - which are instead well represented in the FN sample.Il Neolitico Finale a Festòs: per una riconsiderazione funzionale dei dati dagli scavi Levi (Final Neolithic at Phaistos: A fuctional revaluation of the Levi’s excavations data)
Creta Antica 10/I (2009): 57-95.
This work focuses on reviewing the previous publications of Phaistian Neolithic pottery on the base of the new acquisitions provided by the recent excavations at Phaistos (directed by V. La Rosa) and by the study of the new ceramic deposits and related architectures that have reopened the problem of the definition of the Phaistian Final Neolithic.Revisioni festie II (Phaistian revisions II)
Creta Antica 10/I (2009): 147-300.
This article continues the programme of revision of the stratigraphies, chronologies and functions of the Protopalatial spaces and buildings uncovered by Levi at Phaistos, and focuses on the so-called Bastione Ovest. This is a building located on the N-W border of the west court, which represented the ceremonial area par-excellence in MM IB-MM II. Re-examination of the excavation notebooks and of the materials associated with the various architectural structures of which it is comprised has allowed us to detect two major phases of use characterised by a distinct plan and internal articulation, both within MM II.Lictoria parva. Una grande impresa archeologica e una piccola fondazione italiana a Creta (Lictoria Parva. A great archaeological work and a small Italian foundation in Crete)
Creta Antica 10/I (2009): 49-56.
The original of this type-script, which was probably not written for publication, was sent to Count Fr. Pellati, General Director of Antiquities and Arts at the Ministry of National Education at the end of 1935. The first part is a simple geographic and historical presentation, which uses strong but also clearly didactic tones and adjectives, so as to rouse the interest of the recipient, and enlarge the merits of the actors. The various steps and practical difficulties of the exploration are remembered with extreme reality, with great pleasure and also some ‘literary’ aspirations. It is in any case a precious direct testimony for those difficult environmental conditions. The central issue is the logistical history of the Cretan Mission, from 1899 to the construction of the house at Phaistos in 1931.Colour in Minoan faience
Journal of Archaeological Science 36.2 (February 2009): 370-378.
The microstructures and chemical compositions of some 15 faience objects from Crete spanning the period from Middle Minoan IIIA through to Late Minoan IA are determined using analytical scanning electron microscopy. The Minoan faience is compared with replicate faience beads produced in the laboratory using various combinations of manganese, copper and iron as colorants. The alkali contents of the replicate beads are varied so that the colorants are present both as ions in a glass phase and as particulate oxides.New light on old pumice: The origins of Mediterranean volcanic material from ancient Egypt
Journal of Archaeological Science 36.8 (August 2009): 1738-1744.
This paper presents and discusses the Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) results newly obtained from pumice pieces found decades ago at the Egyptian sites of Maiyana, Sedment, Kahun, and Amarna – now in the collections of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London – which could be successfully related to several volcanic eruptions in the Mediterranean. The work contributes to the constant accumulation of knowledge concerning the first appearance of pumice from the so-called Minoan eruption of the Santorini volcano.Approaching Levantine shores. Aspects of Cretan contacts with Western Asia during the MM-LM I periods
Proceedings of the Danish Institute at Athens VI (2009): 9-55.
This article presents an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the foreign relations of Crete towards the Levant and beyond, from their first encounter to the end of the New Palace Period, with the main focus on the MM-LM I periods. The archaeological material indicates contacts during the EM II and from the MM I period onwards, whilst the textual evidence strongly indicates direct royal connections perhaps from the Old Palace Period or early New Palace Period, and furthermore offers a mythological remembrance of these contacts during the Late Bronze Age.The Ayia Triadha cave, Southern Euboea: Finds and implications of the earliest human habitation in the area (a preliminary report)
The Mediterranean Archaeology & Archaeometry (MAA) 9:2 (2009): 47-59.
The Ayia Triadha cave excavation project aims to explore early maritime connections in the Aegean during the Late Neolithic I and II and the Early Bronze Age. The cave lies in a strategic position close to the crossroads that connect insular regions and the mainland. We also aim to explore the manifestations of the so-called Saliagos culture of the Cyclades and the Aegean. This culture is connected to the White-on-Dark pottery horizon (late sixth to early fifth millennium B.C.) found in the cave.