ΑΡΘΡΑ | 2024
Do Mycenaean tholos tombs encode astronomical alignments?
Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 14.3 (2014): 1-14
The nine tholoi in the general area of Mycenae are examined with respect to their topological siting and relative to possible astronomical phenomena. We find that none of the tomb entrances was intentionally built to observe astronomical events such as the equinoxes.Organic compounds and cultural continuity: The Penn Museum Late Minoan IIIC stirrup jar from Tourloti
Mediterranean Archaeology & Archaeometry 17.2 (2017): 19-33
Organic residue analysis utilizing gas chromatography has allowed us not only to identify the value-added product contained within the jar, a perfumed oil, but also to consider its individual ingredients in light of known craft practices and agricultural activity from the earlier Neopalatial period. Our results reveal surprising evidence of specialized craft continuity in East Crete at the conclusion of the Bronze Age, which suggests a historical picture more complex than traditionally imagined.Astronomical and mathematical knowledge and calendars during the early Helladic era in Aegean “Frying Pan” vessels
Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 15.1 (2015): 135-149
We have studied the morphology and the representations of the Cycladic frying pan vessels that are found in museums and in literature dating from the middle of the 4th millennium. In this paper we argue that the Cycladic frying pan contain calendars that are not only based on the periodicities of the Sun and Moon, but in a very advanced knowledge of the movements of the planets, their periodicities in relation to the Earth and the phases of Venus, which is used as calendar, as well as pregnancy and birth predictor calculator.The Cretan Middle Bronze Age ‘Minoan kernos’ was designed to predict a total solar eclipse and to facilitate a magnetic compass
Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 15.1 (2015): 95-107
Comparisons of eclipse constructions taken from Kernos measurements, with those of Hipparchus (2nd. c. BCE), appear to be similar, suggesting a common origin. Evidence obtained using a multidisciplinary approach, is testament to the sophistication of Middle Bronze Age science and technology and the ability to create a mathematically-based eclipse predictor and magnetic compass, 3800 years ago and 1700 years before the advent of the Antikythera Mechanism.Retrieving capacity data from crushed lead vessels: an example from the House of Lead, Mycenae
Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 15.3 (2015): 201-211
Using the example of a lead vessel found within the House of Lead at Mycenae, this article presents a mathematical method for the reconstruction of vessel capacity from five basic measurements that are often still retreivable even from crushed specimens: their weight, rim circumference, width of the rim, thickness of the rim, and thickness of the body. Vessel capacity is an important, yet often neglected, metric that directly relates to the use of these objects. Results from this model are compared against those derived from pottery assemblages to strengthen the argument that the most common form of lead vessel was a non-portable, multi- functional storage solution.Prehistoric diet on the island of Euboea, Greece: an isotopic investigation
Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 15.3 (2015): 97-111
The average δ¹³C value of human isotopic signatures of Tharrounians was consistent with a C3 terrestrial- based diet. Mean δ15N value indicated a diet mainly focused on agricultural products with a systematic exploitation of animal protein (i.e. meat and/or milk products), whereas marine resources were not an important component of Late Neolithic diets. With regard to the inhabitants of Manika, δ¹³C values indicated that all individuals also had a C3 terrestrial-based diet.Cypriot ritual and cult from the Bronze to the Iron Age: a longue-durée approach
Journal of Greek Archaeology 1 (2016): 73-108
I will first try to identify evidence of ritual and cult at the ‘extra-urban’ sanctuary site of Agia Irini (Figure 1) before attempting to establish their connections with the Late Cypriot ritual system of the urban center of Enkomi. I will then focus on the transformations that the cult of the ‘Cypriot Goddess’ underwent from the Late Cypriot to the Early Iron Age in an effort to emphasize the importance that this cult acquired in the later Iron Age, that is, the Cypro-Archaic and the Cypro-Classical periods. I will finally turn to the Iron Age polity of Amathous, endeavoring to detect connections with (and embodiments of) an indigenous Late Cypriot past.‘Manly hearted’ Mycenaeans (?): Challenging preconceptions of warrior ideology in Mycenae’s Grave Circle B
Journal of Greek Archaeology 1 (2016): 45-72
By analysing weaponry distribution and inclusion practices within the highly elite context of the Shaft Graves (active 1700-1450 BC), this paper highlights the inventive nature of elite early Mycenaean burial practice and also explores the possible ‘anomaly’ of a female warrior burial. It argues that the expression of elite Mycenaean warrior ideology was more fluid and inclusive than has been previously assumed, and that a model of gendered domaining is not only limiting, but obscures the creative, ‘work-in-progress’ approach to male and female distinction and differentiation in the Shaft Graves.The Argos Plain through its ages and my ages
Journal of Greek Archaeology 1 (2016): 33-44
This article focusses on one of the author's favourite landscapes, the Plain of Argos, and his involvement with its Bronze Age landscape over a period of more than forty years.The Palaeolithic settlement of Lefkas: Archaeological evidence in a palaeogeographic context
Journal of Greek Archaeology 1 (2016): 1-32
In this paper we place the Island of Lefkas in the central Ionian Sea under the spotlight to examine the lithic assemblages recovered by A. Dousougli and K. Zachos from five open-air sites: Karyotes, Cape Doukato, Tsoukalades, Englouvi and Marantochori. We use observations on raw materials, production technology and typology to present a comprehensive account of the core reduction strategies and the tools recovered, and to place the finds in a Palaeolithic timeline.Mercenaries or refugees? The evidence from the inscriptions of Merenptah on the ‘Sea Peoples’
Journal of Greek Archaeology 2 (2017): 119-134
During the fifth regnal year of Merenptah (either 1208 BC or 1219 BC), king Merey of the Rebu/Lebu attacked Egypt, together with his archers and many northern warriors. These northerners were not affiliated with any of the existing minor or major kingdoms of the eastern Mediterranean, since they are only identified by obscure ethnonyms. The aim of this paper is to re-examine the available evidence.An extended Mesolithic settlement in Naxos
Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 16.1 (2016): 269-271
Over the last two decades of excavations and surveys, a Mesolithic cultural stage was discovered for the first time in the Aegean which until then had appeared in a few places in mainland Greece. The first Mesolithic site appeared at the Cyclops Cave in Youra of Northern Sporades in 1992 and then the Mesolithic settlement of Maroulas in Kythnos was