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SOMA 2011 Proceedings of the 15th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, held at the University of Catania 3–5 March 2011 VOLUME I
Edited by
Pietro Maria Militello Hakan Öniz
SOMA 2011
B A R
2695 SOMA 2011 I cover.indd 1
BAR International Series 2695 (I) 2015 05/02/2015 08:33:42
SOMA 2011 Proceedings of the 15th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, held at the University of Catania 3–5 March 2011 VOLUME I Edited by
Pietro Maria Militello Hakan Öniz
Università di Catania, Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche, Corso di laurea magistrale in Archeologia, opzione internazionale
General Association of Mediterranean Archaeology
Università di Catania Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici
Turkish Foundation for Underwater Archaeology
BAR International Series 2695 (I) 2015
ISBN 9781407313429 (Volume I) paperback ISBN 9781407313436 (Volume II) paperback ISBN 9781407313443 (Volume set) paperback ISBN 9781407343075 (Volume set) e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407313443 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
BAR
PUBLISHING
Table of Contents Volume I Preface
v
Part I – Prehistory and Protohistory of Europe and Anatolia
1
General Topics
3
Exchanges Between Paleolithic Hunter-gatherer Groups Neyir Kolankaya-Bostanci
3
Understanding Cross-cultural Communication in the European Bronze Age Paulina Suchowska-Ducke
Anatolia
11 21
Early Bronze Age (ca. 3000-2000 BC) Mining Activities in Central Anatolia, Turkey Derya Yilmaz
21
Observations on the Troy I Period in the Light of Recent Survey Finds from the Coastal Troad Derya Yilmaz
27
From the Middle Danube to Anatolia: Contacts During the Second Millennium BC. a Case Study Anca-Diana Popescu, Radu Băjenaru
35
Kitchen furniture in the second millennium BC: evidence from Salat Tepe Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Gamze Kaynak
43
Remnants of Incantation Rituals from the Middle Bronze Age Settlement at Salat Tepe: an Ethnoarchaeological Approach 51 Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Tülin Bozkurt Glass Trade in the Light of the Late Bronze Age Finds from Panaztepe Nazli Çinardali-Karaaslan
59
A Group of Urartian Metal Finds from the Karaman Archaeological Museum Makbule Ekici
65
Investigations in the Çaldiran Plain/Lake Van Basin: the Middle Iron Age Aynur Özfirat
71
Europe
81
Antique Bone and Antler Anvils Discovered in Romania Corneliu Beldiman, Diana-Maria Sztancs
81
A Joint Consideration of the Lithic Industries of Shell Middens in Muge, Portugal, and the Coastal Mediterranean Mesolithic Sites Anabela Joaquinito, Nuno Ribeiro Daily Life and Social Reconstruction of an Argaric Settlement at Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén) Juan Miguel Rivera Groennou, Eva Alarcón García
Greece
89 93 101
Archaeological Models and the Archaeology of Mesara (Crete) between the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Rosario Maria Anzalone
101
Reconstructing the Landscape of the Dead. Some Observations on the Minoan Funerary Space in the Agiopharango Valley 111 Sylviane Déderix Some Eccentric Linear A Tablets from Ayia Triada Pietro Militello
121
Studying Grey Ceramics in the Adriatic Area. A Preliminary Report Eleonora Ballan
127
Protogeometric and Geometric Pottery from the Kos Early Iron Age Necropolis Revisited. Some Features of the Local Ceramic Production Maria Grazia Palmieri
i
135
Italy
143
Settlement Strategies and Territorial Organization: a Methodological Approach to the Sardinian Bronze Age Context Francesca Cadeddu
143
Ceramic Ethnoarchaeometry in Western Sardinia: the Case of Oristano Evanthia Tsantini, Giuseppe Montana, Miguel Ángel Cau
155
Lyres in the Daunian Stelae: Towards a Better Understanding of Chordophones in the Mediterranean Iron Age Raquel Jiménez Pasalodos, Placido Scardina
161
Sicily
175
An Analytical Study of Neolithic Combustion Structures in the Province of Messina Francesca Cannizzaro, Maria Clara Martinelli
175
Material Culture and People. Some Methodological Remarks on the Study of Aeolian Middle Bronze Age Settlement Contexts Gianmarco Alberti
185
Oversea Lithic Exchanges Between the Aeolian Islands and Malta from an Inland Perspective: Preliminary Data from a Late Neolithic Site in Licodia Eubea, Catania - Sicily Damiano Bracchitta
197
Decorated Footed Bowls: Type, Distribution and Use Valeria Grasso, Carla Maria Caterina Cirino
203
Creating Boundaries: Elaborate Tombs and Trade Goods in the Early Bronze Age Necropolis at Castelluccio (Sicily, Italy) Anita Crispino, Massimo Cultraro
211
Dwelling in the Darkness: the Prehistoric Caves of the Hyblaean Mountains (Sicily) Dalma Cultrera
217
An Early Bronze Age Settlement Near Ragusa Francesco Cardinale, Giovanni Di Stefano, Milena Gusmano, Saverio Scerra
227
The Late Copper Age Phase in Rocchicella di Mineo: Preliminary Data Ivana Vacirca
233
Innovation and Tradition in the Technology of Large Storage Jars from the Sicilian Middle Bronze Age Carlo Veca
239
Piano dei Casazzi (Mineo, Catania). Data on the proto-historic inhabitation Francescaromana Alberghina
249
Ceramic ethnoarchaeometry in Sicily: recent traditional productions as a tool for understanding past manufactures Giuseppe Montana, Anna Maria Polito, Evanthia Tsantini
253
Use of Space in the Early Bronze Age on the Basis of Artefact Distribution: the Village of Coste Di Santa Febronia Roberta Mentesana
259
Archaeology and Sciences
265
Gis, Geographical Models and Archaeology: a Case Study for Late Prehistory Populations (5500-550 Bc) on the Ripoll River (Catalonia, Spain) Maria Yubero Gómez
265
Technical and Typological Approaches to Bronze Age Worked Bone from Central Iberia. The Settlement of Motilla del Azuer Manuel Altamirano García
273
Birch Resin Not Only As Climate Marker. Integration Between Chemical And Paleobotanical Analysis In Sicilian Prehistory 285 Roberta Mentesana, Giuseppe De Benedetto, Girolamo Fiorentino
Part II – History and Archaeology of the Classical World I
291
Archaeology Greece and the Mediterranean
293
Seeing the Attic Vase: Mediterranean Shapes from 635 to 300 B.C. – The Beazley Data Filippo Giudice, Rossano Scicolone, Sebastiano Luca Tata
293
The Walled Towns of Thesprotia: from the Hellenistic Foundation to the Roman Destruction Marco Moderato
313
Ionian Sanctuaries and the Mediterranean World in the 7th Century B.C. Kenan Eren
321
ii
Stoa–bouleuterion? Some Observations on the Agora of Mantinea Oriana Silia Cannistraci
Archaeology The East
329 335
Two Fragmentary Sarcophagi from Aphrodisias in Caria: Imported Sculptors in the City of Sculpture? Esen Ogus
335
Hellenistic and Roman Pottery of Zengibar Kalesi (Isaura Nova?): from the South Necropolis Survey Zafer Korkmaz, Osman Doğanay
349
Some Archaeological Material from Seydişehir Asuman Baldiran
361
Archaeological Survey in Aksaray (Cappadocia): a Preliminary Report Mehmet Tekocak
379
Ancient Monuments between Research and Development: the Theatre of Kyme (Turkey) Stefania Mancuso
391
The Agora Basilica, Smyrna Burak Yolaçan
399
Archaeological Excavations at Istanbul’s Lake Kucukcekmece–2010 Hakan Oniz, Sengul Aydingun, Emre Guldogan
407
Excavations in Ancient Smyrna Akin Ersoy, Gülten Çelik
411
The Cult of Zeus in Lykaonia Asuman Baldiran
417
‘Hierapolis of Phrygia’: a Roman imperial pottery deposit (US 274) found in the Northern Necropoli (Atlante di Hierapolis, foglio 18) Dario Sergio Corritore
421
Kyme of Aeolis. Excavations in the Necropolis (2007-2008): Preliminary Data Fabrizio Sudano
431
A Grave Dated to the Late- and Sub-Geometric Period at Mengefe Makbule Ekici
435
Archaeology The West and Africa
439
Beyond Aleria. Local Processes and Tyrrhenian Connections in the Early Corsican Iron Age (8Th–5Th Centuries Bc) Marine Lechenault Genesis and Development of the First Complex Societies in the Northeastern Iberian Peninsula During the First Iron Age (7th-6th Centuries BC). The Sant Jaume Complex (Alcanar, Catalonia) David Garcia i Rubert, Isabel Moreno Martínez, Francisco Gracia Alonso, Laia Font Valentín, Marta Mateu Sagué
439
445
Phoenicians in the Azores, Myth or Reality? Nuno Ribeiro, Anabela Joaquinito, Sérgio Pereira
453
The Roman uilla of Sa Mesquida: A rural settlement on the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) Catalina Mas Florit, Bartomeu Vallori Márquez, Patricia Murrieta Flore, María José Rivas Antequera, Miguel Ángel Cau Ontivero
461
Lamps From the Anonymous Temple of the Main Decumanus at Leptis Magna Veronica Riso
467
New Data on the Roman Wall Paintings of Leptis Magna. A Preliminary Report Giuseppe Cinquemani
475
The Coin Hoard from Misurata: the Container Francesca Trapani
483
Archaeology Sicily and Italy
495
Francavilla Marittima: a Contextual Analysis of Male Burials in the Necropolis of Macchiabate (9Th-6Th Century BC) Claudia Speciale
495
The Fortified Settlement at Mura Pregne: an Indigenous Site Close to the Greek chora of Himera Calogero Maria Bongiorno
507
Licodia Eubea-Style: Some Remark Marco Camera
511
iii
Recent Discoveries at the Sanctuary of the Divine Palikoi Laura Maniscalco, Brian E. McConnell
517
Rock Architecture and Some Colonial and Indigenous Centres: the Case of Leontinoi and Montagna Di Ramacca (Ct) Maria Nicotra, Giuseppina Gisella Lidia Verde
523
The Necropoleis of Gela: Updated Researches and Topographical Observation Marina Congiu
529
A Sanctuary of Apollo (Re)discovered in Sicily? Archaeological Evidence, Topography and Historical Source Francesca Buscemi
535
Elite and Society in a Settlement in the Sicilian Hinterland: a New Interpretation of Some Funerary Assemblages from the Monte Castellazzo Necropolis Near Marianopoli Rosalba Panvini A Female Clay Bust from the ‘Artemis Well’ in Syracuse Mario Cottonaro
543 557
Material Culture as an Indicator of Adoption and Resistance in the Cross-Craft and Cultural Interactions Among Greek and Indigenous Communities in Southern Italy: Loom Weights and Cooking Ware in Pre-Roman Lucania Alessandro Quercia, Lin Foxhall Archaeological Analysis of Roman Naval Warfare in Iberia During the Second Punic War Eduard Ble Gimeno Sailing Towards the West: Trade and Traders on the Routes Between the Iberian Peninsula and Campania Between the 2nd Century BC and the 1st Century AD Michele Stefanile
563 575
585
Roman Period Theatres in Sicily: a Structuralist Approach Zeynep Aktüre
593
A Fish-Processing Plant in Milazzo (ME) During the 1st Imperial Age Annunziata Ollà
603
Some Observations On The Road Network Through The Peloritani Region, North-Eastern Sicily Anna Lisa Palazzo
609
Volume II Part III – History and Archaeology of the Classical World II
615
Iconography and Artistic Production
617
The ‘Mosaic of the Sages’ from Lyrbe / Seleukeia Nazlı Yildirim
617
Some Remarks on the Iconography of Hermes Kriophoros in Magna Graecia and Sicily in the 5th Century BC Ambra Pace
627
The Origins of the lorica segmentata Marco Conti
633
Handmade Terracotta Figurines: Subjects Of Daily Life Vanessa Chillemi
639
Hellenistic Plastic Vases in Sicily: Some Reflection Alessandra Granata
651
Between Myth and History: Mediterranean Funerary Monuments in the 4th Century BC Alessandro Poggio
657
Archaeology of Gesture and Relics: Early Signs of the Sacred In Veii Laura Maria Russo
661
History
677
The Dionysus Cult in Antioch İnanç Yamaç
677
Economy and Institutions in Ancient Greek Proverbs. A Contribution on Trade and Taxation Carmela Raccuia
685
Attic Weights and the Economy of Athen Mario Trabucco
691
iv
Sitodosia, euerghesia and emporia: Some Examples from Sicily Elena Santagati
695
Greeks and Sikels in the Hyblaean Area: an Historical Interpretation of the Epigraphic Evidence in the Chalcidian Hinterland Nella Sudano
699
Reconstructing Aspects of pre-Roman History, Political Organization, Religion and Trading Contacts of Greek Colonies of ‘Thracia Pontica’: the Case of Histria and Kallati Maria Girtzi
709
The Role of Professional Associations in the Romanization Process of the Western Provinces. A Study Proposal Ilenia Gradante
717
The Eastern Mediterranean in the Greek Anthroponymy of Roman Hispania: the Case of Aegyptu Pedro Marques
723
In the Land West of the Euphrates: the Parthians in the Roman Empire Leonardo Gregoratti
731
The Ecclesia Dei in Early Christian Inscriptions: Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons in Sicily Giuseppe Falzone
737
The Two Agorai of the Piraeus: Literary, Epigraphic and Archaeological Source Valentina Consoli
749
From Earthquake to Archaeological Rediscovery: Two Unpublished Epigraphs from the Aquila Province Carla Ciccozzi, Alessandra Granata, Walter Grossi
757
Numismatic
763
Water Fauna and Sicilian Coins from the Greek Period Mariangela Puglisi
763
Coinage and Indigenous Populations in Central Sicily Lavinia Sole
779
Greek and Hellenistic Coins in the Central Adriatic Apennines Between the 5th and 2nd Centuries BC Maria Cristina Mancini
789
Coins in Messapia: Research and New Perspective Valeria G. Camilleri, Paola d’Angela, Valeria R. Maci, Stefania Montanaro, Lorenzo Rinaudo, Giuseppe Sarcinelli, Aldo Siciliano, Adriana Travaglini
793
The ‘Six Emperors’ Coin Hoard’ from the Bay of Camarina Giovanni Di Stefano, Giuseppe Guzzetta, Viviana Lo Monaco, Maria Agata Vicari Sottosanti
805
Archaeology and Sciences
809
Trapeza: A Computer Approach to the Study of Domestic Pottery in Greek Sicily Alessandra Cilio
809
Punic Amphorae from Entella (Sicily): Archaeometric Characterisation of This Possible Consumption Centre Giuseppe Montana, Anna Maria Polito, Mariella Quartararo
815
Physical And Chemical Causes of Deterioration in Excavated Gla Ceren Baykan
825
Some Archaeological and Archeometric Observations on Two Amphorae from the Venice Lagoon Iwona Modrzewska, Giancarlo Taroni, Franco Pianetti
837
Part IV – Byzantine and Medieval Archaeology and History, Museography, Historiography
847
Byzantine and Medieval Anatolia
849
Byzantine Bronze Coins Found in Anatolia and Their Circulation Zeliha Demirel Gökalp
849
An Early Byzantine Graveyard Area in Ankara Ayse Fatma Erol
857
Stoneworks with Animal Motifs Along the Mediterranean Coast of Anatolia During the Byzantine Period Ferda Önengüt, Pinar Serdar
865
The Usage of the Golden Ratio in East Mediterranean Early Byzantine Churche Sener Yildirim
871
The Contribution of Women in the Construction and Decoration of Churches in the Holy Land Lihi Habas
881
v
The Beçin–Yelli Madrasah Kadir Pektaş
895
Taş (Stone) Madrasah – The Akşehir Archaeological Museum Melda Arca Yalçın
901
Some Medieval Glazed Wares Uncovered from the Archaeological Excavations at Alanya Castle, Southern Turkey Sema Bilici
911
The 18th-Century Saliha Sultan Tomb Bilge Karaöz
915
Mediterranean Ships in the Russian Medieval Written and Graphic Tradition Petr Sorokin
919
Some Seljukid Tiles Uncovered from the Archaeologıcal Excavatıons at Alâıyye Castle, Southern Turkey Leyla Yılmaz
925
Italy, Sicily and the Mediterranean
929
Urban Topography in the Adriatic Italic Area: the Cult of S. Lorenzo in the Middle Age Carmen Soria
929
Late Medieval Pilgrim Ampullae from Southern Apulia. An Indicator of Long-Distance Pilgrimage or Local Shrines? Marco Leo Imperiale
937
Typological Analysis of a Cooking Ware Vessel for the Dating of Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeological Contexts in Salento Patricia Caprino
941
The Serapieion and the Church of St. Pancratius in Taormina. The Building from Antiquity to the Middle Age Leonardo Fuduli
945
Importation and Trade of African Pottery in the Ancient Ecclesia Carinensis During the Late Roman Age Emma Vitale
959
Production and Circulation of Palermitan Amphorae in the Medieval Mediterranean Fabiola Ardizzone
963
Agrigento between Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Dynamics of Transformation in the Area of the Early Christian Cemetery from the 3rd to the 11th Centuries A.D. Giuseppina Cipriano
975
Vandals in the Mediterranean: a Problematical Presence Vincenzo Aiello
987
Vandals in the Mediterranean: Sicily and its Role Elena Caliri
991
Vandals in the Mediterranean: the Monetary System Daniele Castrizio
997
The Settlement in the District of Grammena-Valcorrente Near Belpasso (Ct) between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages Elisa Bonacini, Maria Turco, Lucia Arcifa
1001
Qui eadem aqua utuntur. A Late Antique and Early Byzantine Village in Rural Calamonaci (Agrigento, Sicily) Maria Concetta Parello, Annalisa Amico
1011
The Dump of Burgio: the Kiln Wastes of the First Pottery Workshops (16th-17th Centuries A.D.) in the Garella District Maria Concetta Parello
1019
Interdisciplinary Study of a Rupestrian Site Differently Utilized from 5Th-6th to 14th Centuries (South-East Sicily) Noemi Billeci, Lorella Pellegrino, Giacomo Caruso, Francesco Paolo Mancuso, Franco Palla
1025
Marble Production and Marble Trade Along the Mediterranean Coast in the Early Byzantine Period (5th-6th centuries AD): the Data from Quarries, Shipwrecks and Monument Elena Flavia Castagnino Berlinghieri, Andrea Paribeni Medieval Byzantine Shipwrecks in the Eastern Adriatic Vesna Zmaić
1033 1043
Museums, Historiography, Enhancement
1051
The Archaeological Museum of Thassos: the New Permanent Exhibition Dimitria Malamidou, Zisis Bonias, Konstantinos Galanaki
1051
Ancient Sardinia on the Move Barbara Costa
1063
vi
From the Universal Museum to the Public Museum: the Role of Archaeological Finds in Palermo Between the 18th and 19th Century Rosanna Equizzi
1075
The Legend of Mount Nemrud: Commagene Kingdom 3D Reconstruction of the Archaeological Remains of the Holy Sanctuary on Mount Nemrud Ahmet Denker, Hakan Oni ̇z
1081
Some Examples of Traditional Housing from the Village of Eskikizilelma and the Aktopraklik Höyük Excavations, Bursa Abdullah Deveci
vii
1089
viii
Preface Every conference is a special occasion for the scholarly world. Even these days, when Internet discussion groups and academic social networks seem to break all geographical barriers, face-to-face encounters among scholars is still a privileged locus for the improvement of research. Among the very many conferences and meetings, the Symposia on Mediterranean Archaeology stand out insofar as they is especially dedicated to younger researchers. In this way, colleagues from many regions of Europe, Northern Africa and the Near East can meet and present the results of their work in an arena of discussions amongst people of different scholarly traditions, even within a common ‘Mediterranean’ context. It is an especially important occasion for those who for various reasons, may not belong to a wellestablished academic system. A meeting, however, is also an opportunity for the host institution to receive a wave of fresh ideas and new perspectives. Thus the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Catania was very pleased to accept the proposal by Hakan Oniz, as general secretary of the General Association of Mediterranean Archaeology, to host the 15th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology in the Monastero dei Benedettini in Catania, from 3-5 March, 2011. The theme of the meeting found an immediate echo in the tradition of studies and research at this university and in this city. The interest in the study of the Mediterranean past, with special reference to antiquity in both its material and immaterial aspects, archaeology and history, has always played an important role – not only from a purely academic and scientific point of view, but also in shaping the social and collective identity. Even if the University of Catania, founded in 1445, was not among the earliest universities with a focus on ‘archaeology’, this tradition nevertheless had already begun as early as 1899, when Paolo Orsi, the pioneer of Sicilian archaeology, was appointed contract professor here. Since then, the contribution of this university to the archaeology of Sicily and to the wider Mediterranean context has been an important part of its identity: Guido Libertini, professor, dean and rector in Catania, was also a director of the Italian School in Athens in 1939-1940; after him, and after Paolo Enrico Arias, Giovanni Rizza started a tradition of research and excavations abroad by funding in 1969 the Mission of Prinias, in Crete. Since then archaeological missions have been established by the University of Catania at Haghia Triada and Phaistos (Crete), Kyme in Turkey, Nea Paphos on Cyprus, and Leptis Magna in Lybia. New projects include Chellah in Marocco. Giovanni Rizza died in February 2011 and it is appropriate here to recall his outstanding contribution to the archaeology of Sicily and Crete. There were, therefore, many reasons for the University of Catania to accept the proposal to host the SOMA 15. The response to the call for papers far outnumbered the expected volume of participants: almost 226 speakers and posters from around 280 authors and co-authors. The importance of the event gave rise to the opening of two exhibitions linked to the topic: one dedicated to the 2nd phase of the international workshop, ‘Archaeology’s place and contemporary uses’, organized by IUAV, Venice, and the other exhibition dedicated to Turkish archaeology, organized by the Scuola di Specializzazione and by the Museo Regionale P. Orsi of Syracuse. Both demanded enormous organizational efforts, that were managed successfully thanks to the help of many persons whom we would like to thank here: the Dean of the Faculty, Enrico Iachello, who gave permission for the use of rooms and facilities of the monastery, the Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche and its Director, Carmelo Crimi, the Scuola di Specializzazione in Archeologia and its Director, Massimo Frasca, all the members of the scientific and organizing committees and all our colleagues and collaborators who helped us during the preparation of this meeting and during its realization, and especially (in alphabetical order): Francesca Buscemi, Marco Camera, Alessandra Cilio, Mrs. Alberto D’Agata, Marianna Figuera, Agata Licciardello and Rossana Palillo. Melik Ayaz, Zulkuf Yilmaz, Ahmet Adil Tirpan, Asuman Baldiran, Sengul Aydingun, Ertekin Mustafa Doksanalti, Lihi Habas, Ehud Galili, Ceyda Oztosun, and Cigdem Tulekci. More than 150 papers were submitted for publication, with a total of around 1100 pages. It was not possible to publish them all, and in one single volume. It was decided, according to the original principal subdivision of the conference sessions, to sub-divide the presentations into thematic groups. One is dedicated to the ‘Prehistory and Proto-history of Europe and Anatolia’, including the Early civilizations of the Mediterranean and the Near East. The number of contributions to ‘History and Archaeology of the classical world’ obliged us to divide them into two further sections, the first devoted to ‘Archaeology’, and the second to ‘Iconography, History, Numismatic, Archaeology and Sciences”. Another section is devoted to ‘Byzantine and Medieval Archaeology and History, Museography’, and this includes papers devoted to the post-classical periods up to Ottoman archaeology and the history of research and museography. A broad geographical subdivision has been adopted; it was a purely formal choice that revealed itself, however, more efficient than other possible solutions, such as a thematic or chronological subdivision. We understand that the broad distinction among pre- and post-classical archaeology is biased, but it is in some way justified by the simple fact that the classical period constituted the first unifying moment of the Mediterranean, independent of the existence of a world system already in the Bronze Age. If there are some inconsistencies, this was due to special requests, or lack of space or time. Broad chronological and geographical sections try to give an order to the variety of contributions spanning from archaeology to history, from the Neolithic to the modern period, from very detailed analysis of single monuments or artifacts to wide-ranging outlines of historical periods. It was not possible to single out emerging lines of research. For purely contingent reasons, contributions on Sicily and Turkey outnumber those of the other countries, and the East is better represented than the West. If a shared aspect can be detected in the majority of the papers, it is the attention paid to special features of material culture for the interpretation of larger problems, especially interaction; but generally speaking, it is not possible to formulate a ‘conclusion’ as such. On the other hand, this is perhaps also the major legacy of this conference, the richness and variety of approaches and interests, providing an insight into the developments of Mediterranean Archaeology in the 2011. Hakan Oniz Pietro Militello
ix
Part I Prehistory and Protohistory of Europe and Anatolia
General Topics Exchanges Between Paleolithic Hunter-gatherer Groups Neyir Kolankaya-Bostancı
Archaeology Department, Faculty of Letters, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
deriving his livelihood or sustenance entirely form trade and this situation is often the product of more advanced societies but during at least the Paleolithic Age the system was completely different.
Exchange played an important role during the prehistoric periods as a universal human activity. One of the basic functions of this system is to promote contact between communities and interchange of ideas through personal contact. The oldest exchange system appeared during the Lower Paleolithic (2 million-150,000 BP). Although the new innovations and shifts in human social structure first appeared within the Middle Paleolithic (150.000-45,000 BP), cultural and technological shifts depending on the rapid population increase seen in the Upper Paleolithic (45,000-30,000 BP). One of these shifts can be seen in the long distance exchanges of raw materials, marine shells and the precious items such as certain tool types and beads which reached the order of several hundred kilometers. The patterns of raw material transport and exploitation at the Upper Paleolithic settlements point to the increased use of non local raw materials. This shift was accompanied by increased group mobility and the exchange networks that have been documented throughout much of Europe for this period.
Exchange is defined as a particular interactional process between the human beings throughout history. As Baugh and Ericson7 stated exchange is not an economic transaction but a series of transactions involving social relationships that form the central component of action. From an archaeological perspective, these social ties can be measured in terms of the diversity of items being traded through time and space.8 Eriksen9 stated that some of the exchange items could have been obtained through embedded procurement, in the course of largely subsistence-oriented movements, or even by direct procurement. However, majority of such items were obtained indirectly. This would suggest procurement by some process not related to regular subsistence moves, either special trips for such procurement or exchange with other groups. In other cases, the materials in question appear to be totally absent in sites within a substantial radius of their source. This would imply procurement either by groups coming to the source from distant territories or by local groups exclusively for exchange with other groups removed from the source area.10
Introduction Exchange has had a long history within archaeological thought and played an important role in the prehistoric periods. This paper focuses on the social and economic background of early exchange relationships between the widely dispersed Paleolithic hunter-gatherer groups and the role of exchange for understanding the characteristic structure of this period.
The movement of raw materials for the manufacture of utilitarian items or the items themselves may be referred to three processes: embedded procurement, direct procurement or exchange.11 Exchange has been done most frequently in the context of gift giving between the hunter-gatherer groups; along with individuals or with groups of people by migration, colonization or foraging.12
Before starting it is better to explain the difference between the concepts of ‘trade’ and ‘exchange’ which are basically related with each other. Archaeologists commonly use these terms to explain the presence of non local raw materials or artifacts on archaeological sites.1 In the archaeological record, trade as the material component of exchange is the movement of the goods between hands2 or the procurement of materials from a distance, by whatever mechanism.3 The movement does not need to be over great distances and may operate within social and spatial units or between them, across cultural boundaries.4
Marcel Mauss13 was the first fully to stress that many exchanges of goods take the form of gifts and that such gifts have far more than a purely economic significance. This kind of exchange in hunter-gatherer groups is primarily and act of reinforcing a social relationship and material exchange is an important aspect of the adjustment of the individual’s relationship with others in his social environment and in the adjustment of the band’s or tribe’s relationships with its neighbors.14 Likewise Paleolithic Age, The!Kung San hunter-gatherers of southern Africa have a system of inter-group gift exchange system based on ornaments such as shell beads This exchange type helps to build a relationship of
Some scholars regard prehistoric trade as exchange of goods and favors between elites in a society and limited to luxury items. This means that only socially complex societies had trade that was elite driven and controlled.5 Similarly, Renfrew6 stated that, professional trade was probably absent from the most prehistoric communities. According to trade system the full time trader
7 8
1
Tykot 2003: 59-60. 2 Polanyi 1957: 266; Renfrew 1969: 152; Oka and Kusimba 2008: 340. 3 Renfrew 1977: 72. 4 Renfrew 1984: 86. 5 Oka and Kusimba 2008: 341. 6 Renfrew 1969.
9 10 11 12 13 14
3
Baugh and Ericson 1992: 4. Tykot 2003: 60. Eriksen 2002: 45. Whallon 2006: 260. Eriksen 2002: 45. Tykot 2003: 61; Whallon 2006: 261. Marcel Mauss 1954. Renfrew 1984: 87.
SOMA 2011 trust and cooperation among different bands, producing further exchanges of material goods.15
awareness and group identity, new social structure, increased social diversification and formation of long-distance alliances.
Cultural Changes and Innovations in the Upper Paleolithic Period
Paleolithic Age Exchange System Most of the scholars agree that exchange reflects a change in behavior.32 According to Bar-Yosef,33 the environmental conditions and cultural processes during the Upper Pleistocene led to a population increase and hence, further competition between social groups. This would be resulted in developing complex social systems. Wide-ranging alliance system during the Paleolithic Age is perhaps seen in some of the extensive exchange networks which can be documented in many areas of Upper Paleolithic of Europe. Upper Paleolithic revolution is a process that began in a core area and expanded by migration over long distances and the transmissions of raw materials and objects between 45,000-30,000 BP.34
Archaeological evidence suggests that widespread network to transfer of raw materials and information has been pronounced since the Upper Paleolithic.16 In order to understand the nature of the Paleolithic exchange system, we need to understand the structure of this period. Several scholars17 view the new innovations and shifts in social structure as appearing first within the late Middle Paleolithic. These changes during that period foretold the Upper Paleolithic.18 An accumulation of material and behavioral traits finally leading to the formation of upper Paleolithic social and cultural constructs in most of the regions in Europe and Near East. The innovations during this period are listed below.
All scholars agree that language plays a major role and the emergence of language is seen as determinant factor in the cultural evolution.35 Communication facilitated everything from transfer of raw materials, technologies and certain objects to long distance exchange; also helps to organize the rituals.36
• New and improved lithic technology as the manufacture of more sophisticated, more highly standardized and more variable tool types.19 Also the use of organic materials such as bone and antler for the creation of certain tools.20 • A radical increase in the degree of geographic and temporal variation in artifact types.21 • Human linguistic and symbolic capabilities have arisen during this period.22 • The initial manufacture of daily or ritual tools and objects from bone, antler, ivory and marine shell.23 • The appearance of items of personal adornment as the systematic use of personal ornaments, mostly as beads and pendants.24 • The oldest secure evidence for ritual and ceremony as reflected in both art and burials.25 • The appearance of representational art and music.26 Human and animal figurines, decorated and carved bone, antler, ivory and stone objects, and representational abstract and realistic images began to appear in caves and rock shelters.27 • Specific storage economies occurred in Europe and linked to complex hunter- gatherer adaptations that include residential stability, increasing population inequality and social hierarchy.28 • The earliest evidence for long distance transport of raw materials and prestige items.29 They consistently differ from the much shorter ranges of raw material procurement during the Middle Paleolithic.30
There were three modes of acquisition during the Paleolithic period; direct modes of procurement are incidental to subsistence mobility, and indirect acquisition is attributed to exchange with neighboring social groups.37 With regard to the earliest archaeologically known subsistence activities of Paleolithic man has stressed the ‘home base’.38 Whereas this home base is conceived of as a focus in space such that individuals can move independently over the surrounding terrain and yet join up again.39 One of the oldest exchange materials during Paleolithic age is the transfer of the raw materials that can be sourced to a specific location.40 The presence of raw materials from distant sources on Paleolithic sites has been evaluated as evidence of varying degrees of exchange between social groups.41 According to D’Errico and his colleagues42 long distance exchange of raw materials represent robust evidence of symbolic cultures and linguistically transmitted traditions. Ethnographic data summarized by Feblot-Augustins and Perlés43 indicate that although movement around 100 km might be within the range of deliberate forays by mobile foraging groups, transports of raw material over more than 300 km result from exchange between groups. Studies of the movement of huntergatherer people and the spatial extents of their alliance networks also indicate exchange networks when distances around 150-300 km are involved. These very long-distance transfers suggest the presence of open networks where the importance of objects is transformed from the functional to the social and ritual realms as they circulated through the networks.44
All these features, as pointed out by Bar-Yosef,31 are seen as evidence for rapid technological changes, emergence of self15
Wiessner 1982. Gamble 1982; 1983; 1986; Whallon 1989. 17 Straus 1996; Bar-Yosef 2002: 376. 18 Bar-Yosef 2002: 365. 19 Knect, Pike-Tay and White 1993: 1752; Bar-Yosef 2002: 366. 20 Mellars 2005. 21 Knect, Pike-Tay and White 1993: 1752. 22 Mellars 1989. 23 Mellars 1989; Knect, Pike-Tay and White 1993: 1752; Bar-Yosef 2002: 366. 24 Bar-Yosef 2002: 367; Mellars 2005. 25 Knect, Pike-Tay and White 1993: 1752. 26 Mellars 2005. 27 Bar-Yosef 2002: 367. 28 Soffer 1989. 29 Knect, Pike-Tay and White 1993: 1752; Bar-Yosef 2002: 367; Mellars 2005. 30 Bar-Yosef 2002: 367. 31 Bar-Yosef 2002: 369. 16
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Homans 1958; Renfrew 1984. Bar-Yosef 2002: 379. 34 Bar-Yosef 2002: 371-2. 35 Wynn 1991; Trask et al. 1998; Bar-Yosef 2002: 376; D’Errico et al. 2003; Marvick 2003. 36 Bar-Yosef 2002: 376; D’Errico, Henshilwood, et al. 2003: 26. 37 Blades 1999: 96. 38 Isaac 1978. 39 Isaac 1978: 92. 40 Marvick 2003: 67. 41 Blades 1999: 96. 42 D’Errico, Henshilwood, et al. 2003: 8. 43 Feblot-Augustins and Perlés 1992. 44 Marvick 2003: 73, 75. 33
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Neyir Kolankaya-Bostancı: Exchanges Between Paleolithic Hunter-gatherer Groups The absence of transportation equipments like wheel, boat or the burden animals implies that Paleolithic man had to walk and carry his materials on his back. During the time span between 1,000,000-2,000,000 BP hominids were carrying things such as raw materials around and food from supplies to certain places.45 The oldest examples of raw material transfers appeared about 1.9 million years ago in East Africa. During the period between 1.9-1.6 million years ago there are data on 26 examples of raw material transfers from Olduvai Gorge and Koobi Fora. Most of these transfers were over a distance of 3 km or less, with a small number of transfers at greater distances to a maximum of 13 km. Over % 95 of artifacts are made on stone collected from a distance of 3 km or less. This situation shows that Homo habilis had the cognitive capacity to acquire raw material over a distance of 13 km On the other hand the first evidence of raw material transport beyond the 100-120 km barrier occurs in Africa during the Middle Stone Age (250,000-40,000 BP)46 and over distances greater than 140 km occur in central Europe during the Late Middle Paleolithic (100,000-45,000 BP) and Early Upper Paleolithic (45,000-30,000 BP).
One of these prestige goods is personal ornaments. The beads which were made from variety of materials have served as prestige goods for adornment, exchange media, expressions of individual and group identity, markers of age, class, gender, wealth or social status.56 Occasionally, they also have symbolic importance as ritual or ceremonially symbolic items.57 Prized for the shapes, colours and shininess of their natural forms their value increases with distance from the coast58 and because these items are quite small they can easily be transported larger distances by exchange in the form of gift giving and often characterizes individuals belonging to a dominant social group.59 Systematic use of ornaments as beads and pendants made from marine shells, teeth, ivory and ostrich egg shells are recorded from both Europe and the Levant.60 Among these materials marine shell is a raw material within an extensive worldwide distribution, although its sources are limited to seas.61 The emergence of shell beads between 100,000 and 70,000 BP suggests that social marking was becoming increasingly important with a rise in intergroup interactions.62 The shell beads are often found quite distant from their origin, suggesting the existence of long distance exchange systems63 and the interregional or long distance communication, as opposed to the procurement of non local but regionally available lithic or other ornamental raw materials.64
The existence of expanded exchange network is further bolstered by the presence of tools made from non local raw materials in the Still Bay and Howiesons Poort tool industries dated around 70,000-60,000 BP.47 The Howiesons Port tool industries of southern Africa include fine-grained, non local microlithic artifacts. Using ecological models of hunter-gatherer social and territorial organization and comparable tool changes, Ambrose and Lorenz48 concluded that the Howiesons Poort most likely represents a transformation in resource procurement strategies and social organization. In other words, under the stress of resource scarcity, local hunter-gatherer groups expanded their ranges and engaged in greater inter-group resource exchange networks, including the exchange of lithic raw materials and artifacts.
For the Upper Paleolithic generally, such items most frequently were transported over 200 km from their sources, with the most common distance being some 200-300 km, a number occurring in the range of 300-800 km.65 In western, central and eastern Europe, for example, there is evidence that several species of marine shells were exchanged over vast area-for example between the Mediterranean cost and the Périgord region (a distance of c. 250 km), the Black Sea coast and the Don valley (c. 500 km) or between Atlantic and Switzerland and southern Germany.66 At Mezin, one of the complex cold weather base camps, six pits were clumped near a dwelling. This dwelling contained an abundance of portable art and exotic jewellery including marine shells originating some 800 km south of the site. According to these finds, this dwelling was belonging to a higher status family.67
Long-distance exchange networks in lithics, raw materials and marine shells during the Upper Paleolithic reach the order of several hundred km.49 The largest distances during this period are usually between 80 and 150 km with an absolute maximum of 300 km.50 Transfers of raw materials over 100-120 km suggest indirect procurement, which means it is unlikely to have been procured during the seasonal movements of a group.51
According to Vanhaeren and D’Errico,68 on the basis of the ethnographic evidence, the homogeneity and lack of regional differentiation of the beads indicate that they may have been used as gift exchange materials between the Paleolithic bands.
Apart from the raw materials transfers certain non-utilitarian materials were probably obtained via some form of indirect social exchange.52 Most prestige items which are often made of non-local materials with special technologies are kept for use and display at periodic important events, while some may be used on a daily basis or are exchanged for other prestige objects during the Paleolithic age.53 Trubitt54 and Hirth55 stated that when utilitarian goods are exchanged locally or may be between different regions, prestige goods or the materials used to make them tend to be exchanged over long distances and between networks of elites because of their high value. 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55
Amber as another important exchange material was used for production of ornaments in Eastern Europe and parts of Central Europe. Although amber was used sporadically at other sites in Upper Paleolithic, in Eastern Europe the usage of amber 56
D’Errico, Henshilwood, et al. 2003: 50-51; Trubitt 2003: 244. Whallon 2006: 262. 58 Trubitt 2003: 244. 59 Bar-Yosef 2002: 367; Vanhaeren 2005: 531; Vanhaeren and D’Errico 2005:118; Whallon 2006: 261. 60 Taborin 1993; White 1993, White 1997; Gamble 1999: 319-321; Kuhn, Stiner, et al. 2001; Bar-Yosef 2002: 367. 61 Mellars 1998: 52, 67; Blades 1999: 112; Lewis-Williams 2002: 78; Trubitt 2003: 244. 62 Rossano 2010: 94. 63 Vanhaeren and D’Errico, et al. 2006. 64 Eriksen 2002: 46. 65 Floss 1994: 207. 66 Jochim, Herhahn and Starr 1999: 134. 67 Soffer 1989: 727. 68 Vanhaeren and D’Errico 2005. 57
Isaac 1978: 100. Marvick 2003: 68, 72-73, figure 1. Henshilwood 2007; Ambrose 2010. Ambrose and Lorenz 1990. Gamble 1993; Taborin 1993; Smith 1999; Johnson and Earle 2000. Gamble 1998: 26-7. Marvick 2003: 72-3. Blades 1999: 91. Hayden 1998: 13; Trubitt 2003: 248. Trubitt 2003. Hirth 1992.
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SOMA 2011 percentage reached to 14 %, such as the amber beads found at Mezhirich in Ukraine.69 Also amber was used at Ogonki in Siberia. Amber found in at the site, which was nearly 100 km away when the site was occupied and this is indicative of longdistance exchange of amber during the Upper Paleolithic.70
of this kind can be documented from most stages of the Upper Paleolithic sequence, Gamble argues that these patterns seem to become especially conspicuous over the period of the last glacial maximum which means around 15,000-25,000 BP.80 Assuming basic functional similarity between the certain chipped stone tools such as Solutrean points, different styles among them mark the ranges of regional bands. In short Solutrean point styles might serve to inform us about the existence and scale of band territories, as well as intergroup contacts.81 Also their presence outside their core areas such as France, Spain and Portugal may inform us about prehistoric exchange, contacts, or even band movements.82 This hypothesis could be tested by determining the sources of lithic raw materials used to make these kind of points found outside the 160 x 30 km area of their main concentration.83
One interesting material that appears at Krasnyy Yar in Siberia is ostrich eggshell.71 Seven ostrich eggshell bead blanks were found in a hearth. There is no evidence for the use of ostrich eggshells in Eurasia for ornamental purposes before this site. There is also no evidence for ostrich within the region that Krasnyy Yar is located.72 All known finds have come from TransBaikal. Therefore it is quite possible that the beads were made of imported material. This situation shows that there is an exchange occurring in the use of new materials for ornaments. Another exchange material during this period is the certain items that have been made from teeth, ivory, bone and antler. At both Aven des Iboussiéers73 and St. Germain-la-Riviére,74 a few pairs of teeth were found within each collection. With the examination of the teeth, it appears that the same artist worked on both teeth. At Aven des Iboussiéres, the pairs of teeth were notched with lines. These notches were compared in size, shape and location. As the notches on pairs of teeth are similar in decoration, size, shape and location, it is likely that one tool and one artist prepared, perforated and decorated each pair of teeth.75 According to this data, d’Errico and Vanhaeren76 suggest that these teeth were important exchange items. One artist made a pair of teeth pendants and one of the pair was potentially intended as an exchange item.
The counterpart of the exchange of goods, namely the exchange of information, is no less important. The public meetings, in other words, aggregation sites take place in nearly all cultures.84 The aggregation site is an a priori type of hunter-gatherer site and is considered as a type of hunter-gatherer behavior.85 Such sites during the Magdalenian culture of the Upper Paleolithic period, at which hunter-gatherers congregate at specific times of year, are usually large, although the length of occupation, extent of activities and size of occupation area vary.86 These aggregation sites are generally surrounded by many other small and ordinary sites like magnets that attract other settlements.87 As Conkey88 pointed out, aggregations of sites like Altamira, Lascaux, Trorois Freres, Tuc D’Audobert and Niaux would have served for group activities that reinforced the relationship between groups and territories. According to Boyle89 the advantage of this aggregation sites are both social and economic in nature; mating network and information exchange are maintained and enlarged when and where a large number of people gather. Also they were used as central places for the exchange of information.90
During the prehistoric period ivory was another desired material although it was rare because mammoths were not a locally available resource in the Europe. However, there are ivory artifacts in most of the Paleolithic settlements. Both the rarity of material and the skill needed to work it may have increased the desire for the obtaining. The choice of ivory for the production of pendants may lie in their function, especially due to its highly polished appearance.
Most scholars91 believe that, these sites could have been the loci of a number of functions including economic exchange, the performance of seasonal ceremonies, and the rites of initiation between the people from the different regions during that time. Apart from the ritual and social activities exchanges of precious items and knowledge took place in that caves. Furthermore, Moure92 points out that there are iconographic and stylistic coincidences between these sites and this situation shows the relations between sites, either because the sites were used by the same group or because there was contact and/or exchange between the hunter-gatherers at each site.
This material and the knowledge of techniques of production point out the exchange and interregional relations between the hunter-gatherer bands since Aurignacian.77 For example, in Southern Italy, mammoths were extremely infrequent during the Upper Paleolithic. Certain items made from ivory, such as some Grimaldi figurines, imply an interaction with others through the exchange of material and techniques.78 On the other hand, they may have been reached to Grimaldi as already crafted ivory figurines or the individual artist may have come from a foreign location with knowledge of ivory crafts. This artist may have used imported ivory in order to make the figurines.79
Conclusion and Discussion The population increase during the Paleolithic age led to a competition between social groups. The alliances and increasing
Similar networks can be seen in the distribution of certain, high quality types of flint or other raw materials-for example between Dordogne valley and the Pyrenees. While exchange networks
80
Mellars 1998: 67. Straus 2000: 40. Straus 1991:196; Straus 2000: 40. 83 Straus 2000: 45. 84 Renfrew 1984: 91. 85 Conkey 1980: 609-10. 86 Conkey 1980: 609. 87 Freeman 1994: 49, 55. 88 Conkey 1980. 89 Boyle 1996: 486. 90 Renfrew 1984: 91. 91 Sieveking 1978, 1979; Bahn 1982; Strauss 1991: 197; Moure 1995: 247; Conkey 2000. 92 Moure 1995: 247. 81 82
69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79
Pidoplichko 1998; Jochim 2002. Kuzmin 2008: 197. Medyedev 1998. Medvedev 1998. D’Errico and Vanhaeren 2002. Vanhaeren and D’Errico 2005. D’Errico and Vanhaeren 2002. D’Errico and Vanhaeren 2002. Steguweit 2010: 225. Mussi 2000. Mussi, Cinq-Mars and Bolduc 2000.
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Neyir Kolankaya-Bostancı: Exchanges Between Paleolithic Hunter-gatherer Groups D’errico, F. and Vanhaeren, M., 2002, ‘Criteria for identifying red deer (cervus elaphus) age and sex from their canines. Application to the study of Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic ornaments’ Journal of Archaeological Science 29, pp. 211-32. D’Errico, F., Henshilwood, C., Lawson, G., Vanhaeren, M., Tillier, A.M., Soressi, M., Bresson, F., Maureille, B., Nowell, A., Lakarra, J., Backwell, L. and Julies, M., 2003, ‘Archaeological evidence for the emergence of language symbolism, and music-an alternative multidisciplinary perspective’ Journal of World Prehistor, 17 (1), pp. 1-70. Eriksen, B.V., 2002, ‘Fossil mollusks and exotic raw materials in late glacial and early postglacial find contexts- a complement to lithic studies’ in L.E. Fischer and B.V. Eriksen (eds.) Lithic raw material economy in late glacial and postglacial western Europe, BAR International Series 1093, (Oxford: BAR Publishing), pp. 27-52. Feblot-Augustins, J. and Perlés, C., 1992, ‘Perspectives ethnoarchéologiques sure les Echanges a longue distance’ in Ethnoarchéologie : justification, problémes, limites, XIIe recontres internationals d’Archéologie et d’histoire d’Antibes (Juan-les-Pins : APDCA), pp. 195-209. Floss, H., 1994, Rohmaterialversorgung im palaolithikum des mittelrheingebietes (Bonn: Dr. Rudolf Habelt). Freeman, L.G., 1994, ‘Kaleidoscope or tarnished mirror? Thirty years of Mousterian research in Cantabria’ in J.A. Lasheras (ed.) Homenaje al Dr. Joaquin Gonzalez Echegaray (Madrid : Museu y Centro de Investigacion de Altamira Monografias 17), pp. 37-54. Gamble, C., 1982, ‘Interaction and alliance in Paleolithic Society’ Man 17, pp. 92-107. Gamble, C., 1983, ‘Culture and society in the upper Paleolithic of Europe’ in G.N. Bailey, G.N. (ed.) Hunter-Gatherer economy in prehistory, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) pp. 201-11. Gamble, C., 1986, The Paleolithic settlement of Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) Gamble, C., 1993, ‘Exchange, foraging and local hominid networks’ in C. Scarre and F. Healy (eds.) Trade and exchange in Prehistoric Europe (Oxbow: Oxbow Press) pp. 35-44. Gamble, C., 1998, ‘Paleolithic society and the release from proximity: A network approach to intimate relations’ World Archaeology 29, pp. 429-49. Gamble, C., 1999, The Paleolithic societies of Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) Hayden, B., 1998, ‘Practical and prestige technologies: the evolution of material systems’, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 5, pp. 1-55. Henshilwood, C., F., 2007, ‘Fully symbolic sapiens behaviour: innovation in the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, South Africa’ in P. Mellars, K. Boyle, O. Bar-Yosef and C. Stringer (eds.) Rethinking the human revolution (Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research) pp. 123-32. Hirth, K., 1992, ‘Interregional exchange as elite behavior: an evolutionary perspective’ in D.Z. Chase and A.F. Chase (eds.) Mesoamerican elites: an archaeological assessment (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press) pp. 18-29. Homans, G.C., 1958, ‘Social behavior as exchange’, American Journal of Sociology 63, pp. 597-606. Isaac, G., 1978, ‘Food-sharing and human evolution: archaeological evidence from the Plio-Pleisticene of East Africa’, Journal of Anthropological Research 34, pp. 311-25. Jochim, M., 2002, ‘The Upper Paleolithic’ in S. Milisauskas (ed.) European Prehistory: A survey (New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers) pp. 55-114.
group cohesion through the aggregation places resulted in more sharing and exchanging not only the goods but also the innovations and ideas. The first human exchanges took place in the form of barter and this early kind of trade lasted for several millenniums. The long distance movements of raw materials and the exotic items indicate simply exchange or contacts between the hunter-gatherer groups and reflect how these groups gather and exchange information. Evidence for exchange involving both raw materials and ready made tools for everyday life and prestigious items like ornaments and figurines over large regions is abundant during the Upper Paleolithic. The presence of exotic lithic raw materials in some sites, stylistic variability among tools, distinctive styles on portable art objects inform about territorialism and social networks during Paleolithic. During this period there is a system of inter-group gift exchange system mainly based on prestige items such as beads, portable objects and Solutrean points. Control of the raw materials and distribution systems for exchange materials, mainly the prestige goods, indicates the maintaining hierarchical system in the Upper Paleolithic huntergatherer groups who used the exchange materials in certain areas mostly for making ornaments. The archaeological data thus give an idea that certain members of the Upper Paleolithic groups wore prestige objects of exotic origin which were strengthen social, political and economic relationships between the huntergatherer groups at both local and regional scales. Also this exchange items as prestige objects used to mark these individuals’ membership such as chief or shaman in social groups. This also shows the egalitarian nature of the Paleolithic groups which were emerged during the Upper Paleolithic and further investigations will lead to a clearer understanding of the exchange systems of the Paleolithic hunter-gatherer groups. Bibliography Ambrose, S.H., 2010, ‘Coevolution of composite-tool technology, constructive memory, and language: implications for the evolution of modern human behavior’ Current Anthropology 51, pp. 135-47. Ambrose, S.H. and Lorenz, K., 1990, ‘Social and ecological models for the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa’ in P. Mellars (ed.) The emergence of modern humans, an archaeological perspective. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press), pp. 3-33. Bahn, P.G., 1982, ‘Inter-site and inter-regional links during the Upper Paleolithic: the Pyrenean evidence’ Oxford Journal of Archaeology 1, pp. 247-68. Bar-Yosef, O., 2002, ‘The Upper Paleolithic revolution’ Annual Review of Anthropolog, 31, pp. 363-93. Baugh, T.G. and Ericson, J.E., 1992, ‘Trade and exchange in a historical perspective’ in J. Ericson and T. Baugh (eds.), The American southwest and Mesoamerica systems of prehistoric exchange (New York: Plenium Press), pp. 3-20. Blades, B.S., 1999, ‘Aurignacian lithic economy and early modern human mobility: new perspectives from classic sites in the Vézére valley of France’ Journal of Human Evolution 37, pp. 91-120. Boyle, K.V., 1996, ‘From Laugerie Basse to Jolivet: the organization of final Magdalenian settlement in the Vezere Valley’ World Archaeology 27/3, pp. 477-91. Conkey, M., 2000, ‘A Spanish resistance? social archaeology and the study of Paleolithic art in Spain’ Journal of Anthropological Research 56, pp. 77-93.
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SOMA 2011 Jochim, M., C. Herhahn and H. Starr (1999) The Magdalenian colonization of southern Germany, American Anthropologist, 101, 129-42. Johnson, A.W. and Earle, T., 2000, The evolution of human societies: from foraging group to Agrarian state (Stanford: Stanford University Press). Knecht, H., A. Pike-Tay and R. White eds. (1993) Before Lascaux: the complete record of the early upper Paleolithic, Boca Raton, CRC Press. Kuhn, S.L., Stiner, M.C., Reese, D. and Güleç, E., 2001, ‘Ornaments in the earliest upper Paleolithic: new results from the Levant’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98(13), pp. 7641-6. Kuzmin, Y.V., 2008, ‘Siberia at Last Glacial Maximum: environment and archaeology’, Journal of Archaeological Research, 16, pp. 163-221. Marvick, B., 2003, ‘Pleistocene exchange networks as evidence for the evolution of language’, Cambridge Archaeological Journal 13 (1), pp. 67-81. Mauss, M. ,1954, The gift (London: Cohen). Medyedev, G., 1998, ‘Upper Paleolithic sites in south-central Siberia’ in A. Derevlanko, D.B. Shimkin and W.R. Powers (eds.) The Paleolithic of Siberia: New discoveries and interpretations. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press) pp. 132-37. Mellars, P., 1989, ‘Technological changes at the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition: economic, social and cognitive perspectives’ in P. Mellars and C. Stringer (eds.) The human revolution: behavioral and biological perspectives on the origins of modern humans (Edinburg: Edinburg University Press) pp. 338-65. Mellars, P., 1998, ‘The Upper Paleolithic revolution’ in B. Cunlife (ed.) Prehistoric Europe: An illustraded history (Oxford: Oxford University Press) pp. 42-78. Mellars, P., 2005, ‘The impossible coincidence. A single-species model for the origins of modern human behavior in Europe’, Evolutionary Anthropology 14, pp. 12-27. Moure, A., 1995, ‘Después de Altamira: transformaciones en el hecho artistico al final del pleisticeno’ in A. Moure and C. Gonzalez Sainz (eds.) El final del Paleolitic : transformaciones ambientales y culturales durante el tardiglacial y comienzos del holocene en la region Cantabrica (Santander : Universidad de Cantabria) pp. 225-58. Mussi, M., 2000, ‘Heading south: The Gravettian colonization of Italy’ in W. Roebroeks, M. Mussi and J. Svoboda (eds.) Hunters of the golden age: The mid Upper Paleolithic of Eurasia 30,000-20,000 BP (Leiden: University of Leiden) pp. 355-74. Mussi, M., Cinq-Mars, J. and Bolduc, P. 2000, ‘Echoes from the mamoth steppe: The case of the Balzi Rossi’ in W. Roebroeks, M. Mussi and J. Svoboda (eds.) Hunters of the golden age: The mid Upper Paleolithic of Eurasia 30,000-20,000 BP. (Leiden: University of Leiden) pp. 105-24. Oka, R. and Kusimba, C.M., 2008, ‘The archaeology of trading systems, part 1: towards a new trade synthesis’, Journal of Archaeological Restoration 16, pp. 339-95. Pidoplichko, K.M., 1998, Upper Paleolithic dwellings of mammoth bones in the Ukraine. BAR International Series 712 (Oxford). Polanyi, K., 1957, ‘The economy as instituted Process’ in K. Polanyi, C.M. Srensberg and H.W. Pearson (eds.) Trade and Market in the Early Empires (New York: Free Press) Renfrew, C., 1969, ‘Trade and culture process in European prehistory’, Current Anthopology 10, pp. 151-69.
Renfrew, C., 1977, ‘Alternative models for exchange and spatial distribution’ in T.E. Earle and J.E. Ericson (eds.) Exchange systems in prehistory (New York: Academic Press) pp. 71-90. Renfrew, C. 1984, Approaches to social archaeology (Cambridge: Harvard University Press). Rossano, M.J., 2010, ‘Making friends, making tools and making symbols’, Current Anthropology 51, pp. 89-98. Sieveking, A., 1978, ‘La significacion de las distribuciones en el arte Paleolitico’, Trabajos de Prehistoria 35, pp. 61-80. Sieveking, A., 1979, The cave artists. (London: Thames and Hudson) Smith, M.L., 1999, ‘The role of ordinary goods in premodern exchange’, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 6(2), pp. 109-35. Soffer, O., 1989, ‘Storage, sedentism and the Eurasian Paleolithic record’, Antiquity 63, pp. 719-32. Steguweit, L., 2010, ‘New insights into the inventory of Alberndorf (Lower Austria) and some remarks on the “Epi-Aurignacian” controversy’ in C. Neugebauer-Maresch and L.R. Owen (eds.) New aspects of the central and eastern European upper Palaeolithic-methods, chronology, technology and subsistence (Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften) pp. 221-9. Straus, L.G., 1991, ‘SW Europe at the last glacial maximum’, Current Anthropology 32, pp. 189-99. Straus, L.G., 1996, ‘Continuity or rupture; convergence or invasion; adaptation or catastrophe; mosaic or monolith; views on the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in Iberia’ in E. Carbonell and M. Vaquero (eds.) The last Neanderthals, the first anatomically modern humans (Tarragona: Univesity Rovira I Virgili) pp. 203-18. Straus, L.G., 2000, ‘A quarter century of research on the Solutrean of Vaco-Cantabria, Iberia and beyond’, Journal of Anthropological Research 56(1), pp. 39-58. Taborin, Y., 1993, ‘Shells of the French Aurignacian and Périgordian’ in H. Knecht, Pike-Tay and R. White (eds.) Before Lascaux: the complex record of the Early Upper Paleolithic (Boca Raton: CRC Press) pp. 211-27. Trask, L., Tobias, P.V., Wynn, T., Davidson, I., Noble, W. and Mellars, P., 1998, ‘The origins of speech’, Cambridge Archaeological Journal 8, pp. 69-94. Trubitt, M.B.D., 2003, ‘The production and exchange of marine shell prestige goods’, Journal of Archaeological Research 11, pp. 243-77. Tykot, R.H., 2003, ‘Determining the source of lithic artifacts’ in P.N. Kardulias and R.W. Yerkes (eds.) Written in stone. The multiple dimensions of lithic analysis (London: Lexington Books) pp. 59-85. Vanhaeren, M., 2005, ‘Speaking with beads: The evolutionary significance of personal ornaments’ in F. D’Errico and L. Backwell (eds.) From tool to symbols: from early hominids to modern humans; in honour of Professor Philipp V. Tobias (Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press) pp. 525-53. Vanhaeren, M. and D’Errico, F., 2005, ‘Grave goods from the Saint-Germain-la-Riviére burial: evidence for social inequality in the Upper Paleolithic’ Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 24, pp. 117-34. Vanhaeren M., D’Errico, F., Stringer, C., James, S.L., Todd, J.A. and Mienis, H.K., 2006, ‘Middle Paleolithic shell beads in Israel and Algeria’, Science 312, pp. 1785-8. Whallon, R., 1989, ‘Elements of culture change in the later Paleolithic’ in P.A. Mellars and C. Stringer (eds.) The human revolution: behavioral and biological perspectives on the origins of modern humans (Princeton: Princeton University Press) pp. 366-90.
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Neyir Kolankaya-Bostancı: Exchanges Between Paleolithic Hunter-gatherer Groups Soffer, D. Strattmann and N.G. Jabloski (eds.) Beyond Art: Pleistocene Image and Symbol (San Francisco: University of California Press) pp. 93-122. Wiessner, P., 1982, ‘Reciprocity and social influences on !Kung San economics’ in E. Leacock and R. Lee (eds.) Politics and history in band societies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) pp. 61-84. Wynn, T., 1991, ‘Archaeological evidence for modern intelligence’ in R.A. Foley (ed.) The Origins of Human Behavior (London: Unwin Hyman).
Whallon, R., 2006, ‘Social networks and information: Non“utilitarian” mobility among hunter-gatherers’, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 25, pp. 259-70. White, R., 1993, ‘Technological and social dimension of “Aurignacian-age” body ornaments across Europe’ in H. Knecht, Pike-Tay and R. White (eds.) Before Lascaux: the complex record of the Early Upper Paleolithic (Boca Raton: CRC Press) pp. 69-76. White, R. 1997, ‘Substantial acts: from materials to meaning in Upper Paleolithic representation’ in M.W. Conkey, O.
9
Understanding Cross-cultural Communication in the European Bronze Age Paulina Suchowska-Ducke
Prehistoric Archaeology, Department of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark at the Mycenaean and Central European relations, before a wider background of Mycenaean and Eastern Mediterranean contacts, which may reveal that our common understanding of contacts and exchange between Northern and Southern Europeans needs to change.
This paper looks at trade and exchange in its various manifestations as a fundamental and ubiquitous form of social organization and interaction. It focuses on relations between the Mycenaean world and its northern neighbours in continental Europe. These links are less well researched than those between the Eastern Mediterranean societies of the time. The cultural differences between the regions and the diversity of societies involved provide an intriguing background.
It now seems clear that cross-cultural relations and long-distance communication in prehistory were complex and multi-layered processes. Finding explanatory models that approach the precise forms of organization among Mycenaean and Central European societies is therefore challenging and rewarding research work.
Mycenaean imports in prehistoric Europe and their counterparts represent contacts between two distinct cultural regions. Their high value caused them to be traded over long distances. This material evidence provides an opportunity for studying issues of socio-political organization, cultural boundaries, networks and the movement of things, thoughts and people. The question is how tightly those systems of material and ideological exchange were interwoven throughout different stages of prehistory. How far did goods, symbols and fashions spread and in how far did this represent direct cultural exchange even between far-separated regions?
Long-distance relations of the Mycenaean Culture Archaeological and written sources clearly points out, that in the second millennium BC Mediterranean societies were characterized by intense cross-cultural contacts and long-distance trade. The Aegean at that time was part of a vast and dynamic circle of societies spreading from Mesopotamia, Syro-Palestine, Anatolia and Egypt to southern Italy and the Balkans as well as territories lying North of them. There is no doubt that this exchange had commercial character. However, written sources also confirm the existence of some reciprocity based on the do ut des principle. It appears also that Egyptian and Near Eastern kings acknowledged Aegean rulers as equals and exchanged gifts with them. Furthermore, there is also evidence, mostly in the form of residential and funerary architecture, of Mycenaean occupation in Northern Greece, in the southern part of Italy, on the eastern part of the Anatolian coast, on Cyprus and in the Syro-Palestinian port of trade at Ugarit. Archaeological and linguistic sources confirm Mycenaean contacts with every society inhabiting the Mediterranean and Black Sea basin. Also, artefact resemblances and some elements recorded in rock carvings from Northern and Western Europe suggest some kind of relations between these territories. However, specific object analysis clearly points out that for Aegean merchants, Egypt, Syro-Palestine, Cyprus and Anatolia were the most important destinations.
Introduction Cross-cultural contacts, exchange of goods and long-distance trade have been a part of human life since the beginning of what is commonly perceived as culture. The main reason for this has always been the unequal geographic distribution of desirable raw materials like obsidian, flint or metals. At a later stage, people started to exchange an increasing variety of raw and refined commodities such as amber, fur, leather, olive oil, honey, salt, spices and perfume oils. There is no doubt that trade and exchange of ideas or objects and movement of people are different sides of one and the same thing. They never occur isolated from each other. Where people travel, things and ideas travel with them. So ‘trade’ and ‘exchange’ in the following really mean ‘communication’ in a very broad sense. The archaeological sources relevant for the study of the relations and contacts between Mycenaean and Central European societies are very diversified, and include specific artefacts as well as symbolic and ceremonial elements of societies. In this paper, the analytical view is narrowly but ‘factually’ focused on the artefacts and selected ornamental motives. I excluded most aspects touching the religious and ceremonial or symbolical spheres, which may contain as much ambiguity and interpretational doubt as potential information and are therefore less suitable for the material-based approach undertaken in this study. I am assuming that the wide geographical distribution and diversity of artefacts known to date contains more than ample evidence for a meaningful and robust characterization of the processes of interest on a European scale.
Cultural contacts and trade which took place between the Mycenaeans and Syro-Palestine were a combination of private merchants and official (royal) missions, engaged in both direct and indirect trade and diplomacy. Many of the Syro-Palestinian imports have been found in the Aegean, for example pottery and objects made from metal, faience, ivory, precious and semi-precious stones (Morris 1990). From the Levantine coast, on the other hand, come more than 2500 Mycenaean pottery fragments (Wijngaarden 2002; Mee 2008: 377). A crucial part in the exchange process was played by Ugarit (Ras Shamra), which was one of the most important Levantine ports of trade. The presence of Aegean inhabitants in Ugarit is attested to by Mycenaean graves and a vast number of Helladic pottery and figurines (Schaeffer 1939: 77-97; Gregori and Palumbo 1986; Yon 2005). There also exist Semitic words on Linear B tablets from Mycenae, Pylos and Knossos (Chadwick and Ventris 1973).
One very intriguing aspect is the semi-historical status of the Mycenaean era, with its own written sources and those provided by other great civilizations of the time (mostly coming from Eastern Mediterranean and Mesopotamian archives). This is in strong contrast to the Bronze Age societies of prehistoric Europe, which must be understood almost solely on the basis of their material culture. A very important aspect of this study is to look
Mycenaean relations with Anatolia (mainly with the Hittites) seem to have been as complex as the political and societal nature
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SOMA 2011 Angista, Kapakli, Agrilia, Hexalophos – Mountjoy 1999). From LH III B-C, local copies of Mycenaean bronzes and pottery types were recorded in Northern Greece. In the Balkans, on the other hand, more Mycenaean and Mycenaean-like bronze items have been recorded (Wardle 1993; Lichardus, Echt, et al. 2002). There is also evidence, based on residential and funerary architecture, of Mycenaean presence in Thessaly and Epirus, perhaps also in Greek Macedonia (Feuer 1983).
of both areas. There is no doubt that those societies were in contact, as is well documented with imports (Mycenaean pottery and bronzes, Anatolian seals and silver items) and in written sources, and seems unavoidable given the geographical situation of Greece and the Anatolian peninsula. Moreover, on the eastern part of the Anatolian coast several Mycenaean settlements existed, for example in Miletus, Ephesus, Iasos, Panaztepe and in Müskebi (Immerwahr 1960; Mee 1978, 1998; Niemeier 2005). However, written sources tell us about an economic embargo imposed by the Hittites on the Assyrians and indirectly also on Ahhiyawa, which is identified by most scholars as the Mycenaean city states (Cline 1991a: 8-9). This may suggest that the HittiteMycenean relations had indeed a competitive character.
Early Mycenaean-Italian contacts are evidenced by Early Helladic pottery found in Italy in contexts dated to the 17th and 16th centuries BC (Holloway 1981: 57). An intriguing aspect is that there are no recorded Italian imports in Greece from that period. These early relations with Italy may suggest that this destination was chosen by Mycenaeans not only for seeking new metal deposits but also as a market for their products, because the Minoans at the time tightly controlled the Eastern trading routes. The apogee of these contacts falls into LH III A-B. The most commonly exchanged items between Mycenaean and Italian societies were pottery and bronzes (Vagnetti 1993, 1996; Vianello 2005; Jung 2006). The analysis of certain architectural features, mostly graves, indicates Mycenaean settlements in the southern part of Italy. The emergence of more advanced pottery techniques (type grigia and dolii cordonati) can also be attributed to the presence of Mycenaean craftsmen in the region (Peroni 1979: 8-9; Smith 1987: 25-9).
Mycenaean interest in Cyprus was motivated by the rich copper deposits located on the island. Particularly intensive relations can be dated to LH III A2-B (Cadogan 1972, 1993). In the following period – LH III C – Mycenaean pottery was manufactured locally on Cyprus. From the Aegean to the island came mostly pottery as well as a few Mycenaean figurines. Of Cypriot origin were lapis lazuli and faience seals, terracotta figurines, tools and weapons made from bronze. All that strongly suggests the presence of Mycenaeans on the island. Mycenaean settlements were established in Enkomi, Kition, Myrtou, Maa-Palaeokastro, Pyla-Kokkinokremos, Myrtou and Sinda (Immerwahr 1960; Karageorghis 1998).
The existence of communication routes between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea is confirmed by objects recorded in both areas (Hiller 1991; Lichardus, Echt, et al. 2002; Paschalidis 2007; Suchowska 2009). Of Western European origin were weapons and tools made of bronze and round horse harness. From the Mediterranean to the Black Sea region came metal vessels (e.g. the treasures from Borodino and Vulchitrun), tools and oxhide ingots as well as stone anchors. Some researchers have suggested that such objects indicate that Minoan-Mycenaean artisans were active on the Black Sea coast (Harding 1975: 200). Moreover, according to some scholars the beginning of the Mycenaean Culture were due to the influx of populations from the steppes (Lichardus and Vladár 1996: 55-6; Penner 1998; Makkay 2000: 60-1). Not everyone, however, agrees with this idea (Dickinson 1977: 53; Dietz 1991: 235; Renfrew 1998: 260).
Contacts between the Mycenaeans and Egypt developed very early, the first Mycenaean pottery recorded in Egypt is dated to LH I and II (Vincentelli and Tiradritti 1986: 327-34; Mee 2008: 379). It is possible, however, that these vessels came into Egypt via Minoan middlemen. The apogee of these relations falls into LH III A and III B. Imports and Egyptian wall paintings as well as transfers of ideas and innovations indicate intensive but irregular connections (Haider 1988; Cline 1991b; Rehak 1998: 41). On the other hand the „Aegean list” describing a diplomatic mission sent by Amenhotep III to Mycenaean rulers (Cline 1987; Phillips and Cline 2005) suggests a more direct and established character of contacts. At least eleven items with Amenhotep’s III and his wife’s cartouches recorded in Mycenae confirm that mission. Contacts between the Mycenaean culture and Mesopotamia are well documented in both preserved texts as well as imported goods, even though there are not many published records of the latter. It is very likely that there are no Mycenaean items recorded in Mesopotamia. However, several Mesopotamian imports found their way into the Aegean, for example lapis lazuli (which was already found in the Mycenaean shaft graves), glass beads and plaques as well as 38 cylinder seals from Thebes, dated to LH III B (Porada 1981; Cline 1994: 24). Most researchers claim that Mycenaean-Mesopotamian relations were somehow indirect. Nonetheless, direct exchange is suggested by the treaty of Tudhaliya IV with Shaushga-muwa king of Amurru. One of the paragraphs stated in that treaty reads: ‘let no ship of Ahhiyawa go to him (Assyria)’ (Güterbock 1983: 136).
Studying Mycenaean contacts and relations with Northern and Western Europe is significantly more difficult. Most of the artefacts recorded in these territories can be dated to LH I-III and combine Mediterranean and Continental European features. Although some of them were prestigious, the contexts in which most of the objects were found are obscure. Therefore Mycenaean and Northern and Western European contacts can only be perceived as indirect and vague in the light of these finds. For example in Scandinavia rock carvings (e.g. Kivik) suggest a link with the Aegean area in the religious and symbolic sphere, as well as swords resembling the Mycenaean types, Syro-Palestinian-like figurines and examples of decorative spiral ornaments (Schauer 1985; Thrane 1990; Kristiansen and Larsson 2005: 169-70, 18993, 303-4). In France weaponry (like Cypriot daggers, sword fragment from Lyon resembling the Mycenaean type D and parts of armour), tools and a golden cup from Ploumilliau suggest technological knowledge transmission, as well as copper oxhide ingots found close to Marseille (Briard 1965: 76-7; Domergue and Rico 2002: 141-52). In Spain weapons resembling Aegean types and fragments of Mycenaean pottery (Llanete de los Moros, La Cuesta del Negro) were registered (Martín de la Cruz 1990). In Great Britain, several items suggesting a link with the Aegean
The Mycenaeans’ interest in Northern Greece and the Balkans was a result of their cultural development and need to enlarge their territories. The earliest Helladic pottery (also Minyan) was found on Chalkidiki (e.g. Agios Mamas, Molyvopyrgos, Torone) in a context dated to LH I and II (Mee 2008: 370). There are also many examples of Karo A type rapiers in the North. In the classical stage of Mycenaean cultural development, i.e. during LH III A-B, the number of finds, both pottery and bronzes, increases (e.g. Asiros, Kastanas, Toumba, Agios Mamas,
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Paulina Suchowska-Ducke: Understanding Cross-cultural Communication ingredients of a warrior aristocracy’s ideology and culture (c.f. Clausing and Egg 1999). Archaeological sources confirm the existence of long-range elite networks through the homogeneity of characteristic features in rich graves and their associated goods. Via interregional and long-distance contacts, technology, innovations and symbols were exchanged. Long-distance travels of specialized craftsmen, travelling traders and warrior aristocracies, as well as marriage alliances all played important roles in this. The archaeological literature on cross-cultural contacts, exchange and communication between Central Europe and the Aegean frequently cites a specific group of objects that can be seen as markers of the underlying interaction processes. This group of objects includes: amber, weapons (Naue II swords, Mycenaean rapiers, Cypriot and Peschiera daggers, spearheads, corslets, greaves, helmets and round shields), tools (knives, axes and double axes), dress fasteners (pins, fibulae) and personal ornaments and jewellery (finger rings, bracelets, pendants and ear-rings, and spoked-wheel models), metal vessels and their clay imitations, Handmade Barbaric Ware, horse harness made of bone and antlers and decorative elements (spiral and wave band motives, lily and ivy flower motives – heart shapes, bird protomae and birds). Despite the often unclear context in which these object and elements have been found, there is striking similarity of shape as well as technological and ideological ideas between those objects found in Central and Northern Europe, the Carpathian Basin, Italy, the Balkans, the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.
area have been found, such as zig-zag bone elements, jewellery (crescentic golden earrings and tapering penannular rings), a golden cup from Rillaton, weapons (e.g. the sword fragment from Pelynt resembling the Mycenaean type F, a Cypriot dagger) as well as tin ingots (Branigan 1970: 93-5; Gerloff 1975: 107). A few amber spacers, disks and beads, showing similarities with traits of the Wessex Cultures, were also found in Mycenaean Greece (Harding and Hughes-Brock 1974: 155-8; Hughes-Brock 2005: 301-3). During LH/LM I-III A, the main destination for Eastern Mediterranean imports was Crete. The Mycenaeans on the other hand explored the Central Mediterranean territories, where the first fragments of Mycenaean pottery are found in Italy, dating to the 17th and 16th centuries BC. At the same time, the Mycenaeans also turned to Northern Greece and into the Western parts of the Mediterranean Sea basin. Early Mycenaean imports dated to LH I-III A have also been recorded in the Eastern Mediterranean, but many of them supposedly arrived via Minoan merchants and tradesmen. Essential changes in cultural contacts occurred during LH III A1/2, when Mycenaeans conquered Crete. During LH III A2-B, the Mycenaean society begins its cultural and economic expansion and great overseas expeditions. They also establish colonial enclaves in important ports lying along the sea routes to Syro-Palestine and Egypt. During LH III C, the number of imports decreased, probably because of the geo-political situation (probably related with the Sea People), however trading routes were not entirely interrupted. In one of the most comprehensive reviews, Cline (1994: 9) reports that 942 imports had been recovered in LH/LM I-III Aegean at the time of his writing (two objects from Mycenae need to be added to those finds – Phillips and Cline 2005: 327). Taking into consideration that the Late Bronze Age lasted c. 680/650 years (1700-1050/1020 BC), we get an average of 1.4 imported (and recorded) objects per year. That may suggest low trading activity by Aegean merchants. However, it needs to be emphasized that the Bronze Age situation as recorded in diverse archaeological sources was different. The wide spread of Mycenaean pottery during the period between 1500 and 1200 much better reflects the cultural and ideological importance of Mycenaean trade. Furthermore, Egyptian and Near Eastern written documents inform us about intense trading activities of Mycenaean societies (Güterbock 1983; Moran 1992; Panagl 1995).
The least problematic Central/Northern European element found in the Aegean is amber. The earliest known fragments appeared in the South already in MM III B (Dietz 1991: 263). Infra-red spectroscopy revealed the amber’s Baltic origin (Beck 1974:171). Most amber fragments came from MM III B-LH II and were found mainly in the shaft graves of Mycenae (e.g. in shaft grave no. IV, where 1290 amber fragments have been recorded) as well as in Pylos, Peristeria, Kakovatos, Thebes and Orchomenos (Harding and Hughes-Brock 1974: 147-8; Dickinson 1977: 445). New data indicate at least 3900 known amber pieces (pers. comm. J. Czebreszuk). Considering that amber is a very fragile organic substance the number recorded in the South certainly falls short of the original amount. The next group of objects to be considered are artefacts made of metal, such as weapons, tools, ornaments and jewellery. Several rapiers resembling Mycenaean types have been found in Nürnberg-Hammer in Bayern, Adliswil near Zurich in Switzerland (which has now disappeared), in Ajak Kom. Szabolcs in Hungary and in Sväty Jur and Vlčany in Slovakia (Müller-Karpe 1962: 260-4; Schauer 1971: 113-14; Mozsolics 1973: 29-30; Bouzek 1985: 120, 221). All recorded specimens are dated to Br C 2, i.e. the 13th century BC, however, the issue of the origins of the swords or the directions of influence on their technology cannot be solved definitively. A very different group of swords is represented by the Central European Naue II type, that appeared in the Aegean at the end of LH III B/C (XIII/XII century BC), when a social, political and economic crisis began there (Drews 1993: 192-3). The earliest Naue II swords in the Aegean, dated to LH III B, came from Kos and from Mycenae (Morricone 1966:137-9; (Krzyszkowska 1997: 147). Initially Naue II co-occurred with Mycenaean swords. However, since Central European swords were better adapted to combat they quickly replaced the traditional Mycenaean types (Catling 1961: 118-21). In the 12th and 11th centuries BC, Naue II was the only type of sword used in Continental Europe, the Aegean and the Near East. Based on current sources, it appears that about 47
Central European and Aegean relations – a review of artefacts Social structure analysis in Central Europe and the Aegean reveals that in the South as well as in the North, in the second millennium BC there existed well-organized societies characterized by a concentration of wealth, considerable demographic potential, socio-political control over settlement structures and mature long-distance contacts. All these suggest significant social stratification and processes leading to advanced economic development and forming interregional political organization. Emerging elites were able to initiate and manage complicated ventures such as long-distance trade development, trade routes control, administration and redistribution systems development, craftsmanship supervision and the construction of sophisticated graves and fortified central settlements. The distinguished demands of a well-connected elite’s lifestyle resulted in the establishment of further interregional and long-distance relations, as an effect of which prestige objects spread along with some ideological elements and rituals. There is no doubt that travel to distant places, access to prestige goods, knowledge and myths as well as organized gift exchange are very important
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SOMA 2011 of contact. It needs to be emphasized, that tools were generally not trade implements; knives and razors may be an exception. Furthermore, tools used in Central Europe and the Aegean were made locally and in forms and shapes were very similar, mostly because they were used to work the same materials, like metal or wood. In the archaeological literature, one of the most frequently cited markers of relations between North and South is a mould for a winged-axe found in the House of the Oil Merchant in Mycenae (Bietti Sestieri 1973: 196-8; Jung 2006: 179). This mould is Italian or Central European in origin. Almost as much cited is an axe from Dodona similar to the Hungarian type of Nackenscheibenaxt (disc-butted axe), which can plausibly be argued to be a local copy connected to a first wave of influx of Northern types of weapons into the Aegean (Harding 1975: 190; Bouzek 1985: 142).
Naue II swords have been recovered in the Aegean, 12 in Cyprus, and 14 in the Near East, mostly in Egypt and the Levant (Sherratt 2000: 96-8; Eder 2003: 40). In the 13th and 12th centuries BC in mainland Greece, there appeared flange-hilted weapons, called Peschiera daggers (Bouzek 1996: 175). They originated in Northern Italy and were imitations of Mycenaean proto-types. Peschiera daggers spread all over Continental and Southern Europe. In the Aegean, 12 of them have been found (Sherratt 2000: 96-8). The distribution of Peschiera bronzes therefore must be seen as an indication of a wider bronze working tradition embracing Central Europe, Northern Italy and the Aegean. Earlier in LH I (1600 BC), so called Cypriot daggers appeared in Continental Europe (Catling 1964: 127-9; Gerloff 1975: 149, 255). Four such daggers have been recorded in Hungary, one in Austria, Switzerland, and Britain and 20 in France. Unfortunately, the contexts in which several of them were found are obscure.
A prominent group of objects testifying to a different aspects of relations between North and South, are dress fasteners (pins, fibulae) and personal ornaments and jewellery (finger rings, bracelets, pendants and ear-rings and spoked-wheel models). They appeared in Mycenaean Greece in LH III B/C. Because they are personal items, their occurrence in Greece is often associated with the arrival of new groups of people. In the Aegean the record comprises at least 70 pins of Northern origin (Bouzek 1985: 1625). These long pins were very popular in Central Europe in the 14th and 13th centuries BC and also in the Balkans, Italy, the Near East and in Anatolia. Unlike pins, fibulae were not known in Greece before LH III B. Their appearance in the South suggests profound changes that occurred in the Late Bronze Age. At the beginning, i.e. at the end of LH III B (13th century BC), violinbow fibulae were popular in Greece (Kilian 1975, 1985). In the 12th century BC they were gradually replaced by arc fibulae (Desborough 1965: 225-6; Iakovidis 1970: 274-6). Most of the fibulae found in Greece were manufactured locally. According to Bouzek (1985:152-9), at least 135 fibulae have been found in the South. Dress fasteners, pins and fibulae, appeared in the South in the 13th-12th century BC under the ‘second wave of Northern influence in Greece’ and presumably were the result of migrations from the North.
In the 13th-12th century BC, perhaps as an effect of warfare changes and migrations of new ethnic groups, spearheads of Northern origin appeared in the Aegean. In terms of shape, those are: lanceolate (geflammte) spearheads, spearheads with a midrib, and small leaf-shaped spearheads (Snodgrass 1964:11619, 134-6). Most of them were manufactured locally and often associated with Naue II swords as well as with Mycenaean spears. Thise may suggest that they belonged to the standardized equipment of a Late Bronze Age warrior. According to S. Sherratt (2000: 96-8) 55 spearheads of Northern derivation have been found in the Aegean. An intriguing find of an Anatolian, Cycladic or Cypriot socketed spearhead comes from Kyhna in Saxony, Germany (Coblenz 1986: 68-9). It is associated with the Unetice Culture, i.e. the Central European Early Bronze Age. Metallurgical analysis suggests local manufacture (Krause 1998: 182-3). However, the form is very clearly foreign. The issues surrounding Central European weapons that in the 13th-12th century BC arrived in mainland Greece are of great historical significance. On grounds of technological analyses, a portion of the Central European weapons can be argued to have been inspired by Aegean specimens. The following weapons belong to this group: helmets, corslets, greaves, round shields and early cut-and-thrust swords. Technological analysis indicates that their further autonomous development took place in Central Europe. During the 13th and 12th centuries BC, as an effect of assumed European Urnfield migrations, the mentioned types of weapons appeared in Mycenaean Greece where similar weaponry existed. They were essentially reintroduced to the South (Snodgrass 1964: 82; Bouzek 1973: 172-3; Lewartowski 1989: 132). The difficulties in determining the genesis of specific weapons are not surprising, given the long range and ‘highly interactive’ nature of warfare. Weapons and techniques of combat evolved in constant competition between warring factions and any successful novelty is highly likely to be rapidly adapted and spread over vast regions by mobile armies (cf. Drews 1993). At the same time, training warriors to be proficient within a fighting system is a resource-expensive effort, which ironically leads to an ‘arranged’ and ‘standardized’ nature of weapons and fighting techniques. In the archaeological record, this creates a macroregional homogeneous pattern, which can be hard to decompose into local phenomena.
In the 12th century BC, in mainland Greece there appeared also finger rings and bracelets with spiral terminals. Ornaments like these existed in Central Europe already in the Early Bronze Age and were particularly popular in the Czech Republic, in Bavaria and in the Balkans (Kilian-Dirlmeier 1980: 249-69; Harding 1984: 142; Bouzek 1985: 169). Shield (signet) rings are a different type of jewellery, manufactured using simple techniques and with solar symbols depicted on them which are alien to the Mycenaean world and related to the European Urnfield Culture. Jewellery of that type was not known in mainland Greece before LH III C. Another type foreign to the Mycenaean culture are simple gold ear-rings, called Lockenringe, recorded for the first time in shaft graves in Mycenae (Karo 1930a: 51-2, 187-8; Mylonas 1973: 200, 231). The ear-rings from the shaft graves have their analogies in Troy and Western and Central Europe, mainly in the Carpathian Basin (Harding 1984: 112; Kristiansen and Larsson 2005: 151-2). The last items in this group are spoked-wheel models made of bronze, lead, bone and ivory, that have been recorded in Greece already in the shaft grave period, however, they were more popular in the period LH III C (KilianDirlmeier 1979: 31). Most researchers point out their Northern origin, similar examples are known from Italy, Central Europe and the Balkans (Bouzek 1985: 171).
Tools are another group of objects, the precise status of which in a system of intercultural contacts is hard to assess. However, several examples of tools are quoted in the literature as indications
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Paulina Suchowska-Ducke: Understanding Cross-cultural Communication beyond doubt. In relation to this, it is important to consider spiral and wave band ornaments that were very popular in the Aegean as well as in Central Europe, mainly in the Carpathian Basin, and Southern Scandinavia where cheek pieces, discs, cylinders, axes, swords and daggers, pottery and jewellery were decorated with these motives. Despite the fact that spiral and wave band ornaments in Northern and Southern Europe were already known in the Neolithic, some researchers claim that: ‘ornamental and morphological characteristics of some Danubian objects and Mycenaean or Anatolian examples are so closely related that they would not be imaginable without the existence of direct contacts between these regions’ (David 2007: 414).
A revealing group of objects connected to the Bronze Age elite and its rituals are metal vessels made of bronze and gold. It needs to be emphasized, that despite the fact that such vessels spread all over Europe they are also very homogeneous in appearance, as an effect craftsmen copying general models and creating local forms based on them (Sherratt, Taylor 1989: 11617). Craftsmen also imitated metal vessel shapes in clay. Metal vessels for drinking recorded in Continental Europe in the second and first millennium BC show clear similarities with Aegean specimens in form, decoration and technology. Conversely in the Late Bronze Age inspirations came form Northern Europe into Greece, visible in decorative motives popular in Central Europe and Northern Italy, mostly birds and bird protomae (Karo 1930b: 130-1; Matthäus 1980: 252-55, 292-4; Bouzek 1985: 175, 178). Examples of metal vessels found in Central Europe and exhibiting Aegean or possibly Anatolian inspirations are the cups from: Dohnsen (Lower Saxony), Ramsdorf (Schleswig-Holstein), Fritzdorf (Nordrhein-Westfalen), Eschenz (Switzerland), Hajdú Bihar (Hungary), Biia (Magyarbánye), Şmig (Somogyon) and a metal bowl fragment from Vel’ka Lomnica (Slovakia) (Uslar 1955: 319-23; Sprockhoff 1961: 11-22; Novotná 1963: 13740; Mozsolics, Hartmann, et al. 1968: 13-14, 16; Struve 1983; Sherratt and Taylor 1989). Moreover, in Continental Europe, several examples of vessels are known that were made from clay and imitate elements of Aegean metal vessels. Such products are represented by cups from: Nienhagen (Saxony-Anhalt), Oldendorf (Lower Saxony), Ledro (Trento) and a lid fragment from Olomouc (Czech Republic) which is similar to Aegean stirrup-jars (Reichertová 1949: 61-2; Sprockhoff 1952: 164-6; Barfield 1966: 48-9). Besides, spiral decoration as known from Otomani-Füzesabony vessels (like the bowl from Suciu-de-Sus in Transylvania) point to relations with Aegean or Anatolian metal vessels (Bouzek 1985: 49).
Other ornamental motives suggesting links between Northern and Southern Europe are lily and ivy flower motives, birds and bird protomae. They appear on frescos, bronzes, pottery as well as dress fasteners, personal ornaments and jewellery. V. G. Childe (1927: 2-3) was the first researcher to notice Minoan, Mycenaean and Carpathian similarities in floral motives. Nevertheless, Carpathian lily shaped pendants are also characterized by their distinctive form that does not refer directly to Minoan-Mycenaean specimen. With ivy flower (heart shaped) decorations, it was the other way around (Kristiansen and Larsson 2005: 145). Further study confirmed that lily and ivy flower motives existed in the Carpathian Basin and the Aegean at the same time, that is between the 17th and 15th/14th centuries BC (Schumacher-Matthäus 1985). Other motives – birds and bird protomae – appeared in Greece already in the Middle Helladic period, but were particularly popular in LH III B/C (Furumark 1941: 250-4; Schachermeyr 1980: 124-63). These decorative motives were foreign to the Mycenaean Culture, but very common in the Urnfield and Protovillanova cultures (Bietti Sestieri 1973; Jockenhövel 1974: 85). The appearance of such motives in southern Europe can be seen as a result of migration from the north.
An interesting example is the so-called Handmade Barbaric Ware, that shows resemblance to pottery of Troy, Adriatic and Italian Cultures, the Balkans and Northern Greek Cultures, as well as Central European groups. Handmade Barbaric Ware appeared at the end of LH III B and was produced until the SubMycenaean and Proto-geometric period (Pilides 1994: 107). It has been recorded on many Greek sites, mostly in the middle and southern parts of the country, but also on Crete, the Aegean Islands, the Ionian Islands and on Cyprus. There is no doubt that this pottery type is foreign to Mycenaean ware manufacturing. It is important to understand, that originally the number of sites on which Handmade Barbaric Ware has been recorded is probably much higher then the published examples suggest. According to many researchers, this type of pottery appeared in the Aegean as a result of Late Bronze Age migrations that originated in Central Europe (French 1969: 136; Deger-Jalkotzy 1977: 64-80; Bankoff and Mayer and Stefanovich 1996: 199-200). Quick assimilation of the newcomers into the Mycenaean society may be suggested by associations of Handmade Barbaric Ware with Mycenaean pottery and the imitations of Aegean shapes by Handmade Barbaric pottery.
Central European and Aegean relations – phases of artefacts inflow The artefacts described above can be characterized by different degrees of evidence value, ranging from objects explicitly reflecting contacts and exchange (like amber, weapons, dress fasteners, metal vessels, horse harness, Handmade Barbaric Ware) to probable evidence (e.g. tools, ornaments and decorative elements). Based on all collected sources, it is possible to define two phases of objects inflow into the territories under study: early - 1800/1700 to 1430 BC and late - 1300 to 1200/1100 BC (c.f. Bouzek 1985: 240-4). The early phase of development of bidirectional relations is connected to the Early Mycenaean Culture and dates from MH III/LH I to LH II, i.e., between 1800/1700 and 1430 BC. It is interesting that the early phase of objects inflow falls into the period before the apogee of the Mycenaean Culture that occurred in LH III A-B. During this phase, Cypriot daggers and metal vessels with strong analogies to MinoanMycenaean examples appeared in Central Europe. Among them, the bronze cup from Dohnsen remains a striking specimen of Aegean import, despite its obscure retrieval context. also fall into this early phase of objects inflow. Also the connections of horse harness found in Mycenaean shaft graves with examples known from the Carpathian Basin are undeniable. Another marker indicating North-South relations, probably the most undisputed, is Baltic amber. In the MH III/LH I to LH II periods, amber suddenly occurs in mainland Greece in great quantities. Moreover it cannot be ruled out that from the beginning, the Mycenaeans were interested in Central European metal deposits. The second,
Another significant group of objects are horse harness made of bone and antlers. Examples from Mycenaean shaft graves (Karo 1930a: 113; Wace 1960) show morphological similarities to horse harness known form the Carpathian Basin, Northern Pontic area, the Danube region, the Ural (Sintašta) and Kazakhstan (Penner 1998: 23-108; Makkay 2000: 38-41; Kuznetsov 2006: 639). Many Near Eastern cheek pieces were also recorded (Crouwel 1981: 101-7). Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to establish the direction of influx of horse harness into Greece
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SOMA 2011 have been less intense and systematic than Mycenaean links with the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. Mycenaean relations with Central European societies were complicated probably because of cultural differences and/or communication barriers of another, perhaps physical, nature. Nevertheless, both regions were in contact and those relations were fundamentally bi-directional. Although the archaeological evidence indicates that flow from North to South was stronger than the other way around, there are no indications that the Bronze Age societies of Central Europe were just passive recipients of Mycenaean influence. Relations that developed in the Bronze Age meant a lot for both societies in contact. It can be safely claimed that for their recipients, the value of objects from Central Europe found in the Aegean was as high as goods of southern provenance found in the North.
late phase of objects influx occurs at the end of LH III B and LH III C, and is dated 1300 to 1200/1100 BC. It falls into a period in which the Mycenaean Culture experiences political and economic weakness and its later decline. In the transition from the 13th to the 12th centuries BC a koine (‘common market’) of weaponry (e.g. swords and parts of armour), dress fasteners (e.g. pins, fibulae), jewellery and personal ornaments (e.g. rings, earrings, spoked-wheel models) and symbolism (e.g. birds and bird protomae) developed between Central Europe, Northern Italy, the Balkans and the Aegean. It contained stylistic and symbolic elements derived from Mediterranean, Alpine and Northern Italian societies of the Bronze Age. Many elements of that koine later formed the background of the Early Iron Age community of Central and Southern Europe. In the late phase of objects inflow into Mycenaean Greece, there appeared also Handmade Barbaric Ware that arrived in Greece as a result of migrations from the North. Its fragility and chemical composition point to local manufacturing of this type of pottery. It is worth emphasizing that there are not many items that have been exchanged during the apogee of the Mycenaean Culture’s development dated to LH III A-B. The reason for this may be that Mycenaeans focussed their interest on the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. Moreover, the fundamental difference between the first and second phases of objects inflow is that in the first one, contacts were indirect while in the second they were mostly direct and caused by Northern European populations migrating into the South (e.g. craftsmen, artists, warrior aristocracy and women ‘exchanged’ in marriage alliances).
Future research within Forging Identities Trade as a form of human interaction is so universal and fundamental to our existence that it can act as a proxy for many other things. With increased trade, we get increased diversity, more technological skill, more innovation and more wealth. But we also get a more unequal distribution of wealth, as only some people control important resources or critical parts of the trade networks. This leads to social stratification and the emergence of new classes. The need to control resources creates potential for aggression and warfare. All of this is indeed reflected in the booming weapons technology, warrior classes and luxurious lifestyles of the elites of the Bronze Age - Europe’s ‘first Golden Age’.
Based on the material culture, it is possible to produce some statistics for Central Europeans items recorded in Aegean contexts. It turns out that from the period of the Mycenaean Culture’s existence a large number of objects have been retrieved that can be taken to represent markers of contact. By far the most frequent type of traded item is amber. In the Aegean, at least 3900 amber fragments have been found. Apart from amber, about 47 examples of Naue II swords, 12 Peschiera daggers, 40 knives, 56 spearheads, one battle axe (Nackenscheibenaxt) from Dodona, 71 pins, 135 fibulae (89 violin-bow and 46 arc fibulae), at least 28 finger rings, four Lockenringe ear-rings and 15 spoked-wheel models have been recorded. In summary, the currently published archaeological records on the Aegean count at least 410 bronze items demonstrating strong Northern European features. Together with amber that number increases to 4310 artefacts distributed over a time period of 680/650 years of Mycenaean Culture development, dated between 1700 and 1050/1020 BC. This results in an average of 6.3/6.6 recorded items per year. These numbers are certainly striking when compared to the frequencies of Central and Eastern Mediterranean imports recorded in the Aegean contexts, i.e. 942 items that give an average of merely 1.4 known imported objects per year. This indicates a surprisingly much greater number of artefacts of Northern European origin, in comparison to imports from other territories of the Mediterranean Sea Basin. However, it needs be stressed that these items have a much lesser degree of credibility then Central and Eastern Mediterranean imports. Furthermore, metallurgical analyses show that many items characterized by Northern features were actually manufactured in the South. Moreover, these items also show similarities with Central European, Northern Italian and Alpine inventories, and that makes it difficult to pinpoint their exact origins.
Forging Identities (http://www.forging-identities.com/) is an extensive network of distinguished researchers that explores intercultural interaction in Bronze Age Europe. I conduct my current research within the project. The most important aspect of my study is to produce a more consistent and detailed picture of Mycenaean relations with prehistoric Europe. Using GIS, I want to add some spatial structure to the published data which adds new information and sheds new light on old research questions. As well as gain new insights into the many sociocultural dimensions of Bronze Age travelling and travelling cultures. I want to investigate the different spheres of interaction (trade, diplomacy, migration, individual travelling, material and immaterial exchange) and objects that make culture (artefact biographies, incorporated memory and the role of imitation and emulation). Nevertheless, I am fully aware of some major challenges concerning my research. No matter how refined the methods may be, there are limits to what can be achieved by looking at the published information on the material culture. First of all there is the problem of imitation or emulation (i.e. imitated behaviour). It needs to be understood in which cases we deal with conscious imitation, i.e. when objects are adopted in full awareness of their specific original intent and symbolic meaning; and in which cases we deal with ‘blind copying’, done simply because of commercial or aesthetic appeal or just the thrill of novelty. Both cases exist in the real world and it is often unclear to which extent one prevails over the other. Secondly, there is a limited number of published objects that can count as imports with 100% certainty. Acknowledgments
There is no doubt that contacts between Central European and Mycenaean societies existed already at the beginning of the Mycenaean Culture’s development. These relations, however,
I would like to thank Benjamin Ducke for reviewing an earlier draft of this paper and providing useful comments. My current
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Paulina Suchowska-Ducke: Understanding Cross-cultural Communication Between the Aegean and Baltic Seas. Prehistory Across Borders, Liège, 411-420. Deger-Jalkotzy, S. (1977) Fremde Zuwanderer im späthmykenishen Griechenland: zu einer Gruppe handgemachter Keramik aus d.Myk. III C. Wien. Desborough, V.R.d. (1965) The Greek Mainland c. 1150-1000 B.C. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 31, 213-228. Dickinson, O.T.P.K. (1977) The Origins of Mycenaean Civilisation. Gøteborg. Dietz, S. (1991) The Argolid in the Transition to the Mycenaean Age: Studies in the Chronology and Cultural Development in the Shaft Grave Period. Copenhagen. Domergue, C. and C. Rico (2002) À Propos de Deux Lingots de Cuivre Antiques Trouvés en Mer sur la Côte Languedocienne. IN: Vivre, Produire et Échanger: Reflets Méditerranéens. Mélanges Offerts à Bernard Liou, Montagnac, 141-152. Drews, R. (1993) The End of the Bronze Age. Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe ca. 1200 BC. Princeton. Eder, B. (2003) Patterns of Contact and Communication between the Regions South and North of the Corinthian Gulf in LH IIIC. IN: Kyparissis-Apostolika, N. and M. Papakonstantinou eds., The Periphery of the Mycenaean World, Athens, 37-54. Feuer, B. (1983) The Northern Mycenaean Border in Thessaly. Oxford. French, E. (1969) The First Phase of LH II IC. Archäologischer Anzeiger 84, 133-136. Furumark, A. (1941) The Mycenaean Pottery: Analysis and Classification. Stockholm. Gerloff, S. (1975) The Early Bronze Age Daggers in Great Britain and a Reconsideration of the Wessex Culture. Munich. Gregori, B. and G. Palumbo (1986) Presenze Micenee in Siria-Palestina. IN: Marazzi, S.; Tusa, S. and L. Vagnetti eds., Traffici Micenei Nel Mediterraneo: Problemi Storici e Documentazione Archeologica, Taranto, 365-383. Güterbock, H.G. (1983) The Hittites and the Aegean World: 1. The Ahhiyawa Problem Reconsidered. American Journal of Archaeology 87, 133-138. Haider, P.W. (1988) Zu den ägyptisch-ägäischen Handelsbeziehungen zwischen ca. 1370 und 1200 v. Chr.: Das Handelssystem. Münstersche Beiträge zur Antiken Handelsgeschichte 7, 12-26. Harding, A.F. (1975) Mycenaean Greece and Europe: the Evidence of Bronze Tools and Implements. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 41, 183-202. Harding, A.F. (1984) Mycenaeans and Europe. London-New York. Harding, A.F. and Hughes-Brock (1974) Amber in the Mycenaean World. The Annual of the British School of Archaeology at Athens 69, 145-172. Hiller, S. (1991) The Mycenaeans and the Black Sea. IN: Laffineur, R. and L. Basch eds., Thalassa: L’Egee Prehistorique et la Mer, Liège, 207-216. Holloway, R.R. (1981) Italy and the Aegean 3000-700 B.C. Louvain-la-Neuve. Hughes-Brock, H. (2005) Amber and Some Other Travellers in the Bronze Age Aegean and Europe. IN: Dakouri-Hild, A. and S. Sherratt eds., Autochthon. Papers Presented to O.T.P.K. Dickinson on the Occasion of His Retirement, Oxford, 301316. Hägg, R. (1984) Degree and Character of the Minoan Influence on the Mainland. IN: Hägg, R. and N. Marinatos eds., The Minoan Thalassocracy. Myth and Reality, Stockholm, 119122. Iakovidis, S.E. (1970) Perati. To Nekrotapheion ton Tymon. Athens.
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Paulina Suchowska-Ducke: Understanding Cross-cultural Communication des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 32, 123195. Schumacher-Matthäus, G. (1985) Studien zu Bronzezeitlichen Schmucktrachten im Karpatenbecken. Mainz. Sherratt, A. and T. Taylor (1989) Metal Vessels in Bronze Age Europe and the Context of Vulchetrun. IN: Best, J. P.P. & N.M.W.de Vries, eds., Thracians and Mycenaeans, Leiden, 106-131. Sherratt, E.S. (2000) Circulation of Metals and the End of the Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean. IN: Pare, C.F.E. ed., Metals Make the World Go Round. The Supply and Circulation of Metals in Bronze Age Europe, Oxford, 82-95. Smith, T.R. (1987) Mycenaean Trade and Interaction in the West Central Mediterranean 1600-1000 B.C. Oxford. Snodgrass, A.M. (1964) Early Greek Armour and Weapons from the End of the Bronze Age to 600 B.C. London. Sprockhoff, E. (1952) Ein Grabfund der nordischen Megalithkultur von Oldendorf, Kr. Lüneburg. Germania 30, 164-174. Sprockhoff, E. (1961) Eine mykenische Bronzetasse von Dohnsen, Kr. Celle. Germania 39, 11-22. Struve, K.W. (1983) Zwei getriebene Bronzetassen der älteren Bronzezeit aus Schleswig-Holstein. Offa 40, 241-256. Suchowska, P. (2009) Communication space of the Northern Pontic area as viewed by Aegeans. Baltic-Pontic Studies 14, 156-175.
Thrane, H. (1990) The Mycenaean Fascination: a Northerner’s View. IN: Bader, T. ed., Orientalisch-ägäische Einflüsse in der europäischen Bronzezeit, Bonn, 165-179. Uslar, R.v. (1955) Der Goldbecher von Fritzdorf bei Bonn. Germania 33, 319-323. Vagnetti, L. (1993) Mycenaean Pottery in Italy: Fifty Year of Study. IN: Zerner, P.; Zerner C. and J. Winder eds., Wace and Blegen. Pottery as Evidence for Trade in the Aegean Bronze Age 1939-1989, Amsterdam, 143-154. Vianello, A. (2005) Late Bronze Age Mycenaean and Italic Products in the West Mediterranean. A Social and Economic Analysis. Oxford. Vincentelli, I. And F. Tiradritti (1986) La Presenza Egea in Egitto. IN: Marazzi, M.; Tusa, S. and L. Vagnetti eds., Traffici Micenei Nel Mediterraneo: Problemi Storici e Documentazione Archeologica, Taranto, 327-332. Wace, A.J.B. (1960) A Mycenaean Mystery. Archaeology 13, 40-44. Wardle, K.A. (1993) Mycenaean Trade and Influence in Northern Macedonia. IN: Zerner, C.; Zerner, P. and J. Winder eds., Wace and Blegen. Pottery as Evidence for Trade in the Aegean Bronze Age 1939-1989, Amsterdam, 117-141. Wijngaarden, G.J.v. (2002) Use and Appreciation of Mycenaean Pottery in the Levant, Cyprus and Italy (ca. 1600-1200 BC). Amsterdam. Yon, M. (2005) The city of Ugarit at Tell Ras Shamra. Indiana.
19
Anatolia Early Bronze Age (ca. 3000-2000 BC) Mining Activities in Central Anatolia, Turkey Derya Yılmaz
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Sciences and Arts, Department of Archaeology, Çanakkale-Turkey (Figs. 10-11), weaving tools, and ingots.8 Besides these, there are some metal pieces of unknown function. Religious artifacts consist of idols, figurines, and cult items.9 Musical instruments, i.e. metal sistra and castanets, suggest that music was extremely important in religious ceremonies.10 Weapon types and tools include flat axes, crescentic axeheads, shaft-hole axes, halberds, spearheads, daggers, long daggers, swords, maceheads, razors/ knives, chisels, perforators, tweezers, sewing needles, hooks, fishing hooks, harpoons, and spindles.11 The local weapons were used together with Mesopotamian, Syrian and Palestinian weapon types. Ornaments are varied and the most characteristic types are hammer-headed pins, double spiral-headed pins, rollheaded pins double ball-headed pins, bird-headed pins, pyramidheaded pins, global-headed toggle pins, flange-headed pin, vase-headed pins, shell-lunate earrings, ring-shaped earrings, basket-shaped earrings, crescent-shaped earrings, bracelets, finger rings, anklets, dress and belt ornaments, global, ovaid, cone, disc-shaped necklace beads, long thin beads with end nodose, earplugs, combs, buckles and hair ornaments, torques, diadems, quadruple spiral beads and plates12. The most common form of metal vessels are ring based beakers, basket handled spouted teapots, omphalos pans, omphalos bowls, pan/mirror, ladle, footed goblets, Syrian bottles, cups, vases and beak-spouted pitchers.13 There are small numbers of furniture fragments of cast sheet metal.14
Introduction In this study, Early Bronze Age mining activities in central Anatolia are pres212121ented based on data concerning main types of metal works, find places, mineral deposits and local workshops. Types of artifacts, quantity and diversity of minerals, point out that central Anatolian people had an advanced mining technology during the Early Bronze Age. Discussion There are rich mineral deposits which were used by prehistoric miners in northern central Anatolia.1 Metal artifacts dating to EBA I are very few. In central Anatolia there are some metal finds of native copper, dated to the beginning of the EBA I.2 However, the presence of tin bronze examples are noteworthy in terms of metal processing. Most of the first type of metal artifact began to appear in EBA II and metal production increased in the region over the period. In the whole region, metal artifacts are large in number by EBA III. Crucibles and moulds, discovered in the region, prove the existence of local workshops.3 From south to north findspots of metals are gradually increasing in number (Fig. 1). This is probably linked to the spread of mineral deposits and the gradual presence of workshops towards the north. It is considered that the presence of regional metal schools began to emerge at the beginning of the EBA II in the region.4
Conclusion
According to the results of the analysis it can be assumed that natural arsenical copper was used in the whole region. In addition, tin-bronze was used in the northern part of the region at the beginning of EBA.5 The varieties of metals in EBA II and III illustrate the development of regional mining.6 Most of the metal finds discussed in this study are either from hoards or from graves. The majority of metal works were produced for the royal families. The distribution of varied metal objects made of gold, silver, lead, unalloyed copper, arsenical-copper, tin-bronze, and meteoric iron demonstrate that in central Anatolia craftmen were expert in metal working.7 It is known that varied techniques such as forging, casting, soldering, inlaying, riveting, and plating were used by miners.
Advanced metal technology was introduced into central Anatolia towards the end of EBA III. In the area between Anatolia and Mesopotamia most of the finds were spread as a result of cultural relations. The metal types indicate some similarities of western Anatolian and Mesopotamian origin. However, central Anatolian miners also created regional original works. Mining played an important role in the Early Bronze Age economy of the region judging by the number of artifacts. In particular, many metal 8
Esin 1969: 43. Özgüç and Akok 1958: 17-19; Arık 1937: CXC-CCV; Bilgi 2004: 52-55. 10 Koşay 1951: pl. CXXVI; Özgüç and Akok 1958: pl. VII, 3 5; pl. XII. 11 Przeworski 1939: 50; Stronach 1957: 93, 95, 107, 110, 113, 118, 121, 122; Bilgi 1984: figs. 8 15; Anlağan and Bilgi 1989: 17, 18, 33, 34, 46, 48, 49, 75, 76, 77, 83, 98; Özgüç and Akok 1958: 16-17; Koşay 1951:pl. CXCVII.1; Arık 1937: CCLXXV; Esin 1969: 43; Bilgi 2001: 93; Bilgi 2004: 48-51; Yıldırım 2006: figs. 14 15. 12 Arık 1937: CLXVII, CLXXVII, CLXXXI, CCXLI, CCXLVII, CCXLIX, CCLI; von der Osten 1937: 193 198; Bilgi 1984: figs. 1618; Özgüç and Temizer 1993: 614; Özgüç 1986: 42 43; Esin 1998: 112; Muscarella 2003: 280 281; Maxwell-Hyslop 1971: 42 47; Yıldırım 2006: fig. 17. 13 Özgüç and Akok 1958: 8-13; Arık 1937: CLXIX, CLXXI, CCXXXI, Al. 1083, CCXXXV; Koşay 1951: Pl. CXXXI-CXXXIII; CLXXV CLXXIX; Özgüç and Temizer 1993: 618, 620; Esin 1969: 90-91; Yıldırım 2006: fig. 13. 14 Özgüç and Akok 1958: 8 9, 20 21; Esin 1960: 91. 9
The main metal groups include cult objects (Figs. 2-9), weapons and tools (Figs. 12-18), vessels (Figs. 30-39), ornaments (Figs. 19-29), seals, furniture fragments (Fig. 40), musical instruments 1
Jesus 1980: maps 13-15; Müller-Karpe 1994: Abb. 1; Wagner and Öztunalı 2000: 50-52. 2 Jesus 1980: 127; Yakar 1984: 65. 3 Alkım et al. 2003: 25, pl. XVI,13; Müller-Karpe 1994: 43, taf. 11. 8, 33. 1, 37. 4. 4 Yakar 1984: 77 78. 5 Jesus 1980: 127; Yakar 1984, 65; Belli 2004: 15. 6 Yakar 1985: 29-34. 7 Yalçın 2008: 15 25; Yılmaz 2010:142 146.
21
SOMA 2011 Mediteranean to the Indus, Yale University Press New Haven, 277 88. Müller-Karpe, A. (1994). Altanatolisches Metallhandwerk, Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster. von der Osten, H.H. (1937) The Alishar Hüyük Seasons of 193032 Researches in Anatolia, Part I, OIP 28, University of Chicago press, Chicago. Özgüç, T. (1986) New Observations on the Relationship of Kültepe with Southeast Anatolia and North Syria during the Third Millennium B.C. IN: J. V. Canby, E. Porada, B. S. Ridgway, T. Stech eds., Ancient Anatolia Aspects of Change and Cultural Development Essays in Honor of Machteld J. Mellink, University of Wisconsin press, Wisconsin, 31 47. Özgüç, T. and Akok, M. (1958) Horoztepe Eski Tunç Devri Mezarlığı ve İskan Yeri, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara. Özgüç, T. and Temizer, R. (1993) The Eskiyapar Treasure. IN: M. J. Mellink, E. Porada, T. Özgüç eds., Nimet Özgüç’e Armağan Aspects of Art and Iconography: Anatolia and Its Neighbors Studies in Honor of Nimet Özgüç, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara, 613 28. Przeworski, S. (1939) Metallindustrie Anatoliens Die Metallindustrie Anatoliens in der Zeit von 1500-700 vor Chr. Rohstoffe, Technik, Produktion, E. J. Brill, Leiden. Stronach, D. B. (1957) The Development and Diffusion of Metal Types in Early Bronze Age Anatolia. Anatolian Studies, 7, 89 124. Toker, A. (1992) Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Metal Vessels, Anıtlar ve Müzeler Genel Müdürlüğü Yayını, Ana Basım A.Ş., İstanbul. Wagner, G. A. and Öztunalı, Ö. (2000) Prehistoric Copper Sources in Turkey. Anatolian Metal I, Bergbau Museum, Bochum, 31 67. Yakar, J. (1984) Regional and Local Schools of Metalwork in Early Bronze Age Anatolia, Part I. Anatolian Studies, XXXIV, 59 86. Yakar, J. (1985) Regional and Local Schools of Metalwork in Early Bronze Age Anatolia, Part II. Anatolian Studies, XXXV, 25 38. Yalçın, Ü. (2008) Ancient Metallurgy in Anatolia. IN: Ü. Yalçın, H. Özbal, A. G. Paşamehmetoğlu eds., International Conference AMITEM Ancient Mining in Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean, (Ed.), Atılım University Turkey Historical Research Applications and Research Center Publications, Ankara, 15 40. Yener, K. A. (2000) Domestication of Metals, The Rise of Complex Metal Industries in Anatolia, Brill, Leiden. Yıldırım, T. (2006) An Early Bronze Age Cemetery at Resuloğlu, Near Uğurludağ, Çorum. A Preliminary Report of the Archaeological Work Carried Out Between Years 2003-2005. Anatolia Antiqua, XIV, 1 14. Yılmaz, D. (2010) M.Ö. III. Binde Batı ve Orta Anadolu Kültürel İlişkileri (Cultural Relations of Western and Central Anatolia During the Third Millennium B.C.), Unpublished PhD Thesis, Ankara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü. Zimmermann, T. and Yıldırım, T.( 2008) Three Best to have in Plenty-Rethinking Central Anatolian Early Bronze Age Alloying Traditions. IN: Ü. Yalçın, H. Özbal, A. G. Paşamehmetoğlu eds., International Conference AMITEM Ancient Mining in Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean, (Ed.), Atılım University Turkey Historical Research Applications and Research Center Publications, Ankara, 87 97.
works demonstrate the presence of local workshops in northern central Anatolia. Recent studies in mineral deposits have yielded important results about prehistoric mining such as Göltepe, Kestel, and Derekütüğün.15 In addition, production places of metal finds should be linked to studies on regional source analyses. In recent years analysis of some metal works indicate the existence of new alloys that are uknown to us and this will mean reassessing our knowledge of central Anatolian mining in the light of new archaeometric methods.16 Acknowledgment This study was prepared with the support of project (2010/178 COMU-BAP) funded by Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University. Bibliography Alkım, U.B., Alkım, H. and Bilgi, Ö. (2003) İkiztepe II, Üçüncü, Dördüncü, Beşinci, Altıncı, Yedinci Dönem Kazıları (19761980), Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara. Anlağan, Ç. and Bilgi, Ö. (1989) Sadberk Hanım Müzesi Protohistorik Çağ Silahları, Grafik Sanatlar Matbaası, İstanbul. Arık, R. O. (1937) Alaca Höyük Hafriyatı, 1935’deki Çalışmalara ve Keşiflere Ait İlk Rapor, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara. Belli, O. (2004) Anadolu’da Kalay ve Bronzun Tarihçesi. Graphis Matbaa, Antalya. Bilgi, Ö., 1984, “Metal Objects from İkiztepe-Turkey”, BeitrAllgA, Band 6, 31 96. Bilgi, Ö. (2001) Protohistorik Çağ’da Orta Karadeniz Bölgesi Madencileri, Hint-Avrupalıların Anavatanı Sorununa Yeni Bir Yaklaşım, Task Vakfı Yayınları, İstanbul. Bilgi, Ö., (Ed.) (2004) Anadolu Dökümün Beşiği, Graphis Matbaa, İstanbul. Bingöl, F.R.I. (1999) Museum of Anatolian Civilizations Ancient Jewellery, Anıtlar ve Müzeler Genel Müdürlüğü Yayını, Ankara. Esin, U. (1969) Kuantitatif Spektral Analiz Yardımıyla Anadolu’da Başlangıcından Asur Kolonileri Çağı’na Kadar Bakır ve Tunç Madenciliği, İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Yayınları No: 1427, İstanbul Taş Matbaası, İstanbul. Esin, U. (1998) Paleolitik’ten Tunç Çağı’nın Sonuna: Tarihöncesi Çağların Kapadokyası. IN: M. Sözen ed., Kapadokya, Mas Matbaacılık A.Ş., İstanbul, 62 123. Jesus, de P. S. (1980) The Development of Prehistoric Mining and Metallurgy in Anatolia, BAR International Series 74, Oxford. Koşay, H. Z. (1951) T.T.K. Tarafından Yapılan Alaca Höyük Kazısı 1937-1939’daki Çalışmalara ve Keşiflere Ait İlk Rapor, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara. Kulaçoğlu, B. (1992) Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi Tanrılar ve Tanrıçalar, Anıtlar ve Müzeler Genel Müdürlüğü Yayını, Ana Basım A.Ş., İstanbul. Lapérouse, J.-F. de (2003) Pairs of basket earrings. IN: J. Aruz, R. Wallenfels eds., Art of the First Cities, The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediteranean to the Indus, Yale University Press New Haven, 268 69. Maxwell-Hyslop, K. R. (1971) Western Asiatic Jewelery c. 3000612 B. C., Methuen & Co. Ltd London. Muscarella, O.W. (2003) The Central Anatolian Plateau: The Tombs of Alaca Höyük. IN: J. Aruz, R. Wallenfels eds., Art of the First Cities, The Third Millennium B.C. from the 15 16
Yener 2000: 71 95; Wagner and Öztunalı 2000: 50. Yalçın 2008: 25 26; Zimmermann and Yıldırım 2008: 87 91.
22
Derya Yılmaz: Early Bronze age (ca. 3000-2000 BC) Mining Activities
Fig.1: Anatolia map showing EBA findspots of metal objects
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SOMA 2011
24
Derya Yılmaz: Early Bronze age (ca. 3000-2000 BC) Mining Activities
25
Observations on the Troy I Period in the Light of Recent Survey Finds from the Coastal Troad Derya Yılmaz
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Letters and Sciences, Department of Archaeology, Çanakkale-Turkey
Bowls with horizontal tubular lugs, Blegen form A 12, were found in Troy, Külahlı (Fig. 13, 7-9), Aktaşovası/Colonae (Fig. 13, 17-22), Larisa-Limantepe (Fig. 13, 31-35), Protésilas/ Karaağaçtepe, Balıkesir-Altınova, Akhisar-Manisa, the gulf of Çandarlı and its vicinity, late Kumtepe B and C periods, Hanay Tepe, Lesbos-Eresos (Profitis Ilias), Thermi periods I and II, Samos-Tigani, Altınova-Kaymaktepe/ Hüyücektepe, Kalymnos, Yenibademli on Imbros, Poliochni Blue and Green periods and Emporio periods II-V (Fig. 14).4 This form should be asumed to have spread out from the Troad pursuant to cultural interactions. Although there is a very great similarity, bowls with horizontal tubular lugs are known in EBA I in the Balkans (Fig. 14).5 The form, which is Anatolian in origin, is seen in the Early Bronze Age in Macedonia.6
Introduction Recent surveys along the western coast of the Troad, an area facing the Aegean Sea, yielded new finds that represent the typical material culture of the early phases of Troy I. The finds embrace the transitional period between the Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age (EBA) known as Kumtepe IB period. (Figs. 1-12). It has been well established that the pottery of level I at Troy has close parallels at numerous sites, located both at the coastal regions and at sites far from the coast of the Troad, as well as at the sites of the adjacent northeastern Aegean Islands. This study aims to examine the typological and chronological aspects of these recent survey finds recently identified at three coastal Troadic sites, namely Külahlı (Figs. 4-7), LarisaLimantepe (Figs. 8-12) and Colonae-Aktaşovası (Figs. 1-3). The soundings carried out at Külahlı, located 1 km west of the Gülpınar (Fig. 14), identified two cultural levels belonging to EBA I and EBA III. The EBA I find from Külahlı displayed close parallels with those of Early Troy I. The surface investigations of Limantepe, near the ancient city of Larisa (Fig. 14), yielded pottery typical of the Troy I period. The majority of the pottery found in Aktaşovası (Fig. 14) near ancient Colonae, also belongs to the early phase of Troy I. The surveys conducted by T. Takaoğlu demonstrated that the western coast of the Troad is rich in finds, representing the pre-Troy I and Troy I periods in the region.
Tripod cooking pots (Blegen form A 17, D24) were found in Troy, Külahlı (Fig. 13, 37-43), Aktaşovası/ Colonae (Fig. 13, 25-30), the gulf of Çandarlı and its vicinity, Balıkesir-Altınova, Poliochni periods Blue, Green and Red, Lesbos-Eresos (Profitis Ilias), Thermi periods I and II, Emporio periods VII-V, AltınovaKaymaktepe/Hüyücektepe, Yenibademli on Imbros, Kumtepe C and Liman Tepe (Fig. 14).7 Horn-handled pots (Blegen form A 32) were found in Troy, Larisa-Limantepe (Fig. 13, 36), Gülpınar (Smintheion), Hanay Tepe, Beşik-Sivritepe, Kumtepe A-C, Karaağaçtepe, SamosTigani period I, Larisa-Höyücek, Kalymnos, Emporio periods IV-V, Upper level of Ayio Gala and, rarely, at İznik and its vicinity (Fig. 14).8 Of Balkan origin, this type of handles was
Main Pottery Types of Early Troy I The pottery of Troy I was found in a large geographic area, covering the Troad, the Gallipoli Peninsula, and the adjacent eastern Aegean Islands. The typical forms of pre-Troy I and Troy I periods are bowls with thickened interior rims with incised decoration (Blegen form A 6), bowls with horizontal tubular lugs (Blegen form A 12), tripod cooking pots (Blegen form A 17, D 24) and horn-handled pots (Blegen form A 32) (Fig 13)1. The use of forms A6 and A 12 was over by the end of the last phase of Troy I.2 It is observed that most of these forms documented among the pottery assemblages of Külahlı, Larisa-Limantepe and Aktaşovası-Colonae are quite similar. These forms indicate that the beginning of Troy I could be dated earlier than it has always been assumed and agreed.
808; Korfmann et al. 1995: abb. 22, 2; abb. 26, 4-6; Yakar 1979: 58; Lambrianides and Spencer 1997a: 97, fig.12, 13-16, fig. 13; BernabòBrea 1964: 540; 564, tav. XXVIII, d, m; Hood 1982: 444, fig. 200, 1520, 1546; Hood 1981: 378-379, fig. 170, 1086; fig. 171, 1073, 1074, 1081; Hood 1982: 723; French 1967: 58, fig. 12, 25 26. 4 Blegen et al. 1950: fig. 129, A 12; fig. 225; Demangel 1926: 41, fig. 52, 3; Lambrianides et al. 1996: 179; French 1969b: 55, fig. 8, 34-36; Driehaus 1957: 78, 4, 5, 9; 80, 12,19; 82, 1; 84, 3, 5, 7; Sperling 1976: 348, fig. 19 no. 617, fig. 22, 711; Korfmann et al. 1995: abb. 22, 6, 7; abb. 23, 2; abb. 24, 1; Yakar 1979: 58; Lamb 1932: 117, fig. 4, 2a-b; Calvert 1881: 710, no. 1544, 1545; 711, no. 1548; Schliemann 1881: 720; Lambrianides and Spencer 1997a: 97, fig.12, 13-16, fig. 13; Lamb 1936: 71, 79, fig. 26, bowl type 1; Heidenreich 1936: 151, abb. 2; Furness 1956: pl. XVIII, 12; Lambrianides and Spencer 1997b: 624, pl. 7 8; Hüryılmaz 2006: 3, fig. 2; Bernabò-Brea 1964: 559, tav. XXV, a-c; XXVI-f; XXVII-c; 615, tav. CXV, a-g; Hood 1982: 428, fig. 195, 1370, 1408; 444, fig. 200, 1520; 723; Hood 1981: 378-379, fig. 171, 1074. 5 Nikolova 1999: 343. 6 Heurtley 1939: 118, fig. 37, a-e. 7 Blegen et al. 1950: fig. 129, A 17, fig. 132, D 24; fig. 233; Driehaus 1957: 80, 4; Lambrianides et al. 1996: 179; Bernabò-Brea 1964: 579, tav. LXXI LXXIII; 624, tav. CXXXII-a, b, d, e; 634, tav. CXLII, b-c; Lambrianides and Spencer 1997a: 97, fig.12, 13-16, fig. 13; Lamb 1936: 71, 79, tripod cooking cups type 1; pl. XXXI, 1-3; Hood 1981: 324, fig. 150, 653; fig. 178, 1182, 1178, 1179; Lambrianides and Spencer 1997b: 624, pl. 7-8; Koder and Ladstätter 2010: fig. 3; Hüryılmaz 2006: 3, fig. 2; Sperling 1976: 325, fig. 9, 218-220, fig. 13, 411; Korfmann et al. 1995: abb. 22,14; abb. 24, 9; Erkanal and Günel 1996, fig. 21. 8 Blegen et al. 1950: fig. 129, A 32; Takaoğlu 2006: 295, fig. 6: 9-11; Calvert 1881: 710, no. 1544, 1545; 711, no. 1548; Lamb 1932: 115, fig. 2, 15-17; 127, fig. 14, 3; Korfmann et al. 1995: abb. 26, 18; Demangel
Bowls with thickened interior rims with often incised decoration, Blegen form A 6, (Fig. 14) were found in Troy, Aktaşovası/ Colonae (Fig. 13, 13-16), Külahlı (Fig. 13, 1-6), BalıkesirKaymaktepe, Balıkesir-Altınova, Akhisar-Manisa, the gulf of Çandarlı and its vicinity, Kumtepe C period, Hanay Tepe, LesbosEresos (Profitis Ilias), Poliochni black and blue periods, Emporio periods II-V and a small number in İznik and its vicinity.3 1
Blegen et al. 1950: 58; French 1961: fig. 5, 9-49. Yakar 1979: 58. 3 Blegen et al. 1950: fig. 129, A 6; fig. 238; Kökten 1949: pl. XCVI; Lambrianides et al. 1996: 179; French 1969b: 55, fig. 8, 29-33, 38; Driehaus 1957: 78, 12; 84, 2; Sperling 1976: 346, pl. 77, 707 2
27
SOMA 2011 used in the East Aegean Islands and northwestern Anatolia for a long time. The same form also continues in the region in the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. This situation sheds light on the cultural continuity from the Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age.
due to calibration errors of the radiocarbon dates obtained from marine areas.23 1. fiil 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Bowls with thickened interior rims with incised decoration (Blegen form A 6), bowls with horizontal tubular lugs (Blegen form A 12) and horn-handled pots of Early Troy I period (Blegen form A 32) represent continuations of old traditions because of the presence of parallel examples found at Kumtepe A and BeşikSivritepe.9 The Late Chalcolithic pottery culture of Kumtepe B is immediately preceded by the Troy I period.10 The pottery of Kumtepe B is a forerunner to Troy I pottery.11 Bowls with thickened interior rims with incised decoration (Blegen form A 6), which appeared for the first time in Kumtepe B were important forms for Troy I in the succeeding period.12
olmak var olmak bulunmak tutmak durmak mal olmak anlamına gelmek
The Early and Late Chalcolithic cultures of southwest Anatolia have no connection to each other. The problem of the Middle Chalcolithic also applies to southwest Anatolia. This gap is connected to the existence of newcomers into the region after the end of the Hacılar.24 Currently the lack of clear material associated with the Middle Chalcolithic is one of the general problems of Anatolian-Aegean chronology.
The Troy-Yortan group within the Early Bronze Age I potteryculture regions of western Anatolia include the Troad in Northwest Turkey, Balıkesir, Manisa, and İznik and its surroundings.13 In general, the pottery is monochrome, handmade, dark faced and slipped.14 Pottery forms and techniques continued into the Troy II period without change over a long period.15 The pottery of Troy I is the most dominant group between the levels of Troy I-III16. Bowls with thickened interior rims with incised decoration (Blegen form A 6) and bowls with horizontal tubular lugs (Blegen form A 12) are rare in the Balkans during the end of the Copper Age and the transition period of EBA (dated between 4050 BC and 3600 BC).17
Because of the proximity of the Aegean Islands to the western Anatolian coast, the cultures are similar (Fig. 14).25 As previously stated by C. Eslick the continuity of VI-IX periods in Emporio, located in the eastern Aegean, actually indicates cultural continuity in the western Anatolian Chalcolithic Period.26 The Hellespont and the Bosphorus reached the way they appear today at the end or middle of the sixth millennium BC.27 The formation of the coastline begins to resemble today’s position in the fifth millennium BC. The sudden rise of water level during the Early (6500-5800 BC) and Middle Neolithic Period (5800-5300 BC) continued into the Late Neolithic (5300-4500 BC), Final Neolithic (4500-3200 BC) and Early Bronze Age (EBA I/ 3200/ 3000-2600 BC).28 The gap in the fourth millennium BC may be linked to a geographical event connected to the formation of the Aegean coastline that we do not know yet.29
Chronology Because of its geographical position the Troad is linked to the Aegean world, Balkans, and Anatolia chronologically.18 The main problem is the absence of the Middle Chalcolithic period in the regional chronology.19 Most of the settlements with Late Chalcolithic material have no preceding periods.20 There is no gap if we take into account the absence of the Chalcolithic period in the Aegean chronology.21 However the Chalcolithic period applies to the chronology of western Anatolia, and according to radiocarbon dating, there is a gap in the regional chronology of the Troad.22 Thus, there is still no Middle Chalcolithic culture known in this region. Radiocarbon dates together with the relative chronology are used in the regional chronology. U. D. Schoop reported that the gap between Kumtepe A and B might be
1. zarf 1. actually 2. in fact 3. really 4. indeed 5. originally 6. essentially 7. in reality 8. basically 9. primarily 10. virtually 11. at bottom 12. substantially 13. au fond 14. at heart 15. verily 16. in sober fact 17. in first place 18. in very deed
1926: 28, fig. 31, No. 17; Heidenreich 1936: taf. 48, 6; Felsch 1988: taf. 63, 265-273; Şenyürek et al. 1950: 488, fig. 22A; Furness 1956: 180, fig. 7, 75-76; Pl. XVIII, 6-7; Hood 1981: 56, fig. 40, 250; French 1967: 58, fig. 12, 25-26. 9 Korfmann 1985a: abb. 8, S13.224/1; abb.17, LL83.24/13; abb.18, LL83.40/5. 10 French 1961: 102. 11 Yakar 1979: 54. 12 Korfmann et al. 1995: 240. 13 Efe 2003: 89, for the distribution area of this group see fig. 1; Lambrianides et al. 1996: 175; for the settlements of Troy I Period see French 1969a: fig. 29 b. 1. 14 Blegen et al. 1950: 51. 15 Blegen et al. 1950: 52. 16 Sazcı 2005: 87, abb. 52. 17 Nikolova 1999: 78, fig. 6.3, no. 6-7. 18 Dumitrescu 1970: 43-44. 19 Steadman 1995: 17, fig. b2, 18-21; Takaoğlu et al. in press. 20 Akarca 1978: 10; Özdoğan 1984: 65. 21 Andreou et al. 1996: 538, tab.1. 22 Manning 1997: 521; Takaoğlu et al. in press.
2.. zamir 1. in itself 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
28
Schoop 2005: 262-63. Eslick 1980: 5. Eslick 1980: 13. Eslick 1980: 13, fn. 30. Papageorgiou 2008: 217. Papageorgiou 2008: 201. Van Andel and Shackleton 1982.
Derya Yılmaz: Observations on the Troy I Period There is a noteworthy gap in Thrace and the northern Aegean and in the Balkans, particularly between 3700-3400 BC, as in northwest Anatolia. The beginning of Troy I is always a controversial subject in the Troad chronology.30 Because of the little information we have on pre-Troy I in northwest Anatolia, the beginning of Troy I in Troad chronology is always a controversial subject.31 The beginning date of Troy I will be clarified with increasing knowledge of the periods between the Neolithic cultures and Early Troy I. During the new excavations at Troy layers older than Troy I were found.32 The C 14 dates give a range of 3700 to 3400 BC for the pre-Troy I or Troy ‘0’. The C 14 date of 2920-2700 BC is proposed for Troy I.33 M. Korfmann argued that the culture known as Troy I began at the end of the fourth millennium BC according to the first results of C 14 dates from Beşik-Yassıtepe.34 The beginning of Troy I is suggested to be 3600 BC by D. F. Easton and J. E. Coleman. A dating between 3336-3100 is proposed by S.W. Manning, C. Renfrew, J. Mellaart, and D. French.35 The Troy I pottery repertoire has been used as evidence for cultural continuity in the Troad area for a long time, and according to the pottery forms, the beginning of Troy I should be placed close to 3500/3300 BC.
in the terminology of the Aegean.40 Perhaps the real problem is the lack of Chalcolithic cultures in the Troad. Furthermore, I assume that there is a direct transition from the Neolithic Period to the Early Bronze Age, as we find in the chronology of Aegean. It is impossible to make an exact dating from the surface finds considered here (Figs. 1-13). However, exact vessel forms with similar properties to the surface finds are recognized at certain stratigraphics settlements in the Troad and the Eastern Aegean Islands. The chronology and culture of Troy could be better understood with the help of new excavations in the region. Most of the surface finds, which are considered here, are dated to the early period of Troy I. The gap is decreasing between the Neolithic cultures and Troy I in the chronology of the Troad if it is accepted that the pottery forms of Troy I occur for the first time at 3500 BC. The beginning of the Early Bronze Age, dated at 3300 BC, is important for considering the links between northern Greece and the Troad region. As a result, the period of Troy I should have lasted longer than expected in the light of the typical pottery forms. Lack of a settlement excavation that includes layers of the fourth and third millennium BC in the Troad is also a problem. On the other hand, cultural structure and chronology is the main problem. Hopefully, new excavations in the region will solve some of these problems for the periods of pre-Troy I and Troy I.
Conclusion The transition phase from the Late Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age in western Anatolia lasted a 100 and 300 years approximately between 3300/3200 BC. The Early Bronze Age I covers nearly 400-500 years between 3100/3000-2700/2500 BC.36 The culture of Troy I contains Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age I elements according to the continuity of pottery forms. In addition, the origins of some forms being older than Late Chalcolithic indicate that Troy I took longer than expected. C. Eslick, reported that most of the Middle Chalcolithic pottery existing in the Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic repertoire is, in fact, based on some similarities in pottery of Moralı and Kızılbel.37 I consider that a similar scenario is also valid for northwest Anatolia. In recent years the Middle Chalcolithic Period is considered as the transition period into the Late Chalcolithic at the end of the Early Chalcolithic.38
Acknowledgement I am indebted to Coşkun Özgünel, director of the Gülpınar Project, for allowing me to study the survey finds from Külahlı. I would also like to Turan Takaoğlu for his permission to study the survey material of the coastal Troad. This paper is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Şükran Yılmaz. Bibliography Akarca, A. (1978) Troas’ta Aşağı Kara Menderes Ovası Çevresindeki Şehirler. Belleten, XLII/ 165, 1-48. Andreou, S., Fotiadis, M., Kotsakis, K. (1996) Review of Aegean Prehistory V: The Neolithic and Bronze Age of Northern Greece. American Journal of Archaeology, 100/ 3, 537 97. Bernabò-Brea, L. (1964) Poliochni Città Preistorica Nell’isola Di Lemmos vol. I, 1 Testo, 2 Tavole, Monografie Della Scuola Archaeologica di Atene E Delle Missioni İtaliane in Oriente, Roma, L’Erma” di Bretscheider. Blegen, C. W., Caskey, J. L., Rawson, M., Sperling, J. (1950) Troy General Introduction the First and Second Settlements, Volume I, Princeton University Press, New Jersey. Calvert, F. (1881) Thymbra, Hanaï Tepeh. IN: H. Schliemann ed., llios The City and Country of the Trojans, Reprint Edition (1976), Arno Press Inc., New York, 706 20. Coleman, J.E. (1974) The Chronology and Interconnections of the Cycladic Islands in the Neolithic Period and the Early Bronze Age. American Journal of Archaeology, 78/ 4, 333 44. Coleman, J. E. (1992) Greece, the Aegean, and Cyprus. IN: R. W. Ehrich ed., Chronologies in Old World Archaeology, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 247 88. Demangel, R. (1926) Fouilles Du Corps D’Occupation Français de Constantinople Le Tumulus Dit De Protésilas, E. De Boccard, Paris. Driehaus, J. (1957) Prähistorische Siedlungsfunde in der unteren Kaikosebene und an dem Golfe von Çandarlı. Istanbuler Mitteilungen, Heft 7, 76 101.
Sözlük - Ayrıntılı sözlüğü görüntüle 1. kısaltma 1. mi 2. zayıf not M. Korfmann noted that less is known about the Troad region in the Fourth Millennium BC to close the gap between Kumtepe IA and Troy I.39 Since those years, a lot of material of the Fourth Millennium BC could not be obtained in the Troad region. Contemporary with Troy I, Kumtepe IB and IC will, indeed, be the Early Bronze Age if we accept Kumtepe IA as Late Neolithic
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Nikolova 1999: tab. 1. Mellink 1992: 216. 32 Korfmann 1991: 11-12. 33 Korfmann and Kromer 1993: 165; Kromer et al. 2003: 47-48. 34 Korfmann 1985b: 109, 113; Korfmann 1987: 264. 35 Easton 1976: 148, tab. 1, 158; Coleman 1974: 344; Manning 1995: 188; Renfrew 1972: 76, tab. 5. I; Korfmann and Kromer 1993: 138, abb.1; French 1967: 67, fig. 5; French 1969b: 56, fig. 3. 36 Yılmaz 2010: 25-26. 37 Eslick 1980: 12, fn. 27. 38 Efe and Ay-Efe 2007: 251. 39 Korfmann 1989: 323. 31
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Coleman 1992: 262.
SOMA 2011 Korfmann, M. and Kromer, B. (1993) Demircihöyük, Beşiktepe, Troia Eine Zwischenblanz zur Chronologie Dreier Orte in Westanatolien. Studia Troica, 3, 135 73. Korfmann, M., Girgin, Ç., Morçöl, Ç., Kılıç, S. (1995) Kumtepe 1993. Report on the Rescue Excavations. Studia Troica, 5, 237 89. Kökten, K. (1949) 1949 Yılı Tarihöncesi Araştırmaları Hakkında Kısa Rapor. Belleten, XIII/ 52, 811 29. Kromer, B., Korfmann, M., Jablonka, P. ( 2003) Heidelberg radiocarbon dates for Troia I to VIII and Kumtepe. IN: G.A. Wagner, E. Pernicka, H.P. Uerpmann eds., Troia and the Troad Scientific Approaches, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 43 54. Lamb, W. (1932) Schliemann’s Prehistoric Sites in the Troad. Praehistorische Zeitschrift, XXIII, 111-31. Lamb, W. (1936) Excavations at Thermi in Lesbos. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Lambrianides, K., Spencer, N., Vardar, S., Gümüş, H. (1996) The Madra Çay Delta Archaeological Project, First PreliminaryReport: Geomorphological Survey and Borehole Sampling of the Altınova Coastal Plain on the Aegean Coast of Northwest Turkey. Anatolian Studies, 46,167 200. Lambrianides, K. and Spencer, N. (1997a) Unpublished Material from the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut and the British School at Athens and Its Contribution to a better Understanding of the Early Bronze Age Settlement Pattern on Lesbos. The Annual of the British School at Athens, 92, 73 107. Lambrianides, K. and Spencer, N. (1997b) Some Reflections upon the Origins and Development of Early Bronze Age Settlement in Lesbos and Some New Evidence from Western Anatolia. IN: Chr. G. Doumas, V. La Rosa eds., Poliochni El’Antica Età Del Bronzo Nell’Egeo Settentrionale, Convegno Internaizonale Atene, 22 25 Aprile 1996, Acura di, Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene, 618 33. Manning, S.W. (1995) The Absolute Chronology of the Aegean Early Bronze Age: Archaeology and Radio Carbon History, Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology Vol. 1, Academic Press, Sheffield. Manning, S.W. (1997) Troy, Radiocarbon, and the Chronology of the Northeast Aegean in the Early Bronze Age. IN: Chr. G. Doumas, V. La Rosa eds., Poliochni El’Antica Età Del Bronzo Nell’Egeo Settentrionale, Convegno Internaizonale Atene, 22 25 Aprile 1996, Acura di, Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene, 498 521. Mellink, M. (1992) Anatolian Chronology. IN: R.W. Ehrich ed., Chronologies in Old World Archaeology, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 207 20. Nikolova, L. (1999) The Balkans in Later Prehistory, Periodization, Chronology and Cultural Development in the Final Copper and Early Bronze Age (Fourth and Third Millennia BC), BAR International Series 791, Published by BAR Publishing, Oxford. Özdoğan, M. (1984) Doğu Marmara ve Trakya Araştırmaları, 1982. I. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı, 63 68. Papageorgiou, D. (2008) The Marine Environment and Its Influence On Seafaring and Maritime Routes in the Prehistoric Aegean. European Journal of Archaeology, 11, 199 222. Renfrew, C. (1972) Emergence of Civilization the Cyclades and the Aegean in the Third Millennium B.C., Methuen&Co Ltd, London. Sazcı, G. (2005) Troia I-III, Die Maritime Troia Kultur und Troia IV-V, Die Anatolische Troia-Kultur: Eine Untersuchungen der Funde und Befunde im Mittleren Schliemanngraben (D07, D08). Studia Troica, 15, 35 98.
Dumitrescu, V. (1970) The Chronological Relation between the Cultures of the Eneolithic Lower Danube and Anatolia. American Journal of Archaeology, 74/ 1, 43 50. Easton, D. F. (1976) Towards a Chronology for the Anatolian Early Bronze Age. Anatolian Studies, XXVI, 145 75. Efe, T.(2003) Pottery Distribution Within the Early Bronze Age of Western Anatolia and Its Implications Upon Cultural, Political (And Ethnic ?) Entities. IN: M. Özbaşaran, O. Tanındı, A. Boratav eds. Archaeological Essays in Honour of Homo amatus: Güven Arsebük İçin Armağan Yazılar, Ege Yayınları, İstanbul, 87 105. Efe, T. and Ay Efe, D.Ş.M. (2007) The Küllüoba Excavations and the Cultural/ Political Development of Western Anatolia Before The Second Millennium BC. IN: M. Alparslan, M. Doğan-Alparslan, A. Peker eds. Belkıs Dinçol ve Ali Dinçol’a Armağan VITA, Ege Yayınları, İstanbul, 251 67. Erkanal, H., Günel, S. (1996) 1994 Liman Tepe Kazıları. 17. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, 1, 305-329. Eslick, C. (1980) Middle Chalcolithic Pottery from Southwestern Anatolia. American Journal of Archaeology, 84/ 1, 5 14. Felsch, R.C.S. (1988) Das Kastro Tigani, Die Spätneolitische und Chalkolithische Siedlung. Dr. Rudolf Habelt GMBH, Bonn. French, D. (1961) Late Chalcolithic Pottery in North-West Turkey and the Aegean. Anatolian Studies, XI, 99 141. French, D. H. (1967) Prehistoric Sites in Northwest Anatolia I: the İznik Area. Anatolian Studies, 17, 49 100. French, D. H. (1969a) Anatolia and the Aegean in the Third Millennium B.C. Ph Dissertation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. French, D. H. (1969b) Prehistoric Sites in Northwest Anatolia II: Balıkesir and Akhisar/ Manisa Areas. Anatolian Studies, 19, 41 98. Furness, A. (1956) Some Early Pottery of Samos, Kalimnos and Chios. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, XXII, 173 212. Heidenreich, R. (1936) Vorgeschichtliches in der Stadt Samos Die Funde. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Athenische Abteilung,1935/ 36, Band 60/ 61, 125 83. Heurtley, W. A. (1939) Prehistoric Macedonia An Archaeological of Greek Macedonia (West of the Struma) in the Neolithic, Bronze, and Early Iron Ages. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Hood, S. (1981) Excavations in Chios 1938 1955: Prehistoric Emporio and Ayio Gala, Vol. I. BSA Supplemantary vol. 15, Thames&Hudson, London. Hood, S. (1982) Excavations in Chios 1938 1955: Prehistoric Emporio and Ayio Gala, Vol. II. BSA Supplemantary vol. 16, Thames&Hudson, London. Hüryılmaz, H. (2006) Gökçeada-Yenibademli Yerleşmecilerinin Erken Bronz Çağı’nda Deniz Aşırı İlişkileri. Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 5/ 17, 1 9. Koder, J. and Ladstätter, S. (2010) Ephesos 2008. 31. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, 3, 321 36. Korfmann, M. (1985a) Beşik-Tepe, Vorbericht über die Ergebnisse der Grabung von 1983 Grabungen am BeşikYassıtepe und Beşik-Sivritepe. Archäologischer Anzeiger, Heft 2, 158 82. Korfmann, M. (1985b) Beşik-Yassıtepe ve Beşik-Sivritepe 1983 Ön Raporu. VI. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, I, 107 21. Korfmann, M.(1987) Beşik-Yassıtepe ve Beşik-Mezarlığı 1985 Ön Raporu. VIII. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, 263 73. Korfmann, M. (1989) 1987 Yılı Beşik-Sivritepe, Beşik-Koyu ve Troia Çalışmaları. X. VIII. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, 323 31. Korfmann, M. (1991) Troia-Reinigungs und Dokumentationsarbeiten 1987, Ausgrabungen 1988 und 1991. Studia Troica, 1, 1 34.
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Derya Yılmaz: Observations on the Troy I Period Schliemann, H. (1881) llios The City and Country of the Trojans, Reprint Edition (1976), Arno Press Inc., New York. Schoop, U.-D. (2005) Das Anatolische Chalkolithikum, Eine chronologische Untersuchung zur vorbronzezeitlichen Kultursequenz im nördlichen Zentralanatolien und den angrenzenden Gebieten, Verlag Bernhard Albert Greiner, Remshalden. Sperling, J.W. (1976) Kum Tepe in the Troad. Hesperia, 45/4, 305 64. Steadman, S.R. (1995) Prehistoric Interregional Interaction in Anatolia and the Balkans: An Overview. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 299/ 300, 13 32. Şenyürek, M., Gültekin, H., Şenyürek, E., Dönmez, A. (1950) Larisa Civarında Höyücekte Yapılan Sondaj. Belleten, XIV/ 55, 487 504.
Takaoğlu, T. (2006) The Late Neolithic in The Eastern Aegean Excavations at Gülpınar in the Troad. Hesperia, 75, 289 315. Takaoğlu, T., Sazcı, G., Çalış-Sazcı, D (in press) Patterns of Troy I Period Settlements on the Coastal Troad. IN: C. Doumas, C. Renfrew, O. Kouka eds. Archaeological Conference, The Aegean Early Bronze Age: New Evidence, April 11th 14th, 2008. Athens, Greece. Van Andel, T. H. and Shackleton, C. (1982) Late Paleolithic and Mesolithic Coastlines of Greece and the Aegean. Journal of Field Archaeology, 9/ 4, 445 54. Yakar, J. (1979) Troy and Anatolian Early Bronze Age Chronology. Anatolian Studies, XXIX, 51 67. Yılmaz, D. (2010) M.Ö. III. Binde Batı ve Orta Anadolu Kültürel İlişkileri (Cultural Relations of Western and Central Anatolia during the Third Millennium B.C.), Unpublished PhD Thesis, Ankara Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü.
Fig. 1: Tripod cooking pots sherds from Colonae-Aktaşovası (Photo: Derya Yılmaz)
Fig. 3 : Bowls with horizontal tubular lugs sherds from Colonae-Aktaşovası (Photo: Derya Yılmaz)
Fig. 2 : Bowls with tickened interior rims and other Troy I sherds from Colonae-Aktaşovası (Photo: Derya Yılmaz)
Fig. 4: Small finds of Early Troy I from Külahlı (Photo: Derya Yılmaz)
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Fig. 8: Bowls with horizontal tubular lugs sherds from Larisa-Limantepe (Photo: Derya Yılmaz)
Fig. 5: Tripod cooking pots sherds from Külahlı (Photo: Derya Yılmaz)
Fig. 9: Early Troy I sherds from Larisa-Limantepe (Photo: Derya Yılmaz)
Fig. 6: Bowls with horizontal tubular lugs and other Troy I sherds from Külahlı (Photo: Derya Yılmaz) Fig. 10: A horn-handle pot sherd from Larisa-Limantepe (Photo: Derya Yılmaz)
Fig. 11: A stone-axe of Early Troy I from LarisaLimantepe (Photo: Derya Yılmaz)
Fig. 7: Bowls with tickened interior rims sherds from Külahlı (Photo: Derya Yılmaz) Fig. 12: Early Troy I sherds from Larisa-Limantepe (Photo: Derya Yılmaz)
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Derya Yılmaz: Observations on the Troy I Period
Fig. 13: Illustrations of sherds from Külahlı (1-12, 31, 37-43), Colonae-Aktaşovası (13-30) and Larisa-Limantepe (31-36) (drawing: Derya Yılmaz)
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Fig. 14: Distribution map of the main pottery types of Early Troy I in the West Anatolia and East Aegean Islands (drawing: Derya Yılmaz)
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From the Middle Danube to Anatolia: Contacts During the Second Millennium BC. a Case Study Anca-Diana Popescu, Radu Băjenaru
“Vasile Pârvan” Institute of Archaeology, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania
Bone artefacts with waveband decoration were found over a large area covering the Carpathian Basin, Mainland Greece and Anatolia; these pieces have been intensely discussed in the archaeological literature.1 Their spreading in the Middle Danube area was seen as a result of contacts with the Aegean-Anatolian world, while the Mycenaean influences on the north-Balkan area were repeatedly emphasized.
The aspect of the Monteoru deposit (a layer of stones among which were noted in situ hearths, large vitrified pieces of adobe, Monteoru Ic2-Ic1 pottery, small artefacts made of stone, bone and clay) is extremely different from that of the Costişa deposit, showing more similarities with the exterior structures of some of its funerary features.3 The Costişa layer is made up of large pieces of adobe, Costişa pottery concentrations (pots broken in situ or complete, scattered pot fragments) and hearths. On the lower plateau of the Cetăţuia (plateau B), the remains of the Costişa deposition are more consistent, better preserved compared to the situation on plateau A (Fig. 3). From one of the Costişa features (also containing Costişa pottery, large pieces of burnt adobe and wood) on plateau B (trench S.XI/2007) a few samples of burnt wood were collected for radiocarbon dating (Fig. 4).
A recent discovery made in the Bronze Age settlement of Costişa (Neamţ county, eastern Romania), in the near proximity of the Eastern Carpathians, reopened this old and highly debated topic. The discovery consists of two pieces: a complete bone cylinder with a waveband ornament and a second cylinder bearing traces of processing, but left unfinished and undecorated. The Bronze Age Settlement from Costişa (Neamţ county, Romania)
In trench III/2003 on plateau A, under the stone and pottery of the Monteoru layer, associated with adobe, scattered fragments of hearths and Costişa pottery, a bone cylinder was found (Fig. 5). It was decorated with the waveband pattern (Fig. 6/1). Nearby there was a second cylinder, broken in two, unfinished and not decorated (Fig. 6/2). From this second undecorated cylinder a sample was taken for radiocarbon dating.
The archaeological site is situated at the eastern edge of the Costişa village (Neamţ county), on ‘Cetăţuia’ hill, formerly part of the left terrace of the Bistriţa river. The ‘Cetăţuia’ is made of two different areas, labelled as A and B: a plateau (A) which is higher (the ‘Cetăţuia’ itself), of an oval shape (ca. 70 x 36m), easily observable from all directions from a distance of about 3-4 km; the second area (plateau B), shorter and measuring 56 x 52m, makes the connection with the Bistriţa terrace (Figs. 1; 2). During the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, the ‘Cetǎţuia’ hill from Costişa was occupied successively by two human communities as shown both by the different aspects of their pottery (the Costişa and Monteoru Ic2-Ic1 pottery styles) and the construction remains found in the two successive archaeological Middle Bronze Age layers.2 The two human communities (Costişa and Monteoru) were partially contemporary and it is possible that at a certain time they competed with one another for various reasons: territorial proximity, efforts to control the area or the access to resources, closing of alliances with other communities attempting to enhance power and prestige etc. The archaeological excavations on ‘Cetǎţuia’ from Costişa did not reveal any direct evidence on a possible conflict or a fight between the two communities. However, it has been noticed that the Costişa settlement showed traces of destruction, while Costişa remains (pieces of adobe, pottery sherds, and various small objects) were intentionally incorporated into the Monteoru stones structures and hearths, which were covering almost the entire high plateau of ‘Cetǎţuia’ hill.
Also from plateau A, from the Monteoru layer in trench S.II/2002 a sample from a horse metacarpal bone was taken for radiocarbon dating. The decorated bone cylinder from Costişa. Similar pieces and their occurrence (Fig. 7) The complete bone cylinder (found broken in two) displays a rich excised decoration. The main element of decoration (a thick waveband) located to the middle of the piece, is flanked on one side by a row of small rectangles and on the other by a row of small circles. Ornamented bone cylinders belonging to the Bronze Age were found in Romania at Pecica- Arad county,4 Derşida- Sălaj county (Wietenberg layers, two pieces, context unknown)5 and Otomani – Bihor county6. An important number of decorated bone cylinders comes from the area of the Middle Danube in Hungary (at Füzesabony three pieces were found in the Füzesabony layer;7 another decorated cylinder found at Jászdózsa was attributed to the Middle Bronze Age)8, Slovakia (a fragmented piece came from Nitrianski Hrádok, in a Mad’arovce
3 1
4
See more recent publications: David 1997, 247-305, with earlier bibliography; David 2001, 51-80. Given the limited typographical space it was impossible to quote the entire literature written on the subject. 2 Vulpe and Zamoşteanu, 1962, 309-16; Popescu 2003, 379-401; Popescu and Băjenaru, 2008, 5-22.
5 6 7 8
35
Popescu and Băjenaru, 2008, 5-22. Crişan, 1978, 19, fig. 8. Chidioşan 1980, 64-5. Chidioşan 1984, 37, fig. 12/5. Bóna 1975, 265-266; 1992, 27; Meier-Arendt 1992, 193. Meier-Arendt 1992, 193.
SOMA 2011 context)9, the Czech Republic (the site of Blučina-Cezavy, in a Věteřov context)10, Vojvodina (in a Vatina context)11. All the pieces were found in Bronze Age settlements. Similar items occurred at Beycesultan and Boğazköy in the Anatolian area and at Tell Atchana (Alalakh) on the Amuq Plain.12 It is worth noting that, similar to the Costişa case, a few of the cylinders found on the Middle Danube were broken in two.
The contexts for the decorated bone cylinders in west Anatolia are later than the contexts for the Costişa ones, mainly during the second half of the 2nd millennium BC.17 The earliest context, burial 39/97 from layer VI at Alalakh is not earlier than 17th century BC.18 Cylindrical bone objects, different in appearance from that of Costişa but showing similar decoration were discovered at Kültepe in layer Ib19 and were dated ca. 1800-1728 BC.20 Consequently, we can suggest that the appearance of the waveband decorated bone artefacts in the Bronze Age sites of the Carpathian-Danubian area takes place in the same time with their appearance in the Anatolia, during the first part of the 2nd millennium BC.
Absolute dating of the ornamented bone cylinders A significant number of radiocarbon dates exist for the sites from the Otomani/Füzesabony, Wietenberg, Mad’arovce, Věteřov cultures on the Middle Danube area.13 Calibrated, they suggest the interval of ca. 2000-1600 BC for the respective cultural time-frame. Still, there is no direct connection between the archaeological context that provided the samples and the context of the decorated bone cylinders. This is partly caused by the lack of information regarding the archaeological contexts of the samples that were never published together with the radiocarbon dates. On the other hand, the information on the context of the cylinders themselves is either very vague or lacking.
