Marco BettelliStudi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 51 (2009) [2010]: 95-121.
La recente pubblicazione di significativi nuclei di ceramiche d’impasto realizzate a mano (HBW) - a volte associati a ceramiche “grigie” tornite di tipo pseudominio - provenienti da alcuni importanti centri della Grecia micenea e della Creta tardo-minoica, apre nuovi scenari e spunti di riflessione per chi si occupa delle relazioni tra Egeo e Mediterraneo centrale nella tarda età del bronzo.
Gerald Cadogan, Jan Driessen & Silvia FerraraStudi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 51 (2009) [2010]: 145-164.
The British School at Athens-University of Cincinnati excavations at Maroni-Vournes, on the eastern edge of the coastal plain of the Maroni river valley in southeast Cyprus, have yielded fragments of four clay vessels bearing signs that clearly belong to the Cypro-Minoan script of the Late Bronze Age.
Anna Lucia D’Agata & Marie-Claude BoileauStudi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 51 (2009) [2010]: 165-222.
Recent years have seen a marked increase in interest in the Early Iron Age of Crete, focusing on sites which flourished in the centuries of the so called Dark Ages through to the emergence of the city-states dating from the 8th century BC onwards. Excavations at Knossos, Eleutherna, Thronos Kephala, and Kavousi, and surveys at Vrokastro and elsewhere bear witness to this renewed interest.
Luca GirellaStudi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 51 (2009) [2010]: 279-314.
New finds and important contributions have recently offered a fresh overview on wheel-made grey ware on Crete and have also provided an occasion for as update on pottery imported from outside Crete. As a result the list of Grey Ware in LM III contexts has been expanded, but mentions of such a ware in previous periods have been surprisingly neglected. The aim of this article is to re-examine the evidence of the Grey Ware on Crete, from the first appearance of Grey Minyan Ware to the later distribution of Grey Ware up to the LM IIIC period.
Richard Hope SimpsonStudi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 51 (2009) [2010]: 315-335.
In this note I assess the main Mycenaean settlements discovered in and around the Sparta plain and also try to interpret the ancient testimonia related to them. It is both customary and correct to present the more definite (i.e. the archaeological) evidence first and separately in such cases, before any speculative attempts to assign ancient names to particular sites.
During the Bronze Age the Aegean cultures (Cycladic, Minoan) developed music and dance which were connected with religious rituals and ceremonies. There is perhaps only one Cycladic representation depicting a dance scene: it is to be found on one marble plaque from Naxos (EC II-III, ca. 2700-2000 BC). In contrast to Cycladic artists, the later Minoans presented dance scenes with one, two or more persons in different art forms: e.g. seals, seal-impressions, wall paintings, idols or vessels. There are Minoan dance representations dated from the Middle Minoan until the post-Minoan period (2000-1100 BC), which show a variety of dances.
The collection of imported Near Eastern lapis lazuli cylinder seals from a palatial room in Thebes still remains a unique find in the Aegean. The heterogeneous lot consists of 7 Old Babylonian seals, 12 Kassite, 8 Mitannian, 4 Cypriote, 4 Cypro-Levantine, 2 Cypro-Aegean, 3 Mycenean, 1 Hittite seal, and 1 of unknown origin.
Following a burial in a Mycenaean chamber tomb, the stomion was sealed as a rule by means of a dry stone wall and more rarely by a stone dοοr. Generations of archaeologists have grown up with this assertion so that when excavating a chamber tomb we are certain in advance what awaits us at the doorway.
Maria DeoudiAthenische Mitteilungen 123 (2008) [2009]: 151-175.
The economic and cultural development of the Ionian Islands was always closely connected with mainland Greece. In the late Bronze Age and into the early Geometric period the region was supplied solely by Messenian traders, who dominated the market on the Ionian islands of Levkada, Zakynthos and Ithaca from Kefallonia.
C.M. Jackson & P.T. NicholsonJournal 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 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.
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.
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.
F. Carino & V. La RosaCreta 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.
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.