The similarity between the decorative patterns of such bone items found in Bronze Age sites on the Middle Danube area (Wietenberg, Otomani/Füzesabony, Vatina, Mad’arovce cultures) and the decorations found on some gold plaques found in the Shaft Graves at Mycenae determined some of the researchers to synchronize the two cultural areas and to consider the spiral and waveband patterns as of Mycenaean origin. According to the radiocarbon dates obtained for the Bronze Age in the EastCentral European area, we can no longer support the idea of such a synchronism, the above mentioned cultures having formed in a period preceding that of the Shaft Graves at Mycenae.21
Among all these finds, the Costişa pieces have the best context thus playing an important part in establishing the links with other cultural areas. Very useful under the circumstances are the radiocarbon dates for the site.14
The existence of close contacts during the Bronze Age between the Middle and Lower Danube area and the Anatolian one has been observed many years ago.22 Other than the decorated bone cylinders there are bone items typical to the Middle Danube area, such as the horn-shaped cheek pieces also found in Bronze Age sites in Anatolia.23 While the cheek pieces are part of the harness, the function of the bone cylinders is hard to decipher. It is possible that they decorated various parade items such as sceptres or they might have been an accessory of the horse parade equipment. Cheek pieces are not absolutely necessary for horse riding. But for the elites of the Bronze Age in the CarpathianDanubian area, Anatolia, Mycenaean area or Egypt, using horses with wearing spectacular adornments was definitely another way of affirmation of their social position, of the existing prestige. Cheek pieces and perhaps the decorated bone cylinders were important accessories of this distinctive harness.24
Sample Hd-28358: 3407 ± 26 BP on the unfinished bone cylinder offers the calibrated date of 1770-1620 BC (95.4% probability) and 1745-1680 BC at 67.4% probability15 (Fig. 8). 11 samples of burnt wood found in a Costişa feature with pieces of adobe and pottery from trench S.XI/2007, plateau B, were sent to the radiometric laboratory in Heidelberg (Fig. 9). For more safety, in a few cases from the same piece of wood several samples were taken. For example from two beams joined together were collected and sent to Heidelberg the samples A1, A2, B2. From a piece of burnt wood were taken the samples marked as D (Hd27903 and Hd-26473) while from another piece were taken two samples marked as E (Hd-26587 and Hd-27977). The sample Hd-28033: 3429 ± 15 BP came from the eastern profile of trench S.XI. Calibrated, the majority of samples indicate the interval of 1780-1630 BC as having the highest probability, matching the date obtained for the unfinished cylinder. Samples A1, A2 şi B2 indicated the highest probability for the interval of 19801770 BC. Its anteriority can be explained through the ‘old wood’ effect, given the fact the wood belonged to the Ouerqus species (most likely to Ouerqus robus)16 with a long life span.
Acknowledgment This work was made possible with the financial support of the Sectoral Operational Programme for Human Resources Development 2007-2013, co-financed by the European Social Fund, under the project number POSDRU 89/1.5/S/61104.
The sample Hd-28949: 3381 ± 21 BP was taken from a horse bone found in the Monteoru layer, which superposes Costişa features; it offers the calibrated date of 1740-1620 BC at 2σ (95.4%) confidence or 1695-1635 BC at 56.4% probability (Fig. 10). This result shows once again the immediate succession of the Costişa and Monteoru features.
Bibliography Bóna, I. 1975, Die mittleren Bronzezeit Ungarns und ihre südöstlichen Beziehungen, Archaeologia Hungarica S.N., 49, Budapest. Bóna, I. 1992, ‘Bronzezeitliche Tell-Kulturen in Ungarn’. In: W. Meier-Arendt (ed.), Bronzezeit in Ungarn. Forschungen
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Kull 1989, fig. 16/5. Kull 1989, fig. 16/6-7. 11 Kull 1989, fig. 16/2-3. 12 Kull 1989, 68-70. 13 Raczky et al. 1992, 42-6; Forenbaher 1993, 245; Görsdorf 2000, 565-569; Görsdorf 2005, 468. 14 The samples were processed in the Heidelberg laboratory. We would like to thank Prof. Bernd Kromer once again. 15 Calibrations were done with OxCal 3.10. 16 The analysis of the wood structured was done within the Insitute for Forest Research by dr. engineer Ionel Popa to whom go our warmest thanks. 10
17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24
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Mellaart 1968, 194; Kull 1989, 68-70; David 1997, 285. For dating layers VII-VI from Alalakh see Manning 1999, 362-4. Kull 1989, 68. Veenhof 2003, 67-8; Yener 2007, 153. See the discussion in Kull 1989, 65-73 and Vulpe 2001, 9-21. For example J. Mellaart 1968, 194. Hüttel 1981, 187-194, pl. 42. Boroffka 1998, 114-7.
Anca-Diana Popescu, Radu Băjenaru: From the Middle Danube to Anatolia europäischen Bronzezeit’, Prähistorische Zeitschrift, 64, 1, 48-73. Manning, S.W. 1999, A Test of Time. The Volcano of Thera and the chronology and history of the Aegean and east Mediterranean in the mid second millennium BC, Oxford, Oxbow Books. Meier-Arendt, W. (ed.) 1992, Bronzezeit in Ungarn. Forschungen in Tell-Siedlungen an Donau und Theiss, Frankfurt am Main. Mellaart, J. 1968, ‘Anatolian Trade with Europe and Anatolian Geography and Culture Provinces in the Late Bronze Age’, Anatolian Studies, 18, 187-202. Popescu, A. 2003, ‘Beiträge zur Keramik vom Typ Costişa’. In: C. Kacsó (ed.), Bronzezeitliche Kulturerscheinungen im Karpatischen Raum. Die Beziehungen zu den Benachbarten Gebieten, Ehrensymposium für Alexandru Vulpe zum 70. Geburtstag, Baia Mare, Editura Casei Corpului Didactic, 379401. Popescu, A.-D. and Băjenaru, R. 2008, ‘Rivalries and conflicts in the Bronze Age: two contemporary communities in the same space’, Dacia N.S., 52, 5-22. Raczky, P., Hertelendi, E. and Horváth, F., ‘Zur absoluten Datierung der bronzezeitlichen Tell-Kulturen in Ungarn’, In: W. Meier-Arendt (ed.), Bronzezeit in Ungarn. Forschungen in Tell-Siedlungen an Donau und Theiss, Frankfurt am Main, 42-6. Veenhof, K.R. 2003, The old assyrian list of year eponyms from Karum Kanish and its chronological implications, Ankara, Turkish Historical Society. Vulpe, A. and Zamoşteanu, M. 1962, ‘Săpăturile de la Costişa (r. Buhuşi, reg. Bacău)’, Materiale şi cercetări arheologice, 8, 309-16. Vulpe, A. 2001, ‘The Aegean-Anatolian and South-Eastern Europe in the Light of a Revision of the Bronze Age Chronology’. In: C. Kacsó (ed.), Der Nordkarpatische Raum in der Bronzezeit, Symposium Baia Mare 7.-10. Oktober 1998, Baia Mare, Editura Cornelius, 9-21. Yener, K.A. 2007, ‘The Anatolian Middle Bronze Age kingdoms and Alalakh: Mukish, Kanesh and trade’, Anatolian Studies, 57, 151-60.
in Tell-Siedlungen an Donau und Theiss, Frankfurt am Main, 9-39. Boroffka, N. 1998, ‘Bronze- und früheisenzeitliche Geweihtrensenknebel aus Rumänien und ihre Beziehungen’, Eurasia Antiqua, 4, 81-135. Chidioşan, N. 1980, Contribuţii la istoria tracilor din nord-vestul României. Aşezarea Wietenberg de la Derşida, Oradea. Chidioşan, N. 1984, ‘Prelucrarea osului în aşezările culturii Otomani din nord-vestul României’, Crisia, 14, 27-50. Crişan, I.H. 1978, Ziridava. Săpăturile de la “Şanţul Mare” din anii 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, Arad. David, W. 1997, ‘Altbronzezeitliche Beinobjekte des Karpatenbeckens mit Spiralwirbel- oder Wellenbandornament und ihre Parallelen auf der Pelopones und in Anatolien in frühmykenischer Zeit’. In: P. Roman (ed.), The Thracians world at the crossroads of civilisations, Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Thracology (ConstanţaMangalia-Tulcea 1996), Bucharest, Vavila Edinf SRL, 247305. David, W. 2001, ‘Zu den Beziehungen zwischen DonauKarpatenraum, osteuropäischen Steppengebieten und ägäischanatolischem Raum zur Zeit der mykenischen Schachtgräber unter Berücksichtigung neuerer Funde aus Südbayern’, Anodos. Studies of Ancient World, 1, 51-80. Forenbaher, S. 1993, ‘Radiocarbon dates and absolute chronology of the central European Early Bronze Age’, Antiquity, 67, 218-56. Görsdorf, J. 2000, ‘Interpretation der Datierungsergebnisse von Menschenknochen aus dem Gräberfeld Jelšovce’. In: J. Bátora, Das Gräberfeld von Jelšovce/Slowakei. Ein Beitrag zur Frühbronzezeit im nordwestlichen Karpatenbecken, Prähistorische Archäologie Südosteuropas, 16, 565-9. Görsdorf, J. 2005, ‘Datierungsergebnisse des Berliner 14C-Labors 2004’, Eurasia Antiqua, 11, 463-9. Hüttel, H.-G., 1981, ‘Bronzezeitliche Trensen in Mittel- und Osteuropa’, Prähistorische Bronzefunde, XVI/2, München. Kull, B. 1989, ‘Untersuchungen zur Mittelbronzezeit in der Türkei und ihrer Bedeutung für die absolute Datierung der
Fig. 1: Costişa, ‘Cetăţuia’ hill
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Fig. 2: Costişa, ‘Cetăţuia’. General plan of the excavations during the years 1959-1960, 1962, 2001-2008
Fig. 3: Costişa, ‘Cetăţuia’. Plateau B; trench S.XIII/2007, Costişa feature, detail
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Anca-Diana Popescu, Radu Băjenaru: From the Middle Danube to Anatolia
Fig. 4: Costişa, ‘Cetăţuia’. Plateau B; trench S.XI/2007, Costişa feature with pieces of adobe, pottery and burnt woods
Fig. 5: Costişa, ‘Cetăţuia’. Plateau A; decorated bone cylinder in situ
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Fig. 6: Costişa, ‘Cetăţuia’. 1 Decorated bone cylinder; 2 Unfinished and undecorated cylinder
Fig. 7: Distribution of the decorated bone cylinders in the 2nd millennium BC
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Anca-Diana Popescu, Radu Băjenaru: From the Middle Danube to Anatolia
Fig. 8: Costişa, ‘Cetăţuia’. Radiocarbon date from the unfinished cylinder, Costişa feature
Fig. 9: Costişa, ‘Cetăţuia’. Radiocarbon dates from the Costişa feature with adobe, burnt woods and pottery (trench S.XI/2007)
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Fig. 10: Costişa, ‘Cetăţuia’. Radiocarbon date from a horse metacarpal bone, Monteoru feature
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Kitchen furniture in the second millennium BC: evidence from Salat Tepe Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Gamze Kaynak northern face of the cook stove and paved and surrounded by pebble stones.
Introduction Preparing food in contact with heat has a long tradition in the history of mankind. The simplest way to cook food is on open-air hearths defined as a brick- or stone-lined fireplace. The hearth or oven is mostly installed in the living room for cooking and warming. Kitchens (Bottéro 1980-83) are often linked to the invention of items of cooking furniture set up either in open areas between houses or in separate areas of courtyards for common use (Uhri 2003: 105-115). These outdoor kitchens keep the house free from smoke. The excavations at Salat Tepe provided several examples of outdoor kitchens used in the Upper Tigris region during the 2nd millennium BC.
Another cooking place was unearthed in Trench K13. Two parallel walls lying in east-west direction are arranged against a mud-brick wall from Level 5. These ca. 5 m long walls are constructed of three rows of pebble stones fastened with mud mortar and border an ash area containing several pieces of cooking pots. Large blocks of limestone with dimensions of 85 x 74, 70 x 45 and 60 x 50 cm were placed at an angle of ca. 45° and are thought to have been used for protecting the fire from winds. The MBA level 3 Kitchens
Kitchens at Salat Tepe
Two open air hearths were uncovered in Trench K12. In a room filled with gravel overlaid by a ca. 20-30 cm thick mud layer, so as to create a flatish surface, were found remains of diverse hearths placed on this mud layer, indicating its function as an open air kitchen (Fig. 3p, 3r). The floor of a rectangular hearth (K12/089/F) surrounded with dispersed mud bricks indicates an open hearth with a low surrounding wall. A large amount of wheat was collected from the floor. An immovable mud cooking unit filled with wheat was installed to the northern edge of the hearth floor (Fig. 3s). The circular unit, having a flaring form, is coarsely formed by means of a mould. Hot charcoal was probably heaped up around this unit for cooking its contents. Several pots placed at the northern edge of the hearth were probably buried into the hot charcoal (Fig. 3q).
The MBA level 4 Kitchens
The MBA level 2 Kitchen
In Trench L 14 an outdoor kitchen (L14/116/M) is furnished by a plain topped cook stove (L14/119/F) in the south-eastern corner, and a tandoor (L14/110/F) in the southwest corner (Fig. 1a-e). The chamber is 3.95 m wide in a north-south direction and 4.50 m in an east-west direction. The 70 cm wide door enables entry from the north. To the west of the tandour a frame stone is placed on the stone paved floor. The tandoor is 0.53 m in diameter and 0.70 m in height. The 15 cm high and 10 cm wide fire hole is placed at the bottom of the northern part. The floor is paved with large stones plastered with mud. The fill in the tandour contains loose reddish brown soil and a few pot sherds (Fig. 1f).
The MBA Level 2 is represented by a monumental building dating to the second half of the 18th to the 17th, and to the beginning of the 16th centuries BC (Ökse and Görmüş 2006: 119-49; Ökse 2009). The complex consists of small single and two-storeyed unit placed around a central courtyard. At the wall bordering the courtyard from the south, a wide open gate enabled entrance to the southern rooms from the courtyard. In one of these rooms (K13/032/M & K14/050/M) a tandour was constructed in the south-western corner and an oval oven (K13/036/F) integrated with the eastern half (Fig. 2i-l). The compacted clay floor was overlaid with loose ashy soil mixed with burnt mud-brick debris and pieces of cooking pots. The entrance with a frame stone is placed at the western end of the northern wall.
On the mound summit five building levels dating to the Middle Bronze Age are exposed. Continuity is evidenced in the successive levels of occupation, with buildings improving in quality in later levels. The lowest level dating to the beginning of the MBA is reconstructed in Level 4 composed of mud brick buildings constructed on narrow pebble roads. A structure uncovered in Trench L 14 presents an outdoor kitchen used by the inhabitants of this level. Level 3 is represented in a larger area by remnants of structures with thin mud brick walls, several granary pits and open air hearths. The mound summit is enlarged and a building complex with a kitchen is erected on this plain surface (Ökse and Görmüş 2006:140-1).
The cooking stove appeared as a semi-circular mud brick line during the excavations. The installation is 1.10 x 1.20 m in dimensions and ca. 50 cm high. The firing chamber is enclosed by a plain upper surface built with mud that is thought to be used as a cooking or baking plane. The plane is ca. 30 cm above the floor, and has a ca. 10-15 cm high mud edge connected to a thin (35 x 10 cm) chimney with a height of 8 cm at the eastern side of the plane. The firing chamber has an opening on the northern side and a mud-brick socle installed in the middle of the chamber supports the plane. The firing chamber is filled with reddish and yellowish pieces of hardened soil. Among the broken fragments of the plane sherds of two different cooking pots were collected. An ash pit of 55 x 21 cm in dimension was attached to the
The oval formed oven (Miglus 2003-05) was constructed with mud bricks of 35 x 22-23 cm in dimensions and integrated with the eastern half of the kitchen. Its length is 3.60 m in north-south direction and 3 m in east-west direction. The oven floor is square shaped (2.10 x 2.10 m) and is constructed by a pavement of stones (60 x 40, 30 x 30, 25 x 35 cm) covered with a thick mud layer that is hardened and cracked due to the high temperatures produced during firing. The firing chamber was located at the southern part. This chamber is 0.80 x 1.90 m in dimensions and its floor is ca. 20-25 cm lower than the baking surface (Ökse et al. 2009: fig. 3). The openings of the baking and firing chambers are placed at the western side. From the section profile of the board
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SOMA 2011 uncovered in the late third millennium contexts in Tell Chuera (Orthmann et al. 1986: 21, fig. 7), in the MBA houses at Kültepe (Özgüç 1986: Pl. 18-19, 26.2, 27.2, 35.2; 2005: 63, 65, 69) and in the Early Iron Age levels of Norşun Tepe (Hauptmann 1971: 76, Pl. 53.3). Traditional Near Eastern and Anatolian houses feature a tandoor house in their courtyards or in common areas between houses (Köşklü 2005: 158-9, fig. 15-18; Mulder-Heymans 2002: 11-20; http://www.alalakh.org/tandir2008.asp). Outdoor kitchen chambers in south-eastern Anatolia are provided either with one simple tandoor (Figure 2n) or with a tandoor with an attached cooking stove.
between K13 and K 14 traces of the lower part of the mud-brick dome is visible. Among the mud-brick debris of the dome, sherds belonging to a cooking pot with spherical body and triangular lugs were collected (Fig. 2o). Such vessels are widespread in eastern Anatolia (Koşay and Turfan 1959: 380.402 no. 44; Koşay and Vary 1964: Pl. XXII; Sagona 1994: fig. 142-145; Thissen 1985: 124, fig. 29-33; Algaze et al. 1990: 329, Pl. 135; Abay 1997: 147, Typ II), in Amuk H (Braidwood and Braidwood 1960: fig. 281:7, 304:16) and in the Upper Khabur region (Kühne 1976: 100-10, Taf. 38, Abb. 383-99; Fielden 1977: 245-48, Pl. XIII) from the 3rd millennium BC onwards.
Flattop Cook Stove Wood- or coal-burning kitchen stoves have a hot cooking surface for pots and pans. The iron cookers have side-flues for transferring the smoke. The flattop grill (Turkish sac, Arabic saj) is a large convex metal or terracotta plate for baking flat bread (Turkish bazlama, pide, lavaş, şebit, yufka) or meat. Occasionally the convex metal or terracotta plate is set on stones and dry branches are burnt under the disc (Mulder-Heymans 2002: 2-5, 20, fig. 1C, 21) creating a hot cooking surface, as heat spreads in a radial fashion over the surface. A cooking stove with a circular opening on the top was uncovered in the Late Chalcolithic level 1 of Pulur Höyük (Koşay and Vary 1964: 13, Pl. IX.1, XII; Koşay 1976a: Pl. 13.2); the stove is compared with the tağar used for baking flat bread and for warming the room in use today. In the MBA settlement at Kültepe (Özgüç 1986: Pl. 55) and in the Hittite city of Kuşaklı (Müller-Karpe 2004: 151, Abb. 10) quadrangular cooking stoves with wide circular chimneys placed directly on the firing chamber are discovered. The plain side surfaces of the stove may have been used for baking flat bread.
The EIA Pit-House Kitchens On the ruins of the Middle Bronze Age settlement large pits were dug into the mound summit towards the end of the second millennium BC. These pits contain Early Iron Age pottery dating to the 11th-9tth centuries BC (Görmüş 2010; Ökse and Görmüş 2009). On the floors of one large and one small pit, horse-shoe shaped hearths were installed (Fig. 3t-u), and two knobs on the inner side of these hearths were probably used for supporting cooking pots. In Trench M 13, an Early Iron Age pit, 5 m in diameter, has a hoof-shaped hearth on its white plastered floor. A pit in the southern part of Trench L 12 has a hearth on its floor ca. 3 m in diameter, pointing to the existence of pit-kitchens. Fragments of decorated hearths exposed in several rounded pits indicate the presence of andirons supporting cooking pots on these hearths. Chaff and mineral tempered EIA Monochrome pottery was collected from these pits are observed in the Iron Age levels dating to the 12th to 10th centuries BC in the Upper Tigris (Köroğlu 1998: fig. 16:2, 13) and Upper Euphrates (Hauptmann 1969-70: 57-64; Winn 1978: 155-75; Bartl 1994) regions and in eastern Anatolia (Sevin 1996).
Flat-top ovens without chimneys have been unearthed in southern Anatolia (Duru 1996: 18, Pl. 14.2; 2008: 39, fig. 71 and 132); a rectangular flat-top oven from the Early Neolithic contexts of Höyücek and an oval example from Late Chalcolithic Kuruçay are the earliest examples of the cooking stove in Salat Tepe, however, these ovens have no chimneys. A terracotta model of a portable cooking stove from Greece is dated to the 17th century BC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cooking_ appliances). Portable iron cooking stoves are common in rural households, especially in south-eastern Europe and Anatolia. Unmovable cooking stoves are still in use in rural settlements of western Anatolia; these cooking utensils are traditionally built with stones and mud. Nowadays flat iron tops placed on low walls built with mud and stone are used for outdoor cooking (Fig. 1g) and portable flat-top stoves made of iron or terracotta for baking flat bread or pita (Fig. 1h).
Interpretation The kitchens from the 2nd Millennium BC at Salat Tepe define the kitchen traditions of the Middle Bronze Age. These kitchens provide prototypes of outdoor kitchens for modern Near Eastern villages. The use and construction techniques of several types of these pyrotechnic installations can be reconstructed according to ethnological parallels. Tandoor The most common type is cooking pits or pit-hearths used to trap heat and bake, smoke, or steam food (Mulder-Heymans 2002: 2-5, fig. 1A; Miglus 2003-05: 40). The tandoor (Akkadian tinnuru) is still in use in the Near Eastern households extensively for baking bread and for roasting meat. These cooking utensiles are constructed by a cylindrical clay barrel of 7-8 cm thick walls placed on the floor or in a pit dug into the floor. The barrel is often 100-150 cm high and 55-80 cm in diameter and an opening of ca. 20 x 20 cm at the bottom provides airflow. Charcoal or wood fire burning in the tandoor itself reach temperatures of ca. 480°C and are lit for long periods. Flat breads are baked around the well-smoothed inner surface, meats are roasted by hanging into the tandoor and cooking pots are placed on the top (Wandsnider 1997).
Domed Oven The domed-earth oven is a common appliance for outdoor cooking. Regardless of the materials used they all have an oven chamber, a dome, and an oven door (Salonen 1964). These furnaces trap and radiate heat from a fire either laid in the furnace chamber itself (black oven) or in a firing chamber that transfers heat into the oven (white oven). Smoke is vented either through the oven door or through a chimney. The fire is laid in the oven and after the fire burs down, the bread is placed on the oven base allowing the use of stored heat and low fires for long baking, as also experimented in archaeological excavations (Mulder-Heymans 2002: 52-5, 8-10, fig. 1B, 3-5; McQuitty 1984; http://www.suite101.com/content/build-a-clay-oven-thisspring-a105027).
The use of the tandoor dates back to the Late Chalcolithic Period in eastern Anatolia (Koşay and Vary 1964). Tandoors are
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Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Gamze Kaynak: Kitchen furniture Akpolat, M. S., S. Aydın, E. Eser and B. Ç. Tosun (2001) Rural Settlement and Housing in the Carchemish Dam Reservoir and its Vicinity. 1999 Activities. Karkamış Baraj Gölü Çevresinde Kırsal yerleşmeler ve Konutlar 1999 Yılı Çalışmaları. IN: N. Tuna et al. eds, Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs 1999, Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 529-545. Akpolat, M. et al. (2004) Rural Settlements and Dwellings in the Carchemish Dam Reservoir and its Vicinity. Work in 2001. Karkamış Baraj Gölü Çevresinde Kırsal yerleşmeler ve Konutlar 1999 Yılı Çalışmaları. IN: N. Tuna et al. eds, Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs 1999, Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 347-373. Algaze, G. et al. (1990) Town and Country in Southeastern Anatolia II: The Stratigraphic Sequence at Kurban Höyük. Oriental Institute Publications, 110, Chicago, The Oriental Institute. Bartl, K. (1994) Die frühe Eisenzeit in Ostanatolien und ihre Verbindungen zu den benachbarten Regionen. Baghdader Mitteilungen, 25, 473-518. Blaylock, S. (2009) Tille Höyük III, The Iron Age, 1. Introduction, Stratification and Architecture. The British School at Ankara. Lymm, Austin. Bottéro, J. (1980-83) Küche, IN: O. D. Edzard ed., Reallexikon der Assyriologie, 6, Berlin-New York, Walter de Gruyter, 27798. Braidwood, R. J. and L. S. Braidwood (1960) Excavations in the Plain of Antioch I. The Earlier Assemblages. Oriental Institute Publications, 61, Chicago, The Oriental Institute. Darga, M. (1985) Hitit Mimarlığı 1, Yapı Sanatı, Arkeolojik ve Filolojik Veriler. Istanbul, Edebiyat Fakültesi Basımevi. Duru, R. (1979) Keban Projesi Değirmentepe Kazısı 1973 – Keban Project Değirmentepe Excavations 1973. Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Duru, R. (1996) Kuruçay Höyük II. Results of the Excavations 1978-1998. The Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Settlements. Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Duru, R. (2006) Gedikli Karahöyük I. The Results of Excavations Directed by Prof. Dr. U. Bahadır Alkım in the Years 19641967. Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Duru, R. (2008) From 8000 BC to 2000 BC. Six Thousand Years of the Burdur-Antalya Region. Antalya, Suna & İnan Kıraç Research Institute on Mediterranean Civilizations. Ertem, H. (1982) Keban Projesi Han İbrahim Şah Kazısı 1970-1971-Keban Project Han İbrahim Şah Excavations 1970-1971. Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Esin, U. (1976) Tepecik Excavations, 1972. Keban Project 1972 Activities. Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 119134. Esin, U. (1982) Tepecik Excavations, 1974. Keban Project 197475 Activities. Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 71118. Fielden, K. (1977) Tell Brak 1976, The Pottery. Iraq, 39, 245-55. Genz, H. (2003) The Early Iron Age in Central Anatolia. IN: B. Fischer et al. eds, Identifying Changes, The Transition from Bronze to Iron Ages in Anatolia and its Neighbouring Regions. İstanbul, Ege Yayınları, 179-191. Görmüş, A. (2010) New Approaches for Interpretation of Eastern Anatolian Early Iron Age Pits, Semi-Subterranean Cooking Facilities from Salat Tepe. IN: P. Matthiae, et al. eds, Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East 3, Wiesbaden, Harrasowitz, 365-73.
Domed ovens with mud-brick bases integrated similarly to kitchen chambers are known in the Upper Euphrates region. Oval formed domed ovens are uncovered in the Early Chalcolithic Tülintepe 1 (Esin 1976: 123, 130, Pl. 79-80, 83, 91; 1982: 77, Pl. 57: 1-2), in the Late Chalcolithic- Early Bronze Age levels of Yeniköy Höyük (Koşay 1976b: 183, Pl. 105.2, 106.1, 118) and in the later Early Bronze Age in Norşun Tepe 7 (Hauptmann 1970: 197, Pl. II.3; 1971: 73, Pl. 49.3-4; 1976: 44-46, Pl. 31.1, 59.2, 33.1-2; 1979: 47-48, Pl. 19:2, 21:3, 22:1; 1982: 15-17, 77, Pl. 15.2, 16.5-6, 28-29, 31), Değirmentepe IIIb (Duru 1979: 10, Pl. 11.1, 12.2, 69.2) and Gedikli Karahöyük III (Duru 2006: 11, Pl. 24). Two kitchens were installed in the EBA IIIB house in İmamoğlu [Uzunoğlu 1987: 219-222; 1988: 87-88]. The southern kitchen is 5 x 5 m in dimensions and the northern kitchen containing a domed oven with a triangular ashpit [Uzunoğlu 1987: 218] is 8 x 10 m in dimensions; in the EBA II kitchen, another domed oven was uncovered. Similar ovens are found in the MBA sites of Kültepe (Özgüç 2005: 63), Alacahöyük, Boğazköy (Darga 1985; Neve 1996; Koşay and Akok 1973) and Maşat Höyük (Özgüç 1982: Pl. 19.2), and in The Iron Age (Blaylock 2009: 69, fig. 5.14) in Tille Höyük. The traditional ‘black’ ovens placed in open places between houses for common use are still common in rural settlements throughout the Near East (Peters 1972: 169, Pl. 124.2, 125:1) (Fig. 2m). Horseshoe Shaped Hearth Such hearths are known in Eastern Anatolia since the earliest settlements (Naumann 1985: 189-98; Mellaart 2003; Koşay 1971; Koşay and Vary 1964; 1967; Koşay and Turfan 1959; Takaoğlu 2000; Sagona et al. 1996). These hearths are used in Late Chalcolithic levels at Pulur (Sakyol) (Koşay 1976a: Pl. 10.2, 11.4-5, 12.1, 13.1-2, 16.1-2, 22.1-2, 27.1), in the EBA II contexts of Han İbrahim Şah VII (Ertem 1982: Pl. 11.3, 12.1), in the EBA IIIA-IIB domestic contexts in İmamoğlu (Uzunoğlu 1988: 8990) and Köşkerbaba (Uzunoğlu 1989: 75). The use of horseshoe shaped hearths in the Middle Bronze Age is established in Kültepe (Darga 1985; Özgüç 1986: Pl 8.2, 11.1-2, 18.2, 19.2, 27.2, 35-36; 2005: 63-8). These hearths are also documented in several Early Iron Age (1100-900 BC) domestic areas in Kenantepe (Parker et al. 2002: 616, 634), in Tille Höyük (Blaylock 2009: 194, 199, fig. 8.24, 8.29-30)and Norşuntepe (Hauptmann 1969-70: Abb. 14), in quadrangular houses with subterranean ovens in Tepecik 2a1-2 (Esin 1976: 140-1, Pl. 100; 1982: pl. 67), in semi-subterranean dwellings in Boğazköy Büyükkaya (Seeher 1998: 71-2; 2000: 20; Genz 2003: 10, Abb.2) and Gordion 7B (Voigt 1994: 26790; Voigt and Henrickson 2000: 331-6; Henrickson and Voigt 1998: 85-7). The horseshoe shaped hearths are still in use in southeastern Anatolian village households for cooking in a pot or as a trivet for iron or terracotta plates for baking pita or broiling meat (Koyunlu 1976: Pl. 135.3; Peters 1972: 166, Pl. 125:2; Akpolat et al. 2001: 359; 2004: 359). These hearths are either placed in open places (Fig. 3y) or in outdoor kitchen chambers for common use (Fig. 3v), or placed under chimneys in indoor kitchens or living rooms of traditional rural houses (Fig. 3z). Bibliography Abay, E. (1997) Die Keramik der Frühbronzezeit in Anatolien mit “syrischen” Affinitäten. Altertumskunde des Vorderen Orients 8. Münster, Ugarit Verlag.
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SOMA 2011 Orthmann, W., H. Klein and F. Lüth (1986) Tell Chuera in Nordost-Syrien 1982-1983. Vorläufiger Bericht über die 9. und 10. Grabungskampagne. Berlin, Gebrüder Mann. Ökse, A. T. (2009) Salat Tepe Orta Tunç Çağı Seramiklerinin Stratigrafik Dağılımı ve Tarihlendirilmesi. IN: A. Özer and A. G. Türkmenoğlu eds, I. ODTÜ Arkeometri Çalıştayı. Türkiye Arkeolojisi’nde Seramik ve Arkeometrik Çalışmalar, Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 50-60. Ökse, A. T. and A. Görmüş (2006) Excavations at Salat Tepe in the Upper Tigris Region, Stratigraphical Sequence and Preliminary Results of the 2005-2006 Seasons. Akkadica, 127, 119-49. Ökse, A. T. and A. Görmüş (2009) Nomadic Way of Life in the Early Iron Age, a Study on the Evidence from Salat Tepe in the Upper Tigris Region. IN: H. Oniz ed., Proceedings of the XII. Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, British Archaeological Reports S 1909, Oxford, BAR Publishing, 165-72. Ökse, A. T., A. Görmüş and M. A. Bilici (2009) Ilısu Barajı-Salat Tepe 2007 Yılı Kazısı. 30. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 1, 19-32. Özgüç, T. (1982) Maşat Höyük II, Boğazköy’ün Kuzeydoğusunda bir Hitit Merkezi-A Hittite Center Northeast of Boğazköy, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu. Özgüç, T. (1986) Kültepe-Kanis II, Eski Yakındoğunun Ticaret Merkezinde Yeni Araştırmalar, Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Özgüç, T. (2005) Kültepe-Kanis-Neşa, İstanbul, Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık. Parker, B. J., A. Creekmore, E. Moseman and J. McGinnes (2002) The Upper Tigris Archaeological Research Project (UTARP), A Preliminary Report from the Year 2000 Excavations at Kenan Tepe – Yukarı Dicle Arkeolojik Araştırma Projesi (UTARP) Kenantepe 2000 Yılı Çalışmaları Raporu. IN: N. Tuna et al. eds, Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs 2000, Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 613-643. Peters, E. (1972) Altınova’daki Kerpiç Evler-Lehmziegelhäuser in der Altınova. Keban Project 1970 Activities, Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 163-70. Sagona, A. G. (1994) The Aşvan Sites 3, The Early Bronze Age. The British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, Monograph no. 18. Ankara, Reymak. Sagona, A., M. Erkmen and C. Thomas (1996) The Excavationons at Sos Höyük, 1995. Anatolian Studies, 46, 27-52. Salonen, A. (1964) Die Öfen der alten Mesopotamier. Baghdader Mitteilungen, 3, 100-21. Seeher, J. (1998) The Early Iron Age Settlement on Büyükkaya, Boğazköy, First Impressions. IN: N. Tuna et al. eds, Thracians and Phrygians, Problems of Parallelism. Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 71-78. Seeher, J. (2000) Hattuşa/Boğazköy’ün Yerleşim Tarihine Yeni Katkılar, Büyükkaya Kazılarına Toplu Bir Bakış. TÜBA-AR, Turkish Academy of Sciences Journal of Archaeology 3, 1534. Sevin, V. (1996) Van/Ernis (Ünseli) Nekropolü Erken Demir Çağ Çanak Çömlekleri. Anadolu Araştırmaları, 14, 439-467. Takaoğlu, T. (2000) Hearth Structures in the Religious Pattern of Early Bronze Age Northeast Anatolia. Anatolian Studies, 50, 11-15. Thissen, L. C. (1985) The Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Pottery From Hayaz Höyük. Anatolica, 12, 75-130. Uhri, A. (2003) Ateşin Kültür Tarihi. Ankara, Dost Kitabevi. Uzunoğlu, E. (1987) Malatya İmamoğlu Höyüğü 1986 Yılı Kazısı Çalışmaları XI. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 1: 205-228. Uzunoğlu, E. (1988) Malatya İmamoğlu Höyüğü 1987 Yılı Kazısı Çalışmaları X. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 1: 71-94.
Hauptmann, H. (1969-70) Norşun Tepe, Historische Geographie und Ergebnisse der Grabungen 1968-69. Istanbuler Mitteilungen, 19/20, 57-64. Hauptmann, H. (1970) Norşuntepe Kazıları, 1968-Die Grabungen auf dem Norşun-Tepe, 1968. Keban Project 1968 Activities. Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 103-30. Hauptmann, H. (1971) Norşuntepe Kazıları, 1969-Die Grabungen auf dem Norşun-Tepe, 1969. Keban Project 1969 Activities. Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 71-90. Henrickson, R. C. and M. M. Voigt (1998) The Early Iron Age at Gordion, The Evidence from the Yassıhöyük Stratigraphic Sequence. IN: N. Tuna et al. eds, Thracians and Phrygians, Problems of Parallelism. Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 79-106. Koşay, H. Z. (1971) Pulur (Sakyol) Kazısı. Keban Project 1969 Activities. Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 99-101. Koşay, H. Z. (1976a) Keban Projesi Pulur Kazısı-Keban Project Pulur Excavations 1968-1970. Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Koşay, H. Z. (1976b) Yeniköy Höyüğü Kazısı, 1972-Yeniköy Mound Excavations, 1972. Keban Project 1972 Activities. Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 175-83. Koşay, H. Z. and Akok, M. (1973) Alaca Höyük Kazısı, 19631967’deki Çalısmalar ve Kesiflere ait ilk Rapor, Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Koşay, H. Z. and Turfan, K. (1959) Erzurum Karaz Kazısı Raporu. Belleten, XXIII/91, 349-62. Koşay, H. Z. and Vary, H. (1964) Pulur Kazısı 1960 Mevsimi Çalışmaları Raporu-Die Ausgrabungen von Pulur, Bericht über die Kampagne von 1960, Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Koşay, H. Z. and Vary, H. (1967) Güzelova Kazısı, Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Koyunlu, A. (1976) Etnohistorya Yönünden Elazıg, Munzuroğlu Köyünde Bir Evin İnceleme Denemesi. Keban Project 1972 Activities. Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 215-23 Köroğlu, K. (1998) Üçtepe I, Yeni Kazı ve Yüzey Bulguları Işığında Diyarbakır/Üçtepe ve Çevresinin Yeni Assur Dönemi Tarihi Coğrafyası. Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Köşklü, Z. (2005) Eski Erzurum Mutfağında Tandır, Yapılışı, Kullanımı ve Doğu Anadolu’daki Yeri Üzerine. Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 2005 (2), 155-177. Kühne, H. (1976) Die Keramik vom Tell Chuera und Ihre Beziehungen zu Funden aus Syrien-Palaestina, der Türkei umd dem Iraq. Berlin, Gebrüder Mann. McQuitty, A. (1984) An ethnographic and archaeological study of clay ovens in Jordan. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 28, 259-67. Mellaart, J. (2003) Çatalhöyük Anadolu’da Bir Neolitik Kent (translated by G. B. Yazıcıoğlu), Istanbul, Yapı Kredi Yayınları. Miglus, P. A. (2003-05) Ofen. IN: O. D. Edzard ed., Reallexikon der Assyriologie 10, Berlin-New York, Walter de Gruyter, 3942. Mulder-Heymans, N. (2002) Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology on Bread Ovens in syria. Civilisations. Revue internationale d’anthropologie et de sciences humaines, 49, 197-221. URL: Müller-Karpe, A. (2004) Untersuchungen in Kuşaklı 2003. Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, 136, 137-72. Naumann, R. (1985) Eski Anadolu Mimarlığı (Translated by Beral Marda), Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Neve, P. (1996) Hitit Krallığının Baskenti Hattuşa’da Konut. Habitat II, International Symposium on Settlement and Housing in Anatolia Through the Ages. Istanbul, Ege Yayınları, 99-115.
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Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Gamze Kaynak: Kitchen furniture Pit-Hearth Cooking. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 16 (1), 1-48, URL Winn, M. M. (1978) The Early Iron Age Pottery. IN: M. van Loon ed., Korucutepe 3, Amsterdam-New York-Oxford, North Holland Publishing Company, 155-175. http://www.alalakh.org/tandir2008.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cooking_appliances http://www.suite101.com/content/build-a-clay-oven-thisspring-a105027
Voigt, M. M. (1994) Excavations at Gordion 1988-89, The Yassıhöyük Stratigraphical Sequence. IN: A. Çilingiroğlu and D. H. French eds, The Proceedings of the Third Anatolian Iron Ages Colloquium Held at Van, 6-12 August 1990. The British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, Monograph no. 16. Ankara, Rekmay, 265-293. Voigt, M. M. and R. C. Henrickson (2000) Formation of the Phrygian State, the Early Iron Age at Gordion. Anatolian Studies, 50, 37-54. Wandsnider, L. (1997) The Roasted and the Boiled, Food Composition and Heat Treatment with Special Emphasis on
Figure 1. Level 4 Kitchen in Trench L14: 1a. Plan of the kitchen, 1b. Sections of the cook stove and tandoor, 1c. The kitchen, 1d. The cook stove, 1e. Reconstruction of the kitchen, 1f. Cooking pots found in the kitchen, 1g. Modern cook stove in Şerbettar, Havsa/Edirne, Turkey (Photo by Yusuf Akgün), 1h. Portable terracotta flattop grill in Kirazlıyalı, Körfez/Kocaeli, Turkey
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Figure 2. Level 2 Kitchen in Trenches K13-14: 2i. Plan of the kitchen and Section of the domed oven, 2j. The kitchen, 2k. The oven, 2l. The infrastructures of the kitchen, 2m. Domed oven in Kirazlıyalı, Körfez/Kocaeli, Turkey, 2n. Tandoor in Ilısu, Dargeçit/Mardin, Turkey (Photo by Yücel Erdaş), 2o. Cooking pot on the oven floor
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Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Gamze Kaynak: Kitchen furniture
Figure 3. Level 3 hearth in Trench K12: 3p. Plan of the hearth, 3q. Cooking pots from the hearth, 3r. The hearth, 3s. The cooking utensiles on the hearth floor; Horse shoe shaped hearths in Early Iron Age pit houses: 3t. The hearth in Trench M13, 3u. The hearth in Trench L12; 3v. Outdoor kitchen in Altınözü/Hatay, Turkey, 3y-z. Outdoor and indoor hearths in Artan, Adıyaman, Turkey (Photo by Serhat Altun)
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Remnants of Incantation Rituals from the Middle Bronze Age Settlement at Salat Tepe: an Ethnoarchaeological Approach Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Tülin Bozkurt
a circular form with their heads placed between their feet. The unbaked clay figurines of cups and animals, of horns and circular pieces symbolizing flat breads are placed on the floor of each pit. These findings are interpreted as allegorical representations of funeral meals. Although no similar objects were found in the pit at Salat Tepe, the skeleton lying properly in a single pit resembles an offering ceremony.
Introduction The excavations undertaken at Salat Tepe on the Upper Tigris region provided several contexts indicating ritual (Sallaberger 2006-8; Haas 2006-8) practices performed within 5 building levels during the Middle Bronze Age. In the earlier levels some of the walls belonging to the former building are reused, and some parts of the former buildings are filled with mud brick rubble and mud. The mound summit is covered with a thick layer of mud after level 3, and in Level 2 a large building complex is constructed on the mound summit; the walls of this new building are constructed approximately on the walls of the former level. This building collapsed after a destructive earthquake that happened towards the beginning of the 16th century BC (Ökse and Görmüş 2006: 188-189; Ökse 2009). The ruins are filled with mud brick spoils, and some parts of the building are covered with thick layers of mud from the construction of the latest Middle Bronze Age level.
Sacrificed animals or pieces of these animals placed among the ruins of the collapsed building and those buried in mud filled pits dug into these ruins seem to have been remnants of blood rituals sealing the damage of earthquake and fire. Antler in Level 1 The latest Middle Bronze Age level (Level 1) constructed on the ruins of Level 2 is represented by fragmentary mud-brick architecture. In Trench L14 a floor paved by small pebble stones is bordered by a mud wall (L14/059/D) from the west, and skulls of two deer with antlers are placed at each corner of this wall (Figure 3o). Pieces of another antler (L14/0157/H) are placed on a floor (L14/080/T) paved with fine pebble stones overlaid by a reed mat, according to the whitened remains on the pavement. Similar ritual deposits are found in the ritual complex uncovered at Hirbemerdon Tepe (Laneri 2011: 88). According to ethnological data, antlers were hung on houses or placed in fields in order to avoid misfortune and angry souls (Aydın 1992: 34, 38-9). The room with antlers in level 1 can be interpreted as a protector against the misfortune that occured in the previous level.
The continuity of material culture is registered in construction techniques and plans of the buildings as well as in pottery traditions in an unbroken sequence. The remnants of ritual practices recovered in these levels point to a continuity also in the spiritual culture. According to the physical structure of the archaeological evidence, two types of ritual behaviour are attested at Salat Tepe. These are blood sacrifices, i.e. the slaughter and burning of sacrificed animals, and bloodless sacrifices, such as placing idols under foundations, ritual objects in buildings and burying ritual objects in pits. Bloody Sacrifice
Animal Burning in Level 5
Bloody sacrifice sealing Level 2
In a room (L13/047/M) belonging to the earliest building level (Level 5) a smeary, black, thick ash layer containing several burned animal bones was uncovered on a compacted clay floor (Figure 1b). The jaw of a sheep/goat was placed in the cylindrical feature on the ashy layer. The strata with black, fatty earth, animal bones and ashes occasionally containing broken cultic objects, as in the MBA and LBA contexts in Alalakh, Biblos and Ugarit (Bergquist 1993: 34-40), are interpreted as remnants of ritual practices.
In the eastern part of Trench K 14 three small pits dug into the mud brick debris of level 2, contain pieces of animal bones. To the south of pit K14/082/Ç, a fragmentary floor paved with pebble stones is plastered with white calcareous mud and the foot of a large bovid lies near a carinated bowl standing in an upright position. A similar ritual seems to have been practised in the southern half of trench K 12 (Figure 2f). On a pebble floor covered with fine, white layer the bones of the right ankle, instep and toe of a bovid has been laid (K 12/0018/H). There are cutting marks on several parts of the bones (Albayrak 2011).
Bloodless Sacrifice
In Trench K 14 the unit is filled with the heavily burned remains of wooden balks. This part of the building is covered by a ca. 80 cm-thick mud layer with sacrificial pits. In one of the pits the skeleton of a lamb/goat lies on its right side with its head pointing to the northeast (Figure 2g). Sacrificial pits with sheep/ goat skeletons and pieces of several clay figurines are unearthed near the Early Bronze Age III graves at Gedikli Karahöyük (Duru 1986: 169-76; 2006: 76-84). The pits are paved with pebble stones plastered with white clay and the sheep/goat skeletons are laid in
Foundation Idols in Level 5 Three pebble stone idols (K12/0040/R/03-05) (Figure 1a) were collected from under the mud-brick foundations recovered at a deep sounding in the south-western corner of Trench K 12 (Ökse 2004: 632, fig. 4-5, 19). These were produced from 7-8cm long and 4-5 cm wide, flat (1-1.4 cm) pebble stones by scooping out triangular pieces from both sides, forming a stylised female body.
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SOMA 2011 Such idols are found occasionally on fragmentary floors and in the debris of Level 3.
Another pit dug into the ruins of Level 4 and overlaid by wall K14/120/D of Level 2, a bull figurine (K14/0238/P/02) was recovered. Pieces of several broken animal figurines from Level 4 were found in the debris of wall K14/106/D (K14/0220/P/01) and wall K14/108/D (K14/0224/P/01), on the floor K14/096/T (K14/0191/P/01 and K14/0226/P/02) and floor K14/097/T (K14/0200/P/01), and in the debris beyond Level 2 (L11/0060/P/02).
Deposits of various objects in the foundations of buildings for the support and prosperity of the inhabitants are widely practised in Anatolia and the Near East (Haas 1994: 250-5). The findings in Salat Tepe may also be remnants of a building ritual, since deposited under the foundations.
A rhyton in the form of a pig (L12/0200/P/01) was recovered in the debris (Level 3) overlaid by the building complex in Level 2 in Salat Tepe (Figure 1d). Similar rhyta are found in Tell Halawa, Hassek Höyük, Kültepe (Haas 1994: 536), in the third millennium BC Tell Brak (Oates et al. 2001: 593.41, 47-50) and in Nuzi (Starr 1937: Pl. 103-7).
Ritual Objects in Level 2 In room M13/033/M a terracotta andiron (M13/0103/P/35) (Figure 3k) of 11 x 12 x 12 cm in dimension was recovered. The hind part is plain and the front is arc-shaped; a clay coil supports the inclining top with a pouring lip at the rim. The andiron is decorated by horizontal grooves and dots applied by a pointed tool. Similar andirons are found in the contemporary contexts in Hirbemerdon Tepe (Laneri et al. 2006: 166-167, fig. 16,9) and Kenan Tepe (Parker and Swartz Dodd 2003: 51).
The pits dug into the ruins of Level 4 may either have been used for sealing the level, or for rituals practised by the inhabitants of Level 3.
Leaves of trees such as cypress, oleander, cedar and pine were burned as incense during necromantic rituals (Loretz 1993: 306; Ebeling 1931: 64, 126;) and also to drive ghosts away (Ebeling 1931: 137). Pouring water on burning incense was also practised to protect against evil spirits and for recovering from illness (Ebeling 1931: 77, 85, 146, 147, 149). Some Islamic communities in Anatolia still burn candles or incense at “sacred tombs”, so that departed souls might convey prayers to the gods.
Ritual Objects in Pits Sealing Level 2 In trenches K 13-14 the heavily burned unit 7 is completely covered with a thick layer of mud; some shallow pits have been dug into this mud layer. Pit K14/078/Ç cuts the western part of wall K14/072/D of Level 2. The pit contains broken pieces of terracotta bull figurines (K14/0151/P/04) (Figure 2i), and small pieces of animal bones and cooking pot sherds (K14/0151/S) in the ashy fill. The pit was then closed with a mud layer of ca. 20 cm in thickness. Pieces of unbaked clay figurines (K12/0042/P/03) in further pits (K12/017/T) were decorated with bitumen lines (Figure 2h).
A bronze hoof (M13/0103/V/05) and a bronze human leg (M13/0103/V/04) found within the same context might have belonged to a rider figurine (Figure 3l). In the mud-brick debris of another room, a piece of a terracotta human figurine was recovered (K12/0072/P/01) (Figure 3m). A small terracotta bird figurine decorated with red wash (M13/0145/P/03) found in the mud brick debris is shaped with a pointed beak, tail and feet, and large eyes (Fig. 3n). These finds seem to have been used as ritual objects in the settlement.
Similar to the sacrificed animals mentioned above, broken figurines buried in pits dug into the ruins of Level 2 seem to have been the remnains of bloodless rituals sealing the damage of earthquake and fire. Interpretation
Within the mud-brick spoil of room L12/056/M on the floor in front of the door, a fragment of a terracotta chariot model (L12/0153/P/01) was found, which is reconstructed as a two wheeled platform car (Görmüş 2009). The working on the incurved upper face is supposed to depict the chariot rider. The fragment has been drilled for a pin to fasten it to the wheels and another hole is to harness the chariot to terracotta figurines of quadruped animals. A terracotta bull figurine (K13/0140/P/02) found in pit K13/049/Ç has holes for attaching wheels at each foot (Fig. 3j). The 11 cm long and 7 cm high figurine may have been fastened to a chariot model made of terracotta or another material. Similar wheeled figurines are known from contemporary northern Syria (McAdam 1993: no. 402-403; Oates et al. 2001: 591, 593.51-52).
Early occultist communities believed in the sun, the moon and the stars as gods, and mountains, rivers, springs, winds and predators as beneficial metaphysical powers. Bad metaphysical powers were natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, droughts, floods, hurricanes and lightning strikes, as well as outbreak of epidemic diseases and swarms of insects, diverse illnesses, infertility, and death, which were interpreted as the anger of gods. (Bottéro 1987-90; Haas 1987-90: 235-40; 2006-8: 434-7; Ünal 1996: 4). Magical rituals were performed in order to calm these powers, and ward off negative influences such as curses, violence, family conflicts, etc. (Ünal 1988: 66-7). During a Hittite ritual intended to placate the gods, rams were decked out and utterances such as these spoken (Dinçol 1985: 3): “The God who is angry, the God who caused this epidemic disease, look, I tied these rams, be satisfied with (them).” In Anatolia rams for sacrifice are still decked out; ram horn-motives are still used on carpets as a symbol for increasing potency, productivity and power.
Ritual Objects in Pits in Level 3
Beyond the thick mud layer covering of Level 3, pits containing several pieces of terracotta figurines were found in ashy fills. The room L12/080/M of Level 4 was sealed with an ashy layer containing pieces of lightly fired terracotta figurines in Level 3. Among these a pig figurine (L12/0203/P/04), bull figurines (L12/0203/P/03) (Figure 1c), and several pieces of horns and legs (L12/0215/P/02-10) of these quadruples were collected (Figure 1e).
The main goal of the Imitative/Analogic Magic is to obtain the desired wishes by means of imitation. This method is based on observing and imitating the events in the nature. Imitative magic is still practised in rural regions of Anatolia. A woman who wishes for a child hangs a small cradle model to rocks, to the bushes
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Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Tülin Bozkurt: Remnants of Incantation Rituals According to the cuneiform archives, during rituals to release people from diseases caused by evil spirits, or for bewitched people, a clay figurine of the spirit believed to be the cause of the disease was thrown into the river, and thereby the disease will disappear like the figurine (Ebeling 1931: 80, 84). Similar rituals are practiced for releasing fruit gardens from diseases or harmful insects by sailing the figurines produced from the clay taken from the affected garden into the irrigation canal in a model boat (Haas 1988; 1994: 905-6). Pieces of human figurines found in Salat Tepe determine the practice of magical rituals in this manner.
around “sacred” graves (yatır) and to branches of “sacred” trees (Ünal 2002: 106). The practice of “sealing the wolf’s mouth” is still performed to protect sheep lost in the mountains from wolfs. While closing a clasp-knife the following words are spoken: “Just as I close knife, so should the mouths of wolfs be closed in the same way.” After the sheep is found, the knife is opened so that the wolves do not starve (Ünal 2003: 116). In another ceremony, the person coducting the ritual touches the objects used during the ritual to make contact with the supernatural and ensure any evil forces theeby flow from him to the objects. This ritual behaviour is cited in Hittite ritual texts as “QATAM dai-” (laying on the the hand) and “SAG.DU-ŠUNU dai-” (placing on the head) for touch, and “allapahh-” (spitting) and “šer arha wahnu-” (turning over) for achieving correct contact (Reyhan 2003: 122).
Ethnological research conducted by T. Bozkurt in 2002 noted an example of ‘black magic’ from Yozgat/Boğazlıyan in Turkey conducted in a similar way. The ritual involved soap thrown into a river as a substitute for a person whose death is wished, accompanied by the following words: ‘As this soap melts and disappears, so should [the person’s name] also dissolve and disappear.’ (informant: Saliha Çalışkan, 65 years old, a resident of Yozgat).
Imitating spitting is still practiced in Anatolia to fend off the evil eye, disease, and misfortune. During ethnological research conducted by T. Bozkurt in 2002, two such practices were encountered. In the province of Siirt people spit on stones before determining the order of play in children’s games (informant: Abdullah Karakoç, 47 years old and lives in Ankara since 1990), and in Ardahan people spit on the ground when a dog howls to keep bad luck away (informant: Sülfinaz Durak, 77 years old, died in 2008 in Ankara). Spitting into water is considered to bring bad luck in the village of Ocak, Erzincan/Kemaliye in Turkey (Oymak 2010: 50).
Bulls were not usually used as magic objects. The animal might have symbolized the weather god and the ritual may have been performed for this deity. The Hittite texts record rituals for men represented by bull figurines, substituting perhaps for men; cows being used to represent women (Brock 1959: 12; KBo 9.129 Vs. 5-9): ‘nu ma-a-an LÚ-aš nu-uš-ši GU4 MAH[ ] tar-pa-al-li-in i-ia-an-zi na-[an-kán] I-NA É-ŠÚ [x] an-da ha-at-ta-a-an [-zi] ma-a-na-aš MUNUS –za-ma GU4 ÁB tar-pa-al-li-[in] [i]- ia-anzi na-an ha-at-ta-an[zi]’ (‘If a man, a bull is substitute and is slaughtered in his house, but if a woman, a cow is substitute and is slaughtered’). A similar practice was also current in Assyria (Çağdaş 1955: 53-67). With reference to these records, the cattle legs found among the ruins of Level 2 at Salat Tepe might have been the remains of a necromantic ritual held for a man who lost his life during the disaster that occurred there.
Substitutes The practice of transferring misfortune to animals or objects was a common practice in ancient Anatolia for self protection against bad luck. During confirmation rituals, human and animal figures, or organs made of clay, dough or wax, were used to represent demons, witches and gods. Various vessels, models of ships, houses and chariots, musical instruments, candles and bells were also used in such substitute rituals (Hrouda 1954: 184; Loretz 1993: 306; Haas 1977: 183-5, 192-3; 1987-90: 244-51; 1994: 879, 883-6).
According to Hittite texts dogs and pigs were considered as unclean, with contacts to the Underworld, and the physical characteristics of pigs made them suitable offerings to the Underworld gods (Ünal 1988: 56). At Kizzuwatna pigs were slaughtered into a sacrificial pit where libations were poured, and ashes, grain, young dogs and butchered animals placed as part of the Luwian-Hurrian tradition for offering to underworld deities (Ünal 1996: 76; Collins 2006: 174-6). In ancient Mesopotamian and Hittite sorcery texts pigs were traditionally killed to expel those demons that brought illnesses (Haas 2003: 139-40; Collins 2006: 173). Evidence from Kizzuwatna showed that pigs were also sacrificed in murder purification rituals (Collins 2006: 177). Hittites placed models of pigs in building foundations to secure the wellbeing of the community (Collins 2006: 170). Several rhyta in the form of pigs found among northern Mesopotamian sites demonstrate the practice of using pig models in rituals.
Two forms of the substitute ritual were used during magical ceremonies. The ‘Nakušši’ ritual involved the scapegoat animal symbolically loaded with the malevolent influence and then driven from the settlement or land (Ünal 1988: 83-4), as mentioned by the sorcerer Maštikka from Kizzuwatna (Reyhan 2003: 132). For those who could not afford to lose an animal, figurines were used as substitutes and then broken and discarded (Haas 1987-90, 247-8; 1994: 879, 886-7, 894-6). In a Hittite ritual text the practice of Nakušši is described as follows (Brock 1959: 121, KBo 39.8 IV: 11-13): [ka-a-ša-u ]a DUG ÚTUL SAG.DU-KU-NU tar-pa-al-li-iš …nu DUG ÚTUL MUNUS ŠU.Gİ tu-ua-ar-ni-iz-zi (‘this pot is a substitute for your head … and the old woman crushes the pot’).
The bird figurine found in Level 2 resembles the traditional bird sacrifice of the Hurrians to the underworld gods (Wilhelm 1994: 74) and for confession rituals (catharsis) (Collins, 2002b: 321). According to the early Babylonian texts birds were traditionally used to ward off bad luck (Heimpel 1987-90: 1).
This ‘tarpalli’ is destroyed during the ceremony together with the evils in it. The sorcerer Maštikka practised such substitute rituals to prevent conflict between family members (Reyhan 2003: 130). The disputing parties would be required to spit into the mouth of a sheep designated as the substitute and the beast was then slaughtered in a pit. Both parties would then spit into the mouth of a black sheep and this animal was also killed, dismembered and burned.
Purification Ritual objects used as ‘tarpalli’ were carefully disposed of so as to bury evils out of harm’s way (Ebeling 1931: 3; Macqueen 1959: 173; Hoffner 1967: 389, 399; Steiner 1971: 265; Haas 1987-90: 253-4; 1994: 908; Scurlock 1995: 1891; Ünal 1975/76:
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SOMA 2011 the Ancient Near East. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 55, Leuven, Peeters, 11-43. Bottéro, J. (1987-90) Magie. A. In Mesopotamien. IN: O. D. Edzard ed., Reallexikon der Assyriologie 7, Berlin and New York, Walter de Gruyter, 200-34. Brock, van N. (1959) Substituation Rituelle, Revue Hittite et Asianique, 65, 117-146. Collins, B. J. (2002a) Necromancy, Fertility and the Dark Earth: The Use of Ritual Pits in Hittite Cult. IN: P. Mirecki and M. Meyer eds, Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World, LeidenBoston-Köln, Brill, 224-41. Collins, B. J. (2002b) Animals in the Religions of Ancient Anatolia. IN: B. J. Collins ed., A History of the Animal World in the Ancient Near East, Leiden-Boston-Köln, Brill, 309-34. Collins, B. J. (2006) Pigs at the Gate: Hittite Pig Sacrifice in Its Eastern Mediterranean Context. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions, 6, 155-88. Çağdaş, K. (1955) Hindistan’da İnek Kültü ve Bu Kültün Menşei Üzerine Bir Araştırma, Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve TarihCoğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi, 13/1.2, 53-67. Dinçol, A. M. (1985) Ašhella Rituali (CTH 394) ve Hititlerde Salgın Hastalıklara Karşı Yapılan Majik İşlemlere Toplu Bir Bakış, Belleten, 49/193, 23. Duru, R. (1986) Tarihöncesi Çağlarına ait Dini Bir Tören. Anadolu Araştırmaları, 10, 169-76. Duru, R. (2006) Gedikli Karahöyük I. The Results of Excavations Directed by Prof. Dr. U. Bahadır Alkım in the Years 19641967, Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Ebeling, E. (1931) Tod und Leben nach den Vorstellungen der Babylonier, Berlin-Leipzig, Walter de Gruyter. Eliade, M. (2000) Anadolu Sembiyozu ve Hitit Bağdaştırmacılığı, Çev. Ali Berktay, Dinsel İnançlar ve Düşünceler Tarihi, Kabalcı Yayınevi, İstanbul. Friedrich, J. (1959) Die Hethitische Gesetze, Documenta et Monumenta Orientis, VII, Leiden, Brill. Görmüş, A. (2009) Model Chariots from the Middle Bronze Age: Reconstruction of a Model Chariot from Salat Tepe (Diyarbakır). IN: H. Oniz ed., Proceedings of the XII Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, British Archaeological Reports, International Series, 1909, Oxford, BAR Publishing, 5-7. Haas, V. (1977) Magie und Mythen im Reiche der Hethiter I: Vegetationskulte und Pflanzenmagie. Meerlings Bibliothek der Geheimen Wissenschaften und Magischen Künste, Hamburg, Merlin Verlag. Haas, V (1987-90) Magie und Zauberei. IN: O. D. Edzard ed., Reallexikon der Assyriologie, 7, Berlin-New York, Walter de Gruyter, 234-55.
483; Collins 2002a: 225-6). Hittite laws defined clearly that if the remains of incantation rituals were not disposed of and, on the contrary, taken to somebody’s house or land, then the person undertaking the ritual would be held responsible (Friedrich 1959: 30-1). A Hittite ritual describes the ritual of loading misfortune onto a sheep and a male goat (Dinçol 1985: 3; KUB 9.32). The animals should then be slaughtered and buried, symbolizing storage on behalf of the sun-goddess (the sheep), and male gods (goat). Various ritual purification processes of defiled objects or places, using fire or water are widespread. Pit burials of burned or slaughtered animals as remnants of sacrifice were common as a means of negating evil influences (Wilhelm 1994: 75). In certain Minoan/Mycenaean rituals the inedible remains of slaughtered animals (and sometimes even the whole body) were burned on an altar before the gods (Bergquist 1993: 17, 19, 25). These rituals are also attested in Ugarit texts (Bergquist 1993: 29-30). The practice of offering burned animals, usually birds, is a SyroPalestinian and Hurrian tradition. Cultural Origins The ritual activities performed in Salat Tepe mirror those described in the Hittite texts from Kizzuwatna, Ugarit, Alalakh VII and Ebla. These practices originated from the Hurrian and Luwian traditions of southern Anatolia and north-western Syria (Ünal 1996: 9; 1980: 477, 486; Haas 2003: 135-7, 141; Eliade 2000: 176). The region extending from the Diyala River to Cilicia was ruled by Hurrian states in the 18th-17th centuries BC (Wilhelm 1982: 12-19). In the 16th century BC, the old Hittite kingdom enlarged its territory towards northern Syria, and Muršili I destroyed Alalah and other Hurrian settlements, and conquered Carchemish (Klengel 1965: 42; Wilhelm 1982: 29-32). According to a letter of Hattušili I addressed to his vassal Tunip-Tešup, the kingdom of Tikuanni was located in the upper Tigris region (Wilhelm 1982: 21-22; Karg 1999: 275). In the 15th century BC the Hurrian lands of Išuwa and Alše to its north came under Mitannian supremacy (Astour 1972; Wilhelm 1982: 34). The historical relationship summarized here correlates with the transfer of ritual practices originating from the native Hurrian culture to the Hittites. The ethnological data presented above point to the practice of these incantation rituals in the ancient Near East and beyond accross the centuries.
Haas, V. (1988) Magie in hethitischen Garten. IN: E. Neu and C. Rüster eds, Documentum Asiae Minoris antiquae, Festschrift für Heinrich Otten zum 75. Geburtstag, Wiesbaden, Harrasowitz, 121-42. Haas, V. (1994) Geschichte der Hethitischen Religion. Leiden-New York-Köln, Brill. Haas, V. (2003) Betrachtungen zur Traditionsgeschichte hethitischer Rituale am Beispiel des “Sündenbock” Motivs. IN: G. M. Beckman et al. eds, Hittite Studies in Honor of Harry A. Hoffner Jr. on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday. Winona Lake, Eisenbrauns, 131-42.
Bibliography Albayrak E. (2011) The Animal Bone Collected under the Mudbrick Floor in Trench K 12 at Salat Tepe. Appendix 2 in Ökse, A. T. and A. O. Alp, 2002 Excavations at Salat Tepe. IN: N. Tuna and O. Doonan, eds., Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs Activities in 2002, II, Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 757-819. Aydın, M. (1992) Mut Bölgesinde Yaşayan Halk İnançları“, IV. Milletlerarası Türk Halk Kültürü Kongresi Bildirileri: Gelenek, Görenek ve İnançlar. IN: Kültür Bakanlığı Halk Kültürlerini Araştırma ve Geliştirme Genel Müdürlüğü Yayınları, 167, Ankara, Ofset Repromat Matbaası, 31-40. Bergquist, B. (1993) Bronze Age Sacrificial Koine in the Eastern Mediterranean? A Study of Animal Sacrifice in the Ancient Near East. IN: J. Quaegebeur eds, Ritual and Sacrifice in
Haas, V. (2006-8) Ritual. B. Bei den Hethitern. IN: O. D. Edzard ed., Reallexikon der Assyriologie, 11, Berlin-New York, Walter de Gruyter, 430-8. Heimpel W. (1987-90) Libation: Philologisch. Mesopotamien. IN: O. D. Edzard ed., Reallexikon der Assyriologie, 7, BerlinNew York, Walter de Gruyter, 1-5.
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Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Tülin Bozkurt: Remnants of Incantation Rituals Arkeolojisi’nde Seramik ve Arkeometrik Çalışmalar, Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 50-60. Ökse, A. T. and A. Görmüş (2006) Excavations at Salat Tepe in the Upper Tigris Region: Stratigraphical Sequence and Preliminary Results of the 2005-2006 Seasons. Akkadica, 127: 119-49. Parker, J. B. and L. Swartz Dodd (2003) The Early Second Millennium Ceramic Assemblage From Kenan Tepe, Southeastern Turkey, A Preliminary Assessment. Anatolian Studies, 53, 33-69. Reyhan, E. (2003) Hitit Büyü Ritüellerinin Uygulama Şekilleri Üzerine Bir İnceleme, Archivum Anatolicum, VI/2, 118-136. Sallaberger, W. (2006-2008) Ritual. A. In Mesopotamien. IN: O. D. Edzard ed., Reallexikon der Assyriologie, 11, Berlin-New York, Walter de Gruyter, 421-30. Scurlock, J. (1995) Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Mesopotamian Thought. IN: J. M. Sasson ed., Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, III, New York, MacMillan Library Reference, 1883-93. Starr, R. F. S. (1937) Nuzi. Report on the Excavations at Yorgan Tepa Near Kirkuk, Iraq Conducted by Harward University in Conjunction with the American Schools of Oriental Research and the University Museum of Philadelphia 1927-1931. Cambridge, Harvard University Press. Steiner, G. (1971) Die Unterweltsbeschwörung des Odysseus im Lichte hethitischer Texte. Ugarit Forschungen, 3, Internationales Jahrbuch für die Altertumskunde SyrienPalästinas, 3, Kevelaer and Neukirchen- Vluyn, 265–83. Ünal, A. (1975/76) Hititlerde Ölülere Sunulan Kurban Hakkında Bazı Düsünceler/Einige Gedanken über das Totenopfer bei den Hethitern, Anadolu/Anatolia, 19, 165-183. Ünal, A. (1988) The Role of Magic in the Ancient Anatolian Religions According to the Cuneiform Texts from BoğazköyHattusa. Essays on Anatolien Studies in the Second Millennium B.C., Bulletin of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan, 3, Otto Harrassowitz ,Wiesbaden, 52-85. Ünal, A. (1996) The Ritual of Hantitassu from the City of Hurma Against Troublesome Years. Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu. Ünal, A. (2003) Büyücülük, Hititler Devrinde Anadolu II, Eski Anadolu Uygarlıkları Dizisi, 10, Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları, İstanbul, 110-116. Wilhelm G. (1982) Grundzüger der Geschichte und Kultur der Hurriter. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Wilhelm G. (1994) The Hurrians, (translated by J. Barnes), Warminster, Aris and Phillips.
Hoffner H. A. (1967) Second Millenium antecedents to the Hebrew ’ōbh. Journal of Biblical Literature, 86, 385-401. Hutter, M. (1991) Bemerkungen zur Verwendung magischer Rituale in mittelhethitischer Zeit, Altorientalische Forschungen, 18, 32-43. Karg, N. (1999) Gre Dimse 1998: Preliminary Report. IN: N. Tuna et al. (eds.) Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs Activities in 1998. Ankara: Middle East Technical University, 237-296. Klengel, H. (1965) Geschichte und Kultur Altsyriens. Leipzig: Koehler and Amelang. Laneri, N., A. D’Agostino, M. Schwartz, S. Valentini and G. Pappalardo (2006) Preliminary Report of the Archaeological Excavations at Hirbemerdon Tepe, Southeastern Turkey. Anatolica, 32, 153-88. Laneri, N. (2011) Connecting Fragments: a Sensorial Approach to the Materialization of Religious Beliefs in Rural Mesopotamia at the Beginning of the Second Millennium BC. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 21, 77-94. Loretz, O. (1993) Nekromantie und Totenevokation in Mesopotamien, Ugarit und Israel. IN: B. Janowski et al. eds, Religionsgeschichtliche Beziehungen zwischen Kleinasien, Nordsyrien und dem Alten Testament. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 129, Göttingen, Univetsitätsverlag Tübingen, 285318. McAdam, E. (1993) Clay Figurines in the 6G Ash-Tip and its Contents: Cultic and Administrative Discard from the Temple? IN: A. R. Green ed., Abu Salabikh Excavations, 4, London, British Schools of Archaeology in Iraq, 83-109. Macqueen, J. G. (1959) Hattian Mythology and Hittite Monarchy. Anatolian Studies, 9, 171-88. Oates, D., J. Oates and H. McDonald 2001. Excavations at Tell Brak 2, Nagar in the Third Millennium BC, McDonald Institute Monographs. London, British School of Archaeology in Iraq. Oymak, İ. (2010) Anadolu’da Su Kültünün İzleri, Fırat Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 15/1, 35-55. Ökse, A. T. (2004) 2001 Rescue Excavations at Salat Tepe. IN: N. Tuna et al. eds, Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs Activities in 2001, Ankara, Middle East Technical University, 603-40. Ökse, A. T. (2009) Salat Tepe Orta Tunç Çağı Seramiklerinin Stratigrafik Dağılımı ve Tarihlendirilmesi. IN: A. Özer and A. G. Türkmenoğlu eds, I. ODTÜ Arkeometri Çalıştayı. Türkiye
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Figure 1 Level 5: 1a. Foundation ritual, pebble stone idols (K12/0040/R/03-05); Level 4: 1b. Burned animal rests (L13/052/M); Level 3: 1c. Terracotta bull and pig figurines (L12/0203/P/03-04), 1d. Pig rhyton (L12/0200/P/01), 1e. Broken pieces of terracotta figurines (L12/0215/P/02-10)
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Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Tülin Bozkurt: Remnants of Incantation Rituals
Figure 2 Closing Level 2: 2f. Cattle foot as offering in Trench K12, 2g. Offering pit with a sacrificed sheep/ goat in Trench K14, 2h. Pieces of unburned clay figurines in a pit (K12/0042/P/03), 2i. Pieces of terracotta bull figurines in a pit (K14/0151/P/04)
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Figure 3 Level 2: 3j. Terracotta bull figurine with four wheels (K13/0140/P/02), 3k. Terracotta andiron (M13/0103/P/35), 3l. Pieces of bronze figurines (M13/0103/V/04-05), 3m. Head of a terracotta human figurine (K12/0072/P/01), 3n. Terracotta bird figurine (M13/0145/P/03); Level 1: 3o. Room with two antlers
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Glass Trade in the Light of the Late Bronze Age Finds from Panaztepe Nazlı Çınardalı-Karaaslan
Archaeology Department, Faculty of Letters, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
monopoly of the elites, opaque coloured glass began to replace lapis lazuli, turquoise and amber-type semi-precious materials in the Late Bronze Age.11
Introduction The Late Bronze Age is known as the period of innovation, when trade became widespread between the communities living in the different regions of the Mediterranean basin. Other than glass discoveries, there are finds of faience, frit, ceramic, metal and ivory as traded goods of this period.
This period is known to be the period when glass usage and its trade were at their peak in the East Mediterranean, particularly in Egypt, Levant, Anatolia and the Aegean.12 The period between the thirteenth and fifteenth century BC has been interpreted as ‘experimental and innovative’. Spaer (2001: 23-34) has also stated that the ‘dark age’ of glass corresponds to the years between 1250-1000 BC.
In recent years, with new research done in the Aegean region, archeological data on trading systems in the Late Bronze Age have increased. In understanding the structure and size of this trade, Uluburun located near Kaş,1 Gelidonia on the southeast cost of Lycia2 and İria shipwreck in the Gulf of Argos3 are all very important sites. In addition to this, particularly the coastal settlements in western Anatolia give fundamental information about the trade system of the above-mentioned period. Also, another settlement is Panaztepe, which is thought to have been an island settlement during the prehistoric periods.
In the Aegean world, the first glass use was for ornaments made of faience and frit, which are the byproducts of glass. Even though the first examples are typically seen on Crete, the earliest use of faience has been found at Agios Mamas, in the north of mainland Greece. This find is a necklace made of 75 faience beads from to a tomb dated to the middle of the Early Bronze Age.13 During the Late Minoan IA period, the workshops previously used for faience production at Knossos started to be used for glass manufacturing and this material was mostly used for beads.14 From that period, as well as the examples found in the workshops, Aegean glass, faience and frit beads have been recovered from tholos, pithos, cist graves and burial chambers related to the remains of women, men and children.15 Such finds show the existence of an advanced glass industry during the Late Helladic III A-B in the Aegean Region.16
The aim of this study is to look at glass trade at Panaztepe, in west Anatolia, in the Late Bronze Age, in the light of collected archeological data4. Glass Production in Asia Minor Looking briefly at glass trade in Asia Minor as a whole, nowadays many researchers believe Mesopotamia was the first site of true glass production. In fact, before glass, the use of faience was first seen in the production of jewelry in Egypt and Mesopotamia around the middle of the 4th millennium BC, and it has been discovered that the basic raw materials of glass were used in glazing vessel surfaces in the 3rd millennium BC.5 Glass ingots of this period can be found in settlements such as Tell Brak and Eridu.6 Moorey7 defines the glass industry of the period as sparse and disorganized. Even though the earliest glass finds were discovered in Mesopotamia, some researchers claim that glass production started during the sixteenth century BC in Egypt. An important glass workshop dated to the second half of the Late Bronze Age has been identified at Oantir/Pi-Ramesse, located on the eastern Nile Delta.8 However this is definitely not the earliest production, but represents applications where techniques based on advanced and time consuming experiences were used. According to Spaer,9 glass was first produced in the Akko settlement in Israel, calling the second half of the sixteenth century BC as the ‘glass age’, because during that period glass production had become something of an industry.10 Under the
Glass produced in the Late Bronze Age was traded in two ways – as ingots and as finished products (especially beads). Between the second half of the 15th to the 12th century BC, glass was clearly an important trade material, and the products represented prestige, status items. Panaztepe Panaztepe is located in the province of İzmir, approximately thirteen km to west of Manisa, at the northern end of a group of hills called Yeditepeler, on the Gediz delta (Fig. 1). Within the scope of the excavations carried out it seems that Panaztepe was continuously settled from the end of the EBA until today (Fig. 2).17 Most of the material discussed within the scope of this study was collected in the north and west cemetery areas of Panaztepe Panaztepe Glass Finds
1
Bass 1986; Pulak 2001; Matthaus 2006: 341-42; Rehren 2006; Newton et al. 2006; Höckman 2006; Pulak 2006; Pulak 2008; Jackson and Nicholson 2010; Pulak 2010: 869-71. 2 Bass 1967; Pulak 2006:63; Matthaus 2006: 341; Bass 2010. 3 Bass 1967; Matthaus 2006: 341. 4 A detailed study has been prepared by the writer. 5 Jackson and Nicholson 2010: 296. 6 Barag 1985: 111. 7 Moorey 1994: 192. 8 Rehren et al. 1998; Rehren 2006: 535; Nicholson 2008: 8-9; Jackson and Nicholson 2010: 296. 9 Spaer 2001: 23. 10 Spaer 2001: 23.
The faience, frit and glass items, which form the richest finds from the graves at Panaztepe, are considered to have a special importance within the marine trade network. 11
Barag 1985: 36. Rehren 2006: 535. 13 Panagotaki 2008: 45. 14 Panagotaki 2008: 45, 53. 15 Nikita 2003: 33; Lewatowski 2000: 38. 16 Nikita 2003: 23. 17 Erkanal 1990: 139; Erkanal-Öktü 2002: 190; Erkanal-Öktü 2005: 53; Çınardalı-Karaaslan 2008: 58. 12
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SOMA 2011 diadems (as well as necklace spacers), are widely known in the Aegean as well as these glass forms.27
Frit Beads Beads made of frit constitute the richest material group at Panaztepe with its twelve types. Frit, a material that should in reality be considered separately from faience, is a raw material mixture which is not transformed to glass.18 In ancient times frit served as an intermediate material in the manufacture of raw glass. It is defined as a kind of glass paste and the term pate de verre used for this material also meant glass cement.19 Frit, also known as Egyptian blue and extensively used, was made from a quartz, lime and copper compound, and shaped by being heated between 850 and 1000 degrees.20
Another group of examples from Panaztepe are the rectangular shaped beads with spiral and lily-shaped motifs (Fig. 6). According to Hughes-Brock,28 the motifs carved on this type of bead have specific meanings rather than just being decorative. The lily shape, which is frequently found among the Panaztepe examples, is understood to be associated with gynecological disorders in Egypt,29 and with fertility and the afterlife in the Aegean.30 The rosette motif, which was very popular in Asia Minor, is also seen as talismanic for women.31 Other than at Panaztepe, the above beads have also been recovered from the Kolophon,32 Müsgebi33 and Uluburun34 shipwrecks, and demonstrate that they had a wide distribution that reached the western shores of Anatolia. In this context, the examples discovered in these wrecks (and the beads from Ialysos, Rhodes35) present similarities. When looked at in terms of usage, the Olympia-Stravokephalo finds36 and those from Ialysos37 are highly striking. Another group of relief beads recovered from Panaztepe includes a unique example carved in the shape of a female figure.
Faience Beads Another group of finds is composed of faience items (Fig. 3-4). When compared to glass, faience shows an early development and represents the first stages of glass making.21 Glass Finds The glass finds among the LBA Panaztepe grave goods reflect the importance of this material. Among the finds of the tholoi graves at Panaztepe (dated to Late Helladic III A-B) there was a glass hilt and other ornamental pieces, such as various types of beads and necklace spacers. These types of artifacts have a significant place in archaeological terms as they are determinants of status and were widely used. The most commonly used bead types consist of global, cylindrical, and small disc-shaped examples.
Moulds Relief beads made of various materials were mass produced using of stone moulds. Although these moulds have not yet been discovered in Panaztepe, over 20 have been recovered at Aegean settlements such as Mycenae,38 Sparta,39 Ialysos,40 and Knossos.41
Relief Beads
Glass Ingots
Relief beads are widespread finds in the Aegean world and notable examples were found at Panaztepe. These were mostly discovered in graves among the deposited offerings. The motifs featured on these beads, mostly ornamental, are of Mycenaean and Minoan origin.22 The earliest examples were discovered in shaft graves at Mycenae and in Crete dating to the Minoan period.23 In the course of the Mycenaean palatial period, glass beads took the place of faience and frit ones.24 There are two types of these glass relief beads. One type has a flat reverse and the front carved in low relief. The other form is spherical with both sides carved in relief.25 According to HughesBrock26 the beads with flat reverses had their origins in Egypt’s 18th or 19th Dynasties, during which periods the reverses featured carved hieroglyphs.
The raw materials needed for the above-mentioned examples that were mass produced in workshops, using moulding and other glass processing methods, were supplied as ingots.42 For the LBA, other than at Kantir-Piramese and Amarna, the best evidence of glass trade undertaken between the regions in the archeological sense is the Uluburun shipwreck finds dated to the 14th-13th century BC. Within these finds there are 175 cobalt, turquoise/ light blue, purple and amber coloured glass ingots, each about 2 kg in weight. Besides these, about 8000 small glass beads stored in a Canaan amphora in the same shipwreck show the significant role of the trade in finished glass products across long distances.43 According to Pulak44 this volume of glass finds recovered from the Uluburun shipwreck is an important indication of the level of demand for glass in various diverse regions supplied by the trade.
Rosette-shaped Necklace Spacers
27
Hughes-Brock 1999: 287. Hughes-Brock 2008: 130. 29 Hughes-Brock 2008: 130. 30 Hughes-Brock 2008: 130. 31 Hughes-Brock 2008: 130. 32 Greenwell 1902: 6; Özgünel 1984: 721. 33 Boysal 1964: 81-85; Özet 1993: 114-33, fig. 1; Özet 1998: 33. 34 Pulak 1998: 218. 35 Schliemann 1964: 119-23, Fig. 163. 36 Yalouris 1968:10-1, fig. 8-9; fig.1346; Nightingale 2008: 83. 37 Schliemann 1964: 119-23. 38 Schliemann 1964: 119-22; Nightingale 2008: 76. 39 Perrot and Chipiez 1894: 413; Nightingale 2008: 76. 40 Schliemann 1964: 119-123, Fig. 163. 41 Evans 1903: 65, Fig. 42; Evans 1921: 486-8, Fig. 349; Nightingale 2008: 77. 42 Barag 1970: 133. 43 Bass 1986: 278; Rehren 2006: 535; Pulak 2001: 25-30; Pulak 2008: 313. 44 Pulak 1998: 202. 28
The first groups of necklace spacers are represented by a couple of rosette-shaped examples nearly all of the same size (Fig. 5). Similar rosettes in gold and faience, and used as bracelets and 18
Sleen 1973: 18; Grose 1989: 30; Lilyqueset 1993: 52-3; Moorey 1994: 167, 177-8. 19 Sleen 1973: 18; Grose 1989: 30; Lilyquest 1993: 52-3; Moorey 1994: 177-8. 20 Nightingale 2008: 64. 21 Nightingale 2008: 85. 22 Nightingale 2008: 68-9. 23 Hughes-Brock 1998: Hughes-Brock 1999; Hughes-Brock 2003; Nightingale 2000; Panagiotaki 2008: 46. 24 Nightingale 2008: 68. 25 Nightingale 2008: 64-5; Panagotaki 2008: 46. 26 Hughes-Brock 2008: 128.
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Nazlı Çınardalı-Karaaslan: Glass Trade The Syrians and Canaanites living along the coast of the Levant in the 14th century BC, and who were engaged in maritime activities, had close trade relations with Egypt, Cyprus and the Aegean world.45 In addition to this, Syrian and Canaan cities were also the centre of the trade system which connected Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Hittite empire. The discovery of blue glassrelated slag in a building located in Boğazköy-Sarıkale, dated to the beginning of the Hittite period, possibly points to the presence of glass workshops, even though their location has not yet been determined.46 Some tablets recovered from Boğazköy provide information about Hittite glass production.47
and other Mediterranean ports.56 The fact that various bead examples have similarities with the Panaztepe examples in terms of material and shape gives rise to the thought that Panaztepe had a place in this sphere of trade activities through such ships. The distribution of glass as ingots to various coastal cities, such as Panaztepe, through trading should have enabled the glass to be processed by local craftsmen and used especially by the elite class. In this context, glass raw material being distributed as overseas trade commodities leads to the idea that glass products found in various centres were locally produced and that not all of them could have been imported.
In the latest research done by Jackson and Nicholson,48 it has been stated that the glass ingots recovered from the Uluburun shipwreck are of Egyptian origin. Both this study and the researches that Walton and his team49 made on Mycenaean glass finds enhance the information we have on the glass trade networks of the LBA between Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Aegean region. According to these studies, the ingots produced in the glass production workshops in Egypt and Mesopotamia were possibly purchased by Syrian merchants and delivered to local glass workshops in the Aegean region to be used by the local craftsmen in the making of ornaments, seals, amulets, and decorative vases.50
Chemical analysis studies into the origin of the manufacturing materials of Panaztepe’s LBA glass beads are continuing. Within the Panaztepe excavations no evidence of a glass workshop has yet been discovered, nor are there any signs of slag to indicate production in the wider area. All the beads dated to LBA in the East Mediterranean region, including Panaztepe, are usually made of dark blue glass. Chemical analyses done on the cobalt blue and turquoise coloured glass finds in Uluburun have shown that the glass originated from Egypt.57 Under these circumstances, it is highly probable that the dark coloured glass used in the production of the Panaztepe glass finds is of eastern origin. However, to make an accurate judgment chemical analysis of the finds should be undertaken.
Review and Conclusion
By way of conclusion, Panaztepe may justifiably be considered as a significant LBA trading point within the East Mediterranean commercial network, and with all the socio-economic associations that linked to it.
As might be understood from the archeological and philological sources, LBA sea trade in the East Mediterranean was based on coastal routes. The distribution of eastern-made goods towards the west shows the clockwise trade routes of the Mediterranean region during that period.51 The main trade routes start from the west of the Levant region and first reach Cyprus before continue along the coasts of Anatolia. Rhodes was the most frequented port in the Aegean. From here the trade routes followed the islands we know as the Dodecanese, and the west Anatolian coast, before diverging to the north. Another route wound through the Cyclades, heading towards mainland Greece.52
Bibliography Barag, D., 1970, ‘Mesopotamian core-formed glass vessels (1500-500 BC)’ in A.L. Oppenheim, R.H. Brill and A. Von Salderen (eds.) Glass and glassmaking in Ancient Mesopotamia (London: Jarusalem) pp. 129-99. Barag, D., 1985, Catalogue of Western Asiatic glass in the British Museum (London) Bass, G., 1967, ‘Cape Gelidonya: A Bronze age shipwreck’, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 57. Bass, G., 1986, ‘A bronze age shipwreck at Uluburun (Kas): 1984 Campaign’, American Journal of Archaeology 90 (3), 269-96. Bass, G., 2010, ‘Cape Gelidonya shipwreck’ in E.H. Cline (ed.) The Oxford handbook of the bronze Age Aegean (Oxford: Oxford University Press) pp. 797-803. Boysal, Y., 1964, ‘Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı Müsgebi kazısı 1963 yılı kısa raporu’, Türk Arkeoloji Dergisi XIII, pp. 81-5. Çınardalı-Karaaslan, N., 2008, ‘Recent investigations at Panaztepe harbour town’ in A. Erkanal-Öktü, A., S. Günel and U. Deniz (eds.) Batı Anadolu ve Doğu Akdeniz Geç Tunç Çağı kültürleri (Ankara, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Basımevi) pp. 57-68. Erkanal, A., 1987, ‘Panaztepe kazısının 1985 yılı sonuçları’, VIII. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı I, 253-61. Erkanal, A.,1990, ‘Panaztepe kazısının tarihsel açıdan değerlendirilmesi’, X. Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, pp. 13946. Erkanal-Öktü, A., 2002, ‘İzmir bölgesi arkeolojik araştırmalarında Panaztepe kazısının yeri’, İzmir Kent Kültür Dergisi 188-95.
Matthaus53 suggests that trade in all goods including glass in the Aegean world was under the monopoly of Mycenaean merchants in this period. Bass54 refutes this opinion based on the excavations done on the Gelidonia shipwreck, stating that most of the communities in the Near East were involved in this trade. Likewise, the Syrians had dominance over the trade between the Aegean, the Levant and Egypt. It is known that even though the Minoans had an equal role with the Syrians in the East Mediterranean trade before the collapse of Knossos, the said trade passed to the exclusive control of Syrian merchants after the collapse.55 Over 20 glass ingots recovered from the KaşUluburun shipwreck dated to the 14th and 13th centuries BC show the importance of this material in LBA trade. The glass ingots in the Kaş-Uluburun wreck also support the fact that Egyptian connected trade also found its way to mainland Greece, Cyprus 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55
Pulak 2010: 869-70. Seeher 2004: 12-3. Oppenheim 1973: 259-63; Bass 1986: 282. Jackson and Nicholson 2010: 295. Walton et al. 2009. Walton et al. 2009; Jackson and Nicholson 2010: 295. Pulak 2001: 13-4; Pulak 2008: 297. Matthaus 2006: 359. Matthaus 2006: 338. Bass 1967. Sheratt and Sheratt 1991: 386; Pulak 2008: 314.
56
Bass 1986: 278; Rehren 2006; 535; Pulak 2001: 25-30, Pulak 2008:
313. 57
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Jackson and Nicholson 2010.
SOMA 2011 (eds.) Ornaments from the past: bead studies after Beck. (London, Bead Study Trust) pp. 23-37. Oppenheim, A.L., 1973, ‘Towards a history of glass in the ancient Near East’, Journal of American Oriental Society, 93, pp. 259-66. Oppenheim, A.L., 1988, Glass and glassmaking in ancient Mesopotamia. Özet, A., 1993, ‘An Amphoriskos in the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology’, JGS 35, 142-5. Özet, A., 1998, Dipten gelen parıltı (Ankara). Özgünel, C., 1984, ‘Batı Anadolu ve içlerinde Miken etkinlikleri’, Belleten, 51/200, pp. 535-47. Panagiotaki, M., 2004, ‘Production technology of Aegean Bronze Age vitreous materials’ in J. Bourriau and J. Phillips (eds.) Invention and innovation. The social context of technological change 2: Egypt, the Aegean and the Near East, 1650-1150 BC (Oxford: Oxbow Books) pp. 149-75. Panagotaki, M., 2008, ‘The technological development of Aegean vitreous materials in the Bronze Age’ in C.M. Jackson and E.C. Wager (eds.), Vitreous materials in the Late Bronze Age Aegean , (Oxford: Oxbow Books) pp. 34-63. Perrot, G. and Chipez, C., 1894, History of art in primitive Greece, Mycenean art, I-II (London: Chapman and Hall Ltd.). Pulak, C., 1998, ‘The Uluburun shipwreck’ in S. Swiny, R.L. Hohlfelder and H.W. Swiny (eds.), Res maritime: Cyprus and the Near Eastern Mediterranean from Prehistory to Late Antiquity. pp. 233-62. Pulak, C., 2001, ‘The cargo of the Uluburun ship and evidence for trade with the Aegean and beyond’ in L. Bonfante and V. Karageorghis (eds.), Italy and Cyprus in antiquity, 1500-450 BC: Proceedings of an International Symposium Held at the Italian academy for Advanced Studies in america at Colombia University, November 16-18 2000, pp.13-60. Pulak, C., 2006, ‘Uluburun batığı’ in Ü. Yalçın, C. Pulak and R. Slotta (eds.) Uluburun gemisi: 3000 yıl önce dünya ticareti (Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum) pp. 57-104. Pulak, C., 2008, ‘The Uluburun shipwreck and Late Bronze Age trade’ in J. Aruz, K. Benzel and J. M. Evans (eds.) Beyond Babylon. Art, trade and diplomacy in the second millennium B.C. (New Haven: Yale University Press) pp. 289-310. Pulak, C., 2010, ‘Uluburun shipwreck’ in E.H. Cline (ed.) The Oxford handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean. (Oxford: University of Oxford Press ) pp. 849-61. Rehren, T., 2006, ‘Geç Tunç Çağında cam ticareti’ in Ü. Yalçın, C. Pulak and R. Slotta (eds.) Uluburun gemisi: 3000 yıl önce dünya ticareti (Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum) 535-41. Rehren, T., Pusch, E.B. and Herold, A. 1998, ‘Glass coloring works within a copper-centred industrial complex in Late Bronze Age Egypt’ in P. McCray (ed.) The Prehistory and history of glassmaking technology, pp. 227-50. Spaer, M. 2001, Ancient glass in the Israel Museum: beads and other small objects (Jerusalem, Israel Museum Press). Schliemann, H., 1964, Mykenae, bericht über Meine forschungen und entdeckungen in Mykenae und Tiryns (Germany: Darmstad). Seeher, J., 2004, ‘Boğazköy-Hattuşa 2002 yılı çalışmaları’ 25. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 2. cilt,pp. 11-8. Sherratt, S. and A. Sherratt, 1991, ‘From luxuries to commodities: the nature of Mediterranean Bronze Age trading systems’ in N.H. Gale (ed.) Bronze Age trade in Mediterranean . (Jonsered ). Sleen, W.N.G., 1973, A handbook on beads. (Liege: Internationale pour l’Histoire de verre).
Erkanal-Öktü, A. 2005 ‘Yeni buluntular ışığında Panaztepe kazısı’, XIV. Türk Tarih Kongresi I, pp. 53-9. Erkanal-Öktü, A. and Çınardalı-Karaaslan, N., 2006, ‘Panaztepe 2004 kazıları’, 27. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 1. Cilt, pp. 191204. Evans, A., 1903, ‘The Palace of Knossos’, The Annual of the British School at Athens IX, pp. 1-153. Evans, A., 1921, The Palace of Minos at Knossos, Volume I-IV (London: Mac Millan and Co. Limited). Greenwell, W., 1902, ‘On some rare forms of bronze weapons and implements’, Archaeologia 58, pp. 5-6. Grose, D.F.,1989, The Toledo Museum of Art: early ancient glass. Core-formed, rod-formed and cast vessels and objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 BC to AD 50. Höckmann, O., 2006, ‘M.Ö. 2. binde Doğu Akdeniz’de gemi yolculuğu’ in Ü. Yalçın, C. Pulak and R. Slotta (eds.) Uluburun gemisi: 3000 yıl önce dünya ticareti (Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum) pp. 311-26. Hughes-Brock, H., 1998, ‘Greek beads of the Mycenaean period (ca 1650-1100 BC): the age of the Heroines of Greek tradition and mythology’ in L.D. Sciama and J.B. Eicher (eds.) Beads and beadmakers: gender, material culture and meaning , pp. 247-71. Hughes-Brock, H., 1999, ‘Mycenaean beads: gender and social contexts’, Oxford Journal of Archaeology 18 (3), pp. 277-93. Hughes-Brock, H., 2008, ‘Close encounters of interesting kinds. Relief beads and glass seals: design and craftsmen’ in C.M. Jackson and E.C. Wager (eds.) Vitreous materials in the Late Bronze Age Aegean, (Oxford: Oxbow Books) pp. 126-50. Jackson, C.M. and Nicholson, P.T. 2010, ‘The provenance of some glass ingots from the Uluburun shipwreck’, Journal of Archaeological Science 37, pp. 295-301. Lewastowski, K., 2000, Late Helladic simple graves: A study of Mycenaean burial customs. BAR-IS 878. (Oxford, BAR Publishing) Lilyquist, C., 1993, ‘Granulation and glass: chronological and stylistic investigations at selected sites, ca. 2500-1400 BC’, BASOR, pp. 290-1. Matthaus, H., 2006, ‘Geç Tunç Çağında Akdeniz’de kültürler arası ilişkiler ve ticaret seferleri’ in Ü. Yalçın, C. Pulak and R. Slotta (eds.) Uluburun gemisi: 3000 yıl önce dünya ticareti (Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum) pp. 335-68. Moorey, P.R.S., 1994, Ancient Mesopotamia materials and industries, the archaeological evidence (Oxford: Claderon Press). Newton, M.W., Talamo, S., Pulak, C., Kromer, B. and Kuniholm, P., 2006, ‘Uluburun batığının tarihlendirilmesi’ in Ü. Yalçın, C. Pulak and R. Slotta (eds.) Uluburun gemisi: 3000 yıl önce dünya ticareti (Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum) pp. 117-8. Nicholson, P.T., 2008, ‘Glass and faience production sites in new kingdom Egypt: a review of the evidence’ in C.M. Jackson and E.C. Wager (eds.) Vitreous materials in the Late Bronze Age Aegean. (Oxford: Oxbow Books) pp. 1-13. Nightingale, G., 2000, Mycenaean glass beads: jewellery and design. Annales du 14e Congrés de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre, Italia, Venezia-Milano 1998: pp. 6-10. Nightingale, G., 2008, ‘Tiny, fragile, common, precious. Mycenaean glass and faience beads and other objects’ in C.M. Jackson and E.C. Wager (eds.) Vitreous materials in the Late Bronze Age Aegean (Oxford: Oxbow Books) pp. 64-104. Nikita, K., 2003, ‘Mycenaean glass beads: technology, forms and function’ in I.C. Glover, H. Hughes-Brock and J. Henderson
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Nazlı Çınardalı-Karaaslan: Glass Trade Yalouris, N., 1968, ‘An unreported use for some Mycenean glass paste beads’, Journal of Glass Studies, X, 9-16.
Walton, M.S., Shortland, A., Kirk, S. and Degryse, P., 2009, ‘Evidence for the trade of Mesopotamian and Egyptian glass to Mycenaean Greece’, Journal of Archaeological Science 36, pp. 1496-1503. Warren, P., 1985, ‘The fresco of the garlands from Knossos’, BCH 11, pp. 187-208.
Fig 1: Location of Panaztepe
Fig. 2: General view of Panaztepe (Excavation document)
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Fig. 4: Tube-shaped faience beads from Panaztepe (excavation document)
Fig. 3: Tube-shaped faience beads from Panaztepe (excavation document)
Fig. 5: Rosette-shaped necklace spacers (excavation document)
Fig. 6: Rectangular-shaped necklace spacers with spiral and lily motifs (excavation document)
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A Group of Urartıan Metal Finds from the Karaman Archaeological Museum Makbule Ekici
Archaeology Department, Faculty of Letters, Selçuk University, Konya, TURKEY
The Kingdom of Urartu was centred around Lake Van Lake between the 9th and 6th centuries BC1 and the Urartians were arguably among the most highly-skilled metal workers in Anatolia or even in the wider Near East.2 Bronze was used extensively for works of art, and well-made bronze objects constitute a primary source for our knowledge of Urartian art and craftsmanship.3
Figure 3 Bracelet with decorated surface and terminals in the shape of a snake Bronze Diameter: 5.5 cm Museum Inventory No: 1855 Open, ring-shaped bracelet has a round profile. Profile is well preserved. Surface is decorated with notches. Terminals flattened by hammering and made in the shape of snake. Head is stylized and cuspidated at the end. Details of animal heads are figured by engraving.8
In 1971, villagers found hundreds of bronze plaques at Giyimli (Gürpınar) in Van province,4 and subsequently Urartian metal artifacts were widely acquired by most Turkish museums.5 In this article a group of bracelets, a working pot, and a belt fragment, all from the Karaman Museum (all donated or purchased in the 1970s) will be discussed.6*
A similar find of a bracelet with decorated surface and terminals in the shape of a snake (Fig. 3) is housed in the Anatolian Civilizations Museum.9
Bracelets Figure 1
Figure 4
Bracelet with terminals in the shape of a rectangular prism Bronze Diameter: 5.5 cm Museum Inventory No: 702 Open, ring-shaped bracelet with round profile. Profile is well preserved and has no decoration. Both terminals are made in rectangular prism shape and each side is decorated with dot designs by carving. There is a ‘cross’ made by engraving at the ending.
Bracelet with terminals in the shape of a snake Bronze Diameter: 6.5 cm Museum Inventory No: 2266 Open, ring-shaped bracelet has a round profile. Profile is well preserved and undecorated. Terminals are figured as snake heads and form a bulge by curling the opposite sides. The details of the face are not well preserved. The head of the snake has been figured with a thin steel pen; its eyes and nose are figured with holes.
Figure 2 Bracelet with terminals in the shape of a rectangular prism Bronze Diameter: 5.5 cm Museum Inventory No: 769 Open, ring-shaped bracelet has a round profile. Profile is well preserved and has no decoration. Both terminals are made in rectangular prism shape and all the sides are undecorated.
Figure 5 Bracelet with decorated terminals Bronze Diameter: 8 cm Museum Inventory No: 2448 Open, ring-shaped bracelet has a round profile. Profile is well preserved. At the terminals there are engraved vertical and horizontal lines.
A similar sample of bracelets with terminals in the shape of rectangular prism (Fig. 1-2) is in the Diyarbakır Museum. The difference is in the engraved motifs on the body of the bracelet.7
Figure 6 Bracelet with decorated terminals Bronze Diameter: 8.5 cm Museum Inventory No: 2449 Open, ring-shaped bracelet has an angular profile. Profile is well preserved. At the terminals there are engraved vertical and horizontal lines.
1
Çilingiroğlu 1997: 4; Özdem: 13. Belli 2010: 20. 3 Loon 1966: 84. 4 Erzen 1974: 191. 5 Günel 1988: 38. 6 * This article is presented as part of a project supported by the Coordination of Scientific Researches (BAP) at Selcuk University (reference number 10401007, under the project name ‘Catalogue of the Karaman Archaeological Museum’, permit dated 11 February 2009, number 27151, issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Administration of Cultural Artifacts and Museums). 7 San 2007:21- Fig. 1. 2
8 9
65
Köroğlu 2004: 10. Günel 1988: 39-Fig. 2a.
SOMA 2011 Ring-shaped bracelet has a round profile and overlapped. Profile is well preserved. Terminals are stylized as a snake and decorated with engraved V-shaped lines.
Figure 7 Bracelet with decorated terminals Bronze Diameter: 8 cm Museum Inventory No: 2450 Open, ring-shaped bracelet has a round profile. Profile is well preserved. At the terminals there are engraved vertical and horizontal lines.
Samples of bracelet with overlapping terminals (Fig. 11) may be seen in the Anatolian Civilizations Museum, the Gaziantep Museum, the Van Museum,16 and the Diyarbakır Museum.17 It is understood from bronze votive plaques that bracelets were used in the daily lives of the Urartians, both by men and women. While humans wore one or two bracelets on each arm, it is also seen that gods, goddesses and winged demons were painted with bracelets on their arms.18 The strip or round profiled bracelets are either open or overlapping, although the open form is more commonly found.19
Similar samples of bracelets with decorated surfaces (Fig. 5-7) are in the Diyarbakır Museum10 and the Van Museum and are dated to 7th century BC.11 Figure 8
Eleven bronze bracelets are well preserved in the Karaman Museum. These vary in terms of their terminal styles and were produced by solid casting technique.
Bracelet with terminals in the shape of a panther Bronze Diameter: 7.2 cm Museum Inventory No: 2459 Open, ring-shaped bracelet has a round profile. Profile is well preserved and undecorated. Terminals are figured like a panther head. Ears and large eyes are in relief and the moustache is engraved.
Some of these artifacts have engraved geometrical shapes on the body and terminals (Fig. 5- 7, 11), featuring double horizontal, vertical and V-shaped lines. These types of bracelets are not found commonly in Urartian art, but there are known examples that help explain their Urartian origin.20
Similar samples of bracelet with terminals in the shape of a panther (Fig. 8) are seen in the Anatolian Civilizations Museum12, the Iğdır Necropolis13, the Haluk Perk Collection14, the Sadberk Hanım Museum, the Erzurum Museum, the Van Museum, and the Gaziantep Museum.15
Bracelet terminals are in the shape of rectangular prisms, snake, panther and axe-head. Rectangular prisms and axe-head-shaped terminals are rare in Urartian art. A sample with terminals in the shape of a rectangular prism (Fig. 1-2) can be seen in the Diyarbakır Museum. I have not seen terminals in the shape of snakes curling up opposite sides (Fig.4) or terminals in the shape of axe-heads (Fig. 9-10) in publications, but these must be in the Urartian jewellery tradition. Some bracelet terminals are given animal heads (felines, etc.) and this is intended to bring the wearer the related powers of the particular creature depicted.21 In particular, lions symbolize power and strength and they were the sacred animal representing the Urartian chief deity, Haldi. Ovoid-shaped projections date to the 9th century BC and are not found on 8th-century BC examples.22 The above bracelet forms remained current until the decline of the kingdom.23
Figure 9 Bracelet with axe-head shaped terminals Bronze Diameter: 6.5 cm Museum Inventory No: 2700 Open, ring-shaped bracelet has an angular profile. Profile is well preserved. There are two engraved horizontal lines at the terminals. Figure 10
Working Pot
Bracelet with axe-head-shaped terminals Bronze Diameter: 6.5 cm Museum Inventory No: 2701 Open, ring-shaped bracelet has a round profile. Profile is well preserved. There are two engraved horizontal lines at the terminals.
Figure 12 Working Pot Bronze Length 14.5 cm, width 9.5 cm, depth: 1.2 cm. Museum Inventory No: 2799 The handle on the side of the oval is broken and incomplete. Other sections of the pot and related objects are missing. There are no decorations inside or outside the pot.
Figure 11 Bracelet with overlapped terminals Bronze Diameter: 8.9 cm Museum Inventory No: 2805
A group of these vessels taken from illegal excavations have been acquired by the Van Museum. The date and function of the
16 17 10 11 12 13 14 15
18
San 2007: 21- Fig.2. Özdem 2003: 169. Günel 1988: 39-Fig. 3a; Özdem 2003: 172; Belli 2010: 269. Barnett 1963: 180-Fig. 34.4 Özdem 2003: 174 Belli 2010: 261-89
19 20 21 22 23
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Belli 2010: 279-83. San 2007: 27 Fig.11. Kohlmeyer 1991: 177. Konuralp 2006: 61. San, 2007: 25. Belli 2010: 258. Özdem 2003: 168; Belli 2010: 261. San 2007: 29.
Makbule Eki ̇ci: A Group of Urartıan Metal Finds metal objects (workshop tools?) found with the vessel have not yet been ascertained.24
being from Giyimli and this would seem to be valid also for the Karaman items discussed here.
Belt Fragments
Bibliography
Figure 13-14
Barnett R. D. 1963, ‘The Urartian Cemetery at Iğdır’, Anatolian Studies XIII, 153-98. Belli, O. 1997, ‘Der Bronzegürtel des Königs Rusa in Malatya Museum’, Anadolu XXIII, 293-97. Belli, O. 2010, Urartu Takıları, Şişli, İstanbul, Türkiye Turing ve Otomobil Kurumu. Çilingiroğlu, A. 1997, Urartu Krallığı Tarihi ve Sanatı, İzmir, Universal. Ertman, E.L. 1994, ‘An Urartian Belt and Other Unpublished Objects From a Private Collection’ A. Çilingiroğlu (Ed), Anatolian Iron Ages 3, Ankara, 63-74. Erzen, A. 1974, ‘Giyimli Bronz Definesi ve Giyimli Kazısı’, Belleten XXXVIII, 192-233. Günel, T. 1988, ‘Müzemizce Satın Alınan Bir Grup Urartu Çağı Süs Eşyası’, Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi 1987 Yıllığı, 3844. Kohlmeyer, K. 1991, ‘Armlet’ R. MERHAV (Ed), Urartu: A Metalworking Center in the First Millenium B.C.E. Jerusalem. Israel Museum, 177-83. Konuralp, İ.Z. 2006, ‘Urartularda Kadın Takıları’, O. Belli (Ed), I. Van Gölü Havzası Sempozyumu, Güzel Sanatlar Matbaası, İstanbul, 59-65. Köroğlu, G. 2004, Anadolu Uygarlıklarında Takı, Türk Eskiçağ Bilimleri Enstitüsü Yayınları, İstanbul. Loon, M. N. V. 1966, Urartian Art. İstanbul, Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut. Özdem, F. 2003, Urartu: Savaş ve Estetik İstanbul, YKY. San, O. 2007, ‘Some Urartian Bronze Artifacts From Diyarbakır Museum’, Türk Arkeoloji ve Etnoğrafya Dergisi 7, 21-34.
Belt fragments Bronze Fragment 1: 9 cm, 12 cm wide. Fragment 2: 8.5 cm high, 11 cm wide. Museum Inventory No: 2798 These have rectangular shapes and there are pierced holes on one side. Accurate heights are unknown as one side is broken. Between four horizontal bands, made by punching on the reverse, there is a decoration of four lines of dotted rows. The same decoration is seen on a belt from the Malatya Museum, dated to 735-714 BC (King Rusa I) from its cuneiform inscription.25 Another example from a private collection is a belt fragment, used later as a votive plaque.26 This plaque is from Giyimli and dates to the 7th century BC, therefore the items original use as a belt must have been earlier. A third example is a belt fragment from the Iğdır necropolis,27 dated to the second half of the 7th century BC.28 Conclusion Many bronze plaques gathered by illegal excavations in 1971 and quoted as from Giyimli have been sold to many museums. The examples from the Karaman Museum were also purchased after 1971. Most of the Urartian artifacts were sold by the same person and to the same purchaser. Other Urartian artifacts from the Karaman Museum, such as votive plaques, are referred to as
Figure 1
24 25 26 27 28
Belli 2010: 187. Belli 1997: 294; Özdem 2003: 188-90. Ertman 1994: 64, Pl. 7.1.4. Barnett 1963: 177 Fig. 30-31. Barnett1963: 197.
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Figure 2
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 3
Figure 6
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Makbule Eki ̇ci: A Group of Urartıan Metal Finds
Figure 7
Figure 10
Figure 8
Figure 11
Figure 9
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Figure 12
Figure 13
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Investigations in the Çaldıran Plain/Lake Van Basin: the Middle Iron Age Aynur Özfırat
Mustafa Kemal Üniversitesi, Antakya-Hatay, Turkey The survey of the Lake Van Basin mainly concentrated on the west, north and east sides which include the plains of Muş, Patnos, Erciş, Çaldıran, Muradiye Gürpınar and Van (Fig. 1).1 The region is also surrounded by the volcanoes of Nemrut and Süphan to the west and the Aladağ and Tendürek to the east and north. The south part of the basin is enclosed by the southern Taurus mountains. We investigated more than 250 sites in the basin which dated from the Late Chalcolithic to the Late Iron Age (LIA) periods. This paper looks at the Middle Iron Age/Urartu settlements in the Çaldıran region from the north-eastern part of basin, which is on the eastern slope of the Tendürek volcano. Mt. Tendürek has an important function as a large barrier separating the Lake Van and Mt. Ağrı regions. The Çaldıran plain also contains a main road from Lake Van to the Mt. Ağrı/Doğubayazıt and the Caucasus regions. Previous work in the region was made first by Ch. Burney in 1956, focusing on the Urartean period.
Hatun (M73/3),4 Çubuklu (M73/7),5 Salhane (M72/12), and Hacı İbrahim (M72/9).6 One of the most striking fortresses is the Çubuklu in the east of the Çaldıran plain (Fig. 4), located on top of a high rocky hill. The fortress measures 260 x 250 m, with double fortifications separated by a gap of 15 m. The 2.5 m thick outer fortification walls were built with roughly worked small stones. The inner fortification was built with roughly worked large stones (measuring 0.50 x 0.70-1.00 m) and filled with small stones. The 3 m. thick inner fortification has buttresses. In the east part of the fortress, there is a rectangular building (48 m x 36 m). Its walls are almost 2 m thick and were built with small stones. There is no other architecture observed inside the fortress. The third group of fortresses seems to date just to the MIA, Eski Gönderme (M72/13), Soğuksu (M73/2) and Umuttepe (M73/5) (Fig. 5).7 There is no architectural trace except some walls at Soğuksu, but Umuttepe seems an important Urartian site because of the pottery finds there. In the multi-period sites located on the rocky plain, Boztepe (M73/4)8 and Büyük Gır/Çavuşbaşı (M72/3) (Fig. 6)9 have no visible architecture but we collected remarkable MIA pottery from these sites.
Sites The sites of the Çaldıran plain are concentrated on the surrounding mountain slopes and the Bendimahi River which is the most important river in the region. Almost all of the sites are fortresses located on rocky hills in the plain or on the flanks of the mountains which border the plain. There are very few sites with a single phase, and also few mound sites in the region. The sites were mostly settled from the Early Bronze Age (EBA) to the Middle Iron Age (MIA). In fact EBA and Middle Bronze Age (MBA) material is rare in these fortresses. The growth in number of fortresses from the Late Bronze Age (LBA)/Early Iron Age (EIA) and MIA/Urartean period is striking, as is valid for the whole region. The fact that the pottery collected within the fortresses is so mixed makes dating difficult. But it is possible to make some comments by separating their architectural features in terms of Caucasian and Urartean sites. The fortresses can be examined in four groups.
The fourth group of fortresses also single-phase occupation, such as Kümbet/Ziyaret (M73/1) (Fig. 7).10 It is located on the top of a fairly high and rocky hill. A large cemetery lies on the west slope of the hill; as far as we could understand from the pits left by illegal excavations, the tombs were individual inhumations. The tombs were not covered by any kind of stones but it seems that sometimes they were lined inside with one, two or three small slabs. On the southern side of two natural rocky outcrops located at the middle of the necropolis, some cupmarks and a niche of clear Urartu character are visible. Much pottery dated to the MIA, or a little bit later, was found in the necropolis. The walls of the fortresses were built with small unworked thin slab stones. Mostly there were no, or very few, sherds from the fortresses of this group. We investigated many fortresses showing these features and they belong to Post-Urartean period.
The first group of fortresses are built with roughly worked stone walls that follow the topography of the plans, such as the Yukarı Mutlu (M72/6) fortress and its lower city (Fig. 2).2 It is located on the Tendürek lava flows. Such plans and building techniques are features of LBA/EIA fortresses. The pottery from this site dates mostly to LBA/EIA.
Pottery Middle Iron Age pottery has four groups: red slipped ware, red brown ware, red polished ware, and cream slipped ware. Red slipped ware belongs to the transitional phase from Late Bronze/ Early Iron Age to Middle Iron Age in the Lake Van basin (Fig. 8). The ceramics do not resemble the classical red polished ware
The second group of fortresses shows some features of the MIA. They have regular, rectangular plans and walls faced with larger stones on the outside and filled with smaller stones inside. Examples include Abidetepe/Çaldıran (M72/2) (Fig. 3),3 Hacı
fortresses. Burney 1957: 48-49; Burney and Lawson 1960: 182-183; Russell 1980: No: 219; Özfırat 2007. 4 Hacı Hatun also investigated by Ch. Burney in 1956 and dated Urartean. EBA to LIA pottery was collected by survey members at these fortresses. Burney 1957: 53; Russell 1980: No: 217; Özfırat 2006. 5 Özfırat 2009. 6 Özfırat 2009. 7 Burney 1957: Fig. I; Russell 1980: No: 215, Umuttepe fortress is then referred to as Sint I; Özfırat 2006. 8 Burney 1958: 171-172, 178-187; Russell 1980: No: 214, Boztepe is then referred to as Zülfübulak; Özfırat 2006. 9 Özfırat 2007. 10 For the necropolis see Marro and Özfırat 2003.
1
We would like here to thank warmly the Turkish Ministiry of Culture and Tourism and the General Directorate for Monuments and Museums for their support in giving us permission to work in this area. The survey was also supported by TÜBITAK (The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey, Projects No SBB-CNRS-2011 and SBB-105K063), the Turkish Historical Society, and the University of Van (2002-FED093) and thanks are due to these institutions. Professor Veli Sevin was also most helpful. 2 Özfırat 2006. 3 Abidetepe/Çaldıran investigated by Ch. Burney in 1956 and dated Urartean. EBA to LIA pottery was collected by survey members at these
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SOMA 2011 of the Urartean period, having a red colouration that differs in technique and appearance. The improvement in treatment shows that Urartean red polished ware evolved from this type, according to Sevin’s sequence for Lake Van Basin pottery.11 Red polished ware shows Urartean characteristics and is also known as ‘palace ware’ or ‘biainili ware’ (Fig. 9).
settlement patterns, building techniques, pottery and other aspect of their material culture, across the region as a whole. Bibliography Burney, Ch. A. 1957. ‘Urartian Fortresses and Towns ın the Van Region’, Anatolian Studies VII, 1957: 37-53 Burney, Ch. A. 1958. ‘Eastern Anatolia in the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze’, Anatolian Studies VIII, 1958: 157-209. Burney, Ch. A. and Lawson, G. R. J. 1960. ‘Measured Plan of Urartian Fortresses’. Anatolian Studies X, 1960: 177-196. Marro, C. and Özfırat, A., 2003. ‘Pre-classical Survey in Eastern Turkey. First Preliminary Report: the Ağrı Dağ (Mount Ararat) region’, Anatolia Antiqua XI, 2003: 385-422. Özfırat, A. 2006. ‘Pre-classical Survey in Eastern Turkey. Fifth Preliminary Report: Van Lake Basin and Mt. Ağrı Region’, Studi Micenei ed Egeo Anatolici XLVIII, 2006: 177-207. Özfırat, A. 2007. ‘Pre-classical sites in Eastern Turkey. Fourth Preliminary Report: The Eastern Shore of Lake Van’, Ancient Near Eastern Studies XLIV, 2007: 113-140. Özfırat, A. 2009. ‘Pre-classical Survey in Eastern Turkey. Sixth Preliminary Report: Van Lake Basin and Mt. Ağrı Region’, Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan 41, 2009: 211-232. Russell, H. F. 1980. Pre Classical Pottery of Eastern Anatolia: Based on a Survey by Charles Burney of sites along the Euphrates and around Lake Van, Oxford, 1980: BAR International Series 85. Sevin, V.2005. ‘Son Tunç/Erken Demir Çağ Van Bölgesi Kronolojisi: Kökeni Aranan Bir Devlet-Urartu’, Belleten LXVIII/252, 2005: 355-400.
The largest group of Middle Iron Age pottery comprises redbrown ware, in fact the period represented by this ware, Urartean red burnished ware, is found less often within our survey region (Fig. 8). Cream slipped ware also appear in the Urartean period (Fig. 8). Conclusion The settlements of the Lake Van Basin clearly reached a remarkable density during the Early and Middle Iron ages. MIA pottery was found at almost all the listed sites, and, owing to the fact that they mostly settled from EBA or EIA, it is difficult to separate their first building phase. LBA/EIA shows that the walls were built roughly with small stones and followed the topography. Those built in the MIA usually have rectangular plans and walls built with larger stones. The settlement system changed in the MIA and sites dating to this period have been found at almost all the listed sites and every geographical feature: valleys and lowland plains, pastureland, rocky hills and mountain slopes in the highlands. Fortresses on rocky hills seem to have had an important role in the construction of the landscape at that time. No other period produces the same impression of careful territorial planning and control than the MIA. The true nature of the inhabitants of Urartean kingdom is reflected in their
11
Sevin 2005.
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Aynur Özfırat: Investigations in the Çaldıran Plain/Lake Van Basin
Fig. 1. Survey Map
Fig. 2. Yukarı Mutlu (M72/6) Fortress
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Fig. 3. Abide Tepe/Çaldıran (M72/2) Fortress
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Aynur Özfırat: Investigations in the Çaldıran Plain/Lake Van Basin
Fig. 4. Çubuklu Fortress (M73/7)
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Fig. 5. Umut Tepe Fortress (M73/5)
Fig. 6. Büyük Gır (M72/3)
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Fig. 7. Kümbet/Ziyaret (M73/1)
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Figure Özfırat Fig. 8.jpg
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Aynur Özfırat: Investigations in the Çaldıran Plain/Lake Van Basin
Fig. 9. Middle Iron Age Pottery
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Europe Antique Bone and Antler Anvils Discovered in Romania Corneliu Beldiman
‘Dimitrie Cantemir’ Christian University, Faculty of History, Bucharest, Romania
Diana-Maria Sztancs
‘Lucian Blaga’ University, Doctoral Program, Sibiu, Romania
to the lack of recent international data, some authors still sustain such a functional interpretation decades after the assertions of the ‘Father of Traseology’.8 There is a special case where the rows of triangular hollows made during the usage of anvils were interpreted as ‘an unknown type of Getic writing’ (the case of the artefacts from Chitila).9
Introduction1 Over the past four decades, a category of ‘strange’ bone and antler artefacts has focused the interest of specialized archaeological and ethnographical research. For some European regions and for North Africa, the archaeological literature mentions many such artefacts dated from the Hellenistic and the Roman period (5th century B.C. – 5th century A.D.). These artefacts were discovered in Greek cities from the Black Sea Basin (Olbia, Neapolis, Thanagoria, etc.), as well as in Scythian-Greek and Getic settlements.2 Others are largely dated between the 7th – 18th centuries and were retrieved in settlements from the Western Mediterranean Basin (France, Spain, Portugal, some countries from North Africa).3
Quite recently ‘the riddle was solved’: the functional role of those artefacts benefited from the observations of technological behaviour in Iberian ethnography. In this way, and also by using experimental studies, the ‘manufacturing chain’ of anvils and the way of using them has been established.10 Context and Objectives The artefacts presented here were discovered during recent research (2001-2008) directed by Alexandru Suceveanu from the ‘Vasile Pârvan’ Institute of Archaeology of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest. There are two sectors of the site from which the bone and antler industry was analysed in recent years: Sector Basilica Extra Muros (researches led by Alexandru Suceveanu and Viorica Rusu-Bolindeţ)11 and Sector Basilica with Crypt‘Florescu’ (researches led by Irina Adriana Achim during 2002 and 2008).12 The anvils are part of worked osseous assemblages from the two above-mentioned sectors, including 90 pieces and comprising: bone and antler anvils, bone hair pins, bone hafts, bone bands, horn sleeves, a piece of game (astragalus from sheep/goat), blanks, different partially shaped raw materials, waste products, etc.13
In the context of new research interest on bone anvils at the 5th and 7th WBRG Meetings, some archaeologists and archaeozoologists started to pay more attention to such artefacts.4 Consequently we can observe an increase in the list of publications dealing with this topic for central and western Europe, including southern Italy (a piece dated in 2nd century BC – 1st century AD) and Austria5. Very recently some further finds were published coming from Hungarian medieval sites (10th – 13th centuries AD).6 Actually, we may distinguish the area of diffusion of such artefacts (considered ‘puzzling’ for decades) around the Mediterranean having their origins, probably, in the eastern Mediterranean and northern Black Sea regions. The presence of bone anvils in early medieval central Europe is a problem yet to be solved.
The bone and antler anvils are of particular interest. This group of artefacts has an important documentary potential because it illustrates, in a unique way, complex economic activities that seem apparently very different but which were in reality interconnected (farming, agricultural activities, iron craft, bone and antler industry craft, woodcraft, etc.).
Over the years, such artefacts discovered in the northern part of the Black Sea were wrongly considered to be polishing tools used for finishing textiles, hides, stone or wood. This is the case of the first of such pieces published by S. A. Semenov.7 Due probably The contributions of Diana-Maria Sztancs to the present paper (database, artefact analysis etc.) form part of Project ID-7706 (Invest in people! - The development of doctoral studies and the PhD students’ competitiveness in the United Europe), ‘Lucian Blaga’ University, Sibiu, project financed by Social European Fund (SOP HRD). English version by Diana-Maria Sztancs and Corneliu Beldiman; translation revised by Andreea-Daniela Hompoth. 2 Arnăut 2007:298-300; Semenov 1970:186-8, fig. 100-102 – both with bibliography. 3 Briois et al. 1997; Esteban Nadal, Carbonell Roure 2004; Gonçalves et al. 2008; Moreno-Garcia et al. 2005, 2007; Poplin 2007a, 2007b; Rodet-Belarbi et al. 2007 – with bibliography. 4 Poplin 2007a, 2007b; Moreno-Garcia et al. 2005. 5 Gál 2010. 6 Bartosiewicz 2010:338, Fig. 16. 7 Semenov 1970:186-8, fig. 100-102. 1
On this occasion, we are going to present a synthesis of data regarding the special category of discoveries made of bone and antler: anvils. These were pointed out for the first time on the western shore of the Black Sea in the ancient Greek fortress city 8
Arnăut 2007:302 – with bibliography. Boroneanţ 2005. 10 Esteban Nadal, Carbonell Roure 2004:640-4; Aguirre et al. 2004; Moreno-Garcia et al. 2005:623-4; Rodet-Belarbi et al. 2007:160. 11 Rusu-Bolindeţ, Bădescu 2006. 12 Achim et al. 2009. 13 Beldiman et al. 2007; Beldiman et al. 2009a, 2009b; Beldiman et al. 2010. 9
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SOMA 2011 of Histria, and they illustrate some technological and economic aspects of those times. The 38 artefacts from the Sector Basilica extra Muros (Figs. 1-2, 4) were discovered abandoned in secondary contexts. They come from structures, pits, and from the vicinity of some complexes used for reducing iron ore and connected to the craft area from Section I (the western extremity, about 15.8m) belonging to the Early Roman period (probably, 1st - 7th decades of the 2nd century A.D.).14 The artefacts from the Sector Basilica with Crypt-‘Florescu’ (Fig. 3) were discovered in secondary contexts and probably abandoned. They cannot be dated with certainty because of the former interventions related to Grigore Florescu’s excavations. There are some clues that indicate chronological data during grosso modo the 2nd century A.D.15 From this sector two pieces have been analyzed: a piece which was discovered in 2002 and another one found in 2008.
The aim of the artefact analyses was to record all contextual, morphological, typological and technological data and to highlight the ‘manufacturing chain’ and use wear. In this way we may reconstruct ‘the technological biography’ of each artefact. We currently use low power optical microscopy (4x-40x) to capture data of manufacture and use. Manufacture and use In most cases the anvils were made of long bones (especially cattle and equid metapodials), but there are also examples of flat bones (i.e. mandible). These pieces have one or more active parts shaped by chopping. They present specific triangular impressions in parallel or curved rows resulting from the operation of shaping active parts of serrated sickle blades. With the metapodials, the surfaces of diaphysis were pared down and smoothed. On the prepared surfaces there are rows of triangular shaped dents. The artefacts may have one to four active parts where the makers sharpened the serrated teeth of the sickles. The traces left by this procedure are represented by rows of triangular holes. These rows are disposed parallel while others diverged, converged or crossed. The length of the rows depended on the number of dents and the separation between them. There are some cases where the diaphysis was pared and re-smoothed a number of times for reuse.16
Methodology and Typology The methodology applied during our study takes into account the registration and the analysis of all essential data regarding: the artefacts’ identification using a code (made up of the site’s code, the discovery year, the sector’s code and a serial number, e.g. HST/2001-BEM 3); the realisation of the repertoire (which lays out the dataset regarding the code of the piece, discovery context, raw material, conservation status, subtype, description), morphometry (the total length/the preserved length; width/ diameter of the edges and of the middle part; the length of active part on each side; maximal/minimal width of active part on each side – dimensions are given in millimetres).
The bone and antler anvils discussed here derive from cattle metapodials (Bos taurus) (39) and a segment of antler beam (Cervus elaphus) (1). Firstly, we take into consideration the analysis of different traces of manufacture and use, so that we may propose the reconstitution of the phases of the standard ‘manufacturing chain’ of the anvils on cattle metapodials: no débitage; façonnage/shaping in two stages: intensive chopping and abrasion/intense scrapping using a metal blade (a knife?) – thus obtaining a flat and smooth surface. This smooth surface was made on one, two, three or four of the bone’s anatomical faces (Fig. 5). Wear traces are surprisingly uniform; the aim of using such pieces (anvils) was to shape (sawing-toothed) the iron sickle’s active part (blade) or to reshape it. All of the active parts/faces of the anvils were used and entirely covered by small triangular dents/hollows. There are often situations where the smooth surfaces are reshaped – including the fragments of pieces fractured on the middle part. Wear traces were produced while the sickle teeth were shaped. The dents produced have a length of 2-3mm and were obtained by indirect striking with a hammer (on the narrow active part) the cutting edge of the sickle blade using an iron chisel/poinçon, probably one having a triangular section. The rows of between 5 to 10 dents are parallel, divergent, convergent or even crossed. Covering the whole anvil’s surface with rows of dents indicates: a) the preparation and the usage of another active part of the anvil; there are cases where a single piece has four active parts which correspond to the four anatomical bone faces; they were prepared and used successively; b) unique or double reshaping of the used surface by chopping, abrasion or scraping using a metal tool, as in the first stage of shaping. All these conclusions are based on observations of microscopic traces preserved on the anvils’ surfaces. Because of the renewed shaping of the anvils, the compact metapodial tissue thinned and very often the artefacts broke in the middle. This break was due to the high pressure that was applied during use. In this case the artefact was discarded or, if the preserved length was sufficient, it was reused/reshaped.
Artefacts that are generically called anvils were set in a special wooden installation, on a workbench and were used in the façonnage/shaping of iron sickles (striking the serrated edges – using the technique of indirect percussion with a triangular section chisel/poinçon). This operation was applied at the point of the initial shaping of the sickle blades, and also during repairs (Fig. 5). The typological classification adopts conventional criteria which reflect the usage stage at the moment that the artefacts were abandoned. Taking into consideration the number of the anvils’ shaped anatomical faces/sides (which become active/ smoothed parts) we may conventionally distinguish the next subtypes: simple anvils (with one active side), double anvils (with two active sides), triple anvils (with three active sides), quadruple anvils (with four active sides), undetermined subtypes (fragments) and raw material. As already mentioned, the subtypes reflect the stage of shaping and usage of the artefacts (Fig. 4). The typological structure of the collection from Histria consists of: simple anvils (17), double anvils (6), triple anvils (2), quadruple anvils (6), undetermined subtypes (fragments) (2) and raw materials (7). Generally the raw materials used for these kinds of anvils were various: most of them are skeletal elements from large domestic mammals (cattle, horse, camel, etc.): long bones (metapodials, tibia), mandibles, coxal bone. We also have some special cases where segments of red deer antler beams and tines were used. Artefacts from Basilica extra Muros are made only of cattle metapodials (metacarpal and metatarsal bones) (38 pieces). Apart from one bone piece, we have a unique artefact made of red deer antler from the Sector Basilica with Crypt-‘Florescu’.
16 14 15
Briois et al. 1997; Esteban Nadal, Carbonell Roure 2004; MorenoGarcia et al. 2005, 2007; Poplin 2007a, 2007b; Rodet-Belarbi et al. 2007 – with bibliography.
Rusu-Bolindeţ, Bădescu 2006. Achim et al. 2009.
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Corneliu Beldiman, Diana-Maria Sztancs: Antique Bone and Antler Anvils The ‘technological biographies’ of the anvils are various and generally imply several stages: 1) The preparation of the active part on an anatomical face/side of the bone; 2) Using and covering it entirely with dents/hollows; 3) Reshaping the side; 4) Reusing and covering it entirely with dents/hollows; 5) Preparing the active part on the second side; 6) Using and covering it entirely with dents/hollows; 7) Preparing the active part on the third side; 8) Using and covering it entirely with dents/hollows; 9) Establishing the active part on the fourth side; 10) Using and covering it entirely with dents/hollows; 11) Reshaping the side; 12) Reuse; 13) Discarding. There are situations where probably at least two active sides were prepared from the first stage of shaping; but this hypothesis, ethnographically supported, is difficult to argue.17
The artefacts presented in this paper offer an opportunity to draw for the first time some conclusions regarding the bone and antler industry at Histria. The study should be continued with further approaches regarding items discovered in previous archaeological excavations or in recent ones carried out in other areas of the site. Acknowledgements The authors express warmest thanks to Dr. François Poplin (Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris) for his kind support in giving this opportunity to study the scarce literature relating to this specific problem, and for the profitable exchange of opinions and data. We wish also to thank Dr. Alice Choyke and Dr. László Bartosiewicz who gave us access to very recent articles dealing with discoveries from Italy and Hungary.
Analogies Anvils made of cattle or horse metapodials, tibias, mandibles, coxal bone, etc., as well as those made of red deer antler, were also discovered at other sites from Romania: OstrovDurostorum, Constanţa County (ancient Roman city; discoveries on an adjacent site with carious workshops located near the city; 4 artefacts);18 Chitila, Ilfov County (open-air small site belonging to the autochthonous Getic population from the Roman period; 13 artefacts).19 These discoveries represent the analogies from Romania for the artefacts retrieved at Histria presented here. Wear traces preserved on these artefacts are identical, or very similar, to those observed on the pieces from Histria because of their use as anvils for shaping the saw-toothed sickles.
Bibliography Achim, I.A., C. Beldiman and Fl. Munteanu 2009. Istria, Sector: Basilica cu criptă („Florescu”), In: M.-V. Angelescu, I. Oberländer-Târnoveanu, Fl. Vasilescu, O. Cârstina, Gh. Olteanu (eds.) Cronica cercetărilor arheologice din România. Campania 2008. A XLIII-a Sesiune naţională de rapoarte arheologice, Târgovişte, 27-30 mai 2009, Valachica 21-22, 2008-2009, Complexul Naţional Muzeal „Curtea Domnească” Târgovişte-CIMEC, Târgovişte, 129-31. Aguirre, A., F. Etxeberria and L. Herrasti 2004. El yunque de hueso para afilar la hoz metálica dentada, Munibe 56, 113-21. Arnăut, T. 2007. Data about a category of bone tools with the function of polishing and shaping, Thracia 17, 295-305. Bartosiewicz, L. 2010. Állatmaradványok Baj-Öreg-Kovácshegy késő középkori udarházának ásatásából, In: S. Petényi (ed.). A baji nemesi udvarház gazdasági tevékenységéről, különös tekintettel a tímárkodásra. Adatok a középkori magyar bőripar történetéhez, Tata: Kuny Domokos Múzeum, 30/59. Beldiman, C., D. Elefterescu and D.-M. Sztancs 2009 (a). Nicovale din materii dure animale descoperite la Durostorum, Buletinul Muzeului „Teohari Antonescu”, Giurgiu 12, 10719. Beldiman, C., D.-M. Sztancs, V. Rusu-Bolindeţ and Al. Bădescu 2010. Istria-Sectorul Basilica extra muros. Artefacte din materii dure animale descoperite în campaniile 2001-2004, Analele Universităţii Creştine „Dimitrie Cantemir”, Seria Istorie, Serie nouă 1, 30-52. Beldiman, C., I.A. Achim and D.-M. Sztancs 2009 (b). Artefacte din materii dure animale descoperite la Istria-Basilica cu criptă („Florescu”), Buletinul Muzeului “Teohari Antonescu”, Giurgiu 12, 95-105. Beldiman, C., V. Rusu-Bolindeţ and D.-M. Sztancs 2007. Artefacte din materii dure animale descoperite la IstriaSectorul Basilica extra muros, Buletinul Muzeului „Teohari Antonescu”, Giurgiu 10, 181-90. Boroneanţ, V. 2005. Scrierea pe oase - o scriere necunoscută identificată în săpăturile arheologice de la Chitila, Bucureşti. Materiale de istorie şi muzeografie 19, 12-35. Briois, F., F. Poplin and I. Rodet-Belarbi 1997. Aiguisoirs, polissoirs médiévaux en os (XIe-XIVe s.) dans le Sud-Ouest de la France, Archéologie du Midi Médiéval 15, 1995 (1997), 197-213. Esteban Nadal, M. and E. Carbonell Roure 2004. Saw-toothed sickles and bone anvils: a medieval technique from Spain, Antiquity 78 (301), 637-46.
Aspects of economy and conclusion The bone and antler artefacts, discovered at Histria (the oldest known until now in Romania) are very important finds that complete the list of discoveries which add to discoveries from other central-eastern European sites, i.e. those from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. They are also important as they give precise data for craft activities during the 2nd century AD. The presence of ‘Histrian anvils’ provides supplementary and specific arguments for the existence of metal-working workshops in the area. The existence of bone/antler workshops is also attested in the same area by the artefacts (associated in pits with anvils), such as bone and horn waste. This allows the presumption that the anvils were also shaped in the workshops. As we know, sickles were frequently used in the harvesting of cereals in many agrarian regions of the western Pontic shore as well. Such worked bone and antler finds have not yet been systematically published by the authors of excavations or by archaeozoologists; thus our ideas about the spread in time and space of the manufacture and use of these artefacts are still very sketchy for the proto-historic and historic sites in Romania, or other regions of Europe and Africa. For this reason anvils have only been occasionally analysed. The artefacts under discussion show the specific and unique connections between different activities (in our case, iron smelting and the manufacture of agrarian tools, the bone and antler industry and harvesting techniques). The analysis of the bone and antler pieces, and also the anvils, shed light on the complex problems regarding the antique economy, and iron and bone and antler technology in the region of the Lower Danube. 17
Esteban Nadal, Carbonell Roure 2004:640-644; Moreno-Garcia et al. 2005:623-624; Rodet-Belarbi et al. 2007:160. 18 Beldiman, Elefterescu, Sztancs 2009. 19 Boroneanţ 2005.
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SOMA 2011 la mer Noir, Bulletin de la Société des Antiquaires de France, 215-21. Poplin, F. 2007b. Des faucilles de silex sur andouillers de cerf de Çatal Hüyük (Turquie) aux faucilles de fer dentées sur metapodes de boeuf de Montaillou (Occitanie): une histoire de longue durée à travers l’espace méditerranéen, In: I. Sidéra, E. David, A. Legrand (eds.) 6th Meeting of the Worked Bone Research Group/ICAZ, August 27th-31st 2007, Abstracts, Maison de l’Archéologie et de l’Ethnologie René Ginouvès, Université Paris X-Nanterre, Paris, 9, abstract no. 20; http:// www.wbrg.net/images/stories/abstracts_paris_2007.pdf; accesed 20.09.2010. Rodet-Belarbi, I., M. Esteban Nadal, V. Forest, M. Moreno Garcia and C. Pimenta 2007. Des aiguissoirs/polissoirs aux enclumes en os: l’historiographie des os piquetés, Archéologie Médiévale 37, 157-67. Rusu-Bolindeţ, V. and Al. Bădescu 2006. Histria. Sectorul Basilica extra muros, Studii şi cercetări de istorie veche şi arheologie 54-56, 2003-2005 (2006), 103-30. Semenov, S. A. 1970. Prehistoric Technology. An Experimental Study of the Oldest Tools and Artefacts from Traces of Manufacture and Wear, Second edition. Bath-Somerset.
Gál, E. 2010. Bone artifacts from the chora of Metaponto, In: L. Bartosiewicz (ed.) Archaeozoology at Pantanello and Five Other Sites, Austin: University of Texas, 71-86. José Gonçalves, M., V. Pereira, A. Pires 2008. Ossos trabalhados de um arrabalde islâmico de Silves: aspectos funcionais, In: Actas do 5º Encontro de Arqueologia do Algarve, Câmara Municipal de Silves, 187-214. Moreno-Garcia, M., C.M. Pimenta and J.P. Ruas 2005. Safras em osso para picar foicinhas de gume serrilhado… a sua longa história!, Revista Portuguesa de Arqueologia 8 (2), 571-627. Moreno-Garcia, M., C.M. Pimenta, P.M. López Aldana and A. Pajuelo Pando 2007. The Signature of a Blacksmith on a Dromedary Bone from Islamic Seville (Spain), Archaeofauna 16, 193-202. Moreno-Garcia, M., M. Esteban Nadal, C. Pimenta, M.D. Lopez Gila, I. Rodet-Belarbi, A. Morales and J.P. Ruas 2005. Bone anvils: not worked bones but bones for working, in: 5th International Meeting of the ICAZ Worked Bone Research Group, August 29 – September 3, 2005, Veliko Turnovo University, Abstracts, online: http://www.wbrg.net/index.php\ abstracts; accessed 10.03.2011. Poplin, F. 2007a. Des os supports à denter les faucilles: une longue histoire technologique dans le bassin de la Méditerranée et de
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Fig. 1. Histria – Sector Basilica extra Muros. Anvils on cattle metapodials and raw material.
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Fig. 2. Histria – Sector Basilica extra Muros. Anvils on cattle metapodials and raw material.
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Fig. 3. Histria – Sector Basilica with Crypt-“Florescu”. Anvil on cattle metapodial (HST/2008-BFL 1). Anvil on segment of red deer antler beam (HST/2002-BFL 6).
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Fig. 4. Histria – Sector Basilica extra Muros. Anvils on cattle metapodials – details of specific use-wear traces.
Fig. 5. Anvils on cattle metapodials: origin of raw material; phases of manufacture (façonage by chopping an polishing/ abrasion); wooden installation and way of use as support for working of saw-toothed iron sickles (after Esteban Nadal, Carbonell Roure 2004:642-3, figs. 9-13; Moreno-Garcia, Pimenta, Ruas 2005:574, fig. 2; Rodet-Belarbi, Esteban Nadal, Forest, Moreno Garcia, Pimenta 2007:160, figs. 2-3).
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A Joint Consideration of the Lithic Industries of Shell Middens in Muge, Portugal, and the Coastal Mediterranean Mesolithic Sites Anabela Joaquinito, Nuno Ribeiro
Portuguese Association for Archaeological Investigation (APIA), Portugal
Abstract
The Lithic industry of the Tagus Valley shell middens
The flint-based lithic industry in the shell middens of the Tagus valley presents certain characteristics that document the deliberate choice of particular artefacts with the exclusion of others. An option probably associated with a co-dependency between different human groups in the exploitation of natural resources.
Two exploitation strategies of the flint cores were identified in the Tagus Valley shell middens. In the first strategy, the cores are prismatic and pyramidal, with negatives of bladelets parallel, opposed and perpendicular, and these are derived from small pebbles and nodules. The exploitation of the cores reaches its limits, with nearly all of the cores at their final stage weighing on average 18 grams. Only 3% correspond to the 1st debitage phase, most coming from small pebbles. The cores show signs of preparation, with the frequent production of lateral faces, tablets, and with the occurrence of overhang abrasion in about 40% of the cores.
The deliberate option for a specific geometric type in the Tagus Valley shell middens practically excludes the production of the remaining types. In the Cabeço dos Morros shell midden, the geometric of choice is the trapeze, that represents 92% of the geometric type, a group that is complemented with the remaining 8% of triangular type, or in the Cabeço da Amoreira shell midden, that continues to register that difference in the typological density within the geometrics; from the 834 geometrics analysed, 712 are triangles.
The second strategy regards the production of flakes, coming from cores on flake, and informal or globular cores. We count a greater number of retouched flakes compared to the number of cortical flakes from the shell middens of Moita do Sebastião and Cabeço da Arruda. The exploitation is based on 1 or 2 percussion points and produces flakes with cortical, plain or faceted butt. Only 15% of the cores correspond to this strategy. The cores represent about 2% of the debitage material, with the exception of the shell midden Vale da Fonte da Moça I, where they are 8%.
These elements raise the hypothesis that at least two groups with distinct functions were occupying the shell middens, in a task-divided occupation system, therefore creating dependence in the exploitation of resources. This explains the deliberate choice of a particular geometric type, excluding the others, in shell middens located in the same territory and with similar chronologies. An attempt is made here to uncover the origin of this intentional choice and its association with the functionality of geometric microliths. Another objective is to attempt to associate Sicilian Mesolithic sites with the wider lithic industry based on geometrical microliths, such as the geometrics coming from Grotta Corruggi and Sperlinga di San Basilio.
Conclusions: the cores • The reduced dimensions of the artifacts also depended on the size of the pebbles; • Despite their reduced size, around 45% of the cores have some cortex; • Almost all of the cores are abandoned at an exhaustion phase; around 24% weigh less than 10 grams. We rarely find cores abandoned due to cracks or the presence of inclusions; • No storage of raw material was found; • The technological tradition remains, independently of the raw material, with the production of blades on quartzite or retouched bladelets on quartz for example; • Some cores are recycled: 1. Pyramidal cores become prismatic ones; 2. After their exhaustion phase, the cores are transformed into scrapers, microscrapers, burins and perforators.
The Tagus Valley Shell Middens The complex of Mesolithic sites at Muge is located north of the Tagus estuary, and is part of a group of sedimentary formations of that river. They originate in the widest network of Pleistocene fluvial deposits existing in Portugal (Rolão 1999). The lower Tagus Valley shell middens were first identified in 1863, by the team of Carlos Ribeiro, director of the Geological Commission of Portugal. The first shell midden discovered was Arneiro-do-Roquete (Cova da Onça), and then Cabeço da Arruda. The following year, this same archaeologist identified the shell middens of Moita do Sebastião, Cabeço da Amoreira and Fonte do Padre Pedro.
The lithic industry represented by the Muge shell middens is based on bladelets and geometrics; the choice of one type of geometrical shape in the shell middens is often at the almost complete expense of any other type of tool. At the shell midden of Cabeço dos Morros, 35% of the artefacts are trapezes, while the triangle represents a mere 3%, and the segment is inexistent. The site of Moita do Sebastião shows a remarkable difference in the proportion between the geometrics, with almost all being trapezes, except for 7 finds.
These shell middens discovered in the 19th century were located on the left bank of the Tagus River. In the 20th century the archaeologist Farinha dos Santos discovered the shell middens of Fonte da Moça I and II, located on the riverbank of the same name, and the shell middens of Cabeço dos Morros, Magos de Baixo, Magos de Cima and Cabeço da Barragem, on the Magos river.
The site of Cabeço da Amoreira has the particularity of being the only shell midden in the Tagus Valley, where the triangle is the
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settlements, which explains the deliberate option for one geometric in shell middens of the same area; • More efficient weapons developed due to changes in hunting techniques (Myers, 1989). Associations with Mesolithic Sites in Sicily Changes in technology in microlith industries are not clearly demonstrable in a uniform pattern in Mesolithic sites in Sicily (in many cases mixed or confused with the Epigravetian). In Sicily geometric microliths do not always predominate in Mesolithic sites, and can also be found in lower Epigravetian contexts. The geometrics coming from Grotta Corruggi and Sperlinga di San Basilio offer an abundance of microliths tools.
The origin of typological variation must be linked with functional factors and technological evolution. The deliberate choice of bladelets blanks of reduced dimensions applies in the production of geometrics and according to the purposes they are created for, on their own or combined in composite tool, so that they can easily be replaced if they break or need re-retouching.
At Grotta Corruggi, in southwest Sicily, circular microscrapers, trapezoidal and triangular geometrics prevail. On San Basilio (layer III), a rocky shelter situated 600m above sea level in the Peloritiani mountains, triangles and curved pieces are common instruments. They most probably represent a Mesolithic occupation, but the possibility of an earlier phase of Epigravetian with geometrics cannot be ruled out. Other Mesolithic sites, such as the Uzzo cave, only present a reduced number of microliths and among them a reduced number of geometrics. Some layers in Uzzo Grotta are represented by microliths, without the geometric form. This choice is never taken in the Valley Tagus Valley, in which the geometrics always prevail or dominate.
Others shell middens have a superior number of retouched blanelets over geometrics, like Cabeço da Arruda and Moita do Sebastião, with 14% and 22% of the artefacts represented by the geometrics (Figure 6). The geometrics have a significant number of fractures, about 65% of the trapezes do not possess one of the extremities of one of the truncatures, i.e. absences between 1 and 8 mm, and 12% do not possess both extremities. This technology includes the regular retouching on one or two bases of the trapezes and deliberately intended to allow a greater margin of success of the functions for which these artefacts were made (Figure 7).
It should also be taken into account that at Sicily’s Mesolithic sites the destruction of layers by human disturbance in the caves makes it difficult, if not impossible, to fully interpret and compare the stratigraphy.
The microburin technique is applied to the production of geometrics. The quality of the flint found in the shell middens facilitates the use of that technique. The low density of the geometrics found at Moita do Sebastião and Cabeço da Arruda is reflected in the proportion of the microburins, and differs from the situation existing at Cabeço da Amoreira, where two microburins correspond to one geometric in the archaeological records of 2001-3 and at the site of Cabeço dos Morros, excavated recently (Figure 8).
Bibliography Bailey, G., Spikins, P., 2008, Mesolithic Europe, Cambridge University Press Cardoso, J. L. e Rolão J. M. F., 2002/2003. Muge Estudos Arqueológicos, Centro de Estudos de Arqueologia da Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa/Câmara de Salvaterra de Magos Myers, A., 1989, Reliable and maintainable technological stratageties in the mainland Britain, pp. 79-81, Cambridge University Press Mussi, M., 2001, Earliest Italy: An Overview of the Italian Paleolithic and Mesolithic, Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology, Springer Rolão, J. M. F., 1999. Del würm Final al Holocénico en el Bajo Valle del Tajo (complejo arqueológico mesolítico de Muge). Universidade de Salamanca, Facultad de Geografia e História, vol. I. Rolão, J. M., Joaquınıto, A., Gonzaga, M., 2006. O complexo Mesolítico de Muge: novos resultados sobre a ocupação do Cabeço da Amoreira, In Do Epipapelolítico ao Calcolítico na Península Ibérica. Actas do IV Congresso de Arqueologia Peninsular, pp. 27-41, Faro: Universidade do Algarve Rolão, J.m., M. Roksandic, 2006, The Muge Mesolithic complex: new results from the excavations of Cabeço da Amoreira 2001-2003 In Shell middens in Atlantic Europe, edited by N. Milner, O.E. Craig and G.N. Bailey, pp. 78-85. Oxford: Oxbow books. Santos, M. F., Marques, G. D. e Rolão, J. M. F. 1990, I e II campanhas no concheiro do vale da Fonte da Moça I. in Actas do I Congresso do vale do Tejo, Lisboa.
Final Interpretations • The cores are chosen for the production of bladelets and flakes; • The reduced size of the cores at their final stage shows a policy based on saving raw material; • The presence of some cortex on entire bladelets and on small fragments supports the idea of an intense exploitation of that raw material; • The bladelets’ morphologies are regular, thanks to the positional stability of the core and the percussors’ skills, when used with the pressure technique; • Each shell midden adopts one type of geometric only. The knowledge of all the different types of geometrics is clear, but the option are nearly exclusive, with the exception of the Vale da Fonte da Moça II shell midden; • We observe a low proportion of geometrics at Moita do Sebastião and Cabeço da Arruda, where they are replaced by bladelets and retouched flakes; • The morphological alterations of the geometric microliths, some general observations: • The triangle allows immediate substitution, when its truncations are given identical dimensions, with isosceles triangles, unlike trapezes; • Groups with distinct occupations inhabited the areas around these shell middens, dividing the different tasks between
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Anabela Joaquinito, Nuno Ribeiro: A Joint Consideration of the Lithic Industries
Figure 1. Tagus Valley shell midden sites (after Rolao 1999)
Figure 2. The Cabeço da Amoreira shell midden in 1962 (after Cardoso and Rolão 2002-2003)
Figure 3. The Cabeço da Amoreira shell midden during excavations in 2001
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Figure 7. Percentile values of marks of use in trapezes from two Tagus Valley shell middens Figure 4. The Moita do Sebastião shell midden in 1952 (afer Cardoso and Rolão 2002-2003)
Figure 5. Percentile values and number of geometrics in the main Tagus Valley shell middens
Figure 8. Ratio of geometrics/microburins in the main Tagus Valley shell middens
Figure 6. Percentile values of the main retouched instruments in the Tagus Valley shell middens
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Daily Life and Social Reconstruction of an Argaric Settlement at Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén) Juan Miguel Rivera Groennou, Eva Alarcón García
University of Granada, Department Prehistory and Archaeology, Granada, Spain
the outside of E 9.2 and remaining the most walled part of the settlement (Figure 2).
Introduction Peñalosa is an Argaric village whose settlement patterns are typical of the Argaric culture (c. 2250–1450 cal BC) in southeast, Spain. Such sites have traditionally been defined by a specific settlement pattern, the presence of certain kinds of metal tools and ceramic vessels, and a characteristic burial rite. As a general rule Argaric sites tend to be strategically located in mountains and hills with natural defensive features and an impressive view of the surrounding area. In addition, some of these sites were also fortified by the construction of complex defence structures such as stone walls, towers, bastions, forts, and stone enclosures, protecting the higher areas of the settlements as well as those with easier access (Aranda et al. 2009: 138-140).
During the occupation phase IIIA, we know that this house consisted of two rooms – one central (EC Xa) and other bordering (EC Xd) – connected by the door above (E 9.30). Both spaces are separated by irregular structures, E 9.9, E 9.10 and E 9.13. Our present knowledge of the archaeological record, and documentation of new structures under occupation level IIIA, suggests that the space occupied in the final moments of the previous phases of dwelling would be different. This rethinking of the space between stages IIIA and IIIB indicates not only a change in social behaviour but also suggests, in all probability, new social relations and the development of new activities and products.
The settlement discussed here is located in the Rumblar river valley, on the right bank of the Rumblar reservoir, near the dam; it rests on a tongue-shaped slate spur. The households were built along two large hillsides with very steep slopes (Contreras 2000: 34-39; Contreras and Cámara 2002: 7; Alarcón 2010) (Figure 1).
Sequence analysis of these structures allows us several observations. We know that this space, at least in relation to its perimeter definition, does not vary from one occupation to another. This confirms that originally when planning this space, at least in terms of the structure itself, it was independent of any internal restructuring that may have occurred. The restructuring and reorganization of space and internal structures show a change of behaviour and social change.
The Structural Complex (CE) or household Xa is located on top of the hill, where the highest fortified area is found. It belongs to a wider area known as the Structural Group (GE), on top of the site, located on a lithological schist base that was intentionally cut, thus this area is more elevated than the households placed in the Upper Terrace (Alarcón y Sánchez Romero 2010) (Figure 1-2).
A set of structures making up the inner units and related to the IIIA occupation level has been documented in household Xa. They result from the planning decisions made and the existing relationships between the people in charge of building. For this reason, a structural interpretation of the layout and organization of this space was carried out in this section. This allows us to interpret social and living behaviours within this space and to understand how their everyday lives developed.
House Xa: construction of space Household Xa, oriented northeast to southwest, is delimited by two large parallel walls, one placed on the east side (9.2) and another one on the west (9.4), direction north-east to south-west, converging in the south end and completely closing the housing at this end (Figure 2).
A set of structures, together with numerous artefacts and ecofacts, relating to different productive practices (Alarcón 2005: 176), have been documented over the rolled soil level. A raised bench (9.14) was found on the occupation area, attached to the main wall (9.4), and formed by vertical slabs lagged with two consecutive layers of red and yellowish mud. This milling bench is completed by a storage structure (9.36), formed by large slate slabs sunk in the occupation area, which in turn supported two compartments. A large storage ovate glass vessel was found in the first compartment (9.35), while the adjoining one served as a support for a large ovaloid millstone (Contreras et al. 1990; 2004: 29) (Figure 3).
The main entry of this apartment is documented in the northwest corner through an opening or door (9.30) delimited by structures in both sides (9.2 and 9.13) A large slate slab working as a threshold is still present (9.32) (Figure 2). It is thought that this opening communicated this dwelling with other spaces inside the fortification (CE Xd and CE Xc) (Figure 2). A second access or communication is via the north-east. It consists of a narrow corridor (CE Xh) enclosed where it could access the other areas of the settlement from the upper terrace on the north side (Figure 2). Both accesses seem to be closely related to the occupation stage IIIA, documented at ground level in EC Xa.
A bench (9.15) was documented to the south of these structures and parallel to wall 9.4. At the south end of structure 9.36, a new bench was installed (9.61). It comprises two stone courses bonded with red and yellowish mud. The north side is delimited by a raised slate slab more than 50cm wide. One further bench (9.62) formed by a slate slab platform, raised over an orangeyreddish rolled mud surface, was found at the north-east end, next to the inner side of wall 9.2.
Originally, two load-bearing walls were prepared for the construction of this great social space, narrowing the space E 9.2 and E 9.4 (Figure 2). Both structures have survived, with modifications from one occupation phase to another, but retaining the two reinforced structures (E 9.1 and E 9.43) terraced up to
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SOMA 2011 To the north, in the circulation space left at the entrance to the household, remains of other dark brown daub fragments were found. Among these was an interesting triangular prismshaped fragment in which two opposing surfaces conserved the imprints of branches, about 38mm in diameter, of parallel orientation. According to the morphology and contextualization of these fragments, they can be interpreted as the material used in securing the wooden beams that formed the base of the roof structure on top of which was placed the wattle frame made with smaller branches and reeds.
Two hearths were found inside the dwelling, conforming to the two types identified as typical of the ‘Argaric norm’. The first hearth is circular, built with medium to small size stones, and found at the south-west side of the house (9.16), next to structure 9.14. Inside the hearth, large amounts of coal, ashes and remains of various items of the local material culture, especially ecofacts, were found. The second hearth is semicircular. It was found at the north-west end of the dwelling, attached to wall 9.2. It was built of small pebbles, and on top of it were found not only animal ecofact remains, but also pieces of pottery. Animal bones were documented inside the pot.
Finally, in the north-eastern sector and related to a layer formed from the decay of the wooden roof beams, and located beneath the daub collapse, an important set of mud mortar fragments was recovered, associated with the mixtures employed as finishing coatings for the masonry walls and in which were conserved thin layers of whitish plasters. Within these we can consider two different subsets, distinguished by their morphological characteristics.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that a posthole was identified as the one that would have supported the roof beam delimiting this space (9.63). It is a simple circular feature, comprising six small slate slabs sunk in the ground, with carbonized remains of the beam inside. This posthole conforms to the layout of the other collapsed beams (US 9.3a, 9.4, 9.5 and 9.6), chronologically prior to the occupation level concerned.
Firstly there is a series of fragments containing flat and plastered surfaces. In some cases these fragments have more or less straight edges or flanges produced by the filling of the masonry surfaces’ irregularities. Of interest is a final set of fragments with more or less straight edges and rounded corners that probably came from the walls’ upper parts (Figure 5). While on the outer surfaces can be distinguished several plaster layers, on the opposite, or interior surfaces, there is a series of thin and shallow impressions, about 2mm in diameter, which may be the result of the application of the mixture on a support framework made of thinner rods. If we consider that in the building process the thicker beams or the roof’s wooden frame were placed directly on top of the walls, applying the mixtures at this juncture would allow a more uniform structure and help prevent water penetration. These new typologies, not documented in other housing complexes in Peñalosa, are also interesting because they appear to have been intentionally modelled, suggesting a decorative purpose.
Production and use of construction elements The interpretation of the possible use of mud mortars in Structural Complex Xa was approached from the detailed study of their remains recovered within the stratigraphic levels produced by the collapse of the different structures. The contextual approach, both stratigraphic and spatial, allowed us to make inferences not only about the nature of the building materials used but also about the techniques employed and the probable destruction during the last occupational phase of this household (Phase IIIA). The analysis of earth-based building materials by optical microscopy has proved to be a useful tool in the interpretation of the manufacture processes and social relations in play during these activities. Past studies have indicated that the mortar used in the construction of this space derived from the alluvial sediments formed by the seasonal flow of the Rumblar River, which passes directly to the west of Peñalosa (Rivera Groennou 2009: 348). However, further investigations have demonstrated that different manufacturing techniques were applied, taking into account the functionality of these materials (Rivera Groennou 2009, forthcoming), that is distinct mixtures were produced considering the type of structure to be built, thus it is necessary to address this evidence from a stratigraphical context.
The study of mortar daub fragments in thin sections has proved to be a highly useful analysis technique and has produced a framework for assessing the significance of the observed variations in the micro-morphological attributes. The samples studied were selected from the sets described above. As mentioned above, all the mud mortar and daub remains were made from alluvial sediments. However, we found in the various elements that form the mixtures, and in the arrangement of these within the matrix, a very rich source of data. While the quality of mortars is determined by the nature of their raw material, it is in the proportions of aggregates and binders used that dictates the physical and mechanical properties suitable for these purposes.
From a stratigraphical point of view, Structural Complex Xa corresponds to the typical roofed spaces sequenced at Peñalosa (Contreras et al. 2000). The superior layers are associated to at least to different levels of collapsed masonry wall structures, initially caused by the fall of the walls’ upper sections during the house destruction, and the latter were formed due postdepositional processes. Within these units few mortar remains were recovered, perhaps lost over time, and only small, irregularly shaped fragments were used to bind the masonry.
The Peñalosa builders’ skills led to a range of mortar techniques to match the intended functionality of the structures planned. Mixtures rich in aggregates were used in the masonry wall surfaces1 (Figure 5). Meanwhile mixtures richer in binding properties proved to have better adhesion to the wattle-frame roof structures2 (Figure 5). Although mortars rich in binding mixtures are difficult to handle and may produce cracks when hardened, the intentional addition of certain additives helped
Under the first stratigraphical layers, and south of the structural complex, other levels formed from the roof structure’s destruction and collapse due to the major fire associated with the dwelling’s final abandonment during phase IIIA. Included with these final remains was a series of daub fragments with wattle impressions (Figure 4). These fragments are interpreted as the remains of the materials used to cover the top of the wooden frame, giving it greater stability, strength and durability, while acting as a waterproofing layer. The roof was finished by adding a topping of slate slabs flat over the daub layer.
60-65% of aggregates being most common, combining ‘fine’ to ‘medium’ sand (100μm-500μm) (Rivera Groennou 2009). 2 20-30% of aggregates, combining ‘coarse’ sand fractions (500μm2000μm), and ‘fine’ gravel (>2000μm) (Rivera Groennou 2009). 1
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Juan Miguel Rivera Groennou, Eva Alarcón García: Daily Life and Social Reconstruction avoid the excessive expansion contraction that can produce clay mineral imperfections.3
Numerous and various objects of material culture have been documented in a series of activity areas, ranging from pottery, metal and uncooked clay remains, to plant and animal ecofacts. The distribution of these objects along the ground provides us with some guidelines to identify how this population articulated inner space, and serves as a basis to find out more about their lifestyle.
In the case of the mortars used during the building of dwelling Xa, it seems that adding certain types of additives, always inorganic in nature, also depended on their functionality. In the elaboration of coating mortars, previous mortar fragments were included. Although at first it was thought – because of the frequency (10% approximately) – that this was due to casual inclusions resulting from the on-site mixing processes, it can be interpreted as intentional; the additions ensuring both easier application and optimal adhesion of the fresh coatings and their durability when hardened.
Regarding pottery, most vessels found in the occupation ground in this domestic context share similar characteristics (Alarcón and Sánchez Romero 2010). They are ovate or globe-shaped, with a very marked neck and a more or less outward sloping rim (Contreras et al., 2000: 91-43). In the south-west end, very close to the grinding bench (9.14), up to six vessels of this kind was found. In the south-east, next to wall 9.4, a set of seven storing vessels were found. They have the same characteristics as the ones mentioned before.
By contrast, in the mixtures used in the construction of the roof structure this was not the case; the builders requiring a mix somewhat richer in binding agents. Nevertheless, it was found that in the aggregates used (mainly quartz), some grains present angular to sub-angular shapes, all within ‘medium’ sand to ‘fine’ sand percentages, which can be interpreted as intentional additions. These additives can be obtained by crushing coarser rock fragments.
Likewise, at the centre of this domestic context a large vessel of similar characteristics was found. Given its location, it can be stated that it was resting on the wooden beam that used to be inside the main beam hole (Alarcón et al., 2008). Most of these large vessels were filled with seeds, mainly seeds of wheat and barley (Contreras et al., 2000: 274-259).
In relation to the plaster, several samples are still under study. What we can say at this moment is that this production involved raw materials sourced elsewhere, perhaps from further away, and a production system quite different from the others. At a microscopic level it was determined that the plasters were possibly made from kaolin-base mixtures or other ‘white’ clays. This fact, together with the presence of well-preserved foraminifera remains included in plasters, suggests that the raw material possibly corresponds to marine sediments formed in the Guadalquivir River Depression during the Tertiary.
In addition, numerous remains of pots were found in this area. The most remarkable one is a pot located next to the large vessel documented at the centre of the room, as well as full mediumsize and small-size containers, among which different semispherical parabolic-like or parabolic bowls several small glasses and a fragment of a narrow base of a glass are worth mentioning. On the corner formed by structures 9.10 and 9.11, three very small glasses with convex base were found, with common technological characteristics. They are small receptacles, highly crude and irregular, made of slightly cooked clay (Alarcón, 2010).
In terms of composition, the plasters are made mainly with silt with very few (< 2%) ‘fine’ sand quartz grains. Experience played a large part in the process, with the removal of larger particles, either by settlement or sieving. After mixing with water, the fine plaster layers, less than 1mm in thickness, were applied to layers of ‘fine’ sand-based mixtures. In some cases plaster has been found up to five layers thick, in which alternating layers of ‘fine’ sandy mortars can be seen, onto which the plasters where fixed.
Metal artefacts are located in the northern end of the house. The fact that two arrowheads were found close to the mill is worth mentioning. Furthermore, a metal awl was found to the north, and one more was located north-east. An archer bracelet and different objects made of worked bone, mostly awl, were found in the east end. In addition, a rarely documented artefact was found: a cork lid, which has been associate with one of the ovate vessels with slightly inward slope (Contreras et al., 2000: 274-259).
House Xa: the use of space At a stratigraphic level, house Xa coincides with stratigraphic sequences documented in domestic contexts in Peñalosa as a whole. It is characterized by a first surface level (US 9.1), where a bronze arrowhead was found; and then the upper layers of the stone collapse caused by the fall of the upper side of walls (US 9.2 and US 9.3a and 9.4). Different archaeological materials were found at this level, such as two bone-made artefacts, awls, an ingot cast, different loom weights and remains of two small glasses.
Most findings in the south end, inside structure 9.16, are animal traces, especially goat, horse, sheep, rabbit and pork traces. Nevertheless, a mould for ceramic ingot casting and a rounded piece of pottery with numerous rounded die-casts4 were found (Contreras et al., 2000: 274-265). Finally, on the occupation ground remains of mats made of braided esparto grass were found. Following the patterns of Argaric domestic contexts, they are located at the centre of the premises. Elements of this kind are normally located at the
In many cases, occupation ground is deeply imbricate with mud wall (US 9.3b), adobes (US 9.5) and beams (US 9.6) that fell down and are laying down on the floor, thus fitting material culture on the ground. For this reason, these Sediment Units and the Unit delimited by occupation ground EC Xa (US. 9.7a) is analysed jointly (Contreras et al. 2000).
3
These two fragments are more or less rounded little dipped pieces of pottery, with numerous die-casts with a depth of around 2 cm, covering the full inner side. They seem to be burnt by colour black covering most of the surface area, and some white stains are present in some areas as a result of the action of mineral salts (no 9.038 and 9.061-1-2). They may be remotely related to metallurgical activity, such as the analysis conducted by Dr. Hook have shown (British Museum Research Laboratory) 4
In the thin sections this is evidenced by low porosity and cracking.
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decisions making, and social relations gave life to a space that at first can be considered unsuitable for it. This was only possible through a long process of accumulation of experience and knowledge in terms of the raw material available and suitable for such purposes and as their physical and mechanical properties. Now, the importance of the ‘Acropolis’ in the settlement of Peñalosa is evident in its complex architectural solutions, on the repeated interest of fortify it, and in the high quality of the mortars used in its construction. This fact possibly served to express a sense of self within the generality of the social group; either by the presence of a select group of people responsible for these tasks was carried out according to their guidelines or as a result of a group effort to give the importance these places deserved. Finally, note that in this case the documentation of a standardized system for the production of plasters, elements intended to be viewed both inside and outside the house, as in the forms for maintaining those serves as evidence of a common aesthetic sense. Aesthetics that lasted trough time during the life of this building. The reiteration of this commitment and its maintenance was only possible trough continued work, the continued maintenance of these building systems, periodic works requiring extensive knowledge and in some extend might relate to a part of the set of activities intended to provide a degree of perfect salubrity for the subsistence of their inhabitants.
Social relations and maintenance activities The meticulous study of the archaeological record of the CE Xa of the settlement of the Bronze Age, Peñalosa has allowed us to obtain a great information brings over of the social relations that turned around this one space, does four thousand years. These social relations have been approached from different methodological and theoretical perspectives which has enriched the debate and we propose it as a model for the study of the past societies.
Bibliography
In archaeology the importance of the study of the constructive technologies relapses into that these were the forms in which the human groups have constructed and delimited the spaces or places where be developing socially, where social life is produced and reproduced. The architectural production involves not only knowledge of ideal materials according to their qualities and nature, so as to meet the necessary strength, fitness and beauty, but becomes an important means in the manufacture of symbols, an expression of ideology and consciousness, and the construction of identities.
Alarcón, E. (2010): Continuidad y Cambio Social. Las Actividades de Mantenimiento en el poblado argárico de Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén), Recurso electrónico, Tesis doctoral de la Universidad de Granada (ISBN 9788469353820) (2010). Alarcón García, E., Sánchez Romero, M., Moreno Onorato, A., Contreras Cortés, F., Arboledas Martínez, L. (2008): Las actividades de mantenimiento en los contextos fortificados de Peñalosa, Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad de Granada, Granada, pp. 265-296 Alarcón García, E. y Sánchez Romero, M. (2010): Maintenance activities an analysis category for Analysing Prehistoric Societies, en Dommasnes, Liv Helga, Hjorungdal, T., MontónSubías, S., Sánchez Romero y Wicker, N. (Eds.): Situating gender in European archaeologies, Editorial Archeolingua, pp. 261-282. Bray, F. (1997): Technology and gender: Fabric of power in Late Imperial China. University of California Press, Berkeley. Contreras, F. (2000): Proyecto Peñalosa. Análisis histórico de las comunidades de la Edad del Bronce del Piedemonte meridional de Sierra Morena y Depresión Linares-Bailén, Arqueología Monografías 11, Consejería de Cultura, Sevilla. Contreras, F. and Cámara, J.A. (2002): La jerarquización social en la Edad del Bronce del Alto Guadalquivir (España). El Poblado de Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén), British Archaeological Reports, Internacional Series 1025, Oxford. Contreras, F., Cámara, J.A., Moreno, A., Alarcón, E., Arboledas, L., Sánchez, M. y García, E.I. (2010): “Nuevas excavaciones en el poblado de la Edad del Bronce de Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén). Informe de la 6º campaña”, Anuario Arqueológico Andaluz 2005: II. González Marcén, P. (2006): Mujeres y Prehistoria: vivir el presente y pensar el pasado. In: Soler Mayor, B. (ed.), Las Mujeres en la Prehistoria. 15-26. Museu de Prehistòria de València, Valencia. González Marcén, P.- Picazo, M. (2005): Arqueología de la vida cotidiana. In: Sánchez Romero, M. (ed.), Arqueología y género. 141-158. Universidad de Granada, Granada.
We see that the construction of the space required extensive knowledge and hard work. Not only was enough with the simple adaptation of the different structures with the ground morphology and topography but it was modified by excavations and cuts in the bedrock, and by the subsequently elevation of structures and intentional pouring of sediments and debris to stabilize the soils of occupation. This should be seen as product of a previous planning at the architectural level with a high degree of organization of labour, but also must be conceived as the result of a joint work of both men and women. Considering the complexity and extent of the buildings in Peñalosa, production systems should have been based on the division of tasks where each person or group of people then carried out certain tasks within the production. These include the location, selection and extraction of the raw material, its transportation to the place of work, the dosing and mixing of the different elements, and finally the application of the final product. Most of these works are part of the maintenance activities, understood as the set of basic and necessary productions such as food, clothing, care, welfare, hygiene, socialization, social stability, etc. (Picard, 1997). Therefore we think that in the building of this space must involve both men and women participation who through their knowledge,
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Juan Miguel Rivera Groennou, Eva Alarcón García: Daily Life and Social Reconstruction Picazo, M. (1997): Hearth and home: The timing of maintenance activities. In: Moore J.- Scott, E. (eds.), Invisible people and processes. Writing Gender and Childhood into European Archaeology. 59-67. Leicester University Press, London. Rivera Groennou, J.M. (in press): “Técnicas constructivas y relaciones sociales en una comunidad argárica del Alto Guadalquivir, Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén)”, en Actas del 1er Congreso de Prehistoria de Andalucía. Conjunto Arqueológico Dólmenes de Antequera, Málaga. Rivera Groennou, J.M. (2010): “Micromorfología e interpretación en arqueología: Aportes desde el estudio de los restos constructivos de un yacimiento argárico en el Alto Guadalquivir, Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén), en Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad de Granada 19. Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología (UGR), Granada, pp. 339-360. Sánchez Romero, M. y Aranda Jimenez, G. (2006): El cambio en las actividades de mantenimiento durante la Edad del Bronce: Nuevas formas de preparación, presentación y consumo de alimentos. In: González Marcén, P., Montón Subias, S., Picazo Gurima, M. (eds.), Dones i activitats de manteniment en temps de canvi, Treballs d`arqueología 11. 73-90. Bellaterra Centre d’Estudis del Patrimoni Arqueològic de la Prehistòria, Barcelona.
Figure 1. Panorama of the settlement at Peñalosa (original: Project Peñalosa)
Figure 2. Planimetry of the Acropolis and eastern settlement at Penalosa
Figure 3. Details of milling bank and cereal bowls
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Figure 4. Construction debris of the settlement at Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén)
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Figure 5. Construction of the remains recovered in the archaeological record at Peñalosa
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Greece Archaeological Models and the Archaeology of Mesara (Crete) between the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Rosario Maria Anzalone
Università degli Studi di Messina, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Dottorato in Scienze Archeologiche e Storiche
In the wake of Evans’ experience is – ten years later – that of John Pendlebury and of other members of the Knossos Archaeological Mission.12 Their journeys aimed at a systematic recording of all archaeological evidences along the routes: Pendlebury’s seminal The Archaeology of Crete would not be conceivable without the previous decade’s experiences.13 The wide-ranging interests of Pendlebury’s journeys foreshadowed the first authentic regional surveys, for which we had to wait until after WWII.
Topographical researches in South-Central Crete In Autumn 1892 Federico Halbherr received a grant from the Archaeological Institute of America for a six-month ‘campaign of explorations at Gortyna in the neighborhood of the agora and the Roman theatre’.1 Unfavourable circumstances – in particular the divesting of the Syllogos of Candia of his interface role between foreign missions, Turkish authorities, and landowners – determined the conversion of the original ‘Cretan Expedition’ into a ‘plan of exploration on a larger scale […] less connected with excavation […] from the borderland of Rettimo as far as the extreme end of Sitia’.2
In the early 1970s, a team from Bristol University, led by David Blackman and Keith Branigan, undertook an intensive survey of the stretch of coast between Kaloi Limenes and Chrisostomos,14 and of the lower catchment of the Haghiopharango.15
I would consider this unscheduled occurrence as the birth of Early Iron Age archaeology in south-central Crete. We are still deeply indebted to Halbherr for his discoveries at Prinias,3 Kourtes,4 Aphrati,5 and Erganos.6
Some years later,16 the Italian Archaeological School of Athens resumed archaeological investigations in Gortyn, after the pioneering explorations of Halbherr and Pernier, and the extraordinary discoveries made by Giovanni Rizza on the Acropolis.17
This ‘Cretan Expedition’ also inaugurated the season of the great diggings at Phaistos (1900),7 Haghia Triada (1902),8 and Lebena (1900),9 thus laying the foundations for the creation of a permanent Italian Archaeological Mission in Crete.
Researches still continue today, aiming to clarify the diachronic urban development of the ancient city and to investigate some of the monumental complexes. Studies on the landscape and the polis-chora relationships were inevitably sacrificed as a result of this strategy: in the vast bibliography on Gortyn, only a ‘preliminary report’ by Gioacchino Francesco La Torre deals with them.18
In the same year (1900), Sir Arthur Evans began his excavations at Knossos. The increase of Minoan evidences from the Mesara region, and the fact that Knossos – unquestionably gravitating towards the Northern coast – produced significant amounts of Egyptian/ Northern African artifacts, led Evans to search for a ‘great transit route across the centre of the Island’.10
The resumption of excavations at Gortyn coincided with the beginning of works by the Canadian Mission at Kommos. The first volume of the Kommos-series is devoted to the survey of the region, carried out over an area of 25km2 between the hills of Matala to the south, those of Kamilari to the north, some inlets of the Matala stream to the east, and to the sea to the west.19
This is the context of the first survey of the wild Asterousian district – between Mount Kophinas and Haghios Kyrillos – where deep pharanghia still represent natural links between the Mesara and the Libyan Sea. Researches were not vain, judging by the discovery of the peak-site at Christos, the harbours of Tripiti, and – further west – of Kommos itself.11
More or less at the same time, Krzysztof Nowicki and Bogdan Rutkowski began their topographical researches on the settlements of LBA-EIA Crete. Polish scholars provided us with many useful sketches of remote sites, sometimes hardly known but for the brief reports of Halbherr, Evans, and Pendlebury.20
Halbherr 1896, 526. For previous researches, with particular regard to the Italian contribution, see Beschi 1984; 1999; 2000. In general, for the history of landscape research on Crete, now Gkiasta 2008. 2 Halbherr 1896, 526. 3 Halbherr 1901c, 399-403. 4 Halbherr 1901b, 287-93; Mariani 1901, 306-13; Taramelli 1901. 5 Halbherr 1901c, 393-9. 6 Halbherr 1901b, 262-81; Mariani 1901, 303-6. 7 Pernier 1902. 8 Halbherr 1902, 436-44. 9 Halbherr 1901a, 300-6. 10 PM II.1, 61. 11 PM II.1, 71. 1
Pendlebury, Money-Coutts, et al. 1932-33, 82-91. Pendlebury 1939. 14 Blackman and Branigan 1975. 15 Blackman and Branigan 1977. 16 Gortina I, 9-13. 17 Rizza and Scrinari 1968. 18 La Torre 1988-89. 19 Kommos I.1, 325-8. 20 Rutkowski 1989; Rutkowski and Nowicki 1986; 1988; 1990; Nowicki 2000. 12 13
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SOMA 2011 The publication of the comprehensive Plain of Phaistos has recently further enriched our archaeological knowledge of the western Mesara.21 This volume summarizes the results of the intensive survey performed in the 1980s with the objective ‘to trace and interpret the social evolution of the polity of Phaistos’.22
only from rescue excavations undertaken by the Hellenic Archaeological Service (Rotasi,36 Gria Vigla37). Very few of these have been extensively excavated (Profitis Ilias at Gortyn38), and then often many years ago with non-stratigraphical methods (Acropolis of Gortyn,39 Phaistos40).
Field researches around the Phaistian hill range continue today thanks to a Greek-Italian synergasia, whose work – begun in 2007 – has produced a preliminary report.23
An incontrovertible fact is that settlements never occupied the plain (Fig. 3). They are located on hills at the edge of Mesara, to the north (Haghios Ioannis and Profitis Ilias at Gortyn, Ligortynos), as well as to the south (Rotasi, Gria Vigla), or those immediately behind (Kourtes, Christos, Kophinas).
Settlements and settlement patterns
If the settlements are in the core of the plain, they are on defensible hills with a wide range sight (Kastelliana, Phaistos).
By comparing a pair of distribution maps, it is clear that the topography of LM IIIA-B Mesara does not easily overlap with the LM IIIC one (Figs. 1-2). Settlement shifts between LBA and EIA have been studied in the last two decades by Nowicki, resuming and developing Pendlebury’s old idea of ‘refugee’ – now ‘defensible’ – sites.24 Some threats by sea would have determined the abandonment of coastal plains and low-lying sites in favour of inaccessible hill positions. Since ‘defensibility’ was the main cause of the shift, ‘inaccessibility’ and ‘remoteness’ are the most striking features of new settlements.
Defensive siting is a common feature of the contemporary settlement pattern not only on the island of Crete but also at other places around the Aegean (e.g. Koukounaries on Paros, Haghios Andreas on Siphnos, Emporio on Chios, Xobourgo on Tenos). Assuming a ‘minimalist’ point of view, and taking into account the absence of extremely defensive locations, I would look at the natural defensibility of settlements as a sort of neutral category, functional to their very existence, but offering little insight the actual choice of the settlement.
The cause/effect relationship between less secure historical contexts and settlements, topography, and the absence of a wide socio-economic perspective, have been the main sources of criticism of Nowicki’s model.25
South-central Crete settlements developed, without exception, close to springs (Profitis Ilias at Gortyn, Gria Vigla, Kastelliana) or streams (Rotasi, Ligortynos, Acropolis of Gortyn, Phaistos). Since there is no life without water, I would consider the provision of water as a neutral feature too.
In recent years, Wallace has attempted to reconcile the pattern of defensible sites with a deep social, political, and economical analysis of the transition between LBA and EIA.26 It is nevertheless worth noting that south-central Crete has been often regarded as an eccentric one, both for its physical topography of LBA-EIA settlements,27 and as regards further developments during the Protogeometric period.28
It is also highly interesting to note an almost systematic coupling between hills and pharanghia, or river valleys. In the light of the particular geomorphology of the area, this may be a significant factor as regards the distribution of settlements. The Mesara is in fact a long and narrow plain, bounded to the north and to the south by almost unbroken chains of hills and mountains. Pharanghia and valleys – frequently crossed by streams flowing from their hill-springs to Gheropotamos and Anapodaris – are still often passages to and from the plain. A few cases show that the situation was not so different in the past.
If the settlement pattern was thus different,29 and if Nowicki’s model does not actually ‘satisfy […] those who work in the Messara […] region’,30 I would like to try to provide an archaeological based explanation for this. Shared topographical features of Mesara settlements Our knowledge of settlements topography in the Mesara after the collapse of the Palatial system is uneven. Most of the sites are known only from surface potsherds (Ligortynos,31 Kastelliana,32 Kourtes,33 Christòs,34 Kophinas35), some settlements are known
Settlements and road network The importance of LM IIIC village on the Haghios Ioannis Acropolis at Gortyn cannot be separated from the highly strategic location on Mitropolianos, and on the road that must have followed the flow of the river towards the foot of Ida (Fig. 4).41 This path is not archaeologically known, but some clues allow us to suppose its existence with reasonable certainty.
Chatzi-Vallianou and Watrous 1990; Watrous, Chatzi-Vallianou, et al. 1993; Plain of Phaistos. 22 Plain of Phaistos, xxv. 23 Longo, Bredaki, et al. 2010. 24 Nowicki 2000, 13-18; 2002. For previous similar assessments see also Boyd 1901; Hall 1914; Pendlebury, Pendlebury, et al. 1938. 25 Whitley 1991; Haggis 1993; Day 1997; Haggis 1996; 2001; Borgna 2003; Greco forthcoming. 26 Wallace 2001; 2003; 2010, 52-72. 27 Nowicki 2000, 14. 28 Wallace 2003, 258-9. 29 Nowicki 2000, 241. 30 Nowicki 2000, 223. 31 Evans 1896, 466; Pendlebury, Money-Coutts, et al. 1932-33, 85; Nowicki 2000, 185-6, no. 84. 32 Evans 1896, 465-6; Nowicki 2000, 183-4, no. 83. 33 Pendlebury, Money-Coutts, et al. 1932-33, 90; Kanta 1980, 88; Nowicki 2000, 187-8, no. 86. 34 PM II.1, 81, fig. 37; Rutkowski and Nowicki 1986, 164; Rutkowski 1989, 47-8; Rutkowski and Nowicki 1990, 113-4, fig. 2; Nowicki 1992, 66-8. 35 Hayden 1988, 7-8, fn. 24; Nowicki 1992, 61; 2000, 45-6, no. 3. 21
Poros Aelias, at the north-western edge of Pervolopetra hill, is a natural saddle whose name suggests its passage function.42 Here passed the road along the Mitropolianos, descending Pervolopetra as far as the banks of the river, where the agora of Guarducci 1930; Pendlebury, Money-Coutts, et al. 1932-33, 86; Alexiou 1972, 622; Nowicki 2000, 190-1, no. 88. 37 Vasilakis 2000a; 2000b, 119-20; 2004. 38 Allegro 1991; 2010. 39 Rizza and Scrinari 1968, 4-21. 40 Levi 1957-58, 265-74; 1961-62, 397-418; 1967-68. 41 Di Vita 1991, 310. 42 On the role of toponomastic in the study of road networks, Tzedakis, Chryssoulaki, et al. 1989, 48. 36
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Rosario Maria Anzalone: Archaeological Models the archaic city rises. Moreover, the same path is followed by the Hellenistic fortifications, showing a break at Poros Aelias, and coming down towards the Mitropolianos (Fig. 5).43
Limenes. The Kephala of Kourtes enjoyed a dominant position on the high course of the Koutsoulitis river, a tributary of the Gheropotamos, flowing from the foot of the Ida range to Haghia Triada. The Kephala of Ligortynos controlled the access into the Mesara of a tributary of the Anapodaris, a natural way of penetration leading north as far as Pirathi.
The agora was thus placed at a traffic hub. Here converged not only the north-south path along the Mitropolianos, but also an east-west road. An archaic inscription reused in the roman Odeion refers in fact to a ἐπ’ἀγορᾶι δέπυρα: the presence of a bridge testifies to the existence of a road crossing the river itself.44
In the core of the plain, the situation is less clear. Talking about the so-called ‘South Road’, Evans already noted with disappointment that the ‘plain of Mesarà once reached, all traces cease’.52 Nor, a century later, can our knowledge be said to have increased.
The contemporary settlement of Profitis Ilias, a few hundred metres to the east, also developed in close relationship with a north-south track. Gioacchino Francesco La Torre has identified more than one stretch of this route over the hills of Vourvoulitis and next to the geometric settlement of Charkia Pervoli (Fig. 4).45 This road seems to follow the path of a mule track that Arthur Evans had already noted as a likely branch of the great south road linking Knossos to the Mesara.46
It would be simplistic, or wrong, to define the importance of historical Phaistos in terms of its dominant position regarding tracks linking the Mesara with the Gheropotamos mouth and the Kommos gulf. It is however a circumstance which cannot be denied as early as the Bronze Age.53
It does not matter if the identification is true or not. It is more important to stress how the villages forming the Gortynian region clearly enjoyed favourable conditions in controlling at least two tracks linking Mesara with north-central Crete.
This, of course, excludes the possibility that one of these paths might be the wide east-west paved road excavated s few hundred metres south of the Venetian church of Haghios Georghios, and which is thought to have been in use from the Geometric period until the destruction of the ancient city.54
Such a situation is even more clear in the Asterousia district, especially in front of the Gortynian hill range (Fig. 6).
Kastelliana – probably ancient Priansos – occupies an impressive hat-shaped hill in the heart of the eastern Mesara.55 As a Phaistos, such a position ensured a wide-range of visibility all around. To the south, and very close to Kastelliana, are the mouths of two pharanghia crossing the Asterousia. The western one led to Tsoutsouros – ancient Einatos – where Eilithia was worshipped in a cave by the sea since LM III.56 The settlement of Einatos is known only by its Roman ruins, but it is worth noting that on the epigraphic evidence it is identified with the harbour of Priansos at least by the Hellenistic period.57
Describing the topography of the ‘small Minoan port of Tripitì’, Sir Arthur Evans looked at the path to Krotos as the most direct access to the bay, probably an ancient one.47 Yet it was not the only path. John Pendlebury recorded ‘traces of banking of the Minoan road’ along the eastern side of Goulopharango, as far as Christos hill,48 in the area where Evans had imagined a branching off to Koumasa and Vasiliki.49 Archaeological remains of this path are not known, nor it is possible to check whether the remains seen by Pendlebury were actually Minoan. It is nevertheless very likely that the modern road that leaves Mesara by Vasiliki, follows the flow of the Maroula stream, and reaches the southern coast at Tripiti, tracing a very ancient track.
We are not able to say when Einatos began to gravitate towards Priansos, but the physical relationship between the Kastelliana hill and the pharanghi of Tsoutsouros is beyond doubt. Defensible sites in south-central Crete?
In this way is not surprising that the presence of the LBA-EIA settlement at Christos was nearly unknown, lacking as it was a direct access to the fertile plain of Gheropotamos, but controlling a passage to and from the harbour site of Tripiti. The latter site is known only for its Minoan and Hellenistic phases,50 but an EIA occupation cannot be excluded since Pendlebury saw ‘an extensive Geometric settlement’ in the western portion of the bay.51
Supporters of the theory of defensible sites refer to Mount Kophinas and Rotasi Analipsi as evidence of relocation resulting from imminent threat. The archaeological data are scanty however and merit a closer look. Kophinas is the highest peak of Asterousia, over 1200m.a.s.l. The summit is surrounded on either side by cliffs, and it is approachable only from the north up a vertical flight of steps. The top was used during the Bronze Age for religious purposes, as the depositions of pottery in the crevices demonstrate.58 Remains of structures were discovered in the early 1990s in the inaccessible north-western quadrant of the summit, a restricted area of c. 100 x 50m, open to the north on the cliff but sheltered on all other sides. Alexandra Karetsou and Georgios Rethemiotakis
In light of the cases of Gortyn and Goulopharango, it is perhaps possible to make some assumptions about the location of a number of settlements in the Mesara district (Fig. 3). Gria Vigla commands even today the most direct access to the south-western coast of Crete, through the pharanghi of Kaloi
PM II.1, 80. PM II.1, 80-1. 54 Vasilakis 1988-89, 124-5; Geraci, Landolina, et al. 2001, 613; Cucuzza 2005, 295-6. On the link between Phaistos and Haghia Triada, Bonacasa 1967-68, 17-18. 55 Guarducci 1932, 592-3; Perlman 2004, 1184-5, no. 985. 56 Alexiou 1963a, 397-8; 1963b, 310-1; Faure 1964, 90-4; Prent 2005, 331-2, B.59. 57 Guarducci 1932, 589-92; Mandalaki 1996; 1997; 1999. 58 Soetens 2009, 262. 52
43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51
Gortina IV, 28. IC IV 43B; Marginesu 2005, 115-16, no. 7. La Torre 1988-89, 282-4. PM II.1, 71. PM II.1, 83, fn. 3. Pendlebury, Money-Coutts, et al. 1932-33, 87. PM II.1, 83, fn. 3. Vasilakis 1993b; 2000b, 124-5. Pendlebury, Money-Coutts, et al. 1932-33, 88.
53
103
SOMA 2011 refer to four houses dating to the LM IIIC or SM, but do not exclude that this area was also devoted to religious activities, as the discovery of fragments of offering tables might suggest.59
Concluding remarks The relationship between settlements and road networks, or natural paths, is evident and hard to refute. This itself contradicts the idea of defensibility: accessibility goes against isolation due to increased threat and uncertainty. Proximity to roads, tracks or paths is the first guarantee of access to resources, especially agricultural ones, as is clear for the settlements on the hills at the edges of the plain.
If we are looking for a settlement, we should perhaps move to the large plateau at the foot of Kophinas. According to Barbara Hayden, it should occupy the area around the small church of Panagia Kera, between the spur of Kophinas to the south, and the hills of Metzolati and Logarotopos to the north.60 Surface potsherds suggest a chronology to the transition from the LBA to the EIA. The small plundered tholos tombs of Logarotopos probably also relate to this site.61
Robin Osborne has recently addressed accessibility as a prominent reason of the success of settlements that developed into urban shapes over the so-called ‘failed poleis’ or ‘one-purpose sites’.68
Topographical questions regarding the Kophinas area are difficult to answer due to the lack of extensive excavations and a general plan. The most impressive feature is a wall, c. 1m wide, running for about 2km from the north-eastern slope of the rocky summit to the hills over the modern path to Kapetaniana. Greek archaeologists have addressed the structure as a sort of enclosure for a wide grazing area, dating it in the Hellenistic period.62 Nowicki talked about ‘a substantial fortification wall, more or less similar to the Mycenaean fortifications’.63 None of the above elements really help us to understand the function and chronology of the ‘long wall’, however, and even its topographical relationship with the LBA-EIA settlement is unclear.
Saro Wallace has likewise recognized the better positioning on routes and near potential arable lands as main features of the ‘continuing sites’ compared with the primarily defensible ones.69 Most of the Mesara settlements show these main and successful features as early as LM IIIC. Potential exceptions to the model become more numerous than the examples that should prove it. While not underestimating the importance of defensibility, one needs to be careful about a possible diffusionist perspective for the explanation of site distribution and topography with invasions, migrations or population transfers. Preference for more or less defensible sites could be due to strong internal instability and competitiveness after the collapse of the old central place. Such conditions may be reflected by the absence of a clear hierarchy between LBA-EIA settlements, ranging usually from small (i.e. Christos: c. 1 ha) to medium size (i.e. Profitis Ilias at Gortyn: c. 15 ha) sites.
According to the available archaeological data, we can be sure of the existence of a settlement at the foot of Kophinas, but not on the very peak. We do not know its size or plan however and the plateau of Kophinas is far from being inaccessible. The hill at Analipsi, about 900m.a.s.l., dominates the south-east of Kephala of Rotasi, with a wide-ranging view of the Mesara to the north, and Asterousia to the south. Nowicki’s researches have brought to light ancient remains on top.64 Surface potsherds spread over an area of c. 150m around the church of Analipsi, show an occupation at least by LM IIIC until PG, and again in the Classical period.
Connecting defensible site patterns to internal instability – in which each community is a potential cause of insecurity for adjacent ones – offers at least one more advantage. We are not forced to assume an unusual state of ‘permanent siege’ lasting centuries. Defensibility is actually suitable for a short-term perspective: accessibility, easy watering and a close relationship with landscape resources fit better with a long-term view.
The available data are however too scanty to enable any consideration about the size of the site, its phases, and the nature of the human activities there.
Data from settlements and necropolises – even if uneven – show a pronounced stability in settlement pattern between LM IIIC and PG. Moreover, Kastelliana, Ligortynos, Rotasi and – of course – Gortyn and Phaistos survived at least until the Hellenistic period. The first moments of dynamism or tension – depending on whether one adopts a perspective of continuity or discontinuity – are perceived only in the late ninth century BC. Gria Vigla, i.e. ‘the old sentry’, about 8km south-east of Phaistos, is in this regard a very important site. Burned beams from the wooden roof and food remains in pithoi are clear evidence of violent destruction. The latter is quite easy to date since the abandoned layers were intact. According to published data, Gria Vigla was destroyed by fire and definitely abandoned in LPG or PGB. Much more difficult to understand are the reasons for such destruction. Antonis Vasilakis first linked this to an earthquake followed by fire, but judging by what we know about the nearby settlements, such an earthquake would nevertheless have been felt only at Gria Vigla.70 More recently the excavator has suggested a progressive but short-term transfer of population to Phaistos.71
In brief, no evidence, apart from the defensible sites model, supports the idea of a population shift from the highly defensible Analipsi to the more settled site of Rotasi.65 The surface pottery from Rotasi, in fact, is noticeably more recent than the potsherds from Analipsi.66 Nor there are to date clues as to why Analipsi should have survived as a sanctuary after its alleged abandonment.67
Karetsou and Rethemiotakis 1991-93, 291, fig. 6b. Hayden 1988, 7-8; Nowicki 1992, 61; 2000, 45-6, no. 3. 61 Karetsou and Rethemiotakis 1991-93, 291. 62 Karetsou and Rethemiotakis 1991-93, 291-2. 63 Nowicki 2001, 25. 64 Nowicki 2000, 191, no. 89. 65 Nowicki 2000, 191, no. 89; Wallace 2003, 258; 2010, 244. 66 Platon 1955, 567; Nowicki 2000, 190-1, no. 88. 67 Nowicki 2000, 191, no. 89. Margherita Guarducci – impressed by the imposing Analipsi – had already suggested its identification with Mount Skyllion (St. Byz. ‘Σκύλλιον’), where the sanctuary of Zeus Skylios mentioned in IC I xxix 1 and IC IV 174 should have been (Guarducci 1930, 71-2). 59 60
68 69 70 71
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Osborne 2005, 11-13. Wallace 2003, 257-8; 2010, 240-2. Vasilakis 2000a, 75. Vasilakis 2004, 103.
Rosario Maria Anzalone: Archaeological Models We have to admit that since only two rooms have so far been excavated, the available data sample is too narrow for any definite conclusion. A sudden and violent abandonment seems nevertheless very likely.
Νοεμβρίου 2008), (Ρέθυμνο: Εκδόσεις Φιλοσοφικής Σχολής Πανεπιστημίου Κρήτης), 327-35. Beschi, L., 1984, ‘La cultura antiquaria a Creta: premessa di un impegno scientifico’, in A. Di Vita and V. La Rosa and M.A. Rizzo (eds.), Creta Antica. Cento anni di archeologia italiana (1884-1984), (Roma: De Luca), 19-25. Beschi, L., 1999, Onorio Belli a Creta. Un manoscritto inedito della Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene (1587), (Atene: Scuola Archeologica Italiana). Beschi, L., 2000, Onorio Belli. Scritti di antiquaria e botanica (1586-1602), (Roma: Viella). Bintliff, J., 1999, ‘Introduction’, in A. Chaniotis (ed.), From Minoan Farmers to Roman Traders. Sidelights on the Economy of Ancient Crete, Heidelberger althistorische Beiträge und epigraphische Studien 29, (Stuttgart: Steiner), 1-14. Blackman, D.J., and Branigan, K., 1975, ‘An Archaeological Survey in the South Coast of Crete, between Ayofarango and Chrisostomos’, BSA 70, 17-36. Blackman, D.J., and Branigan, K., 1977, ‘An Archaeological Survey of the Lower Catchment of the Ayofarango Valley’, BSA 72, 13-84. Bonacasa, N., 1967-68, ‘Patrikiès – Una stazione medio-minoica fra Haghia Triada e Festòs’, ASAtene 45-46, 7-54. Borgna, E., 2003, ‘Regional Settlement Patterns, Exchange Systems and Sources of Power in Crete at the End of the Late Bronze Age: Establishing a Connection’, SMEA XLV/2, 15383. Boyd, H.A., 1901, ‘Excavations at Kavousi, Crete, in 1900’, AJA 5, 127-57. Chatzi-Vallianou, D., and Watrous, L.V., 1990, ‘Επιφανειακή έρευνα δυτικής Μεσαράς’, in Πεπραγμένα ΣΤ´ Διεθνούς Κρητολογικού Συνεδρίου (Χανιά, 24-30 Αυγούστου 1986), Α1, Χανιά, 113-23. Cucuzza, N., 2005, ‘Festòs «post-minoica»: note di topografia e di storia’, Creta Antica 6, 285-335. Day, L.P., 1997, ‘The Late Minoan IIIC period at Vronda, Kavousi’, in J. Driessen and A. Farnoux (eds.), La Crète mycénienne. Actes de la Table Ronde Internationale organisée par l’École française d’Athènes (26-28 Mars 1991), BCH Suppl. 30, (Paris: De Boccard), 391-406. Di Vita, A., 1991, ‘Gortina in età geometrica’, in D. Musti et al. (eds.), La transizione dal miceneo all’alto arcaismo. Dal palazzo alla città. Atti del Convegno Internazionale (Roma, 14-19 marzo 1988), (Roma: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), 309-19. Di Vita, A., 2010, Gortina di Creta: quindici secoli di vita urbana, Bibliotheca Archaeologica 45, (Roma: L’Erma di Bretschneider). Evans, A.J., 1896, ‘Explorations in Eastern Crete’, AJA 11, 44967. Faure, P., 1964, Fonctions des cavernes crétoises, École Française d’Athènes – Travaux et mémoires 14, (Paris: De Boccard). Geraci, A.L. and Landolina, F.F. et al. 2001, ‘Fotografia aerea e telerilevamento. Il territorio di Festòs’, in I cento anni dello scavo di Festòs (Roma, 13-14 dicembre 2000), Atti dei Convegni Lincei 173, (Roma: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei), 597-621. Gkiasta, M., 2008, The Historiography of Landscape Researches on Crete, Archaeological studies Leiden University 16, (Leiden: University Press). Gortina I, A. Di Vita (ed.), Gortina I, Monografie della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente 3, (Roma: L’Erma di Bretschneider) 1988.
‘Nucleation’ has been recently retained by Saro Wallace as a spontaneous phenomenon of the Cretan Protogeometric period. An increased social complexity and a growth of trade would have determined the abandonment of more than a half of the sites established in LM IIIC, and the consequent expansion of most of the other settlements.72 In this respect, south-central Crete appears once again an eccentric district, and it is not surprising if – as we have seen – most of the sites show some important successful features as early as LM IIIC. Data from Analipsi and Rotasi are too scanty to be assumed as proof of a spontaneous shift from a highly defensible site to a better located one. Moreover, the abandonment of Gria Vigla – the sole archaeologically investigated example – was a violent one. Summing up, it seems that inductive models are perhaps useful and even more convenient, but sometimes difficult to support by the archaeological evidence to date. Probable exceptions, rather than examples of any correct working of the model, seem more likely to appear from any comparison between comprehensive theoretical patterns and regional archaeological records. James Whitley has correctly stressed that regionalism is the most striking feature of the Dark Ages,73 and in the light of this John Bintliff’s considerations about the advantages of a close-focus approach are hard to argue against.74 The peculiar geomorphology of Crete continues to intrigue us. Stretched along the convergent boundary between African and European plates, the island is crossed by a nearly unbroken eastwest ridge which determined the formation of regional districts around the coastal plains and the alluvial interior. Amongst all the unknowns, however, settlement patterns are clearly so embedded with socio-economical processes, and the latter with landscape resources, that regional-centred analyses will perhaps eventually prove more fruitful. Bibliography Alexiou, S., 1963a, ‘Ἡ ἀρχαιολογικὴ κίνησις ἐν Κρήτῃ κατὰ τὸ ἔτος 1962’, CretChron 17, 394-401. Alexiou, S., 1963b, ‘Ἡ ἀρχαιολογικὴ κίνησις ἐν Κρήτῃ κατὰ τὸ ἔτος 1963’, CretChron 17, 401-12. Alexiou, S., 1972, ‘Ἀρχαιότητες καὶ μνημεῖα κεντρικῆς καὶ ἀνατολικῆς Κρήτης’, ArchDelt 27, B´ 2, 619-24. Allegro, N., 1991, ‘Gortina, l’abitato geometrico di Profitis Ilias’, in D. Musti et al. (eds.), La transizione dal miceneo all’alto arcaismo. Dal palazzo alla città. Atti del Convegno Internazionale (Roma, 14-19 marzo 1988), (Roma: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), 321-30. Allegro, N., 2010, ‘Οι πρόσφατες έρευνες στο γεωμετρικό και αρχαϊκό οικισμό στη θέση Προφήτης Ηλίας της Γόρτυνας’, in M. Adrianakis and I. Tzachili (eds.), Αρχαιολογικό Έργο Κρήτης Ι. Πρακτικά της 1ης Συνάντησης (Ρέθυμνο, 28-30
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SOMA 2011 Gortina IV, N. Allegro and M. Ricciardi, Gortina IV. Le fortificazioni di età ellenistica, Monografie della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente 10, (Padova: Bottega d’Erasmo) 1999. Greco, E., forthcoming, ‘Priniàs nel quadro degli studi sull’urbanistica greca arcaica’, in Identità culturale, etnicità, processi di trasformazione a Creta fra Dark Age e Arcaismo. Atti del Convegno di Studi per i cento anni dello scavo di Priniàs: 1906-2006 (Atene, 9-12 Novembre 2006), Catania. Guarducci, M., 1930, ‘Rhytion. Ricerche topografiche ed epigrafiche nell’ambito della città antica’, RivIstArch 2, 6275. Guarducci, M., 1932, ‘Contributi di topografia di Creta antica: Arkades, Inatos, Priansos’, Historia 6, 588-95. Haggis, D.C., 1993, ‘Intensive Survey, Traditional Settlement Patterns, and Dark Age Crete: The Case of Early Iron Age Kavousi’, JMA 6, 131-74. Haggis, D.C., 1996, ‘Archaeological Survey at Kavousi, East Crete: Preliminary Report’, Hesperia 65, 373-432. Haggis, D.C., 2001, ‘A Dark Age Settlement System in East Crete, and a Reassessment of the Definition of Refugee Settlements’, in V. Karageorghis and C.E. Morris (eds.), Defensive Settlements of the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean after c. 1200 B.C. Proceedings of an International Workshop held at Trinity College Dublin (7th-9th May, 1999), (Nicosia: Trinity College Dublin), 41-60. Halbherr, F., 1896, ‘Report on the Expedition of the Institute to Crete’, AJA 11, 525-38. Halbherr, F., 1901a, ‘Lavori eseguiti dalla Missione Archeologica Italiana nell’agora di Gortyna e nell’Asclepieo di Lebena’, RendLinc 10, 291-306. Halbherr, F., 1901b, ‘Cretan Expedition XI. Three Cretan Necropoleis: Report on the Researches at Erganos, Panaghia, and Courtes’, AJA 5, 259-93. Halbherr, F., 1901c, ‘Cretan Expedition XVII. Ruins of Unknown Cities at Haghios Ilias and Prinià’, AJA 5, 393-403. Halbherr, F., 1902, ‘Lavori eseguiti dalla Missione Archeologica Italiana ad Haghia Triada e nella necropoli di Phaestos’, RendLinc 11, 433-47. Hall, E.H., 1914, Excavations in Eastern Crete, Vrokastro, University of Pennsylvania – The Museum Anthropological Publications III.3, (Philadelphia: The University Museum). Hayden, B.J., 1988, ‘Fortifications of Post-palatial and Early Iron Age Crete’, AA, 1-21. IC I, M. Guarducci, Inscriptiones Creticae I. Tituli Cretae mediae praeter gortynios, (Roma: La libreria dello Stato) 1935. IC IV, M. Guarducci, Inscriptiones Creticae IV. Tituli Gortynii, (Roma: La libreria dello Stato) 1950. Kanta, A., 1980, The Late Minoan III Period in Crete. A Survey of Sites, Pottery, and their Distribution, Studies in Mediterranean archaeology 58, (Göteborg: Aströms). Karetsou, A., and Rethemiotakis, G., 1991-93, ‘Αρχαιολογικές ειδήσεις 1989-1991. Επαρχία Καινουργίου. Ιερό Κορυφής Κόφινα’, Κρητική Εστία 4, 289-92. Kommos I.1, J.W. Shaw and M.C. Shaw, Kommos I. The Kommos Region, Ecology, and Minoan Industries, (Princeton: Princeton University Press) 1995. La Torre, G.F., 1988-89, ‘Contributo preliminare alla conoscenza del territorio di Gortina’, ASAtene 66-67, 277-322. Levi, D., 1957-58, ‘Gli scavi a Festòs nel 1956 e 1957’, ASAtene 35-36, 193-361. Levi, D., 1961-62, ‘Gli scavi a Festòs negli anni 1958-1960’, ASAtene 39-40, 377-504. Levi, D., 1967-68, ‘L’abitato di Festòs in località Chálara’, ASAtene 45-46, 55-166.
Longo, F., and Bredaki, M. et al. 2010, ‘Πρόγραμμα «Φαιστός». Μια ιταλο-ελληνική συνεργασία για τη μελέτη του οικισμού από τη νεολιθική εποχή μέχρι την ύστερη αρχαιότητα’, in M. Adrianakis and I. Tzachili (eds.), Αρχαιολογικό Έργο Κρήτης Ι. Πρακτικά της 1ης Συνάντησης (Ρέθυμνο, 28-30 Νοεμβρίου 2008), (Ρέθυμνο: Εκδόσεις Φιλοσοφικής Σχολής Πανεπιστημίου Κρήτης), 348-61. Mandalaki, S., 1996, ‘ΚΓ΄ Εφορεία προϊστορικών και κλασικών αρχαιοτήτων. Ανασκαφικές Εργασιές. Νόμος Ηρακλείου – Τσούτσουρος’, ArchDelt 51, B´ 2, 638-40. Mandalaki, S., 1997, ‘ΚΓ΄ Εφορεία προϊστορικών και κλασικών αρχαιοτήτων. Ανασκαφικές Εργασιές. Νόμος Ηρακλείου – Τσούτσουρος’, ArchDelt 52, B´ 3, 995-8. Mandalaki, S., 1999, ‘Αρχαιολογικές Ειδήσεις 1995-1997. Νομός Ηρακλείου. Επαρχία Μονοφατσίου – Τσούτσουρος’, Κρητική Εστία 7, 269-72. Marginesu, G., 2005, Gortina di Creta. Prospettive epigrafiche per lo studio della forma urbana, Tripodes 2, (Atene: Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene). Mariani, L., 1901, ‘Cretan Expedition XIII. The vases of Erganos and Courtes’, AJA 5, 302-14. Nowicki, K., 1992, ‘Fortifications in Dark Ages Crete’, in S. van de Maele and J. M. Fossey (eds.), Fortificationes Antiquae (including the papers of the conference held at Ottawa University, October 1988), McGill University Monographs in Classical Archaeology and History 12, (Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben), 53-76. Nowicki, K., 2000, Defensible Sites in Crete c. 1200 - 800 B.C. (LM IIIB/IIIC through Early Geometric), Aegaeum 21, (Liège: Université de Liège). Osborne, R., 2005, ‘Urban Sprawl: What is Urbanization and Why does it Matter ?’, in R. Osborne and B. Cunliffe (eds.), Mediterranean Urbanization 800-600 BC, Proceedings of the British Academy 126, (New York: Oxford University Press), 1-16. Pendlebury, J.D.S., 1939, The Archaeology of Crete: an Introduction, (London: Methuan). Pendlebury, H.W., and Pendlebury, J.D.S. et al. 1937-38, ‘Karphi: a City of Refuge of the Early Iron Age in Crete’, BSA 38, 57-145. Pendlebury, J.D.S., and Money-Coutts, M.B. et al. 1932-33, ‘Journeys in Crete, 1934’, BSA 33, 80-100. Perlman, P., 2004, ‘Crete’, in M.H. Hansen and T.H. Nielsen (eds.), An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis, (Oxford – New York: Oxford University Press), 1144-95. Pernier, L., 1902, ‘Scavi della Missione Italiana a Phaestos. 1900-1901. Rapporto preliminare’, MonAnt 12, 5-142. Plain of Phaistos, L.V. Watrous and D. Hadzi-Vallianou and H. Blitzer (eds.), The Plain of Phaistos. Cycles of Social Complexity in the Mesara Region of Crete, Monumenta Archaeologica 23, (Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA) 2004. Platon N. 1955, ‘Ἡ ἀρχαιολογικὴ κίνησις ἐν Κρήτῃ κατὰ τὸ ἔτος 1955’, CretChron 9, 553-69. PM, A. Evans, The Palace of Minos at Knossos 1-5, London 1921-1936. Prent, M., 2005, Cretan Sanctuaries and Cults. Continuity and Change from Late Minoan III C to the Archaic Period, Religions in the Graeco-Roman world 154, (Leiden – Boston: Brill). Rizza, G., and Scrinari, V.S.M., 1968, Il santuario sull’acropoli di Gortina 1, Monografie della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente 2, (Roma: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato).
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Rosario Maria Anzalone: Archaeological Models in Πεπραγμένα Η´ Διεθνούς Κρητολογικού Συνεδρίου (Ηράκλειο, 9-14 Σεπτεμβρίου 1996), Α1, Ηράκλειο, 71-6. Vasilakis, A., 2000b, ‘Αστερούσια: από τα νεολιθικά σπίτια και τους προανακτορικούς τάφους στους οικισμούς/καταφύγια της αρχής της εποχής του Σιδήρου’, in A. Vasilakis (ed.), Η Μεσαρά μέσα από τα Μνημεία της. Πρώτη Αρχαιολογική Συνάντηση Μεσαράς (Μοίρες, 5-7 Σεμπεμβρίου 1996), (Ηράκλειο: Δήμος Μοιρών Κρήτης), 111-27. Vasilakis, A., 2004, ‘Πρωτογεωμετρικός Οικισμός στη Γριά Βίγλα Μοιρών στη Νότια Κρήτη’, in N.Chr. Stampolidis and Α. Giannikouri (eds.), Το Αιγαίο στην Πρώιμη Εποχή του Σιδήρου. Πρακτικά του Διεθνούς Συμποσίου (Ρόδος, 1-4 Νοεμβρίου 2002), (Αθήνα: Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης ΥΠ.ΠΟ., Αρχαιολογικό Ινστιτούτο Αιγαιακών Σπουδών), 93-104. Wallace, S.A., 2001, ‘Case studies of settlement change in Early Iron Age Crete (c. 1200-700 BC): Economic Models of Cause and Effect Reassessed’, Aegean Archaeology 4, 61-99. Wallace, S.A., 2003, ‘The Perpetuated Past: Re-Use or Continuity in Material Culture and the Structuring of Identity in Early Iron Age Crete’, BSA 98, 251-77. Watrous, L.V., and Chatzi-Vallianou, D. et al. 1993, ‘A Survey of the Western Mesara Plain in Crete: Preliminary Report of the 1984, 1986, and 1987 Field Seasons’, Hesperia 62, 191-248. Whitley, J., 1991, ‘Social Diversity in Dark Age Greece’, BSA 86, 341-65.
Rutkowski, B., 1989, ‘Minoan Sanctuaries at Christos and Koumasa, Crete: new Field Research’, ArchKorrBl 19, 47-51. Rutkowski, B., and Nowicki, K., 1986, ‘Report on Investigations in Greece IV. Studies in 1985’, ArcheologiaWar 37, 159-70. Rutkowski, B., and Nowicki, K., 1988, ‘Report on Investigations in Greece V. Studies in 1986’, ArcheologiaWar 38, 177-84. Rutkowski, B., and Nowicki, K., 1990, ‘Report on Investigations in Greece VI. Studies in 1988-1989’, ArcheologiaWar 41, 113-25. Soetens, S., 2009, ‘Iouktas and Kophinas: Two Ritual Landscapes Out of the Ordinary’, in A.L. D’Agata and A. Van de Moortel (eds.), Archaeologies of Cult. Essays on Ritual and Cult in Honor of Geraldine C. Gesell, Hesperia Suppl. 42, (Princeton: American School of Classical Studies at Athens), 261-8. Taramelli, A., 1901a, ‘Cretan Expedition XII. Notes on the Necropolis of Courtes’, AJA 5, 294-301. Tzedakis, Y., and Chryssoulaki, St. et al. 1989, ‘Le routes minoennes: rapport préliminaire. Défense de la circulation ou circulation de la défense ?’, BCH 113, 43-75. Vasilakis, A., 1988-89, ‘Οἰκιστική καί ἀρχιτεκτονική τῆς Κρήτης στά ἱστορικά χρόνια’, CretChron 28-29, 110-26. Vasilakis, Α., 1993b, ‘ΚΓ΄ Εφορεία προϊστορικών και κλασικών αρχαιοτήτων. Ανασκαφικές εργασίες. Νόμος Ηρακλείου – Επαρχία Καινούριου – Τρυπητή’, ArchDelt 48, B´2, 467-8. Vasilakis, A., 2000a, ‘Ανασκαφή Πρωτογεωμετρικού οικισμού στη Γριά Βίγλα Πικαϊδακίων - Πόμπιας Καινουργίου’,
Fig. 1: Distribution map of LM IIIB Settlements (after Kanta 1980, fig. 147)
Fig. 2: Distribution map of LM IIIC-SM Settlements (after Wallace 2010, fig. 9)
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Fig. 3: Map of the Mesara (after Plain of Phaistos, fig. 3.4)
Fig. 4: The Gortynian cluster of LBA-EIA settlements (after La Torre 1988-89, pl. I)
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Rosario Maria Anzalone: Archaeological Models
Fig. 5: The Gortynian hill range and the Hellenistic fortifications (after Di Vita 2010, fig. 7)
Fig. 6: Goulopharango and the road to Tripiti
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Reconstructing the Landscape of the Dead. Some Observations on the Minoan Funerary Space in the Agiopharango Valley Sylviane Déderix
AEGIS Research Group, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium Laboratory of Geophysical-Satellite Remote Sensing & Archaeo-environment (IMS – FORTH), Rethymno, Greece
145-161). It is proposed here to look at a neglected aspect of the Minoan funerary remains: their spatial dimension. Of all the choices made by a society regarding the treatment of its departed, those related to the location of cemeteries are amongst the most fundamental. As M. Parker Pearson wrote:
Introduction The transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in Crete is characterized by significant developments of cultural, economical, technological and social nature. One of the most striking changes observable in the archaeological record is ‘the marked increase in visible forms of burial’ (Tomkins and Schoep 2010: 75). The few Neolithic graves so far recognized on the island are simple inhumations within caves and rock shelters, as well as sporadic intramural burials (mostly of children) (Vagnetti and Belli 1978: 130). On the contrary, from the beginning of the Early Minoan period onwards, formal areas were specifically defined for the deposition of the dead, cemeteries were used for a large number of individuals, and funerary architecture developed. Bronze Age tombs are not only numerous; they also display an important investment of time and energy in architecture, grave goods and practices. Moreover, they show a great diversity, as well as regional variations and chronological particularities.
‘Where we put their remains is generally a conscious and carefully thought-out activity by which the dead are both remembered and forgotten, and through which we reaffirm and construct our attitudes to death and the dead and, through these, to place and identity’ (Parker Pearson 1999: 124). Accordingly, this paper focuses on the Minoan funerary landscape of the Agiopharango Valley, with the aim to illustrate how a careful analysis of the spatial patterning of cemeteries can provide clues about the relationships between the living and the dead and, from there, shed new light on the significance and meanings of funerary behaviors. However, the funerary landscape cannot be reduced to the tombs themselves. The place allocated to the dead can only be realized through a combined examination of the connections between burial places, the rest of the archaeological sites, and the natural environment. The Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are of particular interest in this context, since they make it possible to take into consideration a large number of archaeological, topographic and geomorphologic parameters that might have played a role in the establishment of burial places.
Burial structures were particularly abundant and monumental before the emergence of the First Palaces. Actually, one can say that the specificity of the Cretan Early Bronze Age lies in its funerary customs: the time and labor devoted to tombs’ construction were much more important than the effort invested in contemporary settlements, and it was the sole period when the dead occupied quite such a prominent position in the Minoan landscape. The Prepalatial tombs were not suddenly deserted at the time of the establishment of the First Palaces, but the dead became gradually less visible (as emphasized by the new, underground types of burials) and old cemeteries were progressively abandoned.
The Valley of the Agiopharango: natural settings and archaeological remains The Valley of the Agiopharango is located in South Central Crete, on the southwest side of the Asterousia mountain range. The area constitutes a good case-study, forasmuch as it has not been heavily altered by major human activity in modern times. Moreover, the valley was the subject of a semi-intensive survey carried out in 1971-1972, under the direction of D. Blackman and K. Branigan (Blackman and Branigan 1977). Besides the reconstruction of the evolution of the settlement pattern, this survey was aimed at undertaking a detailed environmental study. Later, A. Vasilakis recorded the Bronze Age remains of the Western Asterousia and recognized a few extra sites in the Agiopharango Valley (Vasilakis 1989-1990: 26-48).
Funerary remains are therefore crucial to approach the Early Minoan societies, in which the processes that led to the development of the palatial civilization are rooted. Unfortunately, the study of such remains poses a series of major hurdles (absence of written sources, bad state of preservation of the structures, looting and disruption of content, rough excavations, scarcity of anthropological studies, summary publications) and many basic questions cannot yet be answered: how long was each tomb effectively in use? How did funerary buildings actually look like? How many deceased were deposited in these structures? Which artifacts were associated with a particular body? What precise social structure do these tombs reflect? Such uncertainties have, in turn, mortgaged our understanding of the nature, meanings and evolution of Minoan funerary practices.
The region surveyed by D. Blackman and K. Branigan is ca. 5 km long (as the crow flies). It is made up of a valley of two seasonal streams that meet around the chapel of Agia Kyriaki. The river then flows in an area where the valley widens slightly, before entering the Gorge of the Agiopharango (i.e. the Agiopharango properly said) and emptying into the Lybian Sea some 3.5 km farer. It is a mountainous region that consists mostly of bare
The spatial dimension of funerary data In order to try to get round the limitations imposed by the mortuary record of Bronze Age Crete, the available data have to be registered within their broader cultural context (Blake 2001:
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SOMA 2011 (Soles 1992). However, orthogonal buildings have also been recognized in the cemeteries of South Central Crete. In the Valley of the Agiopharango, three possible examples have been identified: two are to be found on a small hill to the South of the Agia Kyriaki circular tombs, while a third, larger one is located in the area of the Gorge, on a narrow shelf that overlooks the river bed (Blackman and Branigan 1977: 58-59, 60-61) (fig. 2). The identification of these rectangular buildings as tombs or ossuaries is highly hypothetical, since the surveyors relied only on the discovery of a few small fragments of bones on the surface.
slopes covered with scrubs, bushes and spare olive trees, but patches of arable lands and areas suitable for the grazing of sheep and goats are available (for a detailed environmental study: Bintliff 1977: 605-614; Blackman and Branigan 1977: 14-30). According to J. Bintliff, the carrying capacity of the valley allows the establishment of 17 to 34 nuclear families, which represents a total of ca. 102 to 140 persons (Bintliff 1977: 633-35; Blackman and Branigan 1977: 28-30). On the basis of surface finds, the following sites were recorded in the Agiopharango Valley (Blackman and Branigan 1977; Vasilakis 1989-1990) (fig. 1):
The chronological and spatial distribution of archaeological sites in the Agiopharango
• 2 settlements at Megaloi Skinoi – which could actually form one single, large habitation site (Blackman and Branigan 1977: 43); • 10 small occupation sites – maybe isolated farmsteads; • 5 hypothetical ritual sites – that might rather be small occupation sites according to A. Vasilakis (Vasilakis 19891990, 33-34, 45-46); • As well as 4 cemeteries and 2 possible burial sites.
Most of the archaeological sites recorded in the Agiopharango have been recognized, identified, and dated on the basis of surface material. The evolution of the settlement pattern in the valley can thus only roughly and tentatively be outlined. The discovery of some sherds dated back to the sub-Neolithic period suggests that the Agiopharango was already permanently inhabited before the Bronze Age (Blackman and Branigan 1977: 37-38, 65-67; Blackman and Branigan 1982: 43-44; Vasilakis 1989-1990: 3339, 71). The occupation of the area then increased and expanded at the beginning of the Early Minoan period (Blackman and Branigan 1977: 67-68). Actually, the large majority of Bronze Age sites, which includes all the circular tomb cemeteries as well as one hypothetical rectangular tomb, were occupied during the Prepalatial phase (fig. 3). The four circular tombs that could confidently be dated (i.e. Agia Kyriaki A, Megaloi Skinoi – East A & B, and Megaloi Skinoi – West) were in use from the Early Minoan I until the Middle Minoan I period, that is to say, during the whole Prepalatial period (Blackman and Branigan 1977: 38, 39-40, 56).
The funerary remains in the Agiopharango Valley Burial practices of Pre- and Protopalatial Crete show a tendency towards regionalization. In the South Central part of the island, which includes the Agiopharango Valley, the dead were frequently buried in so-called tholos tombs – which should rather be called circular tombs to distinguish them from later Mycenaean practices. They are circular structures, strongly built, with wide walls constructed of large, unworked stones. Their dimensions are variable: the smallest has an inner diameter of less than 3 m, while the largest reaches 13 m. They are accessed through a small door that usually opens towards the East (Goodison and Guarita 2005: 171, 179-199). The roofing technique of circular tombs is still disputed, but it seems that at least the smaller examples were covered by a full stone vault (e.g. Pelon 1976: 55-63). In several instances, the entrance of the circular chamber is fronted by a vestibule or even a whole complex of annex rooms. Circular tombs can be found isolated, gathered in groups of two or three, and/or accompanied by other kinds of funerary structures. They were collective tombs used for numerous burials over several centuries.
After the Middle Minoan I period, the occupation of the Agiopharango decreased rapidly and the valley was no longer substantially settled before Roman times (Blackman and Branigan 1977: 68-69) (fig. 3). Traces of Proto- and Neopalatial activities are only ascertained at one settlement and two hypothetical ritual sites. Similarly, the circular tombs were all abandoned, to the exception of the large building of Agia Kyriaki that could have been sporadically visited during the Middle Minoan II period (Blackman and Branigan 1982: 48-49). Only two rectangular structures (Agiopharango – W8) were possibly used for burial purposes during the Proto- and Neopalatial periods. The desertion of old tombs after the Middle Minoan I is a phenomenon generally observed all over South Central Crete. But if it coincides with the abandonment of most settlements in the Agiopharango Valley, it is not the case in the Mesara plain where the sites’ density increased during the Protopalatial times (e.g. Watrous, Hadzi-Vallianou and Blitzer 2004: 277-284).
In the sole area of the Agiopharango Valley, six circular tombs have been recognized so far (fig. 2): one at Gavaliana, two at Megaloi Skinoi (Megaloi Skinoi – East), another one some 500 m to the West (Megaloi Skinoi – West), and two on the west side of the stream, to the Southwest of the chapel of Agia Kryiaki. Another circular building, located near the exit of the Gorge and previously identified as a tholos tomb, eventually proved to be Hellenistic in date (Goodison and Guarita 2005: 201).The eastern structure of Agia Kyriaki is the only extensively excavated and published circular tomb of the Agiopharango (Blackman and Branigan 1977). Its main room is fronted by a large complex of annex chambers and by a precinct wall enclosing an open court (Blackman and Branigan 1982: fig. 15). The second tomb of Agia Kyriaki, located ca. 50 m to the west of the aforementioned, is an unusual structure made up of two circular rooms (Blackman and Branigan 1972: fig. 28). It was probably never used, nor completed (Blackman and Branigan 1977: 56-58).
As emphasized by an analysis of the spatial density (fig. 4), most settlements and hypothetical ritual sites are localized around the junction of the two streams. They are particularly concentrated in two zones: the first one to the East of the river, around the fertile plateau of Megaloi Skinoi, and the other to the South of the streams junction, in the area of Agia Kyriaki – i.e. where the valley widens. The occupation of the gorge itself was obviously avoided: the surveyors only recognized a possible sanctuary on a small hillock ‘overlooking a very steep descent to the river bed’ (Blackman and Branigan 1977: 60-61), as well as one settlement on a low elevation close to the exit of the gorge (Vasilakis 1989-1990: 28-30). Burial sites were established in the exact same areas as the habitations, particularly around the Megaloi
This tradition of circular tombs contrasts with the practice that prevailed in Northern and Eastern Crete, where the dead were commonly deposited in burial structures of rectangular plan
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Sylviane Déderix: Reconstructing the Landscape of the Dead Actually, proximity with the dead appears to have been deliberately created. From the early discoveries, the archaeologists noticed that circular tombs were frequently established very close to settlements (Xanthoudides 1924; Pelon 1979: 38-39). In the particular area of the Agiopharango Valley, the large majority of domestic sites is localized within a radius of 500m from cemeteries (fig. 7). The close spatial relationship established between cemeteries and settlements during the Prepalatial period can be further acknowledged thanks to viewshed analyses. In that sense, fig. 8 clearly indicates that most Prepalatial settlements were visible from at least one burial site identified with certainty and vice versa. The only exception concerns the area of the Gorge itself, where no certain tomb has been recorded. It could of course be argued that almost the whole Valley is covered by the viewsheds since settlements are very numerous in the region. However, if the ideology implied to the dead to be hidden from the living, this would have been extremely easy in such a rugged terrain.
Skinoi plateau and the valley of Agia Kyriaki (fig. 4). It appears therefore that the domain of the living was strongly interlocked with that of the dead. The Natural Settings of Burial Sites Owing to the very limited sample taken into consideration in this study, the value of statistical analyses is strongly reduced. Still, an examination of the location of the circular tombs suggests that no particular topographic settings were favored for the establishment of burial sites, at least in terms of altitude, degree of slope, or aspect (fig. 5). At the most, it can be concluded that the cemeteries in the Agiopharango valley were settled on smooth slopes and on average altitudes – that is to say not on the summit or on the valley bottom. Observations recorded during fieldwork reflect that the cemeteries were neither hidden, nor located on prominent sites. In other words, if the tombs were not out of sight, they did not constitute landmarks either. A similar result is obtained through the examination of the visibility from cemeteries. Indeed, the viewshed analyses computed for each burial site make it clear that the area visible from the tombs is quite extended, even if the burial sites do not occupy a commanding position (fig. 6).
Circular tombs were important landmarks in the life of the associated community. A lot of time and energy was invested in the construction of these tombs that were used for collective burials during many centuries. They were the focus of complex funerary practices including secondary treatments and periodical clearance (Branigan 1987). Rituals of non-funerary nature also took place in the cemeteries (Branigan 2008). The tombs were therefore meaningful in claiming the stability and the identity of the group, and they functioned as important arenas for social negotiation (Murphy 1998). Both proximity and visibility between funerary and domestic sites reflect the key-role played by the deceased within the life of the community.
One of the most interesting conclusions reached by the Agiopharango project regarding the location of burial sites concerns the establishment of tombs in relation to the geomorphologic attributes of the area (Bintliff 1977: 636). When one looks at the map published in the survey report (Blackman and Branigan 1977: fig. 34), the tombs appear to be closely associated with the patches of arable land available in the valley. Anthropological studies led by A. Saxe, L. Goldstein and D. Charles (Saxe 1970; Goldstein 1976; Charles 1995; Parker Pearson 1999: 136-139) have shown that the definition of formal areas specifically dedicated to the deposition of the dead can play a role in the affirmation of the group’s rights over a territory and crucial but limited resources. That is to say, a group would legitimize its access, use and/or control of some resources (which might be the land) by claiming its lineage with the ancestors buried within the cemetery. In that sense, the close spatial association of built tombs and arable land in the Valley of the Agiopharango is rather striking. It suggests that the burial structures could have contributed to bond a particular group with the land it exploited.
However, two contrasting phenomena pinpointed by K. Branigan reveal that death ‘may have been spatially almost on the doorstep, but conceptually it was to be kept firmly at a distance’ (Branigan 1998: 26). While the doorway of circular tombs usually opens towards the East, the Minoan people avoided as a rule to settle to the East of the tombs, preventing therefore the entrance of the funerary building to open towards the settlement. As a result, the deceased were controlled in a way. And if their resting place was accessible and perceptible to the living, the dead could not witness the daily life of the community (Branigan 1998: 14-19). Conclusions and Prospects The establishment of cemeteries within the landscape is not a random activity. On the contrary, it results from a deliberate decision influenced by the attitude of the living towards death and the dead, and by the roles and functions assigned to the deceased (Parker Pearson 1993: 206-207). Examining the spatial patterning of burial sites can therefore lead to a better understanding of funerary practices. This paper focused on a small region defined by the Valley of the Agiopharango, and even if some of the results seem to match the general trend of the Asterousia Mountains, it would be inaccurate to try to extrapolate the conclusions to the whole island. The evidence indeed underlines many regional variations in Minoan Crete, especially during the Prepalatial period. Such variations are particularly observable in the funerary realm, through the different types of burials that characterize distinct geographic entities (Legarra Herrero 2009).
The World of the Living and the Abode of the Dead Studying the funerary landscape of Ancient Egypt, J. Richards wrote: ‘In choosing a location for their cemeteries, ancient Egyptians displayed a distinct preference for the west bank of the Nile, given the mythological associations of the West with the world of the dead. Usually adjacent to their respective settlements (typically on or at the edge of the alluvial plain), they were distinct from them spatially and topographically’ (Richards 2005: 79). In contrast, the results of the above-mentioned analyses suggest that no such clear demarcation was established between the world of the living and the abode of the dead in the Minoan Agiopharango. Indeed, the distribution of tombs in the Valley matches that of settlements, both avoiding distinct topographic or landscape niches.
Finally, it is important to stress that the conclusions proposed in this paper constitute the preliminary results of an ongoing research that concerns the whole island of Crete. The range of
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SOMA 2011 spatial analyses carried out in the project is also much larger than those addressed here. Indeed, it is only by combining the analyses, by comparing the results in a regional perspective, and by evaluating them within the frame of the global evolution of the Minoan society that we can hope to get a better understand of the relations between the world of the living and the abode of the dead during the Cretan Bronze Age. Acknowledgment The author is “aspirante” of the F.R.S.-FNRS. This paper is part of an ongoing PhD research project carried out under the supervision of Pr. Jan Driessen (UCLouvain) and Dr. Apostolos Sarris (IMSFORTH), and funded by the F.R.S.-FNRS. Topographic and geomorphologic data and maps were made available by the Laboratory of Geophysical-Satellite Remote Sensing & Archaeoenvironment of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies-FORTH. Bibliography Bintliff, J. (1977) Natural Environment and Human Settlement in Prehistoric Greece, BAR Supplementary Series, 28. Oxford, British Archaeological Report. Blackman, D. and K. Branigan (1977) An Archaeological Survey of the Lower Catchment of the Ayiofarango Valley. Annual of the British School at Athens, 72, 13-84. Blackman, D. and K. Branigan (1982) The Excavation of an Early Minoan Tholos Tomb at Ayia Kyriaki, Ayiofarango, Southern Crete. Annual of the British School at Athens, 77, 1-57. Blake, E. (2001) Construction a Nuragic Locale: The Spatial Relationship between Tombs and Towers in Bronze Age Sardinia. American Journal of Archaeology, 105, 145-61. Branigan, K. (1987) Ritual Interference with Human Bones in the Mesara Tholoi. IN: Laffineur, R. ed., Thanatos. Les coutumes funéraires en Egée à l’Age du Bronze. Actes du colloque de Liège (21-23 avril 1986), Aegaeum, 1. Liège, Université de Liège, 43-51. Branigan, K. (1993) Dancing with Death. Life and Death in Southern Crete 3000-2000 B.C., Amsterdam, A.M. Hakkert. Branigan, K. (1998) The Nearness of You: Proximity and Distance in Early Minoan Funerary Landscapes. IN: Branigan, K. ed., Cemetery and Society in the Aegean Bronze Age, Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology, 1. Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 13-26. Branigan, K. (2008) Communal Ceremonies in an Early Minoan Tholos Cemetery. IN: Gallou, C., Georgiadis, M. and G.M. Muskett eds, Dioskouroi. Studies presented to W.G. Cavanagh and C.B. Mee on the anniversary of their 30-year joint contribution to Aegean Archaeology, BAR Int. Series, 1889. Oxford, BAR Publishing, 15-22. Charles, D.K. (1995) Diachronic Regional Social Dynamics: Mortuary Sites in the Illinois Valley/American Bottom
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Region. IN: Anderson Beck, L. ed. Regional Approaches to Mortuary Analysis, New York, Plenum, 77-99. Goldstein, L. (1976) Spatial Structure and Social Organization: Regional Manifestations of Mississippian Society, PhD Dissertation, Northwestern University. Goodison, L. and C. Guarita (2005) A New Catalogue of the Mesara-type Tombs. Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici, 47, 171-212. Legarra Herrero, B. (2009) The Minoan Fallacy: Cultural Diversity and Mortuary Behaviour on Crete at the Beginning of the Bronze Age. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 28, 29-57. Murphy, J.M. (1998) Ideologies, Rites and Rituals: A View of Prepalatial Minoan Tholoi. IN: Branigan, K. ed., Cemetery and Society in the Aegean Bronze Age, Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology, 1. Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 27-40. Parker Pearson, M. (1993) The Powerful Dead: Archaeological Relationships between the Living and the Dead. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 3:2, 203-29. Parker Pearson, M. (1999) The Archaeology of Death and Burial, Stroud, Sutton Publishing. Pelon, O. (1976) Tholoi, tumuli et cercles funéraires : Recherches sur les monuments funéraires de plan circulaire dans l’Égée de l’âge du Bronze (IIIè et IIè millénaires av. J.-C.), Bibliothèques des Écoles françaises d’Athènes et de Rome, 229. Athènes, Ecole française d’Athènes. Pelon, O. (1994) Les tombes circulaires dans l’Égée de l’Age du Bronze : état des questions. Topoi, 4, 153-207. Richards, J. (2005) Society and Death in Ancient Egypt. Mortuary Landscapes of the Middle Kingdom, New York, Cambridge University Press. Tomkins, P. and I. Schoep (2010) The Early Bronze Age: Crete. IN: Cline, E. ed., The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 66-82. Saxe, A.A. (1970) Social Dimensions of Mortuary Practices, PhD, University of Michigan. Soles, J. (1992) Prepalatial Cemeteries at Mochlos and Gournia and the House Tombs of Bronze Age Crete, Hesperia Supplement, 24. Princeton, American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Vagnetti, L. and P. Belli (1978) Characters and Problems of the Final Neolithic in Crete. Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici, 19, 125-63. Vasilakis, A. (1989-1990). Προϊστορικές θέσεις στη Μονή Οδηγήτριας - Καλούς Λιμένες. Κρητική Εστία, 11-79. Watrous, L.V., Hadzi-Vallianou, D. and H. Blitzer eds (2004) The Plain of Phaistos. Cycles of Social Complexity in the Mesara Region of Crete, Monumenta Archaeologica, 23. Los Angeles, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. Xanthoudides, S. (1924) The Vaulted Tombs of Mesara. An Account of Some Early Cemeteries of Southern Crete, London, Hodder & Stroughton.
Sylviane Déderix: Reconstructing the Landscape of the Dead
Fig. 1. The archaeological sites recorded in the Agiopharango Valley
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Fig. 2. The Minoan cemeteries of the Agiopharango Valley
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Fig. 3. The evolution of human occupation in the Agiopharango Valley during the Prepalatial (left), Protopalatial (centre) and Neopalatial (right) periods
Fig. 4. The density of sites in the Agiopharango Valley: the tombs (left), the tombs identified with certainty (centre), the settlements, farmsteads and possible ritual sites (right) (Kernel density, radius of 750m)
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Fig. 5. Topographic settings of the archaeological sites in the Agiopharango Valley – in terms of altitude, slope and aspect
Fig. 6. Viewshed analyses of each of the burial sites identified with certainty: Gavaliana (upper left), Megaloi Skinoi – East (upper right), Megaloi Skinoi – West (lower left) and Agia Kyriaki (lower right). All the Minoan sites have been included in the analyses. The sites’ symbology is the same as for figures 1, 7 and 8
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Fig. 7. Buffer analysis around burial sites in the Valley of the Agiopharango
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Fig. 8. Summative viewshed of the cemeteries (left) and the domestic sites (right). Only the cemeteries identified with certainty and the sites in use during the Prepalatial period have been considered
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Some Eccentric Linear A Tablets from Ayia Triada Pietro Militello
Università di Catania, Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche o-pa (debt) qe-te-a beside the imprints of the seals, as well as listing place names. The cretulae were found piled at one of the entrances to Mycenaean Thebes and the editors concluded that the nodules accompanied livestock brought as tribute from the countryside to the city. Comparing the type and the number of animals represented by nodules with those indicated in a couple of tablets from the Palace of Pylos (labelled PY Un 2 and 138), authors concluded that the nodules and plaques testified the preparation of banquets held on special occasions, such as the sovereign’s anointing mentioned in the Linear B tablet PY Un 2 from the same palace (“mu-jo-me-no epi wa-na-ka-te”). J. Killen (1994) came to the same conclusion; also finding evidence of the existence of State banquets for religious or secular purposes in the tablets of Knossos set C(2) of scribe 112, which would have been the functional equivalent of the Thebes nodules, referring to the moment of registration of different animals. In one of these nodules, the term ‘sapakaterija = sphakteria’ would have indicated the purpose of the collection: “to sacrifice”. Cn 418 at Knossos represents the Py Un 2 equivalent as it not only collects oxen, goats, sheep and pigs of different types, but also the colour of the animal in some instances, which is clear evidence of the same sacrificial destination (consider the strict selection criteria for choosing sacrificial lambs found in the Bible). A new group of tablets found in Thebes has augmented claims of animals destined for consumption as food (Sacconi 2001; Aravantinos, Godart, Sacconi 2004).
Linear A documents from Late Minoan I Ayia Triada (1500 B.C.) reveal a great homogeneity in both contents and structure. In the majority of the cases they relate to agricultural products such as grain, barley, figs, wine and pure or scented oil. A smaller collection pertains to census information of individuals or people, while a third group seems to refer to the distribution of rations of grain/barley, figs and wine for workers.1 Very few tablets do not fall within the above mentioned groups. A couple of them seem to be concerned with the distribution of wool or textile products (HT 12, 24), half a dozen with animals (HT 30, 114, 118, 121, 132, 136, PH 31), one with a vase register (HT 31); and finally one tablet with a mixed register of textiles, animals and agricultural products (HT 38).2 While the purpose of the first groups is clear insofar as they are connected with the management of agricultural products for the needs of the administration, the scope of the last mentioned group of tablets is not so clear. In fact, it is not possible to interpret the tablets with animals as pertaining to the management of livestock. Animal registrations differed to those in the Linear B texts as well as the Linear A Zakros texts for the small head count, for instance one ox in HT 30 and three in HT 118 and 121.4 Some cases could have been references to small herds (such as the 45 pigs in HT 118 and the 30 sheep in HT 132 and 136) or forms of tribute (HT 114, 121); but in other cases such as HT 30, 38 and in PH 31, none of the above hypotheses worked for reasons of heterogeneity (sheep, goats, pigs) and for the limited number of animals that appeared.
The similarity between the miscellaneous tablets of Hagia Triada and those of the Un series was highlighted by Ruth Palmer, who suggested that the Cretan texts referred to contributions for banquets prepared by the central administration of Hagia Triada (Palmer 1995:141, 159). This hypothesis was later espoused by Ilse Schoep (2002: 122, 169, 187) and by me (2006, 111).
The PH-31 Tablet, which despite its naming almost certainly derives from Hagia Triada (fig. 1a-b), is opistographic and only about half of the original remains. On side a) the following animals are registered: a goat, 5 rams and 3 ewes, to which we must add a pig which is indicated in the list by the ligature SI (fattened: cf. Linear B sialòs), and would probably have been reproduced in the total in the missing part of the tablet. Side b) contains an unfortunately incomplete list comprising of at least 2 male goats, 7 female goats, 3 rams, 1 ewe and an SI type pig. Adding the animals from both sides we develop a total of at least 8 rams, 4 ewes, 3 billy goats, 7 nanny goats and two pigs.
If the correlation between our tablets and the Un series is correct, then PH 31 represents a list of animals to be slaughtered for a feast. One difference in the Hagia Triada text with respect to the Pylos texts is the absence of cattle and commodities. These may still have been present in the missing sections or perhaps listed in another document such as HT 30, which lists some of the missing products: 23 units of barley (HORDeum), 8 whole plus fractions of figs (FICus), 8 whole plus fractions of wine (VINum) and a unit of an oil variety.
In my university degree thesis I limited myself to simply recording the abnormality, leaving the question open. The 1990 edition of the Odos Pelopidou nodules at Thebes by Olivier, Melena and Piteros (Olivier, Melena, Piteros 1990) shed some light on the matter. The nodules found there (prismatic cretulae, i.e. lumps of clay, sealed and inscribed, applied on a string) reveal ideograms of animals accompanied by the expressions
Tablet HT 38 (fig. 2), while in poor condition, reveals a list of items and animals in which a vase, a pig, three sheep, 3 talents of a product denoted by the ligature A+KA, two ku type and one type zo textiles can be discerned (the latter has also been revealed in linear B3). The first part could very well be attributed to the supply of goods for a banquet (animals and pots to cook the meat); the second is rather obscure, at least at first sight. Comparing this data with the results of experimental studies conducted by Eva Andersson and Marie Louise Nosch,4 it may be concluded that the second
Edition of the texts: GORILA I. The most complete and updated analysis of the corpus of Linear A tablets is to be found in Schoep 2002. Shorter, but very useful, surveys of the material also in Palaima (1994) and Palmer (1995). For the analysis of the texts we will refer however to that already carried out by us in Militello 1987. 2 On tablets with animals: Calabrese De Feo 1977; Militello 1987: 266-267; Palmer 1995: 141; Schoep 2002: 120-122. On HT 24 see Hallager 2003. 1
Schoep 2002:187-188, with preceding bibliography. Andersson, Nosch 2003, expecially p. 200. From this study the amount of wool for manufacturing a textile varies from 5 kg for a simple 3 4
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SOMA 2011 section relates to the delivery of 90kg of raw material for the manufacture the three high-grade materials (CANVAS+ku and zo). The relationship between the two sections is plausible when considering the importance of clothing in ceremonial contexts; for instance there are references in some Mari texts to tunics that were delivered to some banquet guests, ambassadors or foreign guests who evidently did not possess adequate clothing (Lafont 1992).
meat derived from each animal given several unknowns (breed, age), but also relative to our ignorance of any eventual taboos that, for example, ceded some consumable parts for ritual destruction in token offerings to the gods. The difficulties are exemplified by the differences among some tables that have been published (table 1). In the specific case of neo-palatial Hagia Triada, archaeology-zoological analyses conducted by Dr. Wilkens have provided information to assist in applying the Delussu table (table 2) with an acceptable degree of approximation. For the sake of prudence, we chose the lowest values, assuming that the animals were slaughtered at a very young age.
The third tablet to be inspected under this context is HT 31 (fig. 3), which has been referenced on multiple occasions.5 It lists a number of ideographs clearly representing vases. However, problems have arisen concerning the identification of the typologies represented as well as the function of ideograms and the meaning of the text. The main problem is if the vessels, often containing overwrites; indicate the container, the content or its amount.6 The sequence of typologies does in fact seem consistent: in the vessel profiles tripods, pithoi and skoutelia (conical cups)7 were recognized. It therefore pertains to vases for the containment and the consumption of food and liquids which are clearly divided into two groups: tens of vessels for containment and pouring, vessels for eating and drinking, and small conical containers amounting to 400, 300 and 3000 units respectively. Duhoux has already correlated this text with the vessels found in Room 15 of the Villa: at the time of excavation at the site there were two bronze tripods, various tapered pots, a remarkable selection of mugs, several false neck amphorae, some spouted jugs, some pitchers and nozzles, several hundred conical cups, long neck amphorae for ritual use and also lamps (Banti 1977: 110-119). With the exception of ritual and lighting vessels, the correspondence between the list of HT 31 and the contents of the warehouse is surprising, even for the disproportionate ratios between containing and pouring vessels, and pots for eating (HT 31 are 10 or 100 times more). In this perspective, ideograms should not be interpreted via a generic reference to Minoan pottery repertoire, but through the specific relationship with the examples present in Room 15. As a result, the large conical vessels of smaller quantity (and therefore of greater size) could be either pithoi or conical pots, the curvilinear profile vases could be jugs, and the easily identifiable ideogram VAS 304 is a bridge spouted jar considering the clearly indicated spout and the presence of the two handles (fig. 4). The strange absence of fine table ware among the vessels kept in the warehouse is, however, notable.
The result for PH 31 is 183kg of edible meat on side a) and 260 for b), totalling 443kg (table 2). We assume a per capita consumption average of 500 grams, considering that individual consumption would have been exaggerated because of the symbolic and competitive aspects that this practice would entail. The final calculation leads to a number of participants not less than 886 individuals, without taking into account the meat from animals listed in the missing parts of the tablet. With other values calculated on other tablets, the potential number of guests would have been at least twofold (1890 individuals). It is not an excessive figure considering the 2000 plus attendees at Banquet PY Un 2 or the 3000 conical cups of HT 31, or today Cretan weddings and feasts (glendi). The number of people involved in the ‘Banquet’ represented by tablet HT 38 seems inferior (table 3). Here the relationship between animals, meat and individuals leads to little more than a hundred participants. What do these figures mean in concrete terms with respect to the social reality of neo-palatial Hagia Triada? We already have a precise idea of the number of people revolving around the Villa administration: an indication is provided by examination of the imprints found in the cretulae archive studied by R. Pope (1960) and J. Weingarten (1987). While substantially different in method, the results are similar: 17 officers and 130 clients for Pope (for a total of 147 people); 17 major and 129 minor officials for Weingarten, giving a total of 146 people involved directly or indirectly in the administration of Hagia Triada. To these we should add the 26 scribes responsible for tablets. From a different angle, a textual one, the Linear A tablets seem to refer to about 130 named individuals pertaining to medium or high level hierarchy, a figure which is remarkably similar to that resulting from the analysis of the imprints8.
Our analysis to date has led to the identification of the existence of provisions for banquets in some of the tablets from Haghia Triada, pertaining to both vessels (containers for cooking and table ware), and food. Some more data can be gained regarding the number of participants to these banquets. Calculations can be based on the theoretical amount of meat provided by the animals recorded in the above-mentioned tablets. The operation is clearly susceptible to error: it is difficult to quantify the amount of edible
There are thus two levels composing the elite of Hagia Triada. The first level was restricted to 17 individuals and may have included those who physically lived in the palace or the surrounding houses. This coincides with the number of people that could have been seated on the bench in Room 4, long identified as a meeting place for the restricted elite of the Villa.9
pa-wo to 30kg for a te-pa pe-ko-to. 5 The most recent article is Duhoux 2000-2001. Among the preceding ones: C.H. Gordon, ki-de-ma-wi-na (HT 31:4), in Kadmos 8, 1969: 131133 and Id., Further Notes on the Hagia Triada Tablet n. 31, in Kadmos 15, 1976: 28-30; F. Vandenabeele, Les ideéogrammes de vases sur les tablettes en linéaire A de Haghia Triada et Phaistos, in BCH 1974: 4-21. 6 Schoep 2002: 127-129, suggests that they indicate the content, since in other tablets ideograms are generally followed by fractional numbers. This is not true for HT 31 however ((ibid. p. 128). Duhoux 2000-2001: 40-45 suggests instead they represent vases. 7 Vandenabeele 1974 identifies with certainty only the tripods and suggests the presence of pithoid amphoras in line 2 and conical cups in line 5-6.
A second level of 150-200 individuals was populated by the magnates, landowners or collectors, roughly coinciding with the 130 anthroponyms. To these two higher social strata we must add the wider population of the territory under the administration of On scribes: Militello 1989. On the number of individuals Militello 1987: 196-200 e 287-289. 9 The bench ran along the sides of the room for a total of 10 meters. The mean space for a seated man is 60 cm, so that a total of 16-17 persons could fill the bench. 8
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Pietro Militello: Some Eccentric Linear A Tablets Lafont B. (1992), Messagers et ambassadeurs dans les archives de Mari, in D. Charpin, F. Joannés edd., La circulation des biens, des personnes et des idées dans le Proche-Orient ancien (Actes XXXVIIIè Renc. Assyr. Int., Paris 1991), Paris 1992: 167-183. La Rosa V. (1984), V. La Rosa, in Creta Antica, Roma 1984. Militello P. (1987), Haghia Triada in età neopalaziale: La documentazione in lineare A, (Tesi di laurea, Catania, a.a. 1987). Militello P. (1989), Gli scribi scribi di Haghia Triada: alcune osservazioni, in “La Parola del Passato” 44, 1989, 126-147. Militello P. (2007), Textile Industry and Minoan Palaces, in E. Andersson, B. Burke, C. Gillis, M. L. Nosch eds., Ancient Textiles. Production, Crafts and Society, London 2007: 36-45. Palaima, T.G. (1994), Seal Users and Script Users:Nodules and Tablets at LM I B Haghia Triada, in E. Fiandra et alii eds., Archives Before Writing, Torino 1994: 337-330. Palmer, R (1995)., Linear A Commodities: A Comparison of Resources, in R. Laffineur, W.D. Niemeier, Politeia. Society and State in the Aegean Bronze Age, (Proc. 5th Int. Aegean Conf., Heidelberg 1994 = Aegaeum 12), Eupon 1995: 133156. Piteros C., Olivier J.-P., Melena J. (1990), Les inscriptions en linéaire B des nodules de Thébes (1982), in BCH, 114, 1990: 103-183. Schoep, I. (2002), The state of the Minoan Palaces or the Minoan Palace-State?, in J. Driessen, I. Schoep, R. Laffineur eds., Monuments of Minos. Rethinking the Minoan Palaces (Proc. Int. Workshop Louvain La Neuve 2001), (Aegaeum 23) Eupen 2002: 15-33. Vandenabeele, F. (1974), Les ideéogrammes de vases sur les tablettes en linéaire A de Haghia Triada et Phaistos, in BCH 1974: 4-21. Vigne V.J. (1991), The meat and offal weight (MOW) method and the relative proportion of ovicaprines in some ancient meat diets of the north-western Mediterranean, in Rivista di Studi Liguri LVII,1-4, 1991: 21-47. Weingarten J. (1987), Seal Use at LM IB Ayia Triada: a Minoan Elite in Action. I, in Kadmos 26 1987: 1-38. Weingarten J. (1989), Seal Use at LM IB Ayia Triada: a Minoan Elite in Action. II, in Kadmos 28, 1989: 89-114. Wilckens B. (1996), I resti faunistici di Haghia Triada (Creta) in età neo e postpalaziale: nota preliminare, in Atti e Memorie del II Congresso Internazionale di Micenologia, RomaNapoli 1991, Roma 1996: 1511-1520.
the Villa who are reflected by the groups of individuals listed in the archives, in one case reaching 355 units. The textual documentation relating to banquets seems to reflect this social articulation. HT 38 indeed refers to the wider elite of 150-200 individuals, whose elitist nature is reflected by their customary clothing, thus justifying our interpretation. this same group would have participated to the collective ceremony whose remains have been found in a sounding along the foundation of the later megaron (280 conical cups) (La Rosa 1984:187).10 The collection of vessels mentioned in HT 31 and livestock registered in PH 31 were instead destined for a far wider circle of people corresponding to the above mentioned third level, that of the dependants of the Villa. While it seems quite natural for the administration to have been involved in the management of banquets for the elites, its interest in the organization and funding of feasts for large segments of Minoan society, with the mobilisation of equipment and conspicuous consumption of goods, has important implications for the study of neo-palatial Minoan society. Bibliography Andersson, E., Nosch M.L. (2003), With a little Help from my Friends: Investigating Mycenaean Textiles with Help from Scandinavian experimental Archaeology, in K. Polinger Foster, R. Laffineur eds., Metron. Measuring the Aegean Bronze Age (Proc. 9th Int. Aegean Conference, New Haven, 2002), Eupen 2003: 197-203. Aravantinos, V., Godart L., Sacconi A. (2003), Thèbes. Fouilles de la Cademée. III. Le tablettes en linéaire B de la Odos Pelopidou. Corpus des textes en linéaire B de Thèbes, (Bibl. Pasiphae 3) Pisa-Roma 2003. Banti L. et alii (1977), Haghia Triada nel periodo tardo palaziale, in ASAA 55, 1977: 9-296. Calabrese De Feo M. (1977), Les tablettes relatives au bétail à Haghia Triada, in Les Etudes Classiques 45, 1977: 43-48. Duhoux Y. (2000-2001), Un inventare linéaire A de vases: la tablette HT 31, in Minos 35-36, 2000-2001: 31-62. GORILA, L. Godart, J.- P. Olivier, Recueil des inscriptions en linéaire A, I, Paris 1976 Killen J. (1994), Thebes Sealings, Knossos Tablets, and Mycenaean State Banquets, in BICS 39, 1994: 67-84.
Fig. 1: PH 31 (da GORILA) Sugli skoutelia dal Saggio VIII vedi. Su Haghia Photini, O. Palio, in questo volume. 10
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Fig. 2: HTR 38 (da GORILA)
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Fig. 3: HTR 31 (da GORILA)
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Fig. 4: Haghia Triada, Vano 15, jugs and bridge spouted jars (Banti et al. 1977)
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Studying Grey Ceramics in the Adriatic Area. A Preliminary Report Eleonora Ballan
Department of Humanities, University Ca’Foscari, Venice, Italy in a large number of the Adriatic areas, and in places such as Karst (Trieste), in Istria, in eastern Calabria, Puglia, Abruzzo, Marche, Sicily and in the opposite side of the Adriatic sea, in the Balkans.
This paper aims to present the first data from the study of the pottery class known as fine grey burnished ware and to examine its spread in the Adriatic and the Western Balkans. Such assemblages are documented in a wide area, including the Adriatic and the Aegean sea, during the 3rd millennium BC, It is important to note that the grey pottery in the Early Helladic III (2200/2150-2050/2000 BC) appears in the Peloponnese after a horizon of destructions marking the end of the preceding phase. This ceramic class may be considered the antecedent of the Grey Minyan, which is the characteristic hallmark of the Middle Helladic period in Greece.
Even if the fine grey burnished ware seems to be very similar to those ceramics of the culture of Cetina we have to be aware of the loss of certain reports. Moreover, the difficulty in identifying the entire collection of materials and elements belonging to the culture of Cetina make a conclusion difficult as nobody has ever given a valid explanation for this Cetina phenomena and we cannot get a chronologic sequence of this kind of pottery (Della Casa 1995; Kaiser and Forenbaher 1999).
The first to identify the ceramic class known as fine grey burnished ware, during excavations in the Altis at Olympia at the beginning of the 20th century, was Weege (Weege 1911). These ceramics have certain similarities with those typically found in Italy and the Adriatic Coast. This first work was continued by Evans (Evans 1956) and Cavalier (Cavalier 1960), who discovered a connection between grey burnished wares and those found in the Maltese necropolis of Tarxien. Successively, in 1960, in Dalmatia, the Cetina culture was also recognized as an independent facies (Della Casa 1995: 568) and the Cetina grey ware found to present similarities with the engraved and impressed ceramics of southern Greece of the Early Helladic III period (2500/2400–2100/2050 BC), especially after the work conducted in Lerna and Olympia. At the latter site in 1981, new materials of the Early Helladic III period were found (Rambach 2004) which together with the fourth phase of Lerna show typical Balkan elements, suggesting a possible Balkan origin as proposed by Rutter (Rutter 1982; Rutter 1983). Cavalier, and later Bernabo Breà (Bernabo Breà 1985), related the similarities in ceramic forms and decoration as evidence of colonization of Malta and the Aeolian islands from people coming from the west coast of the Peloponnese during the Middle Helladic or Early Helladic III. According to this theory, these people would have introduced, respectively, the Capo Graziano culture and the Tarxien Cemetery culture. Therefore, at the same time, Maran (Maran 1986; Maran 1987) confirmed that grey ceramics had similar characteristics compared to the pottery found in the cultural area of Cetina, in Croatia, and close similarities also with the materials found in eastern Bosnia and western Serbia. Maran also noticed that the fine grey burnished ware, engraved and impressed, was found in other Greek areas such as Pelikata, Asea, Tiryns, Prosymna, Mycenae, Zygouries, Korakou, Tsoungiza, Aegina, Ay. Marina, Pefkakia Magoula.1 Rambach noticed that the recently found burnished ware in Andravida Lechaina, a settlement near Olympia, clearly shows us the influence of the culture of Cetina with also similar decoration (Rambach 2007).
Maran (Maran 1998) hypothesized that places noticeably influenced by the culture of Cetina, such as Rutigliano Le Rene, Ognina, Malta and Olympia, could have been trading areas created by the people of Cetina and located in different places of the Adriatic and Ionia. Rambach (Rambach 2007: 86) went one step further in his theory, hypothesising that Olympia, ‘near the coast and on the large river Alpheios, which was certainly navigable for some kilometres, was not only a trading post on the west coast of Peloponnese, but also the starting point for an overland corridor route right through the heart of the Peloponnese to Lerna on the bay of Argos’. According to Nicolis (Nicolis 2005) this kind of ceramic is so well diffused that is not just a local phenomenon but indeed covers a variety of geographical areas. We can find its starting point in the Aegean area, but the Balkan elements of this ceramic leads us to hypothesise a relation between the central Mediterranean, the Adriatic and western Balkan areas. We now have to consider these phenomena as highly important to better understand the historical and cultural progress of the 3rd millennium B.C. Firstly, we will look at the appearance of the morphological elements: that is shapes and sizes of the fine grey burnished ware, before studying the context and place of discovery on a larger geographical and chronological scale to obtain an accurate classification of the materials. Among Adriatic areas, including the area of northern Italy, certain peculiar elements of grey burnished wares were discovered. As already proposed by Cazzella for southern Italy (Cazzella 1999: 400-1) these elements are: • Open bowls with thickened and flattened rim with decoration inside, although sometimes they show decorative elements also on the exterior (Fig. 1). The decoration is made with a dotted edge, with little triangles impressed or with oblique segments on it. This is the most common in the Zungri culture in Calabria (Cipolloni Sampò 1999: 24; Marino and Pacciarelli 1996), it is also quite common in Puglia, Abruzzo (Di Fraia 1996) and in the Ognina culture (Palio 2008: 72).
According to Cazzella (Cazzella 2002; Cazzella 2003), the shapes and the decorative systems of the fine grey burnished ware of the Cetina culture (Greece and Peloponnese) also occur A fragment of fine grey burnished ware, probably a bass bowl, dating to the Early Helladic III comes from the Aspis of Argo (Alram Stern 2004: 607-8). I would like to thank Dr Massimo Cultraro for informing me of the existence of this material. 1
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SOMA 2011 In southern Italy, we can find the earlier phase in Calabria, Zungri culture (Cipolloni Sampò 1999; Marino and Pacciarelli 1996), in northern Puglia and in Abruzzo (Bietti Sestieri 2003: 300; Cazzella 1999: 402). The contexts in Altamura (Cataldo 1996) seem to belong to a later phase.
We can find small fragments of this shape in AndravidaLechaina too (Rambach 2007: 87). It is not documented on the materials of the Altis of Olympia, it is not documented in some Dalmatia areas either, in southern Italy, the Aeolian Islands, Tarxien Cemetery and not in Karst. • Spherical bowls with everted rim decorated with small spots on their shoulders (Fig. 2). They were found in Elis (Olympia Altis, Andravida-Lechaiana) (Rambach 2007), in the Argolid (Lerna IV) (Maran 1998: 7-15), Lipari culture of Capo Graziano (Cavalier 1960: f.19), in Sicily (Grotta Petralia) (Palio 2008: 77) and Malta cemetery of Tarxien (Maran 1998: 394-410). We can find them if we move further north too – in Palagruža Island (Kaiser and Forenbaher 1999: 316), and at Moncodogno in Istria (Mihovilić, Hänsel, and Teržan 2003: 403; Borgna and Càssola Guida 2009: 89-91). • In the eastern Aegean area (Troy) we see vessels with opening on their shoulders (Fig. 3). We can find them at Lerna, Korakou and in the surrounding areas of Altamura, near Bari (Cataldo 1996: 130-1; Cazzella 1999: 400) and in Dalmatia (Maran 1998: 324). • There is a small diffusion of jugs with a rounded shape at the bottom and cylindrical shape on the top in some areas of Dalmatia, in Karst (Grotta dei Ciclami) (Govedarica 1989; Gilli and Montagnari Kokelj 1993: 103, 157-9) and in southern Italy (Laterza culture) (Benac 1985: 527) (Fig. 4).
According to Cazzella (Cazzella 1999: 402-3) the materials of the Ognina2 culture are connected a more ancient period, while the materials of the Capo Graziano culture of Peloponnesian origin, as proposed by Bernabò Brea (Bernabò Brea 1985), can be considered later and contemporary to the Maltese materials of the Tarxien cemetery. Geographical Distribution of Grey Wares From a geographic point of view, we can notice a contrast within those elements which are widely diffused and those that are more localized. Some of them seem to have an Aegean origin, others a Balkan one. The open bowl with thickened and flattened rim with decoration inside is the main connection between the Adriatic, Balkan, and Aegean contexts. Carso is best described as a place having influences from several cultures, it was not known as a permanent settlement (Govedarica 1989: 70), and this kind of ceramic being described here is an amalgamation of all these cultures (Montagnari Kokelj and Crismani 1997: 92). It would be highly interesting to localize a connection with the central Adriatic because it could give us some information about possible links with those regions south of the Friuli Venetia Giulia.
The documentation regarding the Adriatic Coasts and the hinterland still presents incomplete aspects and the opinions of the experts diverge. It has been previously said that the phenomena spread in different regions but it did also present differences in production aspects: differences may have arisen depending on how many people used to live on a certain site or on the possible peculiar features of the a given site (such as the caves of Karst). The context type (settlement vs. cemetery) may also have played a role, but research on this last element has not shown us any significant diversity yet.
The features documented at the Aeolian Islands (spherical bowls with everted rim) and Malta, Necropolis of Tarxien, are linked with the assemblages of the Peloponnese (Cazzella 1999: 403).
In the north of Italy, materials from Karst are well known, especially in the caves where they were used by groups of shepherds (Govedarica 1989: 70; Montagnari and Crismani 1997: 92-3); they have been recently acknowledged in the area of Berici mountains in Veneto (Boaro 2005: 600-1). We know small groups of materials from southern Italy; these materials come from settlements and hypogeic necropolis, in this last one funerary structure reflect local tradition (Biancofiore 1967; Cazzella 2003: 562) not the principal culture of Dalmatia mounds (Müller 1989; Müller-Celka 2007).
The materials found in sites of southern-central Puglia, especially vessels with opening on the shoulders seem to have certain characteristics, which do not seem to belong to those other vases found in the rest of Italy but they have a connection with the assemblages found in Dalmatia and Peloponnese (Cazzella 1999: 403). The fine grey burnished ware presents typical characteristics of Dalmatia and the hinterland of western Balkan pottery. It was already suggested (Cazzella 2003: 561-2) that some elements could have been received from the eastern Aegean through the hinterland of the Balkan Peninsula, such as open bowls with thickened and flattened rim with internal decorations.
Chronology During the last two centuries of the 3rd millennium BC fine grey burnished ware is documented in the fourth period of Lerna, corresponding to the Early Helladic III period (2200/21502050/2000 BC) (Rutter 1983; Rutter 1995). The first phase is constituted by earlier and middle levels, while the second one is constituted on higher levels.
Cetina culture, according to some experts (Della Casa 1995: 5724; Kaiser and Forenbaher 1999; Cazzella 2003) at least from the middle of the 3rd millennium, gave a starting point for contacts between Greece and southern Italy, the ceramic is the evidence of this phenomenon3. Greece itself could be in touch with A preliminary review by Cultraro of the materials from the essays of 1964 conducted by Bernabò Brea on the island of Ognina revealed the presence of a class of vessels that differs from the rest of the pottery of the Malta Tarxien cemetery culture o for the fine grey ware with well-treated surfaces. These are medium-sized vessels of closed forms with a high conical neck and with two or more vertical strap handles on the belly. I would like to thank Dr Massimo Cultraro for this personal communication. 3 The contacts between the eastern Mediterranean area, southern Italy, Sicily and Malta are attested also by the presence of particular artifacts, the bossed bone plaques, that recall the diffusion of the fine grey burnished 2
We find major difficulties in the north Adriatic contexts (Karst). In this area the stratigraphies are principally based on a typological and external comparison; the little stratigraphical evidence in caves and the indication of relative chronology are based on the periods proposed by the Yugoslav and German archaeologist about Yugoslav contexts (Montagnari Kokelj 1994: 84-5; Montagnari Crismani 1997: 90-1; Gilli and Montagnari Kokelj 1993: 158-9).
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Eleonora Ballan: Studying Grey Ceramics in the Adriatic Area Palmieri, A. and R. Peroni eds. Studi di paletnologia in onore di Salvatore M. Puglisi. Roma, Università degli studi di Roma La Sapienza, 523-9. Bernabò Brea, L. (1985) Gli Eoli e l’inizio dell’età del bronzo nelle isole Eolie e nell’Italia meridionale: archeologia e leggende, Quaderno Istituto universitario orientale, 2, Napoli, Istituto universitario Orientale. Biancofiore, F. (1967) La necropoli eneolitica di Laterza. Origini, I, 195-299. Bietti Sestieri, A.M. (2003) L’età del bronzo in Abruzzo. Atti della XXXVI Riunione Scientifica dell’I.I.P.P., 293-315. Boaro, S. (2005) Nuovi dati su regionalizzazione ed elementi formativi della “Cultura di Polada” a partire dall’analisi della “Facies berico-euganea”. IN: Attema, P., Nijboer A. and A. Zifferero eds., Papers in Italian Archaeology VI. Communities and Settlements from the Neolithic to the Early Medieval Period. Vol. I British Archaeological Reports, Int. Series, 1452 II, Oxford, BAR Publishing, 596-607. Borgna E. and P. Càssola Guida (2009) Seafarers and LandTravellers in the Bronze Age of the Northern Adriatic. IN: S. Forenbaher ed., A Connecting Sea: Maritime Interaction in Adriatic Prehistory. British Archaeological Reports, International Series, 761, Oxford, BAR Publishing, 89-104. Caskey, J.L. (1960) The Early Helladic Period in the Argolid. Hesperia, XXIX, 285-303. Cataldo, L. (1996) La tomba di Casal Sabini e I rinvenimenti funerari tra eneolitico ed età del bronzo nel territorio di Altamura (Bari): le facies culturali indigene e i contatti transadriatici e con il Mediterraneo orientale. Origini, 20, 109-63. Cavalier, M. (1960) Les cultures préhistoriques des îles Eoliennes et leur rapport avec le monde égénn. Bulletin de correspondance hellénique, 84, 319-46. Cazzella, A. (1999) L’Egeo e il Mediterraneo centrale fra III e II millennio: una riconsiderazione. IN: La Rosa, V., Palermo D. and L. Vagnetti eds., Epì ponton plazomenoi. Roma, Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene, 398-404. Cazzella, A. (2002) Malta nel contesto del Mediterraneo centroorientale durante la seconda metà del III millennio. IN: Amadasi-Guzzo, M.G., Liverani M. and P. Matthiae eds., Da Pyrgi a Mozia. Studi sull’archeologia del Mediterraneo in memoria di Antonia Ciasca. Roma, Università degli studi di Roma La Sapienza, 139-52. Cazzella, A. (2003) Conelle di Arcevia nel panorama cultural della preistoria del Mediterraneo centro orientale e della penisola balcanica tra quarto e terzo millennio. IN: Cazzella, A., Moscoloni, M. and G. Recchia eds., Conelle di Arcevia II. Roma, Università degli studi di Roma La Sapienza, 541-68. Cipolloni Sampò, M. (1999) La facies di Palma Campania e le culture coeve dell’Italia sud-orientale: appunti per una ricerca. IN: C.A. Albore Livadie ed., L’eruzione vesuviana delle “pomici di Avellino” e la facies di Palma Campania (Bronzo Antico). Bari, Edipuglia, 23-45. Coleman, J. E. (2000) An archaeological Scenario for the “Coming of Greeks” ca. 3200 B.C. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 28, 101-53. Cultraro, M. (2001) Aspetti dell’Eneolitico dell’Italia centrale nel quadro dei rapporti con la penisola balcanica e l’Egeo. IN: Atti della XXXIV Riunione Scientifica dell’I.I.P.P., 215-33. Cultraro, M. (2006) La cultura di Rinaldone nel quadro delle relazioni con il mondo egeo-balcanico: un aggiornamento. IN: N. Negroni Catacchio ed., Pastori e guerrieri nell’Etruria del IV e III millennio a.C. La civiltà di Rinaldone a 100 anni dalle prime scoperte. Atti del Settimo Incontro di Studi. Milano, Centro Studi di Preistoria e Archeologia, 405-13.
more distant areas of the Mediterranean Sea such as Sicily, the Aeolian Islands, and Malta with a strong influence that affected the ceramic production. Some Islands had a very important role in this network such as the island of Palagruža (Kaiser and Forenbaher 1999), so much so that it could be seen as a main link between the two Adriatic shores and Ognina Island that has been read, as proposed by Palio (Palio 2008: 78), as the final point of a route that from the Aegean Sea and from the Balkan area, through the Adriatic and Italian peninsula (Laterza and Zungri), reached this island and spread over Sicily to the hinterland (Chiusazza), to the south (Vendicari and Malta) and to the north (Thapsos, Etna area, Aeolian Islands. Concluding remarks What has been introduced here is merely a first piece of information from the bibliography which will be later linked to a deeper comparison with the data from Greece. Once we will have collected the data regarding the Adriatic and Balkans, there will be more research comparing archeological data from the Peloponnese in order to comprehend the possible presence of a break in the material culture that could be attributed to the presence of intrusive population elements and in case of a positive response, we will have to determine where the phenomena started or, at the contrary, evaluate how the population already present within the territory developed.4 It is also within the scope of this project to conduct a deeper study in order to integrate the analysis of the single contexts distinguishing, on the base of space and synchronic relations, the specifics meanings of the archeological data. This will be critically analyzed considering common elements that can help us with the identification of cultural groups. It is important to note that the materials considered here are heterogeneous and have many differences from site to site. Nevertheless, there are typological and production similarities most likely are the result of contacts between the two shores of the Adriatic during the last centuries of the 3rd millennium BC. In order to clarify the relationships between the various areas a revised chronology of the different sites will be worked out, trying to correlate their pottery to materials from Greece. This work will be done keeping in mind the nature of each site in consideration of the contacts and influence that they received, the routes linking the various areas and the reason for which these contacts took place. Bibliography Alram-Stern, E. (2004) Die Ägäische Frühzeit. Das Neolithikum in Griechenland mit Ausnahme von Kreta und Zypern. Wien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Benac, A. (1985) Quelques remarques sur les concordances italobalkaniques a l’epoque post-neolithique. IN: Liverani, M., ware. (Palio 2008: 75-6; Setti and Zanini 1996). On the contacts between Adriatic sea, Balkans and Aegean sea, cf. Cultraro 2001; Cultraro 2006. 4 It is important to note that the fine grey burnished ware in the Peloponnese appears during the Early Helladic III after the destruction at the end of Early Helladic II. Caskey associated the presence of the fine grey burnished ware with an intrusive population responsible of the destructions of the Early Helladic II (Caskey 1960). Rutter (Rutter 1983) outlined that during the Early Helladic III and the Middle Helladic there were significant changes in different areas of the Greece, such as the edification of apsidal buildings and funerary mounds but there were no clear signs that attested an invasion or a destructive migration of people. About the problem of the cultural changes and the coming of new people in Greece in the Bronze Age there are many theories e.g. (French 1974; Renfrew 1972; Dickinson 1994; Coleman 2000).
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SOMA 2011 Borders. Liège-Austin, Université de Liège-University of Texas at Austin, 175-90. Nicolis, F. (2005) Long Distance Cultural Links between Northern Italy, the Ionian Islands and the Peloponnese in the Last Centuries of the 3rd Millenium BC. IN: Laffineur R. and E. Greco eds., EMPORIA. Aegeans in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. Liège-Austin, Université de Liège-University of Texas at Austin, 527-38. Peroni, R. (1996) L’Italia alle soglie della storia. Roma, Laterza. Palio, O. (2007) L’area etnea ed il Mediterraneo tra l’età del Rame e l’inizio del Bronzo Antico, IN: Privitera F.; La Rosa V. (eds.) 2007, In ima Tartara. Preistoria e leggenda delle grotte etnee. catalogo della mostra : Catania, 15 dicembre 2007-31 marzo 2008, Palermo, Regione siciliana, Assessorato dei beni culturali, ambientali e della pubblica istruzione, Dipartimento dei beni culturali, ambientali e dell’educazione permanente, 81-90. Palio, O. (2008) Ognina, Malta e l’Egeo. IN: Bonanno A. and P. Militello eds., Malta negli Iblei, gli Iblei a Malta. Proceedings of the International Conference Catania, 30 September, Sliema 10 November 2006. Available from: [Accessed 25 February 2011], 71-80. Radina, F. (1989) Insediamenti della prima età dei Metalli in territorio di Rutigliano (Bari). IN: A. Ciancio ed. Archeologia e territorio. L’area peuceta. Putignano, Nuovo servizio, 1527. Radina, F. and G. Recchia (2003) L’incidenza dei traffici marittimi sull’organizzazione dei centri costieri della Puglia durante l’età del Bronzo. Atti della XXXV Riunione Scientifica dell’I.I.P.P., 631-43. Rambach, J. (2004) Olympia im Ausgehenden 3. Jahrtausend V. Chr.: Bindeglied zwischen zentralem und östlichem Mittelmeerraum. IN: E. Alram-Stern ed., Die Ägäischen Frühzeit, 2. Serie Forschungsbericht 1975-2002, Vol.2, Part 2: Die Frühbronzezeit in Griechenland mit Ausnahme von Kreta. Wien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1199-244. Rambach, J. (2007) Olympia and Andravida-Lechaina: Two Bronze Age Sites in the Northwest Peloponnese with Farreaching Overseas Cultural Connections. IN: Galanaki, I; Tomas, H; Galanakis Y. and R. Laffineur eds., Between the Aegean and Baltic Seas. Prehistory across Borders. Liège Austin, Université de Liège - University of Texas at Austin, 81-90. Renfrew, C. (1972) The Emergence of Civilization: the Cyclades and the Aegean in the Third Millenium BC. London, Methuen. Renfrew, C. (1987) Archaeology and Language: the Puzzle of Indo-European Origins. London, Cape. Rutter, J. B. (1982) A group of distinctive pattern-decorated Early Helladic Pottery from Lerna and its implications. Hesperia, LI, 459-88. Rutter, J. B. (1983) Fine Gray Burnished Pottery of the Early Helladic III Period: The Ancestor of Gray Minyan. Hesperia, LII, 327-55. Rutter, J. B. (1995) Lerna, a Preclassical site in the Argolid: results of excavation conducted by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens III: The Pottery of Lerna IV. Princeton, The American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Setti, B. and Zanini A. (1996) Gli ossi a globuli nell’antica età del bronzo nel Mediterraneo. IN: D. Cocchi Genick ed. L’antica età del Bronzo in Italia: atti del Congresso di Viareggio, 9-12 gennaio 1995. Firenze, Octavo F. Cantini, 622-4.
Della Casa, P. (1995), The Cetina group and the transition from Copper to Bronze Age in Dalmatia. Antiquity, 69, 565-76. Dickinson, O. T. P. K. (1994) The Aegean Bronze Age. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Di Fraia, T. (1996), Considerazioni sull’Antica Età del Bronzo in Italia. IN: D. Cocchi Genick ed. L’antica età del Bronzo in Italia: atti del Congresso di Viareggio, 9-12 gennaio 1995. Firenze, Octavo F. Cantini, 483-92. Evans, A. (1956) The “dolmens” of Malta and the origins of the Tarxien Cemetery Culture. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 22, 85-101. French, D. H. (1974) Migrations and “Minyan” pottery in western Anatolia and the Aegean. IN: Crossland, R. A. and A. Birchall eds., Bronze Age Migrations in the Aegean. Archaeological and linguistic problems in Greek prehistory, Sheffield, Noyes Press, 51-7. Gilli, E. and E. Montagnari Kokelj (1993) La grotta dei Ciclami nel Carso triestino (materiali degli scavi 1959-1961). Atti della Società per la Preistoria e Protostoria del Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 7, 65-162. Govedarica, B. (1989) Rano bronzano doba na podrucju Istonog Jadrana. Sarajevo, Akademija Nauka i Umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine. Kaiser, T. and S. Forenbaher (1999) Adriatic sailors and stone knappers: Palagruža in the 3rd millennium BC. Antiquity, 73, 313-24. Maran, J. (1986) Überlegungen zur Abkunft der FH III-zeitlichen ritz-und einstichverzierten Keramik. Hydra, 2, 1-28. Maran, J. (1987) Kulturbeziehungen zwischen dem nordwestlichen Balkan und Südgriechenland am Übergang vom Späten Neolithikum zur Frühen Bronzezeit (Reinecke A1). Archaeologisches Korrespondenzblatt, 17, 77-85. Maran, J. (1998) Kulturwandel auf dem griechischen Festland und den Kykladen im späten 3. Jahrtausend v.Chr. Studien zu den kulturellen Verhältnissen in Südosteuropa und dem zentralen sowie östlichen Mittelmeerraum in der späten Kupfer- und frühen Bronzezeit. Bonn: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH. Maran, J. (2007) Seaborne Contacts between the Aegean, the Balkans and the Central Mediterranean in the 3rd Millenium BC: The Unfolding of the Mediterranean World. IN: Galanaki, I; Tomas, H, Galanakis Y. and R. Laffineur eds., Between the Aegean and Baltic Seas. Prehistory across Borders. Liège Austin, Université de Liège - University of Texas at Austin, 3-21. Marino, D. and M. Pacciarelli (1996) Calabria. IN: D. Cocchi Genick ed. L’antica età del Bronzo in Italia: atti del Congresso di Viareggio, 9-12 gennaio 1995. Firenze, Octavo F. Cantini, 147-62. Mihovilić, K., Hänsel, B. and B. Teržan (2003) Moncodogno. Scavi recent e prospettive future. IN: Bandelli G. and E. Montagnari Kokelj eds.,Carlo Marchesetti e i castellieri 1903-2003. Trieste, Editreg, 389-408. Montagnari Kokelj E. (1994) Il Carso triestino fra tardo Neolitico e Bronzo antico. Atti della XXIX Riunione Scientifica dell’I.I.P.P., 71-89. Montagnari Kokelj, E. and Crismani A. (1997) La Grotta del Mitreo nel Carso Triestino. Atti della Società per la Preistoria e Protostoria del Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 10, 7-99. Müller, S. (1989) Les tumuli helladiques: où? Quand? Comment?. Bulletin de correspondance hellénique, 113, 1-42. Müller-Celka S. (2007) L’origine balkanique des tumuli helladiques (HA-HM): reflexions sur l’état de la question. IN: Galanaki, I; Tomas, H; Galanakis Y. and R. Laffineur eds., Between the Aegean and Baltic Seas. Prehistory across
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Eleonora Ballan: Studying Grey Ceramics in the Adriatic Area Weege, F. (1911) Einzelfunde von Olympia 1907-1909. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung, 36, 163-92. a.
b.
c.
Fig. 1: Open bowls with thickened and flattened rim with interior decoration: a-b: Dalmatia area (after Maran 1998, pl. 35, 3); c: Rodi Garganico, Puglia (Maran 1998, pl. 39, 4).
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a.
c.
b.
d.
e. Fig. 2: Spherical bowls: a: Olympia (after Maran 1998, pl. 32, 2); b: Capo Graziano culture (after Maran 1998, pl. 48, 9); c: Tarxien cemetery culture (after Maran 1998, pl. 43, 3); d: (after Cataldo 1996, fig. 13); e, Grotta Petralia (after Palio 2007, fig. 5).
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a.
b. Fig. 3: Vessels with shoulder opening s: Dalmatia area (after Maran 1998, pl. 33, 6-7).
a.
b.
c. Fig. 4: Jugs: a: Laterza culture (after Maran 1998, pl. 39, 7); b: Cetina culture (after Maran 1998, pl. 33, 2); c: Grotta dei Ciclami (after Gilli and Montagnari Kokelj 1993, fig. 35).
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Protogeometric and Geometric Pottery from the Kos Early Iron Age Necropolis Revisited. Some Features of the Local Ceramic Production Maria Grazia Palmieri
Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene, Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘Federico II’ 77-208; Petricioli 1990: 149-67; Barbanera 1998: 100-101; 12627; Morricone 1975: 147-49), I tried to carry out a revision of the pottery preserved at the Kos Museum. The aim of this paper is to show some features of the Coan ceramic industry and to investigate the possible interpretations in relation to the context of deposition.3
Introduction1 The Early Iron Age necropolis of Kos was first excavated by Luigi Morricone between 1934 and 1946 and was published about thirty years later (Morricone 1982: 9-408).2 The necropolis was situated in the middle of the modern town of Kos, at the northeastern end of the island and at a small distance (about 5km) from the Turkish coast (Fig. 1). Here, the terrible earthquake of 1933 brought to light the necropolis above the remains of a Mycenaean settlement (Morricone 1975: 139-396; Vitale 2006: 71-94).
A chrono-typological overview of the pottery The internal evolution of the local style was set by Nicholas Coldstream (2009: 262-88; 477-78) against the wider framework of the East Greek Geometric style. The chronologic sequence established by Morricone is, in its general lines, still accepted.
The PG and G pottery from the necropolis of ‘Serraglio’ remains the main source of knowledge of the island’s ceramic styles. It was restored by the Italian Opificio delle Pietre Dure from 1940 on (Morricone 1982: 147-49), and is now preserved in the Kos Archaeological Museum, where it will be exhibited after the restoration of the building. During the excavations, Vincent Desborough and Nicholas Coldstream saw some vases in the Museum’s storerooms and included them in their works (Desborough 1952; Coldstream 1968). Afterwards Irini Lemos (2002) discussed the PG pottery from Kos in a recent book. These valuable contributions are focused on the chronological framework of the pottery, on which depends also the chronology of the necropolis. It lasted about two centuries, from the 10th to the end of the 8th century B.C.
Coarse ware and cooking pots are only represented in the tombs by few examples, contrary to a larger quantity of fine wheelmade ware. The coarse ware is represented mainly by the large PG chytrae used as urns for the infant burials. The so called Handmade Burnished Ware (HBW) includes twenty-three chytrae of different shapes (especially the so called handmade cooking jug and the neck-handled amphora) and six vases of smaller size, which have a more coarse fabric (for HBW, see Reber 1991; Lemos 2002: 84-85, Kourou 1988: 314-24). The chytrae show a dark surface colour, probably due to the exposure to fire and to its use in cooking food. The vases in Handmade Incised Ware are also six, five of which were deposited in the same tomb, SerrT10 (Morricone 1982: 83-93).
The vases pertain to seventy-four graves of different types: there were forty-six cist tombs, fifty pot burials (enchytrismoi) and fourteen simple pits (Morricone 1982: 9-408; Lemos 2002: 180-82). Most of the tombs are inhumations of newborn babies and young children. More recently, the ̔rescue̕ excavations in Kos has also shown the presence of adults’ cremation burials, of a type already known from the Italian excavations in Rhodes (Kantzia 1988: 175-83; Bosnakis 2001: 223-57). The chronology of the tombs is based on the style of the pottery: the first tombs are datable to the Middle Protogeometric (MPG) period, unlike Rhodes, where the tombs date from the Late Protogeometric (LPG) period onwards (D’Agostino 2006: 57).
In the repertoire of the PG pottery the most common shapes present in the tombs are the amphoriskos, the hydria, the oinochoe, the feeding bottle, the monochrome one-handled cup and the skyphos, but also some shapes of Cypriot origin or inspiration, in particular the pilgrim flask and the bird-askos. The main parallels for local pottery can be found in Rhodes, but also in Euboea. In the Early Geometric period (EG) the repertoire did not undergo substantial changes, while in the MG phase it is enriched by the appearance of other shapes and decorative motifs, as the meander (Coldstream 2009: 263). In this period some miniature vessels that reduplicate the forms of bigger ones make their first appearance (Morricone 1982: 146, ns. 9-10, figs. 247-48; 21516, figs. 423, 425-29; 235, ns. 12-18, figs. 476-82; 236, ns. 20-8, figs. 484-92; 253, ns. 10-11, fig. 523-24; 275, n. 12, fig. 578).
Bearing in mind the historical context of the excavations and also the following events of the WWII, during which some archaeological material was lost (Livadiotti and Rocco 1996: This paper draws on the major work that I am carrying out at the Italian Archaeological School at Athens on Kos Protogeometric (PG) and Geometric (G) necropolis. I would like to thank prof. Bruno d’Agostino, who raised my attention to this important context, and also Melina Filimonos, Ephor of the Dodecanese, who gave me the chance to study all the material preserved at the Kos Archaeological Museum. In addition, I have to thank especially Dr Elpida Skerlou, archaeologist of the 22° Ephorate, dott. Alessandro Sanavia, who made the drawings of the pottery, Dr Santo Privitera and Vasilis Molos, who have read this text. 2 In this paper, I will refer to the tombs using abbreviations formed by the first three or four letters of the area in which the tomb was excavated, followed by the number or the letter assigned to it by Morricone. For example, Tomb N. 2 found in Serraglio becomes SerrT2. 1
Finally, pictorial vases depicting animals or human figures are completely absent, even in the last period of the necropolis, except for some birds on three miniaturistic vessels dated to the end of the VIII century B.C. (Morricone 1982: 146, n. 8, fig. 246; 147, n. 10, fig. 248; 344, n. 27, fig. 748). Concerning the repertoire of the fine wheel-made ware, closed vessels are more common than open ones. Amongst the closed 3
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Archaeometrical analyses on the pottery were not carried out.
SOMA 2011 shapes the most common vessel is the lekythos, with more than two hundred examples, concentrated especially in the LG period, when the grave-goods became more abundant. Amongst the open vessels, skyphoi and cups are more common. Taking into account the totality of the vessels deposited in the tombs, the plates are very few (Morricone 1982: 204, n. 22, figs. 397-9; 256, ns. 2122, figs. 534-37). This could be related to the funerary rituals which were performed above the tomb, but the lack of evidence from the settlement leads to be cautious about this statement.
The appearance of this jug created a new trend in the local pottery industry. The local potters began to copy it, using the local clay and decorating it with the same repertory or with geometric Atticizing motifs. In the first case, the quality of the decoration is lower than the imports, as the state of preservation shows: in fact, the imitations of the Cypriot imports have the paint peeled off and the circles of the decoration worn away, showing the colour of the clay below, a character not identified by Morricone (Morricone 1982: 405-8; Coldstream 1998: 256; Bourogiannis 2000: 9-23).
Clays and fabrics of the local pottery
In the necropolis the imports are concentrated especially in the richest tombs of the two periods in question (FadT3, PizzT5, SabTA, SerrT1, SerrT23, SerrT43, SerrT64 and SerrT686).
Despite a fairly thorough knowledge of the palaeogeographical evolution of the island (Dermitzakis, Kyriakopoulos and Ntrinia 2001: 25-36) and of the composition of the Coan clay,4 the clay sources used by the Coan potters have not been identified yet, but most of the pottery from the site can reasonably be considered to have been produced locally (see also Lemos 2002: 17, note 110).
The quantity of the imports is low when confronted with the more extensive presence of the so called ridged-neck lekythoi, the imitations of the Cypriote juglets. Even in Crete (especially in Knossos and Eleftherna) local artisans produced imitations of this vases (Bourogiannis 2000: 9-23, notes 31 and 41; Coldstream 1979: 257-63; Coldstream 2001: 23-76). There are also two BOR imitations at Knossos that are considered by Coldstream as a possible Coan product for the color of their clay (Coldstream 1998: 255-62; Coldstream 2001: 255, n. 124; Stampolidis, Karetsou et al. 1998: 255, n. 124).
According to the colour and the composition of the clay, we can distinguish at least three clay groups: most vases are characterised by a reddish-yellow clay (Munsell 5YR 7/3; 7/4). They have some inclusions of different size and colour, especially of vegetable or marine origin, or mica. Some vessels of this group have a very thin slip of a pale yellow colour (Munsell 2.5 Y 8/3; 8/4) that invariably has been subject to erosion. Another group of vessels has a fabric of an orange-reddish to light reddish brown colour (Munsell 7.5 YR 7/6 and 5YR 6/6, 6/8). The surface of the vessels within this group has often a powdered consistency. The different clay colours do not necessarily point to different fabrics, but could depend on different firing conditions, which are easily recognizable on the surface of the external painting, where usually some light and dark spots alternate.
Apart from the juglets, in Kos (but also in Rhodes) local artisans produced other shapes not originally present in the Cypriot shapes repertoire, as the carinated cup decorated with the same circles typical of the Cypriot vases (e.g. Morricone 1982: 232-33, figs. 468-71).
All the large containers used for infant burials have the same characteristics: a very dark red colour of the clay (Munsell 10R 5/6; 5YR 4/2) that sometimes looks black or dark brown, with bigger inclusions of red orange or dark brown colour. The surface is often smoothed with tool mark traces still visible.
The appearance of imitations and this sort of “contamination” between the model and the imitation show a certain receptiveness of the Coan workshops to the new trends from Cyprus, receptiveness witnessed since the PG period. Nonetheless, if confronted with the Attic style, the local repertoire remain substantially conservative, as Coldstream (2009: 262-74; 28788) has already stated.
The imported vessels
Some features of the local ceramic production
The imported vessels come especially from Cyprus during the Middle (MG) and Late Geometric period (LG). It is easy to distinguish imported pottery from the local, on the basis of the vessels’ size and shapes, but also of the colour and composition of the clay. The Black on Red Ware (BOR) has a very smooth surface, a slip fired bright orange-red (Munsell 2.5 YR 5/6 or 6/6, in fractures) and generally does not contain inclusions or mica (Gjerstad 1948: 69-71; Schreiber 2003: xix-xxii).
During my analysis of the pottery from the Serraglio necropolis, I observed very often the presence of some deformations or distortions, clearly related to carelessness during the clay working process and/or its decoration and/or the vessel’s firing. Amongst the closed shapes, some vessels have an extremely irregular base (e.g. the lekythos Morricone 1982: 178, n. 14, fig. 326 and the miniaturistic skyphos 987 from SerrT54: Morricone 1982: 254, n. 11, fig. 524, which has a foot with a flat bottom); some others show the neck off-axis, or sunk into the body (878 from SerrTB: Morricone 1982: 390, n. 8, fig. 864; 884 from SerrTB: Morricone 1982: 391, n. 4, fig. 870 and Fig. 2). Other ones have blobs spilled on plain areas, as the LPG oinochoe 893 from SerrTA (Morricone 1982: 385, n. 1, fig. 850) and sometimes there are imperfections in the rendering of the circles on the shoulder (418 from SerrT1: Morricone 1982: 58, n. 19, fig. 24). Skyphoi and cups very often have a strong distortion of the mouth, with two sides bent inwards, so that the rim is never circular, but oval (Fig. 3). Small vertical fractures, probably related to bad drying process conditions, can be seen on the surface of the G oinochoe 657 from SerrT22 (Morricone 1982: 167, n. 4, fig. 302) and on other vases. Nota
The most common shape is the so called ridged-neck juglet, which is suitable as a container of liquids, especially oils or perfumes, and is usually decorated with small concentric circles on the shoulder and parallel thin bands at the maximum expansion of the vase. This vase has been considered as the predecessor of the Corinthian aryballos as far as the shape and the supposed function are concerned5 (Bourogiannis 2009: 122).
Jones 1986: 291-92; 508-9. Other analyses on the Mycenaean pottery are in progress under the project SELAP directed by Salvatore Vitale: author’s communication. 5 A wide debate about the Cypriote presence in the Dodecanese arose around the BOR juglets, but this is not the place to address it: see recently Bourogiannis 2009: 114-30. 4
Morricone 1982: 333-46; 303-9; 367-9; 51-62; 171-90; 230-8; 27078; 286-90. 6
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Maria Grazia Palmieri: Protogeometric and Geometric Pottery the Cyclades, in the Peloponnese, and also one on a lekythos from the necropolis of Exochi in Rhodes (Papadopoulos 1994: 446, A39, fig. 5).
Kourou made similar observations on the vases from the Naxian ̒Haghia Theodossia̓ (HT) workshop. The resemblances between the Coan and the Cycladic pottery, Naxian in particular, do not stop here, but also include the recurrence of similar shapes, as the globular-shaped lekythos-oinochoe and a type of amphoriskos produced by the HT workshop might suggest the existence of a ceramic koine in the MG Aegean (Kourou 1992: 131-43; for the globular lekythos and the amphoriskos in Kos see Morricone 1982: 107, n.28, fig. 134; 367, n.2, fig. 798; 378, n.2, fig. 826).
Many explanations have been proposed for the presence of the potters’ marks on the Iron Age vases: they have been related to the main decoration of the vase, to the trade, to workshop’s internal dynamics or to kiln loads. More recently, painted crosses have been detected in the pottery from the Eleftherna tomb A1K1 by Antonis Kotsonas, who has suggested a connection with the workshop’s production (Kotsonas 2008: 60-65). I think that this last suggestion would be most likely in the case of Kos. However, the crosses found underneath the Coan vases should not be, in my opinion, related to trade or special commissions or consumption, because they have different shapes, that hint at different contents. Moreover, the Early Iron Age Coan pottery was not mainly destined to export. As for the Mycenaean Age, it has been argued that the presence of the potters’ marks should be regarded as purely casual, due to the potter/painter’s fancy (Sacconi 1974: 204-12), but this seems to be reductive.
However, all the phenomena just mentioned, in my opinion, show the restricted skill of some Coan artisans, possibly working in the domestic space of the oikos. Nevertheless, there are some vessels and clay figurines that seem to disprove my theory, but these products are very few (e.g. the tripod vase inv. 1058 from SerrT28: Morricone 1982: 206-7, figs. 403-4; and some vases deposited in SerrT14: 129-35). The potters’ marks Another character of the pottery found in Kos, not highlighted by Morricone, is the presence of some painted signs underneath some vases, or below their handle. They are interpretable as potters’ marks, following Aliki Halepa Bikaki’s definition (Bikaki 1984: 2) and appear in nine vases from the “Serraglio” necropolis. One of them is of a LPG date: 440 from SerrT4 (Morricone 1982: 67-68, n. 3, fig. 48 and Fig. 4). This trefoil oinochoe bears a decoration of three-quarter circles and fillings of pendent tongues on the shoulder: the three-quarter circles have their ends overlapping the base-line, a character described by Coldstream (2009: 266-67) as a sign of a “deterioration” of the Attic style, typical of the Dodecanese. The vase shows a finger impression at the base of the handle, below the intersection of the two vertical bands that decorate the handle itself.
The experience of modern Peruvian potters has been used by Christopher Donnan (1971) to explain the presence of signs made before firing on the Peruvian pottery from the 1st century B.C. to the 9th century A.D. In modern Peru the potters are used to firing their vases in communal kilns and to putting signs on the vessels to distinguish their work from that of other potters. Concerning Kos, we can assume that the MG and LG signs were the equivalent of potters’ signatures and that their appearance may be related to the workshop’s background. Moreover, in the last period of the necropolis’ utilization, there is a growing amount of pottery in the grave-goods which may involve a growing number of workers. Inside the workshop, some painters may have “signed” their vases with a cross, just to recognise their work. It is significant, from this perspective, that two of the four painted signs are on plates, the shape less frequent in the necropolis.
Unlike the finger impression on the LPG oinochoe, a lekythos and a lekythos-oinochoe from FadT3 (inv. ns. 924 e 928: Morricone 1982: 344, n. 27, fig. 748; 340, n. 16, fig. 737) show similar traces of the potter’s work, which consist in slight concavities on one side of the vase, close to the handle and below it. They are datable to the LG period according to their decoration. Taking into account the character of these two vases and of their deposition in the same tomb, we can assume that they were made by the same workshop or even by the same potter. At least, the globular ridged-neck lekythos n. 922 (Morricone 1982: 343, n. 25, fig. 747) found in the same tomb has some diagonal tool traces in the lower part of the vase, close to the bottom, seemingly made during its manufacture.
Some reflections about the internal organization of the ceramic production: the role of the oikos Assumptions about the size and the internal organization of pottery workshops in Iron Age Greece have been made by various scholars on different bases, starting from the pottery itself or from the internal organization of production sites. Nota Kourou (1984) has attempted a classification of Naxian MG workshops based on the production technique, showing that the wide variety of processes used by craftsmen is recognizable in the product of their work. In Crete, Antonis Kotsonas (2008)) identified some workshops in ceramics found in the Eleftherna tomb A1K1. A domestic character of the ceramic production in the PG and G period has been suggested for Athens by Maria Chiara Monaco (2000: 17-34), who has based her assumption on the location of production and domestic discards in the wells of the Athenian Agora.
There are five vases with painted signs (three lekythoi, a plate, a lekane: Morricone 1982: 120, n. 61, fig. 169 and Fig. 5; 370, n. 4, fig. 808; 256, n. 21, fig. 534-535; 370, n. 6, figs. 810-811) and they are of a late date (MG-LG). All have simple painted crosses of similar shape on their underside, with the exception of the vase n. 850 from SabTB (Fig. 6), which has a cross bigger than the others, not painted but reserved. The signs on the PG vase and underside the vases from the MG and LG periods find comparisons on the pottery from various part of Greece in the Early Iron Age, as John Papadopoulos (1994: 437-507) has recently stated. According to Papadopoulos, finger impressions have been noticed also on some handmade and wheel-made pottery from the Athenian Agora and on vases from Corinth (Papadopoulos 1994: 453-55). Painted crosses are collected in the richest group of Papadopoulos’ classification, the group A, which has many attestations in Athens, Aegina, Euboea, Macedonia, in
On the base of the considerations made on the features of the local pottery, and taking into account also the context of deposition, I think that most of the pottery deposited in the burials of Serraglio may be related to an “household industry”, or to an intermediate level between the “household industry” and the “workshop industry”. These systems have been described by David Peacock (1982: 17-31) on an ethnographic base, but also Ingeborg Scheibler has discussed similar categories in her
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SOMA 2011 Coldstream, J.N. (2001) ̔The Early Greek Period,̕ in Coldstream, J.N. and L.J. Eiring eds., Knossos Pottery Handbook: Greek and Roman, BSA Studies 7, London, British School at Athens, 23-76. Coldstream, J.N. (2008) Greek Geometric Pottery: a survey of ten local styles and their chronology, Bristol, Phoenix Press. Costin, C.L. (1991) ̔Craft Specialization: Issues in Defining, Documenting and Explaining the Organization of Production̕ , in Schiffer, M.B. ed., Archaeological Method and Theory, Tucson, University of Arizona, 1-56. D’Agostino, B. (2006) ̔Funerary customs and society on Rhodes in the geometric period. Some observations̕, in Harring, E., D. Ridgway and F.R. Serra Ridgway eds., Across Frontiers: Etruscans, Greeks, Phoenicians & Cypriots: Studies in honour of David Ridgway and Francesca Romana Serra Ridgway, Accordia Specialist Studies on the Mediterranean 6, London, Accordia Research Institute, University of London, 57-69. Dermitzakis, M.D., K. Kyriakopoulos, and C. Ntrinia (2001) ̔Παλαιoγεωγραφική εξέλιξη και γεωλoγικά συμβάντα των νóτιων Σπoράδων, με ιδιαίτερη έμφαση στην νήσo Kω̕, in Kokkorou-Aleyra, G., A.A. Lemou and E. SimantoniBournia eds., Iστoρία, τέχνη, αρχαιoλoγία της Kω. A’ Διεθνές Eπιστημoνικó Συνέδριo, Kως 2-4 Mαϊoυ 1997, Athens, Archaeognosia, 25-36. Desborough, V.R.d’A. (1952) Protogeometric Pottery, Oxford monographs on classical archaeology 2, Oxford, Clarendon Press. Donnan, C.F. (1971) ̔Ancient Peruvian Potters’ Marks and Their Interpretation through Ethnographic Analogy̕, in American Antiquity 36, 460-66. Gjerstad, E. (1948) The Cypro-geometric, Cypro-archaic and Cypro-classical periods, The Swedish Cyprus Expedition, vol. IV. pt.2, Stockholm. Jones, R.E. et al. (1986) Greek and Cypriote pottery: a Review of Scientific Studies, Athens, British School at Athens. Kantzia, X. (1988) ̔Recent Archaeological Finds From Kos. New Indication for the site of Kos -Meropis̕, in Dietz, S. and I. Papachristodoulou eds., Archaeology in the Dodecanese, Proceedings Copenhagen 7-9 April 1986, Copenhagen, National Museum of Denmark, 175-83. Kotsonas, A. (2008) The Archaeology of tomb A1K1 of Orthi Petra in Eleutherna. The Early Iron Age Pottery, Athens, Scripta Ltd. Kourou, N. (1984) ̔Local Naxian workshops and the importexport pottery trade of the island in the Geometric period,̕ in Brijder, H.A.J. ed., Ancient Greek and related pottery. Proceedings of the international vase symposium, Amsterdam 12-15 April 1984, Amsterdam, Allard Pierson Museum, 10712. Kourou, N. (1988) ̔Handmade pottery and trade. The case of the “Argive monochrome” ware̕, in Christiansen, J. and T. Melander eds., Ancient Greek and Related Pottery. Proceedings of the 3rd Symposium, August 31st-September 4th 1987, Copenhagen, Nationalmuseet, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Thorvaldsens Museum, 314-24. Kourou, N. (1992) ̔À propos d’un atelier géométrique naxien̕ , in Blondé, F. and J.Y. Perreault eds., Les Ateliers de potiers dans le monde grec aux époques géométrique, archaïque et classique: actes de la table ronde organisée a l’École Française d’Athènes 2 et 3 octobre 1987, BCH Suppl. 23, 131-42. Lemos, I.S. (2002) The Protogeometric Aegean: the archaeology of the late eleventh and tenth centuries BC, Oxford Monograph on classical Archaeology, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Livadiotti, M. and G.. Rocco (1996) ̔L’isola di Coo̕ , in Livadiotti, M. and G. Rocco eds., La presenza italiana nel Dodecanneso
book about ceramic production in Greece (Scheibler 1983: 10720).7 Both of the authors have underlined the non-specialized character of these types of craftsmanship, that can have also a seasonal organization. Final remarks Our knowledge of the local Early Iron Age pottery is far from being complete. Archaeological researches in Kos are limited to a small part of the island and recent investigations are mainly rescue excavations. For this reason we cannot go further with our considerations about the ceramic production in the island, but it does not seem to me too far-fetched to think that the image of the ceramic specialization as it emerges from my analysis matches the image of the society, which is hinted at by the necropolis over all of its phases. During all the PG phase the ceramic production seems to be integrated in an oikos-centered system, in which women probably (and maybe also children) played an important role. This system seems to change partially in a later moment, when the grave goods begin to become richer than before. As regards the imports of the MG and LG periods, we may notice that they are concentrated in some of the tombs, which are also the richest in the necropolis. This factor shows the emergence of a new balance in the Coan community, a phenomenon which can be considered in relation with the abandonment of the cemetery at the end of the eighth century B.C. Bibliography Barbanera, M. (1998) L’archeologia degli italiani. Storia, metodi e orientamenti dell’archeologia classica in Italia, Roma, Editori Riuniti. Bikaki, A.H. (1984) Ayia Irini: the potters’ marks, Keos 4, Mainz, von Zabern. Bosnakis, D. (2001) ̔Kαύσεις νεκρών απó την πóλη της Kω̕, in Stampolidis N. Chr. ed., Καύσεις στην εποχή του Χαλκού και την πρώιμη εποχή του Σιδήρου: Πρακτικά του Συμποσίου. Ρόδος, 29 Απριλίου-2 Μαϊου 1999, Athens, Panapistemio Kretes, 223-57. Bourogiannis, Y. (2000) ̔The black-on-red pottery found in Cos. From pots to trade or immigrants̕, AION 7, 9-23. Bourogiannis, Y. (2009) ̔Eastern influence on Rhodian Geometric pottery: foreign elements and local receptiveness̕, in Karagheorghis, V. and O. Kouka eds., Cyprus and the East Aegean Intercultural Contacts from 3000 to 500 B.C. An International Archaeological Symposium held at Pythagoreion, Samos, October 17th-18th 2008, Nicosia, A.G. Leventis Foundation, 114-30. Coldstream, J.N., (1979) ̔Some Cypriote traits in Cretan pottery, c. 950-700 B.C.̕, in Karagheorghis, V. et al. eds., The relations between Cyprus and Crete, ca. 2000 -500 B.C. Acts of the International Archaeological Symposium, Nicosia 16th April22nd April 1978, Nicosia, Tmema Archaioteton, 257-63. Coldstream, J.N. (1998) ̔Crete ̔ and the Dodecanese. Alternative eastern approaches to the Greek world during the Geometric period,̕ in Karagheorghis, V. ed., Eastern Mediterranean. Cyprus, Dodecanese, Crete. 16th-6th centuries B.C. Proceedings of the International Symposium, Rethymnon 13rd-16th May 1997, Athens, A.G. Leventis Foundation, 25562. The debate about craft specialization is wide and still open, especially in the study of Pre and Protohistory: in general, see van der Leuuw 1984: 709-73; Costin 1991: 7-56. 7
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Maria Grazia Palmieri: Protogeometric and Geometric Pottery Sacconi, A. (1974) Corpus delle iscrizioni vascolari in Lineare B, Incunabula Graeca 57, Roma, Edizioni dell’Ateneo. Scheibler, I. (1983) Griechische Töpferkunst: Herstellung, Handel und Gebrauch der antiken Tongefässe, München, Beck. Schreiber, N. (2003) The Cypro-Phoenician Pottery of the Iron Age, Culture and history of the ancient Near East 13, Leiden and Boston, Brill. Stampolidis, N. Chr., A. Karetsou et al. (1998) Eastern Mediterranean: Cyprus, Dodecanese, Crete, 16th-6th cent. B.C., (Catalogue), Heraklion, University of Crete 1998. Van der Leeuw, M. (1984) ̔Dust to Dust: a transformational view of the ceramic cycle̕, in van der Leeuw, S.E. And A.C. Pritchard eds., The many dimensions of pottery. Ceramics in Archaeology and Anthropology, Amsterdam, 709-73. Vitale, S. (2006) ̔L’insediamento di “Serraglio” durante il Tardo Bronzo. Riesame dei principali contesti riportati alla luce da Luigi Morricone tra il 1935 ed il 1946̕, ASAtene, S. III, 5, Tomo I, 71-94.
tra 1912 e il 1948, La ricerca archeologica. La conservazione. Le scelte progettuali, Catania, Edizioni del Prisma, 77-208. Monaco, M.C. (2000) Ergasteria. Impianti artigianali ceramici ad Atene ed in Attica dal protogeometrico alle soglie dell’ellenismo, Studia archaeologica 110, Roma, L’Erma di Bretschneider. Morricone, L. (1950) ̔Scavi e ricerche a Coo (1935-1943): relazione preliminare̕, Bollettino d’Arte 35, 54-75; 316-31. Morricone, L. (1975) ̔Coo: scavi e scoperte nel “Serraglio” e in località minori (1935 -1943)̕, ASAtene L-LI, N.S. XXXIVXXXV (1972 -1973), Roma, 139-396. Morricone, L. (1982) ̔Sepolture della prima età del Ferro a Coo̕ , ASAtene LVI N.S. XL 1978, Roma, 9-408. Papadopoulos, J.K. (1994) ̔Early Iron Age potters’ marks in the Aegean̕ , Hesperia 63, 437-507. Peacock, D.P.S. (1982) Pottery in the Roman world: an ethnoarchaeological approach, London and New York, Longman. Petricioli, M. (1990) Archeologia e Mare Nostrum. Le missioni archeologiche nella politica mediterranea dell’Italia (18981943), Roma, V. Levi. Reber, K. (1991) Untersuchungen zur Handgemachten Keramik Griechenlands in der submykenischen, protogeometrischen und der geometrischen Zeit, Jonsered, P. Åström.
Fig. 1. Plan of the town of Kos with the main areas of the necropolis excavated by Morricone (after Morricone 1950, reworked by the author). From left to right: P.= Pizzoli; H.= Halvagià; S.P.= San Pantaleo; F.= Fadìl; D.= Decumano; S.= Serraglio.
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Fig. 4. Oinochoe n. 440 from SerrT4 (drawing: Alessandro Sanavia)
Fig. 2. Pilgrim flask inv. n. 884 from SerrTB (photo: author) Fig. 3. Vase inv. n. 849 from SabTB (drawing: Alessandro Sanavia)
Fig. 5. Oinochoe n. 617 from SerrT14 (drawing: Alessandro Sanavia)
Fig. 3. Vase inv. n. 849 from SabTB (drawing: Alessandro Sanavia)
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Fig. 6. Lekane n. 850 from SabTB (drawing: Alessandro Sanavia)
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Italy Settlement Strategies and Territorial Organization: a Methodological Approach to the Sardinian Bronze Age Context Francesca Cadeddu
Department of History and Preservation of the Cultural Heritage, University of Udine, Department of Geology, University of Cagliari
Iron Age (c. 500 BC). The nuraghi, those remarkable stone structures, are basically truncated conical towers built of courses of large stones, in a ‘Cyclopean’ masonry technique and covered with a corbelled vault (tholos), for the construction of a false dome. They have been described as ‘…fortress, vantage point for reconnaissance and territorial control, social meeting place, dwelling place; with functions defined as military, governmental, social, domestic, and occasionally as a result of transformation in use, religious.’(Balmuth 1992: 677).
‘Grand and well-crafted buildings must mean grand and structured societies’1 Introduction Since the beginning of studies in Sardinian archaeology the nuraghi have captured the attention of scholars for their evident monumentality and their incredible number. Nuraghi, with a mean density of 3.43 per km2, are the most outstanding archaeological features of the island, and with which the Nuragic civilization scattered the Sardinian landscape some 3,500 years ago.
Nuraghi are frequently, but not always, surrounded by villages, generally of round huts with several functions. Some studies (Fadda 1990) reveal the autonomous development of this kind of settlement as a form of occupancy of the territory, either under the control of a centralized polity or not. The origin and development of such settlements constitutes one of the main focal points of territorial research. It is, indeed, quite a thorny subject because the settlements under investigation are in the minority. Therefore, deeming the number and importance of the nuraghi within this preliminary phase I will concentrate only on the nuraghi themselves.
Even without reference to religious and funerary structures, these civil monuments represent an optimal starting point for a reconstruction of the settlement strategies and the territorial organization of the Nuragic civilization, in order to shed new light on its social, political and economic facets. The aim of this article is to outline a methodological approach to test the reliability of the earlier hypotheses put forward in the last 50 years. It is within this period that Sardinian researchers have hypothesized for the Nuragic civilization an hierarchical settlement organization, the so-called “sistema cantonale” (cantonal system).
Nuraghi can be divided into three major groups: simple towers (monotorri), complex nuraghi and corridor nuraghi (Fig. 1). The most common type is the simple tower nuraghe (monotorre). It is commonly agreed that they had the function of control and defense of the territory and can be considered as being of a standard design: truncated conical towers with a niche inside the front door, often on the right side; spiral stairways to the upper floors and the roof, probably a guard platform.
This approach is based on a multidisciplinary perspective and takes into account a great range of disciplines: archaeology, genetics, geology, micromorphology and the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to store and test the collected data, both geographical and archaeological. Likewise, GIS tools are useful for visualizing archaeological spatial patterns, one of the topics of this research.
Is it possible to infer their real aspect by the existence of many models of nuraghi, which show detailed architectonical traits (Fig. 2).
This paper draws from my ongoing PhD research program at the University of Udine, and from my role as Temporary Fellow Researcher at the Department of Geology at the University of Cagliari, and will proceed as follows.
The complex nuraghi were indeed mainly military fortresses: composed of a central tower, called mastio, several subsidiary reinforcing towers (two or more), adjunctive bodies with numerous arrow-slits; connecting protective outer walls were built between them. Finally a fortified wall surrounded the perimeter of the entire site and a ground-level courtyard with a well provided a water supply for the inhabitants. As previously mentioned, it is necessary to highlight that different kinds of complex nuraghi that can be identified according to the number of subsidiary towers surrounding the central one.
At first I outline the chronology of the Nuragic civilization, the typologies of nuraghi and Nuragic settlement organization. This outline is followed by a discussion of the methodological underpinnings of this research and an application of the methods described. Nuragic civilization and chronology The Nuragic civilization was a long and complex culture spanning from the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) (c. 1600 BC) to the First 1
Lastly there are the so-called corridor nuraghi or protonuraghi, a typology that still now causes debate between scholars. After early controversies, it is now common opinion that they can
Webster 1991:840
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SOMA 2011 be considered as an ancestral form, developed in the MBA, judging from the archaeological evidence: of the hundreds of protonuraghi known, only MBA materials have been associated with them to date (Depalmas 2009:128). The corridor nuraghi are made of solid blocks of masonry, commonly square or oval in plan, and containing narrow corridors and sometimes irregularly shaped chambers, covered with flat stones in a trilithic system.
Finally, it is common opinion that the Nuragic civilization finished in 218 BC, when Sardinia became a Roman province and a change in government occurred. The cantonal system Over the last 50 years Sardinian researchers have argued for a Nuragic civilization with an hierarchical settlement organization, the so-called ‘sistema cantonale’, according to which Sardinia was divided into regional or sub-regional level polities.
It is commonly agreed that Sardinian chronology is complex: ‘[Until] 238 BC, the date for the Roman arrival on the island, there is virtually no firm chronology for Sardinia: the island has seemed almost peculiarly resistant to the kind of chronological sequence that allows the cultural development to be completely comprehensible.’ (Balmuth 1992:668) Furthermore radiocarbon dating has not been employed very frequently in Sardinia and this kind of data is exceptionally sparse in relation to the total area and the archaeological evidence. There are few radiocarbon dates2 and it is no accident that the most certain were collected in Sardinia by foreign teams.3 It is clear that many nuraghi have been re-used for two thousand years and the complexity of the Nuragic civilization and its chronological development has to be considered and the chronological development of Nuragic society will be outlined, paying particular attention to the Bronze Age phases (Fig. 3).
The cantonal territorial pattern is based on the existence of “tribal territories”, divided into districts (cantoni) and on an hierarchical relationship between the settlements. Each territory had a main site and the districts were marked by smaller constructions and villages, under the control of a central polity (Fig. 4). The first definition of this territorial model and reference to cantoni was put forward by Giovanni Lilliu. He recognized a relationship between the tribe community and a specific territory, establishing an equation: ‘tribe (so-called civitas) = cantone’ (Lilliu 1988:577). Lilliu often refers to the concept of nationality in his description of the Nuragic social system; however, such connotation might be anachronistic when applied to the Bronze Age. So rather than inquiring about the existence of a Nuragic state, this study focuses on understanding how we can scientifically reconstruct the Nuragic settlement strategies. In other words my research question concerns the existence of the cantoni itself.
It is generally agreed that the Nuragic civilization begins in the MBA (no entirely convincing EBA records have been found in a nuraghe (Ugas 1992:222). Documentation argues in favor of an astonishing flowering period in the LBA, when tholos nuraghi were built and there is a clear increase in the occupation levels of the landscape. In this period the construction of complex buildings is strictly related to territorial organization, partly defined in the MBA (according to the spatial distribution of corridor nuraghi), by reinforcing some settlement strategies to intensify exploitation of the most relevant local resources (Depalmas 2009: 138). Furthermore a certain difference in the material culture between the north and the south of the island might be evidence of a developing social, political and territorial complexity.
Subsequent research further explored and refined the initial hypothesis of a cantonal structure. In particular Giovanni Ugas, in his comprehensive monograph on the MBA in Sardinia (Ugas 2005), describes in detail the Nuragic organization that he dates back to this period: he assumes the existence of an hierarchical settlement organization even for the so-called protonuraghi. The main difference is that Ugas identifies the cantone with the district and not with the entire tribal territory. Miryam Balmuth talks of ‘…defensive citadels for single families or a clan’ (Balmuth 1992:36), and Gary Webster argues for small-scale polities, like African petty chiefdoms, with each nuraghe as the fortified residence of a chiefly household (Webster 1991:841).
The passage and transition from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age (from 850 BC – as Nuragic pottery in the burned phase of the Lipari Castle testifies (Ugas 2009:167)) sees an important change in the archaeological evidence; the most impressive being that no more nuraghi are built and it is possible to observe an urban drift and the reduction of small villages (c. 650 BC), connected with an urban pattern of settlements (Ugas 2009:182).
Whatever it is called, the main issue is how to prove its existence and, consequently, the cantonal territorial boundaries, and this with a view to reconstructing the social, political and economic organization of the Nuragic civilization.
Moreover many nuraghi were restructured and some of them were reused as temples or for foodstuffs, and this could provide evidence for the existence of a sort of redistributive system.
The research
These things seem to reflect a change in social organization and polity structures and a civilization that edges ahead towards a proto-urban level, completely in consonance with what happens in the rest of the Mediterranean, i.e. the Etruscan civilization.
‘The problem of defining regions for study and determining meaningful boundaries of human activities and habitation is of course one of the central difficulties of regional studies…’ (Wright 2004:115), and the above-mentioned hypothesis justifies the great potential of a multi-site, regional approach to problems of Nuragic settlement organization.
For an overview and a summary of radiocarbon dating in Sardinia for the Bronze and the Iron Ages see Depalmas 2009; Tykot 1994; Ugas 2009. 3 The Bonu Ighinu Valley project under Trump supervision (Trump 1990; Trump 1991), the Duos Nuraghes project and the Toscono project under Webster (Webster 1988) and the Pranemuru Plateau project under M. Ruiz Gálvez (Rubinos et al. 2003; Ruiz Gálvez 2005).
Previous research indicates some evidence that allows us to hypothesize on this settlement pattern and to adopt it as the starting point of this research. First of all, one of the most relevant aspects of the Italian Bronze Age is settlement stabilization and continuity, often for centuries, over the same sites: not simply sedentarism, acquired since the Neolithic, but
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Francesca Cadeddu: Settlement Strategies and Territorial Organization the feasibility of using data on the Mycenaean civilization as a reference.
a new way to consider settlements and landscapes, adopted as an historical tendency for economic, environmental, political and social reasons (Peroni 1999:97-104). According to this the same process may be presumed for Sardinia, with a spanning occupation of the same sites and consequently a strategic plan for occupying the landscape.
The case study Considering the first group, and for the preliminary phase of my research, I drew on some assumptions common in the literature (Alba 2005; Spanedda and Camara Serrano 2005; Trump 1991). One of these is that there must be an evident hierarchy between settlements, which can be inferred from differences in the size of buildings and villages. Another assumption is the intervisibility between one site and another: if a territorial system is a closed one, with precise boundaries and exclusive control of the land, it is clear that each site has to have the possibility of being able to communicate with its neighbours others.4
Another trait is the different size of the settlements and of the nuraghi themselves: the pattern of settlement rankings, it has been argued, reflects socio-political hierarchies with nuraghe size related to the relative status, authority and wealth of its resident group (Webster 1991). The presence of larger centres (as the complex nuraghi are) is strictly related to the existence of hierarchical relationships between settlements, because they can provide more specialist services than smaller ones. It seems, indeed, an indicator of social and political complexity and an organized and planned occupational strategy: ‘it is clearly noticeable how the great nuraghi are widely spaced across the island, as if each had its own supporting territory.’ (Trump 1991:44) In any event the complex nuraghi show an increasing degree of sophistication, which resulted in significant cultural changes for Bronze Age Sardinia.
Defense and control of the territory is another obvious need for any independent territorial system, usually guaranteed by garrisons, hill forts and other defensive features. The architecture of nuraghi can be easily related to these requirements and a precise definition of their positions may give additional proof. Some of these assumptions are clearly noticeable in the abovementioned characteristics of the nuraghi and their settlement strategies.
Ethnographic evidence shows that the ability of a society to mobilize and organize its surplus labour towards public and/or private expenditures increases with socio-political complexity, as measured by the degree of political centralization, social differentiation and economic specialization. Moreover the differential control of labour as a resource may have an important role in development of stratification and its architectural symbolism.
I considered these two assumptions, using new technologies applied in archaeology, especially GIS, selecting a sample area, Gallura (NE Sardinia). This region has he benefits of being quite different from other areas in terms of its geomorphological attributes and for some archaeological distinctions. My work entailed the registration of 500 sites and creating a DBMS (DataBase Management System) to store them. I also gathered geographic data to create a Digital Elevation Model (hereafter DEM) for a better understanding of the real geomorphological context of the sites. The main problem is that just 6% of the considered sites are excavated, and 85%, the relevant part of the sample, are only registered but not under investigation. Much of the present uncertainty concerning the organization and use of these parameters must be attributed to the complexity of the Nuragic archaeological record, and to past approaches toward its interpretation, as well as to a dearth of analytical and synoptic research on the distribution of the archaeological remains.
Finally, my research considered other studies, fieldwork and territorial surveys (e.g. Ugas 1998; Antona and Puggioni 2007), and ancient classical sources making reference to various populations/tribes in Sardinia (e.g. Ilienses, Sardi and Balari, Pliny, Strabon, Pausanias and Sallustio). The assumption appears well founded. But more research is needed to support the reliability of this hypothesis. The overall research aim here is to propose the creation of a model, built from specific parameters to test this theory fully, including the employment of statistical methods (Drennan 2010; Shennan 1997). Moreover the employment of rigorous empirical methods promotes transparency in sharing methods and results within the scientific and academic community. The complete disclosure of analytical and data collection methods, as well as the assumptions used in constructing the representation system of data allows the testing, reuse and sharing of data with other researchers (Binford 1968; Clarke 1968).
The first analysis is autoptic and shows at a glance six different systems, based on the clustered pattern of site distribution (Fig. 5). I then removed the southernmost system, as it appears to be outside the natural and geomorphological boundaries of the analyzed area; it is probably a complex system linked to the Coghinas River, but it runs too far from the research area. Regarding the first parameter (hierarchy), I have applied the ‘Thiessen polygon’ model for spatial analysis, well known in studies on territorial archaeology (Allen, Green and Zubrow 1990; Renfrew-Bahn 1995). This technique is useful for determining service areas of presumed centres and entails drawing perpendiculars at the mid-points between towns to define the areas which could most efficiently be served by the central places. A rather limiting assumption is that Thiessen polygons give equal weight to centres of different sizes. Larger centres are not shown with relatively larger service areas. Furthermore they must be constructed around contemporaneous
To create a model of a cantonal system, or in the main, a hierarchic territorial system, two different sets of considerations are usually taken into account: a. general assumptions; b. characteristics deduced from other similar and contemporary realities. By comparing these two datasets it is possible to draw a general predictive model – condensing in the analogies the quintessential characteristics (parameters) of the system analyzed system – and the following sections will provide details on two general assumptions (hierarchy and intervisibility), as well as evaluate
‘The intervisibility of many nuraghi might also argue for military use, though in a slightly different context from that usually assumed, that is, mutual support rather than mutual hostility.’ (Trump 1991:47) 4
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SOMA 2011 centres. Such elements may raise some concerns for the validity of the conclusions derived from this model of spatial analysis, and the results should be carefully evaluated.
The other sample area is the ‘Prisjona System’, so called from a previous article (Angius et al. 2009), due to the more important and complex nuraghe in the area. Figure 9 illustrates the division in 5 districts, each one marked by a complex nuraghe: Albucciu, Barrabisa, Li Conchi 1 and 2, Monte Ruju, and La Prisjona. The Thiessen polygons conform to the geomorphological characteristic of the landscape when they are viewed with the results of the viewshed analysis.
This is especially true for Sardinia where, as noted before, the chronological evidence is missing. So it is impossible to be sure whether a site considered a central one is in a central place, or not. These concerns are mitigated in this application by the exclusive use of the well-studied complex nuraghi (Fig. 6). However it is important to stress that this is a preliminary result and, in a sense, overrated because the analysis takes into account all complex nuraghi without considering the potential differences between them, either in chronology or in function, both postulates of the Thiessen polygon.
This method has also been used in research carried out in the 2006 by a team from the Montreal University (Canada) on the Alcoy valley (Spain) to reconstruct the political system and the settlement strategies for a group of Iron age hill forts, called oppida.
I then analyzed the second parameter, with the viewshed analysis5 that calculates intervisibility between sites (Allen, Green and Zubrow 1990; Renfrew-Bahn 1995). I applied it to the entire area, considering again only complex nuraghi6, and the result seems to eliminate one of the previous districts. It is clear that the two coastal systems to the west are interconnected and can be consider as a unique territorial system (Fig. 7).
As both studies show the combination of these two analyses correct the inaccurate idea (i.e. Thiessen polygons) of a peerpolity system. Not all the nuraghi can see each other but, as happens in both sample areas, one nuraghe has the greatest control over the entire territory: this data was hidden before and so could perhaps be a first proof of hierarchy in the settlements. Comparing models: the Mycenaean civilization
This result represents the latest interpretation based on the available evidence, but the comparison with the results presented in a recent paper appears positive (Antona and Puggioni 2007:291).
Other sets of parameters can be inferred by analyzing other contexts, taken as defined and accurate models, necessary to establish a precise pattern or at least the most probable one. Mycenaean Greece provides an excellent model. The first reason is clearly the parallels in the definition of characteristics of a hierarchical territorial system,7 well documented by the thousands of tablets found in the Mycenaean palaces that give a fascinating account of a complex palatial system with central control and redistributive system. The comparison between Mycenaean settlements and other territorial strategies will help us recognize the quintessential characteristics, with relation to the bureaucracy, the relationships between villages, centres and the central place, and between sites and the environment.
Gallura was probably divided into four systems, but to define their internal divisions requires additional information and therefore I used the same method in two sample areas. The first area is the “Limbara system” (after the local mountain system that forms a natural boundary), as confirmed by the viewshed analysis. In this area Thiessen polygons display three districts in terms of the three certain complex nuraghi. However further analytical work is required on this specifically. The inner viewshed analysis shows a different situation in which more divisions are evident and consequently I analyzed more accurately the sites involved, reconstructing an hypothetical situation that seems clearly to indicate a potential hierarchy between sites (Fig. 8).
Furthermore, the Mycenaean civilization is completely contemporary with the Nuragic and both show many similarities, as for instance the same architectural structures, e.g. the covered passages linking the outlying towers in the Nuraghe Santu Antine (Torralba), so reminiscent of the galleries in the fortified walls of Tiryns.
As shown in Figure 8, the most important district is probably at the Nuraghe Izzana, a complex nuraghe built on a previous protonuraghe. So it can be considered also the earlier settlement in this territory and the one that has the most territorial extension. The second district is the territory controlled by the Nuraghe Pilea, the second in terms of scale. There are then two further districts with smaller nuraghi complexes and smaller controlled areas. Finally it seems not accidental that the certain simple nuraghi are set at the edges of the district, in order to control boundaries. These preliminary considerations will be completed and verified only by future excavations.
Additionally there was always a strong trading relationship, as proved by the archaeological evidence. Since the MBA (Myc. IIIA2-IIIB) we can find Mycenaean pottery and luxury goods at some Nuragic sites (Depalmas 2009:125), and from the LBA (TEIIIB) we have Nuragic pottery in Sicily (Cannatello) and LM IIIA2-IIIB Crete (Kommos) (Watrous 1992; Rutter 2006). Finally, the long lasting tradition of Mycenaean studies and researches guarantees a massive amount of data, something Sardinia is lacking to date.
Nevertheless a similar case is well documented by Webster’s researche,s in which ‘striking variability in size and complexity of nuraghe-settlements in the Borore and other Marghine groups by the Late Bronze Age suggest a number of similar hierarchically organized sub-regional level polities.’ (Webster 1991:844)
The future of the research There are several follow-up stages to take this project forward. One is the reconstruction of the paleoenvironment to understand
A viewshed is an area that is visible from a specific location. This analysis, based on single (or multiple) line-of-sight calculation, uses the elevation value of each cell of the DEM to determine visibility to, or from, a particular cell. 6 I estimate 22m for the height of the Santu Antine nuraghe (TorralbaSS), one of the most complete and with three floors; the first tower is 7m high. I then trebled the value and added the average height of a man. 5
“The definition of hierarchical levels was based on, for example, the size, the similarity of construction and location, and distance between sites. It would certainly seem possible that archaeological sites can be divided into hierarchical levels by using multivariate lists of traits.’ (Hodder-Orton 1976:67) 7
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Francesca Cadeddu: Settlement Strategies and Territorial Organization the strategies of the exploitation of natural resources. The central places (complex nuraghi) would be expected to lie next to more extensive or more fertile agricultural land to supply the resources which allowed their owners to dominate, or simply be in a position where they could better control the most productive land. For this a site-catchment analysis would be required.
The integration of scientific methods into the practice of archaeology is a good way to foster transparency and the sharing of results inside the scientific community. Sardinian studies have been lagging behind with regard to the application of innovative methods in archaeology, and in the level of landscape archaeology research that studies relationships between settlements, human beings and environment (Alba 2005; Bonzani 1992; Spanedda 2004; Spanedda and Camara Serrano 2005).
Another important consideration is the relative amount of raw material available at each site, highlighting differences between production centers, distribution points, etc. Also of real interest is the reconstruction of the hypothetical demographic capacity of the territories, or of a settlement, and consequently the likely division labour. This is relevant for any future analysis of those procedures, labour costs and issues of social complexity, involved in nuraghi construction. Something similar has been started by Webster and his team in the Marghine region (Webster 1988; Angius et al. 2009).
Similar research endeavours have increased in recent times, especially due to the collaboration with scholars from different backgrounds. This research sets the foundations for further advances and the diffusion of modern archaeological methods within Nuragic studies. Secondly, the proposed territorial approach can make a significant contribution towards resolving several current archaeological issues, such as the Nuragic settlement organization and its social, political and economic structures. The preliminary study presented here, provides some tentative indications of the hierarchical relationship between Nuragic settlements.
A central issue is how to recognize and define the areas for the test. Geomorphological analysis is required, as we can see in case of Gallura. But there are at least two other interesting fields linked to this topic: linguistic and genetic, thus territory can be analyzed on the basis of its linguistic and genetic divisions. Linguists have divided Sardinia into 21 areas with regard to differences between Sardinian language dialects (Cappello et al., 1996; Contini 1979).
Bibliography Alba, E., 2005, ‘La organizaciòn del territorio en la edad del Bronce y del Hierro en Cerdena nororiental (Italia)’, @ rquelogia y Territorio, 2, pp. 31-46. Allen, K.M.S., S.W. Green & E.B.W. Zubrow (eds), 1990, Interpreting Space: GIS and Archaeology, (London: Taylor & Francis). Angius, V. et al., 2009, “Territorio e popolamento nella Gallura Nuragica. Un’ipotesi metodologica”, La preistoria e la protostoria della Sardegna, Atti della XLIV Riunione Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Cagliari, 23-28 novembre 2009 [forthcoming]. Antona, A. and Puggioni, S., 2007, ‘Spazi domestici, società e attività produttive nella Sardegna Nuragica. L‘esempio della Gallura’, M. C. Belarte Franco (ed.), L’espai domèstic i l’organització de la societat a la protohistòria de la Mediterrània occidental (1er millenni aC): actes de la IV Reunió internacional d’Arqueologia de Calafell, (Tarragona), pp. 289-305. Balmuth, M., 1992, ‘Archaeology in Sardinia’, American Journal of Archaeology, 96,4, pp. 663-97. Binford L.R. - Binford S. R., 1968, New Perspectives in Archaeology, (Chicago). Bonzani, R.M., 1992, ‘Territorial boundaries, buffer zones and sociopolitical complexity: a case study of the Nuraghi on Sardinia’, Tykot, R.H. and Andrews, T.K. (eds), Sardinia in the Mediterranean: A Footprint in the Sea. Studies in Sardinian Archaeology Presented to Miriam S. Balmuth, Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology 3, (Oxford: Sheffield Academic Press), pp. 210-220. Cappello, N. et al. 1996, ‘Genetic analysis of Sardinia: I. data on 12 polymorphisms in 21 linguistic domains’, Annals of human genetics, 60, 2, pp. 125-41. Caramelli, D. et al. 2007, ‘Genetic variation in prehistoric Sardinia’, Human genetics, 122, 3-4, pp. 327-36 Clarke, D.L., 1968, Analytical archaeology, (London: Methuen & Co.). Contini M., 1979, ‘Classement phonologique des parlers sardes’, Bullettin de l’Insitut de Phonétique de Grenoble, 8, pp. 57-96.
Another research path might be to explore different zonal linguistic uses and habits. It is interesting to note that there are many traces of the ‘linguistic past’, often found in toponyms, within a Nuragic substrate of the Sardinian language (Paulis 1987; Paulis 1992; Wolf 1998). Genetic research has begun to look into these various divisions and try to compare them with genetic differences. In the last ten years Sardinia has seen numerous studies in the field of population genetics. The interest is in the emergence of a complex picture of relationships between Sardinia, the mainland, the Mediterranean, and between various Sardinian populations. This research considers data from living populations but it might lead to a future field of research, and can connect with demographic researches, to define and reconstruct the original genetic profiles of the population (estimated so far as a figure of approximately 250,000 inhabitants for all prehistory).8 Furthermore there are some preliminary studies on the mitochondrial DNA of Nuragic populations (Caramelli et al. 2007). These are just at a starting point, but differences since the 11th century AD can pick up variances from 400 years before, during the flourishing period of the Nuragic civilization, when these territorial divisions were seen probably as impassable boundaries. Conclusions The typology of study proposed in this paper can have a great importance at many levels, and particularly as an attempt to integrate scientific methodology into the rich heritage of archaeology as an historical and humanist discipline. ‘[The] micro-geographic structure of Sardinia which is very well documented from an archaeological, historical and linguistic point of view, can be dissected also at the genetic level. Gene frequencies show heterogeneities which are statistically significant and which correlate with linguistic and archaeological records.’ (Vona 1997:86; Cappello et al. 1996) 8
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SOMA 2011 Orosei (Cerdeña, Italia), @rquelogia y Territorio, 2, pp. 169191. Trump, D.H., 1990, Nuraghe Noeddos and the Bonu Ighinu Valley: Excavation and Survey in Sardinia (Oxford: Oxbow books). Trump, D.H., 1991, ‘The Nuraghi of Sardinia, Territory and Power: The Evidence from the Commune of Mara, Sassari’, Herring, E., Whitehouse, R. and Wilkins, J. (eds), Papers of the Fourth Conference of Italian Archaeology: The Archaeology of Power, (London), pp. 43-7. Trump, D.H., 1992, ‘Militarism in Nuragic Sardinia’, R.H. and Andrews, T.K. (eds), Sardinia in the Mediterranean: A Footprint in the Sea. Studies in Sardinian Archaeology Presented to Miriam S. Balmuth, Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology 3, (Oxford: Sheffield Academic Press), pp. 198-203. Tykot, R.H., 1994, ‘Radiocarbon dating and absolute chronology in Sardinia and Corsica’, Skeates, R. and Whitehouse, R. (eds), Radiocarbon Dating and Italian Prehistory (London: Accordia Specialist Studies on Italy 3), pp. 115-45. Ugas, G., 1992, ‘Considerazioni sullo sviluppo dell’architettura e della società Nuragica’, Tykot, R.H. and Andrews, T.K. (eds), Sardinia in the Mediterranean: A Footprint in the Sea. Studies in Sardinian Archaeology Presented to Miriam S. Balmuth, Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology 3, (Oxford: Sheffield Academic Press), pp. 221-234. Ugas, G., 1998, ‘Centralità e periferia. Modelli d’uso del territorio in età Nuragica: il Guspinese’, L’Africa Romana, Atti del XII Convegno di studio, (Sassari: Editrice Democratica Sarda), pp. 513-48. Ugas, G., 2005, L’alba dei nuraghi (Cagliari: Fabula). Ugas, G., 2009, ‘Il I Ferro in Sardegna’, Lugliè, C. and Ciccilloni, R. (eds), La preistoria e la protostoria della Sardegna, Atti della XLIV Riunione Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria (Firenze), pp. 163-82. Vona, G. 1997, ‘The peopling of Sardinia (Italy): history and effects’, International Journal of Anthropology, 12, 1, pp. 71-87. Watrous, L.V., 1992, Kommos III. The Late Bronze Age pottery, (Princeton: Princeton University Press). Webster, G.S., 1988, ‘Duos Nuraghes: preliminary results of the first three seasons of excavation’, Journal of Field Archaeology, 15, pp. 465-72. Webster, G.S., 1991, ‘Monuments and Nuragic organization’, Antiquity, 65, 249, pp. 840-56. Wolf, H.J., 1998, Toponomastica barbaricina. I nomi di luogo dei comuni di Fonni, Gavoi, Lodine, Mamoiada, Oliena, Ollolai, Olzai, Orgòsolo, Ovodda (Nuoro: Insula-Papiros). Wright, J.C., 2004, ‘Comparative settlement patterns during the bronze age in the northeastern Peloponnesos, Greece’, Alcock, S. E. and Cherry, J. F. (eds), Side-by-Side Survey: Comparative Regional Studies in the Mediterranean World (Oxford), pp. 114-31.
Depalmas, A. 2009, ‘Il Bronzo medio della Sardegna’, Lugliè, C. and Ciccilloni, R. (eds), La preistoria e la protostoria della Sardegna, Atti della XLIV Riunione Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria (Firenze), pp. 123-30. Drennan, R.D., 2010, Statistics for Archaeologists. A Common Sense Approach (New York). Dytchowskyj, D. et al., 2005, ‘The use of Thiessen polygons and viewshed analysis to create hypotheses about prehistoric territories and political systems: a test case from the Iron Age of Spain’s Alcoy Valley’, Archaeological Computing Newsletter, 62, pp. 1–5. Fadda, M.A. 1990, ‘Il villaggio’, La civiltà Nuragica (Milano: Electa), pp.102-9. Hodder, I., Orton, C. and Renfrew, C. (eds), Spatial analysis in archaeology, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Kvamme, K.L., 1995, ‘Archaeological spatial analysis using GIS: methods and issues’, Francovich, R. and Gottarelli, A. (eds), Information Systems and geographical networks in Archaeology: GIS and internet, (Siena) pp. 45-58. Lilliu, G., 1988, La civiltà dei Sardi dal Paleolitico all’età dei nuraghi (Torino: Nuova ERI). Paulis, G., 1987, I nomi di luogo in Sardegna (Sassari: Carlo Delfino editore). Paulis, G., 1992, I nomi popolari delle piante in Sardegna (Sassari: Carlo Delfino editore). Peroni, R., 1999, L’età del bronzo in Italia: per una cronologia della produzione metallurgica, (Perugia). Renfrew C. - Bahn P., 1995, Archeologia. Teorie. Metodi. Pratica, (Bologna: Zanichelli). Rubinos, A. and Ruiz Galvez, M., 2003, ‘El proyecto Pranemuru y la cronología radiocarbónica para la Edad del Bronce en Cerdeña’, Trabajos de Prehistoria, 60, 2, 91-115. Ruggles C.L.N. et al., 1993, ‘Multiple viewshed analysis using GIS and its archaeological application: a case study in northern Mull’, Andresen, J., Madsen, T. & Scollar, I. (eds), Computing the Past: Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press). Ruiz Gálvez, M., 2005, ‘Nuragic territory and ancient landscape. The Pranemuru Plateau (Sardinia) during the Bronze Age’, Nuragic Territory and Ancient Landscape in the Pranemuru Plateau; a research and heritage project in the Nuoro Province (Sardinia), pp. 19-26. Rutter, J.B., 2006, ‘Ceramic imports of the Neopalatial and Later Bronze Age Eras’, Shaw, J.V. and Shaw, M.C. (eds), Kommos V. The monumental Minoan buildings at Kommos, (Princeton: Princeton University Press), pp. 646-88. Shennan, S., 1997, Quantifying Archaeology (Edinburgh). Spanedda, L., 2004, ‘Control e áreas territoriales en la Edad del Bronce sarda. El ejemplo del municipio de Dorgali (Nuoro)’, @rquelogia y Territorio, 1, pp. 67–82. Spanedda, L. and Camara Serrano, Juan Antonio, 2005, ‘No sólo puertos: control costero en la edad del Bronce del golfo de
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Fig. 1 Typologies of nuraghi: reconstructions, plans and sections (adapted from Sardegna Preistorica. Nuraghi a Milano, (Milano: Electa), 1985; Ugas 2005, p. 111)
Fig. 2 Stone and bronze sculptures, models of nuraghi: from Olmedo (SS) (adapted from Ichnussa. La Sardegna dalle origini all’età classica, (Milano: Garzanti-Scheiwiller), p. 246); from Bia de Deximu – San Sperate (CA) (adapted from Contu 1985, ‘Il nuraghe’, Sardegna Preistorica. Nuraghi a Milano, (Milano: Electa), p. 61)
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Fig. 3 Relative and comparative chronologic of Nuragic civilization (adapted from Ugas 2005, pp. 36-37)
Fig. 4 Scheme of cantonal system and an hypothetical reconstruction of the hierarchical relationship between districts (adapted from Ugas 2005, p. 124)
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Fig. 5 Autoptic analysis of Gallura’s territorial data and the six systems, identified by the clustered pattern of site distribution
Fig. 6 Thiessen polygon’s analysis applied to the Gallura’s complex nuraghi
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Fig. 7 Viewshed analysis of the entire territory
Fig. 8 Hypothetic reconstruction of the Limbara district, with DEM in background, to show the real geomorphological aspect of territory. (Symbols adapted from Ugas 2005, p. 146)
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Fig. 9 Single viewshed analysis of the complex nuraghi in the La Prisjona’s district: the extent of the visibility permits to manage and correct the Thiessen polygons: 1. Nuraghe La Prisjona; 2. Nuraghe Barrabisa; 3. Nuraghe Monte Ruju; 4. Nuraghe Albucciu; 5. Nuraghe Li Conchi 1; 6. Nuraghe Li Conchi 2
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Ceramic Ethnoarchaeometry in Western Sardinia: the Case of Oristano Evanthia Tsantini
Università degli Studi di Palermo, DiSTeM, Italy Equip de Recerca Arqueològica i Arqueomètrica, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain (ERAAUB)
Giuseppe Montana
Università degli Studi di Palermo, DiSTeM, Italy Equip de Recerca Arqueològica i Arqueomètrica, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain (ERAAUB)
Miguel Ángel Cau
Equip de Recerca Arqueològica i Arqueomètrica, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain (ERAAUB) Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA)
need for pottery used on an every-day basis; mainly water jars (Figure 1). Up to the 1950s the handmade manufacture was done by a group of specialized craftsman called maistus vassai who were working full time and were part of the Società di Santa Trinità, which in fact was a descendent of the Oristanian guild functioning during the previous century (1800-1900) (Martini and Ferru, 1993). The earliest reference to a community of potters at Oristano dates back to the 17th century, when they were called coniolargios, working under optimum conditions, along Via Figoli. The situation, at Oristano, did not change until the first half of the 20th century (Martini and Ferru, 1993). At the end of the 20th century, however, the Società was no longer involved in the whole production policy, although it still held the rights to the clay sources and it imposed a number of “norms” dictating how the traditional methods of good quality ceramic production should be maintained. Progressively, some of the potters became independent craftsmen by becoming landowners, normally after marrying women of a higher social class. Through this process individual urban pottery workshops emerged. Finally, with industrialisation, the socioeconomic evolution (canalization of water, electricity, etc.) and a decline in the rural way of life, the production of handmade common wares vanished. In 1980 only 4 traditional pottery workshops were still operating at Oristano. Nowadays potters have turned towards artistic pottery production more easily sold to tourists and no one appears to follow, or even knows how traditional pottery was produced, with the exception of Antonio Mannis (Figure 1) who is the last potter with a living memory of traditional ceramic production. He gave clear indications on the position of the clay sources exploited and explained the traditional pottery manufacture processes followed at Oristano in detail. According to him the same raw materials were used for pottery and for building material and these clays are the ones still used today for the local industrial brick production.
Introduction The study of modern pottery-making communities that use their natural resources can provide answers to ceramic practices in the past. Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology has been largely contributing, among other issues, to the knowledge of pottery production in each state of the “chaîne opératoire” from the selection of raw materials to the final products (e.g. Kramer, 1985; Arnold, 1985; 2000; Longacre, 1991; Bowser, 2000; Costin, 2000; Hegmon, 2000; Arnold, 2000; Stark, 2003). On the other hand, since the beginning of the 21st century, the application of analytical techniques in order to study the raw materials and final products in ethnoarchaeological cases has notably increased. This type of approach has been called ethnoarchaeometry (Buxeda, Cau and Kilikoglou, 2003) as it uses the fundamentals of archaeometric characterisation on ethnoarchaeological material. Traditional pottery making activities in Sardinia are well recorded thanks to the work of M. B. Annis who fully describes traditional pottery production and distribution in the island of Sardinia (Annis, 1985a and b, 1988; 2007; Annis and Jacobs, 1986; 1989-1990). Oristano is located in south-western Sardinia (Italy) (Figure 1) at the western part of the Campidano Plain. The city lies geologically speaking on alluvial and colluvial deposits composed of gravels, silt and sandy clay (Holocene), together with more ancient conglomerates, sand and mud deposits cropping out in river terraces and/or alluvial cones (Pliocene-Pleistocene). Concerning the origin of this detritic sedimentary deposits it should be noted that to the north-east of the plain of Oristano, there is an extended area of acid crystalline rocks (granites; granodiorites), with some localized metamorphic outcrops. This area is crossed by the Tirso River (the longest in Sardinia, 159km) that induced intensive erosion during the Quaternary era. Oristano is located exactly at the mouth of this river. Both to the north and at localised zones to the east and south of the city there are outcrops of subalkaline or alkaline basalts, trachybasalts (Pliocene) together with recent fluvial-lacustrine sandy-clayey deposits and conglomerates.
The aim of this specific contribution is to provide a first insight into the compositional characteristics of traditional ceramic production and clayey materials of Oristano’s area. To do so, the petrographic results obtained by optical microscopy using thinsection analysis will be presented and discussed. Nevertheless, the future aim, in the framework of two larger projects, is to fully document this tradition, to complete the chemical, mineralogical and petrographic characterisation of the ceramic products and clayey materials and, finally, to explore their possible relation with the compositional features of some
Oristano was one of the main pottery production centres of the Campidano with a ceramic tradition that dates back at least to the 15th century. Up to 1970s the social system in Oristano was mainly agro-pastoral. The way of life, at that time, and the scarcity of fountains and natural sources of drinking water generated the
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Late Roman Cooking Wares fabrics for which a Sardinian origin has been proposed (e.g. Fulford and Peacock, 1984; Cau, 1998). Sampling and analytical technique Given that we were unable to locate a single sherd of the traditional ware of Oristano we were obliged to sample traditional handmade and industrial modern bricks (Figure 1) for the petrographic characterisation of products that, according to the oral testimony of Antonio Mannis, were and are made from the local clays, which were also used for traditional pottery production. We are aware, of course, that the quality, texture and other characteristics (e.g. size distribution of the inclusions and porosity) of clay used for the manufacture of bricks is not necessarily the same as that for common pottery or cooking wares.
The raw materials (Figure 2), coarse or fine, beside some differences in texture, packing and sorting, present exactly the same rock fragments and minerals, both in qualitative terms and in terms of relative abundance. The packing oscillates between 2540% (area) in all analysed clays, with the exception of ORAR5D, which is very fine clay sampled at TRAMAZA, where packing is around 30-40% and the body is also richer in micas. Finally, in all analysed clays coarse and medium sand fractions dominate and they exhibit serial distribution. Fine sand and coarse silt are common, while fine silt is moderate to rare.
59 bricks and tiles (Table 1) were characterised using Optical Microscopy by thin-section analysis. Observations were carried out with a Leica DML-DSP microscope equipped with a Leica DC-200 digital camera. A further 7 clay sources located at different parts of Oristano were also sampled (Table 1). Each clayey material was homogenised using 1kg of bulk sediment. Then ¼ of the bulk mixture was used for the preparation of rectangular experimental briquettes using distilled water. The briquettes were fired under oxidising atmosphere in an electric kiln following a specific firing slope (increment of temperature 100ºC/h up to 850ºC, then maintenance of 850ºC for at least 3h, and finally progressive decrease of the temperature 100ºC/1h to room temperature). Thin-sections were prepared from the fired briquettes in order to obtain a comparable material to the analysed bricks.
Oristano is located over alluvial and colluvial deposits composed of gravels, silt and sandy clay (Holocene), together with more ancient conglomerates, sand and mud deposits cropping out in river terraces and/or alluvial cones (Pliocene-Pleistocene), as we have already mentioned. However, the city also is sited on the maw of the Tirso River at the exact point where it flows into the sea, in the Gulf of Oristano. The Tirso River flows down from the region of Nuoro province, where extended outcrops of acid crystalline rocks (granites; granodiorites) are located. It crosses also some localized metamorphic regions that have been induced by intensive erosion during the Quaternary period, as it has been mentioned before. The composition both of the analysed material and the clays indicates that the clayey sediments at Oristano and its vicinity, consist of detritic highly altered (probably by the action of the river) minerals and rocks fragments geologically highly compatible with the above described geological areas. Therefore the character of the Quaternary alluvial and colluvial deposits in the region of Oristano is related to the erosion and sedimentation of the geological components located to the North-East.
Results and discussion It was found that the mineralogical composition of the traditional handmade and the industrial bricks and tiles is exactly the same (Figure 2). However, differences mainly in texture, packing and sorting can be distinguished between them that indicate differences in the refining and homogenisation process, even if the same raw materials were used. The granulometry of the industrial bricks (Table 1) is fine and homogeneous. They exhibit only 3% area packing and moderate to low sorting. Their groundmass is homogeneous and dominated by fine-grained inclusions. Fine to coarse silt (0.004-0.006mm) is predominant. These fractions exhibit serial and uniform distribution. Fine sand is also common to moderate, while coarse sand is rare. Inclusions with a diameter over 0.2 mm are generally rare in all individuals, with the exception of ORMA02, where they are common.
Final remarks In the present study handmade bricks and tiles were analysed that, according to the oral testimony of Antonio Mannis, were made of the same raw materials that were used for the former local traditional wares. This ceramic material was compared compositionally to the specific clayey sediments that originally were used as raw materials for handmade pottery manufacture. The compositional similarity between both the industrial and handmade bricks and tiles and all the sampled clays confirms a long-lasting ceramic tradition at Oristano, based unquestionably on the exploitation of the local clays and confirms the location of the raw material sources identified through the ethnographic testimony. The study also determined the geological character of this clay deposits. The petrographic characterisation of both of the analysed ceramic materials and the clays shows the predominant presence of detritic minerals and rocks fragments compatible
In contrast, the handmade bricks (Table 1) exhibit moderate and serial sorting and a packing that is between 30-50% (area). Medium-coarse sand inclusions are prevalent to common, while fine sand and silt fraction is moderate to rare. Only ORMA08 presents much finer inclusions and somehow lower packing 2530% (per area). Finally, the handmade tiles (Table 1) exhibit sorting around 20-35% (area). The distribution of the inclusions is serial, uniform and moderate. Fine sand and very fine sand (0.2-0.1 mm) fractions are dominant. Medium sand is common to moderate and coarse sand is sporadic to rare. The mineralogical composition is the same for all analysed material. The coarser fraction is characterised by the prevalent presence of acid crystalline minerals and rock fragments (granitoid
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Evanthia Tsantini et al.: Ceramic Ethnoarchaeometry in Western Sardinia Mediterranean: a holistic approach, (subprograma HIST); PLAN NACIONAL I+D+I, Subprograma de Proyectos de Investigación Fundamental no orientada, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (2009-2012). We also would like to thank Antonio Mannis, the last potter who has a living memory of traditional pottery making at Oristano, for sharing with us his detailed oral testimony on this subject. Finally, to thank Antonio Marchi, a local artist who provided valuable ethnographic information on Oristano and its traditions (not only related to pottery production) and introduced us to Antonio Mannis.
with the rocks outcropping in the hydrographic basin (drainage basin) of the Tirso River, which were deposited in the Upper Campidano (Campidano Oristanese) during the Holocene. Finally, this study demonstrates the existence of important differences in the raw material processing (indicated by differences in texture: packing, sorting, etc.). These technological differences can be correlated with the chronology of the materials and the technological knowledge available during specific periods (socio-cultural and technological background), clearly affected by the industrialisation degree involved in the ceramic production. Indeed, contemporary bricks are much more homogenous and fine, probably due to the fact that the refinement and the homogenisation of the raw materials is done mechanically and not manually. Structurally, these bricks are not compact but they are full of rectangular spaces. This is due to two factors. The first is that the bricks would be too heavy if they were compact. The second factor is that the air trapped within the empty spaces acts as insulation. The handmade bricks, on the other hand, are much coarser and structurally compact. Here, the coarse character of the paste prevents them from becoming too heavy after drying. Low firing temperatures, the open porous texture obtained by not excessively pressing the raw bricks during production, as well as the voids that organic matter leaves after firing, compensate the fact that they are structurally compact. Finally, handmade roof tiles are texturally very fine and homogenous with low porosity and, therefore, more similar to the industrial bricks. In this specific case both low porosity and a fine paste serve as important positive attributes for these products as roof tiles need to be both light and water resistant, amongst other characteristics.
Bibliography Annis, M. B., 1985a, Resistance and Change: Pottery Manufacture in Sardinia, World Archaeology: Ethnoarchaeology, Vol. 17, Nº. 2, pp: 240-255. Annis, M. B., 1985b, Ethnoarchaeological research of water vessels at Sardinia, Newsletter of the Department of Pottery Technology, Vol. 3, pp: 43-94. Annis, M. B., 1988, Modes of Production and the Use of Space in Potters’ Workshops in Sardinia: A Changing Picture, Newsletter of the Department of Pottery Technology, Vol. 6, pp: 47-78. Annis, M. B., 2007, La produzione della terracotta nel Campidano tra gli anni Venti el gli ani Ottanta del Novecento, in A. Pau (Coord.) Ceramiche: Storia, linguaggio e prospettive in Sardegna, Illiso, Nuoro, pp: 121-261. Annis, M. B. and Jacobs, L., 1986, Ethnoarchaeological Research, Pottery Production in Oristano (Sardinia). Relationships between Raw Materials, Manufacturing Techniques and Artifacts, Newsletter of the Department of Pottery Technology, Vol. 4, pp: 56-85. Annis, M. B. and Jacobs, L., 1989/1990, Cooking Ware from Pabillonis (Sardinia). Relationships between Raw Materials, Manufacturing Techniques and the Function of the Vessels. Newsletter of the Department of Pottery Technology, Vol. 7/8, pp: 56-85. Arnold, D. E., 1985, Ceramic theory and cultural process, Cambridge University Press. Arnold, P. J., 2000, Working Without a Net: Recent Trends in Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology, Journal of Archaeological Research, Vol. 8, Nº. 2, pp: 105-133. Bowser, B. J., 2000, From Pottery to Politics: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of Political Factionalism, Ethnicity, and Domestic Pottery Style in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 7, Nº. 3, pp: 219-248. Buxeda i Garrigós, J., Cau Ontiveros, M. A. and Kilikiglou, V., 2003, Chemical variability in clays and pottery from a traditional cooking pot production village: testing assumptions in Pereruela, Archaeometry, Vol. 45, pp: 1-17. Cau, M.A., 2003, Cerámica tardorromana de cocina de las Islas Baleares: estudio arqueométrico, British Archaeological Reports, International Series, Oxford, United Kingdom Costin, C. L., 2000, The Use of Ethnoarchaeology for the Archaeological Study of Ceramic Production, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp: 377403. Fulford, M. G. and Peacock, D. P. S., 1984; Excavations at Carthage: The British Mission, Vol. I(ii). The Avenue du Président Habib Bourguiba, Salammbo: The pottery and other ceramic objects from the site. Sheffield. Hegmon, M., 2000, Advances in Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 7, Nº. 3, pp: 129-137.
To sum up, this study enabled the characterisation of industrial and traditional raw materials and ceramic products of Oristano. The results demonstrate that there is a long-lasting ceramic tradition at Oristano, based indubitably on the exploitation of the same local clay sources. That was, expected by the ethnographic information and the oral testimony of Antonio Mannis. It is also demonstrates, as in other cases, that there is a clear relationship between the raw material processing and the functionality of the final products. In this particular case, though, it is also clear that the existing technological processes, during a specific chronological interval, are the result of the transfer of both empirical knowledge (culturally based) and technological innovation (relying on socio-economic changes, such as industrialisation). Finally, it is worth mentioning that this contribution is only a first step within a wider program of a full characterisation and documentation of Sardinian pottery making tradition and the exploration of their possible relation to the compositional features of specific possibly Sardinian, Late Roman Cooking Wares fabrics. During this wider programme, the same holistic methodology of full characterisation will be followed for various other case studies. Acknowledgements This study is being carried out in the framework of two projects. We are indebted to the European Commission and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación for financial support. The first project is CETRAWEM (PIEF-GA-2009-235702): Lost and Survived Ceramic Traditions in the Western Mediterranean: The Sardinian Case; Marie Curie IEF; European Commission; REA; FP7-People; Marie Curie Actions; (2009-2011). The second projects is entitled LRCWMED (HAR2009-08290): Archaeology and Archaeometry of Late Roman Coarse Wares in the Western
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SOMA 2011 Martini, M. and Ferru, M. L., 1993, Storia della ceramica in Sardegna: Produzione locale e importazione dal Medievo al primo de novecento, ed. Tema, Cagliari. Stark, M. T., 2003, Current Issues in Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology, Journal of Archaeological Research, Vol. 11, Nº. 3, pp: 193242.
Kramer, C., 1985, Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology, Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 14, pp: 77-120 Longacre, W. A., 1991, Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology, University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Figure 1: Location of Oristano; Antonio Mannis: the interview traditional potter; traditional pottery and ceramic products; handmade bricks; modern brick factory and sampling of clay sources
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Figure 2: Thin-sections of the studied clays and the ceramic products
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Table 1: Description of the analysed material: clays and ceramic products
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Lyres in the Daunian Stelae: Towards a Better Understanding of Chordophones in the Mediterranean Iron Age Raquel Jiménez Pasalodos, Placido Scardina University of Valladolid, Spain
the Daunian stelae signify important evidence of the increasing appearance of iconographies (and, probably, circulation) of lyres in various Mediterranean areas from Anatolia to the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula during this period. Even if lyres have occupied an important place in music archaeology literature, the Daunian chordophones have been disregarded.
The Daunians were the indigenous population of the Apulia region, in the south of Italy, which mainly occupied the contemporary province of Foggia. It is believed that they arrived from Illyria during the 11th–10th centuries B.C.1 These origins and their relatively large distance from the Greek colonies explain the scant impact of Greek culture in this region until the 6th century B.C.2 So for a long time, Daunians developed particular artistic manifestations that portrayed a local ideological world, one of the most unique among Italic pre-Roman populations.
The importance of these scenes (the most numerous collection of iconographies of Iron Age lyres after the lyre player group of seals7 and the lyres of late geometric pottery8) makes them a significant contribution to the knowledge of musical behaviour during these centuries. In this paper, we will try to analyze these musical scenes, taking into account their contemporary Mediterranean parallels. We will not only consider lyre typologies but also the cultural meanings connected to them such as ritual, symbolism, gender and performance.
Amid interesting features such as a rich production of geometric pottery, one of the main export goods of Daunians in the Adriatic,3 the stelae (8th–6th centuries B.C), are the most significant remains of this civilization. These rectangular limestone blocks are profusely decorated on both sides, and represent the human figure. Most of the stelae have been found in the Siponto plane, which in the Iron Age was a lagoon near the coastline. The Daunian stelae can be mainly divided into two types, stelae with ornaments, and stelae with arms, probably belonging to or representing women and men.4
1. Round base lyres in the Mediterranean during the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. Usually, it has been considered that the lyres9 of the Aegean world presented round sound boxes, while the eastern lyres had flat bottoms.
Little is known about the original purpose of the stelae, as they only appear in secondary contexts (sometimes used as lids in later inhumation cists), but they could have had a funerary aim, whether to mark the grave or to be placed in sanctuaries or temples as a representation of the deceased;5 but none of them have been found in primary funerary contexts and do not appear in local necropolis. The disparity between feminine and masculine stelae does not favour this funerary interpretation either, so perhaps they were ex-votos in sanctuaries or the reflection of an indigenous cult based on priestesses and warriors, possibly as a symbol of the two main deities of the Daunians6.
The round base lyres appeared in the Mycenaean and Minoan world10 during the second millennium B.C., accompanying offerings and ritual scenes.11 After a period of a lack of iconographical records relating to lyres, these typologies reappeared in late geometric pottery (8th-7th centuries B.C.), displaying fewer strings but maintaining the round boxes.12 In Greek Late Geometric pottery, these lyre players are generally interpreted as a late reflection of the Odyssey tradition. These aoidoi are always naked (fig. 12), and they play the lyre in various contexts: in warrior dances with other naked warriors, in female circle dances or in scenes where the lyre player seated as in the Homeric descriptions which narrate how these
From the almost two thousand fragments, we can identify a musical scene that appears at least eleven times. A lyre player is performing on a round base lyre (there is only one flat base example) surrounded by female processions with offerings in a presumably ritual context. The musical instruments depicted on
Porada 1956; Boardman - Buchner 1966; Boardman 1990; Poncy et al. 2001. 8 Wegner 1949 and 1968; Lawergren 1993. 9 We will use the generic term of lyre to name these cordophones – they must not be confused with the classic Greek lyre with a tortoise shell sound box. In the case of the Aegean round base lyre, we accept the term phorminx, appearing in the Odissey, but we prefer not to extrapolate the designation to the round base chordophones that appear outside the Greek world. See West 1992:45-70, Lawergren: 1993 and 1998. 10 However, the round base lyre appears also on two seals from Tarsus and Mardin in the Anatolian area, dated ca. 1800 BC. See: Goldman, H. 1956. Excavations at Gözlü Kule, Tarsus, vol. II, Princeton, 235, 239 (No. 35), Figs. 394, 400; Collon, D. 1987. First Impressions – Cylinder Seals in the Ancient Near East. London, 43 (Nr. 149). Cfr. also Lawergren 1998, 50 fig. 5d-5e; more on Li Castro Scardina (forthcoming). 11 Aign 1963; Younger 1998. 12 Lawergren 1993; Lawergren 1998. 7
The first scholar to study the stelae, Silvio Ferri, proposed Thracia as the original land of the Daunians (Ferri 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967). 2 D´Ercoli 2008: 95- 102. 3 D´Ercoli 2008:96. 4 Ferri 1963a:12; Verger 2005:103-131. The gender attribution is however problematic. Maria Luisa Nava (1988) suggests that armed stelae represented men while ornamented stelae would represent both genders. This could explain the larger quantity of ornamented stelae and could be a proof of their funerary aim against the arguments that point out this unequal number of gender representations as the principal reason to deny the funerary aim (Leone: 2007). However, the imbalance could be only a result of the attribution of small fragments to ornamented stelae (Robb 2000: 63). 5 Nava 1988: 12-13. 6 Leone 2007. 1
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SOMA 2011 musicians performed in banquets, singing the deeds of warriors and heroes.13 An Attic Geometric vase depicting a lyre-player scene is particularly interesting, as he is facing a procession of two women with vases on their heads (Fig. 12a). However, the Daunians show little influences from the Aegean world during the 8th and 7th centuries, and we shall not interpret these scenes as the result of frequent contacts with the Greeks. In fact, since the 8th century B.C. we find round base lyres in eastern contexts, especially in Syro-Anatolian and Philistine depictions (the latter due to the strong contacts with Cyprus and the Aegean world) as an indication of the diffusion of round base lyres also towards the east14.
So considering the propagation of round base lyres during the 8th century B.C, especially in Syro-Anatolian contexts, we can propose that the lyres on the Daunian stelae represents another manifestation of the flourishing of a certain musical practice linked with these instruments all over the Mediterranean, or at least, the flourishing of a desire to perpetuate these rituals through iconographies. 2. Musical scenes in the Daunian stelae Unlike the Iberian stelae, the lyres are depicted in both armed and ornamented stelae, but are especially present on the latter (9 out of 11 examples) within highly codified ritual scenes. The scenes are very static, and differ enormously from Greek geometric representations where the lyre player, naked, is accompanying circles of female dancers or male warrior dancers. The Daunian scenes seem to have a more religious and ritual character, as they are repeated almost invariably, as a fixed ritualized performance that probably maintained for centuries a great part of their original background. Ethnomusicology shows to what extent the performative and musical aspects of ritual behavior are highly codified. The main features would change very slowly through time, maintaining their basic structure, sometimes as a way to protect a particular identity. The Ethnomusicologist Bruno Nettl, suggests, talking about change and continuity in musical behavior, that music changes very slowly when it is related to static and very codified religious structures.20
There are sufficient examples of round base lyres during the 8th century B.C. all over the Mediterranean basin. In fact, two of these round base lyres appear on the Karatepe reliefs15 (8th century B.C.) in southern Anatolian, in an ancient city of Cilicia in the Taurus Mountains, on the right bank of the Ceyhan River (fig.11). This is a well-known example that shows the coexistence of eastern flat base lyres with the round box ones in the same musical contexts. In particular, one of the Karatepe examples looks very similar to the Daunian chordophones. This Anatolian depiction belongs to a musical scene showing also male figures with offerings. This relief-decorated slab with a musical performance is related to a ritual banquet of a local ruler, an iconographic typology widespread in the ancient Near East.16 The lyre player group of seals17 (8th century B.C.) is also an essential comparison (Fig.14): they belong to a large group of 240 seals, with a great number of lyre players (almost one in four). They have been found from Italy to Syria but are probably of Syro-Anatolian origin18 also from the Cilicia region. They depict a musician playing a round base lyre, sometimes together with other musicians with double pipes and frame drums, accompanying offerings or banquet scenes in clearly ritual contexts. Birds appear frequently accompanying the musicians. Therefore, it seems that during the 8th century B.C. this kind of instrument had also become popular outside the Greek world, to the extent of becoming a recurrent image on seals of this kind.
The scenes displayed on the stelae with ornaments are very similar. They usually show a lyre player, wearing a knee-length tunic and a belt. The figure is in a standing position, holding the lyre with one hand while preparing the other to play. He is followed or facing a procession of women with a characteristic long braid ending in circles (maybe circular rattles) and long tunics. They are sometimes carrying offerings such as vases or animals.21 In some scenes, other enigmatic figures appear. They are following or facing the procession and the lyre player and wearing long conical caps, and they have usually been interpreted as masculine figures of high status, such as priests, important warriors or local hierarchies.22 The stone conical cap heads found separated from the stelae doubtlessly belonged originally to the monuments, and were most probably part of the ornamented stelae, while the rounded heads belonged to the stelae with arms.23 If we also accept that ornamented stelae were probably representing feminine characters,24 then it might be plausible that the pointed conical hats were a feminine ornament. Therefore, we might understand the depictions wearing these pointed caps as female figures; but, conversely, if we accept that ornamented
Another interesting parallel is found on the Iberian stelae depiction of lyres (fig.13). These funerary stone stelae, which appear in the Guadiana Valley and in the Guadalquivir Valley (and one of them, the Luna, far away in the Ebro Valley) in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, can be divided into two types, warrior stelae, presumably for men, and stelae with diadems for women. It is generally accepted that their chronology spans the Late Bronze Age and the Orientalizing period (12th-7th Centuries B.C.). They disappear during the 7th century B.C., when the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula had already been strongly acculturalised by eastern Mediterranean cults. The depictions of round base lyres on warrior stelae have been interpret as another sign of the arrival of Levantine objects and ideas together with the Phoenician colonists. Their considerable size and the place they occupied in the iconographies show the importance of the instruments in the ideological world of the indigenous populations.19
Nettl 2005, 272-290; Jiménez Pasalodos 2010, 645-646; Jiménez Pasalodos and García Benito (forthcoming). 21 These vases have the shape of a typical Daunian pottery vase that appears very often in the necropolis, together with rich grave goods that confirm the increasing appearance of hierarchies together with the important development of trade contacts with the Mediterranean world during the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. It has been considered that these vases probably had a significant religious or ritual aim linked with these elites (D´Ercoli 2005:98). For Maria Laura Leone, their circular shape was inspired in the poppy capsules, and might have contained opium. Opium would be then a very important component of the ritual and the beliefs of the Daunians. (Leone 2007: 73, see also Leone 1995 and Leone 1995-96). 22 Nava 1980: 30-37. 23 Nava 1980: 28-31. 24 Verger, 2005: 103-132. 20
Od. 1.154, 22.331 and Od. Book 8. Lawergren 1993, 71-73; Lawergren 1998. 15 Çambel 2003, 73 Tav. 50.51, 98 Tav. 142-143; Lawergren 1998, 51 fig.5 x; 16 Dentzer 1982, 43-46. 17 Porada 1956; Boardman - Buchner 1966; Boardman 1990; Poncy et al. 2001; Scardina 2010. 18 Boardman 1990. 19 Jiménez Pasalodos (forthcoming). 13 14
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Raquel Jiménez Pasalodos, Placido Scardina: Lyres in the Daunian Stelae stelae could represent both men and women, we could then also interpret these figures as men.
2.5. Inv. N. 1438. Stele with ornaments (49 x 36 x 5cm). Museo Nazionale Garganico, Manfredonia32
2.1. Inv. N. 1008. Stele with ornaments. (46 x 36 x 5cm.) Museo Nazionale Garganico, Manfredonia25
One of the most beautiful and better-preserved examples of ornamented stelae, it shows two different lyre player scenes (figs.5).
This stele depicts a musical scene with a lyre player in the middle surrounded by six characters wearing knee-length tunics (fig.1). Two of the characters display conical caps, usually seen as men, but as we have already discussed, these figures could also be women, maybe of higher status than the braided figures. The lyre player, the protagonist of the scene, is holding the instrument with his left hand while preparing to play with the right hand. This round base chordophone displays six strings and a remarkably big sound box. The lyre is a big round base chordophone that displays six strings and looks very similar to the Karatepe examples (fig.11) and also to a Cretan Geometric bronze figure of a lyre player from Herakleion (8th century B.C.).26
The first one (fig.5b), on the top, depicts a lyre player wearing tunic and belt and playing a large lyre (a round base U-shaped lyre with long arms, displaying four strings). Four figures with conical caps follow the musician. They also wear tunics but no belts. All the figures present bird-like beaks. This procession is facing another procession of women, with the typical long braid or tail ending in circles. But this time the vases are difficult to see, as three large birds are flying over them. In the second scene (fig.5a), occupying half of the central frieze, we find again a lyre player (a long armed U-shaped round base lyre with 4 or 5 strings) wearing tunic and belt. He is facing two of these female characters who are looking at each other while carrying offering vases on their heads.
2.2. Inv. N. 1207. Stele with ornaments. (91 x 41 x 9cm). Museo Nazionale Garganico, Manfredonia27 This stone stele shows a lyre player wearing a long tunic and facing a processional offering of six women with vases on their heads (fig.2). The musical instrument is very interesting, as it is the only iconographical example of a flat base lyre in such western territories. It also displays between four and six strings. The size is again relatively large considering the body of the lyre player. An interesting parallel is on a relief from28 (fig. 10, 8th century B.C.), and two more from a funerary stelae in Marash,29 another Syro-Hititte city.
2.6. Inv. N. 1431. Stele with ornaments. (103 x 46 x 9cm) Museo Nazionale Garganico, Manfredonia33 A lyre player, wearing tunic and belt, is facing again a procession of female figures with the typical long braids, and probably offering vases that they carry on their heads (fig.6). It is a strange depiction, even if the scene is codified and repeats other examples, as this round base U-shape lyre with long arms display only three strings. The colours are preserved and we can see that the lyre was painted red.
2.3. Inv. N. 0809. Stele with ornaments. (59.5 x 30 x 4.5cm). Museo Nazionale Garganico, Manfredonia30
2.7. Inv. N. 0642. Stele with ornaments. (47 x 34.5 x 9.4cm) Museo Nazionale Garganico, Manfredonia34
This stele shows a musical scene that is framed in the middle, as an assertion of its importance (fig.3). It displays a lyre player wearing tunic and belt. He is facing two female characters with long tunics. But the hair ornaments and bird-like faces have close parallels to some lyre player depictions in Greek geometric pottery. They are considerably higher than the player, therefore possibly indicating the young age of the musician, as in other iconographies in the Mediterranean world. It is important to consider this as these lyres were complex instruments that needed to be studied for years before they could be played competently. The appearance of a dog-like animal below the musician is also remarkable.
A lyre player, wearing tunic and belt, is holding a lyre with one hand while preparing the other to play (fig.7). The lyre is again U-shaped with a round base and 4 to 5 strings. The musician seems to be singing with his beak-like mouth open. In this fragment, we can also see four long braided women, carrying vases as offerings. In the lower frieze, the same procession is heading towards a figure sitting on a throne, as in many other oriental depictions. 2.8. Inv. N. 1114. Stele with ornaments (27 x 16 x 5cm). Museo Nazionale Garganico, Manfredonia
2.4. Inv. N. 0714. Stele with ornaments. (55.8 x 34 x 5.5cm). Museo Nazionale Garganico, Manfredonia31
This fragment depicts a lyre player holding a huge lyre, which has a round sound box and five strings. The shape is slightly asymmetrical, but the general bad quality of the decoration does not permit us to go into detail. He is facing two figures with long braids and tunics, this time showing no offerings.
Again, a lyre player is wearing tunic and belt, facing a procession of six women with vase offerings on their heads (fig.4). This chordophone is quite different as it has a round base and just four strings. The long arms and U-shaped body is very close to the Greek Geometric phorminx that is depicted in Late Geometric pottery.
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
2.9. Inv. N. 0564. Fragment (26.5 x 20.5 x 5.5cm). Stele with ornaments. Museo Nazionale Garganico, Manfredonia35 This is a small fragment of a round base lyre with six strings. It is probably again the same type of scene with the lyre player followed this time by a procession of figures with tunics.
Nava 1988, 20 fig. 3. Wegner 1968: Tafel U I-a. Nava 1988, 62 fig.74. Luschan 1911, IV 355-356. Bonatz 2000, 18 C21 (Taf. XII). Nava 1988, 93 fig. 122. Nava 1988, 127 fig.158.
32 33 34 35
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Nava 1988, 135 fig.167. Nava 1988, 184 fig. 199. Nava 1980, 130 n° 565B Tav. CLVIII. Nava 1980, 124 n° 513B Tav. CXLIII.
SOMA 2011 Nevertheless, only two of the stelae displaying musical scenes belong to stelae with weapons (masculine), even if the lyre player is always a male. Furthermore, these two scenes differ from the highly codified ones depicted in ornamented stelae, and their composition varies significantly.
These iconographical scenes are highly codified but the lyres have different typologies. The coexistence in the repertoire of a flat base rectangular chordophone, connected with the SyroAnatolian and eastern lyres, and round base chordophones, connected with the Aegean area, appears particularly interesting and could place the instruments of the Daunian culture in a privileged position as an example of the cultural interconnections in the Mediterranean during this period, as in the case of the Lyre player seals.
2.10. Stele with arms from Teanum Apulum (Tratturo Mezzana); 34 x 36 x 7cm. Foggia museo civico36 This stele displays a rich decoration with animal motifs (fig.8). Fish and a small deer surround the lyre player holding an enormous round base chordophone with 7 strings. Perhaps it represents the musician´s power over the animals, as an early depiction of the Orphean myth. Facing him, but in a further corner of the stele, are two female figures, again with long tunics and braids with circle decorations. One of them seems to be carrying a heavy object, which could be an offering. The animal on the top and the two that appear on the reverse of the stele seem to be mythological animals with mammal bodies and bird heads, such as griffins. This could mean that the stele is narrating a mythological scene.
3. How do we understand these musical scenes? The first interpretation of the musical scenes was seen through an hellenocentric prism. Silvio Ferri understood stelae iconography as the representation of anti-Homeric or anti-Greek traditions of the Trojan War.43 The Daunians, of possible Thracian origin, would have fought on the side of the Trojans against the Achaeans. Therefore the lyre player scenes were interpreted as the Rescue of Hector, from the 24th book of the Iliad. The musician was believed to be Achilles and the figure facing him Priam, imploring him to release the body of Hector. When women were portrayed facing the lyre player, it was read as a different tradition of the story, that of Priam´s wife, Hecuba, the one entering Achilles´s tent. Every image was read following this interpretation, and the conical-capped figures understood as Trojans with Hittite helmets (forgetting that the stelae also had heads, the first part broken, wearing these pointed caps). Such interpretations are diverting enough but this hellenocentric view can be questioned, especially considering the number of other important lyre representations known from the Mediterranean. The lyre was a very important cultic, religious and social object during this time, and its meaning cannot be confined to the Homeric narrative.
2.11. Inv. N. 0810. Stele with arms (52.5 x 53.5 x 7.5cm). Museo Nazionale Garganico, Manfredonia37 This complex stele depicts different scenes (fig.9). The musical scene with a lyre player is particularly interesting as it is the only example where the musician is sitting on a throne in a very oriental fashion. Facing him, another figure seems to be holding a vase with his left hand, probably an offering or libation. His right hand seems to be moving, maybe signifying that the character is singing or dancing. But the most important feature is the bird that flies over the scene. We identified a very similar scene in a relief in Zincirli38 (fig.10). Similar to the Daunian example, a bird is flying over them. This time a lute player is facing a figure that has the same hand position, also suggesting a singing or dancing performance. In the Karatepe relief (fig.11), we can also see a very similar object that looks like the one depicted in the Daunian scene. This object was probably a libation vase, similar to the one found in a funerary context at Tell Halaf.39
There are possible alternatives of interpretation. Are the depictions a reflection of actual musical behaviour? Or are they just mythological references, or images of the afterlife? Even if the actual use of the lyres among the Daunians is difficult to proof, it seems obvious that the instrument had an important symbolic meaning also linked with other contemporary musical behaviour and conceptions from all over the Mediterranean. The presence of animals within musical scenes is also significant. Birds in particular seem to be an essential part of the cosmogony. These birds are connected with lyres in several scenes as a Mediterranean attribute of music and musicians.44 Some scholars have also pointed out to what extent the bird-like beaks of the human figures could be a sign of the important role of birds as their totemic animals, closely connected with the coastal habitat where they lived.45 Birds were usually presented as magical creatures that united the worlds of the living and the dead, and often associated with music, within an hierophany of sound.
The relationship between birds and lyre players is very common in iconographies from the third millennium B.C., and continues over centuries. In the Minoan Pylos fresco (13th century B.C.), a seated lyre player appears together with a bird of a large size.40 From Crete there is a musician playing a round base lyre among flying birds depicted on the Khania pyxis.41 The birds could be interpreted as type of divine epiphany and could give a religious meaning to the scene.42 The round base chordophone presents an unusual shape. Even if it is difficult to interpret, it seems that it intentionally depicts an asymmetrical arm as on some eastern lyres. It has between 6 and 7 strings. The musician, wearing a long tunic, is holding the instrument with his left hand, while playing with his right hand.
These musical scenes also permit some considerations on music and gender. The armed stelae reproduce a warrior, displaying hunting scenes and different martial activities. But the ornamented stelae are not connected with the typical female economic activities, but with a ritual and religious world. These scenes depict a rich iconographical universe full of animals, mythological creatures and women, perhaps as priestess figures with apotropaic and
Nava 1988, 192 fig. 206. Nava 1988, 86 fig. 112. 38 Luschan 1902, III, 220 fig. 119. 39 Winter 1979, 119. 40 Aign 1963:80 no. V/1 and Wegner 1968: cat. 136. 41 Younger 1998:117, Plate 14-1. 42 For the relationship between birds and lyre players, see Carter 1995, 292-300; Li Castro-Scardina (forthcoming). 36 37
43 44 45
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Ferri: 1962; Nava 1988:185; Serrichio, C:2006: 183-186. Carter 1995, 292-300; Li Castro-Scardina (forthcoming). Leone 1996.
Raquel Jiménez Pasalodos, Placido Scardina: Lyres in the Daunian Stelae magical attributes, such as kymbaloi46 and opium capsules.47 In fact the round base lyre is a gendered instrument in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in Mediterranean depictions: it is always played by male figures in iconographies, or, in the case of the Iberian Peninsula, displayed on masculine stelae connected with warriors48. The importance of the lyre, a male instrument associated with divinities, warriors, kings or priest, appearing in ornamented stelae (and as we have seen attributed to women), could give us some hints about the symbolic conceptions of these people and the public role of men and women in their society. While the lyre player was a man, high status women undertook the rest of the performance. The scenes could then be ritual or sanctuary scenes, where a priestess performed a ritual together with the lyre player. Music and probably trance, induced through the consumption of opium and other psychoactive substances, were the privileged language of communication with the invoked divinities. This connection between trance, music and beliefs in a highly codified ritual could represent an important religious and social event for the Daunians.
the scenes displayed on the armed stelae), and the manifestation of a particular cult based on these ideas. Since the dawn of civilization music has been a privileged language for initiates and others to communicate with supernatural elements. As in the Orphean myth, it also represented powers that could dominate the world and the afterlife through a magical language. The lyre player scenes on the Daunian stelae are thus an excellent example of such cultural behaviour connected with musical practices in different Mediterranean societies during these times. Bibliography Aign, B. 1963, Die Geschichte der Musikinstrumente des ägäischen Raumes bis um 700 vor Christus. Frankfurt: Dissertatin J.W. Goethe-Universität. Boardman, J. 1990. “The Lyre Player Group of Seals: An encore”, Archäologischer Anzeiger, Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 1-17. Boardman, J., Buchner G. 1966. “Seals from Ischia and the Lyre-player group”, Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 81, 1-62. Bonatz 2000, Das syro-hethitische GrabdenkmalUntersuchungen zur Entstehung einer neuen Bildgattung in der Eisenzeit im nordsyrisch-südostanatolischen Raum, Mainz: Philip von Zabern. Braun, J. 2002. Music in Ancient Israel/Palestine. Archaelogical, Written, and Comparative Sources. Grand Rapids, Michigan/ Cambridge, U.K. William. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Carter, J. 1995. “Ancestor Cult and the Occasion of Homeric Performance”, in Carter J. and Morris S., eds., The Ages of Homer (University of Texas Press), 285-312. Celestino Pérez, S. 2001. Estelas de guerrero y Estelas diademadas, La precolonizacion y formación del mundo tartésico. Barcelona, Bellaterra. Dentzer, J. M. 1982. Le motif du banquet couché dans le ProcheOrient et le monde grec du VII au IV siècle a. C., Roma. D´Ercoli, M.C. 2008 “La Daunia nel quadro del commercio adriatico arcaico” in Volpe, G., Strazzulla M. J. e Leone D., eds. 2008. Storia e archeologia della daunia. In ricordo di Marina Mazzei. Atti delle Giornate di studio (Foggia 19-21 maggio 2005). Bari, 103-132. 95-102 Ferri, S. 1962, “Stele “daunie”. Un nuovo capitolo di archeologia protostorica”, Bollettino d’Arte, n. 1/2, 103-114. Ferri, S. 1963a. Stele daunie II, Bollettino d’Arte, n. 1/2, 5-17. Ferri, S. 1963b. Stele daunie III, Bollettino d’Arte, n. 3, 197-206. Ferri, S. 1964. Stele daunie IV, Bollettino d’Arte, n. 1, 1-13. Ferri, S. 1965. Stele daunie V, Bollettino d’Arte, n. 3/4, 147-152. Ferri, S. 1966. Stele daunie VI, Bollettino d’Arte, n. 3/4V, 121132. Ferri, S. 1967. Stele daunie VII, Bollettino d’Arte, n. 4, 209-221. Franklin, J.C. 2006a. “Lyre Gods of the Bronze Age musical Koine”, Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions, 6. 2, 3970. Franklin, J.C. 2006b. “The wisdom of the lyre: Soundings in Ancient Greece, Cyprus and the Near East”, in Hickmann, E., Both, A.A. and Eichmann, R. (eds.). Studien zur Musikarchäologie V. Orient-Archäologie 20. Rahden, Leidorf, 379-397. Franklin, J.C. 2007. “A Feast of Music: The greco-lydian musical movement on the Assyrian periphery”, in Collins, B. J./ Bachvarova, M./ Rutherford, I. (eds.), Anatolian Interfaces: Hittites, Greeks and Their Neighbors in Ancient Anatolia, Oxbow, 193-203. Jiménez Pasalodos, R. 2009. “Arqueología Musical y etnomusicología. Por una interpretación etnomusicológica
If the steale had a funerary aim, the scenes could also indicate the participation of the deceased while alive in this kind of religious ceremony, demonstrating the important sacred role they had in life and probably linked to a high social status, as can be deduced by clothes and ornaments. The offerings of vases and animals could also be linked to religious or funerary symposiums. Performative contexts, where lyres are connected to offerings, banquets and very ritualized ceremonies, appear from the 3rd millennium B.C. in the Near East. In the Mediterranean world we have depictions of men with long tunics playing round base lyres in religious processions accompanying women with offerings, as with the example from Hagia Triada, Crete, from the 15th century B.C.49 We also find symposium and offering scenes with lyres from the 13th century B.C. in Phoenician contexts. For example the Meggido Ivory Tablet50 is contextually very interesting, even if in this example a woman is playing a flat base lyre, probably due to the obvious Egyptian influence of the piece. In Anatolia these kinds of musical contexts are also common, i.e. the good example from Karatepe and in the banquet scenes of the Lyre Player seals. Meanwhile, lyres were also associated with the most relevant social events in Semitic sources. They appeared in connection with the kings, and in the Old Testament they are related to cult, mourning, healing and prophecy.51 Therefore, we can place these stelae inside the notion of a musical koine,52 developed during the Bronze Age, that shared a certain number of symbolic meanings about music and especially about lyres. During this period lyre players were linked to demigods, priests or sovereigns in the Mediterranean area and the Near East. The lyre was a magical instrument used in various ritual practices, such as divination, foundation of cities, religious ceremonies, banquets and funerary rites. It is also important to consider that it is precisely during the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age that some myths related to lyre gods, heroes and kings such as Apollo, Orpheus or Kyniras start to circulate widely.53 As such the lyre player scenes could also be a representation of these mythological characters (in the case of 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53
Ferri, 1965: 148. Leone 2007: 71. Jiménez Pasalodos (forthcoming). Aign 1963: 43 II/10 fig. 14 and 44f II/11 fig. 15. Braun 2002: 94-97. Braun 2002: 146. Franklin 2006a, 2006b and 2007. Franklin 2006a, 2006b and 2007.
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SOMA 2011 Nava, M. L. 1980. Stele Daunie I. Il Museo di Manfredonia. Firenze, Sansoni. Nava, M. L. 1988. Le stele della Daunia. Sculture antropomorfe della Puglia protostorica. Dalle scoperte di Silvio Ferri agli studi più recenti. Milano, Electa. Nettl, B. 2005. The Study of Ethnomusicology. Thirty-one Issues and Concepts. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. Poncy H., Casabonne O., Vos J. D., Egetmeyer M., Lebrun R., Lemaire A. 2001. “Sceaux du Musee d’Adana, Groupe du “Joueur de lyre” (VIIIe siècle av. J.-C) ”, Anatolia Antiqua 9, 9–37. Porada, E. 1956. “A Lyre Player from Tarsus and his Relations”, in S.S. Weinberg (ed.), The Aegean and the Near East. Studies Presented to Hetty Goldman, Locust Valley, NY, 185–211. Scardina, P. 2010. “I sigilli del Lyre Player Group: tracce di archeologia musicale tra l’Etruria e il Mediterraneo orientale”, in Carrese M., Li Castro E., Martinelli M. (eds.), Atti del convegno internazionale “La Musica in Etruria”, Tarquinia, 67-78. Serricchio, C. 2006. “Le Stele Daunie e la tradizione antiomerica della Guerra di Troia”, La Capitanata, n.19, Biblioteca Provinciale di Foggia, 183-187. Verger, S. 2008 “Notes sur les vêtements féminins complexes figurés sur les stêles dauniennes” in Volpe, G., Strazzulla M. J. e Leone D., eds. 2008. Storia e archeologia della daunia. In ricordo di Marina Mazzei. Atti delle Giornate di studio (Foggia 19-21 maggio 2005). Bari, 103-132. Wegner, M. 1949. Das Musikleben der Griechen. Martin de Gruyter. Berlin. Wegner, M. 1968 Musik und Tanz. Archaeologia Homerica. Vandernhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen. West, Martin L. 1992. Ancient Greek Music. Oxford University Press. Winter, I. 1979. “On the Problems of Karatepe: The Reliefs and their Context”, Anatolian Studies 29, 115–151. Younger, J. G. 1998. Music in Aegean Bronze Age. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology and Literature. Jonsered, Paul Åströms Förlag.
de los materiales arqueológicos”. Etnofolk, revista de Etnomusicología, 14-15, 637-655. Jiménez Pasalodos, R. and García Benito, C. “La música enterrada: Historiografía y Metodología de la Arqueología Musical”. Cuadernos de Etnomusicología de la SIBE. Forthcoming. Jiménez Pasalodos, R. “The lyres of the Far West: Chordophones in the Bronze Age Warrior Stelae in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula” in Eichmann R. and Koch, L. (ed). Studies in Music Archaeology VIII. (Forthcoming). Robb, J. 2000 “Female beauty and Male violence in Early Italian society” in Koloski-Ostrow, O. and Lyons C.L. Naked Truths, women, sexuality and gender in classical art and archaeology. Routledge, New York. 43-64. Lawergren, B. 1993. “Lyres in the West (Italy, Greece) and East (Egypt, the near East), ca. 2000 to 400 B.C.”, Opuscula Romana xix: 6, Stockholm, 55-75. Lawergren, B. 1998. “Distinctions among Canaanite, Philistine and Israelite Lyres, and their Global Lyrical Contexts”, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 309, 41-68. Li Castro, E., Scardina P. “The double curve enigma”, Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography. (forthcoming) Leone, M.L. 2007. “Stele Daunie: semata funerary o statue votive. Archeo-botanica sacra del papaver somniferum”. Ipogei Quaderni. Ipogei, quaderni dell’IISS “S. Staffa” di Trinitapoli, n.1, 67-76. Leone, M.L. 1995. “Oppio. «Papaver Somniferum», la pianta sacra ai Dauni delle stele”, Bollettino Centro Camuno Studi Preistorici, vol. 28, 57-68. Leone, M.L. 1995-96. “Ancora sulle “Stele daunie”, La Capitanata, n° 22-23, Biblioteca Provinciale di Foggia, 141170. Luschan, F. von. 1902. Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli III, Königliche Museen zu Berlin, Mitteilungen aus den Orientalischen Sammlungen, Heft XIV, Berlin Luschan, F. von. 1911. Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli IV, Königliche Museen zu Berlin, Mitteilungen aus den Orientalischen Sammlungen, Heft XIV, Berlin.
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Raquel Jiménez Pasalodos, Placido Scardina: Lyres in the Daunian Stelae
Fig. 1: Stele with lyre player (detail), after Nava 1988, fig. 3.
Fig. 2: Stele with lyre player (detail), after Nava 1988, fig. 74.
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Fig. 3: Stele with lyre player (detail), after Nava 1988, fig. 122.
Fig. 4: Stele with lyre player (detail), after Nava 1988, fig. 158.
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Raquel Jiménez Pasalodos, Placido Scardina: Lyres in the Daunian Stelae
Fig. 5a: Stele with lyre player (detail), after Nava 1988, fig. 167.
Fig. 5b: Stele with lyre player (detail), after Nava 1988, fig. 167.
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Fig. 6: Stele with lyre player (detail), after Nava 1988, fig. 199.
Fig. 7: Stele with lyre player (detail), after Nava 1980, Tav. CLVIII.
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Raquel Jiménez Pasalodos, Placido Scardina: Lyres in the Daunian Stelae
Fig. 8: Stele with lyre player (detail), after Nava 1988, fig. 206.
Fig. 9: Stele with lyre player (detail), after Nava 1988, fig. 112.
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Fig. 10: Relief from Zincirli with lute player, after Luschan 1902, fig. 119.
Fig. 11: Relief from Karatepe, after Çambel 2003, fig. 142.
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Raquel Jiménez Pasalodos, Placido Scardina: Lyres in the Daunian Stelae
Fig. 12a: Scene from an Attic Geometric khantaros. After Wegner 1968, Tafel U VI-b.
Fig. 12b: Scene from a Beotian Geometric krater. After Wegner 1968, Tafel U III-b.
Fig. 14: Lyre Player Group Seals from Necropolis of the Banditaccia (Cerveteri), 2 x 1.6cm; after Scardina 2010, fig.6.
Fig. 13: Luna Stelae (Photograph: Museo de Zaragoza).
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Sicily An Analytical Study of Neolithic Combustion Structures in the Province of Messina Francesca Cannizzaro
Collaboratrice esterna del Parco Archeologico delle Isole Eolie, delle aree archeologiche di Milazzo, Patti e comuni limitrofi - Assessorato Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana
Maria Clara Martinelli
Parco Archeologico delle Isole Eolie, delle aree archeologiche di Milazzo, Patti e comuni limitrofi - Assessorato Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana
and constituted by limestone, sandstones and metamorphic rocks. The pit was filled to the sides creating an anomaly in the clay soil that was well distinguishable on the surface. The stones and the pebbles were compacted and shattered from exposure to great heat. The few recovered materials were assembled in the superficial levels of the fill: five ceramic fragments belonging to a single open form, many hulls of shells and marine bivalve mollusks, some obsidian splinters and blades.
This paper refers to the discovery of a prehistoric site on the northern side of Sicily, facing the Tyrrhenian Sea. The find was made in 2007/8 during the construction of a pipeline at Grangiara (Messina) (Fig. 1). The area of investigation measured 11 x 30m2 and corresponds to a terrace on the southern side of the Peloritani Mountains, about 125m.a.s.l. The geomorphology of the region is constituted by steep reliefs in which marly limestones alternate with clay layers; the ancient river systems often flow in torrents.
In the inferior filling, below the stones, charred plant remains were present: it was possible to distinguish a wooden fragment transversally prepared, another one against the wall and other fragments on the bottom, mixed to a few small stones and ash.
The excavation of the site has shown the following stratigraphy: • superficial humus; • a layer disturbed by agricultural activity that has returned pottery of Roman, Hellenistic and Prehistoric eras (US 1); • a clayey matrix layer characterized by ceramic fragments of “ceramica d’impasto” and obsidian tools. The fragments are reminiscent in form and decoration to the MalpassoChiusazza phase, corresponding to the final phase of the Sicilian Copper Age (UUSS 2-20); • a similar layer in colour and composition to the preceding one and characterized by the remains of some structures connected to the Middle Neolithic (Classical Stentinello phase) (US 5); • a burnt layer almost entirely devoid of archaeological remains (US 11); • a sterile matrix layer of clayey, grayish colour (US 21).
Northeast of pit A, at a distance of about 1.15m, another pit was found denoted by the letter B (fig. 5), whose dimensions were of 1.17m for the major axis, 0.95m for the minor axis and a depth of 0.70m. This pit had a circular, conical opening, sloping walls and flat irregular base. The walls had a clay coating of yellowish colour to a thickness of 0.12m. Unlike pit A, this structure had, at the top, a filling of dark, siltclay matrix, mixed with small coals and a few stones; the fill gradually increased with pottery fragments, plaster with imprints of reeds, shells and obsidian splinters. In the inferior part of the pit the walls showed traces of redness. On the bottom were found large coals fragments mixed with ash.
Some in situ structures were found at a depth of about 1.60m below the layer characterized by the Eneolithic material (US 2). The structures represented three pits of different sizes that were full of stones, pebbles and other archaeological remains, as indicated in the plan by the letters A, B and C (fig. 2, 4).
A third pit, indicated by the letter C (fig. 6), was found to the southeast of pit A. It was of smaller dimensions (major axis 0.70m, minor axis 0.45m, depth 0.20m) with a circular opening, concave profile, irregular walls and base. Unlike the adjoining structures, it did not contain a wall coating nor were there traces of thermal alteration, although at the bottom of the cavity, under a small concentration of stones and pebbles (US 10), two pieces of carbon were found, respectively 0.20m and 0.30m in length.
Structure A was a pit dug in the paleosol (US 5) with an opening of elliptic form (major axis of 1.10m; minor axis 0.90m; depth 0.68m), with a conical shape, sloping walls and concave base. The walls were characterized by a coating of yellowish clay 0.11m in thickness. The filling of the structure (US 6) consisted of stones and pebbles of various dimensions collected locally
Near the structures there were three concentrations of stones and pebbles interpreted as intended for combustion in the pits. The one (US 7) to the northwest of pit A also revealed fragments of “ceramica d’impasto” and some obsidian fragments. Another (US 9) near the same pit contained a concentration of small pebbles in circular form.
The structures
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SOMA 2011 The structures were completely removed but a mould was made of pit B (pit A was not intact as 3 wall samples had been taken earlier for archaeometrical analysis1).
pebbles of various sizes is then laid to modulate the heat and avoid direct contact with the fire. The ash and charred black soil at the base are the result of this combustion process which occurs in a reducing atmosphere.
Materials
There are not many similar structures in Sicily pertaining to sites of this period. A group of five was found at the Neolithic site of Piano Vento (Agrigento).6 These are also characterized by wall coatings and a fill of carbonized soil, but they differ in being of smaller dimensions (from 0.8 to 0.22m deep and from 0.18 to 0.28m deep) and are interpreted as having a ritual function.
Further confirmation of the hypothesis that this site belongs to a settlement is given by the fragments of pottery found during the investigation of the structures and around them. Three impasto types have been identified:
A structure classified as a hearth and dated to the Final Neolithic has been investigated in the Ragusa area.7 We know that this was composed of a lens of stones with a diameter of about 2m, with smaller stones arranged in the centre and larger ones set around to form a raised edge. The interior was full of ash but actual fire was set outside of the lithic assemblage.
• Coarse: characteristic of open forms of medium- and largesized vessels usually used for cooking, storage (olle), and for eating and drinking (orcioli). The decorated fragments have impressions from fingernails, linear incisions, and applied small clay ‘buttons’; • Medium: used for open forms designed for storage, eating and drinking (bowls and cups). The decorative techniques include impressions from fingernails, punching and incisions; • Fine: a few fragments only and with faint red-banded decoration (fig. 8).
Two structures closer to ours from a geographical point of view, but more distant chronologically in that they are attributable to the Eneolithic (Piano Conte’s phase), are pits A and D at Camaro,8 a remnant of the city of Messina on the Ionian coast, the fill of which was composed of fragments of pottery, animal bones, stones, coals and lithics. In pit D some whole pots were found. These features have been linked to hearths, implying depositions of food offerings, as is also suggested by the context, characterized by the presence of two types of small Cycladictype idols.9
These decorations are present at many sites in Sicily belonging to the Middle Neolithic (Stentinello phase). The motifs are often considered typical of the coarser forms, but in our case we also found them on the medium-coarse samples (fig.7). Particularly interesting was the find of colour used in association with impressed decoration. These are rare from Sicilian contexts of this stratigraphic nature (see Piano Vento (Agrigento), level 2).2 In the Aeolian Islands such associations have been found in the material coming from the Neolithic hut at Rinicedda (Salina).3
The Italian peninsular has some examples of structures at Neolithic sites that might assist with comparisons. Similar combustion pits are found at Puglia at Torre Sabea (Lecce).10 Here were found 13 circular pits similar in size to ours as regards the openings, but not as deep (0.20m approx.); four of these showed some redness on their walls and burnt stones were found inside. gerry
The lithics consists largely of obsidian splinters and blades and rare pieces of flint. Worked stone remains include pestles and hammers.
In the site of Trasano11, in Basilicata, in addition to the pits that contain stones and coals, at least one cavity contains also pottery and fragments of plaster like the pit B of Grangiara.
Chronology Three carbon samples from pit A have been taken for archaeometrical analysis.4 The radiocarbon dates set the Grangiara site between 6750 and the 6000 BP, which corresponds to the Middle Neolithic of Sicily. These results put the site in a timeframe very close to the settlements of Piano Vento and San Marco of Paternò (Catania)5 and they are in accord with the contexts of southern Calabria (‘classical Stentinelliano’) (fig. 9).
Another structure of combustion in pit is attested in the settlement of Balsignano12: a subcircular pit lined of stones, with in relief edge and coating clay. In the area of Lucera13, at Ripa Tetta, various typologies of structures of combustion are attested among which a circular pit lined with clay, with flat bottom of the diameter of 1 m, these last ones interpreted as ovens for cooking food or pottery. The concentration of all the structures in the same area led to suggest the existence of a separated zone from the houses that is dedicated to specific working activities.
Structures of combustion: comparisons and discussion The structures discovered at Grangiara belong to a wide category of combustion structures frequently attested in prehistoric contexts throughout the Italian peninsula: their interpretations are not always clear and often made more difficult by the fact that use can change over time.
Sometimes these structures can be of notable dimensions such as those investigated in the site of Catignano14 in the province of Pescara: here the pits have sub-rectangular form and a length that it reaches the 5-6 m, but with a maximum depth of 0,30 m. Even
The internal stratigraphy has a similar composition: it is formed by medium-sized logs set on the bottom of the pit to create a longer and lasting source of heat; a covering of stones and
6 7 8
The analysis is being carried out by Italo Muntoni. 2 Castellana 1986: 17-19 (in this case the bands are black). 3 Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1995: 30-74. 4 The radiocarbon dates were analyzed by CEDAD, University of Salento. 5 Maniscalco 1997-8: 131-40. 1
9 10 11 12 13 14
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Castellana 1986: 17-19 Di Stefano 1983: 99-118. Bacci and Martinelli 1999: 169-81. Bacci 1997. Grifoni 1996: 207, Tav. 25a; Radi 2002°: 652-3. Radi 2002b: 697, fig. 2-3. Radina and Sarti 2002. Grifoni 1996. Tozzi and Zamagni 2003.
Francesca Cannizzaro, Maria Clara Martinelli: An Analytical Study in this case the structures have been interpreted as ovens used for cooking food.
Similar structures have also been sights in North America and they were in use among the native Americans. In particular, the groups of hunter-gatherers used some hearths in pit to cook a type of wild root that needed a long slow cooking for becoming edible19.
The same interpretation has been given for the pits of combustion investigated in the province of Piacenza at S. Andrea di Travo15, where the structures of combustion are concentrated in a separated area from the dwelling, like at Ripa Tetta.
Ovens buried in the sand are today still in use by Bedouin of the Middle-East of Mediterranean, like Jordan and Syria (“zarb”): here the pit is lined of flat stones that are made red hot over a fire lit inside, then, after removing ash and coals, they put to cook the food (usually meat) covering all with a blanket in vegetable fibers and earth20.
In the Tuscan site of Mileto16 (Florence) two different typologies are found associated: the pits 1 and 2 belong to a type characterized by small (the maximum length is of 2,10 ms and the depth the 0,35 ms it doesn’t overcome) dimensions. The 3 has notable (rectangular form, 4,10 x 1,20 ms;) dimensions but smaller depth of the others (only 0,20 m). The chemical and physical analysis performed on the coating of the pit 3 and on his filling it have noticed that the cooking temperature inside them didn’t exceed 750° - 800° C and that the lithological types used also preserve for a longer time the heat in comparison to others types present in the area.
Conclusions For a correct interpretation of the structures described in this article it’s necessary to make a distinction between a primary and a secondary use, which represent the archaeological evidence on the ground.
It has been suggested the hypothesis that they used them as ovens for baking pottery for the presence of accumulations of “concotto” on their edges, that it has made to think about the rests of a coverage. The presence of “concotto” united to the absence of organic remains would exclude the cooking food.
For the pits A and B and its filling, we can suppose a primary use as a structure of combustion for indirect cooking of foods: the presence in the upper filling of obsidian splinters and pottery fragments which doesn’t show traces of fire, lead us to hypothesize for it a secondary use as landfill or a place to accumulate stones for their reuse.
Outside of the Italy, a structure characterized by a coating of clay very similar to ours has been discovered at Issoire17, in southern France, although in this case it’s a rectangular pit with walls of the thickness of 3 cm.
The pit C, that is characterized by the reduced dimensions and by the absence of redness on the walls despite the presence of the coals on its bottom; it was probably a small hearth prepared for a temporary use, perhaps by taking already red-hot coals and stones when one or both of two structures were in use.
Two French Neolithic settlements situated in the valley of the Garonna constitute an interesting comparison: Saint-Michel-duTours and Villeneuve-Tolosane18. The peculiarity of these two sites is the high number of structures concentrated in the same area: about 200 on an area of 3000 m2 for both the sites. Initially considered as bottoms of huts, the pits have been interpreted by Vaquer as structures of combustion used to cook food for common meals.
It is also probable that these pits had been used few times or only once, because if they had been used many times, out of them a great deal of coals and stones it would have been found coming from their cleaning for a eventual reuse. Instead no traces have been found in the investigated area. The excavation has intercepted only outdoor structures, but these elements are part of a domestic settlement that certainly included some residences, as it could be testified by the presence of the fragments of plaster inside the pit B.
Ethnography We propose some comparisons of these structures that are generally defined as “Polynesian ovens”, from three different environments.
Bibliography
This denomination derives from descriptions by European explorers of XVIII and XIX century about the ovens used by the native populations of the Oceania to cook many types of foods and from which it follows that the typology of the ovens depends on the type of food to be cooked. From sources we know besides that the oven had to have an impermeable coverage and that a key role in the firing process of cooking was performed by the steam developed by the evaporation of the fluids that are present in banana leaves in which the foods have been wrapped. The duration of the cooking lasted for hours and depended on the dimensions of the oven, whose use, for those of great dimensions, was intended to provide common meals at parties or religious rites.
15 16 17 18
Bacci, G. M. (1997), Due idoletti di tipo egeo-cicladico da Camaro Sant’Anna presso Messina, in Tusa, S. (ed), Prima Sicilia: alle origini della società siciliana, Palermo.pagine Bacci, G. M. and M. C. Martinelli (1999), L’insediamento neoeneolitico di Camaro, in Bacci, M.G. and G. Tigano (eds), Da Zankle a Messina. Un percorso archeologico attraverso gli scavi, Palermo, 1, 169-81. Bernabò Brea, L. and M. Cavalier (1995), La capanna neolitica di Rinicedda, in Bernabò Brea, L. and M. Cavalier (eds), Meligunìs Lipàra VIII. Salina. Ricerche archeologiche (19891993), Palermo, 30-74. Bernabò Brea, M., D. Castagna and S. Occhi (2000), Le strutture dell’abitato del neolitico superiore a S. Andrea di Travo (Piacenza), in Pessina, A. and G. Muscio (eds), La neolitizzazione tra oriente e occidente. Atti del Convegno di Studi. Udine, 23-24 aprile 1999, Udine, 257-67.
Bernabò Brea et al.2000: 257-67. Sarti et al.1993: 17-32. Surmely 2003: 80-4. Vaquer 2003: 24-7.
19 20
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Thoms 2003: 87-96. Senepart 2003: 238.
SOMA 2011 impresse nel neolitico antico: Italia e Mediterraneo, Roma, 183-207. Sarti, L., F. Martini and P. Pallecchi (1993), Fosse di combustione neolitiche: problemi di interpretazione, in Atti 13° Convegno Nazionale Preistoria-Protostoria Storia della Daunia. Tavola Rotonda “Strutture d’abitato e ambiente nel Neolitico Italiano”. S. Severo, 22-23-24 novembre 1991, II,17-32. Sénépart, I. (2003), Les structures empierrés du Baratin (Courthézon, Vaucluse, France) : bilan descriptif, in FrèreSautot, M.-C. (ed), Le feu domestique et ses structures au Néolithique et aux Ages des métaux, Actes du colloque de Bourg-en-Bresse et Beaune, 7 et 8 octobre 2000, 231-43. Surmely, F. (2003), Les fours «polynésiens» en Auvergne (France): bilan des connaissances in Frère-Sautot, M.-C. (ed), Le feu domestique et ses structures au Néolithique et aux Ages des métaux, Actes du colloque de Bourg-en-Bresse et Beaune, 7 et 8 octobre 2000, 77-86. Thoms, A. V. (2003), Cook-Stone Technology in North-America: Evolutionary Changes in Domestic Fire Structures during the Holocene, in Frère-Sautot, M.-C. (ed), Le feu domestique et ses structures au Néolithique et aux Ages des métaux, Actes du colloque de Bourg-en-Bresse et Beaune, 7 et 8 octobre 2000, 87-96. Tozzi, C. and B. Zamagni (2003), Gli scavi nel villaggio neolitico di Catignano (1971-1980), Origines, Firenze. Vaquer, J., J.-P. Giraud, S. Bazalgues and M. Gandelin (2003), Les structures à pierres chauffées du Néolithique dans le sud-ouest de la France, in Frère-Sautot, M.-C. (ed), Le feu domestique et ses structures au Néolithique et aux Ages des métaux, Actes du colloque de Bourg-en-Bresse et Beaune, 7 et 8 octobre 2000, 21-35.
Cannizzaro, F. and M.C. Martinelli (2008), Testimonianze della facies di Malpasso sul versante tirrenico della provincia di Messina nella località Grangiara (com. di Spadafora), XLIII Riunione Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, L’età del rame in Italia, Bologna 26 -29 novembre 2008. Castellana, G. (1986), Il villaggio neolitico di Piano Vento nel territorio di Palma di Montechiaro. Rapporto preliminare, in Atti della Seconda Giornata di Studi sull’archeologia licatese e della zona della bassa valle dell’Himera, Licata, 19 gennaio 1985, Agrigento – Licata, 9-67. Di Stefano, G. (1983), Il villaggio neolitico di Pirrone sul Dirillo (Ragusa). Prime indagini e saggi preliminari, Sicilia Archeologica XVI, 52-53, 99-118. Grifoni, R. (1996), Torre Sabea, Trasano, Ripa Tetta, Santo Stefano in Tinè, V. (ed), Forme e tempi della neolitizzazione in Italia meridionale e in Sicilia, Atti del seminario. Rossano Calabro 1994, Genova, 207-13. Maniscalco, M. (1997-8), Ricerche nel territorio di Paternò: il villaggio preistorico di S. Marco, Kokalos XLIII-XLIV, II-I, 131-40. Radi, G. (2002a) Torre Sabea, in Fugazzola Delpino, M. A., A. Pessina and V. Tinè (eds), Le ceramiche impresse nel neolitico antico: Italia e Mediterraneo, Roma, 651-8. Radi, G. ( 2002b), Trasano, in Fugazzola Delpino, M. A., A. Pessina and V. Tinè (eds), Le ceramiche impresse nel neolitico antico: Italia e Mediterraneo, Roma, 695-705. Radina, F. (1996), Balsignano, in Tinè, V. (ed), Forme e tempi della neolitizzazione in Italia meridionale e in Sicilia, Atti del seminario. Rossano Calabro 1994, Genova, 225-7. Radina, F. and L. Sarti (2002), Le strutture di abitato, in Fugazzola Delpino, M. A., A. Pessina and V. Tinè eds), Le ceramiche
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Francesca Cannizzaro, Maria Clara Martinelli: An Analytical Study
Fig. 1: Map of Sicily
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Fig. 2: Plan of the excavation
Fig. 3: Sections: pits A and B 180
Francesca Cannizzaro, Maria Clara Martinelli: An Analytical Study
Fig. 4: The structures
Fig. 5: Pit B and the stones on the bottom 181
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Fig. 6: Pit C
Fig. 7: Fragments of pottery with impressed decoration (Stentinello phase) 182
Francesca Cannizzaro, Maria Clara Martinelli: An Analytical Study
Fig. 8: Fragments of figulina with red bands settlements in Sicily and Calabria. Analyses of the Grangiara site by CEDAD, University of Salento
Site Uzzo (Tp) Grangiara (Me)
Fig. 9: Table of radiocarbon dates of Neolithic Age BP ±
Cal.
Sample
Context
6750 ± 70 6380 ± 50
5670-5570 5480-5290
coal coal
Tr. F, 7-9 Pit A (US 6)
6054 ± 50
5080-4790
coal
6372 ± 50
5480-5290
coal
S. Marco di Paternò (Ct) Piano Vento (Ag) Umbro (Rc)
6335 ± 92
5440-5050
coal
95/96
6130 ± 90 6750 ± 50
5260-4840 ?
coal ?
A10, IV ?
Curinga (Cz) Bevilacqua (Cz)
6620± 60 6710 ± 80 6430 90
5670-5500 5440-5280
5950 ± 100
4970-4710
? “cooking element” bone
5450 ± 60
4350-4240
coal
5410 ± 80
4350-4220 4200-4150 4110-4100
coal
Capo Alfiere (Kr)
183
? ? IA IIB IIC
Material Culture and People. Some Methodological Remarks on the Study of Aeolian Middle Bronze Age Settlement Contexts Gianmarco Alberti
Department of History and Preservation of the Cultural Heritage, University of Udine
from the available documentation, different types of chamber tombs, not to mention funerary assemblages made up of different kind of items, and also incorporating imported goods (from Mycenaean Greece, Cyprus, Malta), all seems to speak about the existence of strategies of display of status (Van Wijngaarden 2002: 229-36; Militello 2004: 305-14; Vianello 2005: 70-3; Alberti 2006: 373-421; Tanasi 2008: 75-80) (Fig. 3 A-B)
Introduction The aim of this article is to discuss some methodological issues relative to the analysis of the social organization of the Aeolian Middle Bronze Age (hereafter MBA) communities (ThapsosMilazzese period) (Fig. 1). The latter topic is the object of this author’s current doctoral research program.
In south-central Sicily, along the way to western Sicily and Sardinia, another MBA settlement, Cannatello, stands out. Flourishing in an area that witnessed the development of trade in sulphur during the EBA period (as documented at Monte Grande: Castellana 1998), Cannatello and its surrounding area are featured by evidences of imports from Mycenaean Greece, Cyprus, and Sardinia (De Miro 1999; Day 2005). Funerary contexts lying in nearby sites have yielded sparse evidence pertinent to the presence of local elites, like ceramic imports from the Aegean area and bronze artefacts (basins and daggers) seem to suggest (La Rosa 2000) (Fig. 3 C).
The article is made up of three parts. First, I will describe some features of the Sicilian Middle Bronze Age; a backdrop of the archaeological correlates of social complexity will be sketched out. Secondly, I will discuss what aspects of the Aeolian evidence have been evaluated in earlier works, and to what extent these studies have been able to shed light on the social organization of the Aeolian MBA communities. Finally, and more importantly, I will describe the aims and tools of my ongoing research, and some methodological remarks will be presented and discussed. Before entering the core of this paper, I would like to express my sincere thanks to a number of scholars and researchers who have been providing support, each in different ways, during my research: in alphabetical order, Arch Michele Benfari, Dr Maria Clara Martinelli, Dr Annunziata Ollà, Prof Umberto Spigo, who provided help as far as the access to the published materials stored in the Aeolian Archaeological Museum “L. Bernabò Brea” (Lipari) is concerned. I wish to also express my sincere thanks to Prof Elisabetta Borgna, my PhD supervisor. Last but not least, thanks are due to the personnel of the aforementioned Museum.
If the mainland Sicilian documentation argues in favour of the existence of outstanding sites, involved in wide-ranging Mediterranean trade, where forms of social ranking and display of status are likely to have existed, one may wonder what the situation was in the north-eastern fringe of Sicily, namely the Aeolian Archipelago, during the same time period. Aeolian MBA settlement evidences The main Aeolian MBA villages are those laying at Montagnola di Capo Graziano (Filicudi), Lipari (Acropoli), Punta Milazzese (Panarea), and Portella (Salina) (Fig. 4 A-D).
Sicilian archaeological evidence and forms of social complexity It is common opinion that Sicilian MBA (1450-1250 BC) (chronology: Jung 2005, 2006; Alberti 2007; 2008a; 2011) was an important period in the perspective of both local cultural sequence and Mediterranean connections. In spite of the disparities in the available documentation and even though key sites like Thapsos and Cannatello remains still unpublished, the available literature on MBA-related issues is wide. Today, it seems that there is consensus about the existence of forms of social complexities in MBA contexts or, more exactly, in some of the main settlements of this period (Fig. 2)
All were objects of excavations lead by L. Bernabò Brea and M. Cavalier mainly between the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s of the past century, and were published in different points in time (Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1968; 1980; 1991). These researches contributed to the definition of the features of the MBA culture developing on the Aeolian archipelago, and to shed light on the material culture of these island communities. More recently, MC Martinelli has led new excavations at Portella (Martinelli 2005). The excavations provided an insight into the assemblages used by people during their daily tasks (Fig. 5 A-B).
At Thapsos, the very presence of forms of social ranking is evidenced by the disparities in architectural layout, spatial organization, and (perhaps) ceramic assemblages, that feature different sectors of the residential quarter (Voza 1985; Doonan 2001: 173-81; Militello 2004: 314-22 Tomasello 2004: 195213; Alberti 2006: 401-22; Tanasi 2008). Remarkably, sparse evidences of metalworking activities are also documented (Alberti 2006, 2007, 2008b; Tanasi 2009; all also with earlier references). In a similar vein, disparities can be detected in Thapsos’ funerary contexts. Judging from what can be inferred
Ceramic assemblages, made up of local grey hand-made vessels, went hand in hand with artefacts of foreign provenance: pots of Aegean and Apennine types were found inside the huts. Toolkits made up of stone mortars, pestles, grinding stones, hearth, and textile-related objects (spindle whorls) were found as well. Huge local ceramic containers witnessed the storage activities performed on those sites, while open pedestalled vessels, decorated jugs, and other ceramic vessels, were witnesses of local practices related to consumption activities. Metal working
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activities are documented by moulds in local limestone and by some bronze spalls. These researches allowed to get an insight into the domestic architecture as well.
In my opinion, addressing the aforementioned questions means to adopt a bottom-up perspective, aimed to understand the way(s) in which material culture was used in daily practices, with different aims, in different situations, and in different social settings (Hodder and Hutson 2003). This, in turn, implies that we have to focus on a complex body of evidences, in a perspective in which the archaeological documentation is to be analysed as a whole, by taking into account both material culture and its spatial correlates, both local artefacts and imported ones. The starting point of this kind of analysis is the study of the material culture patterning at the site level, at that micro-scale resolution that features household archaeology and its subsequent developments (Netting, Wilk, et al. 1984; Steadman 1996; Souvatsi 2008; Wilson 2008). The study of the onsite distribution and associations of artefacts, of their complex occurrence and co-occurrence, of the quantity and quality, and of the spatial settings and correlates, represents in my opinion the basis for any subsequent level of analysis aimed to backtrack forms of social organisation from the empirical evidence (Wason 1994).
Milazzese social organisation: state of the research, unanswered questions, and the need to reframe the research questions Thanks to Bernabò Brea, Cavalier, and Martinelli’s researches, a huge amount of data have been brought to light and made available to scholars dealing with different issues linked to the Aeolian documentation. In fact, works that take into account the Milazzese settlements have been published in various points in time. To limit my self to a selection of the more recent ones, they have been faced with the issues of the Aegean imports (Smith 1987, Van Wijngaarden 2002, Alberti and Bettelli 2005, Vianello 2005; Jung 2006; Blake 2008), of the imports from mainland Italy (Macchiarola 1987, 1995; Di Gennaro 1997), of the domestic architecture (Doonan 2001, Albore Livadie et al. 2003, Martinelli 2005), of the chronological development of the local ceramic repertoire (Alberti 2008a), of the marks on the Milazzese ceramic vessels (Marazzi 1997a, Martinelli 2005). Other studies, in a more general perspective, have taken into account the Aeolian Archipelago within the framework(s) of the intercultural Mediterranean links during the Bronze Age (Bietti Sestieri 1988, 2003, 2005; Kilian 1990; Marazzi 1997b, 2003; Tusa 2000; La Rosa 2002; Militello 2004, 2005).
In the remainder of this article, I will present and discuss some of the analytical strategies used in my current research. First, I will provide some information on the data on which my study is based; secondly, some aspects of my analysis of the Milazzese settlement at Lipari will be discussed.
What about the social features of the Aeolian communities during the MBA? Leaving aside the views of the scholars about the role of the Aeolian Islands in the movements of people and goods along the Mediterranean, one may wonder what light has been so far shed on the way(s) in which life was organised in the Milazzese settlements.
The Data For the purposes of my research, the published documentation of the MBA Aeolian settlements underwent a multi-level classification. Among other things, a functional one was developed in order to be used as heuristic tool (Adams and Adams 1991; Read 2007) with the aim to recognize specific activity areas (Kent 1987, 1990). At the same time, a relational database (which I hope to make available on-line in the future from my personal web-site: http://xoomer.alice.it/gianmarco.alberti) was built in Microsoft Access environment.
Acknowledging the fact that the earlier studies are of utmost importance in the framework of the understanding of many facets of the period under discussion, in my opinion, specific questions related to specific facets of the Milazzese social organisation have remained somewhat unanswered so far. Besides, the opinions of scholars do differ with respect to some aspects of the Aeolian MBA communities. For example, Kilian (1990) maintained that a kind of domestic economy featured the Milazzese domestic contexts at Panarea, while Bietti Sestieri (1988), in her seminal article, spoke in favour of a growing economic organisation, basing her judgement on the evidence of the pot-marks on Milazzese vessels. On the other hand, Marazzi’s (1997a) analysis (based on the evidence of pot-marks found on ceramic artefacts from Lipari) seems to suggest that these marks were not related to practices of centralised storing. As for the integration of foreign ceramic vessels in local contexts, Van Wijngaarden (2002) proposed rather contrasting views as to whether or not special social strata had privileged access to specific Aegean imports, whereas Vianello (2005) seemed to suggest that no evidence of social differentiation can be pinpointed in the available documentation.
The aim of this database is multi-fold. It allows to record every single artefact (local or not) or feature occurring in every single archaeological context (huts, annexes, open areas). It was developed in order to also provide the possibility to record the vertical provenance as well as the finding spots. The former feature provides the important possibility to select (during the analytical process), among hundreds of entries, only those ones that come from reliable layers. In essence, the database turns out to be an invaluable tool not just to storage and sort data, but, more importantly, to select data according to the reliability of their finding contexts and, ultimately, to reconstruct the artefact inventories of each context being studied. Just to provide a minimum of quantitative information about the database, the sheer number of the registered items is equal to 2.043 units, corresponding to a total of 1.813 quantifiable objects. Further details are provided in Fig. 6.
In my opinion, in order to understand Milazzese material culture in a social perspective, it could be useful to reframe the research questions that constitute the guidelines for the analysis of the archaeological evidence. Some of those questions could be put as follows: what kind of social organisation did feature those villages? In what way material culture was used during daily tasks? How material culture was used in social relations? Did any aim exist to use it as marker of social boundaries? Did social
As previously stressed, this corpus is organised into a multilevel classification, like the one based on the type of material in which objects are made, or on the basis of various functional classes. Leaving aside the problem of the quantification, that represents an important aspect of the analysis, also the ceramic inventory (comprising both local and non local artefacts) has been subject of a multilevel classification compatible with the ones devised
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Gianmarco Alberti: Material Culture and People by Bietti Sestieri, Cazzella, et al. 2002 and by Martinelli, Baroni, et al. 2002. In this case as well, the reconstruction of the functional aspects of the ceramic types being analysed bears a strong importance from an analytical standpoint.
The analysis allows to isolate different trends of variation in the data (Fig. 7 A). On the basis of the presence of different proportions of artefacts, the analysis succeeds in pinpointing two groups of contexts, here labelled A and B. As you can see from the histograms, these two groups are featured by the presence of different artefacts. The groups share some of them, while other items have a higher frequency in one group and not in the other (Fig. 7 B). As a case in point, let’s see for example the frequency of local storage vessels, split up between long term (pithoi) and short term (olle, Italian word for jars). It is evident that they occur with higher frequency in one of the two groups. By the same token, the analysis seems to suggest that the two groups also differ in proportion of ceramic vessels (both local and non-local) functional to eat and drink: see, for example, the different proportion in pouring (brocche, Italian word for jugs) and eating vessels (coppe su alto piede=pedestalled cups). Interestingly, leaving aside the occurrence of sherds not closely identifiable as far as typology is concerned (see, e.g., cup/kylix?, jug/jar?), it seems that the two groups also differ in proportion of Aegean open drinking vessels (cup/mug).
Analysis of Lipari MBA settlement: methodological remarks and preliminary interpretations In the last part of this paper, I will take into account the documentation of the MBA settlement unearthed by Bernabò Brea and Cavalier on the Acropolis of Lipari (Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1980). It must be stressed from the outset that the study of the material culture from this site is faced with difficulties, due to the intricacy of the stratification, whose time-span stretches thousands of years, with buildings of different cultural horizons superimposed on one another. The analytical approach that I am going to discuss is meant to address the issue that represents the starting point of any inquiry into the organisation of a prehistoric community. To put it in a nutshell, the basic question is: does any pattern exist in the material culture at that site? To answer this question means to develop analytical tools allowing to identify pattern in complex data; this, in turn, relies on a series of preliminary steps, that are the very ones previously mentioned, like the functional classification of the artefacts and the scrutiny of the stratification.
Discussion and Conclusions From a general perspective, and bearing in mind that we have dealt here with just an handful of analytical outcomes, it seems that there is ground to test the hypothesis that different functions were performed in different sectors of the village. In fact, the analysis shows that different proportions of artefacts feature different clusters of contexts. If the analysis of the quantitative aspects of the evidence is coupled by the analysis of the qualitative and functional ones, some interesting patterns seem to emerge.
Thanks to the aforementioned relational database, I am in the position to retrieve information about each archaeological context (hut, open area, space between huts), to filter the information on the basis, for example, of specific finding spots, or on the basis of the type of strata we are interested in. Ultimately, we are in position to reconstruct assemblages of artefacts that could be related to the tasks performed in each context in the past.
Some of the functions performed in a number of contexts seem likely to have been linked to forms of commensality, possibly featured by shared consumption of beverages and food. This analytical evidence could be further explored in a more general perspective aimed to pinpoint at the site-level traces of socially relevant activities. It is well know, in fact, how food and beverage sharing was important in social contexts, and were integral parts of various kinds of social strategies in different social settings (Dietler and Hayden 2001).
It is obvious, but it is important to stress it nevertheless, that in situation like Lipari the intricacy of the stratification imposes caution in any interpretation of the on-floor assemblages. But, the very selection of the artefacts on the basis of the finding strata allows to reasonably reduce the biases the are likely to have been caused by post-depositional processes (Schiffer 1987). The process of data retrieving and selection enable to build a two-way data-matrix, representing the distribution of artefacts across contexts. To analyse data like this, I choose Correspondence Analysis as the appropriate analytical tool in an exploratory perspective (Greenacre 2007). The choice rests on a host of reasons, including the capability to operate on two-way data matrices, and the possibility to isolate underlying factors responsible for data variability. In essence, the capability of CA to highlight patterns in data fits the archaeological needs of exploring complex data in search for material culture patterning (Shennan 1997: 308-40; Drennan 2010: 263-64).
It must be added that taking into account only the onsite distribution and association of artefacts would possibly capture only part of the complexity of past behaviours. It is common opinion in anthropological/archaeological theory that artefacts and bounded spaces are not two separate domains: artefacts were used in spaces, and spaces enclosed activities performed with artefacts (Kent 1990; Rapoport 1990; for an archaeological application of these theoretical premises, see e.g. Fischer 2009). As consequence, a next level of the inquiry will be the study of the relation between material culture patterning and its spatial dimensions. That is, seeking to explore the existence of relations between cluster of artefacts and contexts that bear peculiar features (as far as layout, or dimension, or other qualitative/ quantitative aspects are concerned).
In commenting the analysis performed on the data from Lipari, I will not go in deep into details. In particular, I will not discuss the important statistics usually accompanying CA results’ discussion, since I wish to keep this article as more accessible to a general audience as possible. I will limit myself to provide only general information about a number of relevant archaeological aspects. These are (it is worth recalling) object of this author’s current study and, consequently, are meant to be only preliminary in nature and bound to be further developed and improved in the near future.
What preliminarily showed so far is meant to convey the idea that, among several dimensions of complexity, different patterns seems to be identifiable in the available documentation, once data have been systematically classified, cross-checked, crossanalysed and explored.
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SOMA 2011 Bernabò Brea, L. and M. Cavalier, 1968, Meligunìs Lipàra. Vol. III. Stazioni preistoriche delle isole Panarea, Salina e Stromboli (Palermo). Bernabò Brea, L. and M. Cavalier, 1980, Meligunìs Lipàra IV: L’acropoli di Lipari nella preistoria (Palermo). Bernabò Brea, L. and M. Cavalier, 1991, Meligunìs Lipàra VI: Filicudi. Insediamenti dell’età del bronzo (Palermo). Bietti Sestieri, A.M., 1988, “The Mycenaean connection and its impact on the central Mediterranean societies”, Dialoghi di Archaeologia 6, pp. 23-51. Bietti Sestieri, A.M., 2003, “Un modello per l’interazione fra oriente e occidente mediterranei nel secondo millennio A.C.: il ruolo delle grandi isole” in AA.VV. Le comunità della preistoria italiana. Studi e ricerche sul neolitico e le età dei metalli, Atti della XXXV Riunione Scientifica Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, (Firenze), pp. 557-586. Bietti Sestieri, A.M., 2005, “Il sito di Portella di Salina: una situazione locale nel quadro dei collegamenti fra oriente ed occidente mediterranei nel II millennio a.C.” in M.C. Martinelli Il villaggio dell’età del Bronzo medio di Portella a Salina nelle Isole Eolie (Firenze), pp. 311-320. Bietti Sestieri, A.M., Cazzella, A., Baroni, I., Minniti, C. and G. Recchia, 2002, “L’Italia centromeridionale e le isole Eolie durante l’età del Bronzo e del Ferro: aspetti metodologici” in C. Peretto (ed.) Analisi informatizzata e trattamento dati delle strutture di abitato di età preistorica e protostorica in Italia, (Firenze), pp. 321-336. Blake, M., 2008, “The Mycenaeans in Italy: a minimalist position”, Papers of the British School at Rome 76, pp. 1-34. Castellana G., 1998, Il santuario castellucciano di Monte Grande e l’approvvigionamento dello zolfo nel Mediterraneo nell’età del bronzo (Agrigento). Day, P., 2005, “Coarseware Stirrup Jars from Cannatello, Sicily: New Evidence from Petro-graphic Analysis”, Studi Micenei ed Egeo Anatolici 45, pp. 309-314. De Miro, E., 1999, “Un emporio miceneo sulla costa sud della Sicilia” in V. La Rosa, D. Palermo, L. Vagnetti (eds.) Epì Ponton Plazomenoi, Atti Simposio italiano di Studi Egei dedicato a Luigi Bernabò Brea e Giovanni Pugliese Carratelli, (Roma), pp. 439-449. Dietler, M. and B. Hayden (eds.), 2001, Feasts. Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on Food, Politics, and Power (Washington-London). Di Gennaro, F., 1997, “Collegamenti tra Eolie e coste tirreniche nell’età del bronzo” in S. Tusa (ed.) Prima Sicilia. Alle origini della società siciliana, (Palermo), pp. 421-428. Doonan, O. 2001, “Domestic Architecture and Settlement Planning in Early and Middle Bronze Age Sicily”, Journal on Mediterranean Archaeology 14, pp. 159-188. Drennan, R.D., 2010, Statistics for Archaeologists. A Common Sense Approach (New York). Fisher, K.D., 2009, “Placing social interaction: An integrative approach to analyzing past built environments”, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 28, pp. 439-457. Greenacre, M., 2007, Correspondence Analysis in Practice (Boca Raton). Hodder, I. and S. Hutson, 2003, Reading the Past. Current Approaches to Interpretation in Archaeology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Jung, R., 2005, “Pote? Quando? Wann? Quand? When? Traslating Italo-Aegean synchronisms” in R. Laffineur, E. Greco, L. Godart, M. Marazzi, A. Sacconi (eds.) Emporia. Aegeans in Central and Eastern Mediterranean, Proceedings of 10th International Aegean Conference, Aegaeum 25, (Eupen), pp. 473-484.
From a methodological standpoint, I would like to underscore the need to reframe the research questions we have in mind when approaching Aeolian MBA contexts. A bottom-up perspective, rooted in a household-level analysis, could lead to better explore the ways in which relations were created and maintained within Aeolian MBA communities. Also, it is tempting to advocate an integrated approach, aimed to explore the relations between different kinds of documentary evidences, and the need of a study that takes into account the whole material culture. In my opinion, these are the basic premises for inferring forms of prehistoric social organisation from the empirical evidence. Last but not least, I would like to stress the importance of the choice of an appropriate analytical tool, capable to deal with complex set of data and to highlight patterns of variation. Of course, any pattern that the analysis succeeds to pinpoint is to be set against the backdrop of general theoretical models allowing to make sense of them in social and, generally speaking, human perspective. The aforementioned importance of food and beverage sharing in ancient societies is a case in point. The latter endeavour is the more complex and challenging aspect of my current research, and in the future I will be pleased to provide scholars with a more complete (and, I hope, interesting) picture of the achievements of this study. Bibliography Adams, W.Y and E.W. Adams, 1991, Archaeological typology and practical reality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Alberti,G., 2006, “Per una gerarchia sociale a Thapsos: analisi contestuale delle evidenze funerarie e segni di stratificazione”, Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche LVI, pp. 369-428. Alberti, G., 2007, “Minima Thapsiana. Riflessioni sulla cronologia dell’abitato di Thapsos”, Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche LVII, pp. 363-376. Alberti, G., 2008a, La ceramica eoliana della facies del Milazzese. Studio crono-tipologico e culturale sulla base dei dati editi da Filicudi, Lipari, Panarea e Salina, BAR-S 1767 (Oxford). Alberti, G., 2008b, “There is something Cypriot in the air. Some thoughts on the problem of the Base Ring pottery and other Cypriot items from (local) Middle Bronze Age contexts in Sicily” in A. McCarthy (ed.) Island dialogues. Proceedings of the Postgraduate Cypriot Archaeology Conference (POCA) 2006, (Edinburgh), pp. 130-153. Alberti, G., 2011, “Radiocarbon evidence from the Middle Bronze Age settlement at Portella (Aeolian Islands, Italy): chronological and archaeological implications”, Radiocarbon 53(1), pp. 1-12. Alberti, L. and M. Bettelli, 2005, “Contextual problems of Mycenaean pottery in Italy” in R. Laffineur, E. Greco, L. Godart, M. Marazzi, A. Sacconi (eds.) Emporia. Aegeans in Central and Eastern Mediterranean, Proceedings of 10th International Aegean Conference, Aegaeum 25, (Eupen), pp. 547-559 Albore Livadie, A., Cazzella, A., Marzocchella, M. and M. Pacciarelli, 2003, “La struttura degli abitati del Bronzo Antico e Medio nelle Eolie e nell’Italia Meridionale” in AA.VV. Le comunità della preistoria italiana. Studi e ricerche sul neolitico e le età dei metalli, Atti della XXXV Riunione Scientifica Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, (Firenze), pp. 113-238.
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Gianmarco Alberti: Material Culture and People M. Marazzi, A. Sacconi (eds.) Emporia. Aegeans in Central and Eastern Mediterranean, Proceedings of 10th International Aegean Conference, Aegaeum 25, (Eupen), pp. 585-597 Netting, C., Wilk, R.R. and E.J. Arnould (eds.), 1984, Households. Comparative and Historical Studies of the Domestic Group (Berkley-Los Angeles-London). Rapoport, A., 1990, “Systems of Activities and Systems of Settings” in S. Kent (ed.) Domestic architecture and the use of space. An interdisciplinary cross-cultural study (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), pp. 9-20. Read, D.W., 2007, Artifact classification. A conceptual and methodological approach (Walnut Creek). Schiffer, M.B., 1987, Formation Processes of the Archaeological Record (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press). Shennan, S., 1997, Quantifying Archaeology (Edinburgh). Smith, T.R., 1987, Mycenaean Trade and Interaction in the West Central Mediterranean 1600-1000 B.C., BAR-IS 371 (Oxford). Souvatzi, S.G., 2008, A Social Archaeology of Households in Neolithic Greece (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) Steadman, R.S., 1996, “Recent Research in the Archaeology of Architecture: Beyond the Foundations”, Journal of Anthropological Research 4(1), pp. 51-93. Tanasi, D., 2008, La Sicilia e l’arcipelago maltese nell’eta del Bronzo Medio (Palermo). Tanasi, D., 2009, “Vasellame metallico in Sicilia e nell’Arcipelago maltese nella seconda metà del II millennio a.C. Forme egee per pratiche religiose indigene”, Orizzonti X, pp. 11-27. Tusa, S., 2000, “La società siciliana e il contatto con il Mediterraneo centro orientale dal II millennio a.C. agli inizi del primo millennio a.C.”, Sicilia Archeologica 33, pp. 9-39. Tomasello, F., 2004, “L’architettura micenea nel siracusano. to-ko-do-mo a-pe-o o de-me-o-te ?” in V. La Rosa (ed.) Le presenze micenee nel territorio siracusano, (Padova), pp. 187-215 Van Wijngaarden, G.J., 2002, Use and Appreciation of Mycenaean pottery in the Levant, Cyprus and Italy (ca. 1600-1200 BC) (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press). Vianello, A., 2005, Late Bronze Age Mycenaean and Italic Products in the West Mediterranean. A social and economic analysis, BAR-S 1439 (Oxford). Voza, G., 1985, “I contatti precoloniali col mondo greco” in G. Pugliese Caratelli (ed.) SIKANIE. Storia e civiltà della Sicilia greca, (Milano), pp. 543-562. Wason, P.K., 1994, The Archaeology of Rank (Cambridge). Wilson, G.D, 2008, The Archaeology of Everyday Life at Early Moundville (Tuscaloosa).
Jung, R., 2006, CRONOLOGIA COMPARATA. Vergleichende Chronologie von Südgriechenland und Süditalien von ca. 1700/1600 bis 1000 v. u. Z., (Wien). Kent, S. (ed.), 1987, Method and Theory for Activity Area Research. An Ethnoarchaeological Approach (New York). Kent, S. (ed.), 1990, Domestic architecture and the use of space. An interdisciplinary cross-cultural study (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Kilian, K., 1990, “Mycenaean colonization: norm and variety” in J. Descoeudres (ed.) Greek colonists and native populations, Proceedings of the first Australian Congress of Classical Archaeology held in honour of Emeritus Professor A. D. Trendall, (Oxford: Clarendon Press), pp. 445-467. La Rosa, V., 2000, “Riconsiderazioni sulla media e tarda età del bronzo nella media valle del Platani”, Quaderni di Archeologia Università di Messina 1(1), pp. 125-138. La Rosa, V., 2002, “Isole Eolie crocevia del Mediterraneo occidentale: omaggio a Luigi Bernabò Brea” in M. Cavalier, M. Bernabò Brea (eds.) In memoria di Luigi Bernabò Brea, (Palermo), pp. 29-43. Macchiarola, I., 1987, La ceramica appenninica decorata (Roma). Macchiarola, I., 1995, “La facies Appenninica” in D. Cocchi Genik (ed.) Aspetti culturali della media età del bronzo nell’Italia centro-meridionale, (Firenze: Octavo), pp. 441463. Marazzi, M., 1997a, “Le scritture eoliane: i segni grafici sulle ceramiche” in S. Tusa (ed.) Prima Sicilia. Alle origini della società siciliana, (Palermo), pp. 459-471. Marazzi, M., 1997b, “I contatti transmarini nella preistoria siciliana” in S. Tusa (ed.) Prima Sicilia. Alle origini della società siciliana, (Palermo), pp. 365-374. Marazzi, M., 2003, “The Mycenaeans in the Western Mediterranean (17th-13th c. BC)” in N.C. Stampolidis (ed.) Sea Routes. Interconnections in the Mediterranean 16th - 6th c. BC, (Athens), pp. 110-115. Martinelli, M.C., 2005, Il villaggio dell’età del Bronzo medio di Portella a Salina nelle Isole Eolie (Firenze). Martinelli, M.C., Baroni, I., Lopes, L., Minniti, C. and G. Recchia, “Salina (Isole Eolie): la Portella, analisi funzionale delle strutture L e P” in C. Peretto (ed.) Analisi informatizzata e trattamento dati delle strutture di abitato di età preistorica e protostorica in Italia, (Firenze), pp. 377-388. Militello, P., 2004, “Commercianti, Architetti ed Artigiani: riflessioni sulla presenza micenea nell’area iblea” in V. La Rosa (ed.) Le presenze micenee nel territorio siracusano, (Padova), pp. 295-336. Militello, P., 2005, “Mycenaean Palaces and Western Trade: a problematic relationship” in R. Laffineur, E. Greco, L. Godart,
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Fig.1 Sicilian Bronze Age chronological chart (after Alberti 2011)
Fig. 2 Mediterranean basin, Sicily, and Aeolian Islands, with indication of the MBA sites quoted in the text (after Google Earthtm modified)
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Fig. 3 A) Thapsos-culture artefacts: two pedestalled vessels from the residential quarter (top row, left); bronze tool, basin, dagger, discs (weights?), pendants and whorls (top row, right); two imported Aegean pots (middle row, left); one Maltese pedestalled vessel (middle row, centre); three local pots with engraved decoration (middle row, right) (after Alberti 2008b modified, with further references therein); local jug and its Aegean prototype (bottom row, left); two local bowls and their Cypriot prototypes (bottom row, right). Fig. 3 B) Thapsos site on the Magnisi peninsula: northern and southern (central) residential quarter; plan and section of a Thapsos-type tholos-like chamber tomb (after Alberti 2008b modified, with further references therein). C-MBA evidence from south-central Sicily: Cannatello settlement plan; Cypriot and Aegean ceramic imports from Cannatello; bronze basins from south-central Sicilian area (top two from Caldare, middle one from Milena, bottom one from Capreria) (after Alberti 2008b modified, with further references therein). Not to scale.
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Fig. 4 Aeolian MBA settlement plans: A) Montagnola di Capo Graziano at Filicudi; B) Acropoli at Lipari (village’s central sector); C) Punta Milazzese at Panarea; D) Portella at Salina (A after Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1991; B after Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1980; C after Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1968; D after Martinelli 2005; all modified).
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Fig. 5 Milazzese material culture: A) Aegean imports (pots and jewellery); B) local long-term storage container (left); local pedestalled vessel and jug with engraved decoration (bottom row, centre and right); imported Apennine cup with engraved decoration (top row); local limestone mould (middle row, right) (after Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1968, 1980, modified; not to scale).
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Fig. 6 Functional classification of the artefacts (local and imported) from MBA settlement at the Acropoli of Lipari. Numbers indicate the objects’ frequencies calculated as Minimum Number of Individuals. For this reason, the total is smaller than the total of the database entries.
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Fig. 7 A) Scatterplot of the Correspondence Analysis (CA) performed on the data from Lipari. B) histograms showing the different frequencies of some Milazzese artefacts between the two groups of contexts (A-B) pinpointed by CA. For the translation of the Italian terms indicating Milazzese ceramic types, see the text.
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Oversea Lithic Exchanges Between the Aeolian Islands and Malta from an Inland Perspective: Preliminary Data from a Late Neolithic Site in Licodia Eubea, Catania Sicily Damiano Bracchitta
Master of Philosophy, University of Malta
of Licodia’s industries. The most represented raw material (with 91.6%) is local vitreous flint in all its variants. 6.6% is represented by obsidian and the balance by flakes of quartzite and jasper (Fig. 3). As regards the flint items it worth emphasizing that flakes and debitage amount to 62.6% with dimension patterns that can be briefly observed on the scatter plot (Fig. 4); 25.4% are blades (retouched and unretouched) and formalized tools as unimarginal scrapers; 11.9% comprises cobbles, cores (multiand unidirectional) and elements of cores reduction.
The Late Neolithic Site in Licodia Eubea The recent discovery of a prehistoric settlement rich in stone tools, cores and debitage in Licodia Eubea (Catania) opens the path to a more detailed understanding of production and diffusion mechanisms behind the Sicilian lithic industries, thanks to a massive archaeological record dated back to Late Neolithic, unique amongst the contemporary sites in eastern Sicily for it includes more than 8000 flint artefacts and approximately 700 obsidians (Fig. 1).
Among the more formalized flint items prevail blades and bladelets as well, most of which are not retouched. The bulb of force on proximal end is often removed by bending or microburin technique. The finished tools present simple and unimarginal retouch. Very rare, at the moment, are abrupt and flat retouches. Most of obsidian is represented by smaller bladelets and flakes, but the premature stage of the research does not currently allow us to deal with a more detailed technologic account.
The village is situated on a high and protected location above the “Formazione Amerillo”, the oldest geological core of Monti Iblei, in order to exploit smooth grained flint outcrops and reduce the effort in terms of time and energy in supplying raw materials (Fig. 2). Furthermore, the great amount of obsidian imported from Lipari, as XRF analysis suggests, together with other imported ‘commodities’ such as Serra d’Alto pottery or greenstone, yields evidence of its connection with a medium- or long-distance network which involved Aeolian Islands, eastern Sicily, Malta and certainly Calabria and Pantelleria. The counter evidence is the presence of Iblean flint in Lipari and Malta, as stated by many scholars.
Exchange networks in central Mediterranean: on the routes of the obsidian Obsidian trade is one of the most common in prehistoric cultures. The limited number of exploitable obsidian flows makes it possible to determine the chemical characterization using appropriate analytical techniques, according to their chemical content or concentration of particular elements on the base of trace elements. So, for over 40 years obsidian characterization has been the most successful research method on exchange systems in prehistory because it can emphasize on one hand the existence of ramified networks able to transfer items up to 900 km far from their source; and on the other, in conjunction with the development of ‘prestige’ exchange, obsidian characterization raises questions about social complexity and multi-level economic interactions on long-distance trade.
The study of the stone tools, undertaken for a M.Phil/Ph.D research at the University of Malta with the supervision of Prof. Bonanno, is part of a broader archaeological project coordinated by Dr. Palio - Dipartimento dei Processi Formativi, Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione, Università di Catania - with the participation of Prof. Pappalardo and LANDIS - Laboratory of non-destructive analysis - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS), Catania. The research has three aims: A. To complete the typological studies through both technological analyses of the artefacts and specifical studies of debitage, in order to reconstruct the technical knowledge and the cultural choices of the community and enlighten on the entire chaȋne opératoire, from the rough block to the finished flint tools; B. To define the role of the village within Sicily, as a specialized production site of flint and obsidian tools that have been probably traded with the villages of the mainland; C. To define the role of the village in relation to overseas bidirectional networks – to and from Sicily – which actively involved Lipari and Malta.
Provenancing studies undertaken on samples taken from the Italian peninsula and southern France have outlined how obsidian assemblages are geographically constituted. So it comes as no surprise, given its geographical position, that Lipari was the primary source of the obsidian found in Sicily and it played a leading role in supplying also southern Italy. An obsidian network existed from Pantelleria, especially in north Africa and western Sicily, where it appears much less invasive than that from Lipari. Lipari Two are the main varieties of obsidian from Lipari: 1) a pure glass, gray at light transmission and with perfectly conchoidal fractures; 2) a less pure variety with whitish stripes and small globules of pumice, both situated in the north east of the Island. Late Neolithic obsidian workshops were identified at Castellaro
An overview on lithics At this moment the study has taken account of a first batch of artefacts (about 1/10) gathered from a limited area of the excavation, which provides a preliminary insight into the trends
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Vecchio and Contrada Diana. The early Neolithic colonists of Lipari were probably led by the possibility to manage the extraction, the production and trade of this precious material. Obsidian exploitation seems to have reached its pitch in Late Neolithic, during the age of Diana, when are attested the specialized workshops above-mentioned and a broad network which had in Lipari its barycentre.
The first hypothesis is currently not supported by reliable archaeological data, inasmuch as we should expect to find along the Ionian coast of Sicily some settlements with evidence comparable to Calabria’s patterns. The second hypothesis assumes that sailors who came from Lipari would have docked on the north coast of Sicily, after a short stretch of sea travel. Then a spreading land network could have eased the obsidian flow along the Peloritani mountain passes: it can be inferred by the Eneolithic obsidian tools from the site of Castiglione La Marca, close to the Alcantara river, or by the presence of several Late Neolithic villages located along the Simeto, which have provided evidence of obsidian core processing. Within this scheme, the site of Licodia could represent perhaps the terminal of a wide land network and, at the same time, an indirect obsidian supply base for the villages of that area, and likely for overseas regions such as the Maltese archipelago (Fig. 5).
Pantelleria The obsidian from Pantelleria is a peralkaline glass, rich in sodium and iron, greenish on light transmission. Chemical analyses of obsidian tools from Sicily and Malta have shown that the most widely used source is that from Balata dei Turchi, in south-eastern Pantelleria, where were recovered traces of reduction process such as a great amount of flakes and debitage. Hypotheses on a land diffusion model of obsidian artefacts in Sicily Obsidian characterization studies have led scholars to the conception of models as a mean of describing how exchange systems are thought to operate along: 1) the distance from the source; and 2) the quantity of obsidian recovered from a specific number of sites.
If one could suppose a bilateral land traffic of stone products between Lipari and Monti Iblei along the same above-mentioned ways, the interaction area as far as the Maltese archipelago should have been identified almost certainly to the south of Syracuse, as several scholars have suggested, so that Licodia could appear as the main candidate for the role of intermediary between these overseas terminals.
Surveys on the west coast of Calabria have delineated a more complex model which attaches the right importance to the geographic assets of the region. Moreover, the distribution map highlights great differences between distribution and consumption settlements. Distribution settlements are located close to the west coast and show high percentages of obsidian from Lipari (more than 90%) at the Early and Middle Neolithic sites. In addition they are often surrounded by few sites with smaller lithic assemblages. On the contrary, consumption settlements are mainly diffused beyond the Sila mountain range, along the east coast, where the percentages of obsidian decrease drastically.
In conclusion, the elements gathered seem to have taken place in the Late Neolithic ‘koiné’, i.e. the common cultural landscape spread over the central Mediterranean between southern Italy and Malta, as defined by Bernabò Brea. But was raw material exchange functional to the conception of culture as a necessary means of contact? How did Late Neolithic societies conceive and manage traffic at sea? We should gain a more comprehensive knowledge of coeval lithic assemblages from the adjacent areas in order to reconstruct more reliable patterns, but the study of Licodia’s lithic assemblages appears an appropriate starting point.
Sicily presents different patterns on many accounts. Firstly, its geomorphology offers possibilities to settle villages from the coast to inland areas, especially during Late Neolithic, when new economic and occupational strategies such as the increment of sheep-farming or cave dwellings appear. Secondly, with regard to its position at the crossroads of the obsidian routes from Lipari and Pantelleria, and, on the other hand, given the great availability of local raw materials, such as Iblean flint, Sicilian stone tools assemblages present generally smaller percentages of obsidian and greater variability in the supply of local stones, although there is no lack of imported materials. Moreover it is likely that internal, well-organized stone circulation could have operated since the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age.
Bibliography Ammerman, A.J. 1979, ‘A Study of Obsidian Exchange Network in Calabria’, World Archeology 19, pp. 95-110. Bernabò Brea, L. 1987, ‘Il neolitico nelle isole Eolie’, Atti della XXVI Riunione Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze, pp. 351-60. Cavalier, M. 1979, ‘Ricerche preistoriche nell’Arcipelago Eoliano’, in Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche XXXIV, pp. 45135. Iovino M.R., Maniscalco L, Pappalardo G., Pappalardo L., Puglisi D., Rizzo F. and Romano F.P. 2008, ‘Archaeological volcanic Glass from the site of Rocchicella (Sicily, Italy)’, Archaeometry 50, 3, 474-94. La Rosa V., Palio O., Pappalardo G. and Romano F.P., 2006, ‘Analisi delle provenienze di ossidiane dal territorio di Milena (Caltanissetta)’, Atti della XXXIX Riunione Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze, pp. 499-507. Martinelli, M.C. 2001, ‘Analisi delle industrie in selce e in pietra nella contrada Diana a Lipari’, IN: Martinelli, M.C. and Spigo U. eds., Studi di preistoria e protostoria in onore di Luigi Bernabò Brea, Quaderni del Museo Archeologico Regionale Eoliano Luigi Bernabò Brea, I, Messina, pp. 89-112.
A proposal regarding the interaction dynamics of the two obsidian networks has been advanced as they appear at the site of Serra Del Palco - Milena (Caltanissetta), which was placed on a evident dividing line between the two obsidian streams, but the discovery of the Licodia site could help revise in part this view by moving the limit of the network from Pantelleria to the core of eastern Sicily. But how did obsidian reach Licodia? With regard to the obsidian from Lipari we have two possibilities: 1. across the sea along the Ionian coast
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Damiano Bracchitta: Oversea Lithic Exchanges tools, IN: Bonanno, A. and Militello P. eds., Malta in the Hybleans, the Hybleans in Malta. Malta negli Iblei, gli Iblei a Malta, Progetto KASA 2, pp. 81-93. Vella, C. 2008b, Report on the lithic tools of Sicilian origin from the prehistoric site of Skorba, Malta, IN: Bonanno, A. ed., Malta and Sicily: miscellaneous research projects, Progetto KASA 10, pp. 5-50. Williams-Thorpe, O. 1995, ‘Obsidian in the Mediterranean and the Near East: A Provenancing Success Story’, Archaeometry 37, 2, pp. 217-48.
Nicoletti, F. 1997, ‘Il commercio preistorico dell’ossidiana nel mediterraneo e il ruolo di Lipari e Pantelleria nel più antico sistema di interscambio’, IN: Tusa, S. ed., Prima Sicilia, Palermo, pp. 259-69. Palio, O. 2006, ‘L’insediamento tardo-neolitico di via Capuana a Licodia Eubea (CT). Dai Ciclopi agli ecisti. Società e territorio nella Sicilia preistorica e protostorica’, Atti della XLI Riunione Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, San Cipirello (PA), Firenze, in press. Vella, C. 2008a, Emerging aspects of interaction between prehistoric Sicily and Malta from the perspective of lithic
Fig. 1: Licodia Eubea
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Fig. 2: The site of Licodia Eube
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Fig. 3: Quantitative bar chart: data from the area N of the excavation
Fig. 4: Length/Width scatter plot: flint unretouched artefacts
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Fig. 5: Proposal for internal movement pattern and interaction areas
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Decorated Footed Bowls: Type, Distribution and Use Valeria Grasso, Carla Maria Caterina Cirino Independent archaeologist
The facies of Malpasso-Piano Quartara, so called after the names of the first two find sites, corresponds to the Late Copper Age (c. 2700-2200 B.C.) and is spread uniformly throughout Sicily: the typical ceramic of this facies is easily recognizable by its red monochrome surface.
Rocca Aquilia (it is unclear whether the fragment is part of a footed bowl or from a so-called ‘grooved clay tablets’); Pietrarossa; Grangiara; Venetico; Chiusazza cave.
This contribution intends to present a first study of a ceramic class characterized by the treatment of the inner surfaces. Our current knowledge seems to emphasize that the bowls are from contexts linked to functional activities: the only known example of a burial context is from the cave of Contrada Marca.
b) More than four small ribs from sites at: Sperlinga di San Basilio (the bowl is divided into six areas, each decorated with incisions and impressions); Naxos; Basile cave (Catania); Rocchicella (Mineo).
In this paper we first present a typological classification, listing all the sites where these ceramics are known and then suggest possible functions.
Type 3) Incisions and impressions, both from fingers and tools, usually in the form of small circles. Occasionally notched with transversal incisions to edges (Figs. 11-14). From sites at:
Typology The treatment of the inner surfaces of these bowls varies and at least three main types have been recognized, although we must not forget that the various types of treatment may be used in combination.
Sperlinga di San Basilio; Grangiara; Venetico; Fiumedinisi; Naxos; Tartaraci cave (Bronte); Catania, in a room of late Copper age, excavated in the former Benedictine monastery.
Type 1) Deep vertical or oblique grooves (Figs. 2-6) from sites at: Marcita; Montagna Grande of Salemi; Santa Ninfa; Ulina; Contessa Entellina; Imera; Vecchiuzzo cave; Kronio cave; Eraclea Minoa and Monte Sara (Cattolica Eraclea); Serraferlicchio; contrada Diana (Lipari); Piano Conte (Lipari, a fragment attributed to the oldest phase of the Copper middle period of Piano Conte); Grangiara; Venetico; Fiumedinisi; Monaci cave (Castelmola); Naxos; Cave of contrada Marca (and surface excavations above the cave, near Castiglione di Sicilia); Poggio dell’Aquila (Adrano); Rocchicella (Mineo); S. Ippolito (Caltagirone); Chiusazza cave.
Notched edges were found in Naxos, in the cave at Tartaraci, Catania (former monastery). Fragments with similar notches were also found in the cave of Infame Diavolo (Palma Montechiaro). Some sites contain all types: Sperlinga di San Basilio; Grangiara; Venetico; Fiumedinisi; Naxos, cave of Contrada Marca. From their distribution we can note that these sites are concentrated mainly in today’s province of Messina, but also finds from Contrada Marca (Catania) on the river Alcantara. Frequently, but not at all sites, the external surfaces of the bowls and the feet are ‘decorated’ by: 1. Ribs: Sperlinga di San Basilio; Grangiara e Venetico; Fiumedinisi; Tartaraci cave (also on the foot); Chiusazza cave (here, however, not associated with the treatment of inner surfaces). 2. Finger impressions: Imera; Sperlinga di San Basilio; Grangiara and Venetico; Fiumedinisi; Monaci cave; Naxos; Poggio dell’Aquila; Catania (former Benedictine monastery); Serraferlicchio. 3. Tool impressions: Grangiara and Venetico.
Type 2) Applied ribs (Figs. 7-10) a) Four ribs crossing at the base from sites at:
Small circles impressed on feet have also been found at Serraferlicchio.
Ulina; Serra del Palco;
The feett may have circular holes (necropoli of Capaci; Segesta; Moarda; and the former Benedictine monastery of Catania
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SOMA 2011 Bovio Marconi, J. 1944, ‘La cultura tipo Conca d’Oro della Sicilia Nord-Occidentale’, Monumenti degli Antichi Lincei XL, coll. 1-170. Bovio Marconi, J. 1979, ‘La grotta del Vecchiuzzo’, in Sikelikà 1 (Roma). Cannizzaro, F. and Martinelli, M. C. c.d.s., ‘Testimonianze della facies di Malpasso sul versante tirrenico della prov. di Messina, nella località Grangiara (Comune di Spadafora)’, Atti XLIII R.S.I.I.P.P. “L’età del Rame in Italia”, Bologna 2629 Novembre 2008. Cavalier, M. 1971, ‘Il riparo della Sperlinga di S. Basilio (Novara di Sicilia)’, Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 80, ns, 22, pp. 7-23. Cavalier, M. and Cultraro, M. 2009, ‘L’insediamento eneolitico sul Poggio dell’Aquila (Adrano): risultati preliminari’, in Lamagna, G. (ed.) Tra Etna e Simeto. La ricerca archeologica ad Adrano e nel suo territorio, Atti dell’incontro di studi per il 50° anniversario dell’istituzione del Museo di Adrano, Adrano 8 giugno 2005 (Catania), pp. 49-64. Consoli, A. 1988-1989, ‘Bronte-Maletto: prima esplorazione e saggi di scavo archeologico nelle Contrade Balze Soprane, S. Venera, Edera e Tartaraci’, Beni Culturali e Ambientali Sicilia IX-X, n. 3, pp. 74-79. De Miro, E. 1974, ‘Montallegro. Notiziario’, Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche XXIX, p. 260. Falsone, G. and Leonard, A. Jr. 1976, ‘La Ulina. Un insediamento preistorico nel Belice’, Sicilia Archeologica 9, XXXII, pp. 4068. Falsone, G. and Mannino, G. 1997, ‘Le Finestrelle di Gibellina e di Poggioreale. Due necropoli rupestri nella valle del Belice’, Atti delle seconde giornate internazionali di studi sull’area elima. Gibellina, 22-26 ottobre 1994, Pisa – Gibellina, pp. 613-641. Gullì, D. 1993, ‘Primi dati sull’insediamento preistorico di Eraclea Minoa’, Quaderni Dell’Università di Messina 8, pp. 11-20 and ppll. X-XII-XIII. Gullì, D. 2000, ‘Nuove indagini e scoperte nella media e bassa Valle del Platani’, Quaderni dell’Università di Messina, I.1, pp. 139-169 and pl. LI. Gusmano, M. and Martinelli, M. C. c.d.s., ‘Una cava di calcare e gesso della facies di Malpasso a Venetico (ME)’, Atti XLIII R.S.I.I.P.P. “L’età del Rame in Italia”, Bologna 26-29 Novembre 2008. Lloyd, S. and Safar, F., ‘Thel Hassuna. Exacvations by the Iraq Government Directorate of Antiquities in 1943-1944’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies IV, p. 277. Maniscalco, L. 1994, ‘Le ceramiche dell’età del Rame nel territorio di Milena’, in Tusa S. (ed.) ‘La preistoria del Basso Belice e della Sicilia meridionale nel quadro della preistoria siciliana e mediterranea’, pp. 323-338. Maniscalco, L. 2007, ‘Considerazioni sull’età del Rame nella media valle del Platani’, Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche LVII, pp. 167-184. Maniscalco, L. 2008, Il santuario dei Palici. Un centro di culto nella Valle del Margi, (Palermo). Mannino, G. 1996, ‘Ricerche nelle grotte del Miarbella (S. Giuseppe Iato)’, Sicila Archeologica 90-91-92, pp. 111-131. Orsi, P. 1907, ‘Necropoli e stazioni sicule di transizione. Caverne di abitazione a Barriera presso Catania’, Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana, XXXIII, pp. 53-99. Panvini, R. (ed.), Caltanissetta. Il museo archeologico. Catalogo (Caltanissetta). Privitera, F. 1991-92, ‘Castiglione di Sicilia Contrada MarcaGrotta sepolcrale della tarda Età del Rame e del Bronzo antico’, Beni Culturali e Ambientali Sicilia, ns, 1-2, pp. 21-25.
(where the fragments were not associated with any bowls); Vecchiuzzo cave; Pietrarossa and Salina (Serro dell’Acqua). Real circular, oval or rectangular openings (Ulina; Contessa Entellina; Sperlinga di San Basilio; Grangiara; Venetico; Serraferlicchio; Basile cave; Rocchicella and Catania, where, again, this is only a fragment of a foot not associated with the bowls). At the moment the facies of Malpasso are absent from southern Italy. Function The presence of grooves and incisions on the inner surfaces of the bowls does not have a purely decorative role, but a clearly functional one. Various hypotheses have been presented over the years by experts, including use as ‘husking-trays’, based on comparisons with a few pots from Tell Hassuna (Iraq, Fig. 15), where large plates have been found with inner surfaces ‘corrugated with deep grooves or pitted by jabbing the wet clay with a stick’. These vessels, however, appear more similar to so-called ‘grooved clay plates or tablets’ (from Ulina; Mirabella cave of S. Giuseppe Iato; Vecchiuzzo cave; Rocchicella; Serraferlicchio; cave of Acqua Fitusa; S. Calogero cave and Montelupo cave (Agrigento), although De Miro in the latter cave associates these vessels to material of facies of Serraferlicchio). This hypothesis, though perhaps valid for vessels with grooves, would not apply for those with incisions and impressions. In addition the presence of holes on the bottom of some bowls (Eraclea Minoa; Grangiara; Tartaraci cave and Kronio cave) is certainly related to the use of such vessels. For for vessels with internal incisions and holes on the walls and bottoms of the bowl, dated to the middle Bronze Age, Bernabò Brea had proposed usages as ‘fruit dishes’ (the holes being used to drain the juice of ripe fruit). Another hypothesis (Maniscalco 2009: 85) would be for the preparation of dairy products. The authors thank Dr. E. Procelli for constant support, Dr. F. Spatafora, manager of the Archaeological Park of Himera, Dr. G. Lamagna, manager of the Archaeological Park ‘Valle del Simeto’ and Dr. F. Privitera, manager of Regional Archaeological Museum Service of Catania for allowing the study of material. Dr. M. C. Martinelli of the Archaeological Park of the Aeolian Islands kindly provided information about Grangiara and Venetico. Dr. F. Cannizzaro and M. Gusmano also kindly assisted with information. Bibliography: Agodi, S. 2010 ‘Testimonianze della Tarda età del rame dal vano 8 dell’ex monastero dei Benedettini’, in Branciforti, M. G. and La Rosa V. (ed.) Tra lava e mare. Contributi all’Archaiologhia di Catania (Catania), pp. 63-71. Allegro, N. et al. 1976, Himera II. Campagne di scavo 19661973, (Palermo). Arias, P. E. 1937, ‘La stazione preistorica di Serraferlicchio’, Monumenti degli Antichi Lincei XXXVI, coll. 693-838. Bernabò Brea, L. and Cavalier, M. 1957, ‘Stazioni preistoriche delle isole Eolie’, Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana, 66, n.s. 11, pp. 97-151. Bernabò Brea, L. and Cavalier, M. 1960, Meligunìs Lipàra, vol. I. La stazione preistorica della contrada Diana e la necropoli protostorica di Lipari (Palermo). Bernabò Brea, L. and Cavalier, M. 1995, Meligunìs Lipàra, vol. VIII. Salina. Ricerche archeologiche, 1989-1993 (Palermo).
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Valeria Grasso, Carla Maria Caterina Cirino: Decorated Footed Bowls Tusa, S. 1997, L’insediamento dell’età del Bronzo con Bicchiere Campaniforme di Marcita (Trapani). Villari, P. 1981, ‘I giacimenti preistorici del Monte Belvedere e della Pianura Chiusa di Fiumedinisi (Messina). Successione delle culture nella Sicilia nordorientale. Relazione preliminare’, Sicilia Archeologica XIV, 46-47, pp. 111-121.
Procelli, E. 1983, Naxos Preellenica. Le culture e i materiali dal Neolitico all’età del Ferro nella penisola di Schisò, Cronache di Archeologia, 22, pp. 13-81. Procelli, E. 1989, ‘La grotta dei Monaci. Stazione dell’età del rame presso Castelmola (Taormina)’, Sicilia Archeologica, XXII, 71, pp. 41-50. Tinè, S. 1965, ‘Gli scavi nella Grotta della Chiusazza’, Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana, 74, pp.123-286.
Fig. 1: Distribution map: 1. Marcita, 2. Montagna Grande of Salemi, 3. Segesta, 4. Santa Ninfa, 5. Ulina, 6. Contessa Entellina, 7. Moarda, 8. Capaci, 9. Imera, 10. Vecchiuzzo cave 11. Kronio cave, 12. Eraclea Minoa and Monte Sara, 13. Serraferlicchio, 14. cave of Infame Diavolo, 15. Serra del Palco and Rocca Aquilia (Milena), 16. Pietrarossa, 17. Lipari (contrada Diana, and Piano Conte), 18. Riparo della Sperlinga di San Basilio, 19. Grangiara, 20. Venetico, 21. Fiumedinisi, 22. Monaci cave (Castelmola) , 23. Naxos, 24. cave of contrada Marca (Castiglione di Sicilia), 25. Tartaraci cave (Bronte), 26. Poggio dell’Aquila (Adrano), 27. Catania (Basile cave and ex Benedictine Monastery), 28. Rocchicella (Mineo), 29. S. Ippolito (Caltagirone), 30. Chiusazza cave Sites where the so-called ‘grooved clay plates or tablets’ were found: 31. Ulina, 32. Mirabella cave (S. Giuseppe Iato), 33. S. Calogero cave (Sciacca), 34. Montelupo cave (Montallegro), 35. Grotta Fitusa cave (San Giovanni Gemini)
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Fig. 2: Type 1, Eraclea Minoa (Gullì 1993)
Fig. 3: Type 1, Naxos (Procelli 1983)
Fig. 4: Type 1, Santa Ninfa (Falsone – Mannino 1997)
Fig. 5: Type 1, Rocchicella (Maniscalco 2008)
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Fig. 6: Type 1, Contessa Entellina (unpublished)
Fig. 7: Type 2, Rocca Aquilia (Maniscalco 2007)
Fig. 8: Type 2, Naxos (Procelli 1983)
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Fig. 9: Type 2, Rocchicella (Maniscalco 2008)
Fig. 10: Type 2, Pietrarossa (Panvini 2003)
Fig. 11: Type 3, Tartaraci cave (unpublished; photo: Soprintendenza BB. CC. AA. of Catania)
Fig. 12: Type 3, Rocchicella (Maniscalco 2008)
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Fig. 13: Type 3, Rocchicella (Maniscalco 2008)
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Fig. 14: Type 3, Fiumedinisi (Villari 1981)
Fig. 15: So-called ‘husking-tray’ from Tell Hassuna (Lloyd and Safar 1943-1944)
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Creating Boundaries: Elaborate Tombs and Trade Goods in the Early Bronze Age Necropolis at Castelluccio (Sicily, Italy) Anita Crispino
Museo Archeologico Regionale ‘Paolo Orsi’ Siracusa
Massimo Cultraro
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per i Beni Archeologici e Monumentali, Catania
that might be related to a specific function of the hut, perhaps a storage deposit for the community or a collective working area.
Introduction: One hundred years of archeological activity The Early Bronze Age in Sicily, which the most recent calibrated dates supports an extended chronology from the late 3rd Millennium BC until the onset of the Middle Bronze Age around 1600 BC1, is a period of long duration conventionally identified with the pottery assemblage found in the site at Castelluccio (Noto, Siracusa), in the middle Tellaro River Valley (Fig. 1).
Funerary Landscape The emergence of a social complex system in the village of Castelluccio is largely confirmed by the information collected in the exploration of the necropolis. An important example features square rock-cut pillars forming a sort of vestibule with columns.9
The village and the related cemetery were explored by Paolo Orsi2 in the late 19th Century after many field activities, when archaeological material was progressively introduced in important local antiquarian collections.3 Orsi was struck by the large amount of pottery found in the village, in particular by the wide concentration of decorated fragmentary pots and faunal remains located at the edge of the prehistoric settlement along the Piano della Sedda, which is identified with a large rubbish tip.4
The elaboration of forecourts and façades is an element of some relevance within the funerary landscape of EBA Sicily. What emerges is the public dimension of these monumental tombs, in contrast to the internal chambers which are often of smaller size. It suggests the importance of external ceremonies for living communities, in particular during the re-opening of the tombs in order to insert new burials.10 In the rock-cut tombs at Castelluccio the grave goods consisted mainly of small personal items, such as beads and pendants of stone, amber and bone. Pottery is scarce, with finds limited to small cups and other vessels related to the distribution of liquids (water or beer?) for funerary purposes.11
At the same time, Orsi explored systematically a large number of rock-tombs, many of them were re-used or looted ab antiquo. The exploration of the cemetery was conditioned by the scarce evidence of the settlement located at the top of the hill. In the last decades the Bronze Age settlement at Castelluccio has been the subject of limited excavations by the Regional Archaeological Superintendency of Syracusae. A more extensive excavation in the early 1990s by G. Voza5 on a slope not far from the above-mentioned rubbish tip revealed a very impressive elliptical hut. The structure has a partly sunken floor and stone wall foundation flanked by a low internal bench.6 The explorations also identified a second large structure, where large storage vessels, painted pottery and grinding stones were found.7
One of the most impressive items found at Castelluccio was an example of the so-called ‘bossed’ bone plaques.12 These bone artefacts show a row of bosses that were sometimes well polished and finely incised with geometric and circular motifs. They may have been interpreted as amulets, because some of the decorative designs seem to be the representation of female attributes. Of relevant importance is the presence of bossed bone plaques in south Italy, in the Maltese archipelago, and also in the Peloponnese (at Lerna, Argolis) and Troy (Levels II-III), where Schliemann found four specimens.13 Bossed bone plaques were not the main preferred exchange items. The tombs of the necropolis at Castelluccio provide evidence of another sphere of exchange which includes non-utilitarian and prestigious materials, such as Sicilian amber, which reached southern Italy and the Peloponnese in Greece.14
Looking forward to the full publication of these recent explorations, some interpretative purposes can be preliminarily suggested. The structure seems to be different from the other architectural buildings found in EBA settlements, especially in terms of its large dimensions and construction techniques.8 It is also worth noting the wide concentration of large storage jars
Tomb 22 and the multi-directional sphere of exchange
For a complete picture of the Early Bronze Age chronology see Leighton 1999, 133-114; Castellana 2002, 28-30. 2 Orsi 1892; Orsi 1893a. 3 On the main aspects of the antiquarian collection from Castelluccio see Ciurcina 2008, 54. 4 Orsi 1893a, 32; Tusa 1992, 374. 5 Voza 1999, 17-23. For information concerning this recent archaeological field activity, so far unpublished, see Castellana 2002, 3334. 6 Castellana 2002, fig. 14. 7 Castellana 2002, fig. 15. 8 leighton 1999, 116-121. 1
Further indications of long-distance links are provided by finds from the monumental Tomb 22, located on the slopes of Orsi 1892; Bernabò Brea 1958, 104-104, figs. 19-20. General aspects of the burial practices in the EBA Sicily are proposed by Leighton 1999, 130-132. 11 Leighton 1999, 130. 12 Bernabò Brea 1958, 109, pl. 41; Leighton 1999, 144, fig. 71. 13 Holloway 1981, 17-19 14 Cultraro 2007. 9
10
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SOMA 2011 Cava della Signora slopes.15 The tomb consists of a vestibule and an inner chamber for burial deposition (Fig. 2). The most impressive architectural feature is the carved door slab, which represents a female body with breasts (Fig. 3). There is an articulated closing door system, with two slabs, one of them is carved. The occurrence of carved door slabs in other tombs of the same necropolis suggests that we are dealing with complex issues of protection, and the main symbolic value, overtly sexual, is strongly connected to the regenerative power of the female figure.
Of some importance is the observation that the broken sherds were found scattered and mixed with the human bones. The pottery is badly broken and very small in size, suggesting perhaps that we are dealing with the practice of ritual fragmentation. Monumental tombs and luxuries of special status Similar assemblages containing special prestige goods and limited amounts of pottery are associated with other Castelluccio tombs.22 In contrast to the poor quality generally of the grave goods, one item stands out – a small bronze sheet, with rounded edges, which might be interpreted as the balance-beam of a scalepan23 (Fig. 6). New data coming from the reassessment of the material found by Orsi and from his notebooks strongly confirm this interpretation. Scattered small bronze sheets (Fig. 4.h) found in the inner chamber could be the remains of such balance-plates. If this reconstruction is right, we might conclude that the bronze scale was deposited complete within the burial chamber.
The tomb was well preserved and did not show traces of reopening. Orsi recorded 26 skeletons buried in the inner chamber, a highly significant number, especially in relation to the overall dimensions of the burial area.16 In the inner chamber the skeletons were totally disarticulated and the bones scattered around the perimeter. It could be interpreted as a secondary burial and it is also possible that Tomb 22 served as an ossuary.17 Monumentality and greater labour requirements are the most relevant features of Tomb 22. By contrast, these aspects seem to be incompatible with the lower number of artefacts found inside, showing similar burial practices largely documented in other areas of the EBA cemetery at Cava della Signora. With the exception of a small number of chamber-tombs, the larger ones with high numbers of inhumations contained few grave goods.
Further information comes from the reassessment of the material found by Orsi. Erroneously classified as personal beads, two small perforated objects, made of local stone, can be interpreted as a set of stone weights related to the bronze-scale (Fig. 4.c). Bronze-scales are attested at other EBA Sicilian sites. A singular bronze fragment with impressed decoration was found at Fiumedinisi, in the Peloritane mountain range, in a context dubiously dated to the Early Bronze Age24 (Fig. 1). The piece is puzzling because the shape and the impressed decorative system seem to be more compatible with a Late Bronze Age fibula than a scale-pan. A fragment of a bronze scale-balance, comparable with the ones from T. 22 at Castelluccio, was found in a tomb from Cava Secchiera, Melilli,25 located not far from Castelluccio (Fig. 1). In this case the shape and the dimensions are very similar to the example from Castelluccio and there is no reason, therefore, not to attribute the bronze sheet to a scale-pan.
Among the burial goods from Tomb 22, many personal items were reported in the preliminary publication by Orsi18 (Fig. 4). They include bronze, stone and bone beads and the small number of these items suggests perhaps a simple necklace with one central bead rather than a composite necklace, in contrast to some of the personal objects found in the other important EBA cemeteries in east Sicily and also in the MBA necropolis at Thapsos.19 A possible specific relationship between the number of buried individuals and the personal items found could be understood by the occurrence of sets of long flint blades. Many of these objects were deposited close, or beside, the skulls, and this burial rite is largely attested in other Castelluccian necropoleis in eastern Sicily. This evidence needs to be reconsidered and it could be interpreted as an aspect of burial rites, where some individuals (young males?) were buried with a flint blade beside the skull, probably in relation to certain ‘passage rites’, which included the use of a specific hairstyle, as encountered in the Bronze Age Aegean.20
Since the first explorative field activity by Orsi in the EBA cemeteries in East Sicily, the presence of a bronze scale-pans in a Castelluccio necropolis has been claimed as an imported item from Mainland Greece26. Evidence of sophisticated weighing tools is largely attested in the Peloponnese during the formative stage of the Mycenaean civilization.27 In LH I-II tombs scale pans, mostly bronze, and balance weights are more common, but both categories are rarely found together. This might be a consequence of the excavations, because bronze discs are difficulty to recognize, rather than the deliberate (ritual?) separation of the single parts. For example, in the case of T.22, as we have noted above, the remains of the bronze plates were collected from the discarded earth from the inner funerary chamber (Fig. 4.h).
As suggested above, the presence of smaller quantities of grave goods in contrast to the monumentality of tombs is curious. The pottery is very poor and mostly includes sherds related to small closed vases. One was found complete (Fig. 5): a two-handled tankard largely known in the contexts of EBA Sicily, in particular from the Hyblaean district, where this shape represents par excellence the drinking vessel used in specific ritual activities.21
The main chronological range for the scale-balances encompasses the LH I-II, and examples from the palatal period during the LH IIIA-B are rare.28 This latter chronological element is of relevant
Orsi 1892, 30-32. Orsi 1892, 30. 17 Same conclusions can be proposed from the analysis of other monumental chamber tombs located in the Cava della Signora cemetery: Leighton 1999, 130-131. 18 Orsi 1892, 30-34. 19 For the prestigious items in the Castelluccio culture cemetery see Cultraro 1998. 20 Rutter 2003, 45-46. 21 Maniscalco 1999, 186-187.
Bernabò Brea 1976-77, 47; Cultraro 1998. Orsi 1892, pl. V.7. 24 Villari 1980, figs. 1a and 3b; Villari 1981. 25 Orsi 1892, 31 and footnote 34; Orsi 1893b. The item is unpublished (inv. 8901) and stored in the Regional Archaeological Museum at Syracusae. 26 Bernabò Brea 1976-77, 49; Tusa 1992, 321, fig. 36; Leighton 1999, 142, fig. 70.4. 27 General references in Alberti 2003. 28 Bergonzi 1996, 1534.
15
22
16
23
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Anita Crispino, Massimo Cultraro: Creating Boundaries interest in terms of the development of the EBA in Sicily, because it seems to be compatible with the date of Tomb 22 relating to a late phase of the Castelluccio culture.
In recent years many scholars have focused on the weighing apparatus used in Bronze Age Italy and the local adaptation to Aegean or Levantine standards.36 In the specific case of Greece, there has been an attempt to put the metrological evidence in its own archaeological context, focusing on the introduction of balance weight metrology as a local adaptation of a Near Eastern system in the Early Helladic II-III.37
It is known that scale-pans, mostly made of bronze and more rarely of gold (i.e. the examples from Shaft Grave III of Circle A at Mycenae), or silver, are characteristics of a group of very luxurious tombs on mainland Greece, in particular in the Argolid (Mycenae, Argos, Dendra), Messenia (Pylos, Nichoria) and Laconia (Vapheio).29 The scale-pans from Tombs 519 and 529 in the cemetery of Kalkani at Mycenae date to LH II and are similar to the Sicilian find.30 The well-known gold scale-balances from Tomb III of Circle A at Mycenae can be interpreted perhaps as models of real size imitating bronze examples, or indeed of a smaller scale.31
What, finally, may be said about the social status of the owner of the balance finds in T. 22 at Castelluccio? The monumental aspects of the tomb, as well as the use of an unusual carved door slab, suggest that the chamber tomb was associated with an important group of high status. This is not surprising if we compare this evidence with the weighing apparatus found at Mycenae, as mentioned above. The bronze scale-pan found in T. 22 might simply represent a personal possession of the deceased and could therefore be considered as a prestige item, with a possible symbolic value as tool of administrative control. This is an hypothesis that needs to be reviewed in the light of future investigations, but there is no reason to doubt that such sophisticated weighing tools testify the widespread and multidirectional exchange relationships existing between Sicily and Proto-Mycenaean Greece from about 1700-1650 BC.
Another important parallel with the Aegean scale-pans is the dimension of the balance-beam and of the plates. The LH Aegean examples made of bronze show diameter dimensions covering a wide range, from 4.5 to 17.0cm, while the plates are grouped at around 5 and 7-8 cm, as with the fragmentary pans from T. 22 at Castelluccio.32 Conclusions
Acknowledgement
Bronze balance-scales were a revolutionary invention for measuring weight and value in Bronze Age economies. According to many scholars, the use of these bronze balance-scales is closely related to weight and worth of small amounts of silver and other precious metals, probably connected to administrative, productive or trade needs.33 However, the funerary contexts for weighing tools have more to do, of course, with the value of the soul rather than indicating any practical aspect of the deceased’s life – the so-called psycostasia of Homer (Il. VIII, 69-71).34
The authors are particularly grateful to Dr. Beatrice Basile, Scientific Director of the Archaeological Museum at Syracusae, for her permission to use material and or her generous assistance in reading the unpublished notebooks by Orsi. Many thanks also to Dr. Concetta Ciurcina and Prof. Giuseppe Voza who kindly provided us with information concerning the site at Castelluccio. We are also indebted to G. Gallitto for photographs and R. Sequenzia and G. Pantano for drawings. Bibliography
More work should be done on these ritual or religious aspects, with the analysis of each funerary context where scale pans were found. Except with regard to the well-known gold examples from Shaft Tomb III at Circle A at Mycenae mentioned above, which could have ritual purposes, it is worth noting that in the LH Aegean scale-pans on their own are not yet known. By contrast, there is the homogeneous association between scalepans and balance weights. This evidence has led us to re-assess the grave-goods from T. 22 at Castelluccio, in order to identify stones weights among the materials erroneously interpreted as pendants or beads.
Alberti M.E. 2003, Weighting and dying between East and West. Weighting material from LBA Aegean funerary contexts, in K. Polinger Foster and R. Laffineur (eds.), Metron. Measuring the Aegean Bronze Age (Aegaeum 24), Liège, 277-283. Bergonzi G. 1996, Bilance nelle tombe: qualche considerazione su di un rituale funerario del Tardo Elladico, in E. De Miro, L. Godart, A. Sacconi (eds.), Atti e Memorie del Secondo Congresso Internazionale di Micenologia, Roma, 1531-1542. Bernabò Brea L. 1958, La Sicilia prima dei Greci, Milano. Bernabò Brea L. 1976-77, Eolie, Sicilia e Malta nell’età del Bronzo, in Kokalos 22-23, 33-110. Cardarelli A., Pacciarelli M., Pallante M. 1997, Pesi da bilancia dell’età del Bronzo?, in A.M. Bernabò Brea, A. Cardarelli, M. Cremaschi, (eds.), Le Terramare. La più antica civiltà padana, Modena, 629-642. Castellana G. 2002, La Sicilia nel II millennio a.C., Caltanissetta. Catling H. 1964, Cypriot Bronzework in the Mycenaean World, Oxford. Ciurcina C. 2008, Il Museo Civico ottocentesco e vicende della sua istituzione, in A. Crispino and A. Musumeci (eds.), Musei Nascosti. Collezioni e raccolte archeologiche a Siracusa dal XVIII al XX secolo, Napoli, 50-54. Cultraro M. 1998, Metalli, ambra e pasta vitrea: una riconsiderazione sugli oggetti di prestigio nella Sicilia
We may reconstruct the weights and metrological system of T. 22 by starting with three singular objects: two bronze spheres and one stone weight (Fig. 4.b-d). These three objects seem to be related to the same metrological system based on a general mass of 6.50-8.50gr. This mass corresponds to the metrological system used on mainland Greece in the Middle Helladic III-LH I, in a chronological context compatible with the first exploration of the western Mediterranean by Aegean prospectors.35 Alberti 2003, 278, pl. LVIb. Wace 1932, 53-58, 110-105, pl. 29.20. 31 Bergonzi 1999, 1533. 32 Alberti 2003, 280, pl. LVIIa. 33 The use of balance-scales for measuring gold or silver is suggested by the evidence from Cyprus, in particular Tomb 1851 at Enkomi, where two plates are associated with a stone weight of 9.415 gr.: Catling 1964, 163. 34 Persson 1942, 73, with references. 35 Petruso 2003. 29 30
Cardarelli, Pacciarelli, Pallante 1997. On the relationships between weighing equipment and weight systems related to the circulation of metals see Peroni 2001. 37 Rahmstorf 2003. 36
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SOMA 2011 Persson A.W. 1942, New Tombs at Dendra near Midea, Lund. Petruso K.M. 2003, Quantal Analysis of some Mycenaean balance weights, in K. Polinger Foster and R. Laffineur (eds.), Metron. Measuring the Aegean Bronze Age (Aegaeum 24), Liège, 285-291. Rahmstorf L. 2003, The identification of Early Helladic Weights and their wider implications, in K. Polinger Foster and R. Laffineur (eds.), Metron. Measuring the Aegean Bronze Age (Aegaeum 24), Liège, 293-297. Rutter J. 2008, Children in Aegean prehistory, in J. Neils, J. H. Oakley (eds.), Coming of Age in Ancient Greece, New Haven and London, 31-58. Tusa S. 1992, La Sicilia nella preistoria, Palermo. Villari P. 1980, Considerazioni sulla presenza di alcuni bronzi in una capanna del periodo di transizione tardo-eneolitico prima età del bronzo del monte Belvedere di Fiumedinisi ( Messina) in Atti della Società Toscana di Scienze Naturali, memorie serie A, LXXXVII, 465-474. Villari P. 1981, I giacimenti preistorici del Monte Belvedere e della Pianura Chiusa di Fiumedinisi (Messina) e la successione delle culture nella Sicilia Nord-Orientale in Sicilia Archeologica 46-47, 111-121. Voza G. 1999, Nel segno dell’antico,Siracusa. Wace A.J.B. 1932, Chamber Tombs at Mycenae, (Archaeologia 82), Oxford.
dell’antica età del Bronzo, in Proceedings of XIII International Congresso of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences. Forlì. Vol. IV, 205-207. Cultraro M. 2007, Evidence of Amber in Bronze Age Sicily: Local Sources and the Balkan-Mycenaean Connection, in I. Galanaki, H. Thomas, R. Laffineur (eds.), Between the Aegean and the Baltic Seas. Prehistory Across Borders, (Aegaeum 27), Liège, 377-389. Holloway R. 1981, Italy and the Aegean 3000-700 BC, Louvain la Neuve & Providence. Leighton R. 1999, Sicily Before History, London. Maniscalco L. 1999, The Sicilian Bronze Age pottery Service, in R.H. Tykot, J. Morter and J. Robb (eds.), social Dynamics of the Prehistoric Central Mediterranean (Accordia Studies vol. 3), London, 185-194. Orsi P. 1891, La necropoli sicula di Melilli, in Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana XVII, 53-76. Orsi P. 1892, La necropoli sicula di Castelluccio, in Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana XVIII, 1-34, and 67-84. Orsi P. 1893a, Scarichi del villaggio siculo di Castelluccio (Sicilia) in Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana XIX, 30-51. Orsi P. 1893b, Di due sepolcreti siculi nel territorio di Siracusa, in Archivio Storico Siciliano XVIII, 308-325. Peroni R. 2001, Sistemi ponderali nella circolazione dei metalli dell’età del Bronzo europea, in Pondera. Pesi e Misure dell’Antichità, Roma 2001, 33-52.
Fig. 1. Principal sites mentioned in the text: 1. Castelluccio; 2. Cava Secchiera; 3. Thapsos; 4. Fiumedinisi
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Fig. 2. Castelluccio Tomb 22 plan (after Orsi 1892)
Fig. 3. Castelluccio Tomb 22 door slab
Fig. 4. Castelluccio Tomb 22 grave-goods: a. stone beads; b-c pierced stone balance weights; d. bronze beads; e.-g. stone weights (?); h. bronze plate remains.
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Fig. 6. Castelluccio Tomb 22: bronze balance-beam related to a scale-pan.
Fig. 5. Castelluccio Tomb 22: two-handled tankard from the inner chamber.
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Dwelling in the Darkness: the Prehistoric Caves of the Hyblaean Mountains (Sicily) Dalma Cultrera University of Catania
ancient environment must take into account several factors as geological, paleo-geographic and paleo-climatic changes, as well as the effects of anthropic activities within the territory.
Introduction Caves are very singular places for scientific research. These sites, potentially less subject to environmental changes than the surroundings, are indeed excellent laboratories for many disciplines. In archaeology, cave sites, defined as restricted spaces, strongly connected with the territory, may provide valuable data files.
The geomorphologic structure of the Hyblaean Mountains (Fig. 2) and the presence of several natural caves have always encouraged the development of troglodytic settlements in this territory, and their typology and chronology were strictly connected with the cultural and socio-economic transformations of indigenous communities.
The visual impact of such environments in the landscape and their attraction on the human communities have determined the development of various human activities dating from ancient times to nowadays. On one side, cyclical and various uses of caves by man led to the overlapping of different kinds of exploitation, on the other, the continuous use may have caused the disruption of some deposits, due to the human need to modify dwelling environments to make them more suitable. Therefore, to settle in natural cavities has both advantages and disadvantages at the same time.
The eventual use of any cave is conditioned by many factors, among which the location of the site, morphology of the cavity (dimension and division of spaces) and availability of water are among the key factors. The morphology of the Hyblaean caves depends on origin (karst or maritime) and on the typology of sedimentary rocks. The Hyblaean plateau is a platform composed mainly of carbonatic sediments that, in specific conditions, can be subject to erosion or solution by the action of meteoric water or sea water. These phenomena lead to the formation of caves. For karst caves, geological studies have pointed out that Hyblaean karst phenomenon is more developed in the northern-central region than in the southern. In addition to tectonic and climatic reasons, one of the most relevant factors is the lithology of the two regions. For instance, the northern-central sector, corresponding to the Syracuse region, is composed of more soluble rocks than the southern one (Ruggieri 1998: 105-22).
Our case study, represented by caves of the Hyblaean region, in southern-eastern Sicily, including the provinces of Syracuse and Ragusa, offers interesting data for the definition of different stages of Sicilian prehistory emphasizing issues related to rearrangement of the contexts and to shortage of documentation. As in general many explorations of these sites date back to the end of 19th century, when methodologies were just targeted to the recovery of artifacts, only a few caves unfortunately were investigated with scientific methods. In fact, for many sites investigated in this area the preliminary reports of the excavations were just published.
From a geographical point of view, the Hyblaean region presents distinctive features and a substantial differentiation between the coasts and the hinterland. Islands, peninsulas, and capes, covering large bays, are main features of the coastlines, while in the hinterland the limestone plateau is characterized by deep river valleys.
To focus on the history of the research, and on the historical and social context in which previous researches were conducted, would provide useful information on the dynamics that led to the study of particular cave-sites rather than others, and to facilitate comments on the distribution map of sites and the archaeological evidence (Tusa 1999). The starting point of this project is represented by the scarcity of an overall re-examination of the previous researches and by the need of crossing the available geological, geographical and archaeological data. A documentary gap can be bridged by carrying out new field surveys to realize a census and a distribution map of quarry sites.
During the period of maximum glacial expansion, the region also included the Maltese Archipelago and eustatic lowering (which reached from the current level of -130m) left uncovered large portions of the seabed, particularly along the south coast. At the beginning of the Holocene, the rising sea level caused a reduction of the coastal plains, changing the paleo-geographic framework described above. Geomorphologic features, already defined in the later stages of the Tyrrhenian phase, allow us to interpret the coast from north to south in at least three different areas: a predominantly rocky area, a second one characterized by numerous swamps, and a coastal area with large dune systems (Lena, Basile and Di Stefano 1988: 5-87). The evolutional study of different areas over time offers significant data to help reconstruct the ancient coastal profile, shaped by fluctuations of sea level, linked to glacial accumulation and to terrestrial eustatic phenomena. These changes, occurring in some cases over
This paper is a preliminary report of a wider project that aims to focus on the use of natural caves of south-eastern Sicily from the Upper Paleolithic to the end of Bronze Age, in order to highlight the relationship between sites, territory and human activities. Territory and landscape Since prehistory, the territory of the Hyblaean Mountains (Fig.1) had many significant transformations and the current natural landscape can even be misleading. The reconstruction of the
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SOMA 2011 the so-called ‘climatic optimum’ (corresponding to the Early and Middle Neolithic periods), and a phase that shows a tendency to aridity, increased seasonal contrast, with cold winters, warm and dry summers, and rain falling only at certain periods of the year (corresponding to the final stages of the Late Neolithic and the beginning of the Copper Age) (Guerzoni 2007: 29-58)
hundreds of years, whether or not relevant to the vast continental areas, altered the coastal areas and particularly had a major impact on the islands. The hinterland is characterized by uplands and river valleys, once flourishing ecosystems, articulated from Mount Lauro to the east and south coasts. The surface of the Hyblaean region covers over 4,500km2, with an average altitude of 500m above sea level (Lentini, Grasso and Carbone 1987). There are not many relevant peaks and Mount Lauro is the highest of the complex (ca. 1000m).
The corpus of Hyblaean caves The study of Hyblaean prehistoric caves starts from a detailed collection of archaeological and geological data. The sources used for this documentary survey are maps of the public cadastre and archaeological plans (Messana, and Panzica La Manna 1994: 373-76; Ruggieri and Casapruno 1991). 55 sites were identified and used as models for the definition of settlement and usage patterns. The sites are identified by a numbering system that proceeds from the northeast to the southwest region. Through field surveys it was possible to confirm or correct the position of many sites on a map (using European Datum 50 on a 1:250,000 scale) (Figs. 4-7) and to verify that, especially in the area of Augusta, few of them, previously explored, have been deeply modified by modern anthropic activities such as mining or the construction of modern buildings. Many caves were transformed into military stations and deposits during the World Wars, some were used, or are still used, by shepherds as shelters for the animals (Fig. 8), while others were looted during illegal excavations. Furthermore, some deposits have been removed and used to fertilize cultivated lands.
It is possible to distinguish three main zones (Fig. 3): • • •
A northern area, with small rivers and torrential rocky coasts; A central area, with larger rivers flowing towards the east coast with rocky and sandy coasts; A southern area, with rivers flowing towards the large sandy southern coast;
The main rivers crossing the Hyblaean plateau (Anapo, Cassibile, Asinaro, Tellaro, Irminio, Ippari and Dirillo) and many current streams that dry up seasonally, once had to be navigable waterways connecting hinterland to coasts. Regarding paleo-climate, there are no studies that define the environmental conditions of the climates of this region in the Quaternary, but it is reasonable to assume that the paleo-climatic situation in Sicily was not so different from that found on the Italian peninsula (Agnesi, Macaluso and Masini 2001: 31-54).
For managing all the information available, a specific data sheet was produced for each cave (Fig. 4) to create a kind of digital ‘archaeological cadastre’ of Hyblaean cave sites. It is divided into three sections:
Between the Pleniglacial and Late Glacial periods, the landscape was characterized by bushy steppe with a trend to aridity and small tree coverage. With the Holocene, a general improvement of the climate happened: the faunal remains and widespread tree coverage are signs of a more humid environment, with increased rainfall and reduced seasonal contrast. These phases alternate with periods tending to dryness, especially in the province of Ragusa in Sicily and in southern Italy, as a consequence of the new expansion of the desert ranges to the coast of North Africa.
• • •
Technical data (identification number, IGM cartography references, coordinates, altitude, depth, extension, etc.); Bibliography; Reports of previous researches and material evidence found.
In this present contribution only the preliminary results of this still ongoing project are briefly presented.
Unlike the Quaternary climatic conditions in European regions, the paleo-climate conditions of Sicily were probably influenced by its proximity to the coast of Africa (Issar 2003), which probably increased drought levels during the hotter periods, mitigating the climatic harshness during the glacial phases. However it is possible that over the whole island there were several places with marked differences in climate, strongly influenced by physiographic features, such as the presence of mountain barriers, impeding the progress of winds, or the displacement of continental and marine air and influencing rainfalls on the landmass itself (Agnesi, Di Maggio et al. 1998: 39-40).
Analysis of data To define the main tendencies of the caves’ usages in the Hyblaean area in prehistory it can be useful to present a brief analysis of the evidence from the Paleolithic to the end of Bronze Age (Graphics 1-2-3-4). Upper Paleolithic (18,000 to 8000 BC) (Fig. 9) The early evidence of human use of Sicilian caves dates back to the Upper Palaeolithic and significant traces of Paleolithic frequentation have been identified in the territory of Augusta (sites 3-4-5) (Russo, Gianino and Lanteri 1993). Regarding the use of these groups of caves, the evidence of Monte Tauro could suggest use for short periods, possibly during hunter migrations (Russo 1981:23-7).
Although Sicily has not been affected by drastic climatic fluctuations of the continent, it is possible to determine variations between the cool and humid climates and hot and dry. In general, there is a considerable improvement in the environment and the spread of tree coverage, first observable only in the valleys and then in mountainous areas at low altitudes.
Paleolithic artefacts from the Valle Paradiso shelter (site 13b) are accompanied by faunal remains and bone fragments, some inscribed with concentric markings (Bernabo Brea 1973: 15-18).
Bushy steppe typical of the previous period was replaced gradually by tree coverage and the landscape took on an appearance not very different from today. Studies of deposits from southern Italy have allowed us to distinguish a phase characterized by temperatehumid climate and abundant rainfall distributed over the year,
Other evidence comes from caves in the territory of Noto and Siracusa, especially from the Giovanna cave (site 29) (Cardini
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Dalma Cultrera: Dwelling in the Darkness 1971: 29-35), in which lithic industries are associated with a complex of graffiti. Some of them are carved with zoomorphic figures other are connected to geometric and abstract repertoires of contemporary Italian and Franco-Cantabrian production (Vigliardi 2001: 125-34).
Documentation from the southern Hyblaean region is scarce. The new climatic conditions and the flourishing plant and animal domestication led to a change in the relationship with the territory and to the consolidation of open-air settlement patterns (Leighton 2005: 261-87). Many caves with Paleolithic deposits were reoccupied in this period. Neolithic caves must have been dwellings, perhaps temporary homes for transhumant shepherds or farmers, places for storing perishable goods, or working sites. The seasonal concentration of heavy rainfalls can be considered a key factor for suggesting a systematic use of the caves as shelters along the cattle transhumance routes.
The lithic industry of the Fontana Nuova shelter (site 52) is associated with cylindrical carved limestone remains, interpreted as an example of ‘marque de chasse’, which could suggest the use of that part of the cavity as a shelter by nomadic hunters (Bernabo Brea 1950: 115-39). Abundant material was found in the cave of Corruggi (site 39) (Bernabo Brea 1949: 1-23), and in the Calafarina cave (site 38) (Orsi 1907: 7-22). As with many other Paleolithic communities, the indigenous Sicilian groups were composed of nomadic and not numerous populations of hunters and gatherers (Holloway 1991). Regarding cave usage, occupations as occasional and temporary shelters can be suggested, even if the presence of graffiti and rock art might suggest a possible use of certain caves as sites for ritual performances.
The re-use of Paleolithic caves and the new occupation in this period suggests again a necessity to locate along the territory a network of shelters with function that were different and complementary to that of the open villages (Fig. 7). Copper Age (3500-2200 BC) (Fig. 12) Strangely, the Copper Age documentation of the territory of Augusta is rather scarce. The caves of Mount Tauro seem to have been abandoned in this period. Only a few sporadic findings suggest occupation (Russo, Gianino and Lantieri 1993). More abundant information comes from the central region (sites 1518 and 24-27). The sequence of pottery styles found at most of the sites follows the stratigraphy highlighted by the excavations of the Chiusazza cave (site 26), described in detail by S. Tiné (1965: 123-286), and became a ‘stratigraphic guide’ for dating the Sicilian Copper Age. In association with ceramic materials, clay horns, trinkets of various kinds (Palombara cave, site 15), and even a copper dagger (Chiusazza cave, site 26) were found. This data could suggest a change in usage patterns of cave sites: some caves visited in this period continue to have a residential use, especially along coastal areas, but it also seems that they begin to emerge as places of worship or burial (Tomkins 2009: 125-53).
Our distribution map shows that many simple shelters and caves were located both on the coast and on the inland. In some cases actual ‘agglomerates of caves’, identified, such as the example at Monte Tauro, might suggest the presence of even quite large groups of people (Fig. 5). Mesolithic (8000 - 6000 BC) (Fig. 10) The Mesolithic phase is not clearly attested, but it must be pointed out that most of the data upon which the study of the prehistory of Sicily is based often comes from non-systematic excavations, or no stratigraphic contexts (Fig.10). On the south coast of Siracusa, the diffused presence of microliths might suggest a Mesolithic frequentation (Guzzardi 2002: 285300). Mesolithic occupations can be suggested for Fontana Nuova (site 54), but the only clear data come from the Corruggi cave (site 39) (Bernabo Brea 1949: 1-23).
Little information is available for the southern area. Some caves were probably occupied as continuous dwellings, while the Gigante cave complex (site 48) was probably frequented occasionally as shelters during transhumance (Di Stefano 2000).
As a consequence of the improvement of climatic conditions, the subsistence economy leads to an increase in the exploitation of vegetal and marine resources through fishing and gathering activities (Cocchi Genick 2009). The abundance of microliths, typical of the Mesolithic, found in this site, and the discovery of remains linked to gathering and fishing activities, suggests a more stable occupation of caves and occasional use as working sites (Fig. 6).
The general decrease of rainfall and a general trend to aridity could suggest a variation of available resources and consequential different exploitation of the territory. A slight decline in agriculture, a revaluation of ‘itinerant activities’, such as hunting and gathering that were probably never totally abandoned, and an increase of pastoral and mining activities seem the main patterns of Copper Age life (Leighton 1999). The new features in cave usage are documented by the discovery of isolated open-vessels inside some caves that could perhaps suggest a new strategy for collecting dripping water, such as at the Palombara cave (site 15). Scattered human bones coming from some altered deposits could be interpreted as burials: caves for the first time assumed the role of a burial-site alternative to the common necropolis that consisted of pits and shaft graves (Fig. 8).
Neolithic (6000 - 3500 BC) (Fig. 11) The caves of the Augusta region (sites 2-5) are those that were reoccupied. Archaeological indicators are usually flint industries, and artifacts in basalt and obsidian appear together with first examples of pottery decorated with engravings and impressions (Russo, Gianino and Lantieri 1993). Significant evidence is attested in some sites of the Syracuse area (18-20; 25-26-27). Caves are related in various locations from the coast to the far interior. A relevant factor is that some caves in the territory of Siracusa, that were steadily occupied during the Copper Age, started to be frequented in the Late Neolithic, as the Diana-style pottery recovered in the Chiusazza cave (site 26) (Tinè 1965: 123-286), and other cave sites in the region, testify.
Bronze Age (2200 – 850 BC) (Fig. 13) During the Bronze Age there is a multiplication of settlements both at the coasts and within the hinterland. Patterns testify to occupation of advantageous positions for subsistence activities,
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SOMA 2011 The most significant observation that can be made from looking at all the data coming from our bibliographical and field surveys, is the definition of several different models of occupation of cave sites during prehistory, at least in the area selected as our case study. These models show an increase in the consciousness of ancient peoples of the potency and symbolic power of these extremely attractive landscape features. It is clear that caves were always exploited. In the beginning, these evocative environments were used for ritual reasons, then, thanks to their morphology and location, they evolved into facilities for supporting economies based on agriculture and husbandry. Subsequently cave environments again became the perfect locations for cults of funerary religion. Finally, by the Middle Bronze Age, cave sites offered an underground parallel to open-air settlements, part of a binomial system of coastal open-air villages and hinterland troglodytic settlements and vestiges of earlier ones.
as well as for control of the territory, including the control of waterways. Many Copper Age cave-sites on the eastern coast continued to be occupied, but the most significant information is represented by the occupation of new caves in the southern Hyblaean area not previously frequented. In this period there is clear evidence of caves being used as burial sites of elite groups and as cult places, testified by the discovery of special artifacts (such as the socalled ‘bossed’ bone plaques) (Adamo 1989: 7-68), traces of food and meal preparation, and the not well documented depositions of vessels inside stone circles. Among these, the Lazzaro (site 36) and c. da Labbisi caves (site 42) are particularly relevant as they were used as burial sites, marking a tendency to use caves as tombs or cult places (Militello 2008: 137-48). The evidence for the Middle Bronze Age represents a clear sign of discontinuity. Some caves sites become troglodytic settlements. Some caves sites, especially those with large spaces, systems of interconnected chambers or agglomerates of grottos, become troglodytic settlements. In this model of occupation, the cave is a multi-purpose space, used for dwelling, for consuming collective meals and for the manufacture of goods. The best example is Chiusazza cave (cave 26). The importance of this settlement is marked by the discovery of a Borg in-Nadur conical cup imported from Malta (Tanasi 2008), that connects the Chiusazza site to all the other coastal centres of Siracusa territory involved in the commercial network with the Maltese archipelago and the Aegean.
The other remarkable observation coming from the analysis of this data is that caves were basically a reliable indicator of the socio-political, economical and religious level of progress of the indigenous communities. In fact, their use and exploitation, phase after phase, can encapsulate the main cultural issues of every period. In conclusion, after the encouraging outcomes of this project to date, we envisage future work to enrich this preliminary overview with new data and to extend this model of analysis to the archaeological evidence of cave sites of central and western Sicily, so as to compare these data with the results achieved in the study of the Hyblaean region. This might allow us to ascertain if caves, one of the most fascinating components of ancient landscapes, influenced in some ways the cultural choices of prehistoric people, or if they were just an example of the human struggle to exploit and dominate the landscape itself.
After a gap in the Late Bronze Age, few cave sites, already occupied in the Middle Bronze Age, were sporadically frequented, as can be seen from the very poor evidence of the pottery material from Punta Castelluzzo (site 1) (Bernabò Brea 1968: 28-61) (Fig. 9).
Bibliography
Tab.1 Synthesis of usage patterns of cave-sites Paleolithic Mesolithic Neolithic Copper Age Early Bronze Age Middle Bronze Age Late Bronze Age Final Bronze Age
Adamo, O. (1989), Pendagli e amuleti della facies di Castelluccio in Sicilia, Arch. St. Sic. Or., LXXXV,. 7-68. Agnesi, V., Di Maggio, C. et al. (1998), Contributi alla conoscenza delle variazioni climatico-ambientali nel Quaternario della Sicilia, in Atti 79° Congr. Naz. Soc. Geol. It., vol. A, 39-40. Agensi, V., Macaluso, T. and Masini, F. (2001), L’ambiente e il clima della Sicilia nell’ultimo milione di anni, in Preistoria, dalle coste della Sicilia alle Isole Flegree, Napoli, 31-54. Bernabò Brea, L. (1949), La cueva Corruggi en el territorio de Pachino, Ampurias, 12, 1-23. Bernabò Brea, L. (1950), Yacimentos paleoliticos del sudeste de Sicilia, Ampurias, 12, 115-139. Bernabò Brea, L.. (1968), Xuthia e Hybla e la formazione della facies culturale del Cassibile, Atti della XIII Riunione Scientifica I. I. P. P., 28-61. Bernabò Brea, L. (1973), Giacimenti paleolitici del siracusano, AA. VV. Archeologia della Sicilia sud-orientale, Napoli, 1518, 55-56. Cardini, L. (1971), Rinvenimenti paleolitici nella grotta Giovanna (Siracusa), Atti XIII Riunione Scientifica I. I. P. P., 29-35. Cavallaro, F. (1997), I fenomeni carsici dei Monti Iblei, in Le grotte del territorio di Melilli, Centro Speleologico Etneo, Comune di Melilli, 19-32. Di Stefano, G. (2000), L’antropizzazione delle cavità carsiche dell’area iblea (Ragusa) nell’antica età del Bronzo, Atti del I Seminario di Studi sul Carsismo negli Iblei e nell’Area sud Mediterranea, Speleologia Iblea, 8, Ragusa, 153-162.
Occasional shelters; ritual places Occasional shelters and working sites Subsidiary areas for agriculture and husbandry activities; ritual places? Temporary shelters used during transhumance; areas for water supply; cult places Burial sites; cult places Troglodytic settlements Abandonment of cave frequentation Sporadic use (occasional shelters?)
Final observations and future works The information provided by the study of the human occupation of the caves, cover various fields of archaeological research: the dynamics of settlement, subsistence strategies, activities and rituals of worship. Data from most of caves show a clear preference for ‘strategic positions’ (control of waterways, availability of water or marine resources) and longer occupations are seen on the east coast of the region (Monte Tauro, Chiusazza and Calafarina caves).
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Dalma Cultrera: Dwelling in the Darkness Guerzoni, R. P. (2007), Comunità umane ed ambiente tra il Neolitico e l’età del rame. I dati archeologici e paleoambientali, Atti del Seminario Convegno ‘L’uomo, l’ambiente e il clima da 3 milioni di anni fa ad oggi’, Perugia, 29-58 Guzzardi L. (2002), L’uomo e le grotte nella preistoria della regione iblea, Atti del IV Convegno di Speleologia della Sicilia, Speleologia Iblea, X, 285-300. Issar, A.S. 2003, Climate Changes during the Holocene and their Impact on Hydrological Systems, International Hydrology Series, Cambridge University Press Holloway, R.Ross, 1991, The Archaeology of Ancient Sicily, Rutledge, London Laplace G., 1964, Les subdivisions du Leptolithique italien, Etude de typologie analythique, BPI, 73, pp.25-64 Leighton R. (1999), Sicily before History, Cornel University press Leighton, R. (2005), Later Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in Sicily, Old Paradigms and New Surveys, European Journal of Archaeology, 8, n.3, 261-287 Lena, G., Basile, B. and Di Stefano, G. (1988), Approdi, porti, insediamenti costieri e linee di costa nella Sicilia sudorientale dalla preistoria alla tarda antichità, Arch. Stor. Sir., III, II, 5-87. Lentini, F., Grasso, M. and Carbone, S. (1987), Introduzione alla Geologia della Sicilia, Catania. Messana, E. and Panzica La Manna, M. (1994), Consistenza attuale del Catasto della grotte di Sicilia, Boll. Acc. Gioenia Sci. Nat., 27, n.348, Catania, 373-76.
Militello, P. (2008), Materiali del bronzo antico dal territorio di Scicli in Scicli: archeologia e territorio, Progetto K.A.S.A., Palermo, 137-48. Orsi, P. (1907), La grotta di Calafarina presso Pachino, abitazione e sepolcro, in B. P. I. , XXXIII, 7-22. Ruggeri, R. and Casapruno, D. (1991), Catasto delle grotte d’Italia - regione Sicilia, Speleologia Iblea, 2, Ragusa. Ruggieri, R. (1998), Il carsismo negli Iblei, forme carsiche morfo-strutture e relazioni speleogenesitettonica, Atti del III Convegno di Speleologia della Sicilia, Palermo, 105-22. Russo, I. (1981), Campolato. Una stazione paleolitica, Not. Stor. di Augusta, 10, 23-7. Russo, I., Gianino P. and Lanteri R. (1993), Preistoria, Comune di Augusta e territori limitrofi, Augusta. Sluga Messina, G. (1988), Tomba neolitica presso il villaggio preistorico del Petraro, Sicilia Archeologica, XXI, 81-5. Tanasi, D. (2008), La Sicilia e l’arcipelago maltese nell’età del Bronzo Medio, Progetto K.A.S.A., Palermo. Tinè, S. (1965), Gli scavi nella grotta della Chiusazza, B. P. I., 73, 123-286. Tomkins, P. (2009), Domesticity by default. Ritual, ritualization and cave-use in the Neolithic Aegean, Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 28, n.2, 125-53 Tusa, S. (1999), La Sicilia nella Preistoria, Palermo. Vigliardi, A. (2001), L’arte rupestre e mobiliare dal Paleolitico all’Eneolitico, in Preistoria, dalle coste della Sicilia alle Isole Flegree, Napoli, pp. 125-134.
Graphic 1 – Occupation of cave sites during Prehistory
Graphic 2 – Distribution of the archaeological evidence from cave sites in the three main areas of the Hyblaean Mountains
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Graphic 4 - Typology of occupation
Graphic 3 - Concentration of archaeological evidence of the three main areas in different periods
Fig. 1 - Hyblaean Mounts, southeastern Sicily (photo from Google Earth)
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Fig. 2 - Geographical features (photo from Google Earth, lithology map from Cavallaro 1997)
Fig. 3 – Geological and geographical features (photo from Google Earth)
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Fig. 4 - Distribution map of Hyblaean cave-sites
Fig. 5- Methodology used for the surveys
Fig. 6- Survey in Valle Paradiso Cave
Fig. 7- Hyblaean landscape, territory of Pedagaggi (Siracusa)
Fig. 8 - Example of modern re-use of a large shelter, territory of Carlentini (Siracusa)
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Fig. 9 - Distribution map of Paleolithic evidence
Fig. 10 - Distribution map of Mesolithic evidence
Fig. 11- Distribution map of Neolithic evidence
Fig. 12 - Distribution map of Copper Age evidence
Fig. 13 - Distribution map of Bronze Age evidence
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An Early Bronze Age Settlement Near Ragusa Francesco Cardinale
Archaeologist, [email protected]
Giovanni Di Stefano
Manager of the Archaeological Park of Kamarina, [email protected]
Milena Gusmano
Archaeologist, [email protected]
Saverio Scerra
Official archaeologist of the EU. O.B. 08 for the Archaeological Superintendence of Service BB.CC.AA. Ragusa, [email protected]
In June 2010, during the excavation of an oil pipeline by an Italian Oil Company (ENIMED) in the countryside near Ragusa (C. da Scifazzo), a new Early Bronze Age settlement came to light. The settlement area is located on the upper part and along the southern slope of a hill at about 157 m.a.s.l (IGM F ° 137, III NE) (Fig. 1) and approximately 15km from Ragusa as the crow flies. The excavations uncovered many shards of Early Bronze Age painted ceramics which date to the cultural horizon known as ‘facies of Castelluccio’.
SAS 1. These findings could indicate a possible area for the preparation of meals (Fig. 4). Area SAS 1 (Fig. 5) was marked by the presence of a shaped sub-circular pit, perhaps a silo, found while exposing the bedrock (Fig. 6). It has a flat bottom and is irregularly sloped inside (Fig. 7). The structure was covered by stone slabs of different sizes almost rectangular in shape. Lack of data during the pit’s excavation prevents us from knowing its function. The structure seems to have some relationship with other finds and features intercepted in the same area at the same level. These include strips of beaten clay, roughly circular, all around the investigated areas.
The archaeological excavations were carried out from July to December 2010 by the Ragusa Board of Cultural Heritage and involved mainly three areas of the pipeline called Area 1, SAS 1, and SAS 2.
Work in Area SAS 2 was incomplete and it is impossible to fully interpret this section of the site. For the moment we suppose that the southeastern part of the whole excavation area is characterized by the presence of bedrock at higher levels. This was also the case at the west side, while in the central and northeast areas the bedrock is lower down, thus allowing a greater range of stratigraphy. In this sector the finds seem to be most significant: here we have circular slabs of baked clay which could indicate another possible area for the preparation of meals. This fact seems to be corroborated also by the presence of several diagnostic and atypical fragments on the surface (Fig. 8).
The most representative evidence from Area 1 (Fig. 2) is a long stretch of wall with a slightly curved pattern consisting of a careful foundation of large blocks of local stone, with a total of three courses, arranged without mortar (Fig. 3). From the data in our possession one might assume for this wall a defensive role, or one delimiting a settlement. It is unlikely to be a section of a building’s perimeter wall (in fact a few metres further inside the wall structure the remains of a building were found, having a very elongated elliptical plan, measuring 15m in length). This building appears to have had a curved wall section and a straight stretch of wall with local stones, mortarless, made from medium-and small-sized irregular blocks. The walls have been preserved for a few centimeters and we are unable to specify the construction method. In the 16th century AD these walls were subject to reuse and clearance.
The archaeological artifacts The pottery repertory includes small and large shards of painted vases and of common ware mostly related to the facies of Castelluccio. The pottery is represented both by forms including small jugs, globular jugs, jars and cordoned pithoi. There are many faunal remains, mostly unburned. There are also votive artifacts: many horns, a small clay disc, and a votive axe. In Area 1 we found many anthropomorphic andirons and a token. Associated with them were many stone tools: flint or obsidian slivers, and blades and stone axes. Among the bone artifacts some awls and necklace elements were found.
The remains of this building run partly along the eastern slope of the hill and the floor was made by levelling the bedrock with soil. During the excavation no postholes were found. The interior and west side were unfortunately destroyed during the laying of the pipeline. In the upper level inside the structure there were shards of large cordoned pithoi, located along the curved wall section and in the straight stretch of the perimeter wall. The layers are characterized by the presence of pale brown soil with yellowish indicators for the crumbled limestone and reddish ones for the disintegration of the cordoned pithoi. At this surface level we found obsidian, flint tools, and unburned animal bones.
Conclusion The discovery of this new settlement is related to the presence in the area of burials dating from the Early Bronze Age and we can relate it to a series of settlements along the left bank of the Grassullo valley and stretching towards the sea. This is evidenced
From a section of the trench we noted the presence of three compacted floors. Slabs of baked clay (on a thin bed of small stones) were found with relative homogeneity in Area 1 and
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by the presence, on the hills to the south of Scifazzo, of ceramic shards of the Early Bronze Age. The economy of these sites is clearly of an agro-pastoral nature and there is not, at the moment, any clear evidence of their involvement in the distribution of flints, which might instead be the most prominent economy of the coastal settlements which, as evidenced recently from surveys, were concentrated at the mouths of rivers. In particular Branco Grande was a terminus for the products excavated from the mines of Monte Tabuto and Monte Sallia, along the Ippari valley and leading towards the sea. Other sources included the settlement at Torre di Pietro and the larger workshop/station at Maulli Gravina, located to the right of the estuary of the Irminio river.
Bibliography Bernabò Brea, L. (1968-69). Considerazioni sull’eneolitico e sulla prima età del bronzo della Sicilia e della Magna Grecia, Kokalos, 14-15. Bernabò Brea, L. (1958). La Sicilia prima dei Greci, Il Saggiatore, Milano. Castellana, G. (1998). Il santuario castellucciano di Monte Grande e l’approvvigionamento nel Mediterraneo nell’età del Bronzo, Palermo. Castellana, G. (2000). La cultura dell’età del Medio Bronzo nell’agrigentino e i rapporti con il mondo miceneo, Palermo. Cultraro, M. (1996). La facies di Castelluccio, in Cocchi Genik D., L’antica età del Bronzo in Italia, Atti del Congresso 1995, Firenze. Pacci, M. (1982). Lo stile procastellucciano di Naro, RivScPr XXXVII.
During a recent survey in the Mangiabove district, just north of the marina at Ragusa, we noted several fragments of worked flint from the mining district of Monte Tabuto, as well as an axe and pottery shards dating to the Early Bronze Age. These finds might confirm the involvement of sub-coastal and coastal sites in the trade activities relating to Hyblaean flint. The economy of this site in the Mangiabove district, as for that of other coastal
Figure Cardinale Fig. 1 Positioning site.jpg
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Fig. 3: Wall Area 1 (photos: Milena Gusmano)
Fig. 2: Photomap Area 1 (LOGICA: M. Criscione, L. Zurla)
Fig. 4: Working Area 1 (photos: Milena Gusmano)
Fig. 5 : Photomap SAS 1 (LOGICA: M. Criscione, L. Zurla)
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Fig. 6: Silo and section (LOGICA: M. Criscione, L. Zurla)
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Fig. 7: Working Area, SAS 1 (photos: Milena Gusmano)
Fig. 8: Ceramics in situ, SAS 2 (photos: Francesco Cardinale)
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The Late Copper Age Phase in Rocchicella di Mineo: Preliminary Data Ivana Vacirca
Independent archaeologist
2008, 150-167). The Eneolithic levels are attested by a series of pits chiselled in the Mesolithic level, some of them containing only animal bones, and some others with vessels, animal bones, botanical remains, stone tools, flint and obsidian splinters. The four pits have a diameter between 1m and 1.5m. (fig. 3). In the same sector, a 6m stretch of wall terracing has been discovered. It is made from large double-faced vulcanite rocks oriented from NW to SE. The stratigraphical sequences revealed material reminiscent of Malpasso facies,2 flint and obsidian tools and animal bones (Castiglione in Maniscalco 2008).3 At the NW of this wall there is an elliptical structure 1.8m x 1m in extent, containing globular pitchers, animal bones and flint tools (fig. 4). The presence of this series of pits, of different sizes and perhaps uses, in the absence of dwelling structures, could be interpreted as a primitive form of veneration of chthonian gods, at this site as represented in the gas and water emissions (Maniscalco – McConnell forth). Similar pits, but of a different nature, which are linked to an Early Copper Age necropolis (3500 B.C.), are known in the Agrigento region (Piano Vento) and interpreted as votive graves, containing vases, small statues, and ashes related to S. Cono-Piano Notaro facies (Castellana 1995).
The research objective During recent archaeological investigations at Rocchicella (Mineo), on the Margi river valley, a series of stratigraphic levels, characterized by material of Late Copper Age and Early Bronze Age, have been identified giving useful indicators of the prehistoric period, with new acquisitions from the Late Eneolithic and Early Bronze Ages. This paper presents, in a preliminary phase, the most recent data and materials from recent excavations in progress.1 The archaeological context Rocchicella, a basaltic rock ridge along the Margi river valley, is not far from an area famous for its small lakes characterized by secondary volcanic activity and linked in the past to the veneration of the mythic ‘Palici’ twins (fig. 1). In the wide area at the bottom of the ridge’s southern slope, in front of the cave, archaeological levels and structures, dating from the Epipalaeolithic to the Swabian, have already been investigated in recent years (Maniscalco 2008). The popularity of the site, mainly for cultural reasons, is based on the presence of the small lakes, characterized by carbon dioxide emissions and its springs (mofettes) which, since ancient times, might have produced a Chthonic cult (fig. 2).
Sample ‘FA VII’ A very particular pit has been identified in excavation sector ‘FA’, next to the SW side of the Antiquarium.4 The pit, more or less circular, 1.5m x 1.7m and 0.8m deep, was delimited by stone semicircle put to mark the substructure (fig. 5). The strata discovered outside and in the fill levels of the pit refer respectively to the Ancient Bronze Age and the late Copper Age (3000-2000 B.C.). At the bottom of the pit, there were medium and large vases for domestic use, resting on stones: an ovoid pithos, strongly tapered at the bottom, two ovoid jars, a large footed basin with a vertical opening on the foot, a globular pitcher with a strap handle; also a grinding stone, flint and obsidian tools, several carbonized bones (Sus scrofa, Ovis/goat) and coals of Olea Europaea and Quercus5 (fig. 6).
The first research in the area, dating back to the beginning of the 1960s, was conducted by Bernabò Brea and P. Pelagatti in a limited sector in front of the cave, and at the bottom of another little relief 300m metres E of the cave. The brief excavations in front of the specus brought to light archaic structures and levels dated to the Palaeolithic, while explorations in the SE sector of the area revealed levels with material from the Late Neolithic (‘Diana style’, about 4000 B.C.) to the Early Bronze Age (2000 B.C.), but unfortunately without defined stratigraphical sequences (Bernabò Brea 1965). From 1995, Soprintendenza of Catania, restarted the research under the direction of Laura Maniscalco, which continued until 2004 in the area in front of the cave. It highlighted important public structures for cultural use, such as the hestiaterion, and a stoà dating back to the fifth century and archaic structures, all referring to the veneration of the mythic Palici twins (Maniscalco and McConnell 2003; Maniscalco 2008).
Most of the vases found, in coarse pottery and pink-orange surface, are similar to closed containers, used for storage, large and medium sized jars, ribbed bowls, jugs with wavy creasings under the edge, used for storing raw or cooked produce (for example the jug or the grooved griddle, both with the external surface a little burnt). These containers are not to be compared
Moreover, layers and structures coming from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age have been discovered (particularly to a period between the Late Copper Age and the Early Bronze Age) from under the levels related to stoà B (sector L) and in the southern part of the excavation (sector FA) (Vacirca in Maniscalco
Stylistic ceramic facies characterized by bright red vascular forms, typical of the last phase of the Copper Age (3000 BC), of which Albanese Porcelli has shown a wide repertory in 1992. The typological and settlement characteristics coming from the Copper Age, especially the last phase are described by Bernabò Brea and Cocchi Genick. 3 Ovis capra, Sus scrofa and Bos. 4 The detailed study of the excavation is described in Maniscalco 2008, pp. 150-167. 5 The analyses of coals have been made by E. Castiglioni, of the Laboratorio di Archeobiologia dei Musei Civici di Como, Maniscalco 2008, pp. 365-386. 2
See L. Maniscalco this volume for the recent investigations at Stoa B. The photographs and data in this paper are © Assessorato Regionale per i Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana – Parco Archeologico del Calatino. 1
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SOMA 2011 with models coming from the Etnean area (Orsi 1930-31, fig. 8; In Ima Tartara) or from south-central Sicily (De miro 1961, fig. 8 n. 961; Maniscalco 2007, p. 180, fig. 8.1). An interesting typology, from a morphological and functional point of view, variously widespread during the Late Copper Age (and lasting with stylistic variations until the end of the Early Bronze Age) is represented by the footed bowls with interior ribbings. It has several variations in the width of the basin and, above all, in the internal ‘decoration’: the Rocchicella type has some perpendicularly crossing ribbings which divide the inner surface in four sections, while the exterior surface is decorated with circular impressions (cuppelle); other forms have either incisions along the basin (Da Zancle a Messina I) or raised ribbings (Tinè 1965, pp. 190-191, tav. XXIV-911; In Ima Tartara cat. 51; Cultraro – Cavalier 2009). Regarding usage, since the borders of the external basin and the bottom of the foot present evidence of burning, it could be associated to a stove to cook or heat the cereals or other produce (Vacirca in Maniscalco 2008, pp. 156158; Cirino – Grasso forthcoming).
a decorative arrangement on both sides that consists of two parallel alternating bands. A small distance from this layer, cut by the trench foundations of the north wall of stoa FA, a smoothed clay floor was found, partially preserved. Nearby were a lithic platform, a grinding stone and pestle. Other finds included clay spindle whorls, bobbins (usually indicators of textile manufacture), an awl made of bone, and flint and obsidian blades. Such finds make it possible to identify this as a work area, perhaps connected with food preparation and linked to the small oval pit filled with ashy grey earth and animal bones. To the NE, in an area not linked to previous finds, a clay miniature was found and classified as alare ginecomorfo, of distinctive detail, with its top ending in 4 decorated appendages, painted in red on the front and side (fig.8). Such an artifact, which is placed within a chronological EBA framework, leaves open the question of whether or not there were areas used for worship within these domestic spaces. The pottery found in these layers can mostly be easily placed chronologically between the Late Eneolithic and the EBA, and can be distinguished by:
All the vases, probably placed together at the bottom of this domestic deposit, could have a cultural meaning, such as, for example, a ritual banquet, perhaps linked to the volcanic activities that characterized this area.6
• Coarse ware, with a smooth unpainted orangey-beige surface. • Monochrome ware painted in red, sometimes glazed, • Ceramics with a smooth surface and painted brown-on-red, dark red or hazel brown, belonging to Castelluccio facies, of the EBA.
Sample ‘FA VIII’ During research in the area of stoà FA, under the Byzantine and Greek structures, a series of stratigraphic levels from the Late Copper Age and the beginning of Early Bronze Age (about 3000-2000 B.P.) have been identified. Levels with prehistoric traces have been partially studied because they were destroyed or covered by other structures. Because of the limited area, it is not possible to establish the kind of structure found, possibly dwelling or other living space. The finds could indicate a domestic use for the area; particularly the presence of stone tools, pestles, lithic flakes, grinding stone, and a lithic platform suggest a working area within a domestic sector, as do the discoveries of domestic vases in situ.
Both the coarse pottery with the smooth surface and the painted monochrome red pottery have morpho-typological characteristics which allow us to place them in the final Eneolithic phase, defined as facies di Malpasso (Albanese Procelli; In Ima Tartara).9 The ceramic forms distinguishable in common use include: jars, jugs, bowls, cups with raised flat handle above the rim, basins, footed bowls with internal rib structures, grooved plates, and bowls (sometimes with a vertical rope band in relief just below the neck).10 Decoration might rope bands or vertical ribs in relief, finger markings or incisions. The combination of, or differences in shape and decoration are related to the functionality of the individual containers. The jars or bowls are equipped with thin, slanted handles, or decorative bands that offer the best grip. The ribs or bands inside the dishes and basins were intended to serve as a division for different food types, or for the better manipulation of dry and semi-solid food. They would have been used for general cooking and food preparation tasks (Recchia 1997).
Because of the fragmented nature of the data obtained, the study which is still on-going, will only present those diagnostic materials, and attempting a comprehensive understanding of the stratigraphy. The group of vases found in situ consisted of: • A portion of a pithos (RS, fig.7a) with an oval mouth and a flat vertical handle on the shoulder. Rope bands run horizontally up the shoulders, which in turn correspond to the attachments on the handles.7 • A cup with a flat raised handle (RS 69, fig.7b), conical bowl and a flat base with flat raised handle ending in a pointed appendage; missing the top.8 • A small bowl with small handles, surface painted in red. • Portions of pitchers or bowls painted in brown with a red background, or in other cases not painted at all. The latter has
With regard to the archaeological record attributable to the Early Bronze Age, it is well documented that there were pedestal bowls, ‘hourglass’ beakers, pots with handles set between the rim and the base, and with a wide variety of decorative designs painted in brown on a red ground. Of particular interest is the cup with flat raised handle ending in a pointed appendage, conical bowl and flat base. Its outer surface is divided by a central motif consisting of double zig-zag lines Characteristic of this phase are the outer surfaces of these pots, smoothed and covered with red paint more or less intense, lying on a pink slip orange. The shape prevalent in various archaeological sites where facies is attested is the semi-ovoid footed cup with appendage raised above the handle (Bernabo Brea 1988; Cocchi Genick 1996). 10 See Ima Tartara; McConnell 1995. The fact that we find shards in contexts where there is also Malpasso painted pottery could suggest an extension of this horizon, or rather earlier use of the form.
Such activities were widespread during the middle Copper Age, e.g. at Piano Vento (Castellana 1995), Serra del Palco (Maniscalco 2007), Ribera (Castellana 1996) and Deposito Sapienza (In Ima Tartara 2008). 7 The type has an affinity with a pithos from Etna, dated Ancient Bronze Age (In Ima tartara cat. 48, p. 267). 8 Gaschromatography tests carried out on the bottom of two vessels (RS 69 and RS 66) have suggested traces of vegetable oils (marker for cereals or dried fruit). The analyses was conducted by R. Mentesana.
9
6
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Ivana Vacirca: The Late Copper Age Phase in-filled with cross-hatching between vertical lines11 (In Ima Tartara cat. 42, p. 264; Maniscalco 1997).
Bernabò Brea L.,1965, Paliké, Giacimento Paleolitico ed abitato neolitico ed eneo, in BPI, 16, pp. 23-46. Bernabò Brea L., 1988, L’età del rame nell’Italia insulare: la Sicilia e le isole Eolie, in L’età del Rame in Europa (Viareggio 15-18 ottobre 1987), in Rass.Arch.7, pp. 469-506. Castellana G.,1995, La necropoli proto eneolitica di Piano Vento nel territorio di Palma di Montechiaro, Agrigento. Castellana G., 1996, La stipe votiva del Ciavolaro nel quadro del Bronzo antico siciliano, Palermo. Cavalier M.-Cultraro M. 2009, L’insediamento eneolitico sul Poggio dell’Aquila (Adrano): risultati preliminari, in G. Lamagna (a cura di), Tra Etna e Simeto. La ricerca archeologica ad Adrano e nel suo territorio, Catania 2009, pp. 49-64. Cirino C.-Grasso V. forth., “Bowls on foot with the patterned surface: Type, distribution and use function”. da Zancle a Messina I, 1999, Bacci G.M. – Tingano G. (a cura di), Da Zancle a Messina. Un percorso archeologico attraverso gli scavi, I, Messina. De Miro E., 1961, Ricerche preistoriche a nord dell’abitato di Palma di Montechiaro, in RScPr, XVI, pp. 15-56. In Ima Tartara, 2007, La Rosa V. – Privitera F. (a cura di), In Ima Tartara. Preistoria e leggende delle grotte etnee, Palermo. Maniscalco L. –McConnell B.E., 2003, The Sanctuary of the Divine Palikoi (Rocchicella di Mineo, Sicily): Fieldwork from 1995 to 2001, in AJA, 107, pp. 145-180. Maniscalco L. –McConnell B.E, forth., Pasti rituali e non rituali presso il Santuario dei Palici (Mineo), in Atti del Convegno internazionale “Cibo per gli uomini Cibo per gli Dei. Archeologia del pasto rituale”, Piazza Armerina 2005. Maniscalco L., 2007, Considerazioni sull’età del rame nella media valle del Platani (Sicilia), in RScPreist, LVII, pp. 167184. Maniscalco L., 2008, a cura di, Il Santuario dei Palici. Un centro di culto nella Valle dei Margi, Palermo. McConnell B. E. et alii, 1995, La Muculufa II Archaeologia Transatlantica XII, Louvain-la-Neuve. Orsi P., 1907, Necropoli e stazioni sicule di transizione. Caverne di abitazione a Barriera (Catania), in BPI, XXXIII, pp. 55-99. Orsi P., 1930-31, Abitazioni e sepolcri siculi di Biancavilla (Catania) entro caverne di lava, in BPI, L-LI, pp. 134-147. Recchia G., 1997, L’analisi degli aspetti funzionali dei contenitori ceramici: un’ipotesi di percorso applicata all’età del bronzo dell’Italia meridionale, in Origini, XXI, pp. 207-306.
Conclusions In general, the ceramics recovered from pits or from the stratigraphic levels, form a complex homogeneous horizon, typical to that of the end of the Eneolithic, known as the facies di Malpasso, with strong stylistic and typological similarities with the Etna area and southern Sicily (Cultraro 2009). The decorative repertoire of EBA vessels with geometric motifs, such as bands of vertical lines, double broken line, squares and triangles, might suggest that the material from these samples belong in an intermediate stage in the development of the formal and stylistic Castelluccian ware of the Etna dstrict (Cultraro 1997; In Ima Tartara 2009). The finds so far might suggest that the site might be placed in a transitional phase, one in which it is also possible to distinguish a continuation of the monochrome painted pottery that was still in use during the Bronze Age. There have so far been few settlement contexts found that refer to the end of the Eneolithic and that would testify to a continuity of people both living and using materials related to the Bronze Age ceramics of the Malpasso horizon. Regarding the pits that characterize the area south of the historic buildings, they could perhaps be linked to ritual use; most of the structures at the back of the site are linked to lake cults, these being associated with the volcanic nature of the landscape. Acknowledgement I wish to thank L. Maniscalco, Director of Parco archeologico della ceramica del Calatino for her generosity and for allowing the study of material from samples FA VII and VIII. I would also like to thank F. Privitera for information provided and L. Maniscalco for the photographs; the artefact drawings are by M.G. Currò. Bibliography Albanese Procelli R.M., 1988-89, Calascibetta (Enna).La necropoli di Malpasso, Calcarella e Valle Coniglio, in NSc, Suppl. I, pp. 161-398.
The frames of reference are attributed to an advanced EBA stage, painted with motifs characteristic of Castelluccian ware from the Etna district. 11
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Fig. 2 The Lakes (Houel)
Fig. 3 Pits south of Stoà B
Fig. 4. Sector L
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Fig. 5 FA VII Section
Fig. 6 Deposit in pit FA VII
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Fig. 8 Alare
Fig. 7 Vessels from FA VIII
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Innovation and Tradition in the Technology of Large Storage Jars from the Sicilian Middle Bronze Age Carlo Veca
University of Catania, Scuola di specializzazione in Beni Archeologici, Catania
In north-eastern Sicily, at Milazzo, the pithoi identified in the necropolis of Predio Caravello (Bernabo Brea, Cavalier 1959: tavv. VIII.6, X.1, 5, XI.1, XIII.1-2, XIV.2, XV.3 XVII.5-6) are ovoid in shape, with indistinct necks and expanded rims, 4 small vertical handles around the mouth and two higher handles on belly (Bernabo Brea, Cavalier 1959: 17), very similar to models from the Aeolian Islands (Alberti 2008: 60).
Introduction One of the more relevant gaps in the study of the prehistoric pottery of Sicily is the scarcity of data concerning technological aspects of production and petrographic and geochemical characterization of materials. Except for some isolated but significant cases, data is still limited for the Middle Bronze Age in Sicily (second half of 15th to the first half of 13th century BC), and the Aeolian (Levi and Jones 2004; Williams and Jones 2001; Jones and Levi 2005).
On the other necropolis of the Milazzo area, at Contrada S. Papino, significantly different pithoi were found that are attributed to the Rodì-Tindari-Vallelunga style, and dated between the Early and Middle Bronze Age (Voza 1980-1981: 689; 1982: 104).
During the Middle Bronze Age (Thapsos culture), a period with a chronological extent different from the rest of Italy (Table I), there was an evident technological transformation in pottery production. New procedures in preparation clays, in manufacturing, decorating and firing, which remained unchanged for a long period, were all experimented with under the influence of Aegean influences of Sicily in this period (and introducing their own fine ware pottery) (La Rosa 2004). Regarding MBA Sicilian storage vessels, the evidence is still problematic. Before trying to proffer a documentary outline on this topic it is necessary to offer a brief review of the available data.
From Messina, similar storage vessels were recognized at the necropolis of Contrada Paradiso (Scibona 1971: 216, fig. 2, 219, fig. 6), and Torrente Boccetta (Scibona 1984-1985: 859; Bernabo Brea 1985: 48, tav. IV, fig. 1). In the first case the vessels had irregular ovoid bodies, expanded rims, and 4 vertical strap handles on the shoulder (Scibona 1971: 215-16). In the second, the pithoi had ovoid elongated bodies, handles on the maximum expansion of the belly, and small handles around the base of the neck (Scibona 1984-1985: tav. CXCV, fig. 1), recalling the Aeolian types of Milazzese (Alberti 2004: 120).
Storage jars in the Sicilian Middle Bronze Age
A case of study in Sicily: Monte San Paolillo
The first specimens of large storage vessels are represented by the so called bottini fittili, globular jars with handles, of medium size and variety in morphology, belonging to EBA (c. 2200-1450 B.C.). Among many finds the more relevant are specimens from Monte Tabuto (Orsi 1898: 175, tav. XX, fig. 23, 182, tav. XXI, fig. 13) and Castelluccio (Orsi 1892: 76, tav. II, 16, sep. 34). This typology can also be found in MBA such as Ustica (Holloway and Lukesh 2001: 50-1, figg. 5.44a - 5.44b), Thapsos (Orsi 1895: 125-6, fig. 37, sep. 43), Cozzo Pantano (Orsi 1893: 12, tav. I, 10, sep. IX), and Barriera (Orsi 1907: 67) (Fig. 1).
New data may come from recent researches at the site of Monte San Paolillo (Fig. 2), a hill 220m high in the northern suburb of Catania (Tanasi 2010). The excavations of 1994 and 1996 (Patanè 1997-1998: 189-95; Branciforti 1999: 242-3; Tanasi 2010) at the south-west of the hill led to the discovery of a multi layered settlement with an extraordinary continuity from the Neolithic to the Copper, and up to the pre-colonial period. During the explorations of 1996, in a trench called G/96 (Figs. 3-4), significant structural evidence was found for different periods, including the remains of a hut dating to the Middle Bronze Age (Patanè 1997-1998: 193; Tanasi 2010). In the north-eastern part of the excavation area (Fig. 5) a blackish (US 19) layer of soil was found. It was characterized by the presence of a few potsherds of Thapsos type and a mass of pithoi fragments from several different specimens. Below US 19 was found a second layer, US 40, with many potsherds belonging mainly to table wares and without fragments of pithoi. The excavators interpreted this level as related to US 19. This layer, on the west side of the trench, was set above US 39, a layer interpreted as a level of destruction and levelling. It covered, in the central part of the trench (layer US) 16, what turned out to be the pavement of hut 1 (Patanè 1997-1998: 193-4, fig. 2).
At the beginning of MBA, as well as bottino fittile, the pithos appears, with new features such as handles, ovoid bodies and distinct necks. The most interesting groups of pithoi are located in Aeolian contexts such as Portella di Salina (Martinelli 2005), or north-eastern Sicily, where the influence of the Aeolian Milazzeze culture was stronger, as at the enchytrismos necropoleis of Predio Caravello, Contrada San Papino, Milazzo, Contrada Paradiso, and Torrente Boccetta (Martinelli 1999: 167, fig. 9). The pithoi of Portella di Salina (Bernabo Brea, Cavalier 1968: tavv. XLVII, XLVIII.1-4, 6, XCV. 1, XCVI.1-4, figs. 47-48, 66, 70-71.6; Martinelli 2005: 165-8) are generally ovoid in shape, flat based, with expanded and indistinct rims. They occur in two varieties: one characterized by several pairs of handles (4 smaller ones at the top of the shoulder, two higher opposite on the belly); the second version has the same form, but smaller, only two handles on the belly, while on the shoulder there are 4 conical studs (Bernabo Brea, Cavalier 1968: 197-8).
The preliminary studies carried out on the shards of fine wares coming from US 19-40 (Tanasi 2010) – layers from which substantial evidence of storage jars was found – led to a chronological assignment for this deposit to Thapsos Phase III
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SOMA 2011 (1310/1300-1270/1250 B.C.), according to the reference system devised by G. Alberti (2004; 2007).
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The assemblage of large storage jars from Monte San Paolillo, thanks to the condition of its context of provenance, represents a unique case for evaluating the technical level of local artisans involved in this kind of production.
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169 fragments of pithoi were recovered (Fig. 13), all coming from layer US 19, identified in trench G/96 over an area of about 10m2 (Fig. 5). Analyzing the joining parts and similarities of fabric, it was possible to clarify that they belonged to 10 pithoi vessels whose more representative morphological and typological features were recognized. The study is articulated by autoptic analysis of fabrics, typological classification, the study of technological features, and the definition of parallels. •
Analysis of fabrics The description of the various fabrics (Graph 1), indicated by a numerical sequence (I, II etc.), included clay section analysis (compactness, porosity, colour, composition, tempers), analysis of internal and external surfaces (colour, finishing operations, working traces), examination of shape and appearance of fractures of the joining pieces, as already conducted on similar classes of material from prehistoric contexts of southern Italy (Levi et al. 1999). A significant moment of the study was represented by the analysis of technological aspects, crucial for interpreting manufacturing processes and for defining different production stages.
Type 1: smooth body type; indistinct rim, straight, rounded. Distinct conical neck profile. Ovoid body, with apex at the centre. Indistinct foot, flat based. Represented by 10 fragments of pithoi (6% of the sample) all belonging to fabric I. it can be distinguished in the following variants: Variant A: neck indistinct, indistinct rim, straight, rounded; Variant B: distinct rim, everted and flat, rounded lip (Fig. 6). Type 2: rope banded body type; indistinct rim, straight, with rectangular section, distinct conical neck-profile, ovoid body, with apex at the centre. Indistinct foot, flat based. Decorated with plastic smooth horizontal rope bands on the body; constant distance between a rope and another; thickening of the ropes in proximity of handles; strap handles with vertical thickening at the attachment, bordered by a rope. Plastic rope also by the base. To this type is related the fragment of flat indistinct base with a rope near the bottom (MSP96/56). Type 2 is represented by 106 fragments of pithoi (63% of the sample), of which 27 fragments of fabric I; 40 of fabric II; 3 of fabric III; 31 of fabric IV; 6 of fabric V (Fig. 8). Type 3: reticulated body type; inverted piriform body, with decoration consisting of a grid of plastic rope bands. It is represented by 52 fragments (31%), of which 47 of fabric I and 5 of fabric VI. The type can be distinguished in the following variants: Variant A: decoration with plastic rope bands with circular section, constant size, which define a uniform grid with panels of about 10x10 cm; Variant B: decoration with plastic rope bands forming grid with horizontal ropes with circular section, intersecting with vertical ropes with triangular section (Fig. 10).
In addition it was possible to identify just one type of handle, a vertical strap, associated with type 2 on the basis of comparison. For type 1, it was possible to highlight the characteristics of rims, for type 2 the graphic reconstruction of a specimen almost completely reassembled was offered and for type 3 just walls with peculiar plastic grid decoration and small portions of rim and shoulder were identified.
Based on visual observation, it was possible to distinguish different fabrics, especially temper characteristics (summarized in Table II), where more representative specimens, indicated by the abbreviation MSP96/1, 2, etc., are present.
Technology
Analyzing the various fabrics, it can be seen that pithoi from Monte San Paolillo fall into the category of coarse ware (Vidale 2007), with an uncleansed clay, thick and compact, and burnt in some parts, due to difficulties in temperature control during firing. In the sections, several types of temper, lava, grog, mica, volcanic glass, crushed rocks, pebbles of fluvial origin, can be observed, with a range from a minimum proportion to major concentration, in order to limit the plasticity of the clay or to facilitate handling and contraction.
Further to the main contributions on pottery technology (Cuomo di Caprio 2007; Maggetti 1982; Mannoni e Giannichedda 1996; Pelegrin et alii 1989; Rice 1982; Saracino 2005; van der Leeuw 1981; 1984), the case study of the pithoi from Monte San Paolillo could offer new and interesting interpretative perspectives. The first significant element observed is the combined use during shaping of superimposed ropes and individual preformed clay slabs, juxtaposed for forming walls (Saracino 2005; Vidale 2007). The construction was done from the bottom to rim. Large rings of clay, consisting of several ropes, were located one on each other and connected with barbotine (Guglielmino 1999: 479). Due to the size of vessels, portions of wall were merged independently and then joined (Levi et al. 1999).
Cracks and vacuoles are very numerous, while holes caused by organic and vegetal grits dissolved during firing. This visual analysis led to the identification of 6 fabrics (Table II). The reliability of this distinction in groups was supported by petrographic analysis in optical microscopy on thin sections carried out on selected specimens, the results of which were discussed elsewhere (Barone et al. 2011).
Junction interfaces, usually points of structural weakness, were strengthened with the help of an outer rope, which increased the connection between the different sections. These observations were made possible thanks to several factors:
Classification For typological classification (Graph 2) the criteria used for taxonomic analysis of dolii from Broglio di Trebisacce and Torre Mordillo in Southern Italy (Tenaglia 1994: 349-71; Trucco e Vagnetti 2001: 202-4) were applied and three typologies have been distinguished (Table III):
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Frequent horizontal fractures at or in proximity of the decorative ropes, which could suggest the presence of joints between the ropes (Fig. 12 b); Evident traces of smoothing on the inner surface of the walls, in correspondence with outer ropes (Fig. 12 a);
Carlo Veca: Innovation and Tradition in the Technology of Large Storage Jars • Structural and not simply decorative function of ropes, which were a kind of band of reinforcement between different overlapped sections.
Type 2 has decorative and morphological affinities with a pithos discovered by Orsi from the huts of Scuola Enologica di Barriera, Catania (Orsi 1907: 77; Procelli 2008: 229; 1972: 203, fig. 18 d) (Fig. 9 b). Other significant comparisons are two pithoi from Thapsos, the enchytrismos n. 8 at the necropolis, and the pithos from the hut in area XLIV (1972: 203, fig. 18 ac) (Fig. 9 a). Strong stylistic and formal similarities can be seen with the specimen from burial 25 in the S. Papino necropolis, Milazzo (Voza 1980-1981: tav. CXXXIII; 1982: 109, fig. 16).
The walls were shaped by ‘sheets’ of clay previously stretched and folded in order to create multi layered wide bands and then put in place, as shows clearly in fractures where there is a stratification of different levels of clay. The merging between different sheets and between them and the external rope bands was done through the application of ‘mortise and tenon’ joints (Fig. 12 e). The same technique is observable in some later contexts from southern Italy, such as the dolii from Roca Vecchia (Guglielmino 1999: 479) and Broglio di Trebisacce (Bettelli 2002: 100, fig. 45 f-g).
Type 3 is typologically very close with enchytrismos n. 6 from Thapsos (Voza 1972: 203, fig. 18 b) (Fig. 11). It is not easy to establish a comparison with the fragmentary specimen from the hut in area ‘β’ at Monte Belvedere Pianura-Chiusa di Fiumedinisi (Villari 1981: 117, fig. 2 g), the chronological setting of which is rather uncertain.
Free-hand scraping of the exterior and interior walls was practised, as documented by the presence of fingerprints corresponding to the internal grinding (Fig. 12 c) – a practice also observed in some contexts of southern Italy (Buffa 1984: 161). In type 2 and 3, the outer surface is characterized by rope bands probably applied when the clay body reached a ‘leather-hard’ state, with both structural and decorative function. Rope bands can be parallel horizontal, as in type 2, or form a grid as in type 3.
Final observations The emerging data allow us to offer few preliminary conclusions. An important observation is the simultaneous presence of different types of pithoi in the same stratigraphic context, related to the final part of the Middle Bronze Age. As the ovoid pithos, with its distinct conical neck and flat base, and the type with decorative ropes existed already during the Bronze Age, the evidence from Monte San Paolillo indicates the long life of these types, which will later disappear with the beginning of the following Late Bronze Age phase, and which were substituted by simpler and more standardized shapes (Tanasi 2003). To Justify the contemporary use of two different kinds of pithoi, probably produced by the same workshop, the more likely hypothesis is that they had different functions.
With regards to grid decorated specimens, it is also possible to distinguish between grids formed by curved-section ropes and grids formed by alternating curved and triangular section ropes. The application technique consisted of pressing a rope band on a guide-groove in the wall (Fig. 12 f). Rope bands always seem to mark the two attachment points of vertical handles, to better guarantee the connection between handles and shoulder. Moreover, the ‘mortise and tenon’ joint is identifiable also on some vases with loop handles.
Leaving aside the idea of a funerary use for the specimens from Monte San Paolillo, it seems clear that they were used for the storage of liquid or dry goods. In this case, morphology, design and technology could correspond to several different uses, even though the most reasonable hypothesis is that they were cereal containers.
In different sections of bases analysed a greater concentration of lava and grog temper can be seen, perhaps to decrease the plasticity and to facilitate subsequent operations of detachment from the work-table (Fig. 12 g), as seen in contemporary dolii from Roca Vecchia (Guglielmino 1999: 479) and on a Sicilian LBA vessel (Tanasi 2003: 85). Another significant feature of the bases is the presence of corrugations on the edges, perhaps due to the use of a tool for separation from the work surface.
Since the hypothesis of the existence of centralized warehouses in the Middle Bronze Age still remains unproved, it is probably likely that the pithoi were inside the huts themselves, perhaps in multiples, as can be seen, for example, within contemporary contexts from Thapsos (Voza 1972) and Salina (Martinelli 2005, p. 167).
A relevant element that must be taken into account for future research is the presence of large dark blotches of liquid absorption on inner surfaces, present on 32 fragments of fabric IV (Fig. 12 d).
From the analysis carried out on the pithoi, it is clear that there was a greater complexity in the productive cycle of these types of ceramics that involved a degree of specialization in all its phases. This is particularly clear in attempts made to improving quality, change strategies in clay selection, and experimenting with new shaping techniques.
Parallels Typological analogies for our pithoi can be found in some funerary contexts from north-eastern Sicily.
The discovery of a specimen of pithos closely comparable to forms from Monte San Paolillo, at the contemporary site of Barriera di Catania (Voza 1972), could suggest that the activities of a hypothetical workshop specializing in large storage jar production was centred around Monte San Paolillo.
Type 1 of our classification, in both varieties, is comparable to several examples from the enchytrismos necropolis of Casa dello Studente, Messina (Martinelli 1999: 165-9) (Fig. 7 a-b), from two pithoi from tomb 10 of the necropolis of S. Papino, Milazzo (Voza 1980-1981: 689; 1982: 109, fig. 16; Martinelli 1999: 167, fig. 9, 75, 87), and with a pithos from the Thapsos settlement, unpublished, but currently exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Siracusa.
Our understanding of the chronological setting of the pithoi found at Monte San Paolillo during the Thapsos III phase represents a significant step forward for the dating of several of the above-mentioned specimens as comparisons, especially the
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SOMA 2011 La Rosa, V., 2004, Le presenze micenee nel territorio siracusano: per una storia del problema, in La Rosa, V., a cura di, Le presenze micenee nel territorio siracusano, Atti del Primo simposio siracusano di preistoria siciliana, Padova, pp. 11-20. Leighton, R., 1986, Paolo Orsi (1859-1935) and the prehistory of Sicily, Antiquity 60, pp. 15-20. Levi S. T., Bianco S., Castagna M. A., Gatti D., Jones R. E., Lazzarini L., Le Pera E., Odoguardi L., Peroni R., Schiappelli A., Sonnino M., Vagnetti L. , Vanzetti A., 1999, Produzione e circolazione della ceramica nella Sibaritide protostorica. Vol. I. Impasto e dolii, R. Peroni, A. Vanzetti, a cura di, Prima di Sibari, Firenze. Maggetti, M., 1982, Phase analysis and its Significance for technology and origin, in J.S. Olin, A.D. Franklin, a cura di, Archaeological ceramics, Washington, pp. 121-134. Mannino G. e Spatafora F., 1995, Mokarta: La necropoli di Cresta di Gallo, Quaderni del Museo Archeologico Regionale “Antonio Salinas” suppl. I, Palermo. Mannoni T. e Giannichedda E., 1996, Archeologia della produzione, Torino. Martinelli, M. C., 1999, Il deposito preistorico: il villaggio, la necropoli e le prime considerazioni sui materiali ceramici e litici, in G. M. Bacci e G. Tigano, a cura di, da Zancle a Messina, vol. I, un percorso archeologico attraverso gli scavi, Palermo, pp. 161-183. Martinelli, M.C., 2005, a cura di, Villaggio dell’età del Bronzo Medio di Portella a Salina nelle Isole Eolie, Origines, Roma. Munsell 2000, Munsell Soil Color Charts, revised edition, Baltimora. Orsi, P., 1892, La necropoli sicula di Castelluccio (Siracusa), in Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana XVIII, 1892, 1-34, 67-84. Orsi, P., 1893, Necropoli sicula presso Siracusa con vasi e bronzi micenei, in Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei, II, 1893, coll. 5-36. Orsi, P., 1895, Thapsos, in Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei, VI, 1895, coll. 88-150. Orsi, P., 1898, Miniere di selce e sepolcri eneolitici a Monte Tabuto e Monte Racello presso Comiso, (Siracusa), in Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana XXIV, 1898, pp. 165-206. Orsi, P., 1907, Necropoli e stazioni sicule di transizione. Caverne di abitazione a Barriera presso Catania, in Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana XXXIII, 1907, pp. 53-99. Patanè, A., 1997-1998, Scavi e ricerche a Catania, Licodia Eubea, Grammichele, Ramacca, in Kokalos XLIII-XLIV 1997-1998, pp. 189-195. Pelegrin J., Karlin C. and Bidu P., 1989, Chaînes opératoires: un outil pour le prehistorien, in Technologie prehistorique, Notes and Monographies Techniques 25, pp. 55-62. Privitera F. e La Rosa V., 2007, a cura di, In Ima Tartara. Preistoria e leggenda delle grotte etnee, Catalogo della Mostra, Iraklion 5-31 maggio, Volos 11 giugno-11 luglio, Catania 15 dicembre 2007- 31 marzo 2008, Palermo. Procelli, E., 1983, Naxos preellenica. Le culture e i materiali dal Neolitico all’età del Ferro nella penisola di Schisò, Cronache di Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte 22, pp. 9-82. Procelli, E., 2007, Il territorio di Catania: le grotte di Barriera, in F. Privitera e V. La Rosa, a cura di, In Ima Tartara. Preistoria e leggenda delle grotte etnee, Palermo, pp. 225-229. Rice, P.M., 1982, Pottery production, pottery classification and the role of physicochemical analyses, in J. S. Olin, A. D. Franklin, a cura di, Archaeological ceramics, Washington, pp. 47-56. Saracino, M., 2005, Prima del tornio, introduzione alla tecnologia della produzione ceramica, Bari.
shapes with reticulated bodies from Thapsos and Barriera, whose interpretation is rather problematic. Bibliography Alberti, G., 2004, Contributo alla seriazione delle necropoli siracusane, in La Rosa, V., a cura di, Le presenze micenee nel territorio siracusano, Atti del Primo simposio siracusano di preistoria siciliana, Padova, pp. 99-170. Alberti, G., 2005, The Earliest Contacts between South-Eastern Sicily and Cyprus in the Late Bronze Age, in Laffineur R. and Greco E., a cura di, Emporia. Aegeans in Central and Eastern Mediterranean, Acts of the 10th International Aegean Conference at the Italian School of Archaeology in Athens, (Athens 14-18 April 2004), Aegaeum 25, pp. 343-351. Alberti, G., 2007, Minima Thapsiana. Riflessioni sulla cronologia dell’abitato di Thapsos, in Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche LVII, pp. 363-376. Alberti, G., 2008, La ceramica eoliana della facies del Milazzese, Studio crono-tipologico e culturale sulla base dei dati editi da Filicudi, Lipari, Panarea, Salina, BAR-IS 1767, Oxford. Barone G., Mazzoleni P., Tanasi D., Veca C. (eds.), La tecnologia della produzione ceramica nel Bronzo Medio siciliano: il caso dei pithoi di Monte San Paolillo (Catania), in Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche, 2011. Bernabo Brea L. and Cavalier M., 1959, Mylai, Novara. Bernabo Brea L. and Cavalier M., 1968, Meligunìs Lipàra III, stazioni preistoriche delle isole Panarea, Salina e Stromboli, Palermo. Bernabo Brea, L., 1985, Gli Eoli e l’inizio dell’età del bronzo nelle isole Eolie e nell’Italia meridionale, Napoli. Bettelli, M., 2002, Italia meridionale e mondo miceneo, Firenze. Branciforti, M.G., 1999, Siti e insediamenti nella regione etnea, in Barra Bagnasco M. et alii, a cura di, Magna Grecia e Sicilia, Soveria Mannelli, pp. 241-258. Buffa, V., 1984, Broglio di Trebisacce. I dolii cordonati, in R. Peroni, a cura di, Nuove ricerche sulla protostoria della Sibaritide, Roma, pp. 159-168. Castellana, G., 2000, La cultura del Medio Bronzo nell’agrigentino ed i rapporti con il mondo miceneo, Agrigento 2000. Cuomo di Caprio, N., 1985, La ceramica in archeologia. Antiche tecniche di lavorazione e moderni metodi d’indagine, Roma. Guglielmino, S., 1999, I dolii cordonati di Roca Vecchia (LE) e il problema della loro derivazione egea, in La Rosa V., Palermo D., Vagnetti L., a cura di, Epì ponton plazomenoi, Simposio italiano di studi egei in onore di L. Bernabo Brea e G. Pugliese Carratelli (Roma 18-20 febbraio 1998), Roma, pp. 475-486. Holloway R.R. and Lukesh S.S., 2001, Ustica II. Excavations of 1994 and 1999, Providence, Rhode Island. Levi S.T. and Jones R.E., 2004, Risultati preliminari delle analisi di ceramiche micenee dalla Sicilia sud-orientale, in La Rosa V., a cura di, I Simposio siracusano di preistoria siciliana in memoria di P. Orsi. Le presenze micenee nel territorio siracusano, Atti del convegno (Siracusa 15-16 dicembre 2003), Padova, pp. 171-185. Levi S.T. and Jones R.E. 2005, Analisi archeometriche delle ceramiche, in Martinelli, M.C., a cura di, Villaggio dell’età del Bronzo Medio di Portella a Salina nelle Isole Eolie, Origines, Roma 2005. La Rosa, V., 1986, Nuovi ritrovamenti e sopravvivenze egee nella Sicilia meridionale, in Marazzi M., Tusa S., Vagnetti L., a cura di, Traffici Micenei nel Mediterraneo. Problemi storici e documentazione archeologica, Atti del Convegno (Palermo, 11-12 maggio, 3-6 dicembre 1984), Taranto 1986, pp. 79-87.
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Carlo Veca: Innovation and Tradition in the Technology of Large Storage Jars van der Leeuw, S.E., 1981, Ceramic Exchange and manufacture: a “flow structure” approach, in Howard H., Morris E. L., a cura di, Production and distribution: a ceramic viewpoint, B.A.R., i.s. 387, Oxford, pp. 361-386. van der Leeuw, S.E., 1984, Dust to dust: a transformational view of the ceramic cycle, in van der Leeuw S. E, Pritchard A.C., a cura di, The many dimensions of pottery, Amsterdam, pp. 707-774. Vanzetti, A., 2004, La Sicilia occidentale, in Cocchi Genick, D., a cura di, L’età del bronzo recente in Italia, Atti del Congresso, Viareggio-Lucca 2004, pp. 320-325. Vidale, M., 2007, Ceramica e archeologia, Roma. Villari, P., 1981, I giacimenti preistorici del Monte Belvedere e della Pianura Chiusa di Fiumedinisi (Messina). Successione delle culture nella Sicilia nordorientale (relazione preliminare), in Sicilia Archeologica 46-48, pp. 111-121. Voza, G., 1972, Thapsos, primi risultati delle più recenti ricerche, in Atti della XIV Riunione scientifica dell’Istituto italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze, pp. 175-205. Voza, G., 1980-1981, L’attività della soprintendenza alle antichità della Sicilia orientale, in Kokalos XXVI-XXVII, pp.674-693. Voza, G., 1982, L’attività della Soprintendenza ai Beni Archeologici della Sicilia Orientale dal 1976 al 1982, in Beni Culturali e Ambientali Sicilia, 3, pp. 93-136. Williams, J. L., Levi S. T. 2001, Archeometria della ceramica eoliana: nuovi risultati, sintesi e prospettive, in Martinelli, M. C. e Spigo U., a cura di, Studi di preistoria e protostoria in onore di Luigi Bernabò Brea, Quaderni del Museo Archeologico Regionale Eoliano, suppl. I, Messina, pp. 265304.
Scibona, G., 1971, Due tombe ad enchytrismos della media età del bronzo in Contrada Paradiso a Messina, in Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana XXII, pp. 213-227. Scibona, G., 1984-1985, Messina: notizia preliminare sulla necropoli romana e sul giacimento preistorico del Torrente Boccetta, in Kokalos XXX-XXXI, pp. 855-861. Tanasi, D., 2003, Un pithos della tarda età del bronzo al museo della ceramica di Caltagirone, Quaderni di archeologia Università di Messina n. 3, pp. 85-90. Tanasi, D., 2005, Mycenaean Pottery Imports and Local Imitations: Sicily VS Southern Italy, in Laffineur R., Greco E., a cura di, Emporia. Aegeans in Central and Eastern Mediterranean, Acts of the 10th International Aegean Conference at the Italian School of Archaeology in Athens, (Athens 14-18 April 2004), Aegaeum 25, pp. 561-569. Tanasi, D., 2008, La Sicilia e l’arcipelago maltese nell’età del Bronzo Medio, Palermo. Tanasi, D., 2010, Gli scavi di Monte S. Paolillo e le presenze di tipo egeo nel territorio di Catania, in La Rosa V. e Branciforti M.G., a cura di, Tra lava e mare. Contributi all’archaiologhia di Catania, Atti del Convegno, Catania 2010, pp. 81-94. Tenaglia, P., 1994, I dolii condonati, in R. Peroni e F. Trucco, a cura di, Enotri e Micenei nella Sibaritide, I, Broglio di Trebisacce, Taranto, pp. 349-371. Trucco F. e Vagnetti L., 2001, a cura di, Torre Mordillo 19871990. Le relazioni egee di una comunità protostorica della Sibaritide, Roma. Tusa S. 1997, L’insediamento dell’età del bronzo con bicchiere campaniforme di Marcita, Castelvetrano (Trapani), Trapani.
Chronology
Sicily
c. 2200/2100-1440/1420 B.C. 1440/1420-1400/1380 B.C. 1400/1380-1310/1300 B.C. 1310/1300-1270/1250 B.C.
Early Bronze Age Middle Bronze Age
Southern Italy
Castelluccio Thapsos I Thapsos II Thapsos III
Aegean
Early Bronze 1-2 Middle Bronze 1-2 Middle Bronze 3 (Appenninic) Final Bronze 1 (Sub-appenninic)
MH LH II LH IIIA1 LH IIIA2 LH IIIB1
Table I: Comparative timeline of Sicilian Early and Middle Bronze Age with southern Italy and the Aegean
Temper limestone lava volcanic glass grog pebbles quartz
Fabric I (79 frr.)
Fabric II (41 frr.)
x x x
x x x x
Fabric III (4 frr.)
Fabric IV (31 frr.)
Fabric V (7 frr.)
Fabric VI (6 frr.)
x x x
x x
x
x
x x
x x
Table II: Presence/absence of temper in different fabrics
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Type
Variant
Fabric
1
A
I
1
B
I
2
-
I
2
-
I
2
-
II
2
-
III
2
-
IV
2
-
V
3
A
I
3
B
VI
Table III: Classification of specimens in order of type/variant with indication of fabrics
Graph 1. Fabrics: amount and share of pithoi
Graph 2. Share of Types
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Carlo Veca: Innovation and Tradition in the Technology of Large Storage Jars
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Piano dei Casazzi (Mineo, Catania). Data on the proto-historic inhabitation Francescaromana Alberghina
Consultant of the Soprintendenza BB. CC. AA. di Catania
is a fragment belonging to an alare, a support which was perhaps the base of a fictile horn, and a spindle-whorl.
The archaeological site of Piano dei Casazzi, known also as Erbe Bianche, is situated on a broad plateau at the summit of rocky, high ground in the south-eastern part of the Erei Mountains (Monti Algar), between the towns of Caltagirone and Mineo (fig. 1). Isolated and difficult to access nowadays, the site dominates the surrounding area, where the presence of water courses which were once navigable, such as the river Margi, enabled the movement of both men and goods during various ages.
Although the material is rather fragmentary, it is interesting to note how it is mainly classes of material from the domestic sphere that are represented, connected with the working and preparation of food. Of particular importance are the alare shard, as it was probably used as a support for vessels for cooking food, and the lid shard from the boiling pot, probably used for preparing dairy products.
Excavated in the spring of 2006 by the Superintendency of Catania, directed by Dott.ssa Gioconda Lamagna, Piano dei Casazzi was an important indigenous fortified centre with elements relating to the influence of the Greek world. Investigations have centred on the inhabited area, the cemetery and the so-called ‘sanctuary’ in the western section of the plateau. It is in this last area that the excavation revealed the presence of proto-historic phases.
The data on the inhabitation of the plateau during the 3rd millennium BC fits in with the evidence supplied by surface finds dating to the Early Bronze Age discovered at the eastern part of the site.1 At this present stage in the research the contextual interpretation is more complex. The fragmentary nature of the evidence from this period within the site adds to a substantial absence of pre-proto-historic phases in the areas inhabited by the Greeks, while rock-carved chamber tombs in the eastern area of the cemetery can be dated, by typology, to between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age.
The ‘sanctuary’ stood on a rise overhanging the south-eastern necropolis, bordered by spurs of rock crumbled in several places (fig. 2). Inhabited from the proto-historic to the Late Antique Age, during the Greek Age it was a cult centre suggested by the evidence on the rock walls of aediculae for housing pinakes and of numerous shards of fictile statuettes depicting female divinities with polos, recalling the cult of Demeter and Kore.
It is possible that the context was a temporary settlement which was part of a larger system of Early Bronze Age settlements spread extensively in this area.2
The proto-historic phases have been revealed in two excavation samples (DI e DIII), opened at the back of the spurs of rock characteristic of the area. In sample DI numerous shards of impasto pottery were found in a cleft of the rock, where votive materials were placed during the Greek Age. A little to the south, sample DIII was opened at the back of an imposing rocky outcrop which in the past must have formed a type of grotto, in continuous use since pre-historic times (fig. 3).
Bibliography Belfiore, R., 2000. Il centro abitato indigeno –ellenizzato di Piano dei Casazzi (Mineo), Sicilia Archeologica XXXIII, 259-76. Nicoletti, F., 2000. Indagini sull’organizzazione del territorio nella facies di Castelluccio. Il caso dei Monti Algar, Sicilia Archeologica XXXIII, 104-127.
Two perpendicular walls, built at different times, were revealed in this sample (USM 312, USM 313). The first of these is probably from the Greek period and is set against the rock. A layer of crumbling ground was discovered beneath the layer compacted to build the wall (US316), from which painted pottery with black-on-red geometric decoration were discovered, dating to the early Bronze Age (Castelluccio facies) but with elements which refer to the late or end of the Copper Age. There are more than 350 pottery shards from the proto-historic period, a fragment of millstone in lava stone, some flints and a fragment of obsidian. The pottery includes black-on-red painted pottery (fig. 4) and un-decorated fragments of impasto (fig. 5): the remains isolated a burnished fragment with a thin horizontal raised rib. Among the painted pottery are pedestal bowls, highhandled cups, small one-handle jugs and a small lid: relating to a Late-Eneolithic tradition was a small-handle jug from DIII. Among the un-decorated pottery are large containers, closed round-body vessels, pedestal bowls, cups and jugs as well as a lid shard from a boiling pot. In addition, among the fictile material
1 2
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Belfiore 2000, p. 263. Nicoletti 2000, pp. 116-121.
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Fig. 1: Site of Piano dei Casazzi
Fig. 2: Piano dei Casazzi, the ‘sanctuary’ (photo by F. Alberghina)
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Francescaromana Alberghina: Piano dei Casazzi
Fig. 3: Excavation sample DIII (photo by F. Alberghina)
Fig. 4: Black-on-red painted pottery: 1) Handle jug; 2) small handle jug; 3) jug: fragment of neck; 4) pedestal bowl: fragment of pedestal; 5) pedestal bowl: fragment of bowl; 6) lid (photo and drawings by F. Alberghina)
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Fig. 5: Undecorated pottery: 1) pedestal bowl: fragment of pedestal with raised rib; 2) open bowl; 3) small jug: fragment of neck; 4) open bowl; 5) open bowl; 6) horizontal handle from closed vessel; 7) fragment of alare (photo and drawings by F. Alberghina)
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Ceramic ethnoarchaeometry in Sicily: recent traditional productions as a tool for understanding past manufactures Giuseppe Montana, Anna Maria Polito
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare (DiSTeM) - Università degli Studi di Palermo (e-mail: [email protected])
Evanthia Tsantini
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare (DiSTeM) - Università degli Studi di Palermo Equip de Recerca Arqueològica i Arqueomètrica de la Universitat de Barcelona (ERAAUB)
of ceramic production for this part of Sicily are still limited and based only on macroscopic morphologic and decorative features (Ragona, 1986).
Introduction As is well known ethnoarchaeology aims to help archaeologists in the reconstruction of ancient social and cultural habits and lifestyle. It has also been used for the better understanding of the main elements involved in the historical pottery production of a given territory: selection criteria of clayey raw materials; paste recipes used by local craftsmen; to test hypotheses of pottery provenance from a specific workshop (Peacock, 1982; Fulford & Peacock, 1984; Arnold et al., 1991; Costin, 2000; Stark et al., 2000; Buxeda et al., 2003). On the other hand, the works that apply physicochemical analytical methodologies to study traditional ceramic artefacts and clayey raw materials occur more frequently in the scientific literature (Hein et al., 2004). It is believed that, within a specific chronological and/ or territorial context, the comparison of raw materials with local ceramic manufactures in terms of both compositional and textural features could be crucial for the reconstruction of production choices (i.e. clay quality, sand tempering, shaping and drying procedures, surface finishing, firing conditions, etc.). One of the main contributions of ethnoarchaeometry to the solving of a specific archaeological problem is the assignment of a production centre/area to ceramic artefacts of an unknown origin and the reconstruction of the corresponding ‘operative chain’. Only an appropriate holistic approach using a combination of different disciplines is capable of solving problems related to the assignation of a specific ceramic production to a specific site and/ or the identification of the possible origin of the raw materials, subsequently leading to valid proposals regarding the socioeconomic and cultural identity of an area or the trade networks involved.
Recently, a systematic archaeometric research has been developed within this territory, involving highly representative archaeological case studies that also highlight the importance of a combined analytical approach using both petrography and chemical analysis to attest local pottery productions (Montana et al., 2003; Belvedere et al., 2006; Montana et al., 2011). These works confirm that selection of raw materials not only depends on their accessibility, but also on their mineralogical composition and textural features (i.e. relative abundance and size of sand inclusions). In fact, the latter confer specific physical properties to a clay, that is to say, plasticity and linear shrinkage (after drying and firing), that are important during different stages of the process of pottery production. Following this trend, the present research treats a characteristic example of traditional ceramic production in western Sicily by considering the compositional characterization of both raw materials and pottery. Brief ethnographic information The preliminary research on current ceramic production using traditional methods in the territory of western and central Sicily was considered greatly significant in terms of the aims of this work. Several field studies and interviews of traditional craftsmen have been carried out. These craftsmen are working today at Sambuca di Sicilia (Mr Mangiaracina), Racalmuto (Mr Martorelli), Marsala (Mr Demarco), Mazzara del Vallo (Mr Fulco), Paceco (Mr Ingrassia), Collesano (Mr Meli), Polizzi Generosa (Mr D’Angelo), Castellana Sicula (Mr Bellomo) and Mussomeli (Mr Di Salvo). All of them are the last descendants of long-established, pottery-making families. In their workshops, known locally as stazzuna, the stages of handmade pottery fabrication were observed. In general, four basic phases can be recognized: (a) selection and exploitation of the raw materials, (b) pre-treatment of the raw clay and clay paste preparation, (c) moulding and drying, (d) firing. Additionally, according to the oral testimony of the craftsmen, the traditionally used clayey formations in the area essentially belong to the TortonianMessinian Terravecchia Formation and the middle-upper Pliocene Marnoso-Arenacea del Belice Formation (better known as MAB).
The latest archaeological excavations in central and western Sicily have revealed kiln structures and apposite facilities designed for ceramic manufacture at a number of sites, proving the relevance and importance of pottery craftsmanship in the economic history of this region from antiquity until today. Occasionally leftovers of raw clays and/or sand temper, ceramic wasters and even unrefined artefacts have been found at some kiln sites that have allowed archaeologists to characterize specific pottery productions more accurately (Falsone, 1981; Cuomo di Caprio, 1992; Greco, 2000; Guglielmino, 2000). The geological predilection of western and central Sicily for the development of a millenary pottery manufacture tradition, owing to the presence of abundant suitable clayey formations, has already been proved straightforwardly (Montana et al., 2010). Nevertheless, the documental and oral testimonies regarding the antique techniques
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Analytical methods
Normally, suitable clay outcrops in the surrounding area are used for pottery, brick and tile manufacture. Before use, the raw clay is left in the open air and exposed to all environmental agents for different periods of time, depending on the season. This generally allows the development of colloidal substances and humic acids through the decay of organic matter, which may improve the plastic behaviour of the clayey paste. Particularly regarding the Terravecchia Formation, which is by far the most commonly used (Table 1), the Upper Miocene clay beds (Messinian), where CaSO4.2H2O (gypsum) is prevalent, are generally avoided as much as possible owing to the high percentage of production failure. This practice, followed empirically and handed on from father to son, has a rational scientific explanation. In fact, it is well known that high quantities of Ca++ cause excessive flocculation of clay particles, owing to both the natural abundance of calcareous microfossils and the presence of tiny gypsum crystals in the clayey groundmass (Shainberg et al., 1989). This leads to higher porosity of the semi-worked products and afterwards extensive cracking during the drying, firing and cooling stages.
The study of raw clays and ceramic samples involved in all the above-mentioned kilns was carried out with several techniques and procedures. They were intended not only to obtain the compositional characterization of the studied materials but also, in the case of clays, to achieve data concerning grain size distribution, plasticity (Atterberg limits), linear shrinkage and colour changes after drying and firing. In this example of the use of ethnoarchaeometry, however, for reasons of brevity we report and discuss only data deriving from thin-section microscopy and chemical analysis (XRF). Thin-section microscopy was performed using a Leica DC 200 polarizing microscope equipped with a digital camera. It was applied to the petrographical study of the ceramic material and the fired experimental briquettes made from selected clay samples (local raw materials). XRF analysis was performed to study the chemical composition of both the ceramic samples and the clays using a Rigaku ZSX Primus wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (Franzini et al., 1975; Hein et al., 2002).
Pre-treatment of the raw clay
The case study: sampling and results
First of all, clay lumps are broken up with a wooden mallet. Then the clay is left to soak in water inside rectangular tanks for one night. Next, in the case of very calcareous clay (approximately CaO > 15% wt), a precise amount of NaCl (marine salt) is added to the water (around 20 kg of salt for each m3 of fresh water), as was observed in some of the pottery workshops (Racalmuto, Mussomeli, Paceco, Marsala and Mazzara del Vallo). Even though craftsmen do this empirically the purpose may be the minimization of the flocculation of the clay particles, thanks to the presence of Na+, which operates as a dispersive agent, thus limiting any shrinkage defects during the subsequent drying phase. A secondary effect of the addition of NaCl is the paling (whitening) of the original red paste (after firing), especially on the external surface.
Owing to space limitations it is not feasible to describe all the documented case studies in western and central Sicily. Consequently, since the aim of this work is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the use of an integrated approach based on the simultaneous application of local field geology and laboratorybased analytical techniques, we present a single study case suitably illustrative of the knowledge that ethnoarchaeometry can offer for the understanding of a specific case of ceramic production. The present study is concerned with the traditional ceramics produced in the kiln managed for at least 200 years by the D’Angelo family in Polizzi Generosa in the Madonie Mountains (Figure 2). In the same locality, production of open and closed forms of majolica as well as glazed roof and floor tiles has been attested since the fifteenth century (Gambaro, 1997). Moreover, at the Roman archaeological site of Contrada Muratore (third to fourth century AD), located around Polizzi Generosa, numerous bricks and tiles were brought to light which were suspected by the archaeologists to be a local production. The objective of the case study was therefore to characterize the composition of the ancient pottery productions, distinguish the raw materials employed and describe the manufacturing models applied in antiquity. As a starting-point, the ethnographic study included the interview and observation of the craftsmen who are still traditionally producing handmade ceramics. According to the information given by Mr D’Angelo the traditional clay exploitation areas were located and representative samples were collected. It should be underlined that the clayey deposits of the area belong to different geological formations: (a) the Argille Varicolori Formation, Upper Cretaceous-Eocene and (b) the Terravecchia Formation, Upper Tortonian-Lower Messinian (Montana et al., 2010). Although only one of them is still used today for ceramic production, i.e. the Terravecchia Formation, it cannot in theory be ruled out that a different choice was made by the ancient potters operating in the same area. The sampling areas of raw clays concerned in this study were located in the surroundings of Polizzi Generosa and Castellana Sicula, where the archaeological site of Contrada Muratore is also situated. The number of the required clay samples was decided according to whether they were representative in terms of possible natural variability. Experimental clay briquettes were fired at 900ºC.
Moulding and drying For the manufacture of bricks, which has been recently documented, potters use wooden moulds with the following dimensions: 10x25x5 cm. (Figure 1a). Tiles, on the other hand, are shaped by hand on a wooden mould in the form of a truncated cone (52 cm long and 2 cm thick). Crude tiles are put in an upright position for some seconds in order to check their consistency. Since ancient time drying has been done by exposing them to the open air for several days (Figure 1b). Firing processes The dried artefacts are placed in the kiln in a specific order. Usually tiles are placed at the bottom, very close together in concentric circles, and above them the potters put the bricks, and the pottery (wheel-made) goes to the top. Developing a good firing practice is strictly related to the potter’s capability and can be achieved by using the proper quantity of wood and being able to tell the kiln’s temperature simply by means of the colour changes of the artefacts inside the firing chamber. After around 24 hours of combustion the kiln is left to cool down (about four days). The traditional ceramic kilns in western and central Sicily are made of mud brick with a rounded base, composed of a firing chamber and the laboratory (actually where pottery is situated) divided by a grid (Figure 1c,d).
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On the other hand, ceramic samples were collected involving equally archaeological samples (Late Roman bricks and tiles) and majolica floor tiles which date back to the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Both categories of artefacts are suspected to be local productions only on the basis of morphologic, stylistic and iconographic clues. Finally, contemporary ceramic materials produced locally were also analysed. The polarizing microscope of the thin sections revealed compositional and textural aspects of the sandy inclusions (grain size, packing sorting, and distribution). According to the results all the considered ceramic pastes (regardless of whether they related to vases, bricks or tiles) were produced by the use of clays exploited from the Terravecchia Formation. Depending on the function and type of the ceramic material, however, some differences in texture (packing and sorting of the sand fraction) were observed which point towards technological differences regarding the selection criteria and/or treatment of the raw clays (Figure 3). The compositional features of the local ceramic products are as follows: 10-15% (area) packing and fairly uniform sorting. Subangular monocrystalline quartz is the main component, whereas mica flakes, feldspars, opaque minerals and chert range from common to rare. The presence of micritic clots (Cau et al., 2002) inside the pores is common, which indicates a ‘calcareous clay’ relatively well fired. The petrographic aspects of the studied ceramic material show clear lithological compatibility with the materials of the Terravecchia Formation. Conversely, there is no mineralogical or textural similarity between the analysed ceramic material and the clays belonging to the Argille Varicolori Formation, which are characterized by very low packing with small quartz grains (0.04-0.1 mm). Furthermore, the geochemical compatibility of the analysed ceramic samples with the clays of Terravecchia Formation and their incompatibility with the clays of the Argille Varicolori Formation were also confirmed by the XRF analysis. The analysed clays from the Argille Varicolori Formation form a clearly separated chemical cluster relating to all the individual ceramics (archaeological pottery, ancient and recent tiles and bricks), which, in fact, go well together with the clay samples taken from Terravecchia Formation (Figure 4). They are chemically characterized by somewhat higher CaO (wt%) and lower Al2O3 and Fe2O3 (wt%) than the clays of the Argille Varicolori Formation. Therefore, from the analytical perspective, it is evident that the archaeological and historical ceramic products were locally produced with raw materials from the clay beds of the Terravecchia Formations and that this practice still continues. The natural composition of these clays was more appropriate for fine wares but for coarser products such as bricks, tiles and jars, the craftsmen added sand temper in the paste or mixed the finest clay beds with those with more sand inclusion.
Acknowledgments The participation of Dr. Evanthia Tsantini in this study was possible due to her participation as a Marie Curie senior research fellow in the project CETRAWEM: ‘Lost and survived ceramic traditions in the western Mediterranean: The Sardinian case’. FP7-People (Marie Curie - IEF), European Commission (PIEFGA-2009-235702). Bibliography Arnold, D.E., Neff, H., Bishop, R.L., 1991, ‘Compositional analysis and “sources” of pottery: an ethnoarchaeological approach’, American Anthropologist, 93, pp. 70-90. Belvedere, O., Burgio, A., Iliopoulos, I., Montana, G., Spatafora, F., 2006, ‘Ceramica a vernice nera di età ellenistica da siti della Sicilia nord-occidentale: considerazioni tipologiche ed analisi archeometriche’, Mélanges de l’Ecole Française de Rome, Antiquité, 118/2, pp. 549-571. Buxeda i Garrigós, J., Cau Ontiveros, M.A., Kilikoglou, V., 2003, ‘Chemical variability in clays and pottery from a traditional cooking pot production village: testing assumptions in Pereruela’, Archaeometry 45, 3, pp. 1-17. Cau Ontiveros, M.A., Day, P.M., Montana, G.. 2002, Secondary calcite in archaeological ceramics: evaluation of alteration and contamination processes by thin section study’, in V. Kilikoglou, A. Hein, Y. Maniatis (eds.), Modern Trends in Scientific Studies on Ancient Ceramics, BAR, IS 1011, pp. 9-18. Costin, C.L., 2000, ‘The Use of ethnoarchaeology for the archaeological study of ceramic production’, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 7 (4), pp. 377-403. Cuomo di Caprio, N., 1992, Fornaci e officine da vasaio tardoellenistiche, Morgantina Studies 3 (Princeton University Press), pp. 1-192 Falsone, G., 1981, Struttura ed origine orientale dei forni da vasaio di Mozia, Studi Monografici, 1, (Palermo: Fondazione G. Whitaker) pp. 1-90 Franzini, M., Leoni, L., Saitta, M., 1975, ‘Revisione di una metodologia analitica per fluorescenza X basata sulla correzione completa degli effetti di matrice’ Rendiconti Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia, 31, pp. 365-378. Fulford, M.G., Peacock, D.P.S., 1984, Excavations at Carthage: the British Mission I, 2 The Avenue du President Habib Bourguiba, Salammbo: the pottery and other ceramic objects from the site (London: British Academy/Sheffield University). Gambaro, T., 1997, La ceramica di Collesano dal XVII secolo a oggi (Palermo: Flaccovio Editore). Greco, C., 2000, ‘Solunto: nuovi dati dalla campagna di scavo 1997’ in A. Corretti (ed.) Atti delle III Giornate di Studio Internazionali sull’Area Elima. CESDAE, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, pp. 681-700. Guglielmino, R., 2000. ‘Entella: un’area artigianale extra-urbana di età tardo-arcaica’ in A. Corretti (ed.) Atti delle Terze Giornate Internazionali di Studi sull’Area Elima, CESDAE, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, pp. 701-713. Hein, A., Tsolakidou, A., Iliopoulos, I., Mommsen, H. Buxeda i Garrigos, J., Montana, G., Kilikoglou, V., 2002, ‘Standardization of elemental analytical techniques applied to provenance studies of archaeological ceramics: an interlaboratory calibration study’, The Analyst (Royal Society of Chemistry), 127 (4), pp. 542-553.
Final remarks The presented case study is only one part of a wider research programme aimed at the characterization of the clayey raw materials available in western and central Sicily, together with the archaeometric study of pottery, using a wide combination of analytical techniques. This example clearly shows the usefulness of multiple approaches applied to the study of ancient pottery in order to determine its provenance and production technology. The combination of archaeometry, study of raw material and ethnographic revisions has definitely proved to be a very useful approach to establishing the provenance and technology of ancient ceramic manufacture and to studying patterns of production, distribution and consumption within the given territory. The approach is even more important when no kiln sites
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Hein, A., Day, P.M., Quinn, P.S., Kilikoglou, V., 2004, ‘The geochemical diversity of Neogene clay deposits in Crete and its implications for provenance studies of Minoan pottery’ Archaeometry 46 (3), pp. 357-384. Montana, G., Cau Ontiveros, M.A., Polito, A.M., Azzaro, E.M., 2010, Characterisation of clayey raw materials for ceramic manufacture in ancient Sicily. Applied Clay Science, doi:10.1016/j.clay.2010.09.005 Montana, G., Corretti, A., Polito, A.M., Spatafora, F., 2011, ‘Ceramic Production in the Indigenous Settlement of Entella (Western Sicily) During the Archaic Age’ in I. Memmi Turbanti (ed.) Proceedings of the 37th International Symposium on Archaeometry, 13 th-16 th May 2008, Siena, Italy, (Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag) Part 1, pp. 113-118. Montana, G., Mommsen, H., Iliopoulos, I., Schwedt, A., Denaro, M., 2003, ‘Petrography and chemistry of thin-walled KILN OWNER
SITE
CLAY
Mr. Mangiaracina Mr. Martorelli Mr Demarco Mr. Fulco Mr. Ingrassia Mr. Meli Mr D’Angelo Mr. Bellomo Mr. Di Salvo
Sambuca di Sicilia (Ag) Racalmuto (Ag) Marsala (Tp) Mazzara del Vallo (Tp) Paceco (Tp) Collesano (Pa) Polizzi Generosa (Pa) Castellana Sicula (Pa) Mussomeli (Cl)
MAB TF TF TF TF TF TF TF TF
Table 1. Traditional kilns operating today in western and central Sicily (MAB = Marnoso-Arenacea del Belice Formation; TF = Terravecchia Formation).
Figure 1. (a) Traditional wooden moulds for making bricks and tiles; (b) shaped bricks drying in front of the kiln at Polizzi Generosa (1920s); (c) craftsmen at Sambuca di Sicilia (1960s); (d) traditional kiln during firing phase at Polizzi Generosa (1920s)
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Figure 2. Location of traditional ceramic kilns. Bottom left: archaeological ruins and tiles at Contrada Muratore and majolica floor tiles from Polizzi Generosa. Bottom centre: outcrop of Argille Varicolori Formation clays. Bottom right: outcrop of Terravecchia Formation clays
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Figure 3. Thin-section microphotographs, crossed nicol and scale bar = 0.5 mm. (A1 and A2) majolica floor tiles from Polizzi Generosa; (B) archaeological tiles and bricks from Contrada Muratore; (C) contemporary tiles from Mr. D’Angelo kiln; (D1) experimental briquette: Terravecchia Formation clay; (D2) experimental briquette: Argille Varicolori Formation clay
Figure 4. Scatter-plots of data from XRF analysis
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Use of Space in the Early Bronze Age on the Basis of Artefact Distribution: the Village of Coste Di Santa Febronia Roberta Mentesana
Scuola di Specializzazione in beni archeologici ‘Dinu Adamesteanu’, Università del Salento, Italia [email protected]
The artefacts found were essentially pottery, terracotta objects and stone tools. Stone finds include grindstones, pestles and chipped tools1. The raw materials used were volcanic stone, basalt, flint and quartzite.
The research objective The aim of this paper is to trace the use and the organization of space by human groups occupying it.
Spindle whorls (Fig.4: a), bobbins, terracotta horns (corni fittili, fig.4: b), braziers (Fig.4: c), and fire elements form the terracotta group. These objects were common in the Sicilian EBA context, although it should be noted that some terracotta blocks (Fig.4: d) were found and a sort of griddle, which were not found in other coeval sites.
The purpose, therefore, is to reconstruct the living space of this community, as produced by the interaction between the physical space and the actions and activities which took place within it. It means the study of both ‘closed’ and ‘open’ areas, those where there is interaction between individuals and the community. The case study is the Sicilian Early Bronze Age (2200-1450 B.C.) hill site of Santa Febronia (figs. 1, 2). The study of the distribution of objects, pottery in particular, related to the space and the structure allows us to distinguish the storage areas from the ones selected for the preparation and consumption of food.
The ceramics can be divided into major classes by surface treatment, although they have a number of forms in common. Painted ware includes small- and medium-size, mainly fine vessels, decorated with geometric elements in black/brown on red/orange background. The shapes identified are common in Castelluccio facies pottery: the pedestal bowls (Fig.5: b), the pitcher, the olla (Fig. 5: a), the amphora, the beaker with one or two handles, and cup (Fig.5: d).
The archaeological context The village of Santa Febronia was discovered in 1995 (Maniscalco 1997a; Maniscalco 1997b). A few tombs had been identified in previous years on the hillside (Maniscalco 1993; Maniscalco 1996a; Maniscalco 1996b). At the top of the hill the remains of a hut (4.80m in diameter) were found, with large amounts of stone tools, bones and pottery, dating to a middlelate stage of the local Early Bronze Age. The hut was destroyed by fire; a large quantity of artefacts in their original functional position, as well as some portions of the mud roof baked by fire, has been found.
Monochrome wares include mainly medium- and large-size jars and medium-size cooking vessels; pedestal bowls and cups were also found. These types are characterized by smoothed and slipped surfaces, and decorated with cordons, incised or not, and bosses (Fig. 5: c). At the site of Santa Febronia the coarse ware is more numerous than the painted forms, but at the same time it is the most difficult to classify, due to the lack of studies and publication on this class of materials. The extreme fragmentation of pottery, due to the hut fire and to post-depositional events, had not allowed a typological identification of the entire assemblage: only 37% of the fragments could be classified.
The northern and western hut walls were partly preserved. These consist of a double row of small limestone blocks. Along the northern wall there was a bench, 1.20m wide. Four post holes at regular intervals were set along the outer side of the bench. The floor was covered by a compact layer of burnt clay, with a central circular depression (1.3m in diameter). No evidence of cooking activities was found inside the structure (fig. 3).
The same typological features of the pottery and comparison with other sites suggest that the site of Santa Febronia could date to the late stage EBA.
Due to the hill’s steep slope, the southern portion of the hut was not preserved. Outside the hut, portions of two parallel walls, and to the east a dumping area, filled with bones and pottery fragments have been excavated. The hut typology is usual within the Sicilian panorama of this phase: the low stone wall, the side bench, the burnt clay floor are common features in numerous sites of this period (McConnell 1992).
Methods of analysis The site is characterized by the considerable quantity of archaeological material and by a complex stratigraphic sequence. The objects were grouped by stratigraphic complexes (hut, the hut’s outer space, the walls’ collapse, the dump) and quantified. Artefact quantification was based on the reconstruction and typological classification of the individual artefacts, essentially pottery. This stage revealed what could have been the presence of each type in relation to the others (fig. 6).
The presence of external areas circumscribed by walls has been found in the coeval villages of Torricella di Ramacca and Valsavoia di Lentini (Frasca et al. 1975; Spigo 1985). In these cases the presence of a hearth suggests that the fire activities took place outside the hut and probably in common with other family units.
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The stone tools studies were carried out by Valeria Motta.
SOMA 2011 Finally, the artefacts were placed in their find positions2 and analysed using ArcGis software. Distribution maps were then created, each one showing different information useful for spatial interpretation (class of materials, pottery function, pottery typology, etc.).3
The central part of the hut, and probably the bench, was free of objects and used for other activities, such as sleeping, conversation, and general preparation of materials. Despite the amount of objects found inside the hut, the presence of these ‘empty areas’ suggests that the Santa Febronia hut was not used as a mere storeroom. The lack of information about the south part of the structure and the rest of the open areas on the north prevents our further understanding of these functional areas.
Six areas (distribution units A-F) where it was possible to identify spatially coherent combinations of artefacts have been defined (figs. 7, 8). The space that is not included in these distribution units is considered as ‘empty’. This does not imply that there was nothing originally there, nor that the area was unused, but, rather, that its function did not involve the use of non-perishable artefacts.
Acknowledgement I would thank L. Maniscalco, the director of ‘Parco archeologico del Calatino’, for giving me the opportunity to study these significant contexts.
Results and Discussion
The photographs were taken by L. Maniscalco; the artefact drawings are by the author, with the exception of 4: c and 5: a, b, which are by M. Puglisi. Other photographs and drawings are courtesy of Assessorato Regionale dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita’ siciliana - Parco archeologico del Calatino. Further reproduction or duplication is not permitted.
The study of the relations among the different categories of finds, structures and pottery functions allowed the identification of distinct functional areas, which obviously should be integrated by the distribution of faunal remains and the functional analysis of lithic tools. Areas A and B are characterized by the presence of mediumand large-size containers (7 pithoi and 17 pitchers/amphorae), in a proportion greater than the one observed outside the hut. Moreover in these areas the major variety of pottery shapes, clay and stone tools, were found without evident correlation.
Bibliography Frasca M., Messina F., Palermo D., Procelli E., 1975, Ramacca (Catania).- Saggi di scavo nel villaggio preistorico di contrada Torricella, Notizie scavi e antichità, pp. 557-585. Maniscalco L., 1993, La necropoli delle Coste di Santa Febronia presso Palagonia, Kokalos, 39-40, pp. 881-900. Maniscalco L., 1996a, Early Bronze Age Funerary Ritual and Architecture: Monumental Tombs in Santa Febronia, Leighton R., Early Societies in Sicily, London, pp. 81-87. Maniscalco L., 1996b, La necropoli del Bronzo Antico alle Coste di Santa Febronia presso Palagonia (Catania), L’antica Età del Bronzo. Atti del Congresso di Viareggio (9-12 gennaio 1995), Firenze, pp. 509-518. Maniscalco L., 1997a, Recenti acquisizioni sull’Antica Età del Bronzo nei territori di Palagonia e Militello, Kokalos, 53-54, pp. 153-163. Maniscalco L., 1997b, L’insediamento castellucciano delle Coste di Santa Febronia (Palagonia), S. Tusa, Prima Sicilia. Alle origini della società siciliana, Palermo 1997, pp. 359-363. McConnell B. E., 1991, La capanna circolare in Sicilia, Rassegna d’Archeologia, X, pp. 774-775. McConnell B. E. et alii, 1995, La Muculufa II Archaeologia Transatlantica XII, Louvain-la-Neuve. Spigo U., 1984, Ricerche e rinvenimenti a Brucoli (C.da Gisira), Valsavoia (Lentini), nel territorio di Caltagirone, ad Adrano, e a Francavilla Marittima, Kokalos, XXX-XXXI, pp. 863-904.
On the other hand, small vessels, mainly cups and beakers, are more represented in areas D and E. A stone block found in this area might have been connected to food preparation. Only a few pottery sherds come from area C, which includes the bench. A parallel can be found at La Muculufa Hut 2 (McConnell et al. 1995), in which only a few vessels were in connection with the bench. Spindle whorls and bobbins, usually indicators of textile manufacture, have been found inside and outside the hut, sometimes associated with fire objects (alari, braziers), but with any appreciable correlation. It is not possible, therefore, to identify an area designated to this activity. In conclusion (Fig. 9), the A-B zone could have been mainly used for storage of both foodstuffs and artefacts not in everyday use; Area D was probably used for food consumption, especially liquids. No actual traces of cooking have been identified inside the hut, although objects connected with this activity were present. Area E shows a concentration of vases for the preparation and consumption of food. Area F was unequivocally used as dump area for all types of pottery and a large amount of animal bones.
During the excavation each object was localized by three coordinates on the topographic grid, making it possible to reposition the finds. 3 The distribution maps show the number of fragments for each type instead of the number of units. 2
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Fig. 1 Sicily: location of the site
Fig. 2 Coste di Santa Febronia: the hill from the south-east
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Fig. 3 The hut (A: the bench, B: the circular depression, C: the post holes, D: the hut wall)
Fig. 4 Terracotta objects from the hut
Fig. 5 Some examples of pottery shapes found at Santa Febronia
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Fig. 6 Pottery quantification scheme: note the difference between the number of the two types of quantification
Fig. 7 Plan of artefact distribution (pottery, mud roof portions, lithic tools, terracotta objects) with indications of distribution units
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Fig. 8 Plan of pottery functions (storage, preparation, consumption, cooking) and distribution, indicating the distribution units
Fig. 9 The hut: indication of possible functional areas identified by studying the relations between different categories of finds, structures and pottery functions
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Archaeology and Sciences Gis, Geographical Models and Archaeology: a Case Study for Late Prehistory Populations (5500-550 Bc) on the Ripoll River (Catalonia, Spain) Maria Yubero Gómez
Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) SERP-Departament Prehistòria, Història Antiga i Arqueologia
made it quite difficult to analyse and detect settlement patterns as it is hard to detect real occupation phases of sites. Moreover the area has been the object of massive building construction projects over the last decades, and most of these sites have been excavated, documented with irregular quality, and destroyed afterwards. Figure 3 shows the density of rescue excavations in the area through a map generated by neighbourhood analysis.
Introduction The aim of this paper is to show preliminary hypotheses and results for the study we are developing on the detection of settlement patterns and strategies undertaken during late prehistory (5500550 BC). The area we are analyzing is the Ripoll River basin (Vallés Occidental/Vallés Oriental) in Catalonia, Spain. We hope in our research to define a new methodology, designed to create new socio-natural models able to improve our understanding of ancient populations in our study of the Ripoll basin. We propose to integrate Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the advantages of free software with traditional archaeological techniques (field walking and survey). This approach is combined with theoretical and methodological discussions about the use of geographic models in archaeology.
Main aims of the research The main objective of this project is to study settlement models during late prehistory (5500- 550 BC) in an area with a varied geography. Our intention is to analyse a medium area with many archaeological remains, either unpublished or only partly published. In fact spatial analysis in archaeological records like this can be very useful to help detect certain patterns and to analyse the evolution of ancient populations. Finally, we want to explore and improve the potential for the use of GIS in archaeological studies where information is extremely fragmentary.
The case study area The area of the case study is located to the NE of the Iberian Peninsula (Fig. 1). Our study area lies within the space between the Ripoll basin and Riera of Caldes. The geographical, physical and environmental characteristics of this location are such that during phases of prehistory it was an ideal territory for the survival of human groups. This is evident by the number of sites in multiple chronologies from the Palaeolithic to the present day, documented in this space.
Methodology To begin this research we have created a geographical model capable of combining geographical data and the information provided by the archaeological record. In this way we will be able to analyse both domains at the same time, detecting points of connection between them. The use of GIS is central to the model we have created and with it researchers can use a high number of analysis techniques to generate knowledge inferred from existing data, and transform existing data into new forms more easily interpreted. Finally, using these techniques we will be able to cross-reference different fields, extracting spatial patterns.
Spatially, this area is located in the pre-coastal depression. It is a natural corridor approximately 200km long, in which until now numerous traces of human occupation have been documented from prehistoric times to the present: houses, mills, canals, orchards, populations, wells, roads, industries in nineteenth and twentieth century buildings, water supply, and archaeological and paleontological features (Carlús & Terrats 2003: 27: Lopez Cachero 2005: Lopez Cachero 2006).
Geographical modelling with GIS involves different levels of abstraction, as we can see in Figure 3. When we develop our concept of space and spatial-temporal relationships, we are organizing our data in order to give them meaning. In short, the resulting map is a graphic language we use to represent this space and these items. But we must bear in mind that our graphic language is clearly different in structure within the computer (Demers 2003: 100).
This area is highly rich in terms of geographical features, as can be seen in Figure 2. It features several hills and mountains (Serralada Prelittoral, littoral, Montseny) and a river basin, as well as plains dispersed along the area. This diversity is interesting from an archaeological point of view as allows us to detect the uses of each type of geography during different chronologies, from earlier Neolithic to final Bronze Age. In addition, this geographical richness is complemented by the number of archaeological sites excavated, with chronologies spanning from ancient prehistory to modern times. These sites have been reoccupied successively in different eras due to their advantageous locations (Coll & Roig 1993:41-52). This has
As can be seen in Figure 4, the first level of abstraction corresponds to the particular reality that we are modelling, for example, a site, an area, or a city. Here are the structures, objects and other items that we include, for example buildings, pottery, palaeoenvironmental features, etc. The second level, the conceptual one, refers to the selection of those elements of reality
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the original application is constantly updated, becoming a useful tool for research. Spatial analysis In order to detect the most important variables of our model, we have used a simple version of the Monte-Carlo method (Conolly & Lake 2009: 216-217; 399). We have created, inside our area, a random dataset of locations, excluding zones under sea-level. Comparing the basic statistics extracted from these points to the known sites for each chronology we are able to understand the relevance of every factor. For example, the height of the random sample is double the average of the archaeological sites. In contrast, if we analyze the slope in both cases the values are similar, because the differences between the caves and the settlements of the plain are too high.
The next step is the logical model. In this third level we need to use a tool to move the conceptual data model to another one that can be understood by the computer. This step is based on selected data and the relations established when developing the conceptual model, turning them into a language that can all understand GIS; that is, the input data and relations between those that were completely abstract in the previous model are translated into computable data structures. At this moment we have not moved around the model to a Geographic Information System, but we have made a translation into a language closer to a geographic model. The last step is the physical model. At this point all previous processes converge and we have developed from a conceptual model to an actual series of files, databases and values. This computerized geographic data model allows us to begin our work.
In this way we managed to validate that the chosen variables are important for our model, as well as stating the relative importance of every variable for every chronology, in contrast with random locations of our study zone. We have analysed the geographical characteristics of the sites according to their chronologies. The studied variables are: height, slope, aspect, distance to rivers, light of sight1 and accessibility. On the other hand, we have estimated the accessibility of the site through the cost of all cells to one specific point of the map2. We have developed our analysis taking as our starting point the study of M. Llobera (Llobera 2000: 65-84). In our case, we have analysed every 2000m step, because of the high computing costs involved. For only this phase of our study the computing time calculated was 10 hours.
When we develop our concept of space and spatial relationships in time, we are organizing our data. In short, the resulting map is a graphic language that we use to represent this space and these items. The first step for designing a geographic model is to have a good database created specifically for the needs and uses of the case study. The design of a database using an entity-relation model capable of dealing with the intended questions we want to address, as well as the hypothesis we want to test, is central for our research. The result should be a design that allows us to store, search and pose queries as needed. Moreover, it must also be flexible enough so that we can make any necessary changes without having to modify the entire design and structure of the database.
We also analysed the different variables with the ‘r.statistics’ function of GRASS. We then selected the following statistical values: average, minimum, maximum and standard deviation for the study of aspect, slope, height and distance to the nearest river. Regarding analysis (Figs. 5 and 6), we observed certain similarities between the trends observed between the Neolithic and the Early Iron Age settlements, where there is a certain preference for plains adjacent to water courses and so generally more accessible. In the Early Iron Age there is an increase in the number of sites, and all presented higher accessibility rates. The search for optimal agricultural areas could be the factor that determined this choice. This is rather surprising, considering that settlements near the study area, and for the same chronologies, were located on hills and high ground. In the same way, during the final Neolithic and Chalcolithic phases a change is detected in settlement patterns, compared with the previous periods. For these chronologies the located settlement shows similar trends, being preferably steeper in places and not accessible. We can identify a pattern, starting with the final Neolithic, in which the land use was radically changed from the previous phases.
Skills and software Basically we are employing two GIS applications: Quantum GIS 1.6 and Grass 6.4.1. Both are free software, and while GRASS is one of the best GIS software packages in terms of raster analysis, QGIS is specifically designed to manage vector data through a user-friendly interface. The main advantage is that, due to being open source, QGIS developers community has managed to integrate GRASS tools inside their application, so users can combine the benefits of both tools in their projects. Once we have defined and explained all those resources and sources of information used to prepare the geographic model we can describe the tools and software used to develop them. The software systems employed are for specialized databases, Open Office Base, and for spatial analysis, GRASS and QGIS. In all three cases these are open access software. This is important because there are many active and developed user communities of these programs. The possibility of modifying the code provided by the General Public License of these applications encourages users to create their own specialized programs. In addition, there are several versions for each algorithm, so it is possible to select what best suits the problems to be solved. Thus,
It must be noted however that the similarity of results between the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites could be related to the lack of more reliable data, as we are dealing with similar time spans. This is the same case with unusual patterns related to the aspect of some zones being on a south/southwest orientation on a generalized basis. This question is quite interesting, and therefore in future work we want to broaden our research to check whether The LOS has been calculated with the function r.los of GRASS. For information on the developed script of LOS and accessibility, see Yubero & Rubio (2010). 1 2
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Maria Yubero Gómez: Gis, Geographical Models and Archaeology neither taking into account the theoretical context of research. Alternatively we would like to stress the interesting applications of this methodology in order to take a mid-level point of view. We have analyzed, at a meso-spatial level, a large number of sites that do not exist or cannot be visited, since they were excavated in works related to the construction of new buildings. Although these reports are irregular, and sometimes have not been published, they should be put in context with the rest of the sites that have been usually studied. We think this is the only way to create new hypotheses about population settlements correctly.
it is a function of the dataset or a real pattern. As an hypothesis, we could propose that the degree of sunlight in these areas might be the key to understand this question. Future studies will be needed to further define this issue. A specific case: the megalithic phenomenon To conclude our study we decided to analyse one specific case study: the megalithic phenomenon. In the zone of the Ripoll River there are some megalithic tombs. These remains are dated from the final Neolithic to Chalcolithic. We have explored this type of archaeological record for a range of reasons:
Acknowledgements I would like to thank all those institutions and archaeologists for information, sometimes unpublished, that they have provided on many sites. This work falls within the HAR2008-00103 project, provided by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia and the Grup de Recerca de Qualitat SGR 2009 1145 provided by the Agencia de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca. Finally, I would like to thank Xavier Rubio and F. Javier Lopez Cachero for their help and support with aspects of this paper.
• There are many archaeological studies on the megalithic phenomenon in this area, but none has employed GIS to study it. • It is a complex and specific phenomenon in which the geographical variables are very important (Tarrus Galter 2003: 54-75). • There are few studies about GIS and the megalithic phenomenon. The most relevant in the context of late prehistory in the Iberian Peninsula are the research of D. Wheatley, L. Garcia Sanjuan and P. Murrieta (García Sanjuán, Wheatley; Murrieta. Márquez 2009; García Sanjuán, Metcalfe-Wood, Rivera Jiménez, Wheatley 2006; Wheatley & Murrieta 2008). They have analysed megalithic tombs and the Chalcolithic archaeological sites of the SW zone of Sierra Morena. In fact, the characteristics of the archaeological records are very different, but the research questions faced may be similar.
Bibliography Carlús, X .& Terrats, N. (2003): “El poblament prehistòric i antic a la conca mitjana del riu Ripoll: dels caçadors-recol·lectors a l’antiguitat tardana”, Arraona, n. 27, pp: 26-45. Coll, J.M.; Molina, J.A. i ROIG, J. (1993): “El poblament protohistòric de la conca alta del riu Ripoll: de l’edat del ferro a la fi del món ibèric. Primeres dades”, Limes, 3, pp: 41-52. Conolly, J. & Lake, M. (2009): Sistemas de información geográfica aplicados a la arqueología. Ed. Bellaterra. Demers, M., 2003: Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems. Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Mexico State University. García Sanjuán, L.; Metcalfe-Wood, S.; Rivera Jiménez, T. and Wheatley, D. W. (2006): “Anàlisis de pautas de visibilidad en la distribuación de monumentos megalíticos de Sierra Morena Occidental” a GRAU MIRA, I.(eds): La aplicación de los SIG en la arqueología del Paisaje. Anejo a la revista Lucentum, 15. Publicaciones de la Universidad de Alicante, pp: 181-200. García Sanjuán, L.; Wheatley, D. W.; Murrieta Flores, P.; Márquez Pérez, J. (2009): “Los SIG y el análisis espacial en Arqueología. Aplicaciones en la Prehistoria Reciente del Sur de España.” a Nieto Prieto, F. X. y Cau Ontiveros, M. A. (Editores): Arqueología Nàutica Mediterrànea. Monografias del Centro de Arqueología Subacuática de Cataluña, 8, CASC, Girona, pp: 163-180. López Cachero, J. (2005): La necrópolis de Can Piteu-Can Roqueta (Sabadell) en el contexto del Bronce Final y la Primera Edad del Hierro en el Vallès: estudio de los materiales cerámicos, Tesis doctoral inèdita. Universitat de Barcelona. http://www.tesisenxarxa.net/TDX-1011105-131607/ [Accessed 22 August, 2010] López Cachero, J. (2006): Aproximació a la societat durant el bronze final i la primera edat del ferro: el cas de la necròpolis de Can Piteu-Can Roqueta (Sabadell, Vallès Occidental, Barcelona). Societat Catalana d’Arqueologia, Barcelona. Lobera, M. (2000): “Understanding Movement: A pilot model towards the sociology of movement” a LOCK, G. (eds): Beyond the Map: Archaeology and Spatial Technologies, Amsterdam, IOS Press, pp: 65-84. Rubio Campillo, X. (2009): Modelització i simulació aplicades a la recerca i interpretació de camps de batalla. Universitat de Barcelona. Tesi doctoral inèdita.
Following this analysis we conclude that the observed megalithism is a complex phenomenon that is difficult to interpret. However, with our limited sample, six archaeological sites at the moment, we could identify a series of spatial patterns associated with these constructions. Visibility and accessibility seem to be important factors, with the latter seemingly of more importance (Fig. 7). Visibility, of course, was important, and in half of the cases this factor is very high. Other studies in the location of the megaliths have suggested the use of topographic features to increase the visibility of the monument (Sanjuan Garcia 2005: 261). Relating to the accessibility question, it would be interesting to study a sample of higher fields to study the correlation between these two variables. Finally, the values given are interesting to look at, as they constituted an interesting feature with regard to the orientation of the terrain where these monuments are located. Possibly this factor is related to the orientation of their own monuments or ritual practices associated with them, but for now we are unable to interpret further. Conclusions The creation of a geographic model to study the population has allowed us to validate and verify hypotheses, and suggest new ones taking into account the results of the analysis and the relationship of data between them. Both GIS and spatial analysis are fundamental tools that allow us to develop many different research strategies, integrating data from different sources. With this research, therefore, it is clear that we need a multidisciplinary approach in order to study prehistoric settlement issues, as in many other problems related to archaeological research. If we had stayed in the traditional territory of the study, we would have merely defined the locations of sites within a map, which ultimately is a purely descriptive work, nor making the most of the potential of analytical Systems Geographic Information,
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SOMA 2011 Cota Zero. Dossier: Miquel Tarradell. Quaranta anys de Les arrels de Catalunya, 18, pp:54-75. Wheatley, D. & Murrieta Flores, P. (2008): “Grandes piedras en un mundo cambiante: Los monumentos megalíticos en sus paisajes” PH 67, Especial Monográfico, Boletín del Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico (Agosto 2008), Junta de Andalucía.
http://www.tesisenxarxa.net/TDX-0720109-092434/ [Accessed 22 August, 2010] Rubio, X. & Yubero, M. (2010): Models geogràfics, GIS i arqueologia. El cas d’estudi del poblament prehistòric a la conca del riu Ripoll (Vallès, 5500-550 ane). Societat Catalana d’Arqueologia, Barcelona. Tarrús Galter, J. (2003): “Els constructors de megàlits a Catalunya: cistes i dòlmens entre els mil·lennis V-III cal ane”,
Figure 1. The case study area. The shaded zone is the basin of the River Ripoll (Vallès Occidental, Catalunya, Spain) (map: Maria Yubero)
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Figure 2. Digital Elevation Model with the location of the studied archaeological sites (map: Maria Yubero)
Figure 3. Map of neighbourhood analysis in the case study area (map: Maria Yubero)
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Figure 4. Levels of abstraction in a geographical model (composition Maria Yubero, images from Wikimedia Commons)
Figure 5. These graphics show the results of the analysis of the different variables studied. Different trends can be seen according to the chronologies. In the case of Epicardial Neolithic the result is distorted by the low representation of the sample (graphics: Maria Yubero)
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Figure 6. This figure shows the relation between the coefficient of accessibility and the coefficient of visibility. These results are preliminary and paleoenvironmental and cultural data are not integrated. An interesting pattern appears, as good locations seem to be more relevant that visual control of the territory (Yubero, M. & Rubio, X. 2010, fig.22)
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Figure 7. Map of accumulated views of megalithics tombs (map: Maria Yubero)
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Technical and Typological Approaches to Bronze Age Worked Bone from Central Iberia. The Settlement of Motilla del Azuer Manuel Altamirano García
Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Granada, Spain
well to obtain water from underground. And finally, there were two concentric spaces separated by a wall with an inner and an outer part. The inner part was used for different purposes which changed over time, such as a pen for animals and for storing cereals. In the outer part several ovens and rectangular storage pits for cereals came to light (Nájera and Molina 2004).
Introduction Animal species have been an important source for raw material in tool manufacture for many past societies. Whether playing a prominent role in household activities or as personal ornaments to be shown as elements of identity, even acquiring a special symbolic meaning, these tools and ornaments comprise precious material evidence that allows us to get closer to both sociocultural and economic aspects of prehistoric cultures.
Both the settlement and necropolis lie outside the fortification. The funerary ritual consists of inhumations inside pits with bodies in a flexed position near the walls of dwellings or next to the outer line of fortification (Molina et al. 2005; Nájera et al. 2006).
Technological analysis may be understood as a process that begins with the acquisition of the raw material and ends with the discarding of the objects. Identification of various techniques through traceology and experimentation, helps us to understand the procedures and methods realized by both flaking or shaping. Such research provides us with an approximate idea about how this kind of raw material was worked in the past, sometimes with specific rules and strong cultural traditions, and other times following much looser rules.
The studied bone assemblage and raw material As previously noted, only 255 artifacts considered tools were taken into account in this paper. Tools are defined here as artifacts whose main function was related to the transformation or production of other goods, acquiring activities (hunting, fishing, etc.) or even for warfare (López Padilla 2001: 250; Provenzano 2001: 111; Altamirano 2011: 42).
In this article I will focus on the typological and technical approaches found in the osseous material industry documented at the Bronze Age archaeological site of Motilla del Azuer, in Daimiel (Ciudad Real, Spain). Altogether 290 items including tools and ornaments have been found in the course of several archaeological seasons carried out between 1974/86 and 2000/05 (Altamirano 2009). Only tools have been included in the present technical study, leaving the ornaments for the future.
Bone and deer antler are the main raw materials used in tool manufacturing, with a notable predominance of domestic species compared to wild ones. Normally, the bones come from mediumsize mammals, generally caprines and suids, followed by red deer and cattle. There is a selection of long bones used for flaking, mainly tibia, metapodia and fibula as well as some radius (Fig. 1) (Altamirano 2011: 41).
The settlement of Motilla del Azuer
The typology
Settlements defined as ‘motillas’ are common in the central region of the Iberian Peninsula (western La Mancha) during the Bronze Age (2200-1350 cal. BC). They are artificial mounds produced by the destruction of concentric lines of fortification. The ‘motillas’ are located in the plain, in low-lying areas, distributed regularly each 4-5km along the rivers. Their presence can be related to the management and control of different economic resources such as water and cereals (Molina and Nájera 1978; Nájera 1984).
The bone tools have been organized typologically following various morphological and metrical criteria, also taking into account some aspects related to the raw material from which the tools were made. We have created two groups based on the morphology of the active end: points and bevel. Only one beveled tool has been documented, made from deer antler, with double bevel.
A research team from the University of Granada began systematic excavations on the archaeological site of Motilla del Azuer in 1974, followed by several archeological seasons of excavation and restoration work that are still in progress (Molina et al.1979; Nájera et al. 1977, 1979, 1981, 2004).
Points are divided into several subgroups, types and subtypes, depending on the raw material and the degree of modification of the blanks: epiphyseal based points, non-epiphyseal based points, bi-points, projectile points and undetermined (Altamirano 2011: 42-6).
During field work it was discovered that the settlement had a complex system of fortification. Inside the defense works three different areas could be distinguished. First, there was a central tower made of stone surrounded by several lines of walls. Then there was a large trapezoidal open area (patio or court) with a
Epiphyseal based tools are defined as objects where the natural bone morphology is almost unchanged. Flaking, in the case of this material, has been used to eliminate one of both epiphyses, preserving the other one or most of it. They are mainly made from caprine tibia and metapodia, bones with a medullar cavity,
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general, this preparation work cannot always be observed on the archaeological material, as it is covered up or removed by subsequent flaking and shaping techniques over the surface.
On the other hand, non-epiphyseal based points made on long bone shafts lack any evidence of either of the epiphyses as these were removed during manufacturing. Points made on bone splinters are a good example of such tools (Altamirano 2011: 44).
The artifacts studied here do not show any clear evidence of these kinds of preparation work, apart from some objects where the bone surfaces were cleaned before manufacturing. This cleaning is carried out by scraping with the edge of a flint or metal tool to eliminate all the remains of tendons, muscles and nerves, and, sometimes, the periosteum. However, the absence of this kind of evidence could be due to the fact that the tool manufacturing was begun when bones were still quite fresh (Provenzano 2001: 156).
Bipoints also represent another interesting group among tool types defined here. Both ends are pointed and normally are quite symmetric (Altamirano 2011: 45). Some bi-points display several concentric incisions medially on their medial part that could be related to their function, a question that is still quite controversial (López Padilla 1994: 180). These bi-point artefacts have been identified as projectile points (Pape 1982: 145), fishhooks (Rodanés 1987) or buttons (Rozoy 1978). It seems likely that, some of them were probably used as projectile points, because of morphological features, especially the incisions mentioned before that appear to separate the body from a sort of tang.
Flaking Flaking methods include all the operations necessary to achieve the division of the raw material block into two or more fragments (Averbouh and Provenzano 1999: 8). Three different flaking methods defined by how the effects on the raw material were noted during the study of this material:
Finally, projectile points and undetermined points. The first group is special and varied, with a predominance of types with two barbs and a tang made from deer antler. Undetermined points group includes distal fragments that due to their degree of fragmentation cannot be classified into any of the types mentioned before (Altamirano 2011: 45-46).
• Fracture • Bi-partition (splitting) • Extraction Three main fracture techniques have been observed on the worked osseous material studied here: two different kinds of direct percussion (hard hammer and bronze axe) for bone and antler flaking, and flexion (snapping) for particular kind of bones.
Technical approach The identification of the technological procedure (for all artifact types), reveals a broad variety of precious information about different economic and cultural aspects of society. Raw material acquisition, its selection, as well as the transformation procedures and shaping techniques, can be interpreted through the analysis of the material culture and the archaeological record.
On the one hand, direct percussion with a hard hammer consists of breaking the raw material block into two or more fragments by hitting it with a hard hammer (Averbouh and Provenzano 1999: 10). This technique is systematically observed for points manufacturing on bone shafts or long bones such us tibia, metapodia or radius, normally from sheep or goat. These tools usually have several lines of fracture caused by percussion over the diaphysis walls. Sometimes these types of marks have not been completely obliterated by using other techniques during the shaping process (Fig. 2 & 3).
Focusing on the manufacturing process for this assemblage (technical transformation sequence), three different stages can be distinguished: • Preparation of raw material • Flaking • Shaping
The same marks that characterize fracturing techniques have also been documented on a large number of points made on bone splinters, which are produced by percussion. These bone splinters usually display quite irregular cross-sections and profiles on both sides, provided that subsequent shaping work did not eliminate them.
Each of these three stages may comprise several methods, procedures and techniques; these techniques could also be divided, in turn, into two groups: breaking the raw material block in two or several fragments (cassure) and the gradual removal of fine material particles (usure) (Averbouh and Provenzano 1999: 6-9; Provenzano 2001: 161).
The second observed technique also consists of direct percussion using a bronze axe, an artifact that has been documented on the site (Nájera 1984). Use of a bronze axe causes gradual loosing of portions off the raw material block, where the negative marks produced by each impact with the axe can still be seen. This technique was only used on red deer antler flaking apparently and several tines and beams were discovered during the excavation seasons.
In order to analyze all the working techniques used in tool manufacturing on hard animal tissues used in particular assemblages, it is important from the beginning to develop a methodology whose main pillars are the traceological study and experimentation. Comparison between the archaeological tools and the artifacts made by experimentation strengthen the analysis, because it can be understood which type of marks are the result of the particular technique used.
By analyzing their surfaces it is possible to distinguish the typical marks made by a metal axe (Fig. 4). These marks of percussion display clear differences from marks produced by a stone axe, with their slightly concave profile and lower part forming a quite straight edge. This edge is usually a bit more curved on those impacts made by ground stone artifacts.
Preparation of raw material Before starting with the manufacturing process the raw material may sometimes be pre-prepared (heating, cleaning, etc.). In
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Manuel Altamirano García: Technical and Typological Approaches manufacturing process of antler arrowheads during the Bronze Age in this area.
Finally, flexion or snapping could have been the third flaking techniques used to fracture the raw material used at Motilla del Azuer. This technique is commonly used to divide bones with suitable physical qualities, such as the fibula or ulna of certain animal species (Fig. 5 and 6). Taking the bone with both hands, it is necessary to apply a continuous pressure on the bone in order to fracture it and obtain two segments (Averbouh and Provenzano 1999: 11). Nevertheless, it should also be considered that fibulae and ulnae could also have been fractured using direct percussion. Actually, it is not possible to distinguish between the two techniques (in the absence of distinctive marks), used here due to the subsequent shaping procedures that have usually erase the marks left by either percussion or snapping.
Shaping techniques Once the blanks are ready, the next stage in the technical transformation sequence is shaping (façonnage). It consists of transforming blanks into finished objects using several techniques or procedures. The traceological study has shown that different kinds of techniques were used to transform the blanks and shape the artifacts. Observing the worked osseous assemblage, it is possible to distinguish between preforms and finished objects, on whose surface may or may not be left marks from working and use.
Despite all that, our hypothesis is that it was snapping instead of percussion that was the chosen technique for flaking, because of the ease with which these bones can be fractured due to the thinness of the medial section. At this site, one of the epiphyses is removed (normally the proximal end), preserving the distal epiphysis.
In general, the shaping process does not excessively affect the natural morphology of the blanks, because the transformation normally modifies the active end at this site, except for the projectile points that underwent a complex and delicate process of shaping until the final object was ready to be used.
The next flaking method used by the artisans at the Motilla del Azuer is bipartition (splitting), that is the division of the bone into two (or four) parts that can be used as blanks for tool manufacturing. This method produces elongated blanks for shaping points, mainly epiphyseal-based points made on tibia or metapodia.
Shaping techniques can be organized into two groups according to how they affect the raw material: superficially or deeply. Both groups result in the gradual loosing of little particles of material (Averbouh and Provenzano 1999: 13). I have already mentioned that various techniques or their combination (procedure) were used for shaping. Sometimes, only the marks left by the last technique to be applied are visible on the bone´s surface, while others marks are obliterated by previous techniques used before.
Several procedures and techniques can be used to carry out this bi-partition, including double parallel grooving, sawing and direct or indirect percussion. However, no evidence, either of grooving or of sawing, has been documented; perhaps they were obliterated by subsequent shaping.
Scraping Scraping was not only used for shaping blanks but also it was the usual way to clean the bone surface before manufacturing. It seems to have been especially common in some regions in the Bronze Age to shape the points of some types of artifacts (Averbouh and Provenzano 1999: 14).
Otherwise, some pointed tools worked on bi-partitioned caprine tibia display irregular profiles on both sides of the medullar cavity. These irregularities may be due to a more complex bi-partition method because of the natural features of this skeletal element, which make it more difficult to work in this way. These irregularities on both sides of the tibia could be evidence of a bi-partition method employing direct or indirect percussion, normally using the side without the tibia tuberosity for manufacturing strong, elegant and quite standardized-points (Fig. 7).
After analyzing the artifacts’ surfaces, there is really very little evidence from the worked bone material at this site that indicates that scraping was used to clean the bone surface in the first stages of manufacturing. In addition, scraping was frequently employed in the first stage in the transformation of the morphology of the blanks. Sometimes, it is followed by abrasion to achieve the final shape of an object before it was actually used. On the other hand, there are some other pointed tools whose active end was directly worked or curated by scraping (Fig. 11), which is represented by the longitudinal and parallel wavy marks normally produced by a lithic tool on bone surfaces.
On the other hand, the natural morphology of metapodia makes bi-partition resulting in two similar halves easier (Fig. 8). The last of the flaking methods documented at Motilla del Azuer seems to have been extraction. However, no clear evidence of this method has actually been found, but the hypothesis is that this method was used to obtain blanks for shaping projectile points from red deer antler at this settlement. Some clues suggest its use. First, the morphology of some finished artifacts (slightly curved) and the features found on a projectile point preform (Fig. 9), may indicate that extraction was used to obtain blanks made from red deer antler, probably from beam part A or B (merrain A or B) (Fig. 10). This fact is also strengthened by the existence of objects in some other archaeological worked osseous assemblages from the same time period, in which this method has been clearly documented for projectile point manufacturing from red deer antler (Provenzano 2001: 216). Furthermore, this has been compared with the results of experimentation (Fig. 9), where several kinds of evidence has emerged that strengthen this hypothesis that extraction may have been the first stage in the
This technique was systematically used at this site for shaping and sharpening the point of the tools made from swine fibula (Fig. 12). Abrasion The surface of any osseous artifact can be regularized or reduced not only by scraping, but also by abrading. This technique consists of the bone surface being rubbed against an abrasive. This technique has been documented in this worked bone assemblage to achieve certain results.
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SOMA 2011 Each face displays a regularization with fine-grained abrasion, with very fine oblique groups of marks all over the surface. Beneath these marks, it is possible to distinguish some other striae produced during a first shaping stage using scraping. The ‘proximal’ end, a kind of tang, also has several marks on it produced by scraping with a metal object, as shown by their morphological features (Fig. 15).
On the one hand, this technique was used to sharpen the active end of some points (epiphyseal-based points made on tibia or metapodia and bone splinters, etc.). The surface of these objects displays groups of parallel marks whose direction can change depending on the angle the tool is held at and the movement and pressure used for abrading (Fig. 13). The thickness and depth of these marks will depend on the grain size of the abrasive material. At this site the abrasive is normally fine-grained.
The most interesting thing about this object is a group of narrow grooves located on each corner and invading each surface face. There are five different lines of these grooves, whose length gets shorter the closer they are to the ‘distal’ end.
As mentioned before, a first stage of scraping can be differentiated in the manufacturing of some type of bone tools. Sometimes, these scraping marks are covered by other kind of much thinner marks and whose direction changes compared to the first ones. This results in a second stage in the shaping process where the object is given a final form before its utilization.
These grooves have a V-shaped cross-section (Fig. 15). The walls so of these grooves display groups of
This abrasion is commonly used to regularize the surface of some artifacts manufactured on blanks produced by fracturing the raw material block, smoothing the rough edges of fracture lines and improving the aesthetic appearance of an object.
straight and parallel marks, probably produced by a sharp metal blade. The function of this artifact is not clear at all, although two interpretations can be proposed here. On the one hand, the grooves may just have been ornamental with the object being a sort of pendant for personal adornment, its ‘proximal’ end used to hang it.
Several researchers mentioned smoothing as a different technique, but it is actually a kind of very fine-grained abrasion. It is mainly used to achieve the final appearance of some special items, such us some particular tools or personal ornaments. This kind of abrasion has been recorded for very few tools and it is often hard to differentiate such wear from use wear.
On the other hand, the grooves may have more functional than decorative. If this artifact was some kind of pointed tool then perhaps it may have been a projectile point. The morphological features of its proximal end are quite similar to those that seen on the projectile points with two barbs and tang.
Decorticage or carving
Furthermore, it is also quite similar to elements considered as projectile points made from a long bone shaft and whose manufacture involved the same documented techniques and procedures: scraping and abrasion. This type of projectile point displays the same square cross-section in its medial part, tending to be more rounded closer to both the ‘distal’ and ‘proximal’ ends, and the tang not clearly separated from the rest of the projectile point body.
Decorticage or carving refers to a technique where the surface of the bone is removed. It is normally made by pressing on the bone or antler surface with a sharpen edge to get the desired shape (similar to sharpening a pencil with a knife), making gradual little cuts. It is this technique that was used to carry out part of the manufacturing process of the antler projectile points at the Motilla del Azuer archaeological site.
The only elements that really make this object both special and different from the other objects similar in shape are the grooves. They were all made using sawing with a metal tool, whether they were purely decorative, functional or even a combination of both.
These morphologically variable projectile points normally have two barbs and tang, which has sometimes a widening in its middle part as a limit for handling. The groups of little cuts were observed on the tangs (Fig. 14), and are related to the final shaping of the objects. These kinds of cuts were certainly made with a metal knife, of which several examples have been discovered on this site (Nájera and Molina 1977: 256).
Conclusions The raw material analysis (Altamirano 2011), has demonstrated a clear dominance of skeletal elements from domestic species as the source of raw materials for tool manufacturing at the Motilla del Azuer archaeological site. Some wild species are also important in the production of certain types of artifacts (red deer antler for projectile points production, for example). The animal species providing raw material for making bone tools coincide with those species identified in the faunal, showing the importance of livestock with a predominance of caprines in this craft work (Driesch & Boessneck 1980).
The only beveled tool in the worked bone assemblage was manufactured using this technique. Progressive cuts can be seen on both sides of this double beveled tool. Sawing The last of the shaping techniques observed during the traceological analysis was sawing. Sawing consists of cutting and dividing the raw material with a sharp object, in a perpendicular direction with respect to the osseous fibers (Averbouh and Provenzano 1999: 16). This technique could also have been used to make bi-partition of long bones easier, although there is no evidence to confirm this idea.
There are high proportions of pointed tools in this worked osseous assemblage among others types of artifacts, similar to some others bone tool assemblages dating to Bronze Age in the Iberian Peninsula.
The only clear evidence of sawing in bone tool manufacture was observed on only one artifact, whose morphological and technical features make it special. It is a pointed object made on a long bone shaft, with a square section and broken at its ‘proximal’ end, with its rounded and thinner cross-section.
Flaking methods were also identified. Fracturing techniques dominate (54%), followed by bi-partition (34%) and, if we accept our hypothesis for projectile points manufacture, by an extraction technique (6%).
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Manuel Altamirano García: Technical and Typological Approaches Billamboz, A., 1979, “Les vestiges en bois de cervidés dans les gisements de l’époque holocène. Essai d´identification de la ramure et de ses différentes composantes pour l’étude technologique et l’interprétation palethnographique”, in: Camps-Fabrer, H. (dir.), L’ industria de l’os et de bois de cervidé durant le Néolithique et l’Âge des métaux, Première reunión du groupe de travail nº3 sur l’industrie de l’os préhistorique, CNRS, pp 93-129. Driesch, A. von den and Boessnech, J., 1980, “Die Motillas von Azuer und Los Palacios (Prov. Ciudad Real). Untersuchung der Tierknochenfunde”, Studien über frühe Tierknochenfunde von der Iberischen Halbinsel 7, pp. 84-121. Molina, F. y Nájera, T., 1978, “Die Motillas von Azuer und Los Palacios (Prov. Ciudad Real). Ein Beitrag zur Bronzezeit der Mancha”. Madrider Mitteilungen 19, pp. 52-74. Molina, F., Nájera, T. y Aguayo, P. 1979: “La Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Ciudad Real). Campaña de 1979”. Cuadernos de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Granada 4, pp. 265-294. Molina, F., Nájera, T., Aranda, G., Sánchez, M. and Haro, 2005, “Recent fieldwork at the Bronze Age fortified site of Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Spain)”, Antiquity 79 nº 306. Nájera, T., 1984, La Edad del Bronce en La Mancha Occidental, Tesis Doctorales de la Universidad de Granada 458. Granada. Nájera and Molina, 2004, “Las motillas. Un modelo de asentamiento con fortificación central en la llanura de La Mancha”. In Mª.R. García Huerta y J. Morales Hervás (eds.), La península Ibérica en el II milenio a.C.: poblados y fortificaciones, pp. 173-214. Nájera, T., Molina, F., F., Aguayo, P. y Sáez, L., 1977, “Excavaciones en las “motillas” del Azuer y Los Palacios (Ciudad Real)”, XIV Congreso Nacional de Arqueología (Vitoria, 1975), pp. 503-514. Nájera, T., Molina, F., Aguayo, P. y Martínez, G. 1981, “La Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Ciudad Real). Campaña de 1981”, Cuadernos de Prehistoria de la Universidad de Granada 6, pp. 293-307. Nájera, T., Molina, F., De la Torre, F., Aguayo, P. y Sáez, L., 1979, “La Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Ciudad Real), Campaña de 1976”, Noticiario Arqueológico Hispánico 6, pp. 19-50. Nájera, T., Molina, F., Sánchez, M. y Aranda, G. 2006, “Un enterramiento infantil singular en el yacimiento de la Edad del Bronce de la Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Ciudad Real)”. Trabajos de Prehistoria 63, pp. 148-156. Padilla, J.A., 1994, “Industria ósea”. In M.S. Hernández, J.L. Simón y J.A. López, Agua y Poder. El Cerro del Cuchillo (Almansa, Albacete). Patrimonio Histórico-Arqueología Castilla-La Mancha 13: 176-184. Padilla, J.A., 2001, “El trabajo del hueso, asta y marfil”, ...Y acumularon tesoros. Mil años de Historia en nuestras tierras, pp. 247-257. Provenzano, N., 2001, Les industries en os et bois de cervidés des Terramares Émiliennes, Thèse pour obtenir le grade de docteur de L’ Université Aix-Marseille II.
There is a general use of scraping to regularize the artifacts’ surfaces and sharpen their active ends as regard the transformation and manufacturing techniques and procedures used to make blanks. On the other hand, there is also a manufacturing procedure in which regularization of the surface was first carried out by scraping. This is then followed by abrasion to finish the object before using it. The results from present study enable us to talk about the parallel existence of several working patterns in the technical transformation sequence. Especially for some types of artifacts, there is a systematic selection of animal species and skeletal elements chosen to manufacture specific tool types. Furthermore, these tools were normally worked using the same flaking and shaping methods, procedures and techniques. Is it possible to speak of some tool type standardization related to strong manufacturing traditions? There is evidence for some of the tool types described here (epiphyseal-based points made on caprine tibia, for example), being found in contexts dating to the 3rd millennium BC from the centre and south of the Iberian Peninsula, that could be related to this possible cultural tradition, at least for some special types of tools. It will be important to carry out the technical study of this bone equipment from such Copper Age sites and some others dating to Bronze Age. This would indicate whether we are looking at a real cultural and technological tradition over time within some cultural regions. Acknowledgements To Noëlle Provenzano and Alice Choyke, for making me see ‘people’ and ‘ideas’ behind the bones, for sharing their time and experience with me. Thanks. To all those people who have made possible all the archaeological work carried out at Motilla del Azuer, specially to Trinidad Nájera, Fernando Molina, Martín Haro, Sergio Fernández, Gonzalo Aranda and Margarita Sánchez. Thanks. Bibliography Altamirano, M., 2009, La industria de hueso trabajado de un yacimiento arqueológico de la Edad del Bronce: La motilla del Azuer, Trabajo de Investigación de Máster. Inédito. Altamirano, M., 2011, “La industria de hueso de un yacimiento arqueológico de la Edad del Bronce: La Motilla del Azuer (Daimiel, Ciudad Real)”, Arqueología y Territorio 6, pp. 3955. Averbough, A. and Provenzano, N., 1999, “Propositiones pour une terminologie du travail préhistorique des métiers osseuses: I Les techniques”, Préhistoire Anthropologie Méditerranéennes 1998-1999, t. 7-8, pp. 5-25.
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Fig. 1. Main bones used for tools manufacture
Fig. 2. Lines of fracture on pointed radius
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Fig. 3. Lines of spiral fracture on pointed caprine tibia
Fig. 3. Lines of spiral fracture on pointed caprine tibia
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Figs. 5 & 6. Points made on a fibula and ulna respectively from Motilla del Azuer
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Fig. 7. Bi-partition of caprine tibia and lines of fracture
Fig. 8. Bi-partition of metapodia
Fig. 9. Experimental extraction of blank from a deer antler and projectile point preform
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Fig.10. Different red deer antler parts (after Billamboz 1979)
Fig. 11. Scraping marks on end of pointed artifact
Fig. 12. Longitudinal and slightly wavy parallel marks produced by scraping with a flint tool on the surface of a pig fibula
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Fig. 13. Oblique marks produced by abrasion
Fig. 14. Removal of surface layer on red deer antler arrowhead
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Fig. 15. Pointed bone artifact with marks of abrasion and sawing
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Birch Resin Not Only As Climate Marker. Integration Between Chemical And Paleobotanical Analysis In Sicilian Prehistory Roberta Mentesana
Scuola di Specializzazione in beni Archeologici “Dinu Adamesteanu”, Università del Salento, Italia [email protected]
Giuseppe De Benedetto
Laboratorio di Analisi Chimiche per l’Ambiente e i Beni Culturali, Università del Salento, Italia [email protected]
Girolamo Fiorentino
Laboratorio di Archeobotanica e Paleoecologia, Università del Salento, Italia [email protected]
previous years on the hillside. At the top of the hill the remains of a hut 4.80m in diameter were found (Fig. 3), with large amounts of stone tools, bones and pottery, dating to a middle/late stage of the local Early Bronze Age (2200-1450 B.C.). The hut was destroyed by fire but many artefacts were found in their original positions.
Introduction Organic residue analyses provide an opportunity for archaeology to learn about functional issues, food habits, ancient knowledge and techniques; they have often contributed to reverse archaeological hypotheses (Craig et al. 2003). In the case of bituminous materials they have supported the multiple uses of them in antiquity, specifying which type of resin was used and to what purpose (Charter et al. 1993). Implementation of analysis techniques from the 1960s to the present day (Regert et al. 2006) has allowed us to distinguish different triterpenoid markers that are essential to identify resin typology. Moreover, the integration of chemical, archaeological and technological studies has allowed us to understand means of resin production and storage (Regert et al. 2003).
Archaeological sample Figure 5 shows fragments of the jar on which the black amorphous material was found and the arrows indicate the fractures of vase wall and the attached handle where these residues, possibly resinous, can be seen. To identify the chemical nature of these organic residues, the material was removed with a clean scalpel, paying attention not to include clay material, and analysed by gas-chromatograph coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) (Andreotti A. et al. 2006).
Our case study involved a black substance founded on a vase coming from the Early Bronze Age site of Santa Febronia (Palagonia, Catania). The resin has been used without question as a glue; indeed it covered fractures on the vase walls and the handle. The aspect not elaborated by previous researches was the ecological one: birch tree grows at certain altitudes and under certain climatic conditions. In Sicily the species grows only on the Etna volcano between 1500-1900 m.a.s.l., whereas in other countries this limit falls considerably. Although pollen analysis does not show for the Bronze Age the presence of this species in Sicily below the 1500 m.a.s.l., the species could have survived in some ecological niches.
Solvent extraction The residue after extraction with ammonia, was saponified at 80° C for an hour with 300 µl of 10% w/v KOH in ethanol. The solution was then acidified with trifluoroacetic acid, and extracted twice with 400 µl of a 1:1 (v/v) mixture of hexane and ethyl ether. The extract was dried, redissolved in 500 µl of acetone and dried again. A part of it, 20 µl, was derivatized for an hour at 60° C with 5 µl of tridecanoic acid, 20 µl of BSTFA and 200 µl of isooctane, then analysed by GC-MS.
Archaeological context The site of Santa Febronia is located within the administrative district of the town of Palagonia (province of Catania, Fig.1). From an altitude of 500 m.a.s.l. it dominates the plain below (Piana di Catania) and the valley to the west (Valle dei Margi), crossed by the river of the same name (Fig. 2). Since ancient times the presence of the water system has facilitated communication between the east coast, the interior, and the south coast of Sicily. It has also provided an environment rich in natural resources: paleobotanical studies have revealed a countryside thickly wooded (Castiglioni 2008), very different from today’s citrus planting.
Result and discussion Interpretation of the chromatogram of the resinous materials is based on comparison with modern material, and identification of biomarker, unique for each substance. The analysis of the sample confirmed that the analysed residue is a resin belonging to the Betulaceae family. Identification has been possible for the presence of some characteristic triterpenes (Fig. 6): betuline (LUP-20 (29)-EN-3β, 28-diol), lupeolo (LUP-20 (29)-EN-3β, 28-ol), lupenone (LUP-20 (29)-EN-3-one). The presence of oxoallobetulene, a product of the thermal degradation of betulina, proved that the resin had been heated before being used on the vase, a technique known from Palaeolithic times (Regert et al.
The site of Santa Febronia was discovered in 1995 (Maniscalco 1997a; Maniscalco 1997b). A few tombs had been identified in
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2003). Birch resin has been used since prehistory as medicine, sealant, antiseptic and, of course, as a glue. A climate question arises from the Santa Febronia finding. Birch tree is a species that grows between 1500 and 1900 m.a.s.l., therefore it currently is found only on Etna’s volcano slopes (Betula aetnensis, Fig. 4); our site instead is 500 m.a.s.l. and approximately 70km from the volcano. Therefore the Santa Febronia (relatively low) altitude does not support the growth of the species.
Bibliography Andreotti, A. et al., 2006, Combined GC/MS Analytical Procedure for the Characterization of Glycerolipid, Waxy, Resinous, and Proteinaceous Materials in a Unique Paint Microsample, in Analytical Chemistry, 78, 4490-4500. Castiglioni, E., 2008, I resti botanici, in Maniscalco L. (a cura di), Il santuario dei Palici. Un centro di culto nella valle dei Margi, Palermo, 365-386. Charters, S. et al., 1993, Identification of an adhesive used to repair a roman jar, in Archaeometry, 35, 91-101. Craig, O. E. et al., 2003, ‘Milk jugs’ and other myths of the Copper Age of Central Europe, in European Journal of Archaeology, 6, 3, 251-265. La Rosa, V.- Privitera, F. (a cura di), 2007, In Ima Tartara Preistoria e leggenda delle grotte etnee, Catania. Maniscalco, L., 1997a. Recenti acquisizioni sull’Antica Età del Bronzo nei territori di Palagonia e Militello, Kokalos, 53-54, 153-163. Maniscalco, L., 1997b. L’insediamento castellucciano delle Coste di Santa Febronia (Palagonia), S. Tusa, Prima Sicilia. Alle origini della società siciliana, Palermo 1997, 359-363. Regert, M. et al. 2003, Adhesive production and pottery function during the Iron Age at the site of Grand Aunay (Sarthe, France), in Archaeometry, 45, 1, 101-120. Regert, M. et al. 2006, Molecular characterisation of birch bark tar by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry: A new way for identifying archaeological glues, in Journal of Chromatography A, 1101, 245-253. Sadori, L. et al. 2008, Last Glacial to Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution at Lago Pergusa (Sicily, Southern Italy) as inferred by pollen, microcharcoal, and stable isotopes, in Quaternary International, 181, 4-14.
The pollen analysis (Sadori et al. 2008) carried out from the lake of Pergusa (Enna) does not reveal a humid phase that could have caused a change in conditions required for Betula growth; rather it reports gradual climate dryness from 4500 BP. Moreover the paleobotanical studies carried out at the nearby site of Paliké did not identify the species (Castiglioni 2008). As a result our finding could be explained by contact between groups living in the Margi valley and those areas close to Etna. It is also possible that the vase had already restored: the type of jar was common in the local Early Bronze Age. The use of Etna sites and volcanic caves as habitation, burial and cult places is known (La Rosa and Privitera 2007). Probably these activities had been the occasions for gathering some particular substances, as birch resin, and for exchanging artefacts and knowledge, such as resin manufacture and its properties. Certainly, birch resin has some features that make it preferable to others more easily available. The discovery of Santa Febronia highlights another aspect of human presence in these high-altitude sites, their role as places of contact and exchange, and the mobility of the Bronze Age communities. Acknowledgement Photos 1-3 and 6 are by L. Maniscalco, Fig.5 by R.M., and Fig. 4 sourced by internet and free of Copyright (Photo Prismatico01, http://www.flickr.com/photos/60805978@N00/247598537).
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Fig. 1 Sicily: location of the site
Fig. 2 Coste di Santa Febronia: hill from north – east
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Fig. 3 The Santa Febronia hut
Fig. 4 Picture of Betula aetnensis
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Fig. 5 The jar coated with the black substance
Fig. 6 Chromatogram of the archaeological sample analysed: birch resin biomarkers are indicated
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Part II History and Archaeology of the Classical World I
Archaeology Greece and the Mediterranean Seeing the Attic Vase: Mediterranean Shapes from 635 to 300 B.C. – The Beazley Data Filippo Giudice, Rossano Scicolone, Sebastiano Luca Tata Università di Catania, Centro di Ceramografia greca
the trend of distribution of shapes in each area, Attica, where there are 70% of lekanides, is the one more aligned to the general production trend (Fig. 3.3). A different choice is seen from other areas such as central Greece (Fig. 3.4), showing a greater preference for kylikes (42% of the total), or North Africa (Fig. 3.5), that favours oinochoai (29% of the total). Etruria (Fig. 3.6) at this time, although without a high number of specimens, shows a clear preference for amphorae.
The Congress held in Munich in September 2010 (Giudice, Scicolone and Tata, forthcoming) enabled us to present, for the first time, a reference framework for Attic pottery shapes from 635 to 300 BC, focusing especially on the global production and the Athenian market. This congress followed ‘Athenian Potters and Painters’ (Giudice and Giudice Rizzo, 2009), a conference held in Athens in 2007, where the framework of themes for Attic figured vases from the beginning until the end of production was presented.
575-550 BC
The Congress organized by our Turkish archeologists of SOMA in Konia (Giudice et al., 2011), in 2009 and in Kiev (Giudice et al., forthcoming), in 2010 enabled us to outline the first reference framework for shapes exported in two of the thirteen areas in which we divided the Mediterranean Sea in each quarter century (Giudice 1993), from 635 to 300 BC, i.e. Turkey and the Black Sea area.
In the second quarter of the 6th century BC the production trend maintains the levels of the previous period. Attic pottery begins, from now, to spread over most of the Mediterranean, showing also changes from the reference framework given for the previous period. Attica, in fact, remains the area with the highest concentration, which now stands at 35%. Imports in Etruria grow considerably, reaching 18% (Fig. 1.4). Although many types of shapes are produced, in this period ceramic workshops seem to focus almost exclusively on two shapes, the kylix and the amphora (Fig. 4.1). But while the kylix shows a more homogeneous distribution in all areas of the Mediterranean, recording its highest level in Attica (22%) (Fig. 4.2), where it is followed by the amphora, and in central Greece (18%) (Fig. 4.3), and, among western areas, in the Ionian Gulf (14%) (Fig. 4.4), over 60% of amphorae arrive in Etruria (Fig. 4.5), mainly in Vulci, where this shape was extremely popular.
Now, referring to the over 35000 vases listed by Beazley (Beazley, 1956, 1963, 1971) and Haspels (Haspels, 1936), we are presenting the framework reference for shapes both in terms of global production and within the different areas of the Mediterranean during the three centuries in which Attic figured pottery was produced (Fig. 1.1). (F.G.) 625-600 BC
550-525 BC
In the last quarter of the 7th century BC Attic black-figure pottery had a limited number of shapes (Fig. 3.1), derived from the Protoattic tradition. These are large shapes like kraters and amphorae which, followed by lekanides, are made only for the internal market, or at most for some neighboring market, like the island of Aegina (Fig. 1.2). Only one amphora of this period from Etruria is known.
In 550-525 BC the production of Athenian workshops registered a further growth. Unlike the previous period it does not focus exclusively on only two shapes, but sees the growing importance of other types of vases (Fig. 4.6). The amphora and the kylix are still the most attested shapes. Besides these, both the lekythos and the skyphos emerge, although in lesser quantities. In terms of distribution the reference framework offers important new features (Fig. 1.5). The Etruscan area, in fact, is configured as the main market of the Mediterranean, where imports reach 38%, followed by Attica and Athens, where 26% of products remain. Analysis of the distribution of shapes may clarify, in part, the framework outlined. The amphora, for example, is the most successful shape in Etruria (Fig. 5.1) with 70% of specimens with known provenance, followed by the kylix, as can be seen, although in smaller quantities, in the area that includes Tyrrhenian Calabria and Campania (Fig. 5.2). Attica (Fig. 5.3), instead, affords a higher preference to the kylix (as in other areas such as
600-575 BC In 600-575 BC the internal market is still the main one, taking in over 50% of the pottery of this period, followed by central Greece (14%) and North Africa (13%) (Fig. 1.3). The range of Attic pottery becomes considerably more various, including most of the typical shapes of this production and enriching the traditional one (Fig. 3.2). The most produced shape is the lekanis, which in this period reaches the peak of its popularity. It is followed by kylikes, oinochoai and amphorae. Looking at
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western, central and southern Anatolia (Figs. 5.4-5), Africa (Fig. 5.6) and the Ionian Gulf (Fig. 6.1)), followed by the lekythos and the amphora. The lekythos, finally, attested only minimally in Etruria, is the most successful shape in areas of central Greece (Fig. 6.2), where it is followed by the skyphos, northern Greece and Black Sea (Fig. 6.3), and Sicily (Fig. 6.4) (which with 16% of imports represents the main market for this product, after the internal one and central Greece).
A particular preference for kylix imports in these areas is also found in the peripheral Western regions (Fig. 10.2), where, however, the volume of imports, in Beazley’s list, does not exceed 80 units. The lekythos instead, in this quarter century, despite the peak of its imports, primarily concerns Attica (350 sp.) (Fig. 10.3) and other regions of Greece (just over 140 vases) (Fig. 10.4).
525-500 BC In the last quarter of the century the production of Attic pottery continues to grow. In terms of distribution (Fig. 2.1), the Etruscan market increases its importance with 48% of imports; it is followed by Attica with 22% of the pottery produced in this period. The most successful shapes are kylikes, amphorae, which during this period reached their peak, and lekythoi (Fig. 6.5). This trend is reflected in the Etruscan market (Fig. 6.6) that sees kylikes and amphorae as favorite shapes, as well as in the Adriatic area (Fig. 7.1). Beside these data it should also be noted that almost 80% of the amphorae seem directed exclusively to the Etruscan market. The internal market (Fig. 7.2) also seems to give its preference to the kylix, followed here by the lekythos. Lekythoi, however, followed by kylikes, are the main imports in central (Fig. 7.3) and Balkanic Greece (Fig. 7.4), and especially in Sicily (Fig. 7.5) (31%), which is the main market for these products. The area that includes Tyrrhenian Calabria and Campania (Fig. 7.6) seems to be a link between Sicily and Etruria: here there is a substantial balance in the presences of amphorae, kylikes and lekythoi, although not very numerous.
The form also arrives in Sicily in significant percentages (250 vases) (Fig. 10.5). The island, moreover, is, in this period, the fifth market of sale of Attic figured vases and imports with 11% of the entire production. It is not surprising to observe, moreover, as the quantity of lekythoi produced by the Kerameikos for the internal market consists of 46% units of white-ground vases, while in Sicily this style amounts for only 14% of the imported vases. In this period (475-450 BC), the volume of imports in Campania (Fig. 10.6), the fourth main reception area, is high: it imports primarily amphorae. This preference of Campania for amphorae was already seen in the second half of the 6th century BC and seems to continue until 425 BC. Other shapes also arrive in Tyrrhenian Calabria and Campania in the second quarter of the 5th century BC: in particular lekythoi, kylikes, pelikai, and, in smaller quantities, hydriai, oinochoai, skyphoi, stamnoi.
500-475 BC In the first quarter of the 5th century the production trends peak. The distribution of Attic figured pottery sees a change from the previous period (Fig. 2.2). Etruria, which records 22% of imports, despite being one of the most important markets, is surpassed again by Attica with 29% of occurrences. The lekythos is the most successful shape, followed by the kylix (Fig. 8.1). Among other shapes, present in significant percentages, there are amphorae, oinochoai and skyphoi. Lekythoi are the most attested shape in the internal market (Fig. 8.2), followed by kylikes, in central Greece (Fig. 8.3), followed by skyphoi, in Sicily (Fig. 8.4), with an almost exclusive presence, in the Ionian Gulf (Fig. 8.5), followed by kraters, and in western peripheral areas (Fig. 8.6), followed by kylikes. The markets of western and central Anatolia (Fig. 9.1) show a similar preference for kylikes, oinochoai and lekythoi, while the western markets of Etruria (Fig. 9.2) and the Adriatic (Fig. 9.3) mainly import kylikes. Again, the area including Tyrrhenian Calabria and Campania (Fig. 9.4) is a middle ground between Sicily and Etruria, importing a homogeneous quantity of amphorae, kylikes and lekythoi.
450-425 BC In 450-425 BC while the productivity of Kerameikos decreases, there is a heightened importance of the krater. It is, in fact, the most attested shape of this quarter of century followed by the lekythos and, at some distance, by the kylix (Fig. 11.1). The Attic area, followed by the Adriatic coasts and Tyrrhenian Calabria and Campania are the main import markets in this period (Fig. 2.4). The Etruscan market is reduced compared to the previous quarter. The production of the shapes reflect the changing markets. Kraters exported from Attica to the shores of the Mediterranean reach the coasts of the Adriatic as well as Sicily from 475-450 BC (Figs. 11.2-3). Not surprisingly, the krater proves to be the most produced shape in 450-425 BC, a period in which the imports to Etruria are reduced and those to the Padan area rise (Fig. 2.4). In addition to the Adriatic area and Sicily, there is also an almost exclusive predilection for the krater in the Middle East (Fig. 11.5), Africa (Fig. 11.6), and in the Ionian Gulf (Fig. 11.4), although in these areas, the volume of imports remains relatively low.
(R.S.) 475-450 BC In the second quarter of the 5th century BC (475-450 BC), cups and lekythoi are the most produced shapes in Athenian workshops (Fig. 9.5). Both exceed 2000 specimens, the other shapes are all present in smaller amounts (1000 specimens). In this quarter of the century Attica, followed by Etruria, especially the Tyrrhenian and internal areas, and the Adriatic sites, in particular regions of the Padan area, are the main markets receiving the Attic vases listed by Beazley (Fig. 2.3).
Sicily continues to import lekythoi also in this period (Fig. 11.2). This shape continues to have primarily a local market (Fig. 12.12), partly because of burial uses, as has been demonstrated. The decreased interest in producing kylikes, in this period, is therefore linked to changes in the trend of trade, which carries only a small part of the interest in shapes which were found
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Filippo Giudice et al.: Seeing the Attic Vase mainly in the Etruscan area. In Etruria (Fig. 12.3), in fact, and in the peripheral west (Fig. 12.4), there is, despite the paucity of documentation, a peak in imports of this shape. The framework of imports in Tyrrhenian Calabria and Campania is diversified (Fig. 12.5); in these areas mainly pelikai, amphorae, kraters, hydriai, are imported followed by kylikes, lekythoi, stamnoi and a few specimens of other shapes.
Finally, we must emphasize the growth of exports towards areas such as the peripheral western regions, Spain and France, or North Africa and Libya in particular. Around 400-350 BC the krater, the most produced shape in this period, is documented in areas where there was previously little evidence of them. The presence of kraters in the Adriatic area (24% of production) (Fig. 14.2) and in Campania (12% of production) (Fig. 14.3) is significant.
425-400 BC
In addition to Attica (11% of production) (Fig. 14.4) and central Greece (16% of production) (Fig. 14.5), the remaining areas (9 % of the Middle East, to 9% of the peripheral western areas (Fig. 15.1), to 8% of Balkan Greece and Black Sea shores (Fig. 14.6), to 4% of Africa (Fig. 15.3)), document a broad and diversified market.
At the end of the 5th century BC the situation changes significantly. The most produced shape is the lekythos, types 2 and 3 (Fig. 12.6). It represents 42% of the entire production of this period, followed by the kylikes (15%) and by oinochoai (14%). In the late fifth century the reception areas involved are mainly Attica and the area of the Adriatic coasts; if we exclude the latter, all other western markets are completely altered (Fig. 2.5). The increased production of lekythoi therefore, in this quarter of a century, is no longer related to the distribution in Sicily. This region imported only 1% of the lekythoi produced by Athens.
The kylix, which is produced especially for the local market, also shows the Adriatic market (Fig. 14.2) as a privileged one and there were equally high numbers of exports to the peripheral Western regions (Fig. 15.1). The oinochoe is exported mainly to sites of the Adriatic coast (Fig. 14.2). Lekanides seem to reach mainly Balkan Greece and the Black Sea coast (Fig. 14.6). In the Black Sea area large numbers of pelikai were imported in the middle of the century.
The local market now is the biggest one (54% of lekythoi only in Attica) (Fig. 13.1), while areas previously little affected, such as the Middle East (Fig. 13.3), now import almost 15% of specimens (there are also some vases in Balkan Greece and along the Black Sea coast (Fig. 13.2)).
(S.L.T.) In conclusion, the framework provided for the distribution of shapes of Attic figured pottery, in each quarter of a century in which it was produced, derives from the need to consider Attic exports not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of quality.
The production of kylikes at the end of the century is halved. This shape no longer arrives exclusively in Etruria (Fig. 13.4) and Adriatic coasts (Fig. 13.6). A strong increase in imports of kylikes occurs along the southern coasts of France and Spain (Fig. 13.5). Customer interest for Attic pottery in the Adriatic area (Fig. 13.6) is evidenced by the large presence of oinochoai. At the end of the 5th century this shape, which in the previous quarter seems to have been exported to different regions of the Mediterranean, is almost exclusively produced for the Adriatic market (78% of the entire corpus of oinochoai listed by Beazley).
It opens up many opportunities for reflection and guidelines that we hope to be able to develop in the future. The changes in the marketing of these shapes, in fact, do not appear to be random. They seem to be related to specific choices, to social changes, and changes in customs, often difficult to decipher, which occurred either in the production area or in the import areas. Correct analysis of these changes and their effects on market decisions cannot be made without fuller studies of contexts. In this regard we can consider the role of analyses made in recent years by our team on Attic figured pottery from Gela (Giudice and Panvini, 2003) and from Camarina (Giudice, 2010). In both cases the application of the expounded methodology allowed us to confirm the trend obtained from the lists compiled by J. D. Beazley, or to explain the differences.
The preference of this market is linked, as we have seen, to the demand levels encountered more and more exclusively by type 2. Type 2 was, in fact, also the type of oinochoe exported more to Spain in 475-425 BC. 4th century BC In the 4th century BC the situation changes again. If in the first quarter the shapes mostly produced are still cups and kraters, from the following quarter century the production is more diversified; oinochoai and lekanides are produced together with kylikes, while in the second half of the century pelikai are the most attested shape (Fig. 14.1).
Only in this way, in fact, is it possible to reduce the margin of error of particular studies that often leads back to the preference of the customer for items from Athens, in terms of the choice both of iconographic themes and of shapes. It remains important not to reduce relationships only to the dialectic of producerspurchasers. It is necessary to consider the role of intermediaries who managed the trades in various ports along the routes travelled by ships carrying these desirable Attic vases.
The framework described is reasonably linked to the change of markets and the different areas of distribution involved (Fig. 2.6). The area that reaches a peak of imports is the Adriatic coast and, within it, the Padan area. Balkan Greece and the Black Sea area are second. Here the imports are particularly concentrated in the northern parts of Greece and in the Hellenic sites of the shores of the Black Sea. A large proportion of production remains in the local market in Attica.
(F.G.) Bibliography Beazley, J. D., 1956, Attic Black-figure Vase-Painters, Oxford. Beazley, J. D., 1963, Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters, Oxford.
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SOMA 2011 Giudice, G. (ed.), 2011, “Attikon … keramon”, Veder greco a Camarina, dal principe di Biscari ai nostri giorni, Catania. Giudice, F. et al., 2011, Attic Imports to Anatolia: The Construction of a Reference Framework, in SOMA 2009, 8191, Konya. Giudice, F. et al., (forthcoming), Attic Imports to the Black Sea area: the Construction of the Reference Framework, in SOMA 2010, Kiev. Giudice, F., Scicolone, R. and Tata, S. L., (forthcoming), Vedere il vaso attico: costruzione del quadro di riferimento delle forme dal 635 al 300 a.C., in Griechische Vasenbilder als Medium des Kulturtransfers, Kolloquium Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, 8-10 September 2010, Munich.
Beazley, J. D., 1971, Paralipomena. Additions to Attic BlackFigure Vase-Painters and to Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters, Oxford. Haspels, C. H. E., 1936, Attic Black-figure Lekythoi, Paris. Giudice, F., 1993, Le rotte commerciali dei vasi attici dal VI al IV sec. a.C. Analisi quantitativa e qualitativa, in Acalc, 4, 181-96, 1993. Giudice, F. and Panvini, R. (eds.), 2003. Ta Attika. Veder greco a Gela. Ceramiche figurate dall’antica colonia, Roma. Giudice, F. and Giudice Rizzo, I., 2009, Seeing the Image: the Construction of the Reference Frame of the Imagerie of Attic pottery from 635 to 300 BC, in “Athenian Potters and Painters II”, 48-62, Oxford.
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Fig. 1. 1: global production; 2-5: distribution of Attic pottery
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Fig. 2. Distribution of Attic pottery.
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Fig. 3. 1: shapes of 625-600 BC in global production; 2-5: shapes of 600-575 BC in global production and in main markets
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Fig. 4. 1-5: shapes of 575-550 BC in global production and in main markets; 6: shapes of 550-525 BC in global production and in main markets.
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Fig. 5. Shapes of 550-525 BC in main markets.
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Fig. 6. 1-4: shapes of 550-525 BC in main markets; 5-6: shapes in 525-500 BC. of global production and in main markets.
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Fig. 7. Shapes of 525-500 BC in main markets.
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Fig. 8. Shapes of 500-475 in global production and in main markets..
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Fig. 9. 1-4: shapes of 500-475 BC in main markets; 5-6: shapes of 475-450 BC in global production and in main markets.
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Fig. 10. Shapes of 475-450 BC in main markets.
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Fig. 11. Shapes of 450-425 BC in global production and in main markets.
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Fig. 12. 1-5: shapes of 450-425 BC in main markets; 6: shapes of 425-400 BC in global production.
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Fig. 13. Shapes of 425-400 BC in main markets.
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Fig. 14. Shapes of the 4th century BC in global production and in main markets.
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Fig. 15. Shapes of the 4th century BC in main markets.
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The Walled Towns of Thesprotia: from the Hellenistic Foundation to the Roman Destruction Marco Moderato
Missione Archeologica Italiana a Durres, Università di Chieti-Pescara, Italy
The regions of Thesprotia and Cassopeia demonstrate the relevant phenomenon of urbanization, which starts in the 4th century BC, has its acme during Hellenism and comes to a brutal end in 2nd century BC, as a result of the Roman conquest. The purpose of this analysis is to better understand the reasons behind this phenomenon through archaeological data and historical literary sources.
century BC the Cassopeians detached from the Thesprotian ethnos and formed their own. A turning point in the history of the region was Philip II’s military intervention: in 343 BC he occupied the Elean colonies, leaving them to the Molossian king, Alexander I, who besieged and conquered Ambracia in 338 BC. With full freedom of action and complete control over the resources once controlled by the Greek colonies, Cassope, founded in 380-360 BC, became the main centre of the region; the Hellenistic boundaries of its territory were more or less the same as the modern department of Preveza. Under Pyrros the whole region was adorned and enriched. From 234 BC Cassope and its territory entered the Epirote Alliance and reached the acme of its power and influence; the city itself was expanded and many public monuments were built. Its prosperity was brutally interrupted by the Roman conquest in 168 BC (Riginos 2010: 62-5).
Until the 4th century BC, according to ancient sources, Epirotes were organized in villages; Pseudoscilace1 tells us that Chaones, Thesprotians, Cassopians and Molossians oikousi kata komas; more importantly they lived, according to Thucydides,2 by aiteikistous komas, unfortified villages. This feature is not of secondary importance as these sites will be discovered and remembered in the 19th century thanks to their powerful fortifications: “les vieilles forteresses sans nom et sans histoire” (Gillieron 1877 cited in Dausse 2002: 177 n.1). Those villages were grouped by ethnos and thus varied in dimension from small to very large communities. The populations were then gathered in larger communities, such as the koinon of Epirotes, which stretched from Tepelen to the Ambracian Gulf (from north to south) and from the Ionian coast to the Pindus ranges. As the process of urbanism developed with the process of the unification of Epirus, we must mention the sources that give us the general outline of this phenomenon. The unification of the Epirote koinon is testified by two inscriptions of the Thearodokes: the first one, dating back to 360 BC and related to Epidauro, mentioned that the theores had to negotiate Pandosia, Cassope, Poionos, Corcyra, Arthichia and Chaoina and Molossia before arriving at Ambracia: seven stops corresponding to seven different ‘political forces’. 30 years later, the inscription from Argos reports that the Theores who came to announce the Heraia had to speak only to Cleopatra, queen of the Molossians in Phoinike. In 330 BC the Eacides unified the Molossians, Thesprotians, Cassopeians, as well as the inhabitants of the Elean Greek colonies (Cabanes 2010: 121-23). The koinon of the Epirotes reached is final union in 295 BC, when Pyrros had the same authority over the Chaones and the Molossian kingdom, as demonstrated by the fact that the army that fought in Italy was composed of Chaones, Thesprothes and Molossians (Cabanes 2010: 123).
More or less the same historical events had already taken place in Thesprotia; the military power of Philip II limited the eastern boundaries of the region and obliged the Thesprotians to head north, pushing their boundaries to the Kalamas River. Thesprotians were also obliged under political pressure to join the Epirote Alliance, formed by the Molossian and Thesprotian powers around 333-323 BC; around the same time Gitana became the capital city (Lazari and Kanta-Kitsou 2010: 35-7). Urban development prospered also during the reign of Pyrros (293272 BC), who in order to strengthen the defense of his kingdom promoted the establishment of strongholds, citadels, and forts. Starting from the 4th century BC and especially during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC Thesprotia reached an important level of economic and politic development, linked to population growth and the creation of structured cities that reflected the organization of the smaller communities (for example Elina as the seat of the Elinoi Thesprotoi, Phanote as the seat of the Phanoteis) (Lazari and Kanta-Kitsou 2010: 36-7). The positioning of most fortified settlements of the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods was dictated by geomorphological and strategic needs. Fragmentation of natural topography contributed to relative isolation of the various tribes, which were organized around a residential centre in river valleys, around small plains, or on mountain highlands. For Cassopia we can distinguish three kind of urban settlement: Elean colonies, some mediumsized Cassopeian sites (between 4-8ha, such as Kastrosykia and Berenike), and rural sites. By the 4th century BC there were different settlement types that fitted perfectly within the former urban grid. Cities, such as the Elean colonies, were 10km apart and the secondary rural settlements were 2-4km apart. Nevertheless the size of cities is very average and that is probably one of the reasons for the foundation of Cassope (Corvisier 1993: 85-7). In Thesprotia the numeric progression of urban settlements is meaningful: 8 in the 5th century, 21 in the 4th century, and more than 60 in the 3rd century BC. We can see a sort of hierarchy in these towns: small settlements (i.e. Phanoute, Elina, Ephyra),
Regarding Cassopia there are some historical events that are relevant to the process of urbanization. The first step towards urbanization was the foundation of the Elean colonies around the 8th and 7th centuries BC: Pandosia, Elatria, Battiai and Bouchetion. Although the history of these colonies is not well known, they are thought to have belonged to the establishment of new settlements by the Eleans, before the foundation of Ambracia by Corinth (Riginos 2010: 62-3). Starting from the 6th century BC the Corinthian colony quickly became the main political and economic centre of this area. At the end of the 5th 1 2
Ps-Scylax, Peripl. 29, 31, 32, 33. Tuc. 3, 94, 4.
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7/22.....31.8%
Thesprotia
7/23.....30.5%
It is no surprise that the first features to be built in these large towns were not public buildings but city walls; in the Hellenistic world there were only four short periods of peace between 323 BC and 150 BC. The need for protection was a major issue and walls are the first real indication of urban advance. Ceka (2010: 660-61) suggested that these settlements were in the beginning little more than groups of shelters in case of war, and occasionally locations for religious and politic events.
Hierarchy of cities
Cassope and Gitana were founded on strategic sites both for the defense and control of the routes which went N-S from Illyria to the Gulf. They also controlled the rivers which brought trade goods from the coast and vice versa. It is interesting to stress also the importance of demographic growth, which is directly linked with economic development. Any growth in population has to correspond with the creation of new resources: not only pastoral and agricultural activities but trade markets, local production, and administration. These factors transformed Epirote settlements from military outpost to real ‘cities’.
4 of 5/10 ha 1 of 13/30 ha 2 of +30 ha 3 of of 5/10 ha 3 of 10/30 ha 1 of +30 ha
Table 1: After Corvisier (1993: 88)
By the end of the 3rd century BC Epirus had a number of urban settlements partially developed by the influence of Greek colonies (Ambracia, the Elean colonies, Epidamnos-Dyrrachium) and partially developed to answer the more complex needs of the local populations: religious, administrative, defensive and economic.
Regarding the chronology of this phenomenon we can identify three main phases, approximately corresponding to the phases 1C, 1D, 1E of military architecture listed by Neritan Ceka (1993: 125-31). The first phase, starting with Epidaurus’s Thearodokes list (the first decades of 4th c. BC) indicates the construction of big towns, such as Cassope and Phoinike; as similar results are achieved in the northern regions, we can assume that there were strict political relationships between Illyria and Epirus, with an axis of communication that went north-south. There are many similarities between the enceintes of Cassope and Gitana, as well as Kastritsa in Molossia or, to an extent, Phoinike (The complex morphological site of Phoinike makes comparisons harder; its wall plan can be easily compared to that of Gurezeze, in the hinterland of Apollonia; see Ceka 2010: 653-5.)
Cassope was founded on a plateau between 650-550m.a.s.l. on the western slopes of the Zalongo Mountains, around 380360 BC. The site is a naturally strategic one but it was further enhanced with powerful fortifications. The site is enclosed to the north by a rocky crest, with two sides used as bastions or strongholds built of polygonal masonry. The city itself was protected by a wall of polygonal masonry with a width varying from 3.20-3.60m and with two acropolises; the walls were about 2800m long (Riginos 2010: 65-6; Kontogianni 2006: 21-2). The southern side of the city was fortified only at the more vulnerable points. To strengthen the fortification during the 3rd century BC the Cassopeians built a front bastion (proteichisma) on the south-west side of the city, where also new walls enclosed the Hellenistic expansion of the site; the fortification was completed by square towers and a diatechisma, a transversal wall, situated at the point of access to the interior of Cassope (Riginos 2010: 67-9; Kontogianni 2006: 24-6).
The second phase, which begins in the mid-4th century BC, shows the formation of urban agglomerations based on the koina. With the consolidation of the Illyrian and Molossian kingdoms, and the access to resources encouraged by Philip’s intervention in the Greek colonies, the Epirote koina embarked on their full economic and social development, which will reach its highpoint in the 3rd century BC. The implicit model of inspiration is the Macedonian kingdom, both in terms of political power and urban development. The reconstruction of the city walls at Edessa (Chrysostomou 1988: 56-7) and Aigai (Girtzy 2001: 55; Faklaris 1996: 70), for example, is only a few decades, if not a few years earlier than the new walls of Cassope and Gitana.
The central axis of Cassope linked the two main gates of the city; the western one features a semi-circular arch, one of the earliest examples in Greek fortifications. The excavations also brought to light 3 posterns that were used in times of peace as a secondary access to the city; one had a vaulted ceiling. The urban plan of the city seems to recall the 5th-century plan of Ambracia: stenopoi of 4-5m intersected the two main plateiai that ran E-W forming insulae 30m long (Riginos 2010: 69-70; Ceka 2010: 651-2). The agora of Cassope was built at the southeastern part of the city, directly linked with one of the main avenues: it was the religious, political and economic centre of the city, and from the end of 3rd century it became a monumental feature, with the creation of two stoai and a pritaneion as well as a bouleuterion at the east side of the square. Near the eastern part of the diatechisma, a small temple dedicated to Aphrodite was found. The theatre was excavated in the rocks to north, just under the acropolis (Riginos 2010: 72; Kontogianni 2006: 25-30).
By the third phase, which corresponds to the 3rd century BC, Epirus has reached its full growth: the great capital towns are enlarged and adorned with new public buildings, such as the agoras of Cassope and Gitana; the same phenomenon seems to have occurred in Illyria, such as the agora of Bouthrotos and Byllis, seemingly dating back to the same period (Ceka 1993: 131-32; as Ceka noted, these agoras are all built in a peripheral position, in direct contact with the surroundings). We therefore have several features that help us understand the reasons behind the origin of these settlements. It is clear that one of the major factors was the desire of the kings (the Molossians and the Eacides) to unify the different Epirote populations under the same crown. The foundation of larger towns has different advantages: better control and taxation advantages, stronger defense, etc.
The private houses were oriented south, with the entrance facing the street, and organized on two storeys; the type of construction
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Marco Moderato: The Walled Towns of Thesprotia these destructive tactics as a punishment and to prevent riots and rebellions at strategically important locations on their supply routes. Many citizens from Cassope were also relocated to the new colony of Nicopolis, which assumed complete control of the Ambracian Gulf. By the end of the 2nd century BC the economic, political and social situation of Cassopia and Thesprotia was irrevocably altered.
is inspired by the 5th-century BC houses of Ambracia. During the 3rd century BC some houses were rebuilt in a monumental way, another sign of the relative prosperity of the city. Gitana was created on the northern bank of the Kalamas River, in an area that the Thesprotians had recently conquered from the Chaonians. At first sight its position may seem peculiar, as it does not seem to be a fully naturally protected site (as was the case at Cassope). Although Gitana does not occupy the top of a hill, the location is still naturally fortified by river meanders and the Vrysella Mountains. The site also offers a perfect panoramic view of the Kalamas, the northern Thesprotian coastline, and visual contact with the coastal fortification of Mastilitsa, Pyrgos Ragiou and Lygia. The river was navigable from the Ionian coast and the city itself, with its fortifications on the delta, acted as an obligatory staging post along the trade routes (the fortification system is well illustrated in Christophilopoulou 2004: 192-96).
Bibliography Cabanes, P. (1976) L’Epire de la mort de Pyrrhos a la conquete romaine (272-167), Paris. Cabanes, P. (2010) Institutions politique et developpement urbain (IV-III S. Avant J.-C.): reflexions historiques a partir de l’Epire, Lo spazio ionico e le comunità della Grecia nordoccidentale. Territorio, società, istituzioni Atti del convegno internazionale, Venezia 7-9 gennaio 2010, Pisa, 117-30. Ceka, N. (1993) La Koine illyro-epirote dans le domaine de l’architecture, L’Illyrie meridionale et l’Epire dans l’Antiquité 2, 123-33. Ceka, N. (2010) Les fortifications dans les villes d’Illyrie meridionale et d’Epire, L’Illyrie meridionale et l’Epire dans l’antiquité 5, Paris, 649-62. Christophilopoulou, A. (2004) Enquete sur la topographie de la zone littorale nord de la Thesprotie, L’Illyrie meridionale et l’Epire dans l’antiquite 4, Paris, 192-6. Chrysostomou, An. (1988) NeotereV EureneV tou TeicouV thV EdessaV, AergoMak, 2, 55-64. Corvisier, J.N. (1993) Quelques remarques sur la mise en place de l’urbanisation en Illyrie du sud et en Epire, L’Illyrie meridionale et l’Epire dans l’Antiquité 2, 85-9. Dakaris, S. (1971) Cassopaia and the Elean Colonies, Athens. Dakaris, S. (1972) Thesprotia, Athens. Dausse, MP. (2004) Prospections en pays molosse: elements pour une etude de geographie historique, L’Illyrie méridionale et l’Epire dans l’Antiquité 4, Colloque international, Grenoble octobre 2002, 177-89. Faklaris, P (1996) Vergina: the fortified precinct and the acropolis, AErgoMak, 10, 69-78. Girtzy, M. (2001) Historical topography of Ancient Macedonia, Tessalonica, University Studio Press. Kontogianni, T. (2006) Kassopi. A brief guide to the archaelogical site, Ioannina. Lazari K. and Kanta-Kitsou E. (2010) Thesprotia during the late Classical and Hellenistic periods. The formation and evolution of the cities, Lo spazio ionico e le comunità della Grecia nordoccidentale. Territorio, società, istituzioni, Atti del convegno internazionale, Venezia 7-9 gennaio 2010, Pisa, 35-60. Riginos, G. (2010) L’antica Cassopea e le regioni limitrofe durante il periodo classico ed ellenistico, Lo spazio ionico e le comunità della Grecia nord-occidentale. Territorio, società, istituzioni, Atti del convegno internazionale, Venezia 7-9 gennaio 2010, Pisa, 61-78. Schwander, E.L. (1984) Sull’architettura ed urbanistica epirotica nel IV secolo, Magna Grecia, Epiro e Macedonia.Atti del Ventiquattresimo Convegno di Studi sulla Magna Grecia, Taranto 5-10 ottobre 1984, 447-76.
The outer fortifications of Gitana surround the city from all sides and it is reinforced with frontal retrenchments and rectangular towers; their lengths would have extended originally to 2400m and there are some remains surviving today to a height of 2-3m. The retrenchments were constructed on the southwest side of the fortifications where there is natural protection, while the towers are located where the site was most vulnerable. Gitana has also the only example of a semi-circular tower, guarding the northwest corner of the city and the access to the Kalama valley (Lazari and Kanta-Kitsou 2010: 39-41). Probably belonging to a later period, like at Cassope, is the internal partition wall (diatechisma) which isolates the administrative centre of the city. Three main gates provided access to the city as well as three small posterns: the main gate was in the middle of the north side of fortification, the second gate connected the southern part of the city with the theatre, and the south gate led to the harbour on the river (Lazari and Kanta-Kitsou 2010: 43-4). Like Cassope, Gitana was planned on a Hippodamean grid, based on a system of intersecting roads which formed orthogonal insulae. The excavations focused mainly on an area of the partition walls, and little is known about the settlement’s private houses (Lazari and Kanta-Kitsou 2010: 45-49). The agora at Gitana was located at the foot of Mount Vrysella, designed as an open square and closed with a stoa. The southern part was defined by a stonepaved road and 16 shops; the road led from the economic center of the city to its southern part, where the harbour facilities were located. The political centre of the city was the theatre that hosted the Thesprotian koinon and gatherings; built in stone, it is the only identified theatre in Thesprotia. The highpoint for fortified settlements in Cassopia and Thesprotia is fixed between the 3rd and early 2nd centuries BC. In 167 BC the legions of Aemilius Paulus devastated Epirus, destroying 70 cities and enslaving 150,000 prisoners, as recorded by Polybius. Cassope had its walls destroyed (Riginos 2010: 70). The same fate happened to Gitana, where only that part of the city separated by the partition wall showed some signs of any continuity (Lazari and Kanta-Kitsou 2010: 49). The Romans employed
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Fig. 1: Plan of Epirus showing Cassopia and Thesprotia
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Fig. 2: Plans of Epirus. Main trade routes (left). The two capital cities with their surrounding settlements (right) (after Cabanes 1976)surrounding settlements.
Fig.3: The proteichisma from Cassope (Kontogianni 2006)
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Fig. 4: Urban Plan of Cassope (Kontogianni 2006)
Fig. 5: Aerial view of Cassope (Kontogianni 2006)
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Fig. 6: Northern fortifications of Gitana (from http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh3560.jsp?obj_id=2640 )
Fig. 7: Urban Plan of Gitana (Cabanes 1976)
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Fig. 8: The paved road to the theatre in Gitana (Lazari and Kata-Kitsou 2010)
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Ionian Sanctuaries and the Mediterranean World in the 7th Century B.C. Kenan Eren
Department of Archaeology, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul
which has been interpreted as a circular altar.8 Claros was the main sanctuary of the city of Colophon which was situated 13km south-east of the city. In addition, a paved road towards the sea that also dates to the 7th century B.C., was discovered in the recent excavations.9.
The appearance of several new sanctuaries and the new spatial arrangements in the existing Iron Age sanctuaries were the two main changes that occurred in Ionia in the seventh century B.C. (fig.1). There are not many traces of the structural organization in the 8th century B.C. of Ionian sanctuaries, and the remaining terracotta statuary constitutes the main evidence for cult activities in most cases. Sanctuaries of the Geometric period were mainly in the form of terrace arrangements surrounded with a peribolos.
In Miletos buildings appears in the city centre and in the territory of Miletus. For example, in the sanctuary of Apollo Didyma, a sekos building appears from the end of the 8th or beginning of the 7th century, surrounding the sacred spring.10 A portico was added to the south of the temenos, probably at the end of the 7th century.11 One should also mention the round building to the south of the temple. The ceramic finds from this structure prove that it had been in use since the end of the 7th century B.C.12
On the other hand, many new sanctuaries appear in Ionia during the 7th century B.C. With that development a new arrangement in the spatial organization of existing sanctuaries immediately draws attention. Usually the construction of new terrace walls is a common phenomenon but we can also see the introduction of new architectural forms, although it is not easy to tell their exact role in every situation. An examination of the major Ionian sanctuaries may render the situation clearer.
Buildings can also be traced at other Milesian sanctuaries of the 7th century. For instance, the sanctuary of Athena near the most ancient harbor of Miletos presents a good example. The kultmal of the Geometric period was a small structure with an oval shape, surrounded by a rectangular wall.13 A building with an inner colonnade was constructed in the sanctuary of Athena at the end of the 7th century. Winfried Held identified this structure as a temple but it is hard to tell its exact function.14
We can observe the appearance of new structures in the Artemision of Ephesos. A peripteros in the Artemision had already been constructed by the 8th century which remained in existence during the 7th.1 However a series of rectangular bases was found dispersed in the sanctuary. Certain traces of sacrifices and the presence of votive gifts in the surrounding areas seem to show that these bases were involved in some way with cultic activities.2 At the same time, it seems that a building with an apsidal plan was placed to the south of the peripteros. Here one should also mention the construction of the limestone ‘temple C’ towards the end of the 7th century, simultaneously with the construction of the marble hecatompedon.3 Following the presence of a number of structures in connection with the cult activities, Anton Bammer suggests that the sanctuary served many different communities during the seventh century B.C.4
In the sanctuary of Aphrodite, just outside Miletos, some holes carved in the rock were found during excavations. These holes were interpreted by the archaeologists to be the foundation of the wooden posts of a structure with an unknown function. This building is most likely to be dated to the first half of the 7th century.15 To the west of the sanctuary an artificial bothros was built in the 6th century B.C.16 In Chios, Emporio, we can also see some new arrangements. The sanctuary of Athena was already situated over the acropolis. But the first altar, surrounded by a wall, appears in the last quarter of the 7th century.17 Here one should note that, even though it is called an ‘altar’ by John Boardman, we do not really know the exact function of this structure.
In Smyrna, in the sanctuary of Athena, we can observe the presence of architectural structures from the 7th century. Nicholls and Akurgal agree that a temple structure already existed here in the first half of the 7th century, and a new monumental temple and a monumental entrance were constructed in the last quarter of the century.5 One should also mention the existence of an apsidal house in the south-east of the temple terrace. This house had been replaced by a rectangular house during the 7th century.6 Even though these domestic structures were located in the sanctuary, their function is not exactly known.7
The ‘harbour’ sanctuary of Emporio was already in use, although only two walls are preserved from the 8th century. However during the 7th century, the sanctuary was enlarged by the construction of new terraces and monumental steps.18
De la Genière 1998: 393. Şahin 2007: 332, recognizes that this was a route towards Notion which shows the presence of an archaic habitation in near the sea. 10 Schneider 1996: 148. 11 Greaves 2002: 114. 12 Tuchelt 1991: 87, recognizes a circular altar but Cooper and Morris 1994, classify it as a structure for public feasts. 13 Held 2000: 6-14. 14 Held 2000: 20 and 45-52; des Courtils 2001: 755, identified this structure as a building for symposium activities. 15 Senff 2003: 13. 16 Senff and Heinz 1997: 115; Senff 2003: 16 recognizes a bothros. 17 Boardman1967: 9-10. 18 Boardman 1967: 56-57. 8 9
Similarly at Claros, there is an architectural structure in the sanctuary of Apollon, dated towards the end of the 7th century, Bammer 2008: 243; Bammer 1991b: 73. Bammer 1991a: 127-130, and see also Bammer 2005. 3 Bammer 1993: 191. 4 Bammer 1991/92. 5 Cook and Nicholls 1998: 59-72; Akurgal 1993: 55-64. 6 Cook and, Nicholls 1998: 63-64. 7 Nicholls 1958/59: 77, identifies these buildings as a priest’s and tpriestess’ house but according to Mazarakis-Ainian 1997: 204, they were structures for public feasts. 1 2
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SOMA 2011 In the sanctuary of Apollo Phanai, on Chios, an apsidal building already existed in the 8th century and was identified as a ‘temple’ by its excavators.19 However also see some new construction in the 7th century, including a new terrace wall and a monumental entrance with steps. These structures were interpreted as having been designed for visitors approaching by sea.20
connectivity changed over time. The level of participation in the ‘Mediterraneanization’ process differs from region to region.28 But in any event, understanding the movement of people and the circulation of goods in the 7th century are particularly important for the understanding of change in this era. Therefore, it seems important to perform a detailed observation of all these factors when trying to establish a panorama of the relations between Ionia and the Mediterranean world in the 7th century B.C. It is also important for an understanding of the circulation of some objects in the sanctuaries that have economic and also symbolic value.
Finally, in the Samos Heraion, we can observe the new arrangements of the 7th century better than at any other Ionian sanctuary. In between the 10th and the 8th centuries, a series of altars had already been placed within the sanctuary.21 The socalled ‘altar 5’ was the first monumental altar, being constructed in the second half of the 7th century.22 At the same time, we can also observe the construction of five ‘naiskos’-like small buildings.23 In addition, the most ancient temple, called the ‘Hecatompedon’, dates back to the first half of the 7th century. Most likely, a second phase of construction occurred towards 650 B.C.24 A monumental stoa and a large artificial basin were constructed at the southern part of the sanctuary. Their position in the south seems to indicate that the main entrance to the Heraion was from the coast.25
The major Ionian sanctuaries were located outside city centres and we can observe a great diversity and number of votive gifts within them (fig.2). The island of Samos seems to be particularly important along the navigation routes of the Aegean. The Heraion sanctuary on Samos presents the context of a sanctuary which was in the centre of the Aegean navigation network (fig.3). Gifts coming from all over the Mediterranean world show the continuous importance of the Heraion during the 8th and 7th centuries B.C.29 In fact, the quantity and the quality of foreign offerings in the Heraion is outstanding, while local ‘Greek’ gifts are almost non-existent in the sanctuary30. It seems that the site’s integration into the sailing networks, underlining a capacity to reach the margins of the known world, was particularly important for the community of the sanctuary.31
In short, one can observe changes in the sanctuary contexts from the 7th century. It seems that the number and variety of the sanctuary’s visitors grew, as a result of which new types of communal rituals required the construction of new building types. Despite the existence of the monumental buildings in these sanctuaries, it is still premature to define a monumental architecture. On the other hand, the construction of the new terraces and the monumental entrances, which indicate the importance of access by sea, seems particularly important for Ionian sanctuaries. Another characteristic feature of the period is the increase in the number and the diversity of votive offerings in the sanctuaries. Votive objects from the Near East comprise a significant part of this overall assemblage. A detailed examination of the typology of these objects and their spatial distribution within Ionian sanctuaries may provide useful information for the understanding of the expansion of horizons for Ionia, by means of newly established relations with the Mediterranean world.26
Asia Minor
1
Lydia
1
Assyria Babylonia Caucusses Cyprus Egypt Greece Luristan
33 3 14 643 153 302 11
Neo-Hittite Phoenicia Phrygia Rhodes Scythia Syria Urartu
53 11 34 124 1 28 8
Fig. 3. Offerings to the Heraion Samos
Relations between Greece and the Near East during the early periods is a phenomenon globally accepted even though the main protagonists and their status and economies are still uncertain. The Corrupting Sea, a book by Perregrine Horden and Nicholas Purcell, published in 2000, aims to understand the ‘long durée’ of Mediterranean history from a different point of view.27 The authors included the complex network of the political, economic, social and religious phenomena into their study of Mediterranean history. One of the basic arguments of this book is to draw a picture of the Mediterranean world as constituted by several micro regions and a constant connectivity between the varied geography of the Mediterranean. Of course, we should take into consideration that the level and importance of this
Many oriental gifts were also found at the sanctuary of Apollo Phanai on Chios.32 As already mentioned, the sanctuary was oriented towards the sea and the main entrance is from coast. In addition, the harbour of the sanctuary had a good reputation in antiquity.33 Therefore, it is not surprising to find here ranges of imported gifts, which prove overseas connections. But we must also consider that these finds were not particularly precious items and their small quantity shows us the rarity of ships coming from the east.34 The sanctuary of Artemis at Ephesos, on the other hand, seems to be oriented towards the interior of Asia Minor. The relationship with the great powers of the region is particularly emphasized
Beaumont and Archontidou-Argyri 1999: 267. Beaumont and Archontidou-Argyri 2004: 253. 21 Buschlor and Schleif 1933: 146-150. 22 Rupp 1983: 104. 23 Brize 1997: 125. 24 Mallwitz 1981: 623-631. 25 Kyrieleis 1993: 136 and Baumbach 2004: 150. 26 The dissertations of C.G. Simon 1986 and C. Saint-Pierre 2005 are useful for the comprehension of the assemblage of gifts to the sanctuaries during the archaic period. 27 Horden and Purcell 2000; see also (ed.) W.V. Harris 2005 and R. Etienne 2006 for a presentation of different debates related to this book. 19 20
Morris 2005. Kyrieleis 1993: 129. 30 Saint Pierre 2005: 357. 31 See Polignac 1996, where the author underlines the importance of the Aegean sailing network within the process of the creation of an interregional identity. 32 Beaumont and Archontidou-Argyri 2004: 227-231, see also Lamb, 1935/35: 149-155, for finds from earlier excavations. 33 Strabon, 14, 1.35. 34 Saint Pierre 2005: 370-371. 28 29
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Kenan Eren: Ionian Sanctuaries in the sanctuary.35 In fact, the notion of connectivity works completely in a different way for the Artemision in comparison with the Heraion of Samos. At this point, one should recall the friendly relations between Ephesos and the Lydian kingdom. Ephesos was one of the most important harbours for ensuring Lydia’s access to the sea.36 It is not surprising to see that the goods coming from Lydia and from Phrygia, which was under Lydian control during the 7th century, are present in the sanctuary in huge amounts. In addition, contrary to the rest of the Ionian sanctuaries, the cult organization included characteristics of the indigenous cult traditions.37 We should also remember that the sanctuary was outside the city walls throughout its history, and the Artemision seemed to have secured a relative independence from the city of Ephesus.
from the East,45 including several fibulae, pins, and belts from Phrygia. Faiences from Egypt and terracotta statues from Cyprus were also found within the sanctuary.46 It is again striking to see that the gifts from the sanctuary of Athena were masculine items, while the ones from the harbour site were mostly feminine.47 For the moment Miletos presents the most complex panorama of an archaic Ionian city. Many sanctuaries are present in Milesian lands, and they seem particularly useful for the understanding of the spatial organization of many sanctuaries within a defined space. Therefore a study of Milesian space to understand the different roles assigned to different divine powers could facilitate the comprehension of the spatial organization of the cults in the city. The sanctuary of Artemis on the Kalabaktepe hill and the sanctuary of Athena near the harbour were the two main centres of the city during the geometric and archaic periods. The sanctuary of Artemis is located at the highest point of the Kalabaktepe hill, surrounded by a fortification wall, where the main settlement of Miletos was located.48
The role of the sanctuary of Apollo at Didyma in the Milesian territory was ambiguous before the 6th century B.C. The sanctuary stood in a zone near the frontier between the territory of Miletos and Caria. Some historical accounts show that Didyma was also particularly important for the Carians.38 We have very little information about the votive gifts there from the 7th century, but the few fragments discovered during excavations were strongly masculine in nature and were closely connected with war.39 Herodotus mentions the gifts made by the pharaoh Nechao after the Megiddo war.40 From this we may assume the donation of valuable gifts made by foreign rulers. One of the most important harbours of the region was situated near the sanctuary, suggesting that the main entrance was probably on the coast until the construction of the sacred road in the 6th century.41
The sanctuary of Athena was in the harbour zone of the archaic city. However one should remember that this part was also the heart of the prehistoric settlement.49 The gifts from the sanctuary are mostly metal objects. Bronze containers, cauldrons and tripods, as well as arms and armour, form the main assemblages of the votive gifts.50 The majority are imports from the East, especially from northern Syria. As Held mentions, the gifts from the sanctuary are in close relation to the world of men.51 The small quantity of ceramics and the quality of the gifts may suggest that this sanctuary belonged to a small, privileged community.
The sanctuary of Apollo at Claros presents a different picture. In contrary to the many Ionian sanctuaries, at Claros the gifts from the East are rarer in quantity, and the community at the sanctuary seemed to prefer to offer locally-manufactured terracotta votive statuary.42 The presence of a road towards the sea seems to indicate the dependence of the sanctuary on a settlement near the sea during the 7th century.43 Here we may also assume that the entrance was from the sea. Colophon, the city which the sanctuary depended on in later times, probably had an important land-owning aristocracy, and agriculture seems to have been particularly important for the city.44 It is not surprising to see that gifts from the sanctuary of Apollo mostly relate to the local context, and gifts from overseas were not especially welcomed.
The sanctuary of Aphrodite also revealed a large variety of votive gifts from the East. But unlike the sanctuary of Athena, these show closer relations with the world of women. Faience objects, terracotta and limestone statues from Cyprus, and amulets or scarabs form Egypt form the majority of the offerings.52 The presence of thousands of ceramic fragments, probably used at public feasts, suggests that the sanctuary was frequently visited by the Milesians, mostly at the end of the 7th and the first half of the 6th century B.C.53 The location chosen for the sanctuary of Aphrodite is particularly interesting. The hill on which the sanctuary stood was a landmark for ships sailing towards Miletos and the perfect point from which to watch ships approaching.54
Two sanctuaries from Chios Emporio may reveal an understanding of a possible social distinction between the two sanctuaries of the town. In the 7th century, at the sanctuary of Athena above the fortified acropolis, we can observe ritual activities that were mostly organized near the altar. Bronze arms and terracotta votive shields form the majority of the offerings. But, more significantly, almost all the votive gifts from the sanctuary were produced in the local context. On the other hand, the harbour sanctuary of Emporio presents a totally different picture. Almost all the votive gifts found in the sanctuary are imported objects
We may suggest a model for the spatial organization of Miletus, which attributes different functions to the sanctuaries of Athena, Artemis and Aphrodite. The difference between the sanctuaries of Athena and Aphrodite especially shows how the city’s integration with maritime activities shaped her. The sanctuary of Athena provides evidence for the presence of a group of warriors who had some privileged relations with Eastern powers. These powers also had some form of control over a site in the historical heart of the city ever since Geometric times. On the other hand,
Eren 2009: 201. Herodotus, 6.54.100. 37 Fleischer 1973, debates the ‘Anatolian’ origin of the cult statue; see also S.P. Morris 2001. 38 Parke 1985: 14-16. 39 Eren 2009: 207-208. 40 Herodotus, 2.159. 41 See also, Greaves 2000: 45-46. 42 Dewailly 2000. 43 Şahin 2007: 330-331. 44 Goldman 1923: 67 and Holland 1944: 129.
Simon,1997: 132-133. Saint Pierre 2005: 369. 47 Boardman 1967: 63. 48 Kerschner 1995. 49 Niemeier and Niemeier 1997, see also Niemeier 2005: 13, for cult actvities at this spot during the Bronze Age. 50 Held 2000: 80-85. 51 Held 2000: 174. 52 Saint Pierre 2005: 374. 53 Senff 2003: 17-20. 54 Gans 1991: 137.
35
45
36
46
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SOMA 2011 Baumbach, J.D., 2004, The Significance of votive offerings in selected Hera sanctuaries in the Peloponnese, Ionia and Western Greece, Oxford Beaumont, L.A. and Archontidou-Argyri, A., 2004, “Excavations at Kato Phana, Chios: 1999, 2000, and 2001”, Annual of the British School at Athens 99: 201-255 Beaumont, L.A. and Archontidou-Argyri, A., 1999, “New Work at Kato Phana, Chios: The Cato Phana Archaeological Project”, Annual of the British School at Athens, 94: 265-287 Boardman, J., (1967), Excavations in Chios, 1952-1955: Greek Emporio, BSA Suppl.6, London. Brize, P., 1997, ‘Offrandes de l’Epoque Géométrique et Archaique à l’Héraion de Samos’, in J. de la Genière (ed.), Héra: Images, Espaces, Cultes, Naples: 123-139. Buschlor, E. and Scleif, H., 1933, ‘Heraion von Samos: Der Altarplatz der Frühzeit’, Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts(A) 58: 146-173. Cook, J. M., and Nicholls, R.V., 1998, Old Smyrna Excavations. The Temples of Athena, BSA Suppl. 30. Cooper, F., and Morris, S. 1994, ‘Dining in Round Buildings’, in O. Murray (ed.), Sympotica. A Symposium on the Symposion, Oxford: 67-85. Courtils, J., des, 2001, ‘Compte rendu: Das Heiligtum der Athena in Milet’, Topoi 11/2: 753-757. Dewailly, M., 2000, ‘Les statuettes en terre cuite du sanctuaire d’Apollon à Claros: production et consommation (fin VIèmeFin Vème siècle)’, in F. Krinzinger (ed.), Die Agais und das Westliche Mittelmeer, Wien: 343-347. Eren, K., 2009, Les sanctuaires et l’espace de l’Ionie à l’époque archaїque, Paris (dissertation- Université Paris 1). Etienne, R., 2006, ‘Compte rendu “W.V. Harris éd. Rethinking the Mediterranean, Oxford University Press, Oxford (2005)’, Topoi, 14: 743-746. Fleischer, R., 1973, Artemis von Ephesos und verwandte Kultstatuen aus Anatolien und Syrien, Leiden. Gans U., 1991, ‘Die Grabung auf dem Zeytintepe2, Istanbuler Mitteilungen, 41: 137-140. Genière, J. de la, 2007, ‘Sanctuaire d’Apollon à Claros. État de la question’, in J. Cobbet, V. von Graeve, W.D. Niemeier, K. Zimmermann (eds.), Frühes Ionien. Eine Bestandsaufnahme, Mainz am Rhein: 179-184. Genière, J. de la, 1998, ‘Lectures de Claros Archaique’, Révue des Etudes Grecques, 1998: 391-402 Goldman H., 1923, ‘Excavations of the Fogg Museum at Colophon’, American Journal of Archaeology, 27: 67-68. Greaves, A.M., 2004, ‘The Cult of Aphrodite in Miletos and its colonies’, Anatolian Studies, 54: 27-33. Greaves, A.M., 2002, Miletos: A History, London, New York. Greaves, A.M, 2000, ‘Miletos and the sea: a stormy relationship’, in G.J. Oliver (ed.), The Sea in Antiquity, Oxford: 39-62. Harris, W.V., 2005, ‘The Mediterranean and Ancient History’, in W.V. Harris (ed.), Rethinking the Mediterranean, Oxford: 1-42. Held, W., 2000, Das Heiligtum der Athena in Milet, Mainz am Rhein. Holland, L.B., 1944, ‘Colophon’, Hesperia 13: 91-171. Horden, P. and Purcell, N., 2000, The Corrupting Sea, Oxford. Kerschner, M., 1995, ‘Die Ostterrasse des Kalabaktepe’, Archaologischer Anzeiger, 1995: 214-220. Kyrieleis, H., 1993, ‘The Heraion at Samos’, in N. Marinatos, and R. Hagg (eds.), Greek Sanctuaries New Approaches, London, New York: 125-153. Lamb, W., 1934/35, ‘Excavations at Kato Phana in Chios’, Annual of the British School at Athens, 35: 137-164.
the sanctuary of Aphrodite reveals a popular connectivity, which was represented by cheaper gifts in great quantity. The location of the sanctuary outside the centre with its ‘visibility’ from the sea, suggests a link to seafaring: it was particularly popular during the period of Miletos’ colonization phase in Propontis and the Black Sea.55 All these examples demonstrate that the notion of connectivity with the Mediterranean world was more prominent in Ionian cities during the 7th century B.C. Integration with ‘foreign’ networks seems to have influenced the variety of gifts used for cult activities. Goods which show relations with distant regions of the Mediterranean become more common in ritual practices. However, we should also observe that the Ionian cities present different reactions to the integration of this phenomenon within their territories. It is possible to see a distribution of roles among different zones of the cities. In the southern part of the region, in particular, we notice a model of spatial organization. The two focal points of the settlement pattern were formed by a centre with a fortification wall situated over a hill, and a second centre near the harbour where interactions with the outside world were organized. It seems that the assemblages of votive gifts also follow this spatial distinction. The example of the sanctuary of Athena at Emporio and the sanctuary of Apollo at Claros, show that different groups within the community might react differently to the phenomenon of connectivity, sometimes even to the extent of rejecting all imported objects. Integration into the Mediterranean network seems to have worked within different Ionian cities on different levels. Sometimes such integration required the organization of intermediate spaces to assure contact with the outside world. Extra-urban sanctuaries seem to have been chosen as more suitable places to interact with the outside world. The architectural arrangements and the diversity of votive gifts show that these sanctuaries were relatively more independent zones concentrating on welcoming visitors coming by sea. Bibliography Akurgal, E.,1993, Eski İzmir 1, Ankara. Bammer, A., 2008, ‘Der Peripteros und sein Vorganger’, in U. Muss (ed.)., Die Archaologie der ephesischen Artemis, Wien: 243-249. Bammer, A., 2005, ‘Der Peripteros im Artemision von Ephesos’, Anatolia Antiqua, XIII, 2005: 177-221. Bammer, A., 1998, ‘Sanctuaries in the Artemision of Ephesus’, in R. Hagg (ed.), Ancient Greek Cult Practise from the Archaeological Evidence, Stockholm: 27-47. Bammer, A., 1993, ‘Fouilles à l’Artémision d’Éphèse (Période Géometrique et Archaique): Nouvelles Données’, Révue Archéologique, 1993: 187-199. Bammer, A., 1991/1992, ‘Multikulturelle Aspekte der frühen Kunst im Artemision von Ephesos’, Jahreshefte des Österreichischen archaologischen Instituts in Wien, Beiblatt, 61: 17-54. Bammer, A., 1991a, ‘Les sanctuaires de l’Artémision d’Ephèse’, in R. Etienne and M.T. Le Dinahet (eds.), L’espace sacrificiel dans les civilizations méditerranéennes de l’Antiquité, Paris: 127-130. Bammer,A., 1991b, ‘Les Sanctuaires de VIII et VIIe siècles à l’Artémision d’Éphèse’, Révue Archéologique, 1991: 63-84. Bammer, A., 1990, ‘A Peripteros of the Geometric Period in the Artemision of Ephesus’, Anatolian Studies, 40: 137-160. 55
Greaves 2004.
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Kenan Eren: Ionian Sanctuaries in P. Hellstöm, and B. Alroth (eds.), Religion and Power in the Ancient Greek World, Uppsala: 59-66. Rupp, D.W., 1983, ‘Reflections on the Development of Altars in the Eight Century B.C.’, in R. Hagg (ed.)., The Greek Renaissance of the Eight Centuries B.C.: tradition and innovation, Stockholm: 101-107. Saint-Pierre, C., 2005, Les offrandes orientales dans les sanctuaires du monde grec à l’époque archaique, Paris (dissertation, Université Paris 1). Schneider, P., 1996, ‘Zum Alten Sekos von Didyma’, Istanbuler Mitteilungen, 46: 147-152. Senff, R., 2006, ‘Form and Function of Sanctuaries in Archaic Miletos’, Révue des Etudes Anciennes,108: 159-172. Senff, R., 2003, ‘Das Aphroditeheiligtum von Milet’, Asia Minor Studien, 49: 11-25. Senff, R., and Heinz, M., 1997, ‘Arbeiten am Zeytintepe im Jahre 1994’, Archaologischer Anzeiger, 1997: 114-117. Simon, C.G., 1997, ‘The Archaeology of Cult in Geometric Greece. Ionian Temples, Altars and Dedications’, in S. Langdon (ed.), New Light on a Dark Age, Columbia: 125-143. Simon, C.G., 1986, The Archaic Votive Offerings and Cults of Ionia, Ann Arbor (Dissertation). Şahin N., 2007, ‘Notion-Klaros-Kolophon Üçgeninde Miken Sorunu’, in E. Öztepe, M. Kadıoğlu (eds.), Patronvs. Coşkun Özgünel’e 65. Yaş Armağanı, Istanbul: 329-338. Treziny, H., 2006, ‘Urbanisme Archaique des villes Ioniennes: Un Point de vue Occidental’, Révue des Etudes Anciennes, 108: 225-247. Tuchelt, K., 1991, ‘Drei Heiligtümer von Didyma und ihre Grundzüge’, Révue Archeologique 1991: 85-98.
Mallwitz, A., 1981, ‘Kritisches zur Architektur Griechenlands im 8. Und 7. Jahrhundert’, Archaologischer Anzeiger, 1981: 599-642. Mazarakis-Ainian, A.J., 1997, From ruler’s Dwellings to Temples, Architecture, Religion and Society in Early Iron Age Greece (1100-700 B.C.), Jonsered. Morris, I, 2005, ‘Mediterraneanization”, in I. Malkin (ed.), Mediterranean Paradigms and Classical Antiquity, London, New York: 30-55. Morris, S.P., 2001, ‘The Prehistoric Background of Artemis Ephesia: A Solution to the Enigma of Her Breasts’, in U. Muss (ed.), Der Kosmos der Artemis von Ephesos, Wien: 135-151. Nicholls R.V., 1958/59, ‘The Iron Age Fortifications and Associated Remains on the City Perimeter’, Annual of the British School at Athens, 53-54: 35-137. Niemeier B. and Niemeier W.D., 1997, ‘Milet 1994-5 Projekt “Minoisch-Mykenisches bis Protogeometrisches Milet”: Zielsetzung und Grabungen auf dem Stadionhügel und am Athenatempel’, Archaologischer Anzeiger, 1997: 189-248. Niemeier, W.D., 2005, ‘Minoans, Myceneans, Hittites and Ionians in Western Asia Minor’, in A. Villing (ed.), The Greeks in the East, London: 1-36. Parke, H.W., (1985), The Oracles of Apollo in Asia Minor, London, New Hampshire. Polignac, F. de, 1997, ‘Héra, le navire et la demeure: offrandes, divinité et société en Grece archaique’, in J. de la Genière (ed.), Héra: images, espaces, cultes, Naples: 113-122. Polignac, F. de, 1996”, ‘Offrandes, Memoire et Competition Ritualisé dans les sanctuaries grecs à l’époque géométrique’,
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Fig.1- Aegean map
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Kenan Eren: Ionian Sanctuaries
Fig.2- Ionian sanctuaries and oriental gifts
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Stoa–bouleuterion? Some Observations on the Agora of Mantinea Oriana Silia Cannistraci Ph.D. Scuola Normale di Pisa
The stoa was a monumental feature at the forefront in terms of the dynamics of the formation and structuring of Greek public spaces, both sacred and civil, especially during the Hellenistic period. In the history of the studies devoted to this building, contributions mainly look at topographical, architectural and urban aspects. Fundamental in this is the volume by J. J. Coulton. The architectural development of the Greek stoa, appeared in 1976 and studied the stoa from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period.1 Another aspect that has focused the attention of scholars is that of political donations of the great kings, especially in relation to some stoas of the Hellenistic period, such as those in the agorai and sanctuaries of Athens, Delphi, Delos and Pergamon.2 However, little attention has been devoted to analyzing the function of the stoa. Often the relationship between the monument and the context is overlooked, despite it being central to a full understanding of the role of this building in the ancient Greek world. Brief notes on the function of the stoa and on the type of activities that took place in it are contained in R. Martin’s work dedicated to the study of Greek agorai3, and then resumed in the work of J. J. Coulton.4 These contributions study the function of the stoa but do not cover the topic addressed here.
Before turning to the evidence of Mantinea, it is helpful to give a quick look at the main written evidence. Sources of the fourth century B.C., Demosthenes in particular, show that the Basileios stoa in Athens was also the meeting place of the council of the Areopagus (...τὸ τὴν ἐξ ‘Αρείου πάγου βουλήν, ὅταν ἐν τῇ βασιλείῳ στοᾷ καθεζομένη περισχοινίσηται, κατὰ πολλὴν ἡσυχίαν ἐφ’ ἑαυτῆς εἶναι, καὶ ἅπαντας ἐκποδὼν ἀποχωρεῖν...).8 The passage in Demosthenes indicates a casual reference to the stoa as the seat of the council. This is emphasized it seems by the writer also stating the need to drive people away from the stoa and from the presence of some form of separation, perhaps a moving barrier, which would enable the council to find a context appropriate to the confidentiality of meetings. The stoa is by nature a building open to outer space, so that certain precautions are necessary in order to create a more reserved, secure, or ‘private’ space. Also from the testimony of Demosthenes, we know that the stoa Poikile, in the agora of Athens, could be a place for official arbitration (...Αθήνησιν μὲν τοίνυν ὁ πατὴρ ἐτελεύτησεν οὑμός, ἐγίγνετο δ ‘ἡ δίαιτ› ἐν τῇ ποικίλῃ στοᾷ, μεμαρτυρήκασι δ ‹οὗτοι παρέχειν τὸ γραμματεῖον› Αμφίαν πρὸς τὸν διαιτητήν...).9 As confirmation of this literary evidence, there are two inscriptions, both from the Acropolis and dating to the mid-4th century B.C., which prove the presence of a judicial court in the stoa.10 Porticoes used as meeting places are confirmed by literary sources not only in Athens but also elsewhere. For example, from Atheneus11 we know of the existence of a portico at Phlius, also called the Portico of the Polemarchs, evidently because of their presence in the building. Xenophon informs us that the stoa in the agora of Thebes, on certain occasions, could serve as a site for town meetings (...ἡ μὲν βουλὴ ἐκάθητο ἐν τῇ ἐν ἀγορᾷ στοᾷ διὰ τὸ τὰς γυναῖκας ἐν τῇ Καδμείᾳ θεσμοφοριάζειν).12 From the rapid reading of these few sources that mention buildings, sometimes undatable but mostly of the late-classical and proto-Hellenistic period, we infer that the stoa could serve as a meeting place. Assuming that the sources provide us with a very fragmented and not systematic picture, we still note that they do not suggest that the meeting and political function was exclusive, but that this type of use was occasional (e.g. Demosthenes on the stoa Basileios and Xenophon on the stoa of Thebes). Bearing in mind these observations, we can now examine the case of the stoa of Mantinea (fig. 2).
In 1985, G. Kuhn published an interesting article on the analysis of some stoai of the Archaic and Classical periods.5 The author specifically states that he wants to look at the stoa not so much from the architectural point of view, but especially for its uses, trying to catch the relationship between the stoa and adjacent monuments within Greek sanctuaries. Kuhn’s contribution, even if limited to certain issues and specific cases, exceeds the architectural and topographical approach that had characterized previous studies. Finally it is important to remember the recent contribution of J. F. D. Frakes, even if focused on a geographical and chronological horizon outside the scope of this paper.6 The aim of my research is to look at the stoa not only as a building but also as a space, trying to understand its function in Greek civic space, in relation to the agora. In particular, this paper discusses, through a review of studies on the monument, the case of the southern stoa within the agora of Mantinea (fig. 1). The South stoa in Mantinea’s agora is generally known as the seat of the Boule.7 This designation refers to its interpretation as a seat for meetings of the council of the Boule of the city. The interpretation of a stoa as bouleuterion is not isolated to the case of Mantinea: other stoai, even in the Peloponnese, have been interpreted in the same way, for instance the so-called stoa F of Kalureia in Argolis. Even the literary sources, although not substantial, testify that within the stoa meetings or gatherings took place from Late Archaic times.
The stoa dominates the southern side of the town square. The building was excavated at the end of the nineteenth century by a French team led by G. Fougères, who published the excavation reports from which we obtain key information about the buildings that make up the agora.13 H. Lauter, H. Lauter-Bufe and P. Becker, have recently returned to this building enriching our knowledge with details on its architecture and history.14 German scholars have
Coulton 1976. For example, see the works of Hintzen-Bohlen 1992, Schaaf 1992, Kohl 1995. 3 Martin 1951: 495-502. 4 Coulton 1976: 8-13. 5 Kuhn 1985. 6 Frakes 2009. 7 Fougères 1898: 174; McDonald 1943: 199-200; Gneisz 1990: 330. 1 2
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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D., 25, 23. D., 45, 17. IG, II2, 1641, ll. 25-30; IG, II2, 1670, ll. 34-35. Ath., 5, 45. X., HG, 5, 2, 29. Fougères 1898: 164-86; in particular on the stoa: 174-7. Lauter et al. 2004.
SOMA 2011 proposed a revision of the plan, the architecture and the history of the stoa, based on the publication by Fougères and with the help of new information generated by the observation of the remains still in situ. It is useful to review these issues before coming to any interpretation of the building. Fougères presents the stoa as a building 38m long and 19m wide, open to north towards the agora. The portico was composed of a section, facing north, with two projecting wings; between these two wings are several bases and podiums for statues. Later another portico, facing south, was added behind and with an Ionic outer colonnade. Some of these column drums, in conglomerate covered by stucco, have been found in the area. In the Roman period, in the eastern part of the stoa, a small rectangular building with two rooms was added. This was open to the south through a small entrance flanked by two columns; inside the main room there were two bases for statues. The French scholar suggested three different phases for the building. The first was from the 4th century B.C., followed by a reconstruction in the Roman period which involved the addition of the second portico. Then, in the 2nd century A.D., the rectangular building was added. Successively, other scholars have accepted the division in three phases proposed by Fougères, but specifying a different chronological definition of the second phase: W. A. McDonald has proposed a construction date at the end of the 4th–beginning of the 3rd century B.C.15, while Coulton has preferred to refer it to the late Hellenistic age on the basis of some architectural details.16 Recently a completely different vision of the stoa has been proposed by H. Lauter and his team. The German scholar proposed a reconstruction in which ‘the two stoai’, seen before as two separate projects, are considered now as part of the only building phase to be dated to the late 4th century B.C. This reconstruction is based mainly on the study of the remaining walls, their stratigraphic relationships, and on some architectural considerations, such as the hypothesis that the colonnade of the north stoa, like the southern one, was Ionic.17 Another new element came to light from the west projecting wing, from where it was found that the plates inside, those in continuation of the stylobate, had holes for inserting columns. Hence it was concluded that the projecting wings were surrounded on all sides by columns and thus were open to both the outside and inside.
use of a religious nature because of its shape, and also any purely decorative or ornamental function was refused because of the complexity of the building, which required specific intent by the architect.19 The hypothesis was to understand the stoa as a meeting place with a political function. In favour of the identification with the βουλευτήριον of the city, was the discovery of a horos with the inscription Διὸς Εὐβωλέος.20 The inscription is dated between the 4th and early 3rd century B.C. Fougères, linking the Zeus Eubouleus to the Zeus Boulaios, gave a political significance to the finds, but the arguments he advanced to justify this approach seem no longer convincing.21 M. Jost22 has noted that the proof of the Diodorean passage that speaks of a Zeus Eubouleus διὰ τὴν ἐν τῷ βουλεύεσθαι καλῶς σύνεσιν23 is unconvincing, while it is preferable to associate the Zeus Eubouleus with Pluto and recognize a chthonic significance. The scholar adds that, generally, the context within which Zeus Eubouleus appears shows a chthonic significance as is the case, for example, of the Cyclades and Thasos. In addition, we must remember that the inscription is engraved in a stone boundary area: its discovery in the building shows that this cannot be the original site of the epigraph. The horos could have been found in any area of the agora of Mantinea, perhaps even outside the theatre where many places of worship have been identified. A horos with the same dedication to Zeus Eubouleus was found in the southern parodos of the theatre of Argos. In this case, the stone is in situ and has been referred to a building for worship or generally to a cult whose date is earlier than that of the theatre.24 Another argument given to support the interpretation of the stoa as bouleuterion is based on a comparison with the so-called stoa F at Kalaureia in Argolis, which has a similar plan and was interpreted as bouleuterion.25 The comparison with Kalaureia is only based on the type of plan, but in the case of the building of the stoa one cannot establish a direct connection between shape and function, as it is possible for other Greek buildings, such as the bouleuterion or the theatre. The function of the stoa must be reconstructed primarily from analysis of individual contexts. In addition, the type of plan with projecting wings is widespread throughout the Peloponnesian area during the Hellenistic period (examples are known, in addition to Mantinea and Kalaureia, from Megalopolis and Messene, and beyond the Peloponnese in Athens and as far away as Thasos), and we cannot accept that all these buildings had the same function.
Regarding the date of the stoa and bearing in mind the historical context, Lauter identifies a terminus post quem of 370 B.C., the year of the re-establishment of Mantinea, and an ante quem at 223 B.C., the year of its destruction by Antigonus and Aratus. Within this range, architectural analyses contribute to a further definition of the building’s date. The treatment of Ionic columns in the south colonnade was compared with that of the columns in the stoa of Philip, in the so-called stoa of Myropolis and in the sanctuary of Zeus Soter at Megalopolis. In addition, it was noted that the use of conglomerate is attested in Megalopolis and in Arcadia, especially in buildings of the 4th and 3rd century B.C. German scholars point out a close proximity of the stoa in Mantinea with the so-called stoa of Philip in Megalopolis, and thus think that the stoa in Mantinea was built after the construction of the stoa of Megalopolis (c. 340 B.C.), or more precisely in the late 4th– beginning of the 3rd century B.C.18
The reading of the stoa at Mantinea as bouleuterion is accepted by McDonald and Gneisz,26 while both Martin and Coulton consider the interpretation doubtful.27 F. E. Winter thinks the stoa is a building with a decorative function, or one used to store documents and dedications. In fact, the stoa would not be suitable for meetings because it is too exposed to the outside, especially in a region with a climate as difficult as Arcadia’s.28 However, to complete the picture of the issues concerning the use of the stoa, it is necessary to mention some inscriptions found in the portico. The first is a sacred law29 dubiously dated to between the 6th and 5th century B.C. Given the chronology it cannot correlate with our building, whose design dates from the early Hellenistic 19 20 21
We come now to the discussion on the use of the building. Since its discovery it was thought that the stoa was the bouleuterion of the city of the 4th century B.C. Fougères had excluded any
22 23 24 25
15 16 17 18
McDonald 1943: 198-200. Coulton 1976: 254. Lauter et al. 2004: 323-7, 328-32. Lauter et al. 2004: 333-7.
26 27 28 29
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Fougères 1898: 177. IG V, 2, 289. Fougères 1898: 133-4. Jost 1985: 275-6. D.S., 5, 7, 12. Moretti 1998: 237. Coulton 1976: 243. McDonald 1943: 199-200; Gneisz 1990: 330-1. Martin 1951: 467; Coulton 1976: 254. Winter 1987: 240. IG V, 2, 261.
Oriana Silia Cannistraci: Stoa–bouleuterion? age. The second document is an honorary decree,30 definitely dated after 221 B.C. (because the city is cited as Antigonea: the name of Mantinea after the conquest by Aratus in 221 B.C.31). There is still a third inscription,32 a sympoliteia between the city of Helisson and that of Mantinea, which however was not found in excavations of the stoa, but in the baths, which occupy the eastern sector of the agora. In this inscription the bouleuterion of Mantinea (βωλήιον) is cited, and it is said that the tables with the resolutions, the contents of which are explained in the decree, must have been placed within the building. This latest evidence has not received any consideration in the debate on the interpretation of the bouleuterion, although it could provide some important elements. At first, the decree was dated to the early 4th century B.C., but recent studies on the text, however, have provided a new date in the middle of the 4th century B.C. In this context certain palaeographic characteristics should be examined, as well as certain considerations arising from the new debate on the historical situation of the polis Mantinea, which led to a further clarification of the date of the text to the decade between 360 and 350 B.C.33 However, this date is earlier than that proposed by Lauter for the south stoa (end of 4th–beginning of 3rd century B.C.). It is therefore necessary to go back to look at the agora and to consider whether there are other buildings that can be interpreted as bouleuterion.
place of the council. Also the ‘Γ’ building in the Asklepieion at Messene is very similar to the bouleuterion at Megalopolis, but its interpretation was recently questioned.41 There is little evidence for a date of the square building at Mantinea: a terminus ante quem is the date of the exedra just above it that was built in the first century A.D. The use of conglomerate and stucco, as has been said, are architectural features known in Arcadia, especially in Megalopolis and Mantinea, in buildings of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. Of course these elements are not definite signs that the square building dates after the rebuilding of Mantinea in 371 B.C. Comparisons with similar buildings can help with dating. The bouleuterion at Megalopolis, like other similar bouleuteria, such as those at Argos, Sicyon, Messene, Thermon and Assos, date from the mid-5th century B.C. to the 2nd century B.C.42 Also we have the reference to βωλήιον in the sympoliteia inscription between Helisson and Mantinea, dated, as we have seen, between 360 and 350 B.C., seeming to confirm that in the mid-4th century B.C. there was a bouleuterion at Mantinea. After examining the available data on the stoa at Mantinea, we can say that there are not elements to prove the interpretation of the stoa at Mantinea as a bouleuterion. Furthermore, based on archaeological and epigraphic evidence, we can say that the place of the Boule could be envisaged with greater credibility in the square building north of the agora. At this point, however, we can ask about the role of the south stoa. In order to try to understand the role of the stoa in the square, one must begin by analyzing the context and the plan. According to the reconstruction by the German scholars, the stoa, since its construction, would have been accessible from the square and from the area to the south. However, from the few investigations it appears that the monumentalization of the southern area goes back to the Imperial age and there is no evidence of the Hellenistic period.43 This consideration together with the observation that the stoa is not symmetrical on both sides, north and south, are anomalies in relation to the reconstruction by Lauter, who sees the two aisles of the building as being built in one construction phase in the late-4th century B.C.
F. E. Winter did not think the stoa was a bouleuterion and thought that the square building with internal peristyle located to the north of the square was the seat of the city council.34 We know very little of this building: Fougères describes it as a rectangular courtyard enclosed by two walls, an outer in polygonal masonry and an inner that was narrower and covered with stucco. At the centre of the court stood a peristyle of Doric columns in conglomerate, covered with stucco.35 The French scholar interpreted this as the former building of the Roman macellum,36 but the lack of traces associated with commercial activities and the type of plan does not allow us to interpret the building as the old city market. Winter before, and Tsiolis later, have attributed to this building the function of bouleuterion.37 In particular, Winter has suggested that the inner wall could serve as a platform or support for wooden seats and made comparisons with similar buildings used for meetings and assemblies (the old bouleuterion at Athens, the bouleuteria at Sicyon, Dodona, Thermos, and those of Assos and Notion in Asia Minor).38 Tsiolis, examining the exedra that overlaps the quadrangular building, noted that it is similar to the buildings for meetings widespread in Roman times: a continuous function from Greek to Roman times would be a further step towards understanding the court building as the city bouleuterion.39 But there is another detail not yet taken into account. At Megalopolis, the excavations by Lauter and his team have brought to light a bouleuterion which rises in the northwest corner of the agora.40 This square building has a courtyard with a peristyle (2 x 2 columns) preceded by a narrow entrance hall, open to the agora (fig. 3). The strong affinity between the buildings at Megalopolis and Mantinea seems to be very strong evidence in favour of the interpretation of the building at Mantinea as the 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
However, leaving aside the question of the contemporaneity of the two aisles, it remains to understand the function of the north portico in the Hellenistic age. The presence of the projecting wings is very significant. These were surrounded by colonnades on all sides and therefore their internal space was clearly visible from both inside and outside the stoa. It is very likely that they contained honorary sculptures, or documents such as decrees inscribed on stelae, of great political and social significance for the local community. An indirect confirmation could be provided by the structures east of the stoa. Here there is a small exedra surrounded by colonnades that leans against a wall structure located to the south. This wall and the exedra recall the layout of the projecting wings. Fougères has linked the exedra with an inscription of the 2nd century A.D., found in excavations of the area, in which it is said that Iulius Eurycles Herklanos (a contemporary of Trajan and Hadrian, who was quaestor pro praetore to the proconsul of the province of Achaia) dedicated the stoa and the exedras within the stoa to Antinous and the city of Mantinea.44 Fougères, thinking that the exedra east of the stoa was one of those mentioned in the text, suggested that within
IG V, 2, 263. Fougères 1898: 119-24. SEG 37, 340. Gillone 2004: 131-2. Winter 1987: 242. Fougères 1898: 180-1. Fougères 1898: 181. Winter 1987: 242, Winter 2006: 142; Tsiolis 2002: 182. Winter 1987: 242 and Winter 2006: 142. Tsiolis 2002: 182. Lauter, Spyropoulos 1998: 426-38; Lauter 2005: 238.
Muth 2007: 50-51. See on Argo Des Courtils 1992: 247-9; on Sicyon, Assos and Thermon see Gneisz 1990: 308, 352, 356 and Winter 2006: 145-6. 43 Fougères 1898: 184-6. 44 IG V, 2, 281. 41 42
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SOMA 2011 it was a statue of Antinous or Eurycles.45 If the hypothesis of Fougères is true, as seems probable, one might think that between the structures on the east and the stoa there was not only a planimetric but also a functional continuity. Therefore, the projecting wings would resemble exedras used for the display of images or documents of particular civic value, considering also their visibility within the space of the agora. The discovery of different bases and podiums for statues in front of the stoa, between the two wings, confirms that this was an area chosen for the exhibition of statues and inscriptions.46 Moreover, among the various stoai similar to that of Mantinea, we have a comparison: the stoa Basileios in the agora of Athens. Towards the beginning of the 4th century B.C., the stoa Basileios was equipped with two projecting wings surrounded by colonnades on all sides.47 These were made in order to expand the space for the display of official documents; the laws were placed in the Athenian stoa since its design in the late 6th century B.C., as evidenced by the presence of the Solonian kyrbeis cited by Aristotle.48 A completely different function must be assumed for the later phase of the stoa of Mantinea, when the rectangular building open to the south was built in the 2nd century A.D. This stage probably represents a change of use since the new structure set inside the stoa probably had a religious function.
Des Courtils J. (1992) L’architecture et l’histoire d’Argos dans la première moitié du Ve siècle avant J.-C. IN Piérart M. eds, Polydipsion Argos. Argos de la fin des palais mycéniens à la constitution de l’état classique, Actes de la table ronde Fribourg, 7–9 mai 1987, Bulletin de correspondance hellénique. Supplément, 22, Paris, Diffusion de Boccard, 241-51. Fougères G. (1898) Mantinée et l’Arcadie Orientale, Bibliothèque des écoles françaises d’Athènes et de Rome, 78, Paris, Fontemoing. Frakes J. F. D. (2009) Framing Public Life: The Portico in Roman Gaul, Wien, Phoibos Verlag. Gillone D. C. (2004) I Lacedomoni e l’autonomia degli alleati peloponnesiaci nelle Elleniche. Il caso di Mantinea. IN Rocchi, G. D. and M. Cavalli eds, Il Peloponneso di Senofonte, Giornate di Studio del Dottorato di Ricerca in Filologia, Letteratura e Tradizione classica, Milano, 1-2 aprile 2003, Quaderni di Acme, 64, Milano, Cisalpina, 115-41. Gneisz D. (1990) Das antike Rathaus: das griechische Bouleuterion und die frührömische Curia, Dissertationen der Universität Wien, 205, Wien, VWGÖ. Hintzen-Bohlen B. (1992) Herrscherrepräsentation im Hellenismus. Untersuchungen zu Weihgeschenken, Stiftungen und Ehrenmonumenten in den mutterländischen Heiligtümern Delphi, Olympia, Delos und Dodona, Arbeiten zur Archäologie, Köln, Böhlau. Jost M. (1985) Sanctuaires et cultes d’Arcadie, Etudes péloponnésiennes, 9, Paris, Vrin. Kohl M. (1995) Portiques pergaméniens. Études d’histoire, d’architecture et d’urbanisme sous les Attalides (De 300 à 133 av. n.è.), Author’s thesis (doctoral), Université d’AixMarseille 1. Kuhn G. (1985) Untersuchungen zur Funktion der Säulenhalle in archaischer und klassischer Zeit. Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 100, 169-317. Lauter H. (2005) Megalopolis: Ausgrabungen auf der Agora 1991-2002. IN Østby E. eds, Ancient Arcadia, Papers from the third international seminar on Ancient Arcadia, held at the Norwegian Institute at Athens, 7-10 May 2002, Papers from the Norwegian Institute at Athens, 8, 235-48. Lauter H. et al. (2004) Die reifklassische Doppelstoa in Mantineia. Neue Daten. Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung, 119, 317-38. Lauter, H. and T. Spyropoulos (1998) Megalopolis 3. Vorbericht 1996–1997. Archäologischer Anzeiger, 1998, 415-51. Martin R. (1951) Recherches sur l’Agora grecque. Études d’histoire et d’architecture urbaine, Bibliothèque des écoles françaises d’Athènes et de Rome 174, Paris, De Boccard. McDonald W. A. (1943) The political meeting places of the Greeks, Baltimore, The John Hopkins Press. Moretti J.-Ch. (1998) L’implantation du théâtre d’Argos. IN Pariente, A. and G. Touchais eds, Αργος και Αργολίδα. Τοπογραφία και πολεοδομία, Πρακτικά διεθνούς Συνεδρίου, Αθήνα-Αργος 28/4-1/5/1990, Athènes, École Française d’Athènes, 233-59. Müth S. (2007) Eigene Wege: Topographie und Stadtplan von Messene in spätklassisch-hellenistischer Zeit, Internationale Archäologie, 99, Rahden/Westf., Leidorf. Schaaf H. (1992) Untersuchungen zu Gebaeudestiftungen in hellenistischer Zeit, Köln, Boehlau. Tsiolis V. (2002) El decreto de Epígone (IG V² 268) y el mercado de Mantinea. Siris: studi e ricerche della scuola di specializzazione in archeologia di Matera, 3, 179-91. Winter F. E. (1987) Arkadian notes I: Identification of the agora buildings at Orchomenos and Mantinea. Echos du monde classique, 6, 235-46. Winter F. E. (2006) Studies in Hellenistic Architecture, Phoenix. Supplementary volume, 42, Toronto, University of Toronto Press.
In conclusion, we might consider the stoa of Mantinea as a place where, from the late 4th century B.C., dedications and documents of particular importance for the polis were exposed. The presence in the building of an honorary decree of the late 3rd century B.C. and the presence of wings surrounded by columns, although circumstantial evidence, can support such an argument. The Hellenistic stoa at Mantinea would be primarily a civic space, frequented by citizens to discuss politics, economics and all that concerns the life of the polis, even by the reading of official documents or the contemplation of the images there that represented particularly prominent characters. The possibility that the stoa may have served occasionally as a place for meetings, including the Boule, cannot be excluded, as we have seen from the literary sources, and has also been demonstrated by other buildings of the same type. However, in the case of Mantinea, it seems likely that the bouleuterion was the square building with internal peristyle located on the north side of the agora. The case of the stoa at Mantinea helps us to think of the stoa in the agora as a ‘dynamic space’ with a main civic function that was very close to the community of citizens, enhanced by the ease of its accessibility. In many cases it seems wrong to look at stoa as a self-enclosed building with a fixed and intended function. Addendum Only after the delivery of the manuscript it has been possible to examine the following contributions: Lauter H. and LauterBufe H. (2011) Die politischen Bauten von Megalopolis, Mainz, Zabern; Tsiolis V. (2001) Espacios públicos y funciones urbanas de la ciudad de Mantinea, Tesis doctoral, Madrid. Bibliography Camp J. M. (1986) The Athenian Agora: excavations in the heart of classical Athens, London, Thames and Hudson. Coulton J. J. (1976) The architectural development of the greek stoa, Oxford monographs on classical archaeology, Oxford, Clarendon. 45 46 47 48
Fougères 1898: 185. Fougères 1898: 174. Camp 1986: 100-5. Arist., Ath., 7, 1.
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Fig. 1: Mantinea. The Agora (after Tsiolis 2002, fig. 1)
Fig. 2: Mantinea. The South Stoa (after Lauter et al. 2004, fig. 1)
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Fig. 3: Megalopolis. The Agora (after Lauter, Spyropoulos 1998, fig. 1)
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Archaeology The East Two Fragmentary Sarcophagi from Aphrodisias in Caria: Imported Sculptors in the City of Sculpture? Esen Ogus
New York University, Institute of Fine Arts, New York
Aphrodisias in Caria, located about 200km southeast of the modern town of Izmir in Turkey, was well-known in antiquity for its cult of Aphrodite and marble sculptors who supplied works for both local and Italian patrons.1 The city remained a small settlement until the 2nd century BC, but prospered under Octavian/Augustus and the Roman Empire. The rapid urban development and new appearance of the city under the Empire owes a great deal to the marble quarries that lie about 2km from the city center, which provided the stone used to construct almost all of the major buildings in the city.2 Thanks to these quarries, moreover, statue workshops flourished in this period and adorned the city with various types of statuary.3
of the sarcophagi can be determined based on the hairstyle of the portrait heads carved on the chests, inscriptions or both. According to evidence provided by the 79 securely datable sarcophagi, there were only a few sarcophagi produced in the 1st and 2nd century AD (Fig. 1). The production of sarcophagi peaked in the 3rd century AD, more specifically after AD 212, when the emperor Caracalla granted citizenship by Constitutio Antoniniana to all the free inhabitants of the Empire.6 Starting from the second half of the 3rd century, production declines dramatically, particularly because re-using sarcophagi became a common practice. There is only a single example datable to the very late 3rd and early 4th century AD.
Marble sarcophagi from the Roman imperial period make up part of this varied sculpture production.4 A body consisting of 800 fragments of fully or partially preserved chests and lids, the sarcophagi comprise one of the largest local groups in the Empire. The sarcophagi were produced for local demand only, and none were imported from outside of the city, while the majority of the neighboring cities, such as Laodikeia in Caria and Hierapolis in Phyrgia, some with fewer sarcophagi than Aphrodisias, are known to have imported sarcophagi from major workshops in Dokimeion and Athens.5 This is quite understandable, since the marble quarries and local workshops were perfectly capable of producing aesthetically pleasing products. There are two fragmentary sarcophagi from the city, however, which are exceptions to this ‘no import’ rule, although in a peculiar way. The aim of this article is to present these unusual sarcophagi and point out their significance in illuminating aspects of sarcophagus trade and local social history. The following text provides: (1) a general overview of Aphrodisian sarcophagi and their owners; (2) two fragmentary sarcophagi that concern this paper; (3) a discussion of the implications of these sarcophagi; and (4) a catalogue of the two sarcophagi from Aphrodisias.
The few surviving sarcophagi from the 1st and 2nd century AD were commonly decorated with friezes or garlands, but each has a peculiar decoration and seems to be custom-made for each individual commission. Although they are few in number, there is good evidence that these earlier sarcophagi belonged to wealthy individuals, some of whom appear among the ruling members of the city. A half-finished garland sarcophagus of the 1st century AD, for example, is in situ in the circular tomb structure adjacent to the Bouleuterion.7 One indication of the owner’s high status is the intramural location of the tomb, which was a rare privilege granted by the Senate and the People. Moreover, when the Bouleuterion was planned in its current location in the 2nd century AD, the builders refrained from demolishing the grave monument and built the outer wall of the Bouleuterion partially over the krepis of the monument on the north side.8 The owner of another sarcophagus was a priest, as is indicated by his crown (Fig. 2).9 The scene on the front side depicts the priest and his wife, who was also a priestess. The couple is led by Hermes to Hades seating on the right corner of the scene. The Smith 2008 establishes a connection between Roman citizenship and the sarcophagus production. 7 Asgari 1977: 347, 362 dates the sarcophagus and the tomb structure to the 1st century AD based on the fact that the tomb building extends under the foundation of the Bouleuterion. Işık 1992: 143 disagrees on stylistic grounds, suggesting that the sarcophagus cannot be earlier than the late Trajanic period. Strocka 1996: 461, 464 dates the sarcophagus and the tomb to the 1st century AD and supports this by the dating of the altar found next to the sarcophagus. For the dating of the altar, see Berges 1986: 179, Nr. 102. An earlier rather than later date is likely, since the structure is under the Bouleuterion. In either case, this sarcophagus cannot date after the Trajanic period, and is one of the earliest ones at Aphrodisias. 8 Smith and Ratté 1996: 9. A discussion of the owner of the tomb is given at Reynolds 1996. 9 S-2 (S numbers here and thereafter are excavation catalogue numbers). Most recently published in Smith 2006: 306, pl. 158. 6
Sarcophagi from Aphrodisias The sarcophagi from Aphrodisias were generally decorated with relief sculpture and were sometimes inscribed. The chronology Aphrodisias sculptors in Italy: Squarciapino 1983; Moltesen 1990. Rockwell 1996. 3 Rockwell 1991; Van Voorhis 1998. ‘School’ of Aphrodisias: Erim 1967. 4 We have no physical or epigraphic evidence of sarcophagus workshops at Aphrodisias, except for the sarcophagi themselves. For aspects of their production, see Öğüş 2008. 5 A number of inscriptions from Hierapolis mention Dokimeion imports. See Ritti 2006: No. 30 and Judeich 1898: 209, 213, 335. The columnar sarcophagus from Laodikeia: Şimşek 1997. 1 2
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SOMA 2011 distinct Antonine hairstyle of the wife provides the dating criteria for the sarcophagus. A third sarcophagus of late 2nd and early 3rd century AD has an inscription that records honors by the Council and the People granted to the owning couple, Pereitas Kallimedes and his wife Tatia, obviously from the upper echelons of society.10
The above evidence suggests that at least some of the owners of the sarcophagi were individuals of modest origins, like tradesmen and artisans, who were able to afford their marble sarcophagi by virtue of their earned income. The majority of the sarcophagi, even those which provide no epigraphic or visual evidence may be attributed to similar levels of the society based on their uniformity in size and decoration.
In contrast to these early examples, the abundantly produced 3rd century sarcophagi feature standard sizes and decoration. On average, they are smaller than the 2nd century examples.11 These may be examined in two major groups according to their decorative features: garland and columnar sarcophagi.
Although the social classes that commissioned the 2nd-century and the 3rd-century sarcophagi differ, all of these sarcophagi are without doubt locally produced out of local marble. The decoration of the sarcophagi fits the imperial trends but remains local in details. For instance, Asiatic columnar sarcophagi from the Dokimeion workshop, which were widely exported in Asia Minor, have an architectural decoration with a triangular pediment in the center of the front side, flanked by two segmental pediments. The Aphrodisian columnar sarcophagi, while owing their form to these expensive Dokimeion products, differ from them in having five arcades on the front side, a local variation of the conventional stage-like façade of the Dokimeion products.
Garland sarcophagi constitute the larger group, with over 300 pieces (Fig. 3). Their chests are decorated with two or three garlands on the front side, which are usually supported by Erotes. Double garland examples have a tabula at the center of the front side, sometimes filled with an inscription. The lunettes of the garlands are usually occupied by portrait busts of the deceased. Columnar sarcophagi form the second major group with around 200 examples (Fig. 4). Their chests are decorated with an architectural scheme featuring columns framing individual aediculae. The entablature forms an arcaded façade, on which standing portrait figures of the patrons and sometimes mythological characters such as Muses are displayed.
Two fragmentary sarcophagi The two sarcophagi that this article is concerned with do not display any local characteristics like the rest of the group. One of these is a garland sarcophagus discovered out of context in the early 1990s in eight pieces, all of which are from the base of the chest (Fig. 7 & 8). The decoration of the base, however, is adequate to determine its affiliation with the Dokimeion workshop. From bottom to top, it is decorated with a garland of pointy laurel leaves, and three bands of palmette, bead-and-reel, and meander motifs. Sphinxes occupy the corners.
There is good evidence that the majority of the 3rd century sarcophagi belong to the ‘middle’ levels of the society, rather than descendants of the elite and wealthy families whom we know from inscriptions of the previous centuries. First of all, about 60% of the sarcophagi with preserved inscriptions attribute ownership to a Marcus Aurelius or Aurelia. There are about 100 additional inscribed stray blocks from tombs that attribute sarcophagi to Marci Aurelii as well. Marcus Aurelius was the family name of the emperor Caracalla, who granted Roman citizenship to the free inhabitants of the Empire by an edict. Individuals who received citizenship by this Edict assumed Marcus Aurelius as a forename. These new citizens had no familial connection to the elite ruling classes of the previous centuries. If they did, they would have received citizenship earlier, not as late as the 3rd century AD.
A complete Dokimeion example would have three hanging garlands on the front side with one garland on each short side. The corners would be occupied by Nike figures that carry the garland swags and stand on sphinxes or sea creatures. The lunettes of the hanging garlands would have masks and/ or Gorgon heads. There are several examples of similar garland sarcophagi from various sites in Asia Minor. A complete chest found in Perge, stylistically dated to c. AD 120, is the closest comparandum to the Aphrodisian sarcophagus.15 The detailing of the base with the drill holes on the palmette sequence and the wide representation of the meander pattern render the two sarcophagi very similar. This similarity suggests a likely date of the first quarter of the 2nd century AD for the Aphrodisian sarcophagus.
There is other epigraphic and visual evidence for the modest social status of these sarcophagus owners. A sarcophagus shows a standing male and female at the center of the chest with flanking panels of frieze decoration. The inscription above their heads identifies the standing couple as ‘Stratonikos and Epistēmē Graphikē (Knowledge of Painting),’ which probably implies that the owner, Stratonikos, was a painter. 12 Another sarcophagus fragment with a relief decoration depicts a sculptor working on a bust (Fig. 5).13 A third one has a scene at the bottom of the chest of what seems to be a glass workshop (Fig. 6).14 In the scene, two men are working beside a furnace in a glassblowing or blacksmith workshop. It would be quite safe to assume that the scene alludes to the profession of the patron, perhaps the owner of the workshop.
At first sight, the Aphrodisian sarcophagus looks like an import from Dokimeion. A marble-source analysis, however, revealed that the white marble is almost certainly from the local quarries based on the grain size and the relatively weak intensity (low manganese concentration).16 Based on such a report, there are two ways to interpret this sarcophagus: it is either a very good local imitation of a Dokimeion garland sarcophagus, or it was produced in the city from local marble by an itinerant Dokimeian sculptor. The first option is not very likely, since there are other imitations of Dokimeion columnar sarcophagi from the city, which, despite great efforts, still look local and not even close in
S-3. Published in Işık 1984: 254-255, fig. 24 and Smith 2006: 354355, pl. 159. 11 While the 2nd century and earlier sarcophagi range in size from 2. 5-3m in width and 1-1.2m in height, the 3rd century examples are 2m in width and 70-80cm in height. 12 S-163: Bielefeld 2004. 13 S-308: Smith 2011: 66, Fig. 4.5. 14 S-415: Smith 2011: 66, Fig. 4.6 and IAph2007: 13.101 10
Waelkens 1982: 21, Taf. 3.3 and Işık 1998: 278-94, Taf. 111.2. Fragmentary chests in İznik and Çanakkale are also quite similar. Çanakkale: Waelkens 1982: 23, Taf. 3.1; İznik: Waelkens 1982: 25, Taf. 3.2. 16 A field report by D. Attanasio. 15
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Esen Ogus: Two Fragmentary Sarcophagi style to the actual Dokimeion examples.17 It would be very unusual to discover that a single example is a successful imitation while the others are not. The detailing, modeling, and the workmanship of the garland sarcophagus, on the other hand, is so similar to the Dokimeion products that it is highly likely that it was produced by a sculptor from one of the Dokimeion workshops. This sculptor must have been an itinerant one, specially hired to travel to the city and work in the local workshops using local marble.
the right leg bent from the knee are executed so similarly to the Piraeus relief that they seem to have been carved by the same hand. Another fragment depicting a Greek archer and a seated Amazon may be compared to two separate reliefs from Piraeus. On the Aphrodisias fragment, only the right leg and torso of the Greek soldier and the head of the Amazon are preserved (Fig. 11). On the surviving Piraeus reliefs, the Greek wears a short chiton and a chlamys that hangs down on his left side (Fig. 12).25 His right leg is bent at the knee in an upwards position, probably on a piece of rock. He is drawing a bow in the direction of the Amazon positioned behind him on a lower level. The Greek archer is very similarly modeled as the Greek on the Aphrodisias fragment, especially in pose, articulation of musculature, and the folds of his chlamys.
This garland sarcophagus, moreover, is not the only one produced by imported sculptors. Another sarcophagus of frieze type was found in nine chest fragments during the cleaning of the South Wall.18 It was probably cut into pieces and deliberately built into the wall.19 It is, like the first one, made of local marble.20 The sarcophagus is probably dated to the mid-Antonine period, as the ample rocky space between the figures indicates.21 The surviving fragments seem to depict an Amazonomachy scene and evoke the Attic Amazonomachy sarcophagi, but the figures are not similar in style and composition to any of the extant ones. Instead, these exceptional fragments replicate the Amazonomachy scenes on the shield of the famous chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos by Pheidias, which survives to this day in Roman copies.
The Amazon head on the Aphrodisian fragment may be compared in its classicizing features and the rendering of the helmet to the seated Amazon reliefs from Piraeus.26 The figures on the shield suggest that when complete, the body of the Amazon was facing right and her head was turned to the left in a rather awkward manner.
The relief decoration of the shield of Parthenos was also copied on the neo-Attic reliefs discovered in the main harbor of Piraeus, which provide the closest comparanda to the Aphrodisian sarcophagus.22 The bulk of these reliefs came to light during dredging operations in the harbor in the winter of 1930-1931, though two pieces were found earlier and were smuggled to Berlin and Chicago. Their workmanship suggests a date of the 2nd century AD. As their findspot suggests, they were probably destined to be shipped overseas, perhaps Italy. Such neo-Attic reliefs were common in the Antonine period in villas or palaces and were used in various contexts, such as altars, bases, garden panels and architectural friezes.23
The Piraeus reliefs do not provide any comparanda to the dead Greek and the Amazon figures on the Aphrodisian sarcophagus. However, the dead Greek, with his left arm bent at the elbow and the right arm falling over the head, assumes a similar pose to the surviving figure at the bottom of the Patras shield (Fig. 13).27 On the other hand, the pose that the dead Amazon assumes, with her right arm beneath her head and her knees bent, is replicated at the bottom of the Strangford shield (Fig. 14).28 The stylistic and compositional affinity of the sarcophagus fragments to the Piraeus reliefs is undeniable and unique among other sarcophagi. The workmanship and the execution of the fragments point to an Attic sculptor, perhaps from the same workshop as the sculptors who carved the Piraeus reliefs. The sculptor or sculptors must have been specially invited from Athens to Aphrodisias and commissioned to carve an Amazonomachy sarcophagus from local marble based on the shield of Athena Parthenos. Since they were able to afford such special commissions, the patrons of both the garland and the frieze sarcophagus from Aphrodisias must have been very wealthy, and among the most influential members of the society.
One of the fragments of the Aphrodisian sarcophagus (Fig. 9) shows great similarity in style, workmanship and composition to the so-called ‘Death-Leap’ group on one of the Piraeus reliefs (Fig. 10).24 The Piraeus relief depicts a nude Greek soldier with a chlamys chasing after an Amazon. He steps with his right foot onto a piece of rock and grasps the hair of the Amazon with his left hand. The Amazon, wearing a sleeveless chiton that exposes her right breast, stumbles, and is about to fall down. She has already dropped her battle axe on the ground and grasps the wrist of the soldier with her right hand, while holding her shield in her left. On the Aphrodisian fragment, only the legs of the Amazon survive. The lean proportions of the legs and the composition of
Discussion and conclusion Importing sculptors to work on local marble is a rare practice, but is certainly not unique in the Empire. We know that Aphrodisian sculptors themselves went to Italy and produced sculpture for Italian patrons using Carrara marble in the imperial period.29 The practice is less well-known for sarcophagi, partly because the sculptors remain anonymous, and the diagnosis of a different workshop mainly remains stylistic. Moreover, it is usually very difficult to identify the source of the marble, and scientific analyses to this end are very rare. The style of an
For example S-188, 332, 732, 586 A&B, 587, 736, 801, Inv. 87-410 A &B. 18 A tenth fragment was found in the east Aula Terme of the Theater Baths, therefore, probably belongs to a separate sarcophagus (74-247). Published extensively in Harrison 1981. 19 Another sarcophagus base with an Amazonomachy frieze exists, but is too fragmentary to be conclusive about its origins (S-458, S-182). 20 No scientific tests were conducted on these fragments; however, the present author agrees with others that the marble is the medium-grained white marble from the local quarries. For example, Harrison 1981: 282. 21 Koch and Sichtermann 1982: 391. There is no fully preserved example from the period, but there are fragments. For example, Corinth: Vermeule 1977: Abb. 10 or Sparta 35: Robert 1890: 114. In the late second century, around AD 180, the scenes get crowded, for example the Attic Amazonomachy sarcophagus in Paris. See Koch and Sichtermann 1982: Fig. 420. 22 Strocka 1967 establishes the connection between the reliefs from Piraeus and those on the shield of Athena Parthenos. 23 Vermeule 1977: 12 and Strocka 1967: 95. 24 Strocka 1967: Cat. 1-3, Abb. 8, 10, 12. 17
Strocka 1967: Cat. 7-9, Abb. 17, 19, 21. Piraeus Museum no. 2112; Harrison 1981: Fig. 13; Strocka 1967: Cat. 15, Abb. 31. 27 Patras Museum, see Harrison 1981: Ill. 5, 6; Strocka 1967: 31-35, Abb. 5. 28 British Museum 302; Strocka 1967: 14-22, Abb. 2. 29 Examples include the Esquiline statues displayed today in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, which were signed by Aphrodisian sculptors. Moltesen 1990; Matthews and Walker 1990. 25 26
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SOMA 2011 itinerant sculptor, however, is quite clearly visible on a garland sarcophagus in the Iznik Archaeological Museum, Turkey.30 The garland on the short side of the chest with the pointy leaves and deep drill marks is modeled very similarly to garlands on Dokimeion sarcophagi. This particular chest, however, is made of the Proconnesian marble.
died out or been replaced by families of new citizens, who may have eventually taken up the city administration. To conclude, I have demonstrated in this paper that these two early sarcophagi from Aphrodisias raise questions regarding the trading practices of ancient sarcophagi and illuminate aspects of local culture. Further analyses of marble sources and studies dealing with burial culture should shed light on other unknown aspects of the social history of the Roman East.
The two fragmentary sarcophagi from Aphrodisias therefore, show that a few elite patrons of the 2nd century imported not the sarcophagi themselves, but instead chose to import actual sculptors from other major workshops. Why not, however, import the sarcophagi? The most obvious reason might be to reduce the costs of transportation of marble from other quarries, when there is perfectly workable and high quality marble present in the city. Even if they transported the chest from elsewhere, it might still have been necessary for the sculptors to accompany it to finish details in the final spot. It might have been, then, more economical to import just the sculptors to carve a sarcophagus in the local workshop facilities.
Dokimeion-type garland sarcophagus. First quarter of the 2nd century AD. Fig. 7 & 8. S-90. Fragmentary chest in eight pieces, without lid. A) H: 60, W: 55, D: 87 cm; B) H: 18, W: 43, D: 45 cm; C) H: 22, W: 60, D: 22 cm; D) H: 38, W: 109, D: 101 cm; E) H: 27, W: 139, D: 52 cm; F) H: 32, W: 20.5, D: 20.5 cm; G) H: 22.5, W: 46.5, D: 12 cm; H) H: 77, W: 14.5, D: 76 cm. All sides of the chest are decorated. The preserved pieces are from the bottom of the chest. Most of the base of the front side, both short sides and parts of the back side are preserved.32 The linear projection inside the bottom of the chest to separate bodies is partially preserved. There is heavy incrustation on some pieces, especially F and B.
Finally, what are the implications of this rare practice of importing sculptors? First of all, the itinerant sculptors at Aphrodisias illuminate the little known trade and trading practices of sarcophagi. It has mostly been assumed that sarcophagus chests were exported from the major workshops in full or half finished form. The Aphrodisian sarcophagi demonstrate that there was also the option of importing sculptors when a local marble quarry was present.
Discovered out of context. Unpublished. A (Fig. 8): Large fragment from left short side of the chest; joins B and F. One corner with the seated sphinx is preserved. The bottom molding with the laurel wreath, palmette, bead-and-reel and the meander bands are preserved. The lower part of the garland with steep leaves and two hanging ribbons on both sides remains above the decorative bands. Part of the floor with the projecting body separator is preserved.
The second and the more important implication of the imported sculptors is for the social history of the site. Despite the fact that the majority of sarcophagus production took place in the 3rd century, there is not a single fragment of an imported sarcophagus or one produced by an imported sculptor from this period, while there are two among a handful of the 2nd-century examples. 3rdcentury patrons, instead, preferred local imitations of Dokimeion sarcophagi. Why, then, give up importing sculptors in the 3rd century and prefer local imitations instead? One possible answer might be the changing socio-economic status of the sarcophagus patrons. As previously mentioned, the sarcophagi of the 2nd century AD belonged to the ‘elite’ people of the city. At the beginning of the 3rd century, however, with rising prosperity levels and the accumulating wealth of the middle class, and perhaps even more efficient workshops, sarcophagus as a medium of self-representation became accessible to the middle levels of the society, who were now newly granted citizenship. These new citizens, likely tradesmen and artisans, who could not afford to import sarcophagi or sculptors, instead, commissioned the workshops to produce local sarcophagi or imitations of imported goods.
B and F: Both fragments are from the left rear corner of the chest. They join each other and A. Part of the laurel wreath at the bottom and the corner sphinx are preserved. The sphinx is missing its head and is heavily abraded. C: Fragment from the back side of the chest with small section of base preserved. It does not join other fragments but features the same elaborate molding. The molding is broken beneath the bead band. D (Fig. 7): The largest fragment preserved from the chest. It preserved the base of the right short side with both corners, most of the front side and the bottom of the chest. Sphinxes occupy both corners. The heads of both sphinxes are broken. On the short side, two ribbons overlap the meander molding. The decorative molding is identical to that of the other fragments.
It is not entirely clear why the elite people of the previous centuries do not show up in the funerary record of the 3rd century, but they may have simply chosen to retreat from the competition on funerary art and be buried in their own estates as a reaction to the appearance of middle-level interlopers on the stage of selfpresentation.31 Alternatively, the upper class families may have
E: A piece from the front side of the chest; joins A and D. At right, a part of the meander molding is preserved. At left, molding is broken above bead band. There is a modern drainage hole at the approximate center of fragment. G: Fragment is from the back side of the chest and does not join any other fragments. Above a small portion of the meander
Koch and Sichtermann 1982: 512 and Asgari 1977: 352, fig. 47-48. 31 Similar phenomenon occurs after Republican and early imperial Rome, when the grandest tombs belonged to senatorial families. Afterwards, such families began to prefer a more prudent approach to funerary self-display. The most ostentatious tombs in imperial Rome belonged to wealthy lower classes, including freedmen. See Hesberg 1992: 26-42, 239-40. 30
Since all four sides were decorated, ‘front,’‘back,’ or ‘left’ and ‘right’ are used here arbitrarily to help the reader understand the relative location of the fragments. 32
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Esen Ogus: Two Fragmentary Sarcophagi head. The Greek turns left with his right leg placed up. His head and torso are turned right with his chin facing below. He wears a short chiton and a chlamys that heavily falls below. He has a long boot with laces and sock on his right foot.
molding, the right foot of an Eros stands on the tail of a sea creature. H: The fragment is from the bottom of the sarcophagus with a small portion of the molding belonging to the back side. On the inside of the chest, part of the projecting body separator is preserved.
The Amazon head faces left. She has classicizing facial features. She wears a crested Attic helmet decorated with a griffin in relief. The back side of the helmet is broken.
Attic-type frieze sarcophagus. Mid-Antonine period, AD 160170. Fig. 9, 11, 13 & 14.
G: Head of an Amazon broken below the nose. Small section of background of the chest along right side is preserved. Surviving face is abraded, but has classicizing features. She wears a crested helmet that is not well-preserved, but might have had a visor and a decoration on the front side. Her wavy hair on the left side is gathered underneath the helmet towards the back.
Inv. 75-78, 75-104, 75-17, 75-84, 75-79, 75-64, 75-19, 75-37, 75-89 (S-22). Fragmentary chest in nine pieces, without lid. A) H: 36, W: 153, D: 48 cm; B) 11.2, D: 4 cm; C) H: 61, W: 128, D: 55 cm; D) H: 17, W: 7, D: 5.5 cm; E) H: 41, W: 71, D: 18 cm; F) H: 55, W: 43.5, D: 19 cm; G) H: 16, W: 10, D: 6 cm; H) H: 15, W: 19, D: 18 cm; I) H: 14, W: 7, D: 5 cm. Right and left lower corners of the front side are preserved and join (A& C). Rear side is entirely lost and is not known whether it was ever worked. Figures are worn, with a high level of encrustation. Finish is superb; details show an extremely fine workmanship.
H: A piece of rocky background and the heel of a bare right foot, probably belonging to an Amazon. The fragment is broken on all sides. I: Upper right arm of an Amazon wearing a sleeveless chiton.
Discovered in South Wall debris.
Bibliography
Harrison 1981; Koch 1993: 250.
Asgari, N. (1977). Die halbfabrikate Kleinasiatischer Girlandensarkophage und Ihre Herkunft. Archӓologischer Anzeiger, 329-80. Berges, D. (1986). Hellenistische Rundaltӓre Kleinasiens. Freiburg, Typographia. Bielefeld, D. (2004). Ein Sarkophag mit Heraklesszenen in Aphrodisias. IN: Korkut, T. ed., Festschrift für Fahri Işık zum 60. Geburtstag. Istanbul, Ege Yayınları, 135-42. Erim, K.T. (1967). The School of Aphrodisias. Archaeology, 20, 18-26. Harrison, E. B. (1981). Motifs of the City-Siege on the Shield of Athena Parthenos. American Journal of Archaeology, 85, 281-317. Hesberg, H. von (1992). Römische Grabbauten. Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Işık, F. (1984). Die Sarkophage von Aphrodisias. IN: Andreae, B. ed., Symposium über die Antiken Sarkophage, Pisa 5.12. September 1982: Marburger Winckelmann-Programm. Marburg/Lahn, Verlag des Kunstgeschichtlichen Seminars, 243-81. Işık, F. (1992). Zum Produktionsbeginn von Halbfabrikaten Kleinasiatischer Girlandensarkophage. Archӓologischer Anzeiger, 121-45. Işık, F. (1998). Zu Produktionsbeginn und Ende der kleinasiatischer Girlandensarkophage der Hauptgruppe. IN: Koch, G. ed., Akten des Symposiums ‘125 jahre SarkophagCorpus.’ Mainz am Rhein, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 27894. Judeich, W. (1898). Altertümer von Hierapolis. Berlin, G. Reimer. Koch, G. and H. Sichtermann (1982). Römische Sarkophage. Munich, Beck. Koch, G. (1993). Sarkophage der römischen Kaiserzeit. Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Matthews, K. and S. Walker. (1990). Report on the stable isotope analysis of the marble of the Esquiline group of sculptures at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. IN: Roueché, C. and K. T. Erim eds., Aphrodisias Papers: Recent Work on Architecture and Sculpture. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplemental Series, 1, Ann Arbor, MI, 147-51.
A (Fig. 13): Fragment from the left bottom corner of the front side; joins C. A nude dead Greek lies on a rocky background. His head, upper torso and right arm are broken. His legs are bent from the knees with the left leg in front of the other. His left arm is bent at the elbow and is placed underneath the body. The thumb of his right hand survives to the right of the head and shows that it once crossed over the head and fell backwards. Further to the right, near the broken edge of the fragment, there is a tip of a boot on the rocky background. B: Belly fragment of the dead Greek with navel. Joins A. C (Fig. 14): Fragment from the right bottom corner of the front side; joins A. A dead Amazon lies on a rocky landscape. Her face, toes and left forearm have chipped off. Her bare legs are bent from the knees with the right leg in the front. Her left arm is underneath the body and she holds a composite bow in her left hand with a griffin or hawk’s-head decoration. Her right arm crosses over her head and her right hand is underneath the head. She wears a sleeveless double-girdled chiton that leaves her left breast bare. Her hair is curly and probably gathered at the back in a bun. Some distance above her head, a booted leg broken above the knee stands on rocky ground. D: The fragment is a leg of an Amazon with a boot. The leg is broken above the knee and below the boot laces. E (Fig. 9): The fragment depicts a falling Amazon. Only her legs are preserved. She is turned right and her bent right leg is in front of the left. She wears a short chiton, whose thin folds billow behind her with the motion of falling forward. Her legs have lean proportions. Her double-axe has already fallen out of her hand and diagonally stands in front of her. In front of the axe, there is an Amazon pelta whose tip ends in duck form. The beak of the duck is broken. F (Fig. 11): The fragment depicts a Greek archer and an Amazon head below. The head (except for the chin), both arms and left leg of the Greek are broken. The Amazon’s only surviving part is the
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SOMA 2011 Şimşek, C. (1997). Laodikya Sütunlu Lahti. Türk Arkeoloji Dergisi, 31, 269-89. Smith, R.R.R. and C. Ratté (1996). Archaeological Research at Aphrodisias in Caria, 1994. American Journal of Archaeology, 100, 5-33. Smith, R.R.R. (2006). Roman Portrait Statuary from Aphrodisias. Mainz am Rhein, Philipp von Zabern. Smith, R.R.R. (2008). Sarcophagi and Roman citizenship. IN: Ratté, C. and R.R.R. Smith eds., Aphrodisias Papers 4: New Research on the City and its Monuments. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series, 70, Providence, RI, 34794. Smith, R.R.R. (2011). Marble workshops at Aphrodisias. IN: D’Andria, F. and I. Romeo eds., Roman Sculpture in Asia Minor. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series, 80, Providence, RI, 62-76. Squarciapino, M.F. (1983). La Scuola di Aphrodisias (40 Anni Dopo). Archeologia Classica, 35, 74-87. Strocka, V.M. (1967). Pirӓusreliefs und Parthenosschild. Versuch einer Wiederherstellung de Amazonomachie des Phidias. Bochum, Ruhr-Universitӓt Bochum. Strocka, V.M. (1996). Datierungskriterien kleinasiatischer Girlandensarkophage. Archӓologischer Anzeiger, 455-73. Van Voorhis, J. (1998). Apprentices’ Pieces and the Training of Sculptors at Aphrodisias. Journal of Roman Archaeology, 11, 175-92. Vermeule, C.C. III (1977). Greek Sculpture and Roman Taste. Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan Press. Waelkens, M. (1982). Dokimeion: die Werkstatt der repräsentativen kleinasiatischen Sarkophage. Berlin, Mann.
Moltesen, M (1990). The Aphrodisian Sculptures in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. IN: Roueché, C. and K. T. Erim eds., Aphrodisias Papers: Recent Work on Architecture and Sculpture. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplemental Series, 1, Ann Arbor, MI, 133-46. Öğüş, E. (2008). Sarcophagus production: From quarry block to funerary monument. IN: Smith, R.R.R., and J.L. Lenaghan eds., Roman Portraits from Aphrodisias, Exhibition and Catalogue. Istanbul, Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 168-83. Reynolds, J.M. (1996). Honoring benefactors at Aphrodisias: A new inscription. IN: Rouché, C. and R.R.R. Smith eds., Aphrodisias Papers 3: The setting and quarries, mythological and other sculptural decoration, architectural development, Portico of Tiberius, and Tetrapylon. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplemental Series, 20, Ann Arbor, MI, 121-6. Ritti, T. (2006). An Epigraphic Guide to Hierapolis (Pamukkale). Istanbul, Ege Yayınları. Robert, C. (1890). Mythologische Cyklen, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Antiken Sarkophag-Reliefs, 2, Berlin, G.Grote’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung. Rockwell, P. (1991). Unfinished statuary associated with a sculptor’s studio. IN: Smith, R. R. R. and K. T. Erim eds., Aphrodisias Papers 2: The theatre, a sculptor’s workshop, philosophers, and coin-types. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplemental Series, 2, Ann Arbor, MI, 127-43. Rockwell, P. (1996). The marble quarries: a preliminary survey. IN: Roueché, C. and R. R. R. Smith eds., Aphrodisias Papers 3: The setting and quarries, mythological and other sculptural decoration, architectural development, Portico of Tiberius, and Tetrapylon. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplemental Series, 20, Ann Arbor, MI, 81-103.
Fig. 1: Graph showing the chronology of a sample of 79 sarcophagi datable based on inscriptions, portrait heads or both. Drawn by author
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Fig. 2: Frieze sarcophagus from Aphrodisias (S-2) (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
Fig. 3: Garland sarcophagus from Aphrodisias (S-460) (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
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Fig. 4: Columnar sarcophagus from Aphrodisias (S-432) (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
Fig. 5: Sarcophagus fragment from Aphrodisias depicting sculptor working on a bust (S-308) (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
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Fig. 6: Detail of sarcophagus from Aphrodisias with workshop scene (S-415) (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
Fig. 7: Dokimeion-type garland sarcophagus from Aphrodisias (Frag. D) (S-90) (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
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Fig. 8: Dokimeion-type garland sarcophagus from Aphrodisias (Frag. A) (S-90) (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
Fig. 9: Attic-type sarcophagus fragment from Aphrodisias with the falling Amazon (Frag. E) (Inv. 75-79) (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
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Fig. 10: Relief panel from Piraeus Harbor depicting Greek and falling Amazon. Piraeus Musem (Photograph: Eva-Maria Czakó, D-DAI-ATH-Pirӓus 149. All rights reserved)
Fig. 11: Attic-type sarcophagus fragment from Aphrodisias with the Greek archer and Amazon head (Frag. F) (Inv. 75-64) (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
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Fig. 12: Relief panel from Piraeus Harbor depicting Greek archer and Amazon. Piraeus Musem (Photograph: Eva-Maria Czakó, D-DAI-ATH-Piraeus 151. All rights reserved)
Fig. 13: Left corner of front side of Attic-type sarcophagus from Aphrodisias (Frag. A) (Inv. 75-78). Dead Greek (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
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Fig. 14: Right corner of front side of Attic-type sarcophagus from Aphrodisias (Frag. C) (Inv. 75-64). Dead Amazon (© New York University Excavations at Aphrodisias)
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Hellenistic and Roman Pottery of Zengibar Kalesi (Isaura Nova?): from the South Necropolis Survey Zafer Korkmaz, Osman Doğanay Selçuk University-Nevşehir University
The aim of this study is to examine and evaluate potsherds collected from the South Necropolis of Zengibar Kalesi and dated to the Hellenistic and Roman periods. 500 potsherds were collected in the first (2010) season survey from ten different areas. When these were examined, the potsherds from the South Necropolis had the widest range of form, slip and clay features. 41 of the ceramic sherds were examined in the study from over 150 ceramic sherds from the South Necropolis area. These ceramic sherds can be classified to four periods: Hellenistic, Early Imperial, Middle Imperial and Late Roman.
Forms Form 1 (no. 1, 4) has an oblique wall and a downturned rim about 400 below the horizontal. One of the sherds has band decoration (no. 4). The other one has no decoration. The exterior is as well smoothed and slipped as the interior on both samples. It is brush slipped. The shape is produced in both ESA and Black-Slipped predecessors. The sherds can be compared to products from Cilician and Near Eastern centres, such as Samaria (Crowfoot et al 1957: 262) and Paphos (Hayes 1991: 147-148). Sherds from these centres are dated to the Late Hellenistic period.
Zengibar Kalesi is located nearly 17km east of Bozkır in Konya province. The site is close to Hacılar village on the eastern side of the Konya-Bozkır highway. The site is called Asar Tepe or Kiremitli by the local residents.
Form 2 (no. 6) has a slightly concave wall with downturned rim. The slipping is similar to form 1. The form is classified as ‘Hellenistic Pergamene’ ware from Tarsus (Jones 1950: 175, 234 no. 290) and in the Athenian Agora as ‘Food-Service Group Vessels’ (Rotroff 1997: 167-168, no. 1090-1105). Our sherds can be compared to the Tarsus finds. The ware from this centre is dated to the 3nd and 2nd centuries BC.
Strabon mentions two sites called Isaura Vetus and Isaura Nova (Strabon Geographika; XII, 569) in Isauria. According to Strabon both of the these were major cities in Isauria. Zengibar Castle (Zengibar Kalesi) is accepted as being Isaura Nova in the literature (Hall 1972: 568; French 1984: 96), but the locations of all these sites have not been described clearly yet. We started our initial research of Zengibar Kalesi during the summer of 2010 to try and clarify this matter.
Form 5 has an upturned rim. The forms generally show three variations. Type ‘A’ has an upturned rim about 100 below the body of sherd (no. 10). Type ‘B’ has an upturned rim about 900 below the horizontal (no. 14, 18). Type ‘C’ has an upturned rim with slightly in-turned lip (no. 19, 21). The sherds were from similar types. Type ‘A’ has parallels at Tarsus (Jones 1950: 232 fig. 188 no. 258), Kululu (Jones 1969: 91 no. 16, 24) and Tell Anafa (Slane 1997: 288-289 lev. 7 FW 67). Type ‘B’ has parallels at Kululu (Jones 1969: 91 no. 19, 21). Type ‘B’ was evaluated by Hayes as ‘Form 38’ (Hayes 1986: 31-32). Type C has parallels at Tarsus (Jones 1950: 242-243 fig. 193 no. 396397), Antioch (Waage 1948: 23 form 128 u), Hama (Christensen 1971: 65 fig. 27 no. 37) and Tell Anafa (Slane 1997: 288). The sherds are classified as ESA. The Zengibar Kalesi examples have a different clay and slip and so Form 5 cannot be firmly associated with ESA. On the other hand this form could have been an unsuccessful imitation of ESA plates.
The aim of this study is the examination and evaluation of the potsherds collected from the South Necropolis of Zengibar Kalesi and dated to the Hellenistic and Roman periods. 500 potsherds were collected in the first (2010) season survey from ten different areas. When these were examined, the potsherds from the South Necropolis had the widest range of form, slip and clay features, and thus attracted the most attention. None of the sherds have figured decoration. Four samples have band decorations (nos. 2, 4, 12, 13) on the rim exteriors and two have stamped bands of rouletting (nos. 36, 41). The sherds are considered in two groups: gray-brown slipped ware and red slipped ware.
Form 6 (no. 26-30) has an incurved rim bowl and a very straight wall. Its rim is banded on the exterior. The Sultantepe sherds are the nearest parallel of the form (Lloyd 1954: 103-104 fig. 1 no 39). The Sultantepe sherds are burnished and the clay is grey. These features can also be seen on Zengibar Kalesi samples. The Sultantepe samples date to the Hellenistic period.
Gray-brown slipped ceramics The clay is rather courser than the red-slipped items. The clay is porous, with many small mica and grit temper inclusions. The colour is dull brown to brownish black to reddish gray and brown. The clay is incompletely fired. One of the sherds has a band of rouletting. The slip is brownish black to reddish gray and brown.
Form 7 (no. 32) is a shallow bowl or dish with upturned and thickened in rim. It has no decoration. The exterior and the interior are gray-brown slipped. The form is Late Roman (C Group). The Zengibar Kalesi sherd may be compared with Hayes Form 1, Type B (Hayes 1972: 325-327, Type B no. 4). Hayes dated this form as early-third quarter, 5th century AD.
Seven different forms were observed in the gray-brown slipped wares. The patterns have a resemblance to Hellenistic forms, Eastern Sigillata A, and Cypriot sigillata.
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SOMA 2011 and slip and so Form 5 (like the gray-brown slip type) cannot be established as ESA. On the other hand this form could have been an unsuccessful imitation of ESA plates.
Form 11 (no. 38) is a platter. Only one sample was found during the survey. The rim is also thickened and has two rolls on its rising upper side. The clay is rather well refined and buff in colour. The glaze varies from blackish brown to light brown. A similar platter type was found at Kelenderis (Zoroğlu 2004: 301 lev. 107 no. 4).
Form 6 (no. 25) is a bowl with incurved rim. This type occurred at Tarsus (Jones 1950: fig. 178 no. 7), Tell Anafa (Slane 1997: 278, FW 176-FW 177) and Antioch (Waage 1948: 24). Bowls from these centres were produced not only in red glaze but also in black and brown slips. All the material is identified as ESA. The Zengibar Kalesi samples can be accepted as ESA imitations or regional productions.
Form 14 (no. 41) is a bowl with flaring wall. This sherd may belong to imitations of Cypriot Sigillata because of its form. Hayes dates it first half of the 2nd century AD (Hayes 1991: 44 form P 29). Red-Slipped Ware
Form 7 (no. 31) is identical to the same form in the previous section. The only differences are its coating and clay colour. The Zengibar Kalesi samples have parallels from Ephesos (Gassner 1997: 138, no. 534-536, lev. 44).
The clay is generally well refined, some with many small mica inclusions. The colours include reddish brown, dark reddish gray and buff. The clay is incompletely fired. The slips vary from reddish brown to cinnamon. There are bands and rouletting decoration.
Form 8 (no. 33, 34) is a dish with upturned and thickened rim. This form is dated to the 5th century by Hayes as an imitation of Cypriot Sigillata (Hayes 1973: 458 no. 169; Hayes 1986 83 form P 12).
Twelve forms were observed among the red-slipped wares. The patterns resemble Hellenistic forms, ESA and Cypriot Sigillata. Like the gray-brown group, the red-slipped wares compare to other groups specified above in relation to their forms.
Form 9 (no. 36) is a bowl with incurved rim with a band of rouletting. Parallel forms occurred at Tarsus (Jones 1950: 244 fig. 194 no. 420, 422), dated from the 1st to early 2nd century AD, and grouped as Roman Pergamene ware.
Form 1 (no. 2, 3) has the same shape as the gray-brown slipped ware Form 1. The sherds are dip glazed. One of the sherds has an interior glaze (no. 3) and the other has interior and exterior glazing. These plates are evaluated as ‘local undecorated glazed wares’ at Tarsus (Jones 1950: 155 fig. 120, 178 no. 26). Zengibar Kalesi sherds can be compared to Tarsus finds also. The form is dated to the Early Hellenistic period.
Form 10 (no. 37) is a krater rim fragment. Wide- mouthed kraters are related to painted coarse ware finds from Tarsus (Jones 1950: 162, 169 fig. 184 no. 141). The form can be dated to the Middle Hellenistic period. Form 12 (no. 39) is a plate with very low ring foot with grooved resting surface. Hayes dated the form to the second quarter of the 1st century AD (Hayes 1986, 54 form 5) and the form occurs in the ESA group.
Form 2 (no. 5) is the same as Form 1 in the gray-brown slipped ware and Form 2 can be compared to Tell Anafa (Slane 1997: 318-319, FW 236, 238) and Athenian Agora examples (Rotroff 2006: 167-168 no. 1090-1105). Sherds from these centres date to the Middle and Late Hellenistic periods.
Form 13 (no. 40) is deep bowl with tapered, slightly concave wall. There were attempts to produce the form in the Early Roman period at Antioch. Hayes dated this form to the first half of the 1st century AD (Hayes 1986: 34 form 45).
Form 3 has two variants. Variant ‘A’ has a facetted rim (no. 7). Variant ‘B’ has a rolled rim (no. 8). Both variants have straight walls and interiors glazed. The Zengibar Kalesi samples have similarities with Perge finds in terms of form and slip conditions, however clay analyses are required for confirmation. The Perge examples are considered Middle Imperial period (Atik 1995: 98, abb. 34 no. 162-163).
In conclusion, the Zengibar Kalesi sherds could have been connected with Hellenistic, ESA, and Cypriot Sigillata forms in terms of their shapes only. Most of the forms found at Zengibar Kalesi can be associated with Eastern ceramic material and the Zengibar Kalesi sherds do not firmly establish commercial relations, although cultural relations can be inferred. Although they were found on the surface, the ceramic potsherds, dated between the Hellenistic and Late Roman periods, are in line with the dating of the ruins of the site.
Form 4 (no. 9) is a bowl with out-turned rim and angular body. The clay is well refined and buff to light-brown in colour. The slips, clay and forms remind us of red-slipped ware from Sagallasos (Poblome-Degeest 1993: 157 fig. 20: 1B160-3), however clay analyses are required for confirmation.
Future studies are planned to determine all the ceramic repertoire of Zengibar Kalesi. Depending on the results of that study, the historical periods of the site’s residential extent will be plotted. After that it will be possible to address the question of whether Zengibar Kalesi is Isaura Nova or Isaura Vetus.
Form 5 is the same as for the similar type of gray-brown slipped wares. The differences are only in clay and slip structure. The clay is usually well refined and its colour reddish brown to brown. The glaze varies from the reddish brown to blackish brown. The form has three types. Type ‘A’ has an upturned and thickened out rim (no. 11-13). Type ‘B’ has an upturned rim about 900 below the horizontal (no. 15, 16, 17). Type ‘C’ has an upturned rim with slightly in-turned lip (20, 22, 23, 24). Type ‘A’ was seen in the ESA group from Tarsus (Jones 1950: fig. 188 no. 259) and Tell Anafa (Slane 1997: FW 100-111). The sherds are classified ESA. Type ‘B’ was named as Form 38. Hayes dated the form to the 1st century BC. The Zengibar Kalesi examples have different clay
Catalogue Form 1 Nos. 1; H. 2.4cm, Diam. 19cm; Plate; downturned rim with slightly convex body. Reddish gray slip (made with brush) (Hue
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Zafer Korkmaz, Osman Doğanay: Hellenıstıc and Roman Pottery Nos. 12; H. 2.2cm, Diam. 27cm; Plate; upturned rim. Reddish brown slip on the interior surface (Hue 5 YR 5/8). Brownish well refined clay (Hue 5 YR 7/6).
2.5 YR 4/1). Dull reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 5 YR 5/3) Nos. 2; H. 2.6cm, Diam. 21cm; Plate; downturned rim with board body. Brownish black narrow band on the rim (Hue 5 YR2/1). Dull reddish brown slip (Hue 2.5 YR 5/4). Reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 5 YR 4/6).
Nos. 13; H. 3.8cm, Diam. 26cm; Plate; upturned rim. A dull reddish brown band on the outside surface (Hue 5 YR 5/4). Red slip (Hue 10 R 5/8). Reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8).
Nos. 3; H. 2.8cm, Diam. 30cm; Plate; downturned rim with board body. Reddish brown slip on the interior surface (Hue 2.5 YR 4/6) and dull orange coating on the outside (Hue 7.5 YR 7/3). Reddish brown clay with many small grit temper inclusions (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8).
Form 5 Type B Nos. 14; H. 2.8cm, Diam. 16cm; Plate; upturned rim. Brownish black slip on the rim (Hue 5 YR 2/2) and dull orange coating on the inside and outside surface (Hue 7.5 YR 5/4). Porous, reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 2.5 YR 4/6).
Nos. 4; H. 2.8cm, Diam. 23cm; Plate; downturned rim with slightly convex body. Brown bands in the interior surface. Dull reddish brown coating (Hue 5 YR 5/3). Dull reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 5 YR 5/4).
Nos. 15; H. 2.8cm, Diam. 26cm; Plate; upturned rim. Brownish coating on the rim (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8). Porous, brownish clay with many small mica and grit temper inclusions (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8).
Form 2
Nos. 16; H. 3.4cm, Diam. 27cm; Plate; upturned rim. Red slip (Hue 10 R 5/8). Reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8).
Nos. 5; H. 3cm, Diam. 26cm; Shallow Bowl; downturned rim with slightly concave body. Dull reddish brown coating (Hue. 5 YR 5/4). Dull reddish brown clay with many grit temper inclusions (Hue 5 YR 5/4)
Nos. 17; H. 4.2cm, Diam. 16cm; Plate; upturned rim. Red slip (Hue 10 R 5/8). Reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8).
Nos. 6; H. 2.6cm, Diam. 16.4cm; Shallow Bowl; downturned rim; brownish black slip (5 YR 2/1) on dark reddish brown coating (Hue 5 YR 5/3). Brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 2.5 YR 5/6).
Form 5 Type C Nos. 18; H. 2.8cm, Diam. 25cm; Plate; slightly incurved rim. Reddish black slip (Hue 2.5 YR 2/1). Dark reddish gray clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 7.5 YR 3/1).
Form 3 Type A Nos. 7; H. 3.2cm, Diam. 22cm; Shallow Bowl; rolled rim with board body. Reddish brown slip on the interior surface (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8) and dull reddish brown coating on the outside (Hue 5 YR 5/4). Reddish Brown well refined clay (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8).
Nos. 19; H. 2.4cm, Diam. 15cm; Plate; slightly incurved rim. Dull orange coating under slip (Hue 7.5 YR 7/4) and dark reddish brown slip (Hue 5 YR 3/2). Dull reddish Brown well refined clay (Hue 5 YR 5/4).
Form 3 Type B
Nos. 20; H. 4.4cm, Diam. 21cm; Plate; slightly incurved rim, sloped surface. Outside dull orange slip (Hue 7.5 YR 4/4) inside reddish brown slip (Hue 2.5 YR 4/6). Dark reddish gray clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 7.5 YR 3/1).
Nos. 8; H. 2cm, Diam. 19cm; Shallow Bowl; rolled rim with board body. Reddish brown slip on the interior surface (Hue 5 YR 5/8) and dull reddish brown coating on the outside (Hue 5 YR 5/4). Reddish Brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 5 YR 7/6).
Nos. 21; H. 2.9cm, Diam. 18cm; Plate; slightly incurved rim, sloped surface. Reddish black slip (Hue 2.5 YR 2/1). Reddish Brown well refined clay (Hue 2.5 YR 4/8).
Form 4 Nos. 9; H. 3.8cm, Diam. 25cm; Bowl; out-turned rim with angular body. Reddish brown slip on the interior surface (Hue 10 R 4/4). Brownish well refined clay (Hue 5 YR 6/6).
Nos. 22; H. 3.9 cm, Diam. 19 cm; Plate; slightly incurved rim, sloped surface. Reddish brown slip (Hue 2.5 YR 4/8). Reddish Brown well refined clay (Hue 2.5 YR 4/8).
Form 5 Type A Nos. 10; H. 2.4cm, Diam. 27cm; Plate; upturned rim. Brownish black slip on the interior surface (Hue 5 YR 2/1) and dull orange slip on the outside (Hue 7.5 YR 6/4). Reddish Brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 5 YR 4/8).
Nos. 23; H. 2.9 cm, Diam. 17 cm; Plate; slightly incurved rim, sloped surface. Outside dull orange slip (Hue 7.5 YR 4/4) inside reddish brown slip (Hue 2.5 YR 4/6). Dark reddish gray clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 7.5 YR 3/1).
Nos. 11; H. 3cm, Diam. 22cm; Plate; upturned rim. Reddish brown slip on the interior surface (Hue 10 R 4/4). Brownish well refined clay (Hue 5 YR 6/6).
Nos. 24; H. 2.9 cm, Diam. 22 cm; Plate; slightly incurved rim, sloped surface. Outside dull orange slip (Hue 7.5 YR 4/4) inside reddish brown slip (Hue 2.5 YR 4/6). Dark reddish gray clay with
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Form 10 Nos. 37; H. 1.8cm, Diam. 24cm; Krater. Dull reddish brown slip (Hue 2.5 YR 5/4). Reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 5 YR 4/6).
Form 6 Nos. 25; H. 3.2 cm, Diam. 23 cm; Bowl; incurved rim. Outside dull orange slip (Hue 7.5 YR 4/4) inside reddish brown slip (Hue 2.5 YR 4/6). Dark reddish gray clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 7.5 YR 3/1).
Form 11 Nos. 38; H. 1.8cm, Diam. 24cm; Platter; thickened and has also two rolls on rising upper side. Dull reddish brown slip (Hue 2.5 YR 5/4). Reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 5 YR 4/6).
Nos. 26; H. 2.6 cm, Diam. 18 cm; Bowl; incurved rim. Brownish black slip (Hue 7.5 YR 3,1). Dull orange clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 7.5 YR 4/6).
Form 12
Nos. 27; H. 2 cm, Diam. 11,6 cm; Bowl; incurved rim. Dark brown slip (Hue 7.5 YR 3,3). Reddish brown well refined clay (Hue 5 YR 5,6).
Nos. 39; H. 1.1cm, Diam. of foot 11cm; Plate; low ring foot and board surface. Reddish brown slip on the interior surface (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8) and dull reddish brown coating on the outside (Hue 5 YR 5/4). Reddish Brown well refined clay (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8).
Nos. 28; H. 3.2 cm, Diam. 19,8 cm; Bowl; incurved rim. Outside brownish gray slip (Hue 10 YR 4,1) inside black slip (Hue 10 YR 4,1). Brownish black clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 2.5 YR 3,1).
Form 13 Nos. 40; H. 4.2cm, Diam. of foot 6.4cm; Bowl; false ring foot and sloping surface. Reddish brown slip. Reddish Brown well refined clay (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8).
Nos. 29; H. 3.2 cm, Diam. 25 cm; Bowl; incurved rim. Band made with brush on outside of the rim (Hue. 2.5 YR 5,8). Brownish black slip (Hue 7.5 YR 3,1). Dull orange clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 7.5 YR 4/6).
Form 14
Nos. 30; H. 2 cm, Diam. 18 cm; Bowl; incurved rim. Dark brown slip (Hue 7.5 YR 3,3). Reddish brown well refined clay (Hue 5 YR 5,6).
Nos. 41; H. 4.2cm, Diam. of foot 6.4cm; Bowl; ring foot and sloping surface. Dark reddish gray slip (Hue 2.5 YR 3/1). Brownish gray clay with many small mica and grit temper inclusions (Hue 7.5 YR 4/1).
Form 7
Bibliography
Nos. 31; H. 4 cm, Diam. 23 cm; Bowl; upturned and thickened in rim. Red slip (Hue 10 R 5/8). Reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions and porous structure (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8).
Atik N. (1995), Die Keramik aus den Südthermen von Perge. Istanbuler Mitteilungen / Beiheft; 40, Tübingen, Wasmuth. Christensen A. P.-Ch. F. Johansen (1971), Hama Fouilles et Recherches 1931-1938 III.2. Les Poteries Hellénistiques et les terres sigillées Orientales, Copenhagen. Crowfoot J. W.-G. M. Crowfoot-M. Kenyon (1957), ‘The Objects from Samaria’, Samaria-Sebaste; reports of the work of the Joint expedition in 1931-1933 and of the British expedition in 1935, no. 3, London, Palestine Exploration Fund. French D. (1984), ‘The Site of Dalisandos’, EpigrAnat. 4, 85-97, Bonn. Gassner V. (1997), ‘Das Südtor der Tetragonos-Agora: Keramik und Kleinfunde’, Forschungen in Ephesos 13/1/1, Wien. Hall A.S. (1972), ‘New Light of the Capture of Isaura Vetus by Servilius Vatia’, Akten VI. Inter.Kongr. Ger. Lat. Epigr., 568570, München. Hayes J. W. (1972), Late Roman Pottery, London. Hayes J. W. (1973), ‘Roman Pottery from The South Stoa at Corinth’, Hesperia; Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens 42, 416-470. Hayes J. W. (1986), Atlante Dele Forme Ceramiche II Ceramica Fine Romana Nel Bacino Mediterraneo (Tardo Ellenismo e Primo Impero), Pisa. Hayes J. W. (1991), The Hellenistic and Roman Pottery; Paphos Volume III, Department of Antiquities, Cyprus, Nicosia. Jones F. F. (1950), ‘The Hellenistic and Roman Period’ Excavations at Gözlü Kule, Tarsus. Vol. I, ed. H. Goldman, Princeton. Jones F. (1969), ‘Sherds from Kululu’, Anadolu (Anatolia) XIII, Ankara, 89-96.
Nos. 32; H. 2,8 cm, Diam. 22 cm; Bowl; upturned and thickened in rim. Dark brown slip (Hue 7.5 YR 3,3). Reddish brown well refined clay (Hue 5 YR 5,6). Form 8 Nos. 33; H. 3.4cm, Diam. 24cm; Bowl; upturned and thickened out rim. Brownish slip on the rim (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8). Porous, brownish clay with many small mica and grit temper inclusions (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8). 5/8). Nos. 34; H. 2.9cm, Diam. 26cm; Bowl; upturned and thickened out rim. Brownish black narrow band on the rim (Hue 5 YR2/1). Dull reddish brown slip (Hue 2.5 YR 5/4). Reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 5 YR 4/6). Nos. 35; H. 2cm, Diam. 26cm; Bowl; upturned and thickened out rim. Dark brown slip (Hue 7.5 YR 3,3). Reddish brown well refined clay (Hue 5 YR 5,6). Form 9 Nos. 36; H. 3.6cm, Diam. 7.2cm; Bowl; incurved rim. Red slip (Hue 10 R 5/8). Reddish brown clay with many small mica inclusions (Hue 2.5 YR 5/8). 352
Zafer Korkmaz, Osman Doğanay: Hellenıstıc and Roman Pottery Slane K. W. (1997), ‘The Fine Wares’, Tel Anafa II The Hellenistic and Roman Pottery, ed. C. H. Herbert, Ann Arbor, 252-406. Waagé F. O. (1948), Antioch on the Orontes IV.ı, Ceramic and Islamıc Coins, Princeton. Zoroğlu L. (2004) ‘Hellenistic Pottery From Kelenderis’, Praktika 4, Athens, 299-310.
Lloyd S. (1954), ‘Sultantepe (part II)’, Anatolian Studies volume IV, London. Poblome J., Degeest, R. (1993), ‘A Model of Ceramic Evolution; The Pottery Found at Site N’, Sagalassos II: Report on the Third Excavation Campaign of 1992, ed. M. Waelkens and J. Poblome, Leuven, 149-183. Rotroff S. I. (1997), The Athenian Agora Volume XXIX, Hellenistic Pottery; Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material, Princeton.
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Some Archaeological Material from Seydişehir Asuman Baldıran
Department of Archaeology, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey
placed behind the shield crosswise4 (Fig: 2). On the other narrow side there is an empty triangular pediment.
The scope of this study is Seydişehir and its vicinity. We are going to deal with the ostothek bodies, lids and stelae found in Seydişehir town centre. The Lycaonia region, which is within Seydişehir territory, was bordered by Cappadocia on the east, Pisidia on the west, Phrygia on the north and Isauria and Cilicia on the south. It is now the Konya plain. The region was first demarcated by Strabon but Plinius formed the most detailed boundary limits by including the number of cities. The most detailed study was conducted by Belke-Restle in 1980s.
OB 1: It was made of yellowish veined local limestone. It is a rectangular ostothek body without a lid5 (Fig. 3). While the front side and the two narrow sides are adorned, the back side is not. There are branches of vine spreading from a centre upwards and to the sides spirally and on these branches large bunches of grapes and vine leaves6 are depicted. The ancient writer Strabon mentions that the grapes were used in medicine and also exported to the ancient city of Amblada (Asar Tepe)7. Above, in the middle of the ostothek body, there is an eagle figure with its wings spread to the sides8 landing on the branches of vine and facing left9. The eagle figure10 is an important figure seen in the region. It is one of the symbols of Zeus in mythology. Three claws on its feet are depicted in detail. In the front part of the artefact there are holes made afterwards11. These holes were probably made for secondary use. The ostothek bodies and the sarcophaguses found in the region were generally placed in front of fountains and used as basins or water tanks. Below the bunches of grapes, in the left corner, there are two horses walking quietly back to back and a male figure holding their bridles with his right hand. This figure is wearing a short dress to knee-level held by a belt in the waist. The face of this male figure is quite damaged. The right arm is bent at the elbow holding the bridles. In his left hand he holds a thin long rod. The male (a vine grower?) is wearing a cloak held by a round fibula at the front. The legs of the male figure are short compared to the body. Both of the horses are the same size12. The harnesses of the horses can be seen. The walking gait of the horses13 is not represented in the legs; their left legs are stretched forward instead of being bent from the knee. It is known that
Ostotheks were receptacles for the bones and ashes of the dead. The ostothek bodies and lids that we found have the same characteristics as similar material from other settlements in the region. These are made of local limestone material. The two narrow sides and the front side are adorned but the back side is not. On the narrow side, we can see sword and shield, and door motifs. On the front side, on the other hand, we can see a bust or designs related to the grape harvest between vignettes and grape bunches. On one of our examples, garlands were adorned onto pillars with Doric capitals. Lion figures, standing or lying, on the ostothek lids are characteristics of the region. On the stelae, on the other hand, there are either inscriptions on tabula ansata or garlands on pillars with Ionic capitals and members of the deceased’s family. The common motifs on these materials are vignettes, bunches of grapes, medusa heads, rosettes, doors and sword and shields. O1 It was made of light yellowish local limestone. The body and the lid are in one piece1 (Fig.1). This material is lower in quality than the material of the other artefacts and it crumbles easily. A lying lion figure2 was depicted on the lid of the ostothek body. The lion depicted as lying is quite stylized. Its head faces to the left and its mane is partially depicted. The left foreleg is bent from the elbow and placed on the lid; the fur under its arm is depicted linearly. Its hind legs are stretched backwards and its paws grab the corners of the lid it reaches for. Its paws are in the shape of human hands.3 Its tail hangs over the right paw at the back forming a bow. The head is damaged. The mane is not depicted and there are three claws on the forelegs and four claws on the hind legs. Its head faces to the left. Details of the face are not clear. The tail of the lion is curved to the left. Hind legs are separate. The lion grabs the human head with its right paw. On the narrow front side of the artefact there is a round convex shield and a sword motif is
The shield relief is 25cm in diameter. It is a high relief with the depth of 4cm. 5 Ostothek Body size: Height: 47cm, Width: 122cm, Thickness: 50cm. 6 Bunches of grapes and vine leaves are common motifs in Isauria and Cilicia as symbols of abundance and fertility. The mountainous land and lack of cultivable areas led people to engage in viticulture. Especially near Hadim quality grapes called ‘Aladağ’ are cultivated. There are reliefs of viticulture scenes on steles of the Isauria region. There is a depiction of vine-harvest festivals on a stele in the ancient city of Astra. For this stele, see: Ermişler 1994: 388 et al.; Yılmaz 1995. 7 Strabon, Geographika XIII, 1993. 8 According to Scarborough, the eagle motif with its wings spread to the sides is generally a symbol of Zeus and Ba’al Sami. Scarborough 1991: 355. 9 Eagles with garlands in their beaks or talons represent honour and eternity. Scarborough, 1991: 355; according to Wujeswki referring to Rodenwalt, the eagle is the symbol of Zeus Bronton. Wujeswki 1991: 23. 10 This eagle figure is 20x24cm. 11 There are two holes on the front side of the artefact, 4x4cm in diameter. 12 The height of the horses is 27cm and their width is 25cm. 13 In the art of the ancient period, there are some iconographic forms of horses in motion. In one of them the hind legs of the horse step on the ground, stretched and parallel to each other while the forelegs point forward and do not step on the ground. This form is named by Rodenwalt as ‘Persian Type’. Rodenwalt 1933: 14ff. 4
Ostothek sizes: Height: 160cm, Width: 108cm, Thickness: 47cm. Tomb lids with lying lion figures depicted on them are also seen in Pisidia, Lycia, Cylicia and Lycaonia besides Isauria Region. Although the highest number of examples is seen in Kibyratis, similar artefacts are also found in Isauria and Lycaonia regions. Koch 2001: 33-227. For more information on the tomb types in Isauria and Lycaonia regions see: Koch 2001: 261. 3 For the lion claws, see Akurgal 1961: fig. 109-127-134; Also Akurgal 1988: fig. 41-63-64-77 and 77(a); This type of lion claw is also seen in the Isauria region. 1 2
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SOMA 2011 viticulture was performed in the region and the depiction of the grape motifs and the presence of horses indicate that the grapes were carried by horses. On the narrow (short) left side, there is a shield14 and a sword motif placed crosswise to the shield15 (Fig.4). The artefact is highly damaged. The difference between the descriptions of the swords placed crosswise to the shield suggests that one of them might be a dagger.16 On the right short side of the artefact there is a depiction of a door17 (Fig. 5) described as the door to the underworld (to Hades). Above the door, there may be a triangular pediment over the capstone, however, it cannot be clearly understood as this part is now broken. There are lotus motifs on both sides of the door. The upper part of the door is in high relief. The reverse side is not processed. The artefact is highly eroded and broken in parts18 (Fig. 6).
the upper part of the coffin. The right narrow face is adorned and there is a door motif26 (Fig.10) on it which is a quite common motif in the region. The door was divided into four parts and there is a roof with its angular and apex acroteria placed over the door. There is also a ring-shaped door knob (used for opening) depicted on the upper left part of the door. The other narrow face and the back were left unadorned. At the top of the ostothek there is a frame to place the lid. Later, three holes were made on the front part of the ostothek body; two small holes at the sides and one larger hole in the middle.27 As the artefact was made of local limestone, it became porous in time and highly eroded. It is said to be from Amblada.
OB 2
It was made of local limestone. It is a body of a lion used as an ostothek lid28 (Fig. 11-12). The face of the lion points left. The face is highly damaged. The forelegs and mane were strongly depicted while the hind legs and the back were depicted weakly. The details of the face were not given in detail. Although the features29 are not distinct, it was not sculpted in detail and damaged over time. The mane is distinct. The tail is thin and attached to the body. It was said to be from Amblada.
OL 1
Made of yellow local limestone. Rectangular ostothek body without a lid; the front part is adorned while the back and the two narrow sides are not.19 On the long side there are rectangular pilasters on both sides and two Doric columns in the middle (Fig. 7-8). The adorned front part is divided into three panels. The columns are in Doric order and they are depicted as fluted. There are three garland motifs hanging to the corners of these two fluted columns. This adorned area is bordered with pilasters at the sides and there are rosette motifs20 on the pilasters on both sides. There is a line of Greek inscription21 on the moulding carried by the heads on the front side but it is worn off. The artefact is damaged. A deep crack starting from the body of the column on the left continues to the corner.22 It is said to be from Vasada.
OL 2: The artefact found in the park in front of the Seydişehir Municipality garden is highly damaged. It was made of local limestone. It is a depiction of a lion body used as an ostothek lid30 (Fig.13-14). It is quite similar to OL 1. Besides being made of the same material they are also quite similar in their physiology and size. However, in this one the face of the lion points right, unlike the lion in OL 1. The face is highly damaged. The features of the face are not distinct. The mane is divided into two on its neck. The division of the hind legs is distinct. This is not so distinct in OL 1. The tail is again thin and depicted as attached to the body. It was said to be from Amblada.
OB 3 It is a rectangular ostothek body made of local limestone with large pores and without a lid.23 On the long front side there are branches of grape vine, large bunches grapes and vine leaves spreading out from a kalathos (Fig.9). There is a bust24 over the vine branches on the right. On the left there is another bust whose lines were roughly drawn but without any details. It must have been wearing a semi-circular cap. Just on the left of this figure, an object like a spear or a sword is depicted. On the front side, there are two lines of worn off and unreadable inscription25 on
OL 3: It was made of local limestone31. The lion motif, depicted as lying on a high roof and facing to the right, resembles Isaurian lions32 (Fig.15-16). The mouth of the lying lion figure is open and its eyes are large. The mane sculpted in high relief flows under the neck and at the back of the head. As it is in a lying position, the hindquarters were sculpted and the right back paw was depicted in the form of a human hand. The tail of the lion figure whose front claws are damaged is bent and hangs over its back. Its left front foot leans on an object. Its tail is attached to its body. Claws are sculpted in detail. The muscles of its hind legs are distinct. Below the head and the tail of the lion figure there are triangular pediments. Both corners of the triangular pediment on the right face (front) are broken. In the middle of the pediment there is
The shield is a weapon, or war booty, of warriors and heroes. The Roman period shield has a button-like ridge in the middle, its edges are profiled, and it has a convex shape without ornaments. Fıratlı 1965: 305. 15 The shield relief is 1cm high. The diameter of the shield is 46cm. The middle part of the shield was carved 23cm and boasted. 16 Weapon reliefs are quite common in the mountainous parts of Isauria. As Swoboda states there were weapon workshops in the Sarot Plateau, the highest point of the Toros. Swoboda 1935: 57. 17 The door is 25cm wide and 33cm high. 18 The part where the bodies were placed is 82cm long, 32cm wide and 47cm deep. On the upper part of the artefact there are 4 dowel holes 4x4cm in diameter to fix the lid. 19 Length: 118cm, Width: 74cm, Height: 77cm 20 Rosettes are 9cm in diameter. 21 The height of the letters of the Greek inscription is 3cm and the width is 2.5cm. 22 The width of the coffin where the bodies were placed is 40cm, the length is 86cm and the measurable depth is 20cm. It is filled with sand. 23 Ostothek body sizes: Width: 48cm, Length: 102cm, Height: 41cm. 24 Busts are common in Eastern cultures and used decoratively. For example, there are the busts of the dead in niches of the Egyptian tombs in the Old Kingdom period. Fechheimer 1920, Abb.12, 85ff. This form was then applied in the Greek and Roman examples. In the 4th century B.C. busts were used for the first time as tomb monuments outside Attica. Pfulh-Möbius 1981: 507. 25 The height of the letters of the inscription is 2.5cm and the width is 2cm. 14
The roof of the door is 28cm wide and 12cm high. The roof is depicted as a 4cm deep relief. 27 These holes are 13cm in diameter. 28 Ostothek lid sizes: Length: 92cm, Height: 39cm, Width: 24cm. 29 The face of the lion is approximately 30x28cm. 30 Ostothek lid sizes: Length: 91cm, Height: 41cm, Width: 24cm. 31 Ostothek lid sizes: Length: 140cm, Width: 68cm, Height: 83cm. 32 On the lion motif, Scarborough states that lions guard graves and protect the dead from the enemies. Its wild look scares away enemies from the grave. It is a merciless enemy and loyal guardian of the dead. It is known to be an Oriental symbol but it has to be related to the Mother Goddess cult. Scarborough 1991: 348ff. 26
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Asuman Baldıran: Some Archaeological Material a Medusa33 head. There are apex acroteria34 at the top of the pediments and the angular acroteria at four sides but not depicted in detail. The lid and the lion on the lid are damaged. It can be seen that the cracks on the paws and the body of the artefact were restored with plaster. The lion was depicted lying on its bent hind legs. It is said to be from Vasada.
OL 7 The lion figure made of local limestone has become porous over time; it was found in the pool in the Seydişehir Municipal Park. The artefact was made of local stone and used decoratively inside the pool; it has suffered much damage (Fig. 23-24). The legs and the tail of the lion are broken. Its mouth was depicted open. The lion faces directly to the left. The face is round. The features of the face are not detailed. Part of the half-broken lion figure, after the mane, no longer exists. The undamaged part represents the head and mane. The lion figure facing to the left has an open mouth. The mane covers the head like a circle and is quite pronounced. With the mane flowing under the neck and the back of the head, it sculpted to give the lion a powerful and terrifying look as well as the distinctive expression on its face. The artefact was highly damaged and eroded. It is said to be from Amblada.
OL 4: It was made of local limestone.35 The lid on which a highly worn lion figure stands is completely destroyed and broken (Fig. 17). The lion figure itself was also eroded and broken. The lying lion figure faces to the right and its mouth is open. The mane of the lion was also depicted under its neck and it is spiral in form. While the paws at the back cannot be clearly seen as they are worn off, the front paws over the pediment were depicted in the form of a human hand. In the middle of the pediment at the back there is a rosette figure with four leaves36 (Fig. 18). Both sides are broken while the apex acroterium can be identified. The triangular acroterium in the front is broken and deformed and the motif on it cannot be identified. The tail of the lion is short and the rest of the tail cannot be seen because of wear. A part of the lions’ head, its eyes and nose were also damaged. It is said to be from Amblada.
S1 It was made of local white marble. The rectangular stele was divided into two by a thin horizontal moulding41 (Fig. 25-26). There are two pediments over the moulding at both sides. There is a medallion between the pediments and in the middle of the medallion there is a highly damaged bust. Busts are commonly seen on tomb stelae in Anatolia.42. There are two types of busts of the dead in Lamotis tombs in Eastern Cilicia. In the first type the bust is not framed. In the second type the bust is sculpted in a round frame. This type preferred and common in Roman tomb iconography is called either medallion bust or shield bust. Covering the bust of the dead with garland means that the dead person had a high status.43 The pediments have apex acroterium. There are branches of grapevine and bunches of grapes in the empty spaces between the pediments and the medallion.
OL 5: The lion figure depicted as lying on the ostothek lid was sculpted from local limestone37 (Fig. 19-20). The head faces to the left and the eyes are large. The lion figure in this damaged artefact faces to the left and it can be seen that the mouth now broken was depicted open. The features of the face were sculpted. The claws of the lion were worn off and eroded so they cannot be seen. The mane was sculpted in relief. There is a Medusa head in the middle of the pediment below its head.38 Both corners are broken. The apex acroterium can be seen on the top. The triangular pediment at the back was damaged. As the lion was depicted as lying, the rump was sculpted in sharp lines. The tail is quite short. The lid on which the lion figure lies, and the lion figure itself, are highly damaged and there are partial cracks and erosion. It is said to be from Vasada.
The scene below the moulding is bordered with fluted pilasters on both sides. The decorated scene is divided into three by two columns on bases with Ionic capitals. From the right there is a frontal depiction of two figures standing. The first figure is a female. Her arms hang down and she is wearing a chiton underneath and a himation over it. Her coat is held by a belt at the waist. The chiton flows down to the ankles with large vertical pleats. The male figure next to her is wearing a dress flowing down to the knees and a short cloak covering his arms held together under the neck. The heads of both figures are damaged. In the second scene there are three figures, two females and one male. The first two figures are females and their right arms are bent at the elbow and held at the chest level. They are holding spindles in their left hands. They are wearing long dresses, also covering their heads. Their chitons reach the ankles and have vertical pleats.44 The third figure is standing with his arms crossed at chest level. They are wearing a short dress covering the knees and reaching the calves. Their facial features cannot be identified as the faces are damaged.
OL 6 This is an ostothek lid made of local limestone and sculpted in the form of a roof39 (Fig. 21-22). We have found out that the artefact with empty pediments on the sides also had a square coffin but that this coffin was stolen from the garden of the municipal building in the 1990s. It can be seen that there are acroteria on the apex and the corners of the pediments at the sides.40 It is said to be from Amblada.
There are also three figures depicted frontally and as standing in the third scene on the left. The first of these figures is a female wearing a chiton and a himation covering her head with her right arm bent at the elbow and held at chest level and her left arm hanging down. The short figure next to the female wearing a short dress with a belt and with his arms hanging down is probably a
The height of Medusa is 12cm and the width is 18cm. In the middle of the pediment, whose apex acroterium was depicted, there is a rosette figure 14cm in diameter. 35 Osthotek lid sizes: Length: 102cm, Height: 60cm, Width: 51cm. 36 The height of the pediment is 20cm and the width is 40cm; there is a rosette motif 13cm in diameter in the middle. 37 Osthotek lid sizes: Length: 118cm, Width: 40cm, Height: 58cm. 38 The undamaged pediment is 25cm high and 46cm wide. The Medusa head in the middle of the pediment is 13cm wide. 39 Osthotek lid sizes: Length: 67cm, Width: 47cm, Height: 33cm. 40 There are triangular pediments 16cm high and 36cm wide on both sides of the lid. The part placed on the ostothek body is 25cm wide and 44cm long. 33 34
41 42 43 44
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Stelai sizes: Height: 66cm, Width: 90cm, Depth: 32cm. Pfuhl Möbius 1981: 209; Haspels 1971: Fig. 628-629. Scarborough 1998: 81. Scarborough 1995: 339ff.
SOMA 2011 Alföldi-Rosenbaum, E., 1980. The Nekropolis of Adrassus (Balabolu) in Rough Cilicia (Isauria), Wien. Baldıran, A., 2005. ‘Taşkent-Avşar Ostotekleri’, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 22, Sayı: 2, Ankara, 67-86. Baldıran, A., 2009. Beyşehir ve Civarı Heykeltraşlık Eserleri, Konya. Baldıran, A., 2010. ‘Taşkent-Seydişehir 2008 Yılı Yüzey Araştırmaları’, 27/1 AST, Ankara, 121-134. Bean, G. E., 1959. ‘Notes and Inscriptions from Part I’, AnSt, Vol: IX, 67-118. Belke, K., Restle M., 1984. ‘Galatien und Lykaonien’, TIB 4, Wien. Doğanay, O., 2009. Pharax (Fariske), Konya. Ermişler, O., 1994. ‘Astra Antik Kenti’ (Bolat Ören Yeri), 1992 Temizlik ve Sondaj Çalışmaları, IV. Müze Kurtarma Kazıları Semineri, 385-403, Ankara. Farrand, W. R., 1964. ‘Geology and Physography of the BeyşehirSuğla Depression, Western Taursus Lake District, Turkey’, TürkAD, XII-1. Fechheimer, H., 1920. Die Plastik der Agypter, Berlin. Fıratlı, N., 1965. ‘İstanbul’un Yunan ve Roma Mezar Stelleri’, Belleten, XXX, 263-319, Ankara. Koch, G., 2001. Roma İmparatorluk Dönemi Lahitleri, (Çev: Z. İlkgelen), İstanbul. Özkan S., 1990. ‘Beyşehir Civarında Bulunmuş Olan Eserler’, Belleten IV, 210. Pfulh, E., Möbius, H., 1981. Die Ostgriechischen Grabreliefs I-II, Mainz am Rhein. Rodenwalt, G., 1933. Griechische Reliefs aus Lykien. Berlin. Scarborough, Y. E., 1991. The Funerary Monuments of Cilicia Tracheia, (Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi), Cornell. Scarborough, Y. E., 1995. ‘Isauria Yüzey Araştırması’, AST XIII1, 339-355, Ankara. Scarborough, Y. E., 1998. ‘Dağlık Kilikia-Lamotis Mezarları’, Olba I, 77-85, Mersin. Solecki, R. S., 1964. ‘An Archaoeological Reconnaissance in the Beyşehir-Suğla Area of South Western Turkey’, TürkAD, XIII-1, 129-140. Strabon, 1993. Antik Anadolu Coğrafyası, (Geographika), (Çev: Adnan Pekman), İstanbul. Swoboda, H., Keil, J., Knoll, F., 1935. Denkmaler aus Lykaonien, Pamphylien und Isaurien, Wien. Wujewski, T., 1991. Anatolian Sepulchral Stelae in Roman Times, Ponzań. Yılmaz, M., 1995. Heykeltraşlık Açısından Isauria Bölgesi Figürlü Mezar Anıtları, (Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi), Konya. Yılmaz, M., 1999. ‘Mezar Steli Betimlemelerine Göre Isauria Bölgesinde Bağcılık ve Bağbozumu Şenlikleri’, S.Ü. Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, Sayı: 4, Konya, 362-381. Yılmaz, M., 2005. İsauria–Bozkır Çevresinin Antik Tarihi ve Eserleri, Konya.
child figure. His right arm is held at the chest level and left arm hangs down. Above the heads of all figures there are 3 garland motifs continuing also over the columns. In the empty spaces over the garlands there are two busts at both sides. A similar example can be seen on a coffin in Adrassos.45 In the middle of the garland there is an eagle figure with its body depicted frontally and its head in profile with its wings spread to the sides. In the Early Hellenistic period the eagle symbolized Zeus in Greek mythology. It is not related to the death cult. In Roman period this figure was used in early tomb stelae in the tomb cult and symbolized Jupiter.46 In Mesopotamian belief birds of prey pierce the bodies of those dying in battle and help their souls ascend to the sky.47 Conclusion In conclusion, the ostothek bodies, lids and the stele exhibited in the park in front of the Seydişehir Municipal Building are artefacts brought here from the ancient settlements of Amblada and Vasada. The themes depicted on the front part of the ostothek bodies are busts between branches of vines and bunches of grapes, and scenes from the life of the dead person. Sometimes there are motifs related to the cult among these figures. On the sides of the ostothek bodies there is generally a door motif related to the underworld or a round shield and sword-dagger motifs placed crosswise behind the shield. Rectangular ostothek bodies can be full or empty. On the lids placed over the bodies there are lying or sitting lion figures except for one. The paws of the lions are depicted holding a human, bull or a goat’s head. The sides of the lids are in the form of a pediment; on some of them there is angular or apex acroterium. In the middle of the pediments there are the depictions of either rosettes or Medusa heads. The lion is a symbol of protection for the tombs and the dead from harm and enemies. The eagle is generally accepted as a symbol of Zeus. Shields, swords and daggers are attributed to warriors and heroes. The door motif is related to Hades or the Underworld, where the dead are thought to descend. Vines and bunches of grapes are symbols of abundance and fertility. The archaeological material presented here can be dated to the end of the 2nd century A.D. to the end of the 3rd century A.D. Material with similar characteristics is also known from other settlements in the region. Bibliography Asgari, N., 1965. Hellenistik ve Roma Çağlarında Anadolu Ostothekleri, (Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi), İstanbul. Akurgal, E., 1961. Die Kunst der Hethiter, München. Akurgal, E., 1988. Anadolu Uygarlıkları, İstanbul. Astour, M. C., 1965. Hellenosemitica, Leiden.
45 46 47
Alföldi-Rosenbaum 1980: 91, Lev.XVII- 2. Scarborough 1991: 187. Astour 1965: 341.
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Archaeological Survey in Aksaray (Cappadocia): a Preliminary Report Mehmet Tekocak
Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Letters, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey
the survey of the mounds in the region also support this view. Because many ceramic finds from the 2nd millennium B.C. (Colonian Age), the 1st millennium B.C. (Iron Age, Classical and Hellenistic Ages), and the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods were discovered by us in 2010, it can be said that Aksaray was continuously populated from the Neolithic to the present. However, the remains and finds in the city are mostly from the prehistoric, protohistoric and especially from the Byzantine period. I think the most important reason is that almost all the studies and excavations in Aksaray until now have covered these periods. In those studies, information on the Classical period and the later periods of Aksaray is usually only given a few sentences. The reason may be that there is almost no urban fabric from the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods that is related to our area of study, or that there is a tendency to think that way. This may have caused the researchers of this period to be indifferent or disinterested in the region.
Introduction In an area of calcareous volcanic tuff in the south-east of the Central Anatolia region, near the mid-Kızılırmak plateau and on the plain near the Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) basin, Aksaray is one of the cities where the oldest settlements of the region are found. Surrounded by Kırşehir, Nevşehir, Niğde, Ankara and Konya today (Fig. 1), the city is still one of the important crossroads in the country, as it was during all periods of history. In the Antique period it was one of the most important cities in all Cappadocia (Fig. 2). The now inactive volcanoes, Hasandağı and Melendiz, had an important role in the geological formation of the city. A wide area on the south and east parts of the city is covered with a tuff layer resulting from the compressed ash from the volcanoes. This made the area easy to excavate. As a result, a lot of underground cities and slope settlements were found in these parts of the city. Each year new settlements are being added to these.
The city which was called Garsaura in the period of the Persian invasion became dependent on the Cappadocian kingdom in the Hellenistic period. Archelaos, the last king of Cappadocia, which became independent in the time of Strabon, rebuilt the ancient city of Garsaura and gave it his own name Archelais. In this period Aksaray was one of the three most important cities in the area. With the death of Archelaos in A.D. 17, the Romans organised Cappadocia as a region and included it in the Empire. Thus Aksaray also became Roman. Claudius located Roman colonists here and then the city became known as ‘Colonia Archelais’.8 It is indicated that this name changed to ‘Taxara’ in the Byzantine period and the names ‘Aksera’ and ‘Aksara’ were used in the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. The present-day version, Aksaray, probably comes from this last change.9
When the Persians invaded this region, where Aksaray is also found, they named it Katpatouka. The name Cappadocia was used in later periods and the name Cappadocia used today must have derived from that name.1 The region is surrounded by the Taurus Mountains to the south, the Euphrates to the east, Pontus to the north, and Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) to the west.2 The only person to describe the characteristics of the region, Strabon, determines the borders of the region as being extremely wide and states that the area was surrounded by the Euphrates Valley (Malatya) to the east, Lykaonia to the west, and the Taurus Mountains to the south. The eastern Black Sea coast to the north is also a part of the region.3 Today Cappadocia is an area composed of Aksaray, Nevşehir, Niğde, Kayseri and Kırşehir.
The basis of our 2010 study was a series of field trips organised to investigate the region and to determine the steps to be taken in the following years. We made great efforts to visit as many places as possible and perform our studies. Our trips this year included the centre of Aksaray, Eskil and Ağaçören, and some towns and villages in these parts of the city (Fig. 1). During our researches prior to the field trips, we saw that most studies on Aksaray were mainly focused on the prehistoric, protohistoric and Byzantine periods. This is mostly because the cultural sites in the city are mainly from these periods. Especially the richness of the mounds and the under- and over-ground settlements carved into the rocks make this situation clearer. A similar situation is also seen in the abundance of ancient road remains or tracks from the Roman period, as Aksaray was a major crossroads on the ancient road.10
The most important characteristic of Cappadocia in terms of historical geography is that it is accepted as being the native land of the Hittites.4 Aksaray is also thought to have important Hittite settlements and remains as it is located in their native land.5 However, compared to the other settlements in the region Aksaray is quite poor in finds of Hittite artefacts.6 Perhaps even dating back to the Paleolithic, Aksaray certainly has links to the aceramic Neolithic Age from researches undertaken in the city. Aşıklı Höyük and Musular are the most important settlements in Aksaray from this period.7 Ceramic finds from For more information on Cappadocia, see Texier 2002: 3-121. Konyalı 1974: 130-31. 3 Konyalı 1974: 131; Strabon, XII, I, 1-4. 4 Gülçur 1995: 191-2. 5 Konyalı 1974: 121-6. 6 We did not come across any remains from that period in the regions we visited during our studies in 2010. For the Hittite remains in Aksaray, see Konyalı 1974: 125-126; Gülçur 1995: 192. 7 Aşıklı Höyük is the largest aceramic Neolithic settlement in central Anatolia and Musular is a flat settlement founded on the slope of natural 1 2
rocky ground similar to many other prehistoric settlements discovered in the survey in central Anatolia recently. For Aşıklı Höyük, see Esin 1992: 132-133; Özbaşaran and Endoğru 1998: 200; Esin and Başaran 2007: 255; For Musular, see Gülçur 1995: 193. 8 Konyalı 1975: 135; Hild and Restle 1981: 207; Ramsay 1960: 314. 9 Wittek 1970: 194, 225-6; for other information about city’s name, see Yörük 2005: 37-38. 10 Gülçur 1995: 193.
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SOMA 2011 Information on the Classical urban fabric, which is the subject of our study, is unfortunately almost non-existent compared to the other periods. The reason why we undertook this project was to fill in this gap and present the data to the scientific community. Finds from Ağaçören, and Akçakent in the central province, have caused excitement and high expectation for future studies.
Survey in the villages of the central province Ağzıkarahan Village There are two mounds in Ağzıkarahan village located 15km along the Aksaray-Nevşehir road. These are called locally Ağzıkarahan Höyük and Acıyer Höyük. However what makes Ağzıkarahan village better known today is the Ağzıkarahan Caravanserai from the Seljuk period.12
Survey in the centre and the central villages and towns11 The survey was performed in the centre of the city and in the towns of Taşpınar, Akçakent, Armutlu Towns and in the villages of Ağzıkarahan and Bebek in the central province (Fig. 1).
Ağzıkarahan Höyük The Ağzıkarahan Höyük is on the Gümüşlüpınar site, 3km away from the village. This site was named Gümüşlüpınar from the existence of a spring with the same name nearby. Located within an area where the villagers are engaged in agriculture, the mound is to the north of the Aksaray-Nevşehir highway and approximately 150-200m from the road. Almost half of the mound is still used agriculturally. There have been illegal excavations in the north and west parts of the mound and ceramic fragments and rubble stones were removed.
Survey on the borders of the city centre Bayram Baba Tepesi Höyüğü The Bayram Baba Tepesi Höyüğü is located on Street 3407 in the Bayrambaba area of the central province in Aksaray. Within the settlement area in the northern part of the city centre, the mound was raised and built over the natural rock. It is approximately 500m wide and 200m high. How this hill was interpreted as a mound and taken under protection is an interesting story. The municipality wanted to build a water tank on this hill. When the excavations for the building started, some wall remains and pieces of ceramics were found and thus the excavations were terminated and the idea of a water tank construction was abandoned. In 1992 it was declared to be an archaeological site of some importance and taken under protection. The tracks opened for the vehicles during the water tank construction can still be seen. The path starts on the eastern part of the mound and turns to the north and reaches the top. The top of the mound is mostly flat and there are some holes. Close to the top of the mound and on the southern slope there are the remains of a 26m wall made of rubble stone and lime. These architectural remains must have been the base or the filling of a building. The rest of those remains can also be partly seen on the west and northwest parts of the mound. The material used is rubble stone of varying sizes and limestone. The stones are limestone and andesite and there are some large pebble stones in the mortar. When the mortar was analysed, it was seen that while pure limestone was used in some parts, limestone mixed with coarse grained sand was preferred for some other parts. However, we could not determine the type of building the remains represented. Apart from the remains mentioned, there are also ceramic fragments from the Iron Age, Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Acıyer Höyük Acıyer Höyük is located on the Havutlu site at the entrance to Ağzıkarahan village, on the right side of the road. The west side of the mound and the top half of the northeast and south sides are used for agriculture and cultivated; only the eastern part is not used. Near the top there are some rubble stones, unrelated to any architectural remains and only appearing as a result of the cultivation of the field. These have no links to antiquity. However, a small number of ceramic fragments from the ancient period were discovered. Bebek Most of the village was built over the underground settlement and many modern houses use these rock-carved places under their houses as cellars, storage areas, etc. It was only possible to see this underground site with its ceiling collapsed in the uninhabited parts of the centre of the city. There are also two other mounds in the village: Bebek Höyük Bebek Höyük is to the west of the centre of the village and looks like a low hill. This area is known as the Ören site. On the east of the mound there is Kılavuz Hill. Although there are no architectural remains or finds on the surface, there are some Late Period ceramic fragments.
Aratol Höyük Although not as much as Bayram Baba Tepesi Höyüğü, Aratol Höyük is also within the city centre and located in the west part of the city on the Aksaray-Konya state highway. 200m wide and 10m high, the mound looks quite flat. Apart from the remains of two structures made of adobe and stone, thought to have been used as hovels, no other signs of structures have been found. The only archaeological material was a small but significant assemblage of ceramic fragments from the Hellenistic period.
Tepesidelik Höyük Tepesidelik Höyük is approximately 4km north of the village and around 30m south of the Aksaray-Nevşehir highway. Next to the mound there is Tepesidelik Khan, which became a tourist location of sorts after its restoration. It is 200m away from the khan. While no architectural remains were discovered on the surface, which is 160m in diameter and 5m high, some rubble
During our studies many underground sites were visited that were formed as a result of the karstic formation of the region. Our aim in this study was to record these places and to try to understand who lived here. We know that most of the underground cities in Aksaray have been analysed and introduced before and our account is a superficial one only. We also visited those places to compare our notes with the previous studies and add any previously unknown information, if any, or add any unknown places to these lists. However, we will not refer to these underground sites in this study. 11
According to two epigraphs found in the caravanserai which is in quite good condition; the construction started in 1231 and ended in 1239. Konyalı 1974: 1073. 12
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Mehmet Tekocak: Archaeological Survey in Aksaray stones of various sizes and ceramic fragments from different periods were seen. Most of the ceramics are from the Iron Age.
of the chamber is hollow, the elevation difference between this area and the dromoi is higher than usual and descending to the tomb chamber is quite difficult. Therefore, there is a platform stone at the entrance to the tomb chamber to make it easier to descend to the chamber from the entrance door. This made it possible to enter the tomb chamber using a single step. The tomb interior, whose depth from the surface cannot yet be determined, is quite cool because of the formation of the main rock; therefore this type of tomb and other underground places were used as cellars by the people of the region.14 These underground chamber tombs with their dromoi carved into the rock are common in various regions such as Cyprus, Cilicia, Karia and Pamphylia. The time span of their use is also wide. It is known that these tombs were used from the Geometric period to the end of Roman period, sometimes for single and sometimes for multiple burials. Unfortunately, no finds or burials were discovered in the tombs found in the region and this prevents us from determining precisely in which periods the Akçakent tombs were used.
Surveys in the towns of the central province Taşpınar Approximately 30km from the centre of the city, this town is to the west of the state highway. During our studies in the natural rocky area known as Ilbız Castle within the town we were unable to obtain any data that would help us determine whether this structure was indeed a castle. No manmade signs or interventions were seen on the rocks. The rock formation has the appearance of a stalagmite and contains a circular element, or at least we perceive it as circular. The large rocks in the area are of volcanic formation – conglomerate and basalt. Akçakent
İncesu (İncesu Höyük)
The town is 30km from the city centre and used to be in a valley surrounded by hills to the southwest of Hasandağı, but it was moved to its present location after a flood in 1992. Its present location is a flat area to the west of the highway connecting Aksaray and Niğde. Studies at Akçakent were among the fullest conduced this year.
İncesu is nearly 40km to the west of the city centre. Höyük, that has the same name as the town, is at Höyük Mevkii, which is 2km east of the city. Its height is nearly 30m, and its diameter is 300m. It was seen that there was a small series of wall remains and a few shapeless rubble stones on the mound. The most important information about the mound comes from the ceramic surface fragments. Unfortunately there are also unauthorized pits dug into the surface. From traces on the north slope it can be seen that there has been an attempt to cut a road up but it was abandoned. The ceramics found belong to the Bronze and Iron Ages, Hellenistic and Roman periods. Konyalı says that there is an antique road to the south of the town that continued to Akçekent and Gidiriş Mevkii.15
First we visited the Kepez underground ruins, whose excavation is being performed under the supervision of the Aksaray Museum Management. A small hill in the plains, the Kepez ruins are 35km from the centre of Aksaray and 3km from the centre of Akçaken, to the northwest of the town. During the excavations of the underground settlement, only a part of which has been cleared this year, some ceramic fragments found dated to the Byzantine period.
Armutlu
During the surveys around the underground city, some underground rock cut tombs were discovered (Fig. 3). Unfortunately as most of the tombs were filled with soil and debris, or not uncovered enough to supply us with data, we could not determine the type of the tomb. Many ceramic fragments, especially from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, were discovered on the surface at Kepez Mevkii. Apart from these there were also some fragments from the 2nd millennium and the Iron Age.13
The town is to the south-east of the city centre and the distance to the town centre is 29km. We conducted researches at three mounds and a quarry in this town. Başkillik Höyük Known as Killik Höyük, this site must have kept its original name. It lies among the residential units. After turning onto the side road from the main asphalt road running from the AksarayNiğde state highway to Armutlu, it is nearly 50m distant and on the right. Its width is almost 25m and the height is almost 23m. We saw that there were pits dug in some places on the tumulus. They, as with others, must have been dug during unauthorized excavations.
Another area of study was the Gidiriş Road site at Yenikent. Some underground rock-cut tombs and some other rock-carved underground sites, the uses of which cannot yet be determined, were found in different fields. These places are used by their owners today as cold stores, cellars and simple shelters. Some large blocks that were thought to have been parts of a significant structure, or structures now non-existent, now stand in front of the houses of the owners of these fields. Some of these blocks have been reused as a part of the boundary walls or as floorcovering material.
Rubble stones were found belonging to the region in some places on the surface, and ceramic fragments belonging to the Hellenistic and Roman periods. There are remains, probably used as a livestock pen, constructed of mud and rubble stones.
The underground rock-cut chamber tomb discovered next to the house of Bilal Yüksel on the Gidiriş Road is the example that presents us with the clearest data. This is an underground rock-cut tomb with dromoi (Fig. 4). There are three niches in the chamber. Only the narrow side facing the entrance has no niche. The centre
Hazine (Dokuzun) Höyük This site is located on the way to Aşağı Dokuzlar Mevkii, 8km from the west part of the town. Its height is 10m and extends over
Clearing these tombs in future years by the Museum Management will be important, as it will present the necropolises, burial traditions and tomb architecture of Aksaray. We hope the local authorities will pay attention to this situation and commence the necessary studies immediately. 13
14
etc. 15
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They store here their food for the winter – cheeses, olives, tomatoes, Konyalı 1974: 1994.
SOMA 2011 500m. We did not find anything except unauthorized excavation digs, large and small rubble stones, and ancient ceramic fragments. We collected samples from the surface of the höyük that dated to the Iron Age, Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Regarding the settlement area, the city gives the impression of resting on a plateau, with further development into the valley base and up the slopes. Today the remains from the valley floor are mostly covered: the visible parts are on the slopes. There are only church remains and associated walls in the valley base.
Çeşme Sırtı II Höyüğü
The most comprehensive study was carried out by German and Italian teams in the 1990s, and unfortunately there have been no further studies. Nora is a unique site with extensive historical links to the region.18
This site is on the rocky and high ground nearly 2km west of Armutlu town centre. Wall remains including huge block stones were seen at the illicit excavations. We found ceramic fragments from 2nd millennium B.C. to the Roman period.
Surveys in the area Eskil̇ district
Quarry Area?
Eskil, located south of Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake), is another important asset of the region, some 70km from Aksaray and 115km from Konya. The district, which was settled on a completely flat plain, is on the west side of Aksaray, and on the north of the historical Silk Road. From the various settlements and tumuli observed in the region, it is understood that it was well inhabited during the Early Bronze Age, Iron Age, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine period. The site also went by the name Eski İl or Eskiil in old sources, and took its current form later.19 The area where Eskil was originally settled is on the north side of the current residential unit, the location near Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) known as Gavurönü.20 Our 2010 researches in the district were exclusively carried out in the village of Böget.
A rock area was detected 3-4km east of Hazine (Dokuzun) Höyük and 400-500m north of the path to Armutlu and on the way to Körpınar Mevkii. Well-proportioned cavities were found on a huge basalt block, probably evidence of a quarry (Fig. 5). There is no clear proof of this but similar traces of stone quarries belonging to the ancient city have been found in different parts of Anatolia. As there are no remains around our site it is impossible to detect when it was used. Helvadere This site is one of the important towns of Aksaray with natural water sources. The town, situated on the northern slopes of Hasandağı, one of the extinct volcanoes of Aksaray, is 30km southeast of the city centre. The ancient and protected site of Nora (Viranşehir, see below), shown on local maps, is in a very poor state of conservation and therefore our researches were devoted to this area.
Böget The name of the village comes from Böget, which means ‘barrage’ or waterfront construction. Moreover the village is famous for its watermills.21 We conducted our researches on the village at Böget Höyük and the necropolis area. In addition we studied the ancient materials built into and around the village mosque.
Nora (Viranşehir)
Böget Höyük
The ancient city was established on the north slope of Hasandağı. It is situated within the boundaries of Helvadere town (Fig. 6). The city was established in a protected position in the mountainous setting and was used as a typical military shelter. Looking at the photographs in Konyalı’s book, it was understood that the remains of the ancient city were more extensive, but due to local indifference, it has been gradually exposed to serious destruction.16 It is stated that there were 900-1000 social buildings, 15-20 churches (Fig. 7) in the city, probably established in the 6th century A.D. The city, a Byzantine settlement in fact, was established on a necropolis of the Roman period. It is possible to see traces and remains belonging to both the Roman and Byzantine periods; however it also possible that the city dated back to the Hellenistic period.
Böget is 10km from the district centre and Eşmekaya Town, 12km from Sultanhanı and 50km from Aksaray. The village is on the north side of Eşmekaya and south of the Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake). Böget Höyük is within the residential area of the village, and represents in reality the village centre (Fig. 8). It is oval in shape with an approximate height of 28m and a diameter of 200-250m. Our comprehensive examinations on the tumulus produced no architectural remains. There were only independent, large and smoothly-cut block stones to the west. We could not determine whether these block stones, possibly pertaining to a monumental building, were originally in the tumulus or elsewhere. A large amount of ceramic fragments was encountered however on the mound’s surface. Most of these were found on the south, southwest, and southeast sides of the mound. These ceramic fragments consisted mainly of sherds from the Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age and Hellenistic periods.
Today the site is in need of care. Of the old churches, only three could be seen during our investigations. They were originally fine structures, of magnificent stone craftsmanship. Other architectural items included tombs of the Roman period and houses17 with one or two rooms fashioned of ‘cyclopean’ masonry. Of the tombs, some were vaulted and completely built of well-proportioned block stones, and others more simply carved from the bedrock. Despite some fine stone craftsmanship with the religious architecture, the social buildings and other units were casually constructed.
Other Researches in Böget At the village mosque it was determined that the re-used materials pertained to Late Antiquity and were used in the main outer In 2010 we made a one-day research excursion to make a brief assessment at Nora. In December 2010 our team submitted a proposal for a large-scale study of the site and we hope we may get the necessary support to further investigate this important ancient city. 19 Konyalı 1974: 1889. 20 Konyalı 1974: 1889. 21 Konyalı 1974: 1853. 18
Konyalı 1974: 1952-1960. For more information on Nora, see Berger 1996: 109-126; Berger 1997: 27-36, fig.1-5; Equini Schneider 1996: 17-19, fig.6-12. 16 17
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Mehmet Tekocak: Archaeological Survey in Aksaray walls. The mosque itself is historical and probably underwent large-scale restoration work. Plinths, also Late Antique, were found in the mosque’s courtyard and are now exhibited in the museum’s garden.
Hacıahmetli Tepeköy During our survey we noted illegal excavation pits in an arable field approximately 1km southeast of Hacıahmetli Tepeköy. Part of a sarcophagus was revealed, one half of which was still under the earth inside the largest of these pits (Fig. 14). The sarcophagus, made from a local limestone block, was approximately 0.75m below the surface. From what we could reach, its visible length, width, interior length, interior width, and depth are respectively 2.27m, 1.05m, 1.91m, 0.74m, and 0.47m. Formless large stones observed in the area surrounding the tomb, were lined up so as to encircle the area. Ceramic fragments and bone pieces, reportedly taken out from the tomb (east-west), were located just beside the sarcophagus. Three pieces, also said to have been taken out from this pit during excavation, were also left around the tomb. The top surfaces of these were profiled, and probably had been used as tomb covers.
In the area thought to be a Roman necropolis,22 located a little outside of the village, approximately 200m east of Böget Höyük, we saw long, fine and rough tombstones in the form of blocks or tiles (Fig. 9). Unfortunately no epigraphs or motifs appeared on these stelea, therefore it was impossible to provide dates. Overall there was no immediate evidence that could give us dating information for the cemetery without excavations. Ağaçören district The province, located 81km north of the central district of Aksaray, is the settlement where we determined the most important finds of this season’s research.
One further piece of altar was unearthed from the smaller-sized excavation pit, located 3m northwest of the illegal excavation pit where the sarcophagus trough was discovered.24 The altar height, width and average thickness, in its current situation, are respectively 1.09m, 0.60m, and 0.27m. The tomb and altar in question are thought to date to the Roman period.
A marble stele is protected within the garden of the Gendarmerie in the district’s centre. On the front face of the rectangular block there is an inscription of 7 lines, and one stylized bucranium above and two vine leaves ornament below. Based on a parallel dated to the 3rd century A.D., it is understood that it was erected in memory of Dade23 (Fig. 10).
Kederli
Taşkale
There are many lower and smaller rocky outcrops to the north and west of Taşkale. We discovered what we considered to be a burial chamber/rock-tomb on one of these features.
We determined a rock-cut tomb at the Harman Yeri Mevkii in Kederli village, which is associated with the Ağaçören. The entrance of the tomb, carved in the 5m-high volcanic rock face, is to the south (Fig. 15). The ceiling of the square-formed burial chamber is vaulted. Terraces, located high above ground level, were created before the north and east walls of the entrance to the burial chamber (Fig. 16). Traces of intense destruction and broken fragments were observed in the entrance and at the northwest corner of the burial chamber. Unfortunately no finds were made inside and around the burial chamber and thus we were not able to determine the age of the tomb and the funerary status. Similar to the Taşkale rock-cut tomb, we believe the Kederli rock-tomb is Roman, taking into consideration the frequency of these types of vaulted tomb architecture in Anatolia.
Taşkale Rock-Cut Tomb
Yağmurhüyüğü
The above rock-cut tomb is approximately 40m north of Taşkale. This tomb has the form of a vaulted chamber tomb (Fig. 13). The entrance of the burial chamber is eastward and the height and width of the door aperture are respectively 1.38m and 1.29m. The upper part of the entrance is constructed in an arched form. An ornate appearance was added to the entrance by profiling the edges. The dimensions of the burial chamber are 2.95 x 2.50m and it is 1.44m high. Niches were carved in all the walls inside the burial chamber, except for the short wall where the entrance is located. The average height of the niches from the observed ground is 0.43m. The measurements of the destroyed north niche could not be taken, while the widths of the terraces are 1m and 0.94m respectively for the west terrace and south terrace. Although were unable to pass judgment on the age of the tomb because of the lack of finds, our tomb presumably belongs to the Roman period.
Yağmurhüyüğü is 15km from Ağaçören and 75km from Aksaray. We can divide our researches there into two categories. The first, and most comprehensive, was an investigation into the re-used materials located in the village centre. The second phase focused on the tumulus. However, since the tumulus was covered with intense vegetation we were unable to perform detailed work and we had to leave the höyük without obtaining much data.
The site is approximately 3km southwest of Ağaçören (Fig. 11). The name Taşkale (Rock Castle) relates of course to the local terrain. The rock mass, towering in the mountainous territory, was probably was left isolated following volcanic explosions. There is a rectangle-shaped shallow hole on the hill’s surface, which is possibly a press/treading floor, or collecting pool (Fig. 12). The pit’s dimensions are 2.30 x 1.70 m, and it is 0.25m deep. There was apparently another rectangular hollow on the north side (2.36 x 1.70m and 0.70m deep). Its function is unclear.
Other Materials in the Village Centre25 The head of the village told us that all the architectural materials we determined during our investigations (see below) were taken from the site located at the end of the south slope of Yağmurhöyüğü. He informed us that these remains were revealed during excavations made on the tumulus to make room for the mosque. This can only be confirmed by systematic The excavations here were halted after the apprehension of some robbers, but they have not been completed at the date of this paper. 25 I would like to thank my friends Associate Prof. Bilal Söğüt and researcher Zeliha Gider for their invaluable information and contributions to this material. 24
Ayçin, Salman et al. 2010: 255. 23 I would like to thank Assoc. Prof. Dr. Burak Takmer, who kindly read the epigraph on this tomb stele. He will be a part of our future research team and will publish the epigraphic material. 22
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SOMA 2011 excavations. We found these architectural materials by the wall of a deserted house, in the garden of a mosque, and in a balcony of an inhabited house. We found ‘sword-’ or ‘cross-ornamented’ smooth rectangular blocks and shafts of columns pertaining to the Roman period or Late Antiquity among the determined architectural pieces. Also found were an Ionian marble capital and a cornice block; important finds as they can provide dating evidence.
The style characteristics of Ionian kymation and bead-and-reel demonstrate that the cornice block was constructed between A.D. 160 and 180. Ionic Capital (Fig. 18) The capital was used as the base for a wooden post on the balcony of one of the village houses. The abacus part of the capital, located in reverse on the concrete, is not visible. The dimensions of the marble capital of Ionian order are 0.57 x 0.45m, and its thickness is 0.22m. The upper parts of the volutes and the egg in the middle are broken. The Ionic cymatium at the echinus is three-legged. The volutes are side-banded, and one corner palmette starts from the corners where the echinus and canalis join from the outer side-band. The volutes have three curves. The front side of the capital, with its laterally engraved triple Ionic cymatium, may be included in Group E of Bingöl’s classification.37
Cornice Block (Fig. 17) We learned that the cornice block lying in the garden of the head of the village was brought from the area named Karaca, located to the east of the village. We found no other structural remains, other than rubble stones, in our examinations here, and it is possible that this artifact was brought from somewhere else, or that the claims of the village head are inaccurate. The dimensions of this block are 0.88 x 0.81m and 0.39m thick. It must come from the cornice part of an upper structure of Corinthian or Composite order. There are broken pieces at the edges. Dentil-work was added under the geison. A Lesbos-type kymation was carved onto the passage from the dentil to the geison, and a single acanthus leaf was engraved on the lower surfaces of the corbels. The three tapered sides between the corbels are restricted with Ionian-type kymation so as to include the front parts of the corbels. A passion-flower motif appears on one of the visible tapered surfaces, and a Medusa’s head is illustrated on the other. An astragal profile, whose surface is engraved with a pearl chaplet, appears on the passage from the geison to the sima. Since the sima part of the block was trimmed, the shape of the profile could not be determined. However, from the existing traces it is understood that vegetation decoration was engraved on the sima.
On the side of the capital, a balteus, which has the shape of a belt tightening the object from the middle, was created on both sides with no limit-band. A leaf with two thorns on each side and a single thorn in the middle was selected for the balteus. This leaf form, not appearing in Bingöl’s classification is the reflection of a regional application.38 A horizontal floral-leaf motif similar to an acanthus leaf, and ending with moderately sharp thorns was engraved on one side of the capital and is similar to Bingöl Type XI.39 The fact that the capital is marble is very important since it shows the associated building’s significance in the locality and its monumentality. It may be dated to the second half of the 2nd century A.D. by means of its stylistic characteristics – the Ionic cymatium and the floral ornamental engraving.40 Conclusion
The style of the Ionian kymation is contemporary with that of the Sagalassos Upper Agora Nymphaeum,26 the Kremna Propylon,27 the Side Theatre,28 and the Perge F2 Nymphaeum29 and Propylon.30
In the season represented in this paper our researches extended over 20 days. During this period we carried out works in three districts, eight towns and eight villages, in addition to the central district. The majority of our research was made on tumuli, while our other works were undertaken at one quarry, approximately ten underground and surface rock-tombs, and the ancient city of Nora. In addition we also visited selected underground cities in the regions, justifying the following words of the 19th-century traveller F. Sarre: ‘Aksaray experienced its golden age during the Byzantine and Seljuk eras”.41
The bead-and-reel engraved on the passage from the geison to the sima consists of two pearls and one long bead. The application of this chaplet known as Lykia-Pamphylia-type, may be interpreted as a reflection of regional interaction.31 The style of the pearlchaplet is similar to the style of the Sagalassos Upper Agora Nymphaeum,32 the Side Theatre33 and M Building,34 the Kremna Marcus Aurelius Temple35 and the Aspendos Nymphaeum36 pearl chaplets. Drill was heavily used when carrying out the decorations in question. It suggests that the cornice block could come from a monumental building with an imposing appearance.
In the researches we carried out, we unfortunately observed that Aksaray does not possess a rich cultural heritage concerning the periods falling within the scope of our fieldwork – in other words, indications of rich urban fabric, architectural advances, and materials possibly belonging to these did not survive into our day. Thus the remains and finds from Ağaçören and Akçakent, as mentioned above, were the most noteworthy in this year’s research. Further finds may well materialize and particularly the architectural pieces from Yağmurhüyüğü may well herald an ancient city that was home to very important architectural
Vandeput 1997: 100-105, Pl. 46.1-5, 47.1-2. Mitchell 1995: 107-108, Pl. 48. 28 Mansel 1958, Fig. 19; Mansel 1963: 138. 29 Mansel 1975a: 65; Mansel 1975b: 368-369. 30 Mansel 1975a: 65. 31 In the ‘bead-and-reel’ design, used with ‘egg and tongue’, the compositions are generally regular and non-regular. The style developed from the Late Antonine period and was universally popular in Anatolia from around 130 A.D., particularly in Lykia and Pamphylia (Karaosmanoğlu 1996: 57, Lev. 22 a-b, 23 a-b, 24 a-b, 25 a, 27 a-b, 28 b, 29 a). 32 Vandeput 1997: 100-105, Pl. 44.3-4, 46.1-5. 33 Mansel 1963: fig. 111. 34 Vandeput 1997: Pl. 116.1-4. 35 Mitchell 1995; 108-09, Pl. 49-51. 36 Hörmann 1929: 269-73; Kramer 1983: 154-8. 26 27
Bingöl 1980, 36-7, Taf. 17-19. A similar one to the leaf observed on the balteus part of the capital is observed on another capital discovered in Manisa Akhisar, and dated to the 2nd century A.D. (see Bingöl 1980: Taf. 28/10). 39 Bingöl 1980: 91-6, Taf. 28/3, 10. 40 For similar examples, see Bingöl 1980: Taf. 15. For the stone displayed in the Konya Archaeology Museum, see Mert 2002: 249-251, Fig. 5-8. 41 Sarre 1998: 113. 37 38
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Mehmet Tekocak: Archaeological Survey in Aksaray Konyalı, İ.H., 1974, Aksaray Tarihi I-II, Abideleri ve Kitabeleri ile Niğde, İstanbul. Kramer, J. (1983) Zu einigen Architekturteilen des Grabtempels westlich von Side, BJb 183, 145-166. Mansel, A.M., 1958, 1946-1955 Yıllarında Pamphylia’da Yapılan Kazılar ve Araştırmalar, Belleten 22, 214-240. Mansel, A.M., 1963, Die Ruinen von Side, Berlin. Mansel, A.M., 1975, Bericht über Ausgrabungen und Untersuchungen in Pamphylien in den Jahren 1957-1972, AA, 49-96. Mansel, A.M., 1975, Die Nymphaeen von Perge, IstMitt 25, 367372. Mert, İ.H., 2002, Konya Arkeoloji Müzesi’ndeki Ion Başlıkları, S.Ü. Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi-8, 247-269. Mitchell, S., 1995, Cremna in Pisidia. An ancient City in Peace and War, Chippenham. Özbaşaran, M. and Endoğru, M., 1998, Musular Mevkii (Aksaray İli) Araştırma ve Kazı Projesi, 1996, XV, AST.II, 199-217. Ramsay, W.M., Anadolu’nun Tarihi Coğrafyası, (trans. M.Pektaş), İstanbul. Sarre, F., 1998, Küçük Asya Seyahati, 1895 Yazı, Selçuklu Sanata ve Ülkenin Coğrafyası Üzerine Araştırmalar (trans. D.Çolakoğlu), İstanbul. Strabon, Antik Anadolu Coğrafyası (Geographika: XII-XIIIXIV), (trans. A.Pekman), İstanbul, 1993. Texier, C., 2002, Küçük Asya. Coğrafyası, Tarihi ve Arkeolojisi, III, (trans. A. Suat), Ankara. Vandeput, L., 1997, The Architectural Decoration in Roman Asia Minor. Sagalassos: a Case Study, SEMA I. Yörük, D., 2005, XVI. Yüzyılda Aksaray Sancağı (1500-1584), Konya.
structures belonging to the 2nd century A.D. and found within the borders of Aksaray. In terms of ceramic finds, we frequently encountered samples relevant to our period virtually everywhere we visited. While the rock-cut tombs we explored contained no finds, we nevertheless believe that they are important in terms of determining the typology of the city’s tombs. Abbreviations and bibliography ayçin, F., Salman, Ş., et al., 2010, Aksaray Kültür Envanteri (Merkez-Ağaçören-Eskil-Gülağaç-Ortaköy-Sarıyahşi). Berger, A., 1996, Survey In Viranşehir (Mokisos), XIII. AST.II, 109-126. Berger, A., 1997, Survey In Viranşehir (Mokisos), XIV. AST.I, 27-41. Bingöl, O., 1986, Das Ionische Normalkapitell in Hellenistischer und Römischer Zeit in Kleinasien, IstMitt Beih. 20. Equini Schneider, E., 1996, Classical Sites in Anatolia: 1994 Archaeological Survey in Cappadocia, XIII. AST.I, 15-33. Esin, U., 1992, 1990 Aşıklı Höyük Kazısı (Kızılkaya KöyüAksaray İli), XIII. KST.I, 131-153. Esin, U. and Harmankaya, S., 2007, Aşıklı Höyük, in M.Özdoğan, N.Başgelen (ed.) Türkiye’de Neolitik Dönem, 255-272, İstanbul.Gülçur, S., 1995, Aksaray, Niğde ve Nevşehir İlleri 1993 Yüzey Araştırması, XII. AST, 191-213. Hild, F. and Restle, M. (1981) Kappadokien (Kappadokia, Charsianın, Sebasteia und Lykandos), Tabula Imperii Byzantini 2, Wien Hörmann, H., 1929, Das Nymphäum zu Aspendos, Jdl 44, 263274. Karaosmanoğlu, M., 1996, Roma Çağı Yumurta Dizisi, Erzurum.
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Fig. 1: Aksaray and the survey area
Fig. 2: Cappadocia
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Fig.3: Rock-cut tomb, Kepez Mevkii, Akçakent
Fig.6: Nora: general view from north
Fig.4: Rock-cut tomb, Gidiriş Mevkii, Akçakent
Fig.7: Nora: church ruins
Fig.5: Quarry Area (?), Armutlu
Fig.8: Böget Höyük
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Fig.9: Necropolis, Böget Village
Fig.11: Taşkale
Fig.12: Press/treading floor or collecting pool, Taşkale
Fig.10: Stele, Ağaçören
Fig.13: Taşkale, rock-cut tomb
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Fig.14: Sarcophagus and excavation area, Hacıahmetli Tepeköy
Fig. 17: Cornice block, Yağmurhüyüğü
Fig. 15: Rock-cut tomb, Kederli
Fig.18: Ionic capital, Yağmurhüyüğü
Fig.16: Rock-cut tomb, Kederli
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Ancient Monuments between Research and Development: the Theatre of Kyme (Turkey) Stefania Mancuso
University of Calabria, Rende (CS), Italy, Department of Archaeology and History of Art
This contribution focuses on one of the most significant monuments of the city of Kyme in Turkey, outlining the characteristics and peculiarities within the larger panorama of theatre in Asia Minor. Although known since the beginning of the 20th century, the systematic investigations carried out in recent years are leading to an understanding of the theatre, through an ever-better defined architectural, typological and chronological basis and with a diachronic analysis of its dynamic structure. As well as archaeological analysis, as the theatre today is a strong focus for current thinking on visitor appreciation of such monuments, it also addresses the question of how the building presents some hypotheses on the perception and understanding of the monument by today’s visitors to the site and within the broader context of city improvements.
cavea, even, and in spite of any preordained urban organization of space;5 alternatively the presence of orchestra pits exceeding the semicircle is not exclusive evidence of Hellenistic systems.6
Introduction
The theatre at Kyme is located in the northern part of the city on the southwestern side of the north hill (Fig. 1).8 Its discovery was made by Salač and Nepomucký in 1925. Following field trips (Fig. 2) they identified the location of the theatre without having the opportunity to investigate it, as is apparent in the Cronique de fouilles published in the same year.9
If, therefore, an attempt to classify all the theatres appears to be difficult, it seems far more profitable to review structures within the vicissitudes of urban centres from which they have emanated, in which these theatrical structures take on specific meaning and value and even the individual adjustments and reorganization of these structures, in response to a more general change of taste for theatrical events,7 are closely linked to the political and cultural developments of a given city. The history of research
The great diffusion of theatres in Asia Minor, beginning in the Hellenistic period and intensifying during the Roman era,1 records the existence of more than 100 theatre buildings, four of which are in Eolis alone. This remarkable documentary evidence encompasses a great variety of types, as is clear from the work of De Bernardi,2 who has essentially provided the only attempt to organize and classify the theatre buildings of this region. Recently an analytical census3 refocuses attention on the need to set up a wider systematic study of theatres in Turkey as a whole and facing the need to recognize the problems linked with this type of building as a result of the diversity involved.
Schäfer10 and Knoblauch drew a second map (Fig. 3) with the new measurements of the theatre, and the latter in particular11 conjectured the presence of seven semi-circular walls, which had to serve as a support for the steps, divided into twenty wedgelike sections (Fig. 4). This hypothesis appeared mistaken to Ondřejová, following his research on this theatrical structure as part of the results of the Czechoslovak expedition of 1980.12 Ondřejová proposed a maximum diameter of 65m, an orchestra pit circumference diameter of 25m and a 13m difference between the highest and the lowest points, and ranked the Kyme theatre with that of Termessos.
As Pierre Gros warns, ‘It would be futile to expect to identify the common features of a given chronological period, which is moreover difficult to establish since the theatres of the main cities, such as Ephesus and Miletus have undergone various phases of construction and extension, sometimes up to the 3rd century AD.’4 However a comprehensive
Since 1982, the research of the Italian Archaeological Mission, directed by Prof. Sebastiana Lagona of the University of Catania, has focused its attention on different areas of the theatre – the orchestra pit, the cavea and the stage – with the aim of understanding the monument both chronologically and architecturally. The results of this research have been published in various reports on the activities of the Italian Archaeological Mission.13
study of the theatrical buildings in Turkey could furnish useful elements for an overall vision of this particular type of structure, subject to the fashions of the time and local traditions. All of this should be considered in the light of the role played by Asia Minor in the Roman era in terms of assimilation/ dissemination/rejection of the criteria and western ways which did not affect the customs of building cities in Asia Minor, or, as with some theatres built in Roman times, the construction methods used in the Greek era, for example the possibility of exploiting the natural slope of the hill for the construction of the
See the theatre of Hierapolis. See the theatres of Termessos, Ephesus, Lymyra, Myra, Side, Salagasso. 7 Robert 1971. 8 Taliano Grasso 2008 for such construction problems. 9 Salač 1925: 478. 10 Schäfer 1974: 212. 11 Knoblauch 1974: 289. 12 Ondřejová 1980: 110. 13 For previous research see Lagona 1993: 26; Lagona 1999: 14-15; Lagona 2004: pp. 6-8; Lagona 2005: 26-27. 5 6
For a general scheme compare Moretti 1992:9-32; fand Gros 2001: 333-337. 2 De Bernardi Ferrero 1966-1974. 3 Isler 1994: 347-534; finally Yilmaz 2009. 4 Gros 2001: 334. 1
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SOMA 2011 provided with a series of tanks. In this rearrangement two blocks of Doric frieze were re-used, perhaps relating to the previous stage building.
New research on the theatre Since 200614 new impetus for research in this area has given rise to investigations which have focused on the building of the stage and the orchestra pit, which are usually those parts of the theatre more subject to the fashions of the times, and therefore those that record major changes.
The orchestra pit floor was covered with marble slabs in a pavement that supported the new pulpitum and re-used tiles with Greek inscriptions.17 When the building was no longer used for performances, a terraced platform was built overlooking the paving of the east parodos (Fig. 10), this could be due to the reorganization of the area for defensive purposes. Later, the orchestra pit area was occupied by three small craft facilities which were involved in lime production, two of which are still plainly visible (Figs. 11 and 12).
The first activities which were carried out, taking account the accumulated knowledge and research to date, were directed at producing a precise stratigraphic inspection which led to the recovery of interesting data on the planimetric design of the orchestra pit and stage, and the transformation of the theatre over the centuries.15 Two phases are now visible in the areas under investigation. The first corresponds with a semicircular orchestra pit, with a 24m diameter delimited by a channel of the euripo (Fig. 5), beyond which the cavea was to be developed, with the present state of knowledge it is not possible to theorize on its internal organization.
Appreciation of the theatre within the park Since Prof. Antonio La Marca, of the University of Calabria has assumed direction of the Mission, based on the data available, the archaeological issues of the monument have been re-appraised and reconsidered with a view to the appreciation of the theatre and the site in its complexity.18
This phase coincided with a stage building (Fig. 6) with a regular plan 20.40m long and 6.45m wide, of which the foundations remain, built with 3 courses of andesite blocks (Fig. 7) linked with dovetailing joints (Fig. 8). The stage building was preceded by a stage 4.35m wide, with the wall of the pulpitum in marble, made more monumental by its 12 columns between two pillars with a square base, of which there is a trace in the plan excavated in the stylobate. A large paved area supporting the stage building was developed behind it, and connected in some manner with a shared gutter.
The wider archaeological landscape is made up of remains and ruins, representing a region where ancient activities ceased and the features were reutilized haphazardly over time into an ‘active node’,19 extended in a diachronic and synchronic way within today’s leisure park. The park’s development and construction project must respond to individual exigencies and its own environment in order to exploit the potential relationship of all the elements of a system to which the material signs of antiquity belong.
In the second phase, a transformation of the theatre is witnessed; this is not unusual for ancient theatres and is attested to at other sites, e.g. Myra, Miletus, Ephesus and Side. The orchestra pit, expanded at the expense of three rows of steps of the cavea, with a 31m diameter, was transformed into an arena which could also be used as a colimbetra, filled with water for water games, a fashion widespread from the 4th century onwards and strongly criticized by Giovanni Crisostomo.16
The combination of archaeology and the environment shows a methodology in the construction of such leisure parks, defining them as outdoor museums.20 The overall idea is the realization of an appropriate system to enhance the ‘readability’ and understanding of the various elements that constitute the area as a whole, aiming primarily at the fact that the archaeological park, more than a museum, enjoys the advantage of bringing the visitor into a direct physical reality, on a scale of 1 to 1, even though very often the site itself is a collection of ruins or foundations.
The expansion of the orchestra pit was paved with stone blocks placed radially (Fig. 9), in which there were alternating square blocks with a central hole used to fit an additional protective wooden fence that ran in front of the balteus. The space for the performances was defined by the balteus, which creates a higher means of separation for the spectators and above which would probably have been a protective mobile barrier, as evidenced by holes in the first row of blocks. Walls made of blocks, in a curved progression, closed the parodoi and joined the analemmata to the sides of the pulpitum.
Normally the visiting public to archaeological parks are averagely educated and do not always have the interpretative tools to comprehend what is perfectly clear to the experts and archaeologists in this case. We must therefore ensure that the various features of the archaeological park, which are part of a whole, are related through the aid of illustrative and educational material and signage, to promote what the British call public interpretation.21
The balteus was waterproofed with hydraulic cement and then covered with slabs of marble, as evidenced by the mounting holes for the nails. The pulpitum was also waterproofed by dismantling and moving the columns forward. The door, which was in the centre, was made smaller and the two central columns were moved to the sides. The hyposcenium was filled in and later
How to appreciate the theatre
Since 2004 a new research group has been formed directed by Prof. Giorgio Bejor of the University of Milan and Dr Stefania Mancuso of the University of Calabria. Based on a defined programme, research activities have been resumed aimed at the understanding of the building for performances and also its development. 15 Bejor 2008: 106-107. 16 Giovanni Crisostomo, Homilia in Mathaeum.
18
With this in mind work has been done on the theatre in 2008 and 2009,22 while gaining an understanding of the archaeological monument, some activities have been carried out with the aim of Manganaro 2004: 49-54. For a methodological approach, Mancuso 2005. 19 Brandi 1963: 53-61. 20 For problems connected with archaeological Parks, Francovich and Zifferero 1999. 21 Antinucci 2004. 22 Capuzzo 2009. The results of the 2009 excavations are now in press at the time of writing. 17
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Stefania Mancuso: Ancient Monuments between Research and Development enhancing the building and improving its perception by the public. In fact, with the Kyme theatre we are confronted with one of the most interesting theatres in Turkey in terms of its chronology; it is probably one of the oldest theatres, but its monumental value has often been undermined. Indeed, in its present state the structure is perceptible from the concave shape of the slope used for the construction of the cavea and the semi-circumference of the orchestra pit. More difficult to appreciate are the stage building, of which only the foundations remain, and the comprehensive development of the building for performances and above all the relationship between this construction for public destination and the area of the city.
A micro-relief of the areas of interest will be produced, and the scanning will be done with 3D laser scanners for a reliable rendering of the buildings concerned. Virtual restoration will be done on this model, starting with the actual items on the ground, both in terms of the foundation elements still in situ and the many, but very fragmentary, architectural elements belonging to the stage building (Fig. 18). Based on data now available (Fig. 19) a suggestion for a possible development of the cavea has been put forward, using the measurements of the blocks found in the rubble and the anomalies present on the ground. This possibility of visualizing the theatre ruins already provides an idea of its monumentality and, above all, lends itself well to showing the most characterizing aspects of the building for performances, i.e. the transformations from a place for theatrical performances (Fig. 20) to a place for munera and water games (Fig. 21).
Presenting the theatre means on the one hand showing the structure and the relative transformations it has undergone over time, imagining the building as being dynamic and thus subject to the evolution of public taste for performances and the historic aspects of the city, while on the other hand placing the monument within the urban context in antiquity, in which it was designed and built.
Bibliography Antinucci, F. (2004). Comunicare nel museo, Roma-Bari, Editori La Terza. Barceló, J. Forte, M. and Sanders, D. H. (eds.) (2000). Virtual reality in Archaeology, BAR International Series, 843, Oxford. Bejor, G. (2008). Le trasformazioni della città antica. Dalle campagne di scavo della cattedra di Archeologia e storia dell’arte greca dell’università degli studi di Milano nel 2006 Acme, 102, 95-114. Brandi, C. (1963). Teoria del restauro, Torino, Einaudi. Capuzzo, D. (2009). Kyme Eolica: campagna di scavo 2008 Lanx. Rivista della scuola di specializzazione dell’Università di Milano, 3. De Bernardi Ferrero, D. (1966-1974). Teatri classici in Asia Minore, Voll. I-IV, Roma, Erma di Bretschenaider. Francovich, R. and Zifferero, A. (eds.) (1999). Musei e Parchi Archeologici. IX ciclo di lezioni sulla ricerca applicata in Archeologia. Certosa di Pontignano (Siena) 15-21 Dicembre 1997, Firenze, Edizioni all’Insegna del Giglio. Gros, P. (2001). L’architettura romana. Dagli inizi del III secolo a.C. alla fine dell’Alto Impero. I monumenti pubblici, trad. it, Milano, Longanesi. Isler, P. H. (1994). Turchia IN Ciancio Rossetto P. and Pisani Sartorio G. edd. Teatri greci e romani. Alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato, III, Rome, Edizioni Seat. Knoblauch, P. (1974). Eine neue topographische Aufnahme des Stadtgebietes von Kyme in der Ӓolis Archӓologischer Anzeiger, pp. 285-291. Lagona, S. (1993). Kyme eolica: fonti, storia, topografia Cronache di Archeologia, 23, 19-33. Lagona, S. (1999). Le ricerche a Kyme eolica Aitna, 3, 7-19. Lagona, S. (2004). Kyme alla luce delle nuove scoperte IN Lagona, S. ed. Studi su Kyme Eolica II, 3-16, Catania. Lagona, S. (2005). Kyme d’Eolide. La prima città degli Eoli sulla costa anatolica, Catania. Mancuso, S. (2005). Per una metodologia per la valorizzazione dei beni Archeologici: analisi e prospettive in Calabria, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino. Manganaro, G. (2004). Nuove iscrizioni greche di Kyme: tra il dinasta Philetairos e un imperatore romano damnatus (Caracalla ?) IN Lagona, S. ed. Studi su Kyme Eolica II, 4954. Moretti, J. -Ch. (1992). L’architecture des théatres en Asie Mineure (1980-1989) Topoi, 2, 9-32.
A double strategy was therefore undertaken in order to present the theatre. First of all the central part of the orchestra pit, in which there was a large mound of rubble, was emptied, revealing the whole perimeter of the balteus, fully preserved, and the remainder of the floor paving relative to the extension of the orchestra (Fig. 13). At the moment, studies carried out on the cavea area have excluded the ability of being able to trace the seating blocks in situ; some of these blocks were recovered intact, or partially preserved, in the rubble (Figs. 14 and 15). The fieldwork, aimed at direct knowledge of the monument, was supported by work in virtual elaboration to promote understanding of the monument and its constructive specificities. This second aspect was considered within the context of specific proposals for the enhancement of the theatre, solicited by the local community, who are pressing for its reconstruction, a widely practised activity in Turkey, and for its re-use.23 To try to meet these demands, it has been attempted to use a methodology that could eventually lead to an informed, experienced and well-founded reconstruction, i.e. it has been decided to define a possible reconstruction project concept through a virtual application, based on the site and what it currently offers to the visiting public. Particularly, it was decided to adapt a virtual application,24 not only for the presentation of a partially preserved building, but also to use the virtual as a scientific method of analysis and reflection leading to a possible reconstruction project. We are still at an early stage, but a digital model (DTM) (Fig. 16) has already been developed with photorealistic features derived from satellite orthophotos, in order to see the specific physical aspects of the site (Fig. 17). This will lend itself to a range of uses from simple static display to the possibility of exploring the landscape through special virtual film. Within this model 3D calculations will be inserted, with axonometric projections and perspectives of the most significant points of the individual monuments. 23 24
Ortolani 2004: 545-553. Barceló, Forte and Sanders (eds.) 2000.
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SOMA 2011 Schäfer, J. (1974) Zur topographie von Kyme. IN Bouzek, J. ed. Kyme I. Anatolian Collection of Charles University, Universita Karlova, Praga Taliano Grasso, A. (2008). Il santuario della Kourotrophos a Kyme eolica, Rossano, Grafosud. Yilmaz, Y. (2009). Anadolu Antik Tiyatrolari, Istanbul, YEM Yayin.
Ondřejová, I. (1980). The Theatre. IN Bouzek, J. Kostomitsopoulos, P. et al. (eds.), Kyme II. The results of the czechoslovak expedition, Universita Karlova, Praga. Ortolani, G. Teatri antichi: riuso e valorizzazione Scienze dell’Antichità, 545-553. Robert, L. (1971). Le gladiateurs dans l’Orient Grec, II ed., Amsterdam. Salač, A. (1925). Chronique des fouilles Bulletin de correspondance hellénique, 49, 460-485.
Fig. 1: General view of theatre area
Fig. 2: Map of ancient Kyme (after Schäfer 1974)
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Fig. 3: Map of ancient Kyme (after Ondřejová 1980)
Fig. 5: Orchestra pit and detail of the euripo
Fig. 4: Map (detail) of ancient Kyme (after Ondřejová 1980)
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Fig. 9: General view of enlarged orchestra pit Fig. 6: General view of the stage building
Fig. 7: Detail of the foundation of the stage building
Fig. 10: Paving of east parodos
Fig. 8: Foundation blocks showing dovetailing
Fig. 11: Limekiln in the balteus
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Fig. 12: Limekiln in the eastern sector
Fig. 15: Cavea block
Fig. 13: General view of the theatre
Fig. 16: Kyme – digital model (by Omniarch-Lamezia Terme)
Fig. 17: Kyme – digital satellite model (by Omniarch-Lamezia Terme)
Fig. 14: Cavea block
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Fig. 18: Some architectural fragments (orthophotos by Omniarch-Lamezia Terme)
Fig. 20: Possible reconstruction of the first Roman-phase cavea (by Omniarch-Lamezia Terme)
Fig. 19: General view of the theatre showing possible development of the cavea
Fig. 21: Possible reconstruction of the second Roman-phase cavea (by Omniarch-Lamezia Terme)
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The Agora Basilica, Smyrna Burak Yolaçan
Faculty of Letters, Department of Archaeology, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir
the Ionic and Corinthian capitals for the façade of the basilica (Taşlıalan, Drew-Bear et al. 2005: 392 and figure 28). In this case we need to rethink the material at hand and propose a different façade for the building, which includes the architrave with an inscription on it (Taşlıalan, Drew-Bear et al. 2005: 390-2 and figure 26).
Introduction The basilica in the Smyrna Agora is a Roman civil basilica occupying the whole north wing of the Smyrna Agora (Figure 1) measuring 161 x 29m. It is a huge building transformed from the Hellenistic Period Stoa (Figure 2) built right after the city was relocated to the Mount Pagos area. The foundation myth of the city points to Alexander the Great as the originator of the new city but Strabon tells us that the city was relocated after the efforts of Antigonos and Lysimakhos, which recent studies support (Doğer 2006: 93). The relocation of the new city was probably completed in the time of Lysimakhos and the agora of Smyrna was among the first archaeological projects undertaken in the heart of the city. The agora was at the centre of the public activities and a meeting point for the citizens. Smyrna is thought to have had two agoras but we do not yet know if these two agoras were in use in these first years of the relocation of the city. The agora is near the ancient harbour of the city located in the Kemeraltı district of the modern city and which is thought to be the military harbour (Figure 2) because of its size and location; the commercial harbour of the city should be further to the north (Taşlıalan, Drew-Bear et al. 2006: 320), thus the commercial agora is also believed to be near this harbour.
The Agora Basilica is a two-storied building resting on a cryptoportico supported by arches (Figure 8) housing one of the earliest cross vaults of the Roman period at the western and eastern ends of the basement (Taşlıalan, Drew-Bear et al. 2005: 390 and figure 23). The basement floor is four galleries with five rooms on each end of the north gallery. The rest of the north gallery is organized in such a way that it is a closed space itself, separated from the rest of the building by two monumental gateways. The decoration of the north gallery is also different from the rest of the basement; while the other galleries are decorated with white plaster, the north gallery has marble floors and marble facings on the walls. Defining the north gallery in this way, and its distinctive decoration, suggests that the north gallery had a special use and was not just another basement underneath the basilica. The same applies to the rest of the north gallery and most of the rooms here could only be accessed from the street north of the basilica and not from the basement. In fact we could extend this to the rest of the basement. There is no passage between the courtyard of the agora and the basement except for a staircase put in place at a much later date by breeching part of the south wall of the basilica. Due to the difference in ground levels between the courtyard and the street north of the basilica it seems that the ground floor of the basilica and the basement floor were treated as two separate spaces. Lack of direct access between the floors and the courtyard, and the lack of rooms in the basement (apart from the 10 rooms in north gallery facing and only accessed from the northern street), suggests that while the ground floor of the basilica served as an extension of the courtyard, the basement itself served as an extension to the northern street. The three southern galleries of the basement have no separation walls or any spaces, while the north gallery is a well-defined and separated space. The three south galleries served as a closed space it seems to shelter from the rain and sun, and the graffiti found in these galleries show that these galleries were frequented by the general public and not used for state purposes, while the north gallery might have served as a reception hall of some sort.
The Agora and the Basilica The Agora of Smyrna (Figure 1) is a state agora partially excavated to date; more of it lies buried under the modern city in the Namazgah district of Izmir. The northern part of the agora is almost fully excavated while only half of the western stoa is believed to have been excavated so far. The stoa on the eastern side is only partially visible since the modern road on the east side is resting on part of the northern and eastern stoas (Figure 4). The greater part of the courtyard of the agora was unearthed previously although traces of only one building can be seen today. These foundations probably belong to an altar or another small building, such as an heroon (Taşlıalan, Drew-Bear et al. 2005: 372). After the transformation of the agora in Roman times a temple was believed to have been built in the courtyard of the agora yet to date it has not been found. Some of the architectural elements found in the agora could belong to this temple or another monumental building. One of these elements is the architravefrieze block (Figure 5) which Naumann places on the first floor of the basilica’s façade (Naumann and Kantar 1950:77 and tafel 44). Along with the cornice (Figure 6) and the composite capitals this architrave-frieze block probably belong to another monumental building in or around the agora and not the basilica. The length of the architrave-frieze block is 3.45m, which exceeds the intercoloumnia of the façade of the basilica (Taşlıalan, Drew-Bear et al. 2005: 390 and figure 25). The composite capital and the cornice are from the same entablature (Figure 7). Which leaves
The basement floor of the basilica has four galleries while the ground floor has three galleries with a wider and higher central nave (Figure 8). The façade of the basilica consists of 50 intercoloumnia with spans of 2.6m. With the addition of a wider central nave and the omission of every other column, the intercoloumnia here increases to 5.20m, doubling that of the façade. This increase gives problems for the support of the architrave of the second storey, 5.2m being a considerable distance. Naumann suggest supports for the architrave in the south side by adding marble separation slabs 10cm wide between the columns but he
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SOMA 2011 seems to ignore the northern side and leaves the 5.2m architrave unsupported (Figure 8). He chooses to ignore the northern side because some of the second-story columns found in the excavations do not bear any marks for the separation slabs, which makes it impossible to use these slabs and support the architrave this way. In order to have a 5.2m architrave the height of the block should be at least 90cm, which cannot be possible for the Agora basilica bearing in mind the other architectural elements of the building. In order to solve this problem we can put forward three different methods: 1) using a 90cm architravefrieze block; 2) using a wooden entablature; and 3) using an unorthodox reconstruction for the second story (Figure 10). The reconstruction in Figure 10.3 can only be possible when using an architrave-frieze block 90cm high because of the 5.2m intercoloumnia, or if a wooden entablature is used, however this is unfeasible considering the building’s suggested meaning as a symbol of the city’s grandeur and its possible third floor. Figure 10.2 represents a common technique seen on some other Roman buildings but the inter-coloumnia of 1.33m makes it a less likely choice due to the unusual measurements. Instead, Figure 10.1 seems the more likely reconstruction considering the 40 x 50cm blocks found in the excavations made from the same material as the second-story columns (Figure 11). While this reconstruction is quite unorthodox, it is not without predecessors. The architects of the Augustan Basilica at Ephesus (Figure 12) seem to have tried this reconstruction there some 150 years before the basilica at Smyrna (Fossel-Peschl 1982: 31, taf. 12; Stinson 2007:93, Abb. 4). They knew this construction could prove problematic so they tried widening the ionic capitals’ abacus with bull’s head and the frieze was designed as a flat arch. However, all of these theories proved unworkable because, either during the construction period or at a later time, another set of columns had to be added in between the columns at the first floor. It seems the architects at Smyrna learned from this experiment; instead of using a widened capital or a flat arch they chose to install an arch in between the columns in the central nave (Figure 8.10). This arch may very well have been used to support the extra stress on the architrave due to the column placed in the middle on the second floor. No pieces of the arch have been found until now but the pedestals supporting the arches are still in their places (Figure 14). Taking into account this pedestal feature, following the traces and looking at similar constructions, we can reconstruct this central arch in relation to the columns (Figure 15). Measuring 30 to 65cm the pedestal is made of marble, and seeing the pedestal and the columns share the same base pedestal, the arches were erected in the first phase of the new building after the earthquake in AD 178.
and lower the height of the building by almost 1m. Naumann also uses 77cm-high capitals for the central nave, a similar height as the façade. For the capitals we can use a 45cm-high piece which could fit the columns better and allow us to suggest a frieze following the capital, similar to that of the Temple of Augustus at Ankara and the Basilica at Magnesia on the Meander (Taşlıalan, Drew-Bear et al. 2005:392 and fig. 29). Swapping the higher capitals for lower ones further lowers the building, and even more fine-tuning of other elements (such as the architrave and frieze for the first and second storey entablature) gives 13.5m for the total height of the building (Taşlıalan, Drew-Bear et al. 2005: fig. 32). If now we consider such a lower building we can think of adding a third storey to get some light into the building. One corner column piece (Figure 16) found in the basement of the basilica today can give us a clue. This corner column measuring 60 x 60cm is smaller than the first (95 x 95cm) and second-storey corner columns (85 x 85cm) and should be considered for the third floor. With the addition of a third floor, around 2m high, we can finally get some light into the building and have a better cross-section more suited to that of a basilica (Figure 17). This third floor can serve as a light inlet, as well as help distinguish the basilica from the other stoas surrounding the courtyard by elevating the building a further 2m. Although we have only one piece we can attribute to the third floor we can at least think that the third floor was planned and begun before the building was abandoned around AD 600. Since the basilica was a prestige building we can assume such a third floor and thus the roof was completed at some time, although it is almost impossible to know when.
Another problem with the building is the unusual reconstruction done by Naumann with regard to the roof of the basilica (Figure 8). Naumann measures the height of the building to the top of the second story cornice as 15.6m. And going by this height he concludes that the building should have two storeys considering the height-width ratio (Naumann, Kantar 1950: 85). He even considers that the south side of the building could have one storey only, and that sunlight entered into the building from this side. But we can challenge this height and ratio if we take a second look at what we have at hand; if we go back to the reconstruction by Naumann (Figure 8) we can see that he uses 100cm-high pedestals for the second storey columns. Two of these pedestals were found in the 1932-41 excavations and Naumann uses these pieces, however recent work on the basilica shows that different blocks were used for the base for the secondstorey columns (Taşlıalan, Drew-Bear et al. 2005:392-7 and fig. 30). These cornice-base blocks render the pedestals unnecessary
The Smyrna Agora Basilica is one of the prestige projects of the city of Smyrna after it became subject to Rome. Additions and renovations to the Hellenistic Agora and the surrounding stoas begin at least from the time of Hadrianus – and quite possibly earlier. Ongoing alterations to the building would have been interrupted by the earthquake in AD 178 and from this time on, with the help of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, the basilica entered a major reconstruction phase, probably along with all the other major buildings in the city of Smyrna over a short time. The architects of the Agora Basilica of Smyrna used the Hellenistic forms and ideas to construct an essentially Roman building with exceptional dimensions and quite peculiar construction techniques and decorations. They followed the centuries-old architectural traditions of Asia Minor, combining them with new ideas, and realized a Roman civil basilica which should not merely be called a Roman building but the joint outcome of Helleno-Roman ideas and forms working together in harmony.
Hasty repairs to (or complete reconstruction of) the basilica after the earthquake in AD 178 show in many places in and around the basilica; spoila from other buildings used in the basilica are seen almost everywhere. Most common spolia are the seats taken from a theatre or a stadium, or the bouleterion right next to the basilica. These seats were used in the walls and arches, sometimes being reworked to remove the concave profiles of the blocks, or sometimes being left as they were. Further repairs are also visible in the building; additional blocks were added to the arches in the basement at a later time, a number of architraves, friezes and columns also show traces of repairs. One of the most important changes must have been done in the last phases of the building when the pedestals for the arches of the central nave were taken apart and reused in the krepis of the basilica. Removing the main structural elements of the central nave should indicate that the basilica was no longer a three-storey building in its last phases.
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Burak Yolaçan: The Agora Basilica, Smyrna Stinson P. (2007) Imitation and Adaptation in Architectural Design, Two Roman Basilicas at Ephesus and Aphrodisias in Neue Zeiten-Neue Sitten Zu Reception und Integration römischen und italischen Kulturguts in Kleinasien. Wien. Taşlıalan, M., Drew-Bear, T., et al. (2005) Fouilles de l’Agora de Smyrne: Rapport sur la campagne de 2004. Anatolia Antiqua, XIII, 371-434 Taşlıalan, M., Drew-Bear, T., et al. (2006) Fouilles de l’Agora de Smyrne: Rapport sur la campagne de 2005. Anatolia Antiqua, XIV, 309-61
Bibliography Boethis, A. and Ward-Perkins, J.B., (1970) Etruscan and Roman Architecture Doğer, E., (2006) İzmir’in Smyrna’sı, Paleolotik Çağ’dan Türk Fethine Kadar. (İletişim Yayınları, İstanbul) Fossel-Peschl, E. A. (1982) Die Basilika am Staatmarkt in Ephesos, Graz Naumann, R., Kantar, S. (1950) Die Agora von Smyrna, Istanbuler Forschungen 17. 69-114
Figure 1: Plan of the Agora and surrounding buildings (Taşlıalan, Drew-Bear, et al. 2006, figure 6)
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Figure 2: Traces of the Hellenistic Period stoa in the cryptoportico of the basilica (Smyrna Excavations Archive)
Figure 5: Architrave-frieze block (photo: author)
Figure 3: Map of Smyrna (Naumann and Kantar 1950, figure 1)
Figure 6: Cornice block (photo: author)
Figure 4: East Stoa with the eastern end of basilica in the background (Smyrna Excavations Archive)
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Figure 10: Central naive façade reconstruction. 1: Second storey with 2.60m intercoloumnia 2. Second storey with 1.33m. intercoloumnia, 3. Second storey with 5.20m intercoloumnia (drawing: author)
Figure 7: Composite capital, architrave-frieze block and the cornice (Drawing: author)
Figure 11: Second storey middle coloumns (photo: author)
Figure 8: Cross section of the basilica (Naumann and Kantar 1950
Figure 9: Plan and axonometric view of the basilica (Boethius and Ward-Perkins 1970, Figure 149)
Figure 12: Central naive façade of the Augustan basilica at Ephesos
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Figure 13: View of façade of the central naive (after Naumann and Laroche)
Figure 15: Axonometric view of first floor (after Laroche)
Figure 16: Corner coloumn for the third storey (photo: author)
Figure 14: Pedestal for the arches between coloumns (Photo: author)
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Figure 17: Cross section of the basilica (drawing: author)
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Archaeological Excavations at Istanbul’s Lake Kucukcekmece–2010 Hakan Oniz, Sengul Aydingun, Emre Guldogan
Eastern Mediterranean University, Underwater Research and Imaging Centre, Dept. of Archaeology, Kocaeli University, Dept. of Archaeology, Istanbul University
where a smaller port was encountered; this latter we named ‘Small Harbour’ (Map 2). A good Roman road was also excavated.
‘Istanbul Prehistoric Researches’ began archaeological studies of the northern coastlines of Istanbul with an international science team as part of the `ITA Project’. During these studies, under the leadership of Sengul Aydingun, evidence of all occupation periods was found from prehistoric to Ottoman times. The ITA project expanded into an international and interdisciplinary project that included specialists from several Turkish and European universities. This international team began excavations in 2009 at Istanbul’s Lake Kucukcekmece (Map 1), after preliminary land and underwater researches in 2007 and 2008. This lake is located at the junction of the sea way between Istanbul and the Mediterranean, some 30km only from the centre of Istanbul. There is still a connection between the lake and the sea for boats that was cut much wider in the past. It was a safe natural harbour for ships going back and forth between the Aegean and the Black Sea.
The Great Harbour Before the surveys in that particular zone (appearing in our map under the area codes A6 and A7) dense vegetation was first cleared away to reveal both the remains of the buildings and allow thorough geophysics work. The excavations in the Great Harbour began on the tip of the peninsula, very close to the lakeshore. During that works some trenches were dug and at a depth of 50cm, a wall previously noted during the geophysics, was reached. In the Great Harbour and its surrounding area, harbour walls made of regularly cut stones and rubble (some lying under farm buildings from Ottoman period) and a cistern were found. The existence of a channel from the cistern to the lake was established during the excavations. The same channel was also discovered during the geophysics works done by a team from Bristol University. The same team also undertook a number of dendrochronology samples on the wooden remains from the cistern. Because of the length and craftsmanship of the harbour walls, and how the tip of the peninsula was shaped into the lake, it is believed that this was originally a large antique harbour; there are also ruins of a lighthouse at a distance of 300m from the shore.
Our previously known history is changing drastically after recent explorations and excavations in Istanbul. Gathered from this history, we know that the colony of Byzantion, established by Megara around 660-658 BC, must have taken control of the trade route between the Black Sea and Mediterranean. On the other hand, because of the position on the Golden Horn and the geography between Sarayburnu-Yenikapı, Byzantion had its own excellent natural harbours. These two features provided the necessary infrastructure needed to become a trade centre. The rate of high taxes they paid to Delos-Attic League in the 5th century BC shows this need. From cereals to slaves, many cargoes from the Black Sea and Mediterranean were exchanged here. From the 2nd century BC, with Rome’s advances in the region, cheap grain was widely traded from ports on the Golden Horn and along its north and south coasts. From the 6th century it is known that the empires controlled the grain stocks in the city. The grain ships of the open sea needed to unload before Istanbul due to reasons such as storms and other hazards and storage features built at Bozcaada (Tenedos) by Justinian. Another likely safe anchorage would have been in the area of Lake Kuçukcekmece.
Small Harbour 2.5km from the Great Harbour, to the north-east, a variety of archaeological remains was noted. After clearing the heavy vegetation the remains of what might possibly be religious and residential areas were found on the surface, leading to the presumption that these marked the site of a sizeable antique city. One of the initial significant finds was a wide Roman road going through the ruins. With a width of 8m, such a road had to be constructed for the large volume of traffic there at the time. It is believed that it was the connecting road between a dense population centre, and their large harbour facility, and one of the most important highways of antique times, the Via Egnatia connecting Constantinople to Rome (via the Adriatic shores) and passing just to the north of the peninsula.
During underwater and coastal researches in 2008, many remains indicated two natural harbours and a settlement probably from the Late Roman period in and around Lake Kucukcekmece. For example side-scan sonar images taken during these studies prove the frequent use of this port. Despite the fact that only a little area was initially scanned, it appears that there were finds of at least six post-Roman/Byzantine iron anchors (in V and T anchor form) from the waters close to the port area (Figure 9). Moreover on the south coast of the lake there were images understood to indicate some sort of wooden quay pillars.
It is thought that the antique city lay close to the small harbour with its two piers (Figure 1), which was discovered in 2009 within the ruins of late Ottoman farm houses. The initial digging was carried out on the south pier. An area of 3 x 10m was cleaned and dug to a depth of 1m. The pier was constructed with regularly cut stones and rubble, with some of the larger stone blocks fixed with iron clamps. After the excavations in 2010, a new road, different from the other road mentioned previously, was found below the surface. The excavated part of the road shows that it was 3.40m wide and longer than 160m (Figure 2). Some of the
Excavation works were carried out in different parts of the peninsula roughly in the middle of the lake in 2009 and 2010. The first point of attention was the tip of the peninsula, on which we believe a sizeable ancient port was situated. We gave it the name of ‘Great Harbour’. The second point was to the north-east,
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trenches by the coast of the lake indicate that a long quay system was probably constructed there (Figure 3). From the evidence of the iron clamps the dating of the construction was made to the early Roman period. It is believed that this harbour gave access to the city from the sea. In antiquity, today’s lake was a deep bay in the Sea of Marmara, allowing navigation for all sizes of ships. While the works on the south pier were progressing, further land clearance was done to try and provide a better understanding of the northern pier. The distance between the two piers is approximately 100m. To the north and south of the Small Harbour the walls on the shore continue for a long distances to a height of one or two courses. Between these stones some reused materials were encountered. These included a column capital of Corinthian style of the 1st/2nd century BC, a
The measuring and drawing of the Small Harbour, the sea walls, and the traces of the buildings have been completed. The excavation of the Small Harbour revealed a great number of Roman and Early Byzantine ceramics and 50cm below the surface two Ottoman coins and a ‘Wheel of Fortune’ carved on a rock were found. Iron nails, ceramic fragments and many other remains were uncovered in the harbour area, suggesting the presence in the past of a shipyard. Excavations at this harbour will continue in the forthcoming seasons.
Map 1. Istanbul and Lake Kucukcekmece
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Map 2. Possible harbours and other remains at Lake Kucukcekmece
Figure 1. One of the piers of the Small Harbour
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Figure 2. The road connected to the pier
Figure 3. A possibly fragment of the quay system
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Excavations in Ancient Smyrna Akın Ersoy, Gülten Çelik
Department of Archaeology, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir
Another structure reached from the western side is the Mosaic Hall. The approximate dimensions of this structure are 35 x 30m and its principal feature consists of two mosaic levels belonging to two different periods (Fig. 4). Although adequate information has not been obtained to date about the function of the structure, it is suggested that this structure was used for social and political activities as it was adjacent to the Bouleuterion.
Smyrna, was moved from its location in Bayraklı to Kadifekale, stretching across its north and west slopes (the ÇankayaBasmane axis on one side and Kemeraltı-Bahribaba on the other), by Antigonos, Monophtalmos and Lysimakhos during the Hellenistic period, just after Alexander the Great, at the end of the 4th century B.C. and the first half of the 3rd century B.C. In a practical way Kadifekale, Varyant, Kemeraltı, Çankaya and Basmane form a circle from the historical city centre of modern Izmir (Fig 1).
Most of the ruins in the Agora today date to the period after the earthquake that destroyed the city in 178 A.D. Structures substantially damaged after the earthquake were reconstructed with the support of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Today only a few standing remains of ruins relate to ancient Smyrna. The most important of these is the Smyrna Agora, known as the Agora Ruins. The Agora, in three separate locations – Altınpark Kadifekale, and the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Smyrna, confirms the city’s early status, as reflected also in the many finds of ceramics, figurines, glass, metal, bronze, etc.
The Kadifekale archaeological excavations, carried out since 2009, have also provided valuable information about ancient Smyrna (Fig. 5). Named Pagos in some ancient sources, today’s Kadifekale takes its name from the Turkish Queen Kaydafe, mentioned in a story told by Evliya Çelebi concerning the fortress during the 17th century. Kadifekale was the acropolis of ancient Smyrna, in other words the most sacred spot in the ancient city and the centre of the defensive system. The hill has a wonderful panorama taking in the whole of İzmir Bay, the Yeşildere Valley and the Bornova Plain.
The archaeological excavation works at the Smyrna Agora, which started in 1932, have continued to this day. Ceramic finds uncovered during drilling excavations in the courtyard region of the Agora show that activities in the agora region started as far back as the initial foundation stage of the city (Fig. 2). The basement and ground floors of the ‘West Portico’ were located on the west side of the courtyard with a width of 19m and running north-south to a length of 82m. Although it is understood that the portico continues southwards, information on its final length and dimensions requires further archaeological excavation works to be carried out on the south side of the agora.
Even though there is insufficient archaeological information today, the ceramic finds uncovered during the excavation studies reveal that the first settlement traces on the hill date to the 6th century B.C. (Fig. 6). Many fragments can be linked to a Persian fortress that stood for some 200 years. Persian sovereignty in Anatolia came to an end with Alexander the Great’s military expedition of 334 B.C. During that time, the inhabitants of Smyrna lived in the central Bayraklı-Tepekule region and the villages nearby. The capture of Bayraklı-Tepekule by Alexander was relatively easy and subsequently the hill of Kadifekale was also taken by his men. After the death of Alexander in 323 B.C, Smyrna and its environs fell to Kleitios for a short period and then Antigonos Monophtalmos until 301 B.C., and Lysimakhos until 281 B.C. According to Strabo, the relocation of Smyrna from Bayraklı-Tepekule (Old İzmir) to the hillside extending from Kadifekale to the sea, where it is now situated, was carried out by Antigonos Monophtalmos and Lysimakhos.
One of the main extant structures of the Roman Agora, the basilica is located on the northern side of the courtyard area of Agora. The width of the structure is approximately 29m, and its length 161m. The basement under the courtyard consists of four galleries and has an arched construction; it was well protected, like the West Portico. The ground and first storey of the basilica rise two floors above courtyard level and include three galleries, with the middle one the largest. Graffiti (paint and scratches) can be seen on some walls of two of these galleries. The graffiti includes depictions of ships, sailors, gladiators, animals, erotic themes, etc.
The discovered ceramic finds point to the fact that the first walls of Kadifekale were constructed at the end of the 4th century– beginning of the 3rd century B.C. (Figs. 7 and 8).
A 20m section of an East Portico bordering the courtyard to the east has been uncovered. Most of the East Portico, having possibly three galleries, similar to the West Portico, might lie under the modern streets to the east of the agora.
Kadifekale was the most sacred area of the city and it contained the shrine of the Mother Goddess of the city. Although the excavations and studies undertaken have not revealed the existence of a cult to Athena, however an inscription to Artemis was discovered on a ceramic bowl on the hill (Fig. 9).
Two important structures associated with the Agora to the west, where excavation works have intensified in recent times, have been confirmed. The first of these is the building occupied by the city council building (Bouleuterion) (Fig. 3). Having seats with a circular design, this structure has a half-vaulted gallery under its step seats and 11 vaulted spaces having a radial plan. These spaces provide support for the vaulted upper structures as well as step seats and storage areas.
The Hellenistic walls, which have been revealed as a result of the excavations carried out near the southern walls in recent years, were part of a major construction project undertaken early in the
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figurines, bone needles and buttons, various metal objects and other daily use cups were unearthed (Fig. 11). Some of the finds from these houses are dated to the Byzantine period and reflect the Christian beliefs of the city dating from the 1st century A.D. Some later objects dating from the Early Byzantine period included bronze censers, various small bottles with cross reliefs made of terracotta (ampullae), used for carrying holy water and oil, and other items. These objects attest the rapid development of Christianity in İzmir by the 4th century A.D. and the dismissal of earlier polytheistic beliefs.
One of the sectors explored since 2008 was the Altınpark archaeological area. This area was situated between the Magnesia Gate, one of the two entrances to the city, and the ancient road which led to the bridge in the Kemer district, underneath the modern-day Kemer Bridge over the Yeşildere (Fig. 10). Here the excavations began at 11m above sea-level and continued down to nearly 9m. During these excavations various finds dating from the Early Hellenistic period (4th–3rd century BC) until the beginning of the 20th century have been found. The Altınpark archaeological area was used as a cemetery during the late Ottoman period and traces are still visible today.
In the Altınpark archaeological area a Roman period altar and Hellenistic tomb stele were unearthed. They are considered as spoliae material, brought here for reuse during the Byzantine period (Fig. 12). Also in the Basmane area is the Şifa sector, where excavations were carried out in 2007 and 2008. One of the structures identified in this area is the kitchen of a Roman house. The other feature is a cistern thought to date to Late Antiquity by its construction technique (Fig.13). From the kitchen, adjacent to the main street, a large number of daily kitchenware and various archaeological finds all dating to the Roman period were uncovered (Fig. 14).
In this area houses were built from the 1st century AD onwards and survived until the Early Byzantine period. These remains are the first remains of the residential areas found in this part of Izmir. So far two residential structures have been determined. The house known as Altınpark 1 was entered by a double door via a paved Roman road. The entrance opened onto two rectangular rooms, paved with sandstone slabs, and then to the atrium. The dwelling adjacent to this (Altınpark 2) had a similar entrance and featured a peristyle courtyard surrounded by several rooms. One of these rooms functioned as kitchen and bathroom. During the excavations of these houses many fragmentary terracotta
The presence of dwellings in the Basmane area indicates that wealthy citizens were living in this part of the city. Basmane was on the main axis of the city, which most probably contained the most important street, and topographically was also the most suitable location for settlement.
Fig. 1. In the foreground the Smyrna Agora; Kadifekale rises in the background
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Fig. 2. Ceramic finds from the courtyard wells in the Agora of Smyrna
Fig. 3. Western Portico (front), Bouleuterion (right), Mosaic Building (roofed)
Fig. 4. Finds from the Basilica and Western Portico (top), and from the Bouleuterion and Mosaic Building (below)
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Fig. 5. Kadifekale: aerial view Fig. 9. 4th-century B.C. (first quarter) inscription (‘Artemis’) on black-burnished bowl
Fig. 6. 6th- and 5th-century B.C. ceramic finds
Fig. 10. The Altınpark: general view
Fig. 7. 4th- and 3rd-century B.C. ceramic finds
Fig. 11. Finds from the Altınpark archaeological site. Lamp, unguentarium, part of hair pin, silver votive plate (above). Bronze censers, ampulla and bread stamp (below)
Fig. 8. The ruins of the city walls
Fig. 12. Hellenistic tomb stele (left); Roman altar (right)
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Fig. 13. Şifa: cistern (left) and kitchen (centre)
Fig. 14. Finds (left to right): Bowl, inscription (‘GLYKON’) on mortar fragment, cooking pot, cup, miniature mortar and lamp
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The Cult of Zeus in Lykaonia Asuman Baldıran
Selcuk University, Archaeology Department, Konya, Turkey
Archaeological Museum,8 are all similar to the Zeus depictions at Fasıllar. Another relief is the Zeus bust between two bucraniums in the Karaman Archaeology Museum9 (Figure 2). We can see the same composition at Burdur. A Zeus Poteis priest is featured with bucranium and grape adornments on the Burdur altar.10 In the example at Fasıllar the vines and grapes near Zeus bust make us think that Zeus is the protection god of viniculture and the grapes. As a matter of fact, Zeus is known as the protection god of viniculture in the Lydia region.11 In Yenice Çiftlik, near Seydişehir, we can see thunderbolts, a Zeus attribute, on a block on a garden wall (Figure 3). In Isauria, the capital city of the Isauria region on the southeast of the region, thunderbolts and eagles are widely used in the necropolis. These figures are used both separately and together in many of the settlements in the Lycaonia region. The sarcophagus body reused in the building of a house wall in Kavak village shows a thunderbolt on the front (Figure 4). In Taraşçı there is an eagle figure on the front of a sarcophagus body (Figure 5). There is a thunderbolt showing at the back of Heracles’ left shoulder in Kızılca village which was mentioned before in Heracles cult reliefs (Figure 6). One more example from Kızılca village is in the wall of the house of M. Bal. A thunderbolt made of local limestone, with a flat profile, appears at the bottom of the relief (Figure 7). During our surveys we confirmed a Zeus representation on one side of an altar, and a woman with a crown on the other, at Yenice village (Figure 8). On a block in a house wall in the Bostandere district near Seydişehir, there is a Zeus relief with sceptre behind his right shoulder, and a bunch of grapes on his left (Figure 9). In Palaia İsauria there are two figures on a grave stele. The bust on the left is Hermes with his cadudeus and the one on the right must have been Zeus with his sceptre. This example is only known from a drawing by Swoboda.12 On a wall of a house near Gevrekli there is an inscription to Zeus. From inscriptions we understand that Zeus was worshipped locally, and at Sızma, on an inscription on a stele base dedicated to Zeus Megistos, we understand that Zeus was known as Zeus Savior – the god of plants.13
It is hard to tell the exact borders of the Lycaonia Region because they have constantly changed throughout history. Xenephon, (Xenephon, Anabasis I, 19) who determined the borders of the region, located the eastern border from Iconium, at the last city of Phyrigia, and stated that it was 5 days’ walking distance to Dana. Strabon, on the other hand drew the borders of the region as Phyrigia on the west, Kapadochia on the east, Galatia on the North and the Taurus mountains on the South (Strabon, Geographica XII, 11-10). Belke-Restle prepared the most detailed definition of the region after the ancient writers.1 In short, the borders of the region was drawn as starting from the east of Beyşehir Lake, Beyşehir on the west, Isauria and Karaman, at times considered as within the boundaries of Lycaonia, on the south, on the east, from Karaman to Karadağ-Barata, and on the north there are Verinopolis, Savatra ve Laodikeia.2 It is known that the region has been a settlement from prehistoric times to the Late Antique period according to the surveys in the region. Therefore, various cults have been seen since Neolithic times. Major cults to Ares, Asklepios, Athena, Dionysos, Dioskouros, Herakles, Men, Poseidon, and Zeus, the Mother Goddess and Kybele have for centuries attracted attention in the one of the most important settlement areas since prehistory. In this study we will focus on examples of the Zeus cult. The supreme deity of the Ancient Greeks, Zeus is the god of heavens and weather – rain, snow and hail. The Greek images of Zeus are similar to the Anatolian and local Anatolian images.3 Zeus, who controls the rainfall, is worshipped as a god of fertility.4 Cybele or Meter (Mother) is the goddess of earth. Zeus, on the other hand, is the god of sky.5 The Zeus cult is widely seen in the Lycaonia region. The figure worked on a rock in Fasıllar might represent to Zeus with symbols (Figure 1). The face of the figure, wearing a hymation with right shoulder bare, is quite worn. However his shoulder-length hair can be seen. At the back of the right shoulder of the bust we can see the thunderbolts and at the back of the left shoulder we can see part of a sceptre. On the right bottom part there is another relief that cannot be seen clearly. It could be the claw of an eagle. The figure might be the local Zeus when the local contexts are considered: in Cilicia Pedias, a niche and the inscription on it belonging to the cult of Zeus Olybris,6 in Denizli, Çivril, there is a Zeus with a round collared woollen attire with his sceptre on his left shoulder and his eagle on right shoulder, depicted as the protector of shepherds7 and an altar with an inscription which depicts him as the protector of shepherds – Zeus Ktesios Patrios – on display in Hierapolis 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The thunderbolt and sceptre are the most important symbols of Zeus’ powers and works. Eagle, double-bladed axe, spear and sword are his other well-known symbols.14 Bibliography Baldıran, A. 2008. “A Study of Cults of the Lykaonia Region” ANODOS 6-7, 2008, Trnava, Fig.14. Belke K. and Restle M. 1984. Galatien und Lykaonien, TIB 4, Wien, 1984.
Belke – Restle 1984: 39. Belke – Restle 1984: 40-42. Schwabl 1978: 1014. Nilsson 1967: 401. McLean 2002: XI. Sayar–Siewert–Teuber 1993. Söğüt–Şimşek 2001: 279-89.
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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Buckler – Calder–Cox 1924: 33. Baldıran 2008: Fig.14. Ramsay 1895: 337, no:178. Malay 1993: 49-51. Swoboda – Keil–Knoll 1935: 72-73. McLean 2002: 8. Voutiras 1997:312.
SOMA 2011 Sayar, M. H., Siewert, P. and Teuber, H. 1992. “Doğu Kilikya’da Epigrafi ve Tarihi Coğrafya Araştırmaları 1992”, AST XI, 139vd. Ankara. Schwabl, H. 1978, “Zeus” RE Suppl. XV, 994-1481. Söğüt, B. and Şimşek, C. 2001. “Çivril ve Çevresindeki Arkeolojik Kalıntılar” Dünden Bugüne Çivril Sempozyumu, Denizli, 279-89. Swoboda, H., Keil, J. and Knoll, F. 1935. Denkmaler aus Lykaonien, Pamphylien und Isaurien, Prag. Voutiras, E. 1997. “Zeus” LIMC VIII-1, 310-337.
Buckler, W. H., Calder, W. M., Cox, C. W. M. 1924. “Asia Minor, 1924, I. Monumentum From Iconium, Lycaonia and Isauria”, JRS XIV, 33. Malay, H. 1993. “The Greek and Latin Inscriptions in the Manisa Museum”, ETAM 19, Wien, 49-51. McLean, B. H. 2002. Greek and Latin Inscriptions in the Konya Archaeological Museum, Ankara. Nilsson, M. P. 1967. Geschichte der Griechischen Religion, I, Die Religion Griechenlands bis auf die Griechische Weltherrschaft, Münichen. Ramsay, W. M. 1895. The Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia I, Oxford.
Figure 1. Fasıllar
Figure 2. Karaman Archaeological Museum
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Figure 3. Yenice Çiftlik
Figure 4. Kavak Village
Figure 5. Taraşçı
Figure 6. Kızılca Village
Figure 7. Kızılca Village
Figure 8. Yenice Village
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Figure 9. Bostandere
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‘Hierapolis of Phrygia’: a Roman imperial pottery deposit (US 274) found in the Northern Necropoli (Atlante di Hierapolis, foglio 18) Dario Sergio Corritore
Salento University, Lecce, Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici ‘Dinu Adamesteanu’ [email protected]
In the first case, the most commonly found shape appears to be the double-handed skyphos decorated with elements from the plant world (oak leaves, olive leaves, acorns, pine cones etc.) and stylised elements (‘à godrons’ motifs and ‘à embrications’ leaves). The second shape, less frequently documented, is the quadrilobate cup, decorated only on the lower section; the matrices found in the archaeological deposit can be related exclusively to the production of these cups.6
Context The settlement ruins on the plain overlooking the Lykos valley have been systematically excavated for over 50 years, by the MAIER team (Italian Archaeological Mission in Hierapolis) led by Prof. F D’Andria.1 The excavations carried out between 2005 and 2006 in the north area of the Flavius Zeuxis Tomb and in the west area of the western tower of the Frontinus Gate (Fig. 1) have uncovered an oil mill (Figs. 2-3)2 hidden by a midden of pottery material (US 274) which can be dated between the late Hellenistic age and the early Imperial age.
The appliqué ware (Fig. 5) has many similarities with the Pergamene production, both for morphology and decoration. The only known shape is the high-walled skyphos decorated with plant motifs or with figured motifs such as erotic scenes, ‘Erotische symplegmata’, and mythological ones (Hercules and Sisyphus the warrior).7
Materials & methods
Red slip ware
The studies carried out on the pottery, co-ordinated by Prof. D. Malfitana from IBAM–CNR Catania, a lecturer at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy at the University of Catania, examined both locally produced and imported pottery; quantitative and typological analysis of the finds provided important information regarding the age of the objects and that of the structures uncovered.
The production of red slip ware is well documented also in other sites in Asia Minor, such as Sagalassos and Perge8. The morphological repertoire mainly consists of open shapes, cups and plates; however, there is evidence of some closed shapes.
The calculation of the minimum number of individual pieces (MNI), determined by counting the number of morphological diagnostic elements (rims, bases and handles), was carried out in order to estimate how many items of pottery were present on the site.
Numerous specimens are characterised by morphological elements which seem to imitate both the best known oriental productions (Eastern Sigillata B and Cypriot Sigillata) and the Salagossos red slip ware. Even the production process must have been similar, with the slip being achieved by dipping in liquid paint, as proved by the presence of streaks from double dipping on some vases.
Local pottery (Fig. 4) The locally produced pottery can be identified by its technical and material characteristics, according to which they have been categorised into classes.
Gray ware
Relief and appliqué ware3
Gray ware, the result of a firing process in a reducing atmosphere, is characterised by grey clay and black paint.
The existence of an in loco production of this class is documented by the finding, during the 1980s, of kilns and matrices in the area of the commercial Agorà.4 The morphological repertoire varies according to the technique used for the decoration: relief ware and appliqué ware.5
The morphological repertoire, based on the few fragments present in the context, consists only of open shapes, cups and plates, as is documented also in other sites in Asia Minor.9 The cups have a hemispherical profile, thin walls and a ring foot; the rim diameter varies between 12-14cm. The series of plates also
D’Andria 2001; D’Andria 2003; D’Andria and Caggia 2007; Ismaelli 2009. 2 Atlante di Hierapolis 2008, 83; Caggia and Scardozzi 2010, 31-59; Scardozzi 2010, 277-302. 3 In a recent study, the scholar S. Rotroff re-examined the introduction of relief cups on the basis of pottery evidence in the Agorà of Athens, Rotroff 2006, 357-78. 4 D’Andria 2003, 89-90. 5 Semeraro 2003, 84, pl. LVI-LVIII; 2005, 83.
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Semeraro 2003, 87, pl. LIX; 2005, 88. Schäfer 1968, 79; Hübner 1993; Rotroff and Oliver 2003, 161; Semeraro 2003; Malfitana 2005a. 8 Poblome 1999 (Sagalassos); Fırat 2003, 193-96 (Perge); a red slip ware production is also known to have existed in Hierapolis in the protoByzantine age, Cottica 1998, 81-90; Cottica 2000, 49-56; Poblome et al. 2001, 669-83; Mastronuzzi and Melissano 2007, 541-83. 9 Hellström 1965, 44 (Labraunda); Mitsopoulou-Leon 1991, 78-85 (Ephesos); Rotroff and Oliver 2003, 31-36 (Sardis).
1
7
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Cypriot Sigillata The term Cypriot Sigillata is used with some reservation since no production centre has yet been identified in Cyprus. However, both the number of finds on the island and the relatively common discovery of closed shapes seem to justify the term.16
Plain ware The most commonly documented class in the context examined is achromatic plain ware. The morphological repertoire mainly consists of open shapes such as bowls, basins and lid-plates; the closed shapes are represented by some examples of jugs and high-footed bottles. The closest comparisons can be made with specimens found in Laodicea ad Lycum and Didyma10.
The Hellenistic series in Hierapolis is represented by specimens of Forms P 20 and P 21 of the Atlante. Considerably widespread is a type of cup with tapering walls and bevelled rim, which can be dated from the end of the 1st century BC (Atlante II, Form P 22A) to the Age of Trajan (Atlante II, Form P 22B).17
Cooking ware
Lead-glazed ware (Fig. 9)
Cooking ware reflects specific technological characteristics: the use of clay rich in different types of grit (quartzose, lithic and micaceous) and the firing of the vessels at relatively low temperatures, resulting in them being less resistant to cracking. Despite the extreme fragmentary nature of the finds from Hierapolis, various shapes have been identified: pans, lids and pots. The latter are comparable to some specimens documented in Ephesus.11 Fine ware imports (Fig. 6)
Production of lead-glazed ware began in various centres in the south and west of Asia Minor during the 1st century BC (after 50 BC). Although they followed different procedural methods, the systematic studies carried out by H. Gabelmann (1974) and A. Hochuly Gysel18 (1977) both identified three main areas of production: Tarsus, the north-central Anatolian coast (Pergamon, Smyrna, Çandarli) and south western Asia Minor (Labraunda).19 In situ archaeological evidence of this production has also emerged in Perge and Mytilene.20
Fine ware imports, found in fewer numbers than local wares, can be categorised as follows: Eastern Sigillata B, Pink Ware from Tel Anafa, Cypriot Sigillata and Lead-glazed ware.
On the basis of morphological comparisons and materials, the specimens found in Hierapolis, skyphoi and chalices, can be probably ascribed to the Cilician production.
Pink ware
Final considerations
This class, defined on the basis of its material, has been recognised by the scholar K.W. Slane among the pottery remains found in Tel Anafa.12
The pottery produced in Hierapolis on the one hand seems to meet the specific needs of the site, on the other, however, it seems to belong to a heritage – morphological, technical and iconographic – which covers a much larger geographical area. The relief ware, used exclusively in a cultic area, was examined not only in terms of its chronology and type but also with reference to iconographic and iconological features which could indicate social, religious, political and cultural motivations which might have led to particular choices in the figurative repertory adopted.
The only specimens found among the Hierapolis pottery can be compared to the base of a plate dated between the end of the 1st century BC and the mid-1st century AD;13 the clay, which is stratified, can be distinguished by its peculiar pink colour, while the red slip is rather watered-down.
The presence of specimens of lead-glazed ware, which could feasibly have been from the Cilicia produce of Tarsus, of Pink ware and Cypriot Sigillata, offer a meaningful picture for defining the commercial links which existed in the Eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD (Fig. 10). From the mid-1st century AD onwards, Eastern Sigillata B, produced in the nearby area of Tralles and perhaps also in Ephesus, represented the most transported type of pottery.
Eastern Sigillata B (Figs. 7-8) After Eastern Sigillata A, Eastern Sigillata B is the second most widespread class of Roman fine ware in the Eastern Mediterranean between the Augustan age and the mid-2nd century AD. The clay and slip, as well as the typology, make up the main elements in determining the class of pottery.14 The specimens found in Hierapolis mainly belong to the B1 series, with only one vessel belonging to the B2 series; the most accurate comparisons can be made with finds from Assos, Ephesus, Iasos and Miletus.15
Catalogue The catalogue includes a selection of the most meaningful shapes recorded among the different classes of pottery. 1. Relief ware, skyphos, rim fr. (Fig. 11)
Wintermeyer 1980, 134 (Didyma); Traversari 2000, 153-57 (Laodicea ad Lycum). 11 Gassner 1997, 174-76. 12 Slane 1997, 371. 13 Slane 1997, 373, pl. 34, FW 554. 14 Lund 2003, 125-36; Poblome and Zelle 2002, 275-87; Malfitana 2005b, 134-37. 15 Zelle 1997, 154, n. 90 (Assos); Gassner 1997, 130, taf. 42, n. 496 (Ephesos); Gasperetti 2003, 141-163 (Iasos); Pülz 1985, 81, abb. 2, n. 19 (Miletos). 10
Inv. HNN-A28-06-00014 US 169=US 274 Height cm. 5,2; Est. Diam. cm. 9 Malfitana 2005b, 140-42. Atlante II, 79-81. 18 Gabelmann 1974, 260-307; Hochuly Gysel 1977. 19 Jones 1950, 191-96, figs. 151-54; Green 2007, 653-71. 20 Atik 1995, 18-58, pls. 1-11 (Perge); Archontidou 1997, 255, pls. 172174 (Mytilene). 16 17
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Dario Sergio Corritore: ‘Hierapolis of Phrygia’ Reddish yellow clay (M 5YR 7/6); reddish brown glaze (M 5YR 4/4). Cfr. Semeraro 2003, pl. LVI, 1. Middle of the 1st century BC – middle of the 1st century AD.
Height cm. 5,2; Diam. rim cm. 14; Diam. foot cm. 7 Red clay (M 2.5 YR 5/8); red gloss (M 10R 5/8). Cfr. Atlante II, 84, table. XIX, n. 14; Slane 1997, 377, pl. 36, FW 579.
2.Relief ware, mold, rim fr. (Fig. 12)
First half of the 1st century AD.
Inv. HNN-A28-06-00052-US 169=US 274 Height cm. 2,4; Est. Diam. cm. 12 Reddish yellow clay (M 5YR 7/6); reddish yellow surface (M 7.5YR 7/6). Cfr. Semeraro 2003, pl. LIX, 3. First half of the 1st century BC.
Bibliography Abadye-Reynal, C. 2003, Les céramiques en Anatolie aux époques hellénistique et romaine: actes de la table ronde d’Istanbul, 22-24 mai 1996, (Varia Anatolica, XV), Istanbul. Archontidou, A. 1997, Εργαστήριο ανάγλυφης εφυαλωμένης κεραμικής στη Μυτιλήνη, Δ’Συνάντηση, 247-55. Atik, N. 1995, Die Keramik aus den Südthermen von Perge, IstMitt Beiheft 40, Tübingen. Atlante II = AA. VV., Atlante delle Forme Ceramiche II: Ceramica fine romana nel bacino del Mediterraneo (tardo ellenismo e primo impero). Enciclopedia dell’Arte Antica Classica e Orientale. Suppl. 2, Roma 1985. Atlante di Hierapolis 2008, D’Andria, F., Scardozzi, G. and Spanò, A. (eds.), Atlante di Hierapolis di Frigia, Istanbul, Ege yayınları. Caggia, M.P. and Scardozzi, G. 2010, Scavi stratigrafici e ricognizioni di superficie. La parte settentrionale dell’impianto urbano di Hierapolis di Frigia (Turchia), in D’Andria, F. et al. (eds.) 2010, 31-59. Cottica, D. 1998, Ceramiche bizantine dipinte e unguentari tardo antichi dalla “Casa dei capitelli ionici” a Hierapolis, in Antiqua XXII, 81-90. Cottica, D. 2000, Late Roman imported and locally produced pottery from Hierapolis (Pamukkale, Turkey): preliminary evidence, in ReiCretActa 36, 49-56. D’Andria, F. 2001, Hierapolis of Phrygia: its Evolution in Hellenistic and Roman Times, in Parrish, D. (ed.), Urbanism in Western Asia Minor (JRA, Suppl. Series 45), Portsmouth, R.I., 96-115. D’Andria, F. 2003, Hierapolis di Frigia (Pamukkale). Guida archeologica, Istanbul, Ege yayınları. D’Andria, F. and Caggia, M.P. 2007, Hierapolis di Frigia I. Le attività delle campagne di scavo e restauro 2000-2003, Istanbul, Ege yayınları. D’Andria, F. et al. 2010, Il dialogo dei Saperi. Metodologie integrate per i Beni Culturali, TOMO I, Napoli, Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane. Fırat, N. 2003, Perge Konut Alanı Kullanım Seramiği, in AbadyeReynal, C. (ed.) 2003, 193-96, pl. LXIV-LXVIII. Gabelmann, H. 1974, Zur hellenistisch-römischen Bleiglasurkeramik in Kleinasien, Jdl 89, 260-307. Gabler, D. et al. 2009, Eastern Mediterranean import and its influence on local pottery in Aquincum, Acta Archaeologica 60, 1/June 2009, 51-72. Gasperetti, G. 2003, Osservazioni preliminari sulla ceramica romana di Iasos di Caria. Materiali dal quartiere a sud del teatro, in Abadye-Reynal, C. (ed.) 2003, 141-163, pl. XCXCVII. Gassner, V. 1997, Das Südtor der Tetragonos – Agora. Keramik und Kleinfunde, Forschungen in Ephesos XIII 1,1, Wien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Greene, K. 2007, Late Hellenistic and Early Roman Invention and Innovation: The Case of Lead-Glazed Pottery, AJA, vol. 111, No. 4, 653-71. Hayes, J.W. 2008, Roman Pottery. Fine-Ware Imports. The Athenian Agora, XXXII. Results of Excavations Conducted
3. Red slip ware, bowl (Fig. 13) Inv. HNN-A28-06-00132-US 184=US 274 Height cm. 7,3; Diam. rim cm. 10; Diam. foot cm. 6 Reddish yellow clay (M 5YR 7/6); light red slip (M 2.5YR 6/8). 1st century AD. 4. Gray ware, plate, rim fr. (Fig. 14) Inv. HNN-A28-06-00124-US 182=US 274 Height cm. 2,5; Est. Diam. cm. 26 Light brownish gray clay (M 10YR 6/2); very dark gray glaze (M 10YR 3/1). 1st century BC. 5. Plain ware, basin, rim fr. (Fig. 15) Inv. HNN-A28-06-00184-US 169=US 274 Height cm. 4,7; Est. Diam. cm. 22 Reddish yellow clay (M 5YR 6/6); reddish yellow surface (M 7.5YR 7/6). Late 1st century BC – 1st century AD. 6. Cooking ware, chytra, rim fr. (Fig. 16) Inv. HNN-A28-06-00109 US 161=US 274 Height cm. 14,5; Est. Diam. cm. 18 Reddish brown clay (M 5YR 5/4); dark reddish gray surface (M 5YR 4/2). Late 1st century BC – 1st century AD. 7. Pink ware, plate, foot fr. (Fig. 17) Inv. HNN-A28-06-00078 US 144=US 274 Height cm. 1,6; Est. Diam. cm. 7,5 Pink clay (M 7.5YR 8/4); light red gloss (M 2.5YR 6/6). Cfr. Slane 1997, 373, pl. 34, FW 554. Late 1st century BC – middle of the 1st century AD. 8. Eastern Sig. B, plate, Hayes F. 5 (Fig. 18) Inv. HNN-A28-06-00164 US 181=US 274 Height cm. 2,6; Diam. rim cm. 12; Diam. foot cm. 8 Light red clay (M 2.5YR 6/6); red gloss (M 2.5 YR 10R 5/8). Cfr. Atlante II, 54, table XI, n. 14; Gasperetti 2003, table XC, n. 2; Hayes 2008, fig. 8, pl. 5, n. 200. Second quarter of the 1st century AD. 9. Cypriot Sig., bowl, Hayes F. P 22A (Fig. 19) Inv. HNN-A28-06-00104 US 161=US 274 423
SOMA 2011 by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Princeton. Hellström, P. 1965, Labraunda (Swedish Excavations and Researches) II.1. Pottery of Classical and Later date. Terracotta lamps and glass, Lund. Hochuly-Gysel, A. 1977, Kleinasiatische glasierte Reliefkeramik, Acta Bernensia VII, Bern. Hübner, G. 1993, Die Applikenkeramik von Pergamon, Pergamenische Forschungen, 7, Berlin – New York, W. de Gruyter. Ismaelli, T. 2009, Hierapolis di Frigia III. Architettura dorica a Hierapolis di Frigia, Istanbul, Ege yayınları. Jones, F.F. 1950, The Pottery, in Goldman, H. (ed.), Excavations at Gözlü Kule, Princeton, Princeton University Press. Lund, J. 2003, Eastern Sigillata B: a ceramic fine ware industry in the political and commercial landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean, in Abadye-Reynal, C. (ed.) 2003, 125-36, pl. LXXX-LXXXV. Malfitana, D. 2005a, Fatiche erculee nella ceramica corinzia di età romana: coppe abbinate per un ciclo figurativo incompiuto, MEFRA, Tome 117 – 2005 – 1, Roma, 17-53. Malfitana, D. 2005b, Le terre sigillate ellenistiche e romane del Mediterraneo orientale. Aspetti, tipologici, produttivi ed economici, in Gandolfi, D. (ed.), La ceramica e i materiali di età romana. Classi, produzioni, commerci e consumi. Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri, Bordighera, 121-54. Malfitana, D. 2010, Archeologia, archeometria e storia dei manufatti. Introduzione, in D’Andria, F. et al. (eds.) 2010, 181-88. Mastronuzzi, G. and Melissano, V. 2007, Le case bizantine sul lato ovest dell’Agorà (Regio I), in D’Andria, F. and Caggia, M.P. (eds.) 2007, 541-83. Mitsopoulou-Leon, V. 1991, Forschungen in Ephesos IX.2/2, Die Basilika am Staatsmarkt in Ephesos. Kleinfunde 1: Keramik hellenistischer und römischer Zeit, Wien. Poblome, J. 1999, Sagalassos Red Slip Ware. Typology and Chronology. Studies in Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology, 2, Turnhout, Brepols. Poblome, J. et al. 2001, A new Early Byzantine production centre in Western Asia Minor. A petrographycal and geochemical
study of red slip ware from Hierapolis, Perge and Sagalassos, in ReiCretActa 37, 119-26. Poblome, J. and Zelle, M. 2002, The Table Ware boom. A socioeconomic perspective from Western Asia Minor, in Berns, G. et al. (eds.), Patris und Imperium. Kulturelle und politische Identität in den Städten der römischen Provinzen Kleinasiens in der frühen Kaiserzeit. Kolloquium Köln, November 1998, BABesch Suppl. 8, 275-87. Pülz, S. 1985, Kaiserzeitliche Keramik aus dem Heroon III, IstMitt 35, 77-115. Rotroff, S. and Oliver, A. JR. 2003, The Hellenistic pottery from Sardis: the finds through 1994, Cambridge, Harvard University Press. Rotroff S. 2006, The Introduction of the Moldmade Bowl Revisited: Tracking a Hellenistic Innovation, Hesperia 75.3, 357-78. Scardozzi, G. 2010, Oil and wine production in Hierapolis of Phrygia and its territory during Roman and Byzantine age: documentation from archaeological excavations and surveys, in Proceedings of the International Congress “Olive oil and wine production in Anatolia during antiquity” (Mersin, Turkey, 6-8 November 2008), 277-302, Istanbul. Schäfer, J. 1968, Hellenistische Keramik aus Pergamon, Pergamenische Forschungen, 2, Berlin, W. de Gruyter. Semeraro, G. 2003, Hiérapolis de Phrygie. Les céramiques à reliefs hellénistiques et romaines, in Abadye-Reynal, C. (ed.) 2003, 83-89, pl. LII-LXIII. Semeraro G. 2005, Per un approccio contestuale alla lettura delle immagini: le ceramiche a rilievo di Hierapolis di Frigia, MEFRA, Tome 117 – 2005 – 1, Roma, 83-98. Slane, K.W. 1997, The fine wares, in Herbert, S.C. (ed.), Tel Anafa II,i. The Hellenistic and Roman Pottery (JRA Suppl. 10), Ann Arbor, Kelsey Museum, 247-406. Traversari, G. 2000, Laodicea di Frigia I (RdA Suppl. 24), Roma, Giorgio Bretschneider. Wintermeyer U. 1980, Katalog ausgewählter Keramik und Kleinfunde, IstMitt 30, 122-60. Zelle, M. 1997, Die Terra Sigillata aus der Westtor-Nekropole in Assos, Asia Minor Studien 27, Bonn, R. Habelt.
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Fig. 1. Archaeological map of the Northern area of Hierapolis: the remains of the oil mill (Atlante di Hierapolis 2008).
Fig. 2. Detailed plan of the area and aerial view of the installation (MAIER Archive).
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Fig. 3. 3D reconstruction of the oil mill (by M. Limoncelli).
Fig 4. Histogram of the classes of locally produced pottery identified in the deposit (US 274).
Fig. 5. Appliqué ware (MAIER Archive).
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Fig. 6. Histogram of the classes of fine ware imports from the deposit (US 274).
Fig. 7. Morphological repertoire of the Eastern Sigillata B identified in the deposit (US 274)
Fig. 8. The chronological distribution of Eastern Sigillata B.
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Fig. 9. Lead-glazed ware: chalice (top left) and fragments of skyphoi (MAIER Archive).
Fig. 10. Map of the eastern basin of the Mediterranean (Source: Google earth).
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Fig. 11. Relief ware: moldmade skyphos (MAIER Archive).
Fig. 13. Red slip ware: bowl (MAIER Archive).
Fig. 12. Mold for quadrilobate bowls (MAIER Archive).
Fig. 14. Gray ware: plate (MAIER Archive).
Fig. 15. Plain ware: basin (MAIER Archive).
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Fig. 16. Cooking ware: chytra (MAIER Archive).
Fig. 17. Pink ware from Tel Anafa: plate (MAIER Archive).
Fig. 18. Eastern Sigillata B:plate, Hayes Form 5 (MAIER Archive).
Fig. 19. Cypriot Sigillata: bowl, Hayes Form P 22A (MAIER Archive).
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Kyme of Aeolis. Excavations in the Necropolis (2007-2008): Preliminary Data Fabrizio Sudano Messina University
Between 2007 and 2008, at the site of Kyme on the west coast of Anatolia (Fig. 1), during the study entrusted to MAIKE (Missione Archeologica Italiana a Kyme Eolica – Calabria and Catania University), two necropolis areas were partially excavated.1 Both were discovered immediately south of Kyme’s urban area, thanks to works financed by the owners of the land on which the excavations were made.2
(tomb No. 5/435), with two cordon handles placed sideways on the shoulder, was covered by a circular stone slab. None of the five depositions had grave goods. During others excavations in the same area, were found some walls dated to the Hellenistic and Late-Antiquity period (Fig. 6). These walls, disposed on a significantly higher level than the graves described above, show that in the Hellenistic period the city expanded considerably, at least beyond the fortification walls of the Archaic age, occupying the entire area of the Geometric necropolis.
The necropolis of Kyme had never been precisely identified or fully brought to light. We have news of partial investigations by S. Reinach, a member of the French Archaeological School in Athens, which in 1881 revealed 150 tombs to the east of the North Hill and some essays in the same area conducted in 1925 by the Czechoslovak mission headed by A. Salač. Recently, in the 1990s, other tombs were excavated by archaeologists from the Museum of Izmir.3 The discoveries we made should therefore be considered of great importance also in relation to the excellent degree of preservation of the grave goods, both funeral depositions. The areas surveyed were called I and II, respectively, starting from the one closest to the site of Kyme.
Area II Investigations in the second area (Fig. 2), which is notably more extensive than the former, have revealed a vast necropolis dated from the Archaic period until Late Antiquity, containing graves of different types (sarcophagi, stone-and-tile boxes, ‘alla cappuccina’, incineration). This area is located on an east-west hill that slopes down to the sea, delimitated by two roads: the first, following the coast, goes to YeniFoça; the second road is directed inland. Many graves were found and dug along the road to YeniFoça. The most important ones are the stone-box type containing simple grave goods dating to the Hellenistic period (Fig. 7). A male tomb (No. 1/1169) contained a local production cup and an iron strigil (Fig. 8), while inside a female tomb (No. 2/1169) we found an Attic lekythos and a bronze needle. Based on the grave goods, both tombs can be dated to the late fourth century B.C.
Area I The oldest necropolis, dating to Geometric period, was found at the foot of the South Hill of the site, known from the excavations of M. Frasca,4 not far from the archaic fortification wall discovered in the 1950s by E. Akurgal, on a flat area close to the sea, delimitated in the western side by the ancient Kaikos river (Fig. 2).
On the eastern side of the hill, a road – almost parallel to the modern one – was found. This was six metres wide and further graves were found on both sides (Fig. 9). The most interesting are the amphora graves of the Archaic period, the Hellenistic ones, different in form and rich in grave goods, the sarcophagi, and the monumental calcareous tombs located along both sides of the road (Fig. 10). All these materials, still under investigation, enable us to confirm the long period of fame of the city mentioned in ancient sources, including the Geometric, Archaic and Hellenistic periods.
In a small area we unearthed five funeral depositions, four of them incinerated. Almost all the vessels containing the cremated bones of the dead were still perfectly intact and, on three occasions, with the tops covered with stone slabs. Deposition No. 1/435 was a dinos decorated with geometric motifs – series of inverted triangles within the metopal space and series of sigmas between horizontal bands – covered by a stone circular slab (Fig. 3); No. 3/435 was a fragment of a bucchero vase decorated with geometric engraving, put into a small hole dug in the sand (Fig. 4). The layer containing these burials was one metre deep and made of compact sand and thick roots. In the northern part of the excavation were three other depositions, one inhumation into fossa grave (No. 2/453) and two cremation burials (Fig. 5). One of these vessels, both without decoration, was a large pithos, placed horizontally, sealed by a flat stone slab and completely covered with blackish-brown paint (No. 4/435). The other vessel
Bibliography Frasca, M. 2007. ‘Il quartiere di abitazioni della collina Sud. Prime osservazioni sulla fase romana’, in Scarozza Höricht, L.A. (Ed.), ‘Kyme e l’Eolide. Da Augusto a Costantino’, Napoli 2007. Kyme II. J. Bouzek et al., ‘The Results of the Czechoslovak Expedition (Kyme II)’, Univerzita Karlova, Praga 1980. Lagona, S. 2005. ‘Kyme d’Eolide. La prima città degli Eoli sulla costa anatolica’, Catania 2005. La Marca 2006. ‘Studi su Kyme Eolica IV’, Castrovillari 2006.
I wish to thank Prof. S. Lagona, until 2007 Mission Director and his successor Prof. A. La Marca (2008). For researches at Kyme of Eolis, see in general Lagona 2005 e La Marca 2006. 2 Thanks are due to H. Ayaz and F. Kaplan. 3 For information about the Czechoslovak Mission, see Kyme II. Investigations by the Museum of Izmir are still in progress. 4 See Frasca 2007. 1
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Fig. 3: Geometric Dinos (T. 1/435) Fig. 1: North-west coast of Anatolia
Fig. 4: Part of Geometric Necropoli
Fig. 2: The site of Kyme and Necropolis areas (I and II)
Fig. 5: Tombs 4/435 and 5/435
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Fig. 6: Hellenistic buildings in Area I
Fig. 9: Paved road in Area II
Fig. 7: Tombs 1/1169 and 2/1169 in Area II
Fig. 10: One of the many monumental tombs in Area II
Fig. 8: Grave goods from Tomb 1/1169
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A Grave Dated to the Late- and Sub-Geometric Period at Mengefe Makbule Ekici
Archaeology Department, Faculty of Letters, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey
Mengefe in the Caria region is in the vicinity of modern-day Husamlar (Oren) in the province of Mugla.1 As a result of excavations conducted at one Mengefe site (the Yenikoy Lignite Plant of Turkey Coal Industries, or TKİ), a necropolis and the remains of civilian architecture dated to the Late Geometric, Classical and Hellenistic Periods were unearthed in excavations conducted in 2007-2008.2 In this paper a chamber tomb and a group of finds from the chamber tomb are presented.3
Bones and skulls were found in the tombs. Two skulls were found on the klines (east and north). kline. The orientation of the original bodies could not be ascertained as the bones were found scattered. Cremations were found within kraters, kotyles and pots. Three kraters were found resting on the east kline (Fig. 5). Another was found on the ground under the east kline. Two other cremation vessels were found on the north kline, and one on the south kline.
Architecture
The evidence from the cremation vessels and the skulls reveal nine burials in the chamber tomb.
The grave (08MM32) was built in the style of a chamber tomb, arranged east-west. A dromos exists at the entrance. The southern and northern sections of the dromos were paved with slab stones and a grave path formed.4 The width of the dromos varies from east to west and a step was created by placing a stone to a depth of 0.34m in the west.
The Finds9 Besides earthenware cremation vessels (juglet, kotyle and aryballos) other finds included a marble pendant in the shape of Bes, two bronze fibulae and a knife fragment inside the cremation vessels. These finds are destined for the Milas Museum.
There were three cover-stones placed north-south over the chamber tomb. The entrance door to the chamber tomb is in the west and the door was strengthened with a stone placed in front of the door5. The entrance to the chamber tomb is composed of two door frames well carved out of the limestone and a lintel. The door frames and lintel were well preserved (Fig.1).
Pendant in the shape of Bes (Fig. 6) Marble Height: 2 cm, Width: 1.1-0.6 cm, Depth 0.9-0.6 cm
The chamber tomb has a rectangular plan and is 2.05m long, 1.35m wide, and 1.42m in depth. The chamber tomb is built of rows of dry stone wall in each direction (Fig. 2). As the ground could be easily excavated, the walls were built around the pit to prevent collapsing and thus the tombs could be made more quickly and cheaply.6
Excavation Inventory No: 08MM32-M01 Made of white and dark grey veined marble. Male figure standing on a short pedestal He is naked, squat and has slightly bent legs. His hands rest on his thighs. He is wearing a crown (?) and his face is grotesque. He has large round ears, big eyes, flat nose and fat lips. It was found in krater 08MM32-PT04.
There are three ‘klines’ to the south, north and east of the chamber tomb. The north and south klines were formed by raised slabs off the tomb floor. The east kline is shelf-like, supported by stone slabs (Fig. 3-4).
The Egyptian God Bes is described as: ‘Bes’ is frontal and squatting. He is naked apart from the lion-skin whose tail is usually visible between his legs, and he often wears a feather crown. His hands rest on his thighs and his features are normally grotesque, animal rather than human. He is usually bearded and has mane-like hair10. According to this description we can say our pendant is a ‘Bes’ figure.
There are three niches: 2 in the southern wall and 1 in the northern wall. The niches were probably intended for offerings and gifts but no objects remained.7 Burial
There is no stylistic feature helps us to date the statuette. There is a bronze statuette from Archaic Didyma11. But it is difficult to group them either by type or chronologically12.
Evidence of both inhumations and cremations were seen in the chamber tomb. Inhumation is usually seen in Late Geometric tombs in Caria.8
Fibula (Fig. 7) Bronze
Tırpan 2008: 8 Tırpan-Söğüt 2009: 243; Tırpan-Söğüt 2010: 505 3 Thanks to Prof. Dr. Ahmet TIRPAN for this information. 4 There were three cover-stones over the dromos. The dimensions of the dromos are: 1.70m long, 0.33-0.57m wide, 1.37m deep. 5 The dimensions of the door are: 0.87m long, 0.59m wide, 0.07m thick. 6 Tırpan et al. 2010, in pre 7 For the functions of these kinds of niches in tomb chambers, see Söğüt 2003: 251-256 8 Boysal 1967: 6-10, Boysal 1970: 67-69 1 2
Height: 3 cm, Width: 3.5 cm, Thickness: 0.3 cm. ‘Karia Bölgesi Mengefe Mevkiinden Bir Grup Bant Bezemeli Seramik’ exhibition, Keramos 2011, Prof. Dr. Ahmet A. TIRPAN, Res. Asst. Makbule EKİCİ and Res. Asst. Zafer KORKMAZ 10 Wilson 1975: 78 11 Bumke 2003: 218: Abb 3 12 Wilson 1975: 94 9
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Bibliography
Symmetric arc fibula.13 The arc has a knob between two ledges. Round profiled arm forming a hinge and turning into the pin. Flat profiled arm turns into a socket at the arc’s end. It was found in krater 08MM32-PT03.
Akarca, A. 1971: ‘Beçin’, Belleten Cilt: XXXV, Sayı 137, Ankara, 1-31, Lev. 1.35. Blinkenberg, C. 1926: Lindiaka v Fibules grecques et orientales. København. Boysal, Y. 1967: ‘Karya Bölgesinde Yeni Araştırmalar’, Anadolu (Anatolia) XI, Ankara, 1-29. Boysal, Y. 1970: ‘Turgut Kazısı 1969 Yılı Raporu’, Anadolu (Anatolia) XII, Ankara, 63-78, pl. 1-15. Bumke, H. 2002: ‘Eine Bes- Statuette aus dem Apollonheiligtum von Didyma’, Ist. Mitt. 52, 209-219. Di̇ ler, A. 2009: ‘Tombs and Burials in Damlıboğaz (Hydai) and Pedasa’, F. Rumscheid (ed.), die Karer und die Anderen Internationales Kolloquium an der Freien Universitat Berlin 13.bis 15. Oktober 2005, Bonn, 359-76. Kizil, A., Özteki̇ n, İ.E., 2010: ‘2008 Yılı Muğla İli, Milas İlçesi ile Ören ve Selimiye Beldeleri’nde Arkeolojik Yüzey Araştırması’, AST 27/3, Ankara, 359-384. Levi, D. 1967: ‘Le Campagne 1962-1964 A Iasos’, ASAtene 4344, XLIII-XLIV, Roma, 401-456. Söğüt, B. 2003: ‘Dağlık Kilikya Bölgesi Mezar Nişleri’, Olba VII (Özel Sayı), İstanbul, 239-60. Tirpan, A. 2008: ‘Geç Geometrik Dönem’den İki Yeni Yerleşim: Belentepe ve Mengefe’, İdol 35-36, Ankara, 3-12. Tirpan, A., Tekocak, M., Eki̇ ci, M., 2010, ‘Two Tombs and Findings from Börükçü Necropolis”, Proceedings of Euploia, Carians and Lycians in a Mediterranean Context, Exchange and Identity’, (In Press). Tirpan, A.-Söğüt, B. 2005: ‘Lagina ve Börükçü 2003 Yılı Çalışmaları’, KST 26/2, Ankara, 371-86. Tirpan, A.-Söğüt, B. 2009: ‘Lagina ve Börükçü 2007 Yılı Çalışmaları’, KST30/4, Ankara, 243-66. Tirpan, A.-Söğüt, B. 2010: ‘Lagina ve Börükçü 2008 Yılı Çalışmaları’, KST31/3, Ankara, 505-27. Wilson V, 1975: ‘The Iconography of Bes with Particular Reference to the Cypriot Evidence’, Levant Vol. VII, London, 77-103.
Fibula (Fig. 8) Bronze Height: 2.5 cm, Width: 2.6 cm, Thickness: 0.2 cm. Excavation Inventory No: 08MM32-B02 Symmetric arc fibula. The arc has a knob between two ledges. Round profiled arm forming a hinge and turning into the pin. Flat profiled arm turning into a socket at the arc’s end. These types of fibulae are seen at Damlıboğaz and Beçin in the Caria region in the Late Geometric Period.14 Conclusion It is clear from the evidence that the tomb was built in Late Geometric Period and reused during the Sub-Geometric Period. The presence of nine burials shows that the tomb was reused over a long period, perhaps by one family. In terms of dating, the pottery is dated to the Sub-Geometric Period. The fibulae and pendant are likely to date from the same period from their context, but full analysis has not yet been completed. In the Caria region in the Late Geometric Period walled cist graves were also common.15 In addition to these there are known other different types of chamber tomb with dromos, klines and niches at sites such as Mengefe, Belentepe and Börükçü in the Caria region.16
Blinkenberg 1926: 71- Fig. 51 Diler 2009: 365- Fig. 5; Akarca 1971: Lev.4.12 15 Boysal 1970: 65-69; Akarca 1971: 10-24; Levi 1967: 490; KızılÖztekin 2010: 359-384; Tırpan Söğüt 2005:376-78 16 Tırpan-Söğüt 2005: 377; Tırpan-Söğüt 2009, 257-258; Tırpan-Söğüt 2010, 518-519 13 14
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Makbule Ekici: A Grave Dated to the Late- and Sub-Geometric Period
Fig. 1. Door frames and lintel
Fig. 2. The chamber tomb
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Fig. 3. Tomb kline
Fig. 6. Bes pendant
Fig. 4. Tomb kline
Fig.7-8. Fibulae
Fig. 5. Vessels in east kline
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Archaeology The West and Africa Beyond Aleria. Local Processes and Tyrrhenian Connections in the Early Corsican Iron Age (8Th–5Th Centuries Bc) Marine Lechenault
HiSoMA-UMR 5189, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, University of Lyon 2 Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche Archeologiche e Antropologiche dell’Antichità, University of Rome I ‘La Sapienza’
This paper1 deals with Corsica’s role in human and material circulations, and their impacts on native communities, from the 8th to 5th centuries BC. Nowadays, there is little doubt that the relationships between alphabet using populations (e.g. Etruscans, Phoenicians and Greeks) and recent Prehistoric communities represent a popular topic for debate. A relevant theme in this is that of ‘traffic’, coming from Trafics Tyrrhéniens Archaïques, the famous study by Michel Gras published in 1985. The notion of ‘traffic’ covers all the processes of interaction between ancient communities: economic, social, political and cultural. Instead of an opposition between local development and external dynamics, we may look for articulation. Considering that goods represent evidence of cross-cultural experiences, the aim is precisely to measure and interpret the traces of any foreign product found in another society.
course of excavation, will also be shortly presented. The site presents two main interests: 1) It provides an opportunity to better know the native culture; 2) The discovery of imported pottery in Cozza Torta allows us to date the settlement to the second half of the 6th c. BC, and to validate the theory of other cross-cultural exchanges outside Aleria. The 19th century was one of intensive economic, scientific and cultural exchanges between Corsica and the mainland. Businessmen, scientists and intellectuals explored the island, the most famous possibly being Prosper Mérimée. His Notes d’un voyage en Corse represents a rich archaeological and ethnological account and his aim was to gather information that could be preserved for future generations. The part played by the church in the discovery of national antiquities is well known. Contributions were made by several antiquaries, but in 1911 a long paper was written by the cleric Lucien Auguste Letteron and published in the Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Historiques et Naturelles de la Corse. This was a study devoted to the first historic – and even prehistoric – populations of the island.
One location seems to be absent from this active exchange process in the Mediterranean world: this is Corsica. Considering the absence of data about Corsica in published studies to do with trade and exchanges, the island would appear to have been excluded from Tyrrhenian ‘traffic’ – an isolation many scientists do not believe in. The famous city of Aleria has existed for a long time and is often viewed as the only way to approach the Corsican Iron Age and its relationships with the Mediterranean area, however there are some suggestions that such relationships could have happened elsewhere in Corsica. However, the evidence to contradict the traditional view is scarce. The chronological and cultural background of the Corsican Iron Age is unreliable because of the lack of references and recent excavations. Aleria has seemed the only bright spot in what Gabriel Camps called les « brumes de la Protohistoire » (Camps 1988).
The first archaeological surveys on Corsica took place at the beginning of the 20th c. (fig. 1), for example we have the explorations of G. Franceschi and M. Simonetti-Malaspina at Balagne (Letteron 1911: 15-16). Many sites, such as la Mutola, Calenzara, Belgodère, Castifao (Caziot 1897: 473) and Modria, were then revealed later. In 1900 the necropolis of Cagnano was discovered by accident. An important range of objects – including metal finds – was uncovered and some of these sent to the scientist E. Chantre for study (Chantre 1901). A. Romagnoli published a second paper in 1912 (Romagnoli 1912). The Cagnano site must be associated with Murato (Vallecalle) and a necropolis was excavated there that featured in a paper on this site published in 2003 (Ottaviani, Magdeleine, Milleliri 2003). Nowadays the sites at Murato and Cagnano are the two biggest suppliers of metallic artefacts coming both from local workshops and foreign craftspeople (Lechenault, 2012b). In 1924 R. Forrer presented another, but smaller, collection of bronzes found during the planning of the railway between Carbuccia and Bocognano. A pioneer of Corsican prehistoric studies is the scholar R. Grosjean. He notably excavated the graves of Pietra Piana, Costa-di-Muro (Nebbiu) and Pianu-di-Natu (Niolu). The 1970s witnessed an increase in archaeological surveys in Corsica. F. de
Is Corsican isolation a myth? In 2007 an academic study was carried out (Lechenault 2007). It presented an opportunity to examine the traditional views and led to many clues pointing out an early and dynamic relationship between Corsica and the Tyrrhenian Sea (Lechenault 2011). This paper has three parts. First we present the grounds of the study, the issues and their historical background. Then we expose a few results regarding Tyrrhenian ‘traffic’ and its impact on Corsican societies. Lastly, Cozza Torta, a native settlement in I would like to thank Damien Beylot for his help and reviewing quickly my text. 1
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SOMA 2011 Lanfranchi actively involved himself in the Alta-Rocca (Lugo, Santa Catalina, Cucuruzzu, and l’Ordinacciu) (De Lanfranchi 1968, 1971, 1979). M.-C. Weiss explored in the Monte Lazzu and in Modria, and P. Nebbia and J.-C. Ottaviani explored the fortified settlement of Luri in northern Corsica. In Porto-Vecchio, A. Pasquet’s researches, followed by recent surveys (P. Tramoni, J.-L. Milanini) have revealed many graves and tombs, such as Nulachiu, Strappazola and Tappa II.
societies, and their integration within the Mediterranean and European contexts. The Corsican Iron Age is divided into two periods that are separated by the foundation of Aleria. The beginning of the Corsican Iron Age remains controversial, even though there is common agreement for a date around the 9th or 8th c. BC. There is more agreement in terms of its end however – the so-called Roman conquest of 259 BC. It is important to stress that this division is an arbitrary one and does not necessarily mean a major turning point or a clear continuity of the insular societies. This break comes from the European division Hallstatt/ La Tène, even if it cannot be applied to the insular chronology. The chronological separation is also linked to the life of Aleria, seen as the cornerstone of changes across the whole island. The end of the Iron Age is also linked to the conquest of Aleria. We are therefore confronted with an unreliable chronological framework, the clarification of which is one of the main aims of the current research. The relevance of foreign goods in this matter is considerable.
Today Aleria is a major reference for the study of the ancient Mediterranean. Archaeological excavations in the pre-Roman necropolis, the ramparts, and the city itself were conducted from the 1960s to the 1990s – a large bibliography is currently available. An archaeological museum (Jérôme Carcopino) has also opened at the site. During the 1960s, the increase of archaeological studies was followed by the founding of several museums devoted to the island’s heritage. These are not only exhibitions of archaeological collections, but also of more typically contemporary Corsican material culture, collections that are still being augmented by finds from surveys and private gifts.
For the period under discussion, we may resort to epigraphic documentation (which is very rare), texts and the archaeological evidence. This evidence comes from four different sources: graves, settlements, buried, and isolated discoveries. The assessment allowed us to catalogue imported pottery, metallic ornaments (iron and bronze), glass, and a few pieces of amber and coral. Studying this archaeological documentation, we can start an economic discussion, thanks to the finds of 36 amphorae from between the 7th and 5th centuries BC (Lechenault 2011: 366). The Etruscan productions normally represent the greater proportion.
All through the last century, there has been no real direction given to the study of the Corsican Iron Age and consequently some of the general literature is limited. Although we can explain the development of Sardinia by cross referencing to Italian and Northern African archaeology, unfortunately the Corsican Metal Ages have only started to receive the same attention within the last ten years. Reading the scientific reports of the 1990s, it is soon noticeable how few surveys have been devoted to the Iron Age whereas the number of surveys dedicated to the Neolithic illustrates a much higher interest. Environmental difficulties (such as mountains and vegetation) can also be mentioned. These represent true obstacles for all aspects of the archaeologist’s work: surveys, excavation, protection and valorisation.
The main limits of the survey are, first of all, the frequent unreliability of the archaeological contexts: evidence often comes from ancient and inaccurate excavations, with little or no stratigraphical indication. Moreover, the lack of sites and references still prevent us from understanding the evidence as well as we would like.
Nevertheless, serious work has been undertaken in recent years. This began with the anthropological studies of J.-L. Milanini (1998) and H. David (2001). These were followed by M.-L. Marchetti (2007), S. Mazet (2008), M. Lechenault (2011) and K. Pêche-Quilichini (2011).
The survey allowed us to prove that the relationships between Corsica and the Tyrrhenian Sea began a long time before the foundation of Aleria. The earliest goods that reached the Corsican coasts are the Villanovian fibulae, by the end of 9th c. BC. Etruria seems to be the main partner of Corsica all through the period. The relationships and their socio-cultural consequences are especially visible in northern Corsica. One explanation of this dynamic could be the presence of iron and copper mines in northern Corsica. Another bonus is the discovery of Corsican goods, as fibulae, in Italy (for example Maggiani 1979; Cygielman and Millemaci 2007).
Thanks to excavations of the protohistoric settlements (fig. 2) such as Cozza Torta (Porto-Vecchio), Cuciurpula (Serra-diScopamène, Santa-Lucia-di-Tallano) and Sidossi (E Mizane), much new data has contributed to our understanding of cultural and chronological problems. Conferences have also helped increase awareness. In 2009, the meeting at Serra-di-Scopamène (published in 2012) was one of the first occasions for a long time for Corsican archaeologists to meet and discuss their work, as did the XXVIII Convegno di Studi Etruschi ed Italici in 2011.
There is no doubt that ‘exchanges’ between communities can have significant effects on lifestyles and identities. Those consequences are visible through two phenomena: 1) The integration of foreign artefacts; 2) The conception of new and hybrid artefacts.
During the second half of the 20th century, the Sardinian and Peninsular scholar’s interest in Etruscan, Phoenician and Greek imports was a way to instigate many chronological and crosscultural issues. In doing so, they could build references and then go further in the study of native cultures. By applying this supposition we can assume that these imports had a strong role to play in acquiring a better knowledge of the Corsican Iron Age. To this end a database of foreign artefacts found in Corsica between the late 9th and 5th centuries BC was created. Goods were considered as clues for a better understanding of insular
There is evidence of mass diffusion of Italic fibulae in Corsica since the end of the 9th c. BC (Lechenault, in press). The arrival is especially visible in northern Corsica: Nebbiu, Cap, Balagne and Niolu. As a consequence, some new types do appear, such as the serpentiform Corsican fibula (Antolini and Lechenault, in progress).
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Marine Lechenault: Beyond Aleria suggesting that the lack of imported pottery in Corsica does not reflect a reality, but the lack so far of surveys.
The diffusion continued later, during the 7th, 6th and 5th centuries BC. The so-called ‘Corsican type’ appears at the beginning of the 5th c. BC. It is important to say that some specimens have also been found in Italy. This is an excellent way to illustrate the human traffic between the island and the peninsula. However, the same cannot be applied to Sardinia, where fibulae are less common: Sardinia does not seem to have its own fibula type.
« En fait, il me paraît évident que dès les origines de la ville, la population indigène était en contact étroit avec les nouveaux venus.» (Camps 1988: 182) Better knowledge of Corsican communities allows us to better focus our research on Aleria’s early inhabitants. Even though discovery of the site amazed the archaeological world it did not seem to raise enough questions, or researches dedicated to them. These inhabitants did leave a few graves, and were found in the city. One of the most famous of these was Tomb 101, containing a woman and a child and whose jewellery was almost identical other protohistoric finds (Jehasse and Jehasse 1973: 251).
Another example is the small metallic wheel, so typical in the European Bronze and Iron Ages. Their associations with a Corsican-type belt led to a new style, a curl of belt in the shape of a wheel. Once again, this is a synthesis between a foreign shape and local technological solutions. The Tyrrhenian Sea connections could also have some consequences for social definition. This becomes apparent when analysing native tombs and one of the primary means of determining social status. The 8th c. BC tombs of Cime and Costa-di-Muro are remarkable for their overall lack of material, even vases. However in both these graves one Etruscan fibula is present and this could be indicative of the interest these populations had in foreign goods.
Conclusion The new interest in the Corsican Iron Age seems to have ended the idea that Corsica was a passive island neglected by the cultural flows of the Mediterranean. Today the Iron Age is becoming the main focus for recent excavations, academic studies and scientific debate.
The later centuries were marked by the increase in the number and diversification of foreign and local material found in graves. The foreign goods are almost always metallic. Metals, especially bronze, seem to have been important for showing high social status. Also the miscellaneous personal ornaments found (bracelets, pendants, fibulae and necklaces) suggest a general demonstration of individual prestige.
There is little doubt that the different cultural facets were influenced by contacts with foreigners and led to the integration of non-native artefacts and the rise of hybrid types. These relationships also had consequences upon the social and political networks and these are especially visible at the beginning of the Iron Age for communities in the north of the island. For these communities the fibulae seem to be the favoured item chosen for grave goods. The proportions of foreign and metallic items increase later. It is possible to hypothesise that the Mediterranean traffic had an influence upon territoriality, such as movements towards the coastline during the Iron Age.
Corsica’s northern communities seem to have readily adopted a culture of metals (Cagnano, Murato). The south of the island once again stands out for its lack of metallic goods inside its graves before the 6th c. BC.
Etruria was clearly the primary partner for Corsican communities. Significant differences exist between the developmental activities of Corsica and Sardinia: Phoenician elements in Corsica are very rare. Could this suggest a territorial sharing between the Etruscan and Phoenician poleis?
« Les importations sont un formidable révélateur des lieux de pouvoir chez les indigènes. On les dirait comme « aspirées » par le pouvoir local » (Gras 2004: 229). Did this traffic have any influence on local power, for example on the territorial dynamics? As Pascal Ruby, Patrice Brun and Maurice Godelier have said, the settlement pattern reflects the strategy of the political power (Ruby 1999). It is too early to perceive a hierarchy among the settlements of the Corsican Iron Age, mainly because of the poor knowledge of the local pottery, which so important for surveys. It is at least possible to say that during the Iron Age, 60% of the sites are found between the shore and 5km from the coasts (Mazet 2008: 366). When compared to the Late Bronze Age, the movement toward the littoral is noticeable. This trend will go on over the following centuries.
The survey also allows us to see another important difference between northern and southern Corsica. It does not prove the isolation of the southern populations, but most certainly a different development as a result of specific political and cultural agendas. Metals could begin to explain this difference, as the mining of copper and iron seems to have been easier in the north. It is still difficult to perceive the impact of southern communities within this landscape. For this we will need a new evaluation of the whole protohistoric settling. To go further it will be necessary to carry out more archaeological surveys in northern Corsica, especially at Iron Age settlements. To have a better understanding of the island’s metals (copper and iron) we must also conduct more analyses on metallic artefacts.
As previously said, Cozza Torta is one of the rare native settlements of the Iron Age excavated so far in Corsica. It can provide reliable information about the insular lifestyle. The site is also interesting because of its imported pottery, dating from the middle and the second half of the 6th c. BC (Etruscan and Massaliote amphorae, Massaliote pottery, a few pieces of bucchero and Attic pottery). Of course, these clues must be connected to Aleria’s foundation in the first half of the 6th c. BC (Milanini, Tramoni et al., in press).
Islands such as Corsica remain an ideal field for approaching mechanisms of exchange in terms of their economic, cultural and social processes. Bibliography
The evidence found at Cozza Torta is enough to affect the statistics in terms of imported pottery for the whole of Corsica,
Antolini, J.-P. (2012). Le Niolu à l’âge du Fer, état des connaissances, IN: proceedings of Serra-di-Scopamène’s
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SOMA 2011 meeting: L’âge du Fer en Corse - acquis et perspectives, Associu Cuciurpula, 58-77. Camps, G. (1988). La Corse à l’Âge du Fer. Travaux du L.A.P.M.O., 175-84. Caziot, M. (1897). Découvertes d’objets préhistoriques et protohistoriques faites dans l’île de Corse. Bulletin de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris, 5, 463-76. Cesari, J. (1999). Corse des origines. Guides archéologiques de la France, Paris, éd. du Patrimoine. Chantre, E. (1901). La nécropole protohistorique de Cagnano, près Luri (Corse). Compte-rendu du Congrès de l’Association Française pour l’Avancement des Sciences, 715-23. Cygielman, M., Millemaci G. (2007). Vetulonia, via Garibaldi (Castiglione della Pescaia, GR): scavi 2003-2006. Materiali per Populonia, 6, 345-86. David, H. (2001). Paléoanthropologie et pratiques funéraires en Corse, du Mésolithique à l’Âge du Fer. BAR International Series, Oxford, BAR Publishing. Gras, M. (1985). Trafics tyrrhéniens archaïques. Paris, Bibliothèque des Écoles Françaises d’Athènes et de Rome, 258. Gras, M. (2004). Les Étrusques vus de la Gaule: échanges maritimes et implantations. Documents d’Archéologie Méridionale, 27, 213-35. Jehasse, J. and Jehasse, L. (1973). La nécropole préromaine d’Aléria. 25th supplément à Gallia, Paris, éd. du CNRS. Jehasse, J. and Jehasse, L. (2001). Aléria, nouvelles données de la nécropole. Lyon, Travaux de la Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, 34. Lanfranchi, F. de. (1968). Les sépultures de Santa Catalina et de Cucuruzzu (Lévie, Corse). Corse Historique, 29-30, 67-87. Lanfranchi, F. de. 1971). Une tombe sous abri de l’Âge du Fer à Lugo (Zonza, Corse). Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, 68, 2, 610-7. Lanfranchi, F. de. (1979). Les résultats d’un premier sondage dans le village protohistorique de Cucuruzzu (Lévie, Corse). Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, 76, 3, 80-6. Lanfranchi, F. de and Luzi, C. (1971). La grotte sépulcrale de L’Ordinacciu, Solaro (Corse). Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique de l’Ariège, XXVI, 127-40. Lechenault, M. (2007). Le mobilier métallique d’origine étrusque en Corse et en Sardaigne. Mémoire de Master 2, University Lyon 2. Lechenault, M. (2011). Les trafics dans les îles de Méditerranée centrale et occidentale au Premier Âge du Fer : la Corse des échanges. PhD thesis, Universities Lyon 2 – Roma I La Sapienza. Lechenault, M. (2012a). Les fibules de l’Âge du Fer corse: aspects méthodologiques et état des recherches », IN: proceedings of Serra-di-Scopamène’s meeting: L’âge du Fer en Corse acquis et perspectives, Associu Cuciurpula, 96-106.
Lechenault, M. (2012b). L’Età del Ferro in Corsica fra sviluppo endogeno e flussi mediterranei: attualità della ricerca archeologica. Materiali per Populonia, 10. Priest Letteron, Lucien Auguste (1911). Notice historique sur l’île de Corse depuis les origines jusqu’à l’établissement de l’Empire romain. Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Historiques et Naturelles de la Corse, 331-333, 1-55. Magdeleine, J., Milleliri, A., Ottaviani, J.-C. (2003). La Teppa di Lucciana, nécropole protohistorique, commune de Vallecalle (Haute-Corse). Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Historiques et Naturelles de la Corse, 702-703, 7-80. Maggiani, A. (1979). Urna cineraria con corredo dalla Val di Cornia. Contributo alla definizione del territorio volterrano in età ellenistica. Studi in onore di Enrico Fiumi, 99-108. Marchetti, M.-L. (2007). Les sépultures préhistoriques et protohistoriques en abri-sous-roche de la Corse dans le contexte méditerranéen : analyse et identification des pratiques funéraires. PhD thesis, university of Corsica. Mazet, S. (2008). Les enceintes pré et protohistoriques de Corse: essai de comparaison avec quelques sites de Toscane. BAR International Series, 1815. Oxford, BAR Publishing. Milanini J.-L. (1998). La sépulture à l’Âge du Fer : acquis et problèmes. Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Naturelles et Historiques de la Corse, 682-683-684, 9-31. Milanini, L.-L., Tramoni, P., Gantès, F.-L., Pasquet, A. (2012). Cozza Torta (Porto-Vecchio, Corse-du-Sud), habitat indigène du VIe s. av. J.-C.: note préliminaire sur les rapports entre indigènes, Étrusques et Massaliètes, Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française, 109, 4, 767-786. Pêche-Quilichini, K. , Bergerot, L., Lachenal Th., Martinetti D., Py, V., Regert M. (2012). La fouille de Cuciurpula: la structure 1, IN: proceedings of Serra-di-Scopamène’s meeting: L’âge du Fer en Corse - acquis et perspectives, Associu Cuciurpula, 35-57. Romagnoli, A. (1912). Communication sur les découvertes de Cagnano-1900. Corse Historique, 29-30, I, 98-3. Romagnoli, A. (1968). Relation sur une découverte faite à Cagnano (Corse) de l’époque proto-historique (vers la fin de l’Âge du Fer). Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Historiques et Naturelles de la Corse, 346-348, 321-8. Ruby, P. ed. (1999). Les Princes de la Protohistoire et l’émergence de l’État. Rome, Collection de l’École française de Rome, 252, Collection du Centre Jean Bérard, 17. Tramoni, P. (1998). Les productions céramiques terriniennes, nouvelle approche de la fin du Néolithique en Corse. IN: Acts of the 2nd Rencontres Méridionales de Préhistoire Ré́ cente, Arles, éd. APDCA, 163-86. Tramoni, P. (2000). Le Terrinien, Néolithique final ou Chalcolithique? Matériaux pour une réflexion chronologique et culturelle de la fin du Néolithique en Corse. IN: 9th Rencontres Culturelles Interdisciplinaires du Musée de l’AltaRocca, Archeologia Corsa, hors-sé́ rie n°1, 15-24.
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Marine Lechenault: Beyond Aleria
Figure 1: The graves (Lechenault 2011)
Figure 2: The main sites mentioned (Lechenault 2011)
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Genesis and Development of the First Complex Societies in the Northeastern Iberian Peninsula During the First Iron Age (7th-6th Centuries BC). The Sant Jaume Complex (Alcanar, Catalonia) David Garcia i Rubert, Isabel Moreno Martínez, Francisco Gracia Alonso, Laia Font Valentín, Marta Mateu Sagué GRAP, Departament de Prehistòria, Història Antiga i Arqueologia, University of Barcelona, Catalonia
specific model of social, political and economic organization for the late Early Iron Age and early Ancient Iberian period in the mouth of the river Ebro, based on small, tower-shaped aristocratic residences, the house-tower model of Tossal Montañés (Moret 2001b:100) (Moret et al. 2006: 244). Another interesting hypothesis is that cultic conceptions of eastern origin were introduced into the indigenous environment in a territory similar to this one during the 6th century BC, and that they were related to the appearance of new forms of political integration. This hypothesis is proposed by the research team directed by J. Diloli at the Rovira i Virgili University, as a result of the excavations carried out at the Turó del Calvari site (Bea, Diloli 2005) (Bea et al. 2002).
Introduction We present a reflection on the genesis and development of the first complex societies in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula1. It is generally agreed that the first records of complex societies with a certain degree of consolidation in this area are linked to the appearance of the Iberian Culture in the mid-6th century BC. We believe, however, that during the immediately preceding period (Early Iron Age, 7th century BC) there were already some isolated phenomena of hierarchical societies. We exemplify our proposal with a case study, the Sant Jaume Complex. This is a group of five settlements located on hills, close to each other on the southern coast of Catalonia, some 20 km. south of the mouth of the river Ebro. Their characteristics suggest that these settlements were inhabited by a single community, and that each one had different, complementary functions. This community established intense, lasting trade relations with the Phoenician seafarers. According to our working hypothesis, the socio-political system of organization of this settlement unit corresponds to what social anthropology terms a ‘chiefdom’, albeit an incipient one.
Lastly, we should mention the work of J. Sanmartí, from the University of Barcelona, with its wide range across territories, eras, and cultures. From a neo-evolutionary theoretical position, Sanmartí suggests that the systems of organization of the protohistoric communities in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula evolved from the egalitarian or pseudo-egalitarian models characteristic of the Early Iron Age into the state or pseudo-state models that developed during the late Iberian culture. In general, we fully agree with this valuable proposal; however, we do not subscribe to Sanmartí’s view when he says that, in spite of the sporadic evidence of increases in status and the appearance of signs of inequality, social models more complex than the BigMan model could not have arisen in this area during the Early Iron Age (Sanmartí 2004: 20). On the contrary, in our opinion there is enough evidence to argue that in some places small-scale emerging chiefdoms may have appeared in the last decades of the 7th century BC: among them, the one we describe here.
The GRAP (Grup de Recerca en Arqueologia Protohistòrica / Protohistoric Archaeology Research Group) from the University of Barcelona has been carrying out excavations in the south of Catalonia since 1985. All the works conducted by this group are part of the program and general aims of the group, which focuses their efforts on the study of protohistoric communities in that zone, in the river Senia and the final course of the river Ebro area. Socio-political systems of protohistoric societie
The Sant Jaume Complex within the framework of the Early Iron Age in this area
An interesting scientific debate has developed in the past few years with respect to the definition of the socio-political systems of protohistoric societies (societies in the Early Iron Age, and Ancient, Middle and Late Iberian periods) in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, and their subsequent evolution. In fact, the study of the systems of organization of societies in the protohistoric period in the Catalan area and neighbouring territories has advanced significantly in the past fifteen years.
The area studied is located in the far south of Catalonia and the north of Valencia, some 20 km. south of the mouth of the river Ebro. In this area, which covers some 1000km2, a high density of settlements established ex novo is documented during the Early Iron Age (mid-7th century to the beginnings of the 6th century BC). A cursory look at the distribution of inhabited centres in the general map of the area is enough to suggest the existence of several groups of settlements (Fig. 1).
The contributions made by several research groups are especially worth mentioning. P. Moret’s group, for example, defined a
Our starting point is the extreme proximity between these centres. We consider this proximity to be significant in social and political terms, and suggest that behind it lie contacts and a relation of dependence between settlements. Our research team has studied the settlements in one of these groups, the one located in the mouth of the river Sénia, for more than twenty years.
This work is part of the HAR2008-04663/HIST project, funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, and the project SGR2009-243 of the Generalitat de Catalunya. It is also part of the grants awarded for the completion of excavation of the settlements of Sant Jaume and la Ferradura by the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Cities of Alcanar and Ulldecona. 1
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SOMA 2011 The five settlements in the group, La Moleta del Remei, Sant Jaume, La Ferradura, La Cogula and El Castell, are all close together (Fig. 2). Our knowledge of these settlements is uneven. At the larger sites such as La Moleta del Remei, Sant Jaume and La Ferradura numerous excavation campaigns have been carried out as part of our research program since 1985, but we know very little about the other two. Here is a summary of their main features.
of the site is very limited, other than the evidence of human occupation during the period (Garcia i Rubert 2005b) (Garcia i Rubert et al. 2002: 171-184)4. The lack of data makes it particularly difficult to determine the function of the settlement, but we can consider that this settlement formed part of the Sant Jaume Complex in accordance with the proximity between it and the other sites and the characteristics of the recovered pottery (Bea, D. et al., 2008:149). We can guess at a relation with the cultivation of the fields around. On the other hand, its highly strategic location may well reflect a desire for direct visual surveillance both of the southern exit of this depression and of the nearby path linking the coast and the inland area.
La Ferradura2 This is a small settlement located on a high ledge at the southern end of the Montsià mountain range and situated 300 m. above sea level and 100 m. over the neighbourhood (Garcia i Rubert, 2005). It was first excavated in 1972 by J. Maluquer de Motes (Maluquer de Motes 1983) (VVAA 1972: 16), and the excavation was resumed in 2009. Our work has revealed a set of eleven rooms covering an approximate surface area of 400m2 (Fig. 3).
La Moleta del Remei5 The Moleta hill, at the top of which we find the settlement of the same name, is located in the southern foothills of the Montsià mountain range (208m above sea level and 100m over the neighbourhood), in the village of Alcanar. The hilltop, pseudooval in form, is quite flat; the evenness of the terrain would have allowed the planning of a settlement of respectable size for the time and area (Fig. 5). La Moleta is the only settlement of the five that was again inhabited in the Iberian age6, after a hiatus in occupation of approximately 100 years.
The settlement’s defensive system is very simple. Its elevated location suggests a certain concern with defence with a simple enclosing wall that is not very thick. La Ferradura was probably constructed here in order to watch over the communication routes (Fig. 4). La Ferradura is at the crossroads of two local paths of great importance: the broad, long path in the Ulldecona depression, running north-south, and the path which crosses the southern third of the Montsià mountain range in a northwest-southeast direction and links this depression with the coast, passing near the Sant Jaume and La Moleta sites.
During the Early Iron Age this settlement had a pseudo-oval ground plan (Fig. 3), covering a surface area of some 3800m2 – extremely large for this area of the Iberian Peninsula and this period. The planning differs slightly from the old tradition of settlements with a central space or street.
With regard to the settlement’s functions, we think that it combined farming and livestock raising with strategic activities, like watching over nearby roads and the area’s road traffic in general.
Most constructions built during this early period have a rectangular ground plan, and an average surface area of some 21m2. They seldom have inner walls. Most have large circular fire pits in a central area. We conclude that most of them were domestic dwellings, possibly inhabited by nuclear families. The wall around the settlement has an average width of 2m.
La Cogula La Cogula is located at the highest spot of the same orographic unit as La Ferradura, which lies further north, and it is situated 406 m. above sea level and 200 m. over the neighbourhood. As a result of this position, the visibility from the top of the peak is excellent. The site, with a surface area of 300m2 at the most, has not been fully studied (Garcia i Rubert, 2005).3
La Moleta appears to have been a village, where several families lived together. An estimated 300 inhabitants lived here, making it one of the largest sites in this period in the whole of the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. Sant Jaume7
The location of the settlement is hard to explain in strictly economic terms. The main concern was clearly to find the highest, steepest, most inhospitable place in the area. The settlement’s height, the difficulty of access and the terrain, the excellent visibility from the peak (allowing full surveillance of the region), and its extremely small size all suggest that La Cogula served as a watchtower from which the surrounding area could be observed.
Sant Jaume is an exceptional site located on the top of a low hill 2km from the coast and situated 224m above sea level. This small settlement (some 495m2) has a pseudo-circular ground plan and is in an excellent state of preservation, as the walls still have an
However, in this site was documented human occupation also in other historical periods. 5 Archaeological excavations were carried out by GRAP from 1985 to 1997. Further works related with this settlement: (Ferrer et al. 2008), (Garcia i Rubert 2004; 2005b), (Garcia i Rubert et al. 2006), (Gracia 1995; 1998; 1998b), (Gracia et al. 1988; 1989), (Oliver 1996). 6 One of the elements added in the Iberian Age is the tower that we can observe, reconstructed, in the site (Garcia i Rubert 2004). 7 Archaeological excavations are being carried out by GRAP since 1997. Further works related with this settlement: (Garcia i Rubert 2005; 2005b; 2009; 2009b; 2010) (Garcia i Rubert, Moreno 2008; 2009) (Bea et al. 2008) (Garcia i Rubert et al, 2004; 2005; 2005b; 2006; 2007; 2009) (Armada et al. 2005) (Garcia i Rubert, Gracia 2002; 2010) (López et al. 2011). 4
El Castell d’Ulldecona This protohistoric settlement was located at the top of a hill (256m above sea level) in the far south of the Foia d’Ulldecona, in a central position in this depression (Ulldecona). Our knowledge Further works related with this settlement: (Belarte 1997: 35) (Garcia i Rubert 2005b) (Garcia i Rubert, Gracia 1998). 3 The information about this site is known from the emergency excavation which take place in 1994 (Artigues, 1994), and also from the prospection season carried out between 1997 and 1998 (Garcia i Rubert, 1999). 2
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David Garcia i Rubert et al.: Genesis and Development of the First Complex Societies average height of 2 m. To date, two areas of the site, accounting for approximately 35% of the total, have been excavated (Fig. 6).
Phoenician seafarers. This circumstance makes the settlement all the more remarkable.
The settlement is characterized by a distribution of several sets of constructions, arranged according to an orthogonal pattern (Fig. 3). None of the constructions excavated to date can be considered as domestic dwellings. They are rectangular, two-floor buildings. In some cases the ground floor seems to have been used as a stable, and in others it seems to have been used for the processing of farm and livestock products. In all cases the first floor was used to store large quantities of containers, manufactured products, raw materials and other objects.
Thanks to the work carried out in the past few years, our understanding of the functions of the five settlements has made significant progress. Many hypotheses have put forward, some more convincing than others. The list of the functional types identified to date includes at least two defensive and/or local surveillance posts (La Ferradura and El Castell), a watchtower (La Cogula), a village where most of the community would have lived and which would have been the base of the farming and livestock activities in the surrounding territory (La Moleta del Remei), and a large isolated, fortified house (Sant Jaume), the seat of a chief who would have lived outside the community to which he belonged.
The defensive system is characterized by the combination of three elements: a double face wall up to 4 m wide which encloses the settlement, a long, narrow tower (T1), round at the top, which adjoins the eastern third of the wall’s northern section, and an original system of fortification of the gate, formed, among other structures, by several advanced walls. In our view, the monumental and representative aspect of the design and construction of the T1-wall-fortified gate set was as important as purely defensive concerns (Fig. 7). This defensive system is unique in the whole of the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula during this period (Garcia i Rubert 2009b)
Analysis of the system of social and political integration The data available show that the five sites were simultaneously occupied only during a very specific period of time in the Early Iron Age. During this period, the sites present a series of features which only make sense if we accept the existence of a high degree of interrelation between them. Our analysis of the defining features of these settlements and their interrelations (Garcia i Rubert 2011) suggests that this concentration was of considerable political, social and economic significance in the area to the north of the mouth of the river Sènia during the Early Iron Age. It seems clear that there were close links between the settlements, probably within the framework provided by the political and territorial entity to which they belong, which we call the Sant Jaume Complex (Garcia i Rubert 2005b).
In addition to indigenous ceramics (all handmade) (fig. 8) the site also contains a significant number of wheel-made imported ceramics of Phoenician origin. Altogether, the constructions in the northern sector studied to date have produced some 14,000 ceramic fragments, up to 30% of which are Phoenician vases (fig. 9). Inside the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula, Sant Jaume seems to have been the centre with the strongest trade relations with the Phoenician world, alongside Aldovesta (Benifallet, Ribera d’Ebre) (Gracia 2008) (Asensio et al. 1994-96) (Mascort et al. 1991).
We suggest that the emergence of strong leaders in this territory resulted in the establishment of a model characterized by (among other things) a strong physical separation between different sectors in the same community. This is especially so with respect to the society’s elite, possibly a section of a powerful local lineage that occupied a residence of their own, in Sant Jaume.
Finally, the site contains a large number of prestige goods. Among them, Phoenician wine, stored in the many amphorae recovered, would have been the most valuable. In addition, we have to emphasize the presence of bronze objects (simpulum, pendants,...) and iron objects (spits, knives, axes...).
The evidence from the Sant Jaume Complex points to the development of a dynamic of social and residential segregation throughout the 7th century BC. This dynamic would have been promoted by a small sector of the community, possibly united around a main figure (and a family/lineage), who would have acquired an extremely high degree of social prestige with respect to the rest of the group. Our data suggest that this process of social hierarchization was linked to the permanent arrival of manufactured Phoenician products and the control of the entry of these products into the territory (Garcia i Rubert, Gracia 2010) (Gracia 1995; 1998). In order to consolidate and reproduce the privileges obtained, members of the local elite decided not to build larger houses within the traditional community village but to stress their elevated status by moving away, distancing themselves from the community of which they were members. In so doing, they developed a new architectural program and a new pattern of settlement. In Sant Jaume (the residence of this elite) the builders were careful to include in its design the use of the formal language specific to fortifications and its enormous semiotic potential. This new architectural model ultimately became a real symbol both of the authority of this elite over the rest of the community and of the control over the surrounding territory and settlements which was exercised from this building.
The site is not only exceptional because of the characteristics of its artefacts, but because of other aspects such as ground plan, which is foreign to its environment and without parallel in contemporary or even immediately previous contexts. It seems to have been designed with the aim of organizing the inner space into areas with distinct functions, such as a storage area and stable, a workshop, and a strictly domestic area. It is also significant that the settlement is fortified; this is one of the first settlements in the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula where we have identified structures that can be considered to be fortifications. We believe that Sant Jaume has to be interpreted as a large, fortified house. This hypothesis regarding the site’s function is based on its architecture and on the organization of the inner space, and on its relation with the nearby settlements. We imagine an imposing, monumental building that would most probably have been inhabited by one elite family, the seat of a local chief who wished to pass his power on to his successors (Garcia i Rubert et al. 2006). The massive presence of large Phoenician vases – among them some interesting specimens such as the dozen Phoenician amphorae stored in the first floor of construction A3 – also suggests Sant Jaume played a fundamental role in the trade relations between the inhabitants of this territory and the
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SOMA 2011 Asensio, D.; Belarte, M.C; Ferrer, C.; Noguera, J.; Sanmartí, J.; Santacana, J. 1994-96: “El poblament de les comarques del curs inferior de l’Ebre durant el Bronze Final i la Primera Edat del Ferro”, Gala, 3-5, pp. 301-318. Bea, D.; Diloli, J.; Garcia i Rubert, D.; Gracia, F.; Moreno, I.; Rafel, N.; Sardà, S. 2008: “Contacte i interacció entre indígenes i fenicis a les terres de l’Ebre i del Sénia durant la primera edat del Ferro”, Contactes. Indígenes i fenicis a la Mediterrània Occidental entre els segles VIII i VI ane. GRAP and Ajuntament d’Alcanar: 135-169. Bea, D.; Diloli, J. 2005: “Elementos de representació durant la primera edat del ferro al curs inferior de l’Ebre: el recinte del Turó del Calvari (Vilalba dels Arcs, Terra Alta)”, Revista d’Arqueologia de Ponent, 15, pp. 179-198. Lleida. Bea, D.; Diloli, J.; Vilaseca, A. 2002: “El Turó del Calvari (Villalba dels Arcs, Terra Alta). Un recinte singular de la primera edat del ferro al curs inferior de l’Ebre”, Ilercavonia, 3, pp: 75-87. Belarte, Mª. C. 1997: Arquitectura domèstica i estructura social a la Catalunya protohistòrica, Arqueomediterrània, 1, Universitat de Barcelona. Ferrer, J.; Garcia i Rubert, D.; Moreno, I.; Velaza, J. 2008: “Una inscripción ibérica sobre plomo procedente del poblado de la Moleta del Remei (Alcanar, Montsià, Tarragona)”, Palaeohispánica, 8, Inst. Fernando el Católico: 203-216. Zaragoza Garcia i Rubert, D. 2004: “El plantejament urbanístic i defensiu del poblat de la Moleta del Remei (Alcanar, Montsià) durant la primera edat del ferro”, Revista d’Arqueologia de Ponent, 14: 179-200. Un. of Lleida. Lleida Garcia i Rubert, D. 2005: “El yacimiento de la Primera Edad del Hierro de Sant Jaume-Mas d’en Serrà (Alcanar, Montsià, Catalunya) y el proceso de iberización en el curso del río Senia y áreas limítrofes”, Encuentro de Jóvenes Investigadores sobre Bronce Final y Edad del Hierro en la Península Ibérica. Un. of Salamanca. (DVD Format). Garcia i Rubert, D. 2005b: El poblament del primer ferro a les terres del riu Sénia. Els assentaments de la Moleta del Remei, Sant Jaume, la Ferradura i la Cogula durant els segles VII i VI ane, Un. of Barcelona, Doctoral Tesis. Garcia i Rubert, D. 2009: “Tyrichae al riu Sénia. Rellegint l’Ora Marítima d’Aviè”, Saguntum, 40 (2008), Un. of València: 79108. Garcia i Rubert, D. 2009b: “Els sistemes de fortificació de la porta d’accés a l’assentament de la primera edat del ferro de Sant Jaume (Alcanar, Montsià)”, Revista d’Arqueologia de Ponent, 19: 205-229. Un. of Lleida. Garcia i Rubert, D. 2010: “Sant Jaume. Une résidence aristocratique du VIIe s. av. J.-C. dans le sud de la Catalogne“. Dossiers d’Archéologie, 339 : 80-83. Garcia i Rubert, D. 2011: “Nuevas aportaciones al estudio de los patrones de asentamiento en el nordeste de la Península Ibérica durante la Primera Edad del Hierro. El caso del Complejo Sant Jaume”. Trabajos de Prehistoria. CSIC. Garcia i Rubert, D.; Álvarez, R.; Forcadell, T.; López, A. 2002: “Excavacions a l’assentament ibèric del Castell d’Ulldecona (Ulldecona, Montsià). Un balanç de conjunt”, Ilercavònia, 3: 171-184. Garcia i Rubert, D.; Gracia, F. 1998: “Un conjunto de pondera procedentes del yacimiento preibérico de la Ferradura (Ulldecona, Montsià, Tarragona)”, Pyrenae, 29: 205-225. Un. of Barcelona. Garcia i Rubert, D.; Gracia, F. 2002: “El jaciment preibèric de Sant Jaume/Mas d’en Serrà (Alcanar, Montsià). Campanyes d’excavació 1997-2001”, Ilercavònia, 3: 37-50.
The residence also concentrated riches and luxury items as well as part of the means of production. The existence of this settlement is the strongest evidence that this is, essentially, an aristocratic phenomenon: the construction of a unique, highly symbolic fortified house. It was probably designed as the lodgings not only of the current community leader who had planned and carried out its construction, but of his offspring as well; an individual would be most unlikely to embark on a project of this scale unless he intended to pass on to his successors both the house and the social and political privileges that he had accumulated. All these features of the Sant Jaume Complex (the existence of a distinct status, the seemingly hereditary character of power, the possible attempt to institutionalize power, differential access to precious goods, differences in architecture and building design depending on the status of residents, regional centralization, etc.) are enough to infer that the basic form of organization of the Complex had a distinctly unequal character and seems to be characteristic of chiefdom systems. We believe that the Sant Jaume Complex may represent a case of very simple chiefdom, or even an incipient or emerging chiefdom. Finally, we stress that this experiment of social hierarchization was unsuccessful: around 600 BC or shortly afterwards, all five settlements were violently destroyed and abandoned. This appearance of emerging chiefdom systems in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the Early Iron Age was probably a phenomenon of uneven rather than general development, characterized in any case by a low level of complexity and high instability. In territories near the Sénia area, such as the lower course of the river Ebro, it has not been possible to identify the contemporary existence of systems of socio-political integration similar to the one we describe here; in fact, the evidence points to the implementation and development of much more simple and egalitarian systems (Asensio et al. 1994-96) (Noguera, 2002) (Sanmartí et al. 2006: 152). On the other hand, communities located further afield distant areas did develop socio-political systems which have also been interpreted as simple chiefdoms at a similar time, and in circumstances that may have differed greatly from those observed contemporarily in the Sénia area: this appears to be the case, for instance, of the western Catalan plain (GIP 2003: 256-260). There is no doubt that new studies will help to further identify and define these first attempts to introduce hierarchized societies in these territories which were characterized by, among other things, the elite’s desire to advertise its position of hegemony with a clearly hereditary aim in mind. Contributor David GARCIA i RUBERT ([email protected]); Isabel MORENO MARTÍNEZ ([email protected]); Francisco GRACIA ALONSO ([email protected]); Laia FONT VALENTÍN ([email protected]); Marta MATEU SAGUÉS ([email protected]). Bibliography Armada, X.L.; Garcia i Rubert, D.; Montero, I.; Moreno, I.; Rafel, N.; Rovira, C. 2005: “Minería y metalurgía durante la primera edad del Hierro. Procesos de cambio en el sur de Catalunya”, Revista d’Arqueologia de Ponent, 15: 133-150. Un. of Lleida
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David Garcia i Rubert et al.: Genesis and Development of the First Complex Societies Iberos. Príncipes de Occidente. Estructuras de poder en la sociedad ibérica, Barcelona: 99-113. Gracia, F. 2008: “Historiografía de la investigación de la presencia fenicia en Cataluña”, Contactes. Indígenes i fenicis a la Mediterrània Occidental entre els segles VIII i VI ane. GRAP and Ajuntament d’Alcanar: 15-38. Gracia, F; Munilla, G.; Pallarès, R. 1988: La Moleta del Remei. Alcanar-Montsià. Campañas 1985-1986. Publicacions de la Dip. de Tarragona. Gracia, F; Munilla, G.; Mercadal, O.; Campillo, D. 1989: “Enterramientos infantiles en el poblado ibérico de la Moleta del Remei (Alcanar, Montsià)”; Quaderns de Prehistòria i Arqueologia de Castelló, 14. Dip. Provincial de CastellóServei d’Arqueologia: 133-153. López, D.; Buxó, R.; Garcia i Rubert, D.; Moreno, I. 2011: “Noves aportacions sobre agricultura i alimentació durant la primera edat del ferro a Catalunya: dades de l’assentament de Sant Jaume/Mas d’en Serrà (Alcanar, Montsià)”. Pyrenae. Maluquer de Motes, J. 1983: El poblado paleibérico de La Ferradura, Ulldecona (Tarragona), Programa de Investigaciones Protohistóricas, VII, CSIC-UB. Mascort, M.; Sanmartí, J.; Santacana, J. 1991: El jaciment protohistòric d’Aldovesta (Benifallet) i el comerç fenici arcaic a la Catalunya meridional, Ed. Dip. Provincial de Tarragona, 59 pp. Moret, P. 2001b: “El Tossal Montañés (Valdeltormo, Teruel): une maison-tour ibérique du VIe siècle av. J.-C.”, Madrider Mitteilungen, 42, Inst. Arqueológico Alemán: 85-101. Moret, P.; Benavente, J.A.; Gorgues, A. 2006: Iberos del Matarraña. Investigaciones arqueológicas en Valdeltormo, Calaceite, Cretas y La Fresneda (Teruel). Al-Qannis, 11 Noguera, J. 2002: Ibers a l’Ebre. Col·lecció Daliner, 3. Centre d’Estudis de la Ribera d’Ebre, 152 pp. Oliver, A. 1996: Poblamiento y territorio protohistóricos en el llano litoral del Baix Maestrat (Castellón), Sociedad Castellonense de Cultura, Arqueología-IX, Castelló. Sanmartí, J. 2004: “From local groups to early states: the development of complexity in protohistoric Catalonia”, Pyrenae, 35-1: 7-42 Sanmartí, J.; Asensio, D.; Belarte, C.; Martín, A.; Santacana, J. 2006: “La iberització a la Catalunya costanera y central”, Arqueomediterrània, 9: 145-163. VV.AA 1972: “Actividad investigadora”, Memoria del Instituto de Arqueología y Prehistoria de la UB, Barcelona.
Garcia i Rubert, D.; Gracia, F. 2010: “Phoenician trade in the north-east of the Iberian peninsula: a historiographical problem”. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 30(1): 33-56. 2011. Ins. of Archaeology, Un. of Oxford. Garcia i Rubert, D.; Gracia, F.; Moreno, I. 2004: “L’impacte del fenomen comercial fenici a les terres del Sénia durant el primer ferro a partir de l’estudi quantitatiu de la ceràmica. El cas del jaciment de Sant Jaume (Alcanar, Montsià)”, Arqueomediterrània, 8: 191-201. Garcia i Rubert, D.; Gracia, F.; Moreno, I. 2005: “El jaciment de la primera edat del Ferro de Sant Jaume-Mas d’en Serrà (Alcanar, Montsià). Balanç de les campanyes d’excavació realitzades entre els anys 1997 i 2003”. XIII Col·loqui Internacional d’Arqueologia de Puigcerdà. Inst. d’Estudis Ceretans. Puigcerdà: 117-140. Garcia i Rubert, D.; Gracia, F.; Moreno, I. 2006: ”Consideracions sobre la complexitat social durant el primer Ferro al nord-est peninsular. Les comunitats del curs inferior del riu Ebre i de les terres del riu Sénia”, Arqueomediterrània, 9: 201-220. Garcia i Rubert, D.; Gracia, F.; Moreno, I.; Serrano, A. 2009: “Il villagio protostorico di Sant Jaume-Mas d’en Serrà (Alcanar, Montsià, Catalunya). L’insediamento fra i secoli VII-VI aC”. Rivista di Studi Fenici, XXXIV, 2 – 2006: 185-20. Pisa-Roma. Garcia i Rubert, D.; Moreno, I. 2008: “Marcadors socials durant el primer Ferro a Catalunya i el País Valencià. Apunts en relació a l’assentament de Sant Jaume (Alcanar, Montsià)”, Arqueomediterrània, 10: 215-225. Un. of Barcelona. Garcia i Rubert, D.; Moreno, I. 2009: “Un servei de vaixella procedent de l’assentament de la primera edat del ferro de Sant Jaume (Alcanar, Montsià)”. Citerior, 5. Un. Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona: 97-162. GIP 2003: “Caballos y hierro. El campo frisio y la fortaleza de Els Vilars de Arbeca (Lleida, España), soglos VIII-IV ane”, Chevaux-de-frise i fortificació en la primera edat del ferro europea, Un. of Lleida: 223-274. Gracia, F. 1995: “Producción y comercio de cereal en el NE de la Península Ibérica entre los siglos VII-II ac.”, Pyrenae, 26: 91-113. Gracia, F. 1998: “El comercio protohistórico en el noreste peninsular entre los siglos VII-III a.C. Balance de investigación 1985-1997”, XI Col·loqui Internacional d’Arqueologia de Puigcerdà: 51-72 Gracia, F. 1998b: “Arquitectura y poder en las estructuras de poblamiento ibéricas. Esfuerzo de trabajo y corveas”, Los
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Fig. 1: Study area: settlements of the Early Iron Age
Fig. 2: Sant Jaume Complex Settlements
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Fig. 6: Sant Jaume
Fig. 3: a) Sant Jaume b) Ferradura c) Moleta
Fig. 7: Torre T1. Sant Jaume Fig. 4: La Ferradura
Fig. 5: Moleta del Remei
Fig. 8: Indigenous pottery (handmade).
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Fig. 9: Phoenician pottery
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Phoenicians in the Azores, Myth or Reality? Nuno Ribeiro, Anabela Joaquinito, Sérgio Pereira Portuguese Association for Archaeological Investigation (APIA), Portugal
excavated in the soft rock (Fig. 11); their dimensions vary. They can be very large and reach up to 1.8m deep and 1.6m high. They stand at various heights along the riverbank. Some are still sealed by small blocks of stone. On the hillside on the right bank stand a number of other monuments constituted by artificial mounds, where we can see still untouched small chambers, revealing the existence of small tumuli (Fig.12).
We present here data resulting from two visits made in August 2010 to the Islands of Corvo (Occidental group) and Terceira (Central group), in the Azores archipelago, located in the centre of the Atlantic. An important complex of various types of undetermined structures was discovered excavated in the rock. Some are of the hypogeum type, probably pre-Portuguese, and in some cases may have been used until now to protect the animals from inclement weather. These monuments are undated and have not been properly excavated, in part due to the apparent absence of archaeological material. We encountered several previously unrecorded sets of archaeological and ethnographical evidence of great importance for our understanding of the history of the Archipelago. This research project will be developed with the various participating universities and respective councils.
The third area is situated in the interior of Corvo Island 100m, along the river Fonte Fria’s right bank (Fig. 13), in an area, according to the local population, uncultivated both today and in the past, stand several dozens of well preserved structures of the hypogeum type. A few of these, the smallest ones near the river, had been reused in the course of time, the last phase being for keeping swine, after the construction of small walls (Fig. 14). There are various kinds of chambers: some very large – more than 1.8m deep and more than 1.6m high. They stand at various heights along the riverbank. Some are still sealed by small blocks of stone (Fig. 15, 16).
We have detected a complex of archaeological sites where monuments excavated in the rock are of especial interest. They are usually designated as hypogea. The first site is located on a natural road leading to the top of Mount Brazil, where the present road was built. It stands between two mounts designated by Mount Brazil, in Terceira Island. (Fig. 1, 2) The monument is excavated in the soft rock (volcanic tuff). A small entrance (Fig. 3) measuring about 1.60m leads to a chamber of about 5.50m, with a small structure in the upper part reminiscent of a small ‘altar’ (Fig. 4). Some marks or furrows excavated on the inside on both sides of the monument might be the remains of a system for closing off the monument. Some vestiges of a bench are noticeable inside, lengthwise, which is a frequent feature in some hypogea from the Iron Age of Minorca (Spain). The height of the monument’s entrance is no greater than 1.60m, with its centre reaching a maximum 2m, descending towards the area of the possible ‘altar’. The monument has an oblong and uterine shape, which is characteristic of several late Bronze Age and Iron Age Mediterranean cultures, for example the necropolis in Sardinia, North Africa, Southern Spain, Ibiza, and Portugal with the ‘Corredor dos Mouros’ (Ribeiro, N. M. DA C. and Huttu, J.;1998:99-111), and in Tomar regarding the presence of an altar. At the summit of this little mountain called Monte Brazil, overlooking the bay of Angra do Heroismo on the island of Terceira, we discovered a platform called ‘Pico do Facho’ used in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military observation post and where military shelters had been constructed. In the vicinity we found a complex of open air structures, excavated in the rock (Fig. 5), in the shape of ‘seats’ (Fig. 6), perhaps altars, and troughs associated with channels. The existence of several post holes excavated in the volcanic rock is quite clear (Fig. 7). These vestiges extend on an area of at least 80 meters long (Figs. 8-10). They probably correspond to a sanctuary of a type common in Iron Age ‘Lusitania’. Examples are ‘Cadeiras dos Mouros’ near the town of Tomar, and Panoias – Vila Real, in the Nogueira Valley, which was still in use in the Roman period.
These monuments have no access corridor, otherwise called
διάδρομος (diadromos), and show parallels with those found in various Iron Age Mediterranean cultures dated to the 9th to the 3rd centuries BC. The best-known examples belong to the following cultures: Phoenician/Carthaginian, Etruscan (the Banditaccia Necropolis located in the area of Cerveteri),
Hellenic, Egyptian (mainly in the Ptolemaic Dynasty and the Macedonian Dynasty of 305 to 30 BC), Talayot (on the islands of Majorca and Minorca – Necropolis of Cuevas de Cala Morell, Calescoves etc.) and Sardinia. We can nonetheless link this presence to the famous equestrian statue and the inscription found on Corvo Island at the time of the settlement. Corvo’s equestrian statue was made of stone and represented a human figure on a horse, pointing an arm to the west. It was allegedly found in a monument north-west of the volcano’s summit on that island in the Azores archipelago, when the island was discovered in the 16th century. The description of this discovery was first related by the chronicler for the Portuguese kingdom Damião de Góis (1502-1574): ‘[A] stone statue standing on a slab, representing a man on top of a bone horse, and the man dressed in a rain cape, without hat, with one hand on the horse’s mane, and the right arm stretched out, with all the fingers clutched except the second finger, known in Latin as the index, pointed towards the west. This image, made of one single piece of stone, was then sketched on the orders of King Manuel by his servant and draughtsman Duarte d’Armas. After seeing the drawing, the King sent a skilful man, born in the city of Oporto and well travelled in France and Italy, to the Island, equipped with tools to remove the antiquity. When he returned with it, the man told the King he had found the statue destroyed by a tempest that had occurred during winter. But the truth is that it was broken due to poor workmanship; and they
The second area is designated ‘Ribeira do Portal do Carro’, and is situated, along a river in the interior of Corvo Island, where there is a complex of more than 20 structures of the hypogeum type
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based on several Carthaginian and Cyrenaican coins found in 1749 on one of the Azores’ islands in the Göteborgske Wetenskap og Witterhets Samlingar (1778, Vol. I, 106). According to this author, in 1749, ‘…after various days of tempestuous sea from the west, part of the structure of a ruined stone building was left exposed, and a broken black clay pot was discovered containing a great number of coins.’ These coins were then taken to a nearby convent, probably the Franciscan convent of São Boaventura in Santa Cruz on Flores Island, and then distributed among several people. Some coins were sent to Lisbon and from there to the historian and priest Enrique Flórez de Setién y Huidobro, of the Santo Agostinho Order, in Madrid. The number of coins found in the pot is unknown, and we do not know how many were sent to Lisbon. Father Flórez is said to have received nine, which he subsequently studied and described. Two were gold and five copper Carthaginian coins, and the other two, copper Cyrenaican coins. Father Flórez donated the coins to Podolyn when he visited Madrid in 1761, informing him that these coins ‘represented the different types found on Corvo Island’ and that they were the best preserved in the collection. This article was published together with drawings of the coins. Podolyn stated that with the exception of the gold ones, these coins were not rare. But what is remarkable is where they were discovered, as we have no knowledge of the presence of Carthaginians in the Azores.
The chronicler also refers to the recipient’s captain, Pêro da Fonseca, present in Flores and Corvo Islands in 1529, about the discovery: ‘I heard from the locals that in the rock, below where the statue used to be, were engraved some letters in the same stone of the rock; and because the place where this inscription was, was dangerous to reach, some men were sent down, well tied up with ropes, and imprinted the letters that were not yet erased by time in some wax that was taken for that effect; however, the letters moulded in the wax were already worn out, nearly shapeless, and for that reason, or maybe because the assistance only had knowledge of Latin letters, and even this one imperfectly, no one present at the scene managed to make sense of what the letters meant, nor what letters they were.’ As we already mentioned, Duarte d’Armas, who had been previously ordered by the King to draw the fortresses at the frontier with Spain, was sent to execute a sketch of the statue, unfortunately subsequently lost.
According to Alfredo Martin (Martin, Alfredo Mederos and Cobo, Gabriel Escrivano 2000:92), this treasure could be associated with a return route between Canary-Azores-Portugal, called ‘volta pelo largo’, or return via the open sea, an opinion shared by other investigators (Isserlin, 1984:32; Manfredi, 1993:113,115; Millán, 1998:138).
Other people also refer to the monument. Father Gaspar Frutuoso (1522-1591), born in the Azores on the island of São Miguel, wrote around 1590, in volume VII of ‘Saudades da Terra’:
An inscription also published recently was found near the sea, on Terceira Island (Praia da Vitória) and that according to the author it is a language of the ‘southwest’ (Sauren, Herbert, 2011:1-60).
‘[The] figure of a large man of stone, standing on a slab or support, and in the stone were sculpted some letters, and some people say that his hand was pointing northnortheast or northeast, as if pointing to the great coast of the Terra dos Bacalhaus [Terra Nova, Newfoundland]; some say he was pointing southwest, as if indicating the Indias de Castela [Antilles] and the great coast of America with two extended fingers, and in the other three, that he had folded, were some letters, Chaldean, Hebrew or Greek, or from some other nation, that no one knew how to read, and the locals and the one from Flores Island said to be: Jesus forward. In their opinion the builders were Carthaginians, as they travelled these parts… and returning from the Antilles, they would have left this stone monument with the letters as marks and signs of what they had discovered back there.’
Finally we would like to state that Professor Isserlin conducted four excavations in Corvo in 1983, enabling him to collect some ceramic material. He did not visit some of the interior areas of the Island. We hope to see the realization of an international congress in the Azores on Archaeology and the Atlantic navigations in the near future. Bibliography Agostinho, José 1946: ‘Achados Arqueológicos nos Açores’, Açoreana, volume IV, fascicle. 1,p. 101-102. Agostinho, José 1947: ‘As Moedas Cartaginesas do Corvo’, Boletim do Instituto Histórico da Ilha Terceira, Angra do Heroísmo. Casson, Lionel, 1990: ‘Archaeological Exploration at Corvo’, in Archaeology, May/June 1990, p. 50-55. Frutuoso, Gaspar 1590: ‘Saudades da Terra’ volume VII. Góis, Damião 1567. ‘Chronicles of Prince D. João’, chapter IX. Gomes, Francisco Pimentel 1997: ‘A Ilha das Flores: da Redescoberta à Actualidade’, Câmara Municipal das Lajes das Flores, Lajes das Flores, p. 18-19. Hennig, Richard, 1927: ‘Archäologischer Anzeiger’ p. 11-19. Hennig, Richard, 1953: ‘Erreichnung der Azoren durch die Karthager und die Frage einer Fruher Kenntniss Amerikas’, Terrae Incognitae, vol. III, chap. 19, p. 138, Leiden.
We wonder: are these references a myth, or political machinations? Whatever they are, with what intention were they created? However, the doubts concerning their veracity may disappear thanks to a new discovery made in the 18th century. An interesting claim from the 18th century could be associated with our recent discovery: a ‘treasure’ of Punic and Hellenic coins from Cyrenaican (Lybia) dated to the 4th century BC (more precisely to 320-300 BC). This treasure was supposedly found in 1749 (Fig. 17), following a severe storm on Corvo Island which churned up sediments associated with a structure located by the beach. The first scientific reference to these coins was made by the Swedish numismatist Johann Frans Podolyn. He published an article entitled Some notes on the voyages of the Ancients,
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Nuno Ribeiro et al.: Phoenicians in the Azores Humboldt, Alexander von, 1881: ‘Examen Critique de la Geographie du Nouveau Monde’, in File Azores, University of Azores, Ponta Delgada, 1981, facsimile edition by 1881, vol. III, pp. 111-112. Isserlin, B.S.J.1984: ‘Did Carthaginian Mariners reach the Island of Corvo (Azores)? Report on the Results of Joint Field Investigations undertaken on Corvo in June 1983’. Rivista Di Studi Fenici Sommari Del Volumi XII,1-1984, p. 31-46. Manfredi, V. 1993: ‘Le Isole Fortunate. Topografia di un mito’. L’Erma di Bretschneider. Roma.113,115. Martin, Alfredo Mederos and Cobo, Gabriel Escrivano 2000: in ‘El Périplo Norte Africano de Hannon y la Rivalidad Gaditano-Cartaginesa de los Siglos IV-III B.C.’, Gérion, nº18: 77-107. ISSN: 0213-0181, p. 92 MEDEIROS, Carlos Alberto, 1987: ‘A ilha do Corvo’, second edition, updated and remodeled, Livros Horizonte, Lisboa. (1st edition, 1967). Millán León, J.,1998: ‘Gades y las navegaciones oceánicas en la Antigüedad (1000 a. C.-500 d. C.)’. Gráficas Sol. ÉcijaSevilla, p.138.
Podolyn, Johann Frans 1778: ‘Some notes on the voyages of the Ancients, based on several Carthaginian and Cyrenaican coins found in 1749 on one of the Azores’ islands’ in the Göteborgske Wetenskap og Witterhets Samlingar” Volume I, p.106. Ribeiro, N. M. DA C., 1997: ‘O Povoado da Paixinha” – Estudos Preliminares’. In Boletim Cultural 21. Câmara Municipal de Tomar. Outubro de 1997, Tomar. Assembly and printing: A Gráfica de Tomar. P. 215 a 254. Ribeiro, N. M. DA C. and Huttu, J.1998: ‘«Corredor dos Mouros» – Investigation Report’. In Techne 3 (1997). Arqueojovem. ISSN N.º 0872-6817. Tomar. P. 99-111. Sauren, Herbert, 2011:‘Inscriptions Rupestres, ‘Les Exemples dans l’Europe Occidentale’ in,. 7th. International APEC Congress:.Space and Landscape, in the Classical Antiquity and in the Classical Heritage to the Contemporary”2008, Évora Portugal, p.1-60. Schawalbacher, Wilhelm, 1962: ‘Schweizer Münzblätter’, November 1962, 22 ff.
Figure 1. Map of the archaeological sites, Terceira Island
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Figure 2. The Monte Brazil hipogeum, monument entrance
Figure 5. Structures excavated in the rock, Pico do Facho
Figure 3. The Monte Brazil hipogeum, monument entrance
Figure 6. ‘Seats’, Pico do Facho
Figure 4. Hipogeum, Monte Brasil
Figure 7. Post holes, Pico do Facho
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Figure 8. Azores, Serra do Facho, Part 1
Figure 9. Azores, Serra do Facho, Part 2
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Figure 10. Azores, Serra do Facho, Part 3
Figure 11. Portal do Carro
Figure 12. Untouched small chambers, Portal do Carro
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Figure 15. Hypogea, Fonte Fria
Figure 13. Location of archaeological sites on Corvo Island
Figure 16. Hypogea, Fonte Fria
Figure 14. Reused structure, Fonte Fria
Figured 17. Coins issued by the eighteenth-century numismatist J. F. Podolyn
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The Roman uilla of Sa Mesquida: A rural settlement on the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) Catalina Mas Florit, Bartomeu Vallori Márquez
Equip de Recerca Arqueològica i Arqueomètrica, Universitat de Barcelona (ERAAUB), Spain
Patricia Murrieta Flores
Archaeological Computing Research Group, University of Southampton, UK
María José Rivas Antequera Archaeologist, Palma, Spain
Miguel Ángel Cau Ontiveros
Equip de Recerca Arqueològica i Arqueomètrica, Universitat de Barcelona (ERAAUB), Spain Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA)
main phases of the evolution of the main building preserved of the uilla.
Introduction The Balearic Islands (Mallorca and Menorca) were conquered by Rome in 123 BC by Quintus Caecilius Metellus. Written sources inform of the foundation of two cities Palma (Palma de Mallorca) and Pollentia (Alcúdia) in Mallorca. Moreover, with the occupation, a progressive organisation and exploitation of the countryside is witnessed. Evidence of ancient uillae in the Balearic Islands is, however, very scarce probably due to fact that many pre-Roman indigenous sites continued inhabited all along the Roman period. The phenomenon of the continuation or reoccupation of the indigenous nuclei during Roman and Late Antique period has been documented throughout the island (Cardell, Cau and Orfila 1990; Mas and Cau 2007), as well as in the nearby island of Menorca (Orfila and Sintes 1981-1984). Nevertheless, with the conquest, new rural sites of Roman character were created. Some of these sites have been documented by field survey in several areas of the island (Orfila 1993; Orfila et al. 1996). Unfortunately only two sites have been so far partially excavated. The first one is Sa Mesquida, summarized in this contribution, and the second one the site of Can Maiol (Felanitx) where the excavation of an industrial deposit was carried out.
The Roman uilla of Sa Mesquida The Roman uilla of Sa Mesquida is located in the bay of Santa Ponça (Calvià) in the western part of Mallorca (Figure 1) in an area of marsh not far from the sea and close to cultivable lands. The area is relatively flat with some hills in the surrounding territory. The investigation of the site started in 1984 first as a rescue excavation and later systematically and lasted until approximately 1995. In 1997 a new campaign explored several parts of the sites. Nowadays, the site is divided in two due to various modern construction projects. In the first sector, the oldest occupation was documented. Most of the remains preserved in this area consist of a series of rooms organised around a courtyard with a well. A small rectangular deposit forming a small step and a concavity for the accumulation of waste covered with a hydraulic concrete (opus signinum) was noted, as well as the remains of a possible press installation. Moreover, evidence of pottery production was documented in the uilla in the form of the remains of a kiln, which was not excavated, and two dumps of ceramic wasters scattered through the site (Figure 2). The study of these wasters has allowed a first typology for the common wares produced at the uilla (Mas, Cau and Orfila 2005; Cau 2008; Mas and Cau 2008a, 2008b).
Therefore, Sa Mesquida stands as the main example of Roman uilla, partially excavated in the 1980s and 1990s. After these excavations, the site was not restored and entered in a progressive process of decay.
In the second sector, the only element preserved is a cistern that was used later as a rubbish dump in Late Antiquity. The materials recovered in its interior include a major ceramic deposit dated to the 5th century AD, as well as other materials dated to the 7th century AD, already in the Byzantine period. A large amount of faunal remains and building materials were also recovered. All these elements have provided useful information for the study of the uilla at the end of Antiquity. Archaeological and archaeometrical studies of the pottery recovered demonstrate the
A new project of excavation, consolidation and restoration of the uilla was launched in 2010 aiming to conclude the excavations and to prepare the site for its public presentation. The new excavations have provided valuable data to understand the chronology, evolution and activities of this rural site. The aim of this contribution is to provide a short introduction to this Roman settlement and particularly to summarise the results of the last fieldwork season that has allowed establishing the
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same type of floor was found over a relatively fine layer of sand and a preparation of flagstones, maybe for sanitary reasons. Also the access that existed between Room I and Room II was closed and a small buttress built against one of the walls (Figure 5). The excavation of the pavements of the more recent phase has not provided ceramic materials that allow dating. However the presence of South Gaulish Samian Ware and African Red Slip Ware type A in the supposed levels of occupation of some rooms, excavated in the 1980s, suggests a 1st century AD date, continuing until the end of the 2nd or beginning of the 3rd century at which point the complex seems to collapse. Room I was destroyed by fire, sometime in the 2nd century, which has not left any remains of the structures that had shaped this room during the Early Imperial period. There are few data relating to the uilla in this later phase because the occupational and/or abandonment layers were excavated in the 1980s and 1990s and remain unpublished.
The excavations revealed the remains of a rural building dedicated to the exploitation of the surrounding territory (Vallespir et al. 1985-1987; Orfila 1993; Orfila et al. 1996). Interim results of the 2010 archaeological season In 2010, work focused only on the first sector of the site and affected mainly the main building where all the rooms were excavated or re-excavated. Moreover, the pottery kiln just outside the building in its southern side was also excavated. The excavation allowed a stratigraphical sequence to be obtained. Different phases of occupation clearly emerged, with at least three of them affecting the development of the main building.
Outside the main building, in its southern side, a pottery kiln, west part of which was destroyed by a modern construction (Figure 6), was located in the 1990s but it was not excavated until last summer during the new project. It is important to mention that this is the only Roman kiln found in Mallorca except for a kiln found in Pollentia in ancient excavations (Cau, Orfila and Mas 2008: 21-23). The excavation of the preserved part enabled us to document the stoking area, fire-tunnel, combustion chamber and central kiln support. The kiln produced a variety of relatively fine common ceramics (Figure 7), mainly jars (Figure 8), with calcareous clay fired at about 950 ͦC. The archaeometric characterisation of the materials has allowed the definition of the reference group of this workshop (Tsantini et al. 2004). The abandonment of the kiln is marked by the clayey layers obliterating the combustion chamber (SU 3023 and 3022). Pottery evidence from these layers suggests abandonment at the end of the 2nd or at the beginning of the 3rd century AD. Afterwards, the structure was used as a rubbish dump, probably in the last quarter of the 4th century AD.
The oldest phase documented is represented by a series of rooms paved with compacted clay. The main structure of the building is probably formed by a large rectangular room (Room I) that is not completely excavated yet. To the north of this room two more single rooms (Room III and II) and a larger room were attached, facing a courtyard (Figure 2). Room I and II were connected by a doorway and Room II and III gave access to the courtyard. Room III presented a clayey pavement in this earlier phase but no other structures. In Room II on the clayey pavement (Figure 3) a fireplace linked to a flat working space and a larger rounded hole were documented. Over this interface the preparation of the pavement of the next phase was settled. Finally, a larger room (converted later in Rooms X and IX) was also covered by a clayey pavement. The quantity of pottery uncovered is limited and it is still under study, hence the judgment should be cautious. The levels underneath the pavements of the oldest phase in Rooms II, III and X present a fairly extensive chronology and it is difficult to provide precise dating although the presence of a fragment of thin-walled decorated pottery of possible Ebusitan origin could indicate a date at the beginning of the Augustan period. There is no Italic Samian Ware in these layers. In the pavements of this first phase in Rooms I, II, III and X-XI, Ebusitan amphorae PE 18 and PE 17, Campanian Ware A Lamp. 31b and some fragments of Samian Ware appeared. In some levels interpreted as the occupation of this pavement, amphorae Dressel 1B italic, Tarraconensis 1 and Pascual 1A, and Dressel 7/11 from Baetica are present. All together it seems like the uilla and its first occupation can be dated around 30 BC lasting into the Augustan period.
Final remark The uilla of Sa Mesquida, functioning at the beginning of the Augustan period, was a rural settlement devoted to a variety of agricultural activities and pottery production. The presence of a press, a deposit and several structures related to the processing of agricultural products as well as other evidence of fishery activities shows a site devoted to the exploitation of the surrounding territory. The relatively large dimension of the pottery kiln could indicate that its production was not only for internal consumption but also for a regional trade. The uilla suffered several transformations between its foundation and the 2nd century AD. The main building in sector 1 was working in a classical sense until the end of the 2nd century AD or at the beginning of the 3rd century.
A second phase is attested by the subdivision of the large room (X-XI) (Figure 2). This large room had a clayey floor with some uncertain structures and a hole for a dolium. On top of the pavement two rectangular structures seem to separate the room into two different spaces. Over the pavement a layer with a relative abundance of italic amphorae Dressel 1B and other materials was documented.
The level of occupation of the rural settlement in the 3rd century is unknown. During Late Antiquity some parts of the village were still occupied. The kiln was re-used as rubbish dump in the 4th century (Figure 9). Outside of the building a single burial, probably dated in Late Antiquity, was uncovered. And in the second sector, as it has been already mentioned, a cistern was used as a rubbish dump with large quantities of pottery dated mainly to the first half of the 5th century (Figure 10 and 11) but also with some later materials arriving into the Byzantine period.
Finally a third major phase was documented in some of the rooms (Figure 4). The large room (X-XI) attached to Room I was now divided by a wall forming Rooms X and IX. The previous clay floors in Rooms II and X were replaced with more elaborate pavements (Figure 5). In Room II a new pavement of pebbles and mortar over a preparation layer was found. In Room X the
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Catalina Mas Florit et al.: The Roman uilla of Sa Mesquida In overall terms, the 2010 season, although the results have to be considered as interim as the ceramic evidence is still being fully investigated, has enabled identification of the main phases of occupation of the building. These results provide elements for a larger discussion of the occupation of the Roman countryside in Mallorca and about the chronology of the organisation and exploitation of the territory following typical forms of colonisation. Although written sources mention the foundation of the cities in 123 BC, archaeological evidence points out towards 70-60 BC. It seems that the Romanisation of the landscape outside of the urban centres and the imposition of productive and fiscal systems did not occur until that date or slightly later (Cau 2008). The foundational chronology obtained for the Roman uilla of Sa Mesquida seems to point to a date around the beginning of the Augustan period for the establishment of rural sites in the countryside in the western part of the island. We are not claiming that these dates apply to all the rural exploitations of Roman character, of course regional differences could be encountered. It is possible that the countryside next to the cities of Palma and Pollentia was organised and exploited earlier. More work is needed on the rural occupation of the island and more examples of Roman uillae should be excavated. So far, the data obtained contribute to the wider debate on the Romanisation process of the Mallorcan countryside where typical Roman exploitation coexisted with the indigenous settlements that were still occupied. Acknowledgments This paper is part of the project of the National Plan of I+D+I, LRCWMED (HAR2009-08290/HIST). We are indebted to the Ajuntament of Calvià for financial support, to Manel Calvo for his interest and to Margarita Orfila director of the site between approximately 1984 and 1996. The research of Bartomeu Vallori Márquez is funded by the CUR of the DIUE of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Social Fund. Bibliography Buxeda, J., Cau, M. A., Gurt, J. M., Tsantini, E. and Rauret, A. M., 2005, Late Roman Coarse and Cooking Wares from the Balearic Islands in Late Antiquity. In: Gurt, J.Mª., Buxeda, J. and Cau, M.A. (eds.) LRCW 1. Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean. Archaeology and Archaeometry, BAR S1340 (Oxford: BAR Publishing), 223-54. Cardell, J., Cau, M.A. and Orfila, M., 1990, La continuidad de ocupación de los asentamientos prerromanos de Mallorca en época romana. In: Mastino, A. (ed.) L’Africa Romana. Atti del VII convegno di studio. Sassari, 15-17 dicembre 1989 II (Edizioni Gallizzi), 703-25. Cau, M.A., 1994, Las cerámicas tardorromanas de cocina de Santa Ponça (Mallorca): estudio arqueométrico. Association pour l’Antiquité tardive. Bulletin 3, 97-8. Cau, M.A., 1997, Cerámica tardorromana de cocina de las Islas Baleares: estudio arqueométrico, Col·lecció de Tesis Microfitxades (Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona). Cau, M.A., 2003, Cerámicas tardorromanas de cocina de las Islas Baleares. Estudio Aqueométrico, BAR S1182 (Oxford: BAR Publishing).
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Cau, M.A. (ed.), 2008, Estudi arqueològic i caracterizació arqueomètrica de la ceràmica comuna romana del forn de Sa Mesquida (Calvià, Mallorca), El Tall del temps maior 16 (Mallorca: Editorial El Tall). Cau, M. A., Orfila, M. and Mas, C., 2008, Les evidències de producció ceràmica a Mallorca en època romana. In: Cau, M.A. (ed.), Estudi arqueològic i caracterizació arqueomètrica de la ceràmica comuna romana del forn de Sa Mesquida (Calvià, Mallorca), El Tall del temps maior (Mallorca: Editorial El Tall), 21-7. Mas, C., Cau, M.A. and Orfila, M., 2005, El taller de cerámica común romana de Sa Mesquida (Calvià, Mallorca): ensayo tipológico. In: Sánchez León, M.L. and Barceló, M. (eds.), XXIII Jornades d’Estudis Històrics Locals. L’Antiguitat clàssica i la seva pervivència a les illes Balears. Palma, del 17 al 19 de novembre de 2004 (Palma: Institut d’Estudis Baleàrics), 395-408. Mas, C. and Cau, M. A., 2007, Rural settlement in Late Antique Mallorca (Balearic Islands): an interim approach. Archeologia Medievale XXXIV, 171-80. Mas C. and Cau, M. A., 2008a, Les ceràmiques comunes del taller de Sa Mesquida. In: Cau, M.A., (ed.), Estudi arqueològic i caracterizació arqueomètrica de la ceràmica comuna romana del forn de Sa Mesquida (Calvià, Mallorca), El Tall del temps maior (Mallorca: Editorial El Tall), 29-76. Mas, C. and Cau, M. A., 2008b, Una primera aproximació a la tipologia de la ceràmica del taller de Sa Mesquida. In: Cau, M.A., (ed.), Estudi arqueològic i caracterizació arqueomètrica de la ceràmica comuna romana del forn de Sa Mesquida (Calvià, Mallorca), El Tall del temps maior (Mallorca: Editorial El Tall), 97-105. Orfila, M., 1989, Cerámicas de la primera mitad del siglo V d.C. procedentes de la cisterna de Sa Mesquida (Santa Ponça, Mallorca). In: Mastino, A. (ed.) L’Africa romana. Atti del VI Convegno di studio, Sassari, 16-18 dicembre 1988 II (Edizioni Gallizzi), 51333. Orfila, M., 1993, Construcciones rurales romanas en Mallorca. In: Padró, J. (ed.), Homenatge a Miquel Tarradell. Estudis Universitaris Catalans XXIX (Barcelona: Curial Edicions Catalanes), 793-806. Orfila, M., Cardell, J., Cau, M.A., Hernández, Mª.J., Merino, J., Oliver, B., Prohens, J.M., and Torres, F., 1996, Nuevas perspectivas en torno a la romanización de la isla de Mallorca: el mundo rural. Mayurqa. Annals de ciències històriques i teoria de les arts 23, 9-30. Orfila, M. and Cau, M. A., 1994, Las cerámicas finas procedentes de la cisterna de Sa Mesquida, Calvià (Mallorca). In: III Reunió d’Arqueologia Cristiana Hispànica. Maó, 12-17 de setembre de 1988 (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Universitat de Barcelona, Consell Insular de Menorca), 257-88. Orfila, M. and Sintes, G., 1980-1984, Estudio preliminar sobre la perduración del hábitat en los conjuntos talayóticos menorquines. Mayurqa. Revista del Departament de Ciències Històriques i Teoria de les Arts 20, 19-46. Tsantini, E., Buxeda, J., Cau, M. A. and Orfila, M., 2004, Caracterización arqueométrica de la cerámica común producida en la villa romana de Sa Mesquida (Mallorca). Pyrenae. Journal of Western Mediterranean Prehistory and Antiquity 35.1, 157-86. Vallespir, A., Prohens, J.M., Orfila, M. and Merino, J., 19851987, Yacimientos arqueológicos de Santa Ponça. Mayurqa. Annals de ciències històriques i teoria de les arts 21, 1-30.
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Figure 1. Situation of the Roman site of Sa Mesquida (Mallorca, Balearic Islands)
Figure 2. Plan of the uilla for the first phase of occupation and the intermediate phase creating two ambience in space X-XI
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Figure 3. Room II and the clayey pavement of the first phase of occupation
Figure 4. Plan of the uilla for the third phase of occupation with the separation of rooms X and XI and the new floors in Rooms II, X, IX and partially III
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Figure 5. Room II with the mortar pavement of the third phase of occupation
Figure 6. Photographs of the pottery-kiln found at the site
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Lamps From the Anonymous Temple of the Main Decumanus at Leptis Magna Veronica Riso
Sa.Fi.St. Department, Catania University
During the annual archaeological mission carried out in Leptis Magna (Libya) by Prof. Francesco Tomasello, Catania University, he gave me the reports of finds from previous excavations undertaken in the 1960s at the temple located on the main decumanus of Leptis Magna, west of the Arch of Septimius Severus, and dedicated to gods still unknown.
Trademarks were found on 35 lamps, comprising ‘polilichni’ lamps with ogival nozzle, many of the Loeschcke VIII lamps, and on one lamp made of ‘African terra sigillata’. All the marks are epigraphic except four that are ‘ideographic’ (for a complete set of the marks, see the table below (Fig.1). Most of the marks are on the foot of the lamps except for two that appear respectively on the shoulder and on the reservoir. Concerning the manufacturing technique we can say that 28 lamps have incised marks, 4 have embossed marks and 3 have imprinted marks.
In 1966, Prof. Lidio Gasperini, from Rome University, carried out some trials in the Sanctuary brought to light by E. Vergara Caffarelli in the 1950s, and found many objects including 299 terracotta lamps.
There are 23 epigraphic marks. Of these 15 are African, 3 Italic and 5 are unknown. The Italic trademarks are the following: AVCENDI, CCORVRS and SAX, already known to be active workshops along the Tirrenian coast of Italy between the 1st and the 3rd centuries A.D.
The lamps were stored, with some fragmentary wares, since the ‘60s, in the warehouse under the guest house, near the ancient Antiquarium of Leptis, in five wooden boxes on which the words ‘Tempio via Decumana’ were stamped. 231 of the lamps were made of coarse pottery and can be dated back mainly between the second and the third century A.D.; 60 lamps were made of Tripolitan ‘terra sigillata’, and 8 made of African ‘terra sigillata’, and all can be dated between the fourth and fifth centuries A.D.
It is known, however, that the following marks belong to the Sabratha workshops: ANNIANE, BERNACIE, CASIANI, DONATE, SABAI, (LVCERNA) SANION, SIRENE and VARNE/ VRANE (2nd-3rd centuries A.D.). Certainly the trade mark [LEPT]I/TAN/E and probably, the mark AMO/NIS/(I)IIN belong to Leptis workshops.
The labels of each box gave vague information about the origin (Trial D) but we could read the date clearly (June-August 1966). The excavation by Gasperini remained unpublished due to the unexpected death of the scholar.
It is interesting that many of the marks ascribed by E. Joly2 to Sabratha’s workshops coincide with the nomina indicated on the tabvlae sulfuris found in the hinterland of Gela and Agrigento and in the territory of Caltanissetta. These names belong to the owners and operators of sulphur mines (mostly were imperial freedmen of Antonine emperors)3. The trade marks SAB[AI] and SIRE[NE] also coincide with those on tiles from the midimperial fundi of the same areas of Sicily (Bitalemi, C.da Saraceno, Favara, Niscemi, Tenutella Riina, Casa Mastro). It is probable that either the Sicilian sulphur mines and the Sicilian tile factories, or the Tripolitan pottery workshops, belonged to the same senatorial families.
Prof. F. Tomasello started the study of the temple in 2003 and finished in 2007. The study of the temple, that is being published soon, led to useful data for the understanding of the building and the worship celebrated inside. In this context I have made a metronomic and photographic analytical catalogue of the lamps that led to interesting observations on the morpho-typological classes, production and trademarks.
Finally it is known, however, that the following trademarks belong to large ‘Tunisian’ workshops active in the age of Hadrian (Africa Proconsularis): IVNI ALEXI, ACRI, LVCCEI, PVLLAENI.
According to this work, we can classify the lamps as follows: 1. 5 ‘volute lamps’ with plastic handle and more than one nozzle (1st century A.D.; type Loeschcke III) 2. 178 ‘disk lamps’ with short round or hearth nozzle (2nd half of 1st century-3rd century A.D.; Loeschcke VIII type) 3. 13 African lamps with triangular nozzle (2nd half of 2nd-3rd century A.D.; Deneauve type Xa-c) 4. 6 lamps that are similar to Atlante I types IVB- V (3rd-4th century A.D.) 5. 4 ‘lamps with small pearls’, so-called from the plastic shoulder decoration (3rd- 4th century A.D.) 6. 25 ‘melon plastic lamps’ (types VII d, Xa-b, XIb Deneauve; from 2nd to 5th century A.D.1 7. 60 lamps made of Tripolitan ‘terra sigillata’ (4th- 5th century A.D.; Atlante I, types XIII-XV) 8. 8 lamps made of African ‘terra sigillata’ (4th-5th century A.D.; Atlante I, types VIII-X)
In conclusion it is interesting that the statistic provided by the inscriptions, as already said, reveals 15 African trademarks and only 3 Italic ones. This confirms what has already been established by scholars, starting with C. Pavolini, that the progressive and relentless affirmation of Africa (Proconsularis in particular but not only) in the markets as a country which produces and exports pottery at the expense of Italy in the 3rd century A.D. Even small workshops of Tripolitania (Sabratha and Lecis Magna) appear to be significantly active between the 2nd and 5th centuries A.D., although with a range of only local activity. Until chemical analysis is carried out on clay, and the kilns are not identified, we will be unable to locate precisely the Tripolitan workshops. The 2
1
Bonifay, M. (2005); 31-38, Pll.12-16; Bussière, J. (2000).
3
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Joly, E. (1974). Salmeri, G. (1997); De Miro, E. (1983).
SOMA 2011 attribution to Sabratha appears, to this day, as an argomentum ex silentio. In fact, among our findings the manufacturing discards and defective products, as well as a mould model for a lamp, make local production certain (Fig.2a-b, 3). This thesis seems confirmed by the presence on the lamps of some local trademarks referring to a local toponym [LEPT]I/TAN/E
Ideological reasons would also suggest a dedication of the temple to the goddess: the wife of Septimius Severus, Julia Domna, is identified with Juno in the sculptures of the arch of Septimius Severus at Leptis, as the emperor is identified with JupiterSerapis, partly already starting with the Antonine emperors; this process later would culminate in the so-called ‘dominatus’. These reasons would explain the desire to build a new temple on the main decumanus, aligned with the Septimius Severus Arch, in an area not previously connected to the cult and apparently redundant in relation to the temple of Magna Mater, already present in the old forum, with the evident purpose of creating a sort of political-religious ‘ideological axis’ on the decumanus, at the entrance of the ‘new town’ created by the emperor, for those who came from the interior.
The rich decorations on the shoulders are covered in more extensive publications4. 44 different subjects appear on the disk of the Loeschcke VIII lamps. Four of them show floral or plant designs, 35 animal designs (dogs, lions, deer, antelope, eagles, and mythological animals such as gryphons and sphinxes. 11 lamps show ludi gladiatorii on their disks. 18 lamps depict scenes of daily life: hunting, gathering, and theatrical scenes (actors dressed as women carrying water, actors in costumes, Oedipus and the sphinx or only the sphinx). Others depict fishing scenes, boats and villae maritimae (Fig.4), the architecture and structure of which are similar to several imperial coastal villas or villas represented on the mosaics of the Piazza Armerina. These mosaics, of course, are ascribed to African craftsmen.5 53 lamps show major or minor deities of the Greek-Roman pantheon. The minor deities are: komastes, amazons, nereids, fauns. The major figures are: Ares standing armed, according to the canons of Policleto’s Doriforo; Helios and Selene, shown as male and female busts surrounded by rays and framed by a crescent moon; Artemis represented in her underworld persona (Hecate) driving a taurine chariot (tauropòlos); a winged Nike; Apollo driving a chariot drawn by two gryphons; Dionysus giving food to a panther; and Hermes psykopompos in dark dress and caduceus. Among the female deities are: Tyche or Isis standing behind an altar adorned with animal horns, holding a patera in her right hand, a cornucopia in her left hand, wearing a long robe and a crown on her head, a small rudder lies at her feet; Aphrodite Anadyomene washing her hair, helped by a Cupid, appears on five lamps. A winged Cupid appears on two lamps. The myth of the union of Leda and the swan appears on two lamps.
Conclusion As for trade and production, through the study of trade-marks in particular, we can make the following considerations: Statistical analyses of trademarks on the lamps show the transition between the prevalence of Italic lamps on the markets in the 1st century A.D. (SAX, CCORVRS, AVCENDI) and the autonomy of African workshops, in imitation of Italic production in the 2nd century A.D. (CIVNIALEXI), up to a time of complete autonomy in the 3rd century A.D., when the African production concentrated in Africa Proconsularis (Tunisia) in the hands of few senatorial families of Uchi Maius (ACRI, LVCCEI, PVLLAENI, ATILIANI). Also very interesting are the numerous series of Tripolitan trademarks that testify to a local and less important production which, in the 3rd century A.D., flanks the Tunisian production (ANNIANE, BERNACIE, CASSIANI, NINI, SABAI, SANION, SIRENE, VARNE/VRANE, DONATE). The local nature of this production is also shown by the presence of faulty lamps that no one would import, and by the find of a mould (Fig. 3).
Other lamps show Poseidon (on a single lamp) and Heracles (nine lamps), strangling the Nemean lion, with his club and basket (situla), while picking up the apples of the Hesperides.
The mark AMO/NIS/(I)IIN incised on a lamp of Deneauve type VIIIB suggests a local production and widens the hypotheses about cults. The mark, indeed, is unknown elsewhere but the worship of the Egyptian god Ammon was widespread in Libya, as testified by many inscriptions from the Roman fort of Gholaia (Bu Njem), southeast of Leptis on the Limes Tripolitanvs.
Ivno Caelestis appears on three lamps (Fig. 5) riding a lion through the sky, dressed and crowned, holding a sceptre, as described by Apuleius in the fable of Cupid and Psyche in the Metamorphoses (VI, 4). The goddess, already patron of Carthage, where she is often identified with Tanit, is sometimes identified too with Cybele and therefore represented together with a lion or riding a lion, and also a lion- skin hangs from her tunic. The representation is interesting as this temple is probably dedicated to the goddess. This thesis can be endorsed by the following proofs:
We may still make hypothesize on the existence of a relationship between the management and production of bricks and sulphur ingots (tabvlae sulphuris) in southern Sicily in the 2nd-3rd centuries A.D., and the workshops of Tripolitan lamps often administrated by imperial liberti (ANNIANE, DONATE, CASSIANI, SAB[AI], SIRENE).
1. The finding, in the sanctuary, of a fragment of a dedicatory inscription [C]AE[LESTIS] 2. The discovery, in the sanctuary, of a votive clay (Fig. 6), which almost certainly represents the cult statue seated, showing significant iconographic affinity with a stucco relief from the Cairo Museum, which precisely represents Juno seated between Hermes and Hecate (Fig.7) 3. Many coins dating back to the reign of the Emperor (Fig. 8– Indulgentia Augg. in Carthaginem) show the goddess as she appears on the lamps of the temple.
As regards the interpretation of the lamps in relation to the use of the temple and its history, the large timespan covered by the lamps described above, together with the inaccurate excavation data, make it difficult to interpret and understand the deposit of lamps found in the stores in relation to the temple on the decumanus. The study of the sanctuary by Prof. F. Tomasello, although still in progress, will be published soon. The general plan, materials and architectural elements, such as the capitals, suggest a date between the late 2nd and the early 3rd century A.D. If, as we assume, the lamps come from the favissae, the broad span of time that they cover is problematic. If the few lamps of the earlyimperial times (Loeschcke III type) can be explained by a form of hoarding of older objects used for ritual purposes, the lamps
Riso, V. (2010). The villae maritimae are showed on six African lamps with triangular nozzle (Deneauve typeXa). 4 5
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Veronica Riso: Lamps From the Anonymous Temple of middle imperial times (Loeschcke VIII, Deneauve Xa types), which constitute the majority of the lamps, refer certainly to the use of the temple in the course of its life.
Anselmino, L. (1986) Le Lucerne tardoantiche: produzione e cronologia, in Società romana e produzione schiavistica. III. Le merci, gli insediamenti, Roma-Bari Anselmino, L. and Pavolini C. (1981), Terra Sigillata: lucerne in Atlante delle forme ceramiche I. Ceramica fine da mensa nel bacino del mediterraneo (medio e tardo impero) in EAA, Supplemento I, Roma, 184-207, Tavv. XCIV-CLXII. Bailey, D.M. (1975) A catalogue of the lamps in the British Museum. I. Greeks, Hellenistics and Roman pottery lamps, Oxford. Bailey, D.M. (1980) A catalogue of the lamps in the British Museum. II. Roman lamps made in Italy, London. Barbera, M. and Petriaggi, R. (1993) Museo nazionale romano. Le lucerne tardoantiche di produzione africana, Roma. Bisi Ingrassia, A.M. (1977) Le lucerne fittili dei nuovi scavi di Ercolano, 73-104. Bonacasa Carra, R.M. (1992) Materiali tardoantichi dalle necropoli siciliane. Una revisione in Quattro note di archeologia cristiana in Sicilia. Palermo, 63- 73. Bonacasa Carra, R.M. (1995) Agrigento. La necropoli paleocristiana sub- divo, Roma. Bonacasa Carra, R.M. and Panvini R. eds. (2002), La Sicilia centro-meridionale tra il II e il IV sec. d.C., Catalogo della Mostra (Caltanissetta-Gela, aprile-dicembre 1997), Caltanissetta. Bonifay, M. (2004) Etudes sur la ceramique romaine tardive d’Afrique, in BAR (International Series 1301), Oxford. Bonifay, M. (2005) Observations sur la typologie des lampes africaines (II-VII siècle), in LychnActs1, 31-38, pll. 12-16. Broneer, O. (1930) The terracotta lamps, in Corinth IV, 2, Harvard. Brouquier- Reddé, V. (1992) Cultes et temples de Tripolitaine, Paris. Bullo, S. (2008) Echi di tradizioni orientali nel santuario di Caelestis a Cartagine, in Afr Rom XVII, Roma, 893-906. Bussière, J. (1990) ‘Marques sur lampes et localisation des atèliers’, JRA 3, 445-448. Bussière, J. (2000) Lampes antiques d’Algerie. Monographies Instrumentum 16, Montagnac. Cadotte, A. (2005) Pantheus et Dii Deaeque omnes. Les formules de sinthèse divines en Afrique du Nord, in Antiquitès africaines, 38-39, 2002-2003, Paris, 55-72. Cantilena, R. and Prisco G., (1992) Alla ricerca di Iside. Analisi, studi e restauri dell’Iseo pompeiano nel Museo di Napoli, Roma. Carandini, A. et al. ed (1982), Filosofiana, la Villa di Piazza Armerina. Immagine di un aristocratico romano al tempo di Costantino, Palermo. Carton, L. (1916) Les fabriques de lampes dans l’ancienne Afrique, in Bulletin de la Société de Géographie et d’Archéologie de la province d’Oran, XXXVI, 101. Catani, E. (2007) Les objets sacrés du sanctuaire d’Apollon à Cirène dans les journeaux de fouille Luigi Pernier tenus de 1925 à 1936, in Karthago 27, 103-29 Chelotti, M (1998) Le divinità dell’Oriente, in Cassano R. et al.(Eds) Andar per mare. Puglia e Mediterraneo tra mito e storia. Catalogo della mostra (Bari, Castello Svevo, 14 giugno-16 novembre 1997) Bari, 233-40. Chrzanoski, L. ed. (2005) Actes du premier Congrès international d’études sur le luminaire antique (Nyon-Genève, 29-IX/ 4-X 2003). Monographies Instrumentum 31, Montagnac. Chrzanoski, L. et al. (2000) Lampes et monnaies romaines de Carthage. Catalogue de la collection Dr. A. Devant., Faverges, Musée de Viuz-Faverges.
It is more difficult to understand the conspicuous presence of Tripolitan and African lamps made of ‘terra sigillata’ (Atlante I, types XIII-XV; Atlante I, types VIII-X; 4th-5th century A.D.) that belong, probably, to a phase of re-use of the area of the sanctuary, after the earthquakes of the 4th century A.D. The shrine itself, which remains within the 4th-century walls, shows signs of restoration (clamps in the columns, etc.). However, the lamps found by Gasperini seem to have been used either to illuminate the shrine or for ritual uses related to the worship celebrated in the sanctuary itself. Similar examples are known: in Tunisia, near Carthage (Bordj Djedid), A.L. Delattre in the late 19th century found a sanctuary of Demeter and Core;6 in a votive favissa many terracotta figurines, plastic pots and oil lamps, related to the two Goddesses, were recovered; in Cirene, in the area of the Temple of Demeter, in a votive pit in the cell, several lamps were found (evidently used in the nightly rituals of Thesmophoria).7 Here, inside the courtyard of the Iseum-Serapeum, chronologically roughly contemporary to our sanctuary, a deposit of votive lamps8 was found on the acropolis. Although it is older, the temple of Isis in Pompei seems to provide a similar situation. The 70 lamps, found in a warehouse of the temple9 were probably used either for the lighting of the sacred icons and statues or for the rituals themselves, especially during the nightly ceremonies of the solemn closing of the temple, the Lychnapsia.10 A fresco in the shrine itself tells us about the ceremony: it represents one of the priests of Isis, the lychophòros, with a shaved head, and wearing a white tunic, from the waist down, and sandals. He is walking, holding a lit lamp (with two nozzles), hanging from a chain.11 Ceremonial lamps were also found in a private Iseum in Rome: the ‘Larario of S. Martino ai Monti’ (4th century A.D). 12 All these details seem to confirm the spread of such rituals in Republican and Imperial times. However, we cannot exclude, as far as we know from other mystery cults, that similar rituals were celebrated in honour of other deities. We hope that future discoveries will strengthen our assumptions. Bibliography Adamesteanu, D. (1958) ‘Scavi e scoperte dal 1951 al 1957 nella provincia di Caltanissetta’. NSc, XII, 335-87. Anselmino, L. (1982) Le lucerne rinvenute negli scavi della missione archeologica italiana a Cartagine: problemi tipologici e cronologici. CEDAC I, 157-66. Anselmino, L., (1983) ‘A proposito delle lucerne romane di Cartagine’ Opus 2, 31-6. Delattre, A.L. (1899). Luni, M. (2006), 165-6 8 Del Moro, M.P. (2006), 337-50. 9 Iorio, V. (2005), in Chrzanoski, L. ed. (2005) 179-185, Pll. 78-82; Tran Tam Tihn, V. (1990), 125-133. 10 Apul., Metam., XI.10; Elio Aristide, Discorsi sacri I, 11, 28; Erod., Storie II, 62; Papiro di Ossirinco 1380, col. XI, 11. 248-249; Malaise, M. (1972), 229-230. 11 Iorio, V. (2005), in Chrzanoski, L. ed. (2005) 179-185, Pll. 78-82. 12 Ensoli Vitozzi, S. (1993), 236. 6 7
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SOMA 2011 Lamboglia, N. (1958) ‘Nuove osservazioni sulla terra sigillata chiara (tipi A e B),’ RSL XXIV, 257- 330. La Torre, G.F. (1994) ‘Mazzarino (CL)- c.da Sofiana, Scavi 1988- 90’, Kokalos XXXIX- XL, 765-68. La Torre, G.F. (1994) Gela sive Philosophianis (It. Antonini 88, 2), Quaderni dell’Istituto di archeologia della Facoltà di Lettere di Messina, 9, 99-139. Le Corsu, F., (1977) Isis, Paris. Le Glay, M. (1956) Les religions orientales dans l’Afrique romaine, Alger. Le Glay, M. (1975) Les syncrétismes dans l’Afrique ancienne, in Dunand Fr. and Lévêque P. (Eds), Les syncrétismes dans les religions de l’Antiquité (Besançon, 22-23 octobre 1973), Leiden, 123-51. Loeschcke, S. (1919) Lampen aus Vindonissa, Zurich. Lindros Wohl, B. (1993) Lamps from the excavations at Isthmia by UCLA, in Gregory T.E ed), The Corinthia in the roman period, (JRA suppl. 8), Ann Arbor, 130-138. Luni, M. ed. (2006) Cirene ‘Atene d’Africa’, Mon. Arch. Libica 28, ‘L’Erma’ di Bretschneider, Roma. Mackensen, M. (1993) Die Spätantiken Sigillata und Lampentöpfereien von El Mahrine (Nordtunisien). Studien zur Nordafrikanischen Feinkeramik des 4. bis 7. Jahrunderts mit einen Beitrag von Sebastian Storz, München. Mackensen, M. (2002) A late midroman African red slip ware lamp from Sabratha and lamp production at Djima (central Tunisia), Libyan Studies 33, 57-69. Mackensen, M. and Schneider, G. (2002) Production centres of african red slip ware (3rth- 7th century) in northern and central Tunisia: archaelogical provenance et reference groups based on chemical analysis. JRA 15, 121-158. Mahjoubi, A. et al. (1973) La nécropole romaine de Raqqada VIII 1: Les fouilles, Tunis. Malaise, M. (1972), Les conditions de pénétration et de diffusion des cultes égyptiens en Italie, Leiden. Oziol, Th.and Rebuffat, R. eds. (1987) Les lampes de terre cuite en Méditerranée, dés origines à Justinien, Lyon. Paleani, M. T. (1993) Le lucerne paleocristiane. Monumenti, Musei e Gallerie Pontificie. Antiquarium Romanum. Cataloghi I, Roma. Pavolini, C. (1981) Le lucerne nell’Italia romana, in Giardina, A. and Schiavone, A. eds, Società romana e produzione schiavistica. II. Merci, mercati e scambi nel Mediterraneo, Roma-Bari, 139-184. Pavolini, C. (1987) Le lucerne romane tra III sec. a.C. e III sec. d.C., in Levèque, P. and Morel, J.P. eds Céramiques hellénistiques et romaines II, Annales littéraires de l’Université de Besançon n. 331, Centre de recherche d’Histoire Ancienne n. 70, Paris, 138-165. Pentiricci, M. et al. (1998) La villa suburbana di Uadi Er Resef (Leptis Magna): il contesto ceramico di età antonina, in LibAnt n.s. 4, 41-98. Podvin, J.-L. (2001) ‘Anubis et Isis sur des lampes à huile romaines. A propos d’une terre cuite du Musée des Antiquités nationales à Saint-Germain-en-Laye’, Revue du Louvre, 4, 33-6 Pohl, G. (1962) Die Frǜhchristliche Lampen von Lorenzberg bei Epfach Landkreis Schongau, versuch, einer Gliederung der Lampen von Mediterranen Typus in Aus Bayerns Frǜzeit: Friedriech Wegner zum 75. Geburstag. Schriftenreihe zur Bayerischen Landesgeschichte, 62. Munchen, 219-228. Ponsich, M. (1960) Lampes romaines de Carthage (Collection Georges Louis) in RA 2, 155-172. Ponsich, M. (1961) Les lampes romaines en terre cuite de la Maurétanie Tingitane, Rabat.
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Provoost, A. (1970) ‘Les lampes à récipient allongé trouvées dans les catacombes romaines. Essai de classification typologique’, BBelgRom, 41; 17-55. Puglisi, G. (1986) Aspetti della trasmissione della proprietà fondiaria in Sicilia. La massa ecclesiastica nell’epistolario di Gregorio Magno, in Giardina, A. ed, Società romana e Impero tardoantico III, Roma-Bari, 521-529. Reynolds J. M. and Ward-Perkins, J. B. (1952) The inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania, Roma-Londra. Riso, V. (2010) Lucerne dal Tempio Anonimo sul Decumano maggiore di Leptis Magna, Messina, Armando Siciliano Editore. Robinson, H. S. (1959) The Athenian Agora, V. Pottery of the roman period, cronology, Princeton. Rossiter, J.J. (1988) Lampes from the late 4th to the early 5th century deposit, in Humphrey J.H. ed, The circus and a Byzantine Cemetery at Carthage. vol.I . Ann Arbor, The University of Michigan Press, 529-548. Salmeri, G. (1997) Miniere di zolfo in Sicilia e in Grecia in età imperiale, in La Rosa, V., Dalle capanne alle Robbe. La storia lunga di Milocca-Milena, Milena (CL). Salomonson, J. W. (1968) ‘Etudes sur la céramique romaine d’Afrique’, Bulletin van de Vereeninging tot Bevordering der Kennis van de Antieke Beschaving, XLIII, 80. Sampaolo, V. (1983) Culti egiziani a Pompei: il Tempio di Iside, in Civiltà dell’Antico Egitto in Campania, Napoli, 73-8. Scarpi, P (2004) Le religioni dei misteri, Milano. Tomasello, F. (2005) Fontane e ninfei minori di Leptis Magna, Appendice II: Saggi di scavo, in MonArchLib XXVII, Roma.
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Fig. 1: Table of inscriptions on the lamps
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Veronica Riso: Lamps From the Anonymous Temple
Fig. 2: Mould model of Loeschcke III lamp. (Riso, 2010)
Fig.3: Faulty lamp from the temple. (Riso 2010)
Fig.5: Lamp showing Ivno Caelestis on its disk. (Riso 2010)
Fig.4: Lamp Deneauve type Xa which showing a villa maritima (front). (Riso 2010)
Fig.6: Ex voto showing the lower part of a seated goddess, probably Ivno Caelestis. (Riso 2010)
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Fig.8: Reverse of bronze coin Indvlgentia Augg. in Carthaginem showing Ivno Caelestis riding a lion. (Lexicon Iconographicum VIII.2, 513, n.75)
Fig. 7: Stucco relief from the Cairo Museum showing Cybele seated inside a naiskos between Hermes and Ekate, with a lion at her feet lying to the right. (Lexicon Iconographicum VIII.2, 513, n.75)
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New Data on the Roman Wall Paintings of Leptis Magna. A Preliminary Report Giuseppe Cinquemani
Catania University, Catania, Scuola di specializzazione in Beni Archeologici
walls, one roman bath,2 the so-called Schola, close to the arch of Augusta Salutaris, and the Severian Arch.3
General description (study, story of the research, dating) In the sphere of study on the wall paintings of the Roman provinces, a new focal point for Tripolitania seems to have presented itself thanks to the data emerging from the wall paintings of Leptis Magna.
Although we have no certain data on the extent of the archaeological excavations conducted by Gasperini4 and Ioppolo direction, it is certain that they included some work inside the court of the temple itself.5 The results obtained by E. Vergara Caffarelli are available from the reports sent to the General Superintendent in Tripoli6 and by one preliminary report published in the revue Fasti Archeologici in 1957.
The fragments of wall paintings that are the object of this research and published here constitute just a small part of the material that is still being studied by the writer. The fragments presented below were found in a secondary position under the Decumanus Temple pavement (Leptis Magna) and in a primary position at the southern wall of the temple, more precisely on one of the walls of an earlier structure then erased by the later building.
The temple plan refers to a typical Romano-African style with a ‘triportico’ framing the smaller temple on a podium against the back wall of the court (Fig. 2). The main temple measures 28.75×16.90m; the smaller temple measures 12.15×7.50m.
These fragments, recovered during the investigations conducted by Prof. L. Gasperini inside the temple courtyard in 1964, went missing in the warehouses of the Superintendent of Antiquities of Leptis, and were identified only after the new surveys conducted by the Archaeological Mission of the University of Catania, so that fortunately it was possible to begin the study of these rare wall paintings, with their evidence of early Tripolitania.
At the present time the only reliable data on Gasperini’s archaeological investigations are obtainable from a few generic labels placed into the boxes with the archaeological finds (mainly wall paintings, but also ceramics and bones); the identification marks in Arabic are likely to refer to a subsequent arrangement. More recent information comes from the new archaeological surveys carried out by Prof. F. Tomasello in the temple court. These new data allow us to speculate that the Roman wall paintings now kept in the Leptis warehouse probably come from the same area of the temple court and are part of the same filling realized to raise the courtyard’s floor higher than the outer road paving.7
The later investigations by Catania University not only analyzed the remnants still in situ near the so-called Decumanus Temple but also helped ‘rediscover’ the material recovered during the Gasperini archaeological excavations of 1961-1964 (unpublished). The verifiable similarities among the paintings still in situ and then examined in the laboratory suggest the presence of different figured cycles belonging to a luxurious residence, or a public structure of great importance dating before the construction of the Decumanus Temple, during the reign of Septimius Severus. The reconstruction of the figured cycles (assembly, photography, graphics and digitization) has been undertaken using the most modern methodologies applied by Le Centre d’Etude des Peintures Murales Romaines, France.
The temple: west wall and painting in situ Throughout the archaeological excavations of 2009-2010 it was possible to carry out the study and the archaeometrical analyses on the remains of the paintings still in situ. The studies undertaken by the writer are represented as an Addendum to the ‘Temple on Mayor Decumano’.8
These data, although incomplete, allow us to update and expand the information so far known about Tripolitania’s wall paintings. The material published on the regional tectoria is still scarce and our findings, assigned to a chronologically circumscribed context of the end of the 1st or early 2nd century A.D., could shed some light on the pictorial production of this little known period.
The exterior west wall of the temple (Figg. 2-3) leans against the pre-existing wall and obliterates it, covering large areas of which are preserved. The tectoria let us suppose that this wall belonged to one room in which three sides had been demolished, probably to clear the area of the block needed to build a new building. The temple walls are in opus quadratum, not very accurate, with irregular blocks of limestone (probably re-used) and cemented by a mud mortar (Fig. 3).
The urban setting: the temple (localization and surveys) The ‘Anonymous Temple’, inside insula 16 of the third Regio, overlooks the stretch of the cursus publicus that crossed the city of Leptis between two streams, Uada Lebdah on the east and Uadi er-Rsaf on the west (Fig. 1).1 The structure was dug up by E. Vergara Caffarelli, Chief of the Department of Antiquities of Tripolitania, between 1951 and 1954, and was one of several urban monuments starting from westwards: the Marcus Aurelius Arch; the Antonine Arch, incorporated into the late Roman urban 1
F. Tomasello dates the bath to the late Roman period. See previous note. 3 For these monuments cf. Caffarelli 1964. 4 Cfr. Brouquier-Reddé 1992: 107). 5 Cfr. Di Vita 1965: 135. 6 In the case of our monument, the reports are signed by Francesco Russo. These cover a limited period from February 1953 to December 1954. Cf. Bartoccini 1961: 105-126. 7 Cfr. M. Albertocchi– F. Trapani 2011. 8 Cfr. Cinquemani 2011. 2
Tomasello 2011.
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SOMA 2011 Since this study is in press it is helpful to mention a few points concerning the wall paintings in situ (Fig. 4). Thanks to macroscopic observation it was possible to identify five layers of coating, divided as follow: two layers of arenatum composed of sand grain decreasing in size (2cm thick) and one ‘tiraggio’ layer (0.4cm thick) more accurate in composition. The final layer, the so called ‘stucco’, is of white colour (0.1cm thick) and decorated by over-painting in different colours.
The archaeometric analysis allowed us to confirm the preliminary hypothesis that the wall painting was created ‘wet’ at its innermost section, i.e. the background colour, and ‘half-wet/dry’ for the over-painted colours. The painting may be dated from the Flavian to early Antonine period. Wall painting fragments from trials C and E
The decorative motifs, of a geometric and zoomorphic kind, are rendered in green (M. 8/2 5G) and red (M. 10R 1/4 or 4/6) on yellow background (‘ocra’) (M. 7.5YR 7/8).
Even though their exact position is unknown, we may mention briefly some preliminary data on the study of the wall paintings found by Gasperini, probably carried out in 1964 but still unpublished. Lacking the excavation data we first reassembled the material from the box archive.
The geometric motif consists of a rectangular panel in vertical arrangement (fig. 4-5) with a central panel occupied by an imitation of marble crusta in grayish-white bordered by a large band in red porphyry; these coloured surfaces are bounded by a thin white band. At the top of the panel are the remains of a decoration that might be a geometric motif, partially visible because the surface of the ‘affresco’ stops abruptly. This geometric motif could be a pattern of concentric semicircles of various colours (yellow and white), with a central motif (phytomorphic?) in green; these patterns are included inside a grayish panel as wide as the lower one.
Once the various groups were reconstructed graphically (at 1:1 scale, using ‘polyane papier’) (Figs. 10-11) the photographic relief work was carried out. The data acquired was enhanced using graphics programs such as ‘Adobe Photoshop’ and ‘Illustrator’. The pictorial groups as currently identified reveal at least three different areas: • The Lower Zone (parietal wainscot) • The Central Zone (Fig. 12): large rectangular panels in a single background (red, yellow or white). These panels are either unelaborated or have complex decoration (i.e. representations of landscapes and anthropomorphic or zoomorphic figures), and they are squared by geometric patterns in vertical bands (green or brown) alternating with so-called ‘inter-panels’ decorated with chandeliers or phytomorphic patterns. • The Upper Zone (Fig. 13): white background panels decorated with festoons or garlands squared by typical architectural shells of the so-called ‘IVth style’.
This scheme with vertical panel defines two fields of various compositions: to the left is one white band that probably ran around a single yellow panel; on the right the decoration is more rich and consists of an horizontal panel with a garland motif hanging by a staple, and a zoomorphic motif that probably can be interpreted as a sea monster. The total width of the panel has been calculated from the central point of the garland. In any case, the scheme refers to a parietal wainscot of modest height considering the probable domus floor in relation to the actual street level of the insula and decumanus itself. The pattern is an imitation of marble crustae that was very common from the 1st century A.D., such as the ‘House of Octavius Quartio’ at Pompei9 (Fig. 6), to the 2nd century A.D., such as the Villa of Les Champtier-des-cerisiers at Longjimeau10 (Fig. 7).
Conclusion The wall paintings, from the decorative point of view, can probably be ascribed to contemporary figurative cycles (end of 1st to middle of 2nd century A. D.). The fragments still in situ and those from the trials employ the same techniques and pigments (tempera on possible fresco ground).
The red hanging garland, around which a fine green taenia twines, originates from large green strokes (Fig. 5). This pattern is very common in the early 2nd century A.D., such as at Eubois-l’Abbe,11 and in the mid-2nd century, i.e. the Villa of La Grange-du-Bief.12
To interpret the remains we may consider initially three possibilities: A. Natural deposition (earthquake/fire). The presence of the fragments could be the result of a catastrophic event that happened in the 2nd century A.D. before the construction of the Decumanus Temple in the Severian period. However this is unlikely as the fragments showed no evidence of this (burning, etc). B. Artificial deposition. Possible interpretations must take into account the urban layout of the entire area, not underestimating the possibility of catastrophic events that could have damaged the existing structures. C. Urban realignment. The accumulation of recycled building material so as to raise the temple floor in relation to ground level. These events are related to the monumental status of the decumanus and changes of orientation to the insulae.
As for the narrows spirals which occupy the lower zone, they can be interpreted perhaps as a sea- monster with a tail: sea horse, dolphin or triton. This pattern is presented in different contexts and periods: for example the ‘House of Caius Julius Polybius’ at Pompei,13 the Roman villa of Dar Buc Ammèra at Zliten14 (Fig. 8), and the domus of Baieaux-rue-Saint-Patrice15 (Fig. 9a-b). Aa. Vv. 1991: tav. 38. Barbet 2008: 219-220, fig. 336. 11 Barbet 2008: 243, fig. 379. 12 Barbet 2008: 223, fig. 344-345. 13 Paintings realized in the 4th Pompeian style (about 79 A.D.). For the chronology of the Casa di G. Polibio cf. Pappalardo 2009: 26-28; for the s.c. ‘palestra’ in the 7th Regio of Pompei, cf. Barbet 1985: 240, fig. 139, 176 and 198. 14 Aurigemma argues that the execution of the paintings should be dated to the early period of the villa, i.e. in the Flavian period (69-96 A.D.). Aurigemma 1962: 13-15, 59, tav. 51. 15 Barbet 2008: 261, fig. 409. 9
10
If the latter hypothesis is correct the paintings come from the demolition of the buildings’ facades located in the nearby insulae (the back of the buildings maintain their previous orientation)
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Giuseppe Cinquemani: New Data on the Roman Wall Paintings Guidi, G. (1930) Il teatro romano di Sabratha. Africa Italiana, III. Heinrich, E. (2002) Der zweite Stil in pompejanischen Wohnhäusern. Studien zur antiken Malerei und Farbgebung 8. München. Hellenkemper, H (1993) Kölner Forschungen. Berlino. Ling, R. (1991) Roman painting. Cambridge University Press. Ling, R. (1999) Stuccowork and Painting in Roman Italy. La Rocca, E. ed. (2009) Roma. La Pittura di un Impero. Roma. Mielsch, H. (1975) Römische stuckreliefs. Heidelberg. Moormann, E. M. (2005) Der römische Freskenzyclus mit großen Figuren in der Villa 6 in Terzigno. Otium Festschrift für Volker Michael Strocka, Remshalden 2005. Pappalardo, U. (2009) Affreschi romani. Verona, Sage. Portale, E. C. (2007) Per una rilettura del II stile a Solunto. IN Perrier, B. ed., Villas, maisons, sanctuarire et tombeaux tardo-republicains: découvrtes et relectures récentes. Actes du colloque international de Saint-Romain-en-Gal en l’honneur d’Anna Gallina Zevi (Vienne-Saint-romain-en-Gal 8-10 fevrier 2007). Roma. Pugliese Carratelli, G. ed. (1990-2003) Pompei. Pitture e Mosaici, I-IX. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Roma. Reinach, S. ed. (1922) Répertoire de Peintures Grecques et Romaines. Paris. Romanelli, P. (1916) Scavi e scoperte nella città di Tripoli. Sterro della collina fuori Babel-Gédid (Porta Nuova). Notiziario archeologico del Ministero delle Colonie, anno II, fasc. I-II, Roma. Romanelli, P. (1922) Scavi e scoperte nella città di Tripoli. Notiziario archeologico, anno III, Roma. Salza Prina Ricotti, E. (1971) Le ville marittime di Silin (Leptis magna). Rendiconti della Pontificia Accademia di Archeologia, XLIII. Salza Prina Ricotti, E. (1972) I porti nella zona di Leptis Magna. Rendiconti della Pontificia Accademia di Archeologia, XLIV. Sampaolo, V (2005) In margine alle figure del salone 13 della Villa di Terzigno. IN Guzzo, P. G. ed., Storie da un’eruzione. In margine alla mostra. Atti della tavola rotonda, Napoli. Thomas, R. (2001) Wandmalerei. IN Fischer, T ed., Die römischen Provinzen. Eine Einführung, Darmstadt : Wissenschaftliche Bucchgesellschaft. Ward Perkins, J.B. and Toynbee, J. C. M.. (1949) The Hunting Baths at Lepcis Magna. Archaeologia, vol. XCIII, Oxford. Wirth, F. (1934) Römische Wandmalerei. Berlino. See separate file for fig
or from a pre-existing domus expropriated to make room for the temple (only in relation to the west part of the temple as the other walls were demolished). Bibliography Cerulli, G. ed (1991) La pittura di Pompei. Testimonianze dell’arte romana nella zona sepolta dal Vesuvio nel 79 d.C.. Albertocchi, M. and Trapani F. (2011) Il saggio nell’area della corte. IN Tomasello, F. ed. (in press), Il tempio anonimo sul decumano maggiore di Leptis Magna. Aurigemma, S. (1962) L’Italia in Africa. Tripolitania, I,1. I mosaici. Roma. Aurigemma, S. (1962) L’Italia in Africa. Tripolitania, I, 2. Le pitture d’età romana. Roma. Bianchi Bandinelli, R. and Vergara Caffarelli, E. and Caputo, G. (1964) Lepti Magna. Verona. Barbet, A. (1985) La peinture murale romaine. Les styles décoratifs pompéiens. Paris. Barbet, A. (2008) La Peinture murale en Gaule romaine. Paris. Bartoccini, R. (1961) Il foro severiano di Leptis Magna, Quaderni di Archeologia Libica, 4. Boardman, J. ed. (1995) Storia Oxford dell’arte classica. Roma. Cerulli, G. ed. (1991) La pittura di Pompei. Testimonianze dell’arte romana nella zona sepolta dal Vesuvio nel 79 d.C. Milano. Caputo, G. (1959) Il teatro di Sabratha e l’architettura teatrale africana, Monagrafie di archeologia libica, VI, Roma. Carettoni, G. (1983) Das haus des Augustus auf dem Palatin. Mainz. Cicirelli, C. (1996) Comune di Terzigno, località Boccia al Mauro, Rivista di Studi Pompeiani, 7. Cicirelli, C. (1997) Comune di Terzigno, località Boccia al Mauro, Rivista di Studi Pompeiani, 8. Cicirelli, C. (1999) Il complesso di pavimenti di II stile dalla villa 6 di Terzigno, Atti del VI Colloquio dell’Associazione Italiana per lo Studio e la Conservazione del Mosaico (AISCOM), Venezia. Cinquemani, G. (2011) L’affresco parietale della domus ovest. IN Tomasello, F. ed. (in press), Il tempio anonimo sul decumano maggiore di Leptis Magna. Di Vita, A. (1990) Antico e tardo-antico in tripolitania: sopravvivenze e metodologia L’Africa romana, VII. Di Vita, A. (1965) Archaeological news. Archi di Marco Aurelio e di Settimio Severo – Tempio sul decumano. Libya Antiqua, 2.
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Fig. 1. Plan of Leptis Magna (after TOMASELLO 2011)
Fig. 2. Leptis Magna. The ‘Decumanus Temple’: general plan (after TOMASELLO 2011)
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Fig. 3. Leptis Magna. West wall of the Decumanus Temple (author’s photo) Figure image3.jpeg
Fig. 4. Leptis Magna. Wall of pre-existing Figure ‘domus’; image4.jpeg detail of Roman wall painting (author’s photo)
Fig. 5. Proposed graphical restoration
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Fig. 6. Pompei. House of Octavius Quartio, marble plinth (after CERULLI 1991: tav. 38)
Fig. 7. Longjumeau. Les Champtier-des-Cerisiers. Panel with panthers and seahorses (after BARBET 2008: fig. 336)
Fig. 8. Zliten. Villa di Dar Buc Ammèra. Winged seahorse (after AURIGEMMA 1962: tav. 51)
Fig. 9a-b. Bayeux. Rue Saint-Patrice. Dolphins and sea-lions (after BARBET 2008: fig. 307, 333)
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Fig. 10. Graphic relief (scale 1:1) using ‘polyane papier’ (author’s photo)
Fig. 11. Graphic relief (scale 1:1), architectonic structure (author’s design)
Fig. 12. Leptis Magna. Wall painting fragment from the Gasperini surveys (author’s photo)
Fig. 13. Leptis Magna. Wall painting fragments from the Gasperini surveys (author’s photo)
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The Coin Hoard from Misurata: the Container Francesca Trapani
CNR-ITABC/University of Catania, Italy In February 1981 in Misurata, a town about 200km west of Tripoli (Libya), was accidentally found a big coins hoard, during farm works. The coins were found both inside containers, and spread over a large area of about 900m2. During the excavations about 108,000 coins were collected. It is one of the largest coin hoards ever found. The coins are being studied by the Italian CNR ITABC, under the direction of Professor Salvatore Garraffo; they are all folles1 dated from 294 to 333 A.D. (Garraffo 1998; Garraffo et al. 2008). We can now propose a review of the containers found during the excavations, most of them filled with these coins. The close dating of them allows us to examine the vessels, of different shape and fabric, as a single group and present in a given area at a given moment. So, it has been possible to investigate closely the vessels chronology and the unidentified pottery workshops.2
Group 1. Transport Amphorae Belonging to this group are two amphoras with cylindrical body (M01, M02), both without top, but one preserves a part of the neck with a handle. The first, M01, Inv. 796 (100 H approximately), has, as well as a cylindrical body, a short conical neck, handles with an earshaped profile and a pointed foot filled with a clay plug. It may be identified with Africana I-Africana Piccola (Keay III A-B), dated from the middle of the 2nd to the 4th centuries A.D. The second, M02 (93 preserved H), has a cylindrical body, rounded at the base, and conical pointed foot with a clay plug filling the interior. Despite the lack of top, it is possible to identify this amphora with a Tripolitanian type, probably Tripolitanian III for the shape – slightly inflexed towards the middle and by its dimensions. Moreover, this container has a foot filled with clay plug, very common both in the Tripolitanian I type, and Tripolitanian III.
Sixteen containers were found: thirteen in good condition. Most of them were within a building, but, as already noted, only ten contained coins, with the other containers were filled with ashes, perhaps because of a fire that destroyed the building. According to the shape, the vessels belong to the following groups: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Transport amphorae medium-large sized (1/120 H3) Transport amphorae small-sized with ovoid body (50 H) As 2 above but with excised decoration Globular transport amphorae small-sized (40 H) Amphorae small-sized with ovoid body (40 H) Small-sized containers (bottles, jugs).
Tripolitanian III amphorae were produced from the 3rd to the end of the 4th century A.D. (Bonifay 2004: 105-7, fig. 55a; Bruno 2005: 389-90). These amphorae are both of African production (Tunisia for the Keay A-B- Africana I, and Tripolitania, probably near Lepcis Magna, for the Tripolitanian III) the shape derived from Phoenician types common in North Africa with torpedocylindrical shaped bodies. Both of them were used in the oil trade and widespread in the Mediterranean basin during the mid-late Roman Empire period (Bruno 2005: 388-9).4
Fabric Based on direct observation, we could identify two different fabrics: Fabric 1: The clay is red-brown (10R 5/6) that becomes purplish brown on the surface (5R 5/2). There are many limestone grains. Sometimes the surface presents a white saline slip, or a cream coloured slip. This fabric is very common in Tripolitania productions, such as the Tripolitanian amphorae, so it is not unlikely that it is local (Pentiricci et al. 1998: 47-9).
Group 2. Transport amphorae small-sized with ovoid body Two amphorae belong to this group: M03, M04. One of these is almost integral (about 0.50 H); it has a wide flared neck, topped by a high band rim. The handles have an ear-shaped profile with an elliptical section attached to the shoulder and under the rim. The short foot (3 H) is cylindrical in shape and hollow inside.
Fabric 2: The clay is red-orange (10R 6/6), more compact and pure; limestone grains are present, but they are tiny and less numerous. Surfaces are covered with a thick cream-coloured slip outside and sometimes also inside. Without appropriate analysis, it is difficult to know the provenance of this fabric. However, on the basis of similarity of the clay, particularly with the Tunisian production, we can point to a wider North African origin (Keay 1984: 446-54).
These amphorae are similar to the Dressel 30 type (Keay I A-B, Ostia IV), produced first in south Gallia from the end of the 1st century A.D. (Gauloise IV amphorae) to transport wine. Other productions of similar type have been found in North Africa, also for the wine trade. Workshops have been identified particularly in Mauretania Caesarensis (now Algeria) and in different sites in Tunisia (Bonifay 2004: 148. Figs. 81-82). The latest types date to the early 4th century and have a more rounded body, like the amphorae from Misurata. However the band rim is uncommon, Dressel-30/Mauretanian amphorae had usually a short thickened rim (Bonifay 2004: 149, fig. 81). The band rim, when is present, is thick and separated from the outer surface (Keay 1984: 97-8, fig. 35.4 and 36.5) and belongs to amphorae that, according Bonifay,
Follis-type coins were introduced by Diocletian in about 294 A.D. They were made with an alloy of copper, tin, lead and a small percentage of silver, especially on the surface. 2 I want like to thank Professor Salvatore Garraffo and Professor Francesco Tomasello for the opportunity given to me to study the Misurata containers. I am also grateful to Halima Al Sharif, director of Lepcis Magna Museum for her help. 3 Ø= diameter; H= height; W= width; T= thickness; C= clay; pres= preserved; max= maximum; min=minimum. Measures are in centimeters. 1
4
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Beltràn 1970: 525-29, fig. 210-11; Keay 1984: 95-99, fig. 19.
SOMA 2011 are dated in to the 4th century A.D. (Ostia IV, 172; Bonifay 2004: 151, fig. 82). However, band rim shaped vessels similar to the Misurata examples are present in some coarse ware containers of local fabric coming from Berenice from late Roman contexts (Riley 1979: 396, n. 1026, fig. 143). We find these cylindrical amphorae in the necropolis of Pupput, dated up to the second half of 3rd century A.D. (Bonifay 2004: 122-23, fig. 66).
As with the previous group 2, the original shape, even if roughly similar to Dressel-30/Mauretanian amphorae, and the fabric could indicate a local origin. According to other models, probably this vessel was used first to trade wine. Group 4. Transport small-sized amphorae with globular body Only one small-sized amphora belongs to this group, M06, (hypothetical H 30), preserved without a rim. It has globular body, large neck, and loop handles with elliptical section that probably rounded from belly under the rim. It has a small and cylindrical foot.
On the basis of the fabric and shape similar, but not identical, to Dressel-30/Mauretanian type,5 we might suppose a local Tripolitanian origin, probably linked to the wine trade, for the forms, around the regional circuit. Group 3. Transport amphorae with ovoid body and excised decoration
It is possible to compare this vessel with Dressel-20 amphorae, containers of medium size (H 60), globular/lemon-shaped body and short pointed foot, coming from Hispania Baetica and used to trade oil (Keay 1984: 402; Bruno 2005: 381-2). Dressel-20 amphorae had spread in the Mediterranean between the 2nd and middle of the 3rd century A.D. The latest specimens come from Ostia in the early 4th century A.D (Manacorda 1977).
Only one amphorae belongs to this group, M05, preserved almost integral (about 60 H), except for the rim and one handle. The ovoid body with a pointed short foot is similar to the previous group of Dressel 30/Keay I A-B-Mauretanian type, but this vessel is wider (diameter max 47.6cm) and higher than amphorae of the group 2–M03, M04–(H about 60 out of 50). Furthermore the proportions are different: the ratio between height and diameter is 5/4 for this amphora and 3/2 for the others.
However the Misurata vessel is a little different in its dimensions and his much more rounded shape. A similar amphora, of uncertain fabric (Ø 40, H 40), was found in 1975 in tomb 61 at Al Khoms, a modern town in Lepcis Magna suburbium. Therefore this vessel and the Misurata example could be small-sized imitations of Dressel-20 (small sized imitations were found, for example, in Hispania Tarraconensis and in North Africa8), maybe of Tripolitanian fabric, as the fabric might suggest.
This amphora also has an excised decoration on the surface. This decoration was incised before firing, probably using a wooden implement. The decorative patterns occupy most of the shoulder and the upper section. They consist of triangles arranged in bands alternating with fields of horizontal lines. Each triangle is filled with sequences of oblique lines.
Group 5. Storage Amphorae
The shape similar to the Dressel 30/Mauretanian type leads us to suppose for this container a chronology not later than the middle of the 4th century A.D. The handles were formed with spiral loops shaped. Similar handles are present in containers coming from Carthage from contexts dated not later than the first half of the 4th century A.D. (Fulford 1994). Therefore this amphora should be older than other excised pottery produced, as some scholars say, probably in the East (Cilicia) in the 6th and 7th centuries A.D. but in different shapes (small jugs and bottles) and decoration – concentric curved lines creating a sort of floral motif are common (Ferrazzoli et al. 2008: 1569).
This group includes 4 small-sized storage amphorae, M07, M08, M09, M10 (about 40 H), all of these are without top and handles that once preserved only the junction. These amphorae are very similar: they have an ovoid body, wide conical/cylindrical neck, and a large foot slightly separated from body with convex section. This amphorae type was very common in Tripolitania in Roman Imperial times. Some specimens were found as cineraria in burial areas outside central Lepcis Magna and in others necropolis, for example at Tarhouna (Pentricci et al. 1998: 83). The oldest ones, dating to the 2nd century A.D., were less wide and more tapered. They had a large rounded rim, handles with globular section, joining the shoulder above belly, and the neck under the rim. A specimen from a stratified context comes from the foundation deposit of the temple in Decumanus Maximus, in Lepcis Magna, dated to the late 2nd century A.D. (Tomasello 2011).
Pottery with incised decoration began to spread throughout the Mediterranean from the end of the 3rd century A.D. In this period amphorae were common with wave decorations incised on the shoulder, particularly on and above the belly, such as the examples from the necropolis of Lilybaeum (Vegas 1973: type 12, n. 3, fig. 13; Bechtold 1999: 135-6). Other incised pottery comes from excavations in the Athenian Agora and it has been dated between the 3rd and 4th century A.D.6 They are small/ medium sized containers (jugs, flasks and amphorae) decorated with different patterns arranged in stripes.7 For example there is a vessel similar to our specimen from Misurata, it is a jug decorated with ‘three horizontal grooves at point of maximum diameter, above gorge decoration alternating panello diagonal and horizontal lines’ (Robinson 1959: 78, L40 pl. 17).
Small-sized amphorae with ovoid body were common in the middle-late Roman period, used particularly as storage vessels in domestic contexts. For example, small-sized containers known as Mid-Roman Jugs, that are a little different from the Tripolitanian specimens, have been found at Berenice/Benghazi, Cirenaica (Riley 1979: fig. 132-140, n. 1156-1159). Other containers from Berenice, dated 3rd to 4th century A.D., became more expanded in the upper part and much more tapered in the lower section, as the Misurata amphorae show9. Equally, from Carthage and the Hammamet Gulf
However, these two containers from Misurata are shorter than Mauretanian amphorae (50/60 H). 6 Robinson 1959: pl. 16, 17, 24, 30-33. 7 Robinson 1959: pl. 17, L38; pl. 18, L39, L40, L43, L44; pl. 30, M292, M293, M299. 5
The globular body and the handles also recall the mid-Roman I amphorae from Berenice (Riley 1979). 9 Riley 1979: 233, fig. 94, n. 378 (H pres. 39, 5; Ø base 8, 5); fig. 144, n.1214, 1216: Late Roman Flagons. 8
484
Francesca Trapani: The Coin Hoard from Misurata (Tunisia), come containers with one or two handles analogous to the Misurata specimens of the mid-late Roman periods.10
The amphora with excised geometrical decoration (M05) could be one of the latest vessels. We have already noted that excised decoration spread within the Mediterranean Basin at the end of 3rd century A.D. and become common in the 5th to the 7th centuries, especially in small containers. On the basis of the shape and of the coins found inside this pottery (dated from 284 to 313 A.D.), we have suggested a dating to the first half of the 4th century. According the fabric, it is likely that these amphorae are of local Tripolitanian production.
Other storage amphorae coming from North Africa (Simitthus/ Chemtou) have a similar globular shape (about 40 H) with convex base, but the handles are joined to the body below the shoulder, according to Punic tradition. Vegas dated these amphorae to the 3rd century A.D. (Vegas 1994: 221, fig. 179, n. 397-398). These amphorae from Misurata were probably produced for domestic use, as storage containers to carry water, so it is likely that they were of local fabric with a regional diffusion. Their use in burial contexts as cineraria may be considered as secondary.
The others vessels were designed for a wider circulation: they are the large-sized amphorae M01 and M02: the first is identifiable as a Keay-III, A-B (Africana Piccola); the second as Tripolitanian III. These large containers were manufactured to trade oil and were produced in North Africa and exported to Rome and other centres from the 2nd to the 3rd century A.D. (Bruno 2005: 388).
Group 6. Bottle and jug The last group includes small containers: a bottle and two monohandled jugs. As well as the bottle, these jugs are very common small-sized containers used in North African sites in Roman times. In Tripolitania several specimens come from domestic contexts or tombs, where they were used in the funeral banquet or to extinguish the last flames of the pyre. The bottle type, with flaring body, is common in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. (Di Vita-Evrard et al. 1997: 128), the latest specimens are dated 4th/5th century A.D. (Bonifay 2004: 288).
Examining the coins found inside some of the containers, we can make some remarks about the chronology and their final use. As noted, only 3 vessels were found without coins: two transport amphorae, small-sized of the same type (M03-M04), and the large-sized Tripolitanian III amphora (M02). The excavation report states that these vessels were found near or inside the domus, so they were used as food containers (wine, oil), intended for both home consumption and regional diffusion. The other vessels were found filled with coins dated not later than 333 A.D., so they should be of the same period, or few years later. Probably their employ as money containers was accidental, because of the diversity of the forms and the dimensions. In the Roman Imperial period we have pottery money-boxes, shaped without neck and rim and having a slot on the shoulder into which coins could be dropped. Some rare specimens of this type have been found, for example at Carthage and Chemtou (Bonifay 2004: 300-1, fig. 168). In the case of the Misurata hoard, we can suppose that when this money was collected, common pottery was used, without little attention paid to the shapes and sizes. All the containers would be common in a close regional area, not far from Misurata, so we may assume that the coins came from Tripolitanian centres, or were stored in these containers after their arrival in Misurata.
Jugs with globular body, short/absent neck, and a handle section are also common for 3rd/4th centuries A.D. (Bonifay 2004). Fabric 1 vessels are probably of Tripolitanian make, the older one has a fluted rim, similar to the specimens found at the Uadi-Rsaf villa, not far from Lepcis Magna (Pentiricci et al. 1998: 64, fig 9, 29.2; Bonifay 2004: 286, n. 1-4). The recent one, with everted rim, is dated not before the 4th cent. A.D. (Bonifay 2004: 286287, type 52, fig. 159a, 5). Conclusion As mentioned, most of the Misurata hoard containers were made for domestic use, such as storage amphorae, bottle and the jugs. The bottle and jug types (M011, M12, M13) were very common in North Africa in the middle-late Roman periods (Bonifay 2004: 285-6, fig. 159a), and they were produced in several ateliers, very likely in Tripolitania too, such as at Oea-Tripoli (Pentiricci et al. 1998: 64-6).
The presence of this large coin hoard in Misurata can be explained by the importance of this town during Imperial times. Misurata can be identified with Thubactis municipium (Romanelli 1970: 10) that was close to the coastal road linking Carthage, in Africa Proconsularis, with Alexandria, in Egypt (Mazzoli 1996: 1050). Another road towards the inner region started from Thubactis, as we see in the Peutingeriana Tabula. It is likely that the containers were placed in a building or public space (maybe near a statio of the cursus publicus) where, for whatever reason, the coins were overlooked until the date of their excavation.
The storage amphorae (M07, M08, M09, M10) should be considered a late shape of ovoid amphorae coming from Tripolitania (particularly from Lepcis Magna) and dated from the late 1st century A.D. This typology, similar but not identical to others storage amphorae produced in North Africa in the midlate Roman periods, probably had a regional diffusion (Pentiricci 1998).
Catalogue
The medium-small sized transport amphorae (M03, M04, M05, M06) should be considered an imitation of the Dressel-30, Dressel-20 amphorae. We know that these types were common in the Mediterranean from the second half of the 2nd century until the early 4th century A.D. and there were several imitations of them, particularly in North Africa, even on a reduced scale, as the Misurata vessels show.
M01- Amphora. Inv. 796 (old inv. 2) 11 (fig.2) Found with coins.
The inventory number refers to the current classification within the Archaeological Museum of Leptis Magna. The old number is referred in excavations reports made in 1981, and, sometimes, recorded in museum files as ‘old inventory number’. This old number is important to know exactly where the pottery was found, in which condition, and what it contained. So, when it has not recorded, the identification between the 11
Type 45 (Pupput 2); type 47. A-B (Pupput 1) (Bonifay 2004: 278-82, fig. 154-56). For storage amphorae from Carthage, see Fulford 1994: 7475 fig. 4.15, 11. 10
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SOMA 2011 Ø max 30.7; Ø neck 10; Ø foot max/min 9/3; T shoulder wall 1.18; T body wall 0.9; H pres 85.5; H with neck and handle 91; H foot 8.
Restored from some fragments, missing parts of body, neck and rim. Ovoid body; short cylindrical foot, hollow inside; conical neck; band rim. Handles ear-shaped with elliptical section (T 3.5x2), joined to the shoulder and under the rim.
Fabric 2. C red-orange that became grey (2.5 YR 5/1) in the inner face because of irregular firing; fairly compact, some large lenticular vacuole (0.3/0.4). Limestone grains visible on the surface. Cream slip (7.5 Y/R 8/3) on the outer surface.
The shape recalls North African production of amphora Mauretanian similar to the Dressel-30/Keay-IA/B type made in Hispania Tarraconensis to trade wine (Beltràn 1970: 525-29, fig. 210-11; Keay 1984: 95-99, fig. 19). Workshops are identified in Mauretania Caesarensis (Algeria), but also in other areas, such as in Tunisia (Bonifay 2004: 149, figs. 81-82). This specimen from Misurata has a more rounded outline as some latest amphorae Dressel-30 dated from the late 3rd and the early 4th century A.D. (Beltràn 1970: 211, fig. 8-11).
Missing the top; partially restored from some fragments, other fragments not assembled belong to the neck and a handle. Cylindrical body with rounded base; short pointed conical foot filled with a clay plug; conical neck; handle ear-shaped with elliptical section joined to the shoulder and, probably, under the rim. The cylindrical shape is slightly deformed by concavities accidentally produced before firing.
Furthermore tall band rim, slightly everted and enlarged at the top; it differs from the Mauretanian/Dressel-30 type. We could find some examples in some cylindrical amphorae from Mauretania Caesarensis dated between the end of 2nd century and the half of 3rd century A.D. (Bonifay 2004: 122-3, fig. 66). On the base of the fabric and the differences from the Mauretanian type, it is not unlikely that this specimen may came from a Tripolitanian workshop.
The vessel was a medium-sized amphorae with cylindrical body produced in the middle and late Roman Imperial period. In particular it is similar to the so-called Africana Piccola, or Africana I type (Keay III A and B; Keay 1984: 100-9, fig. 37-41) M02- Amphora. Inv. 797 (old inv. 15) (fig.3) Found without coins, but filled with ashes.
Dating: end of 3rd-early 4th century A.D.
Ø max 46.5; T body wall 1.2; H pres 93; H foot 11.
M04- Amphora. Inv. 803 (old inv. 5) (fig.5)
Fabric 1. C purplish brown. Some lenticular vacuole mediumlarge sized (0.5/1). Small stone and limestone grains (0.6). Cream slip on the inner and outer surface (5YR 8/2), now partially faded. Horizontal stripes on the surface due to the lathe.
Found without coins. Ø max 33.4; Ø foot 4.4; T body wall 0.64; T shoulder 0.65; H pres.35; H foot 4.
Partially restored, only the lower portion (1/3 of total height) is preserved.
Fabric 1. C red-brown (2.5YR 5/6), darkened at the surfaces (5YR 8/4), quite well compact with horizontal stratifications highlighted by lenticular vacuoles. Many limestone grains medium-small sized (0.1), also visible on the surface. Hazelnut slip on the outer surface.
Cylindrical body rounded at the base; conical pointed foot filled with a clay plug before firing. Fabric and shape recall the Tripolitanian type (Tripolitanian III?), for the cylindrical body slightly inflected at the half height and expanded in the lower section.
Partially restored from several fragments, only preserved at bottom of shoulder. For the typology and chronology see the previous container.
Originally used to trade oil.
M05- Amphora. Inv. 795 (old inv. 11) (fig.6)
Dating: second half 2nd- 4th century A.D. (Bonifay 2004: 105-6; fig. 55a).
Found with coins.
M03- Amphora. Inv. 798 (old inv. 16) (fig.4)
Ø max 47.6; Ø foot 9.6; T body wall 1.2; T shoulder 1.15; T neck 1.1; H pres.53.9.
Found without coins, but filled with ashes.
Fabric 1. C red-brown (10YR 5/4), darkened at the surfaces (10YR 5/2), compact. Many limestone grains medium-small sized (0.1), also visible on the surface. Saline slip remains on the inner and outer surface.
Ø max 33; Ø foot 5.8; Ø neck 12; Ø rim 14; T body wall 0.6; T shoulder 0.8; T neck 0.55; T rim 0.9; H 49.7; H foot 3; H neck 8; H rim 4. Fabric 1. Many limestone grains medium sized (0.2) visible on the surface too. White slip covers the inner and outer surface (7.5YR 7/3), now partially faded.
Restored from several fragments, missing the rim and one handle. Ovoid amphora medium-sized with, expanded in the belly and tapered at the base. Cylindrical neck; spiral moulded loops attached to the shoulder. Short cylindrical foot.
old and the new inventory number is based on the container’s description in the reports.
486
Francesca Trapani: The Coin Hoard from Misurata The container is decorated by excised patterns before firing. There are two decorative patterns arranged in alternate horizontal bands; the first one is a bundle of parallel lines; the second one is a triangle series filled with parallel lines according the sloping sides.
Dating 3rd-early 4th century A.D.
The shape recalls the Dressel-30/Keay-I A/B type, particularly the North African production, such as the Mauretanian type. This specimen can be considered a imitation of these amphorae, as the previous ovoid amphorae from Misurata (M03-M04).
Ø max 30; Ø foot 10.2; T body wall 0.5; T shoulder 0.4; H pres. 28.7.
M08- Amphora. Inv. 799 (old inv. 10) (fig.11) Found with coins.
Fabric 1. C red-brown (10R 5/6), quite compact. Cream saline cover the inner and outer surface (10YR 7/3).
Dating: first half of 4th century A.D.
Restored from several fragments, irregularly broken. It is preserved from the bottom to the shoulder, just under the attachment of the neck.
M06- Amphora. Inv. 791 (old inv.12) (fig.9) Found with coins.
For the typology and chronology see the previous container.
Ø max 25; Ø foot 4.2; Ø neck 12.6; T body wall 0.4; T shoulder 1.; T neck 0.6; H pres. 27.8; H foot 1.7; H neck pres. 6.4.
M09- Amphora. Inv. 800 (old inv. 9) (fig.12)
Fabric 2. C orange-red (10R 6/6), underfired in the middle (10R 4/2). Some limestone grain, vacuoles medium- sized (0.3). Cream slip on the outer surface (7.5 YR 8/2), partially faded.
Found with coins. Ø max 28.7; Ø foot 10.3; T body wall 0.55; T shoulder 0.6; H pres. 27.7.
Restored from several fragments, missing upper neck and upper loops.
Fabric 1. C red-brown (10R 5/6), quite compact, with rough fracture. Some limestone grain and rare lenticular vacuoles. Cream saline cover the inner and outer surface (7.5YR 7/3).
Globular body, slightly lemon-shaped; loop handles with elliptic section; short cylindrical foot. The shape is similar to the amphorae Dressel-20 type produced in Hispania Baetica to trade oil from 2nd to the half of 3rd century A.D. However the Misurata specimen is smaller than Dressel-20 amphorae (about 30/60 cm), and can be considered a smaller size production, as a specimen found in a tomb in the suburb of Lepcis Magna (Ø max 40; H 40) of uncertain workshop (Tomb 61). According to this find and its fabric, it is not unlikely that the Misurata container could came from a North African workshop.
Restored from several fragments, irregularly broken. It is preserved from the bottom to the shoulder. For the typology and chronology see the container M07. M10- Amphora. Inv. 802 (old inv. 4) (fig.13) Found with coins.
Dating from 2nd to the half of 3rd century A.D.
Ø max 32.3; Ø foot 10.3; T body wall 0.5; H pres. 20.6.
M07- Amphora. Inv. 801 (old inv. 8) (fig.10)
Fabric 1. C red-brown (10R 5/6), quite compact. Some limestone grain and small lenticular vacuoles (0.1). Cream saline cover the inner and outer surface (7.5YR 8/3).
Found with coins. Ø max 31.8; Ø foot 9.8; T body wall 0.7; T shoulder 0.55; H pres.33.6.
Restored from several fragments, irregularly broken. It is preserved at the lower part under the belly.
Fabric 1. C red-brown (10R 4/4), darkened at the surfaces (10R 4/1), quite compact. Some vacuole medium-large sized (0.1/0.2). Saline slip remains on the inner and outer surface, thick enough (7.5YR 8/1).
For the typology and chronology see the container M07. M11- Bottle. Inv. 793 (old inv. 6) (fig.14)
Restored from several fragments, irregularly broken. It is preserved from the bottom to the shoulder up to the attachment of handle and neck.
Found with coins.
Ovoid amphora small sized with large foot not separated from body and with concave section. The neck had to be large and cylindrical or slightly conical. Probably handles joined the shoulder and the neck under the rim.
Fabric 1. C red-brown (10R 5/6), grey inside because of irregular firing, quite compact. Many limestone grains and large lenticular vacuoles (0.3). Cream slip cover the inner and outer surface (5R 8/2).
This type is similar to storage amphorae produced in the Mediterranean Basin, east and west, in the middle-late Roman Empire.
Partially restored from several fragments, it is preserved from the bottom to the shoulder; a handle fragment also remains, not reassembled.
Ø max 24; Ø foot 12; T body wall 0.55; T shoulder 0.4; H pres.13.
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SOMA 2011 The body has a flared body with sharp edge and ends at the base with a small ring foot.
commerci e consumi, Istituto Nazionale di Studi Liguri, Bordighera. Cirelli, E. (2001) Leptis Magna in età islamica: fonti scritte e archeologiche. Archeologia Medievale, 28, 423-40. Dent., J.S., Lloyd J.A., Riley J.A. (1976-1977), Some Hellenistic and Early Roman Tombs at Benghazi, Libya Antiqua, 13-14, 131-212. Di Vita Evrard, G., Fontana S., Munzi M. (1997), Le nécropoli di Leptis Magna III. Una tombe hypogéè de la nécropole occidentale. Laurentii o Claudii?, Libya Antiqua, 3, 119-38. Ferrazzoli, A.F., Ricci M. (2008) Scambi commerciali fra l’Africa settentrionale e la Cilicia in età tardo romana e proto bizantina sulla base del materiale ceramico dello scavo di Elaiussa Sebaste. IN: Gonzàles, J., Ruggeri P., Vismara C., Zucca R. eds., L’Africa Romana. Le ricchezze dell’Africa. Risorse, produzioni, Scambi, 17, Roma, Carocci, 1561-72. Fulford, M.G. (1994) The coking and domestic wares. IN: Fulford, M.G. and Peacock D.P.S. eds., Excavations at Carthage. The British Mission, Oxford, 53-75. Garraffo, S. (1996) Notes on coin production, use and circulation in Tripolitania and Crete in late Roman and early Byzantine times. Resumé. IN: King, C.E. and Wigg D.G. eds., Coin finds and coin use in the Roman world. The Thirteenth Oxford Symposium on Coinage and Monetary History. A NATO advanced research workshop, Berlin, Mann,179-84. Garraffo, S., Nicolosi A., Pappalardo G. (2008), Non destructive investigation of the AG distribution in the late Roman folles from abot 300 to 310 A.D. IN: Facorellis, Y.and Polikreti K, eds., Proceedings of the 4th Symposium of the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry. National Hellenic Research Foundation (Athens, 28-31 May 2003), Oxford, 481-85. Keay, S.J. (1984) Late Roman Amphorae in the Western Mediterranean: a typology and economic study. The Catalan Evidence, British Archaeological Reports, International Series, 196, Oxford, BAR Publishing. Mahjoubi, A. and J.W. Salomonson, A. Ennabli (1970), La nécropole romaine de Raqqada, Institut National d’archéologie et d’art. Collection Notes et Documents, VIII/1, Tunis. Manacorda, D. (1977a) Le anfore. IN: Carandini, A. and Panella C. eds., Ostia IV. Le terme del Nuotatore. Scavo dell’ambiente XVI e dell’area XXV, Studi Miscellanei, 23, Roma, De Luca, 117-285. Manacorda, D. (1977b), Testimonianze sulla produzione e il consumo dell’olio Tripolitano nel III secolo. Dialoghi di archeologia, IX-X, 1-2, 542-600. Mandruzzato, A. (1992) Ceramiche e terracotte. IN: Joly, E., Garrazzo S., Mandruzzato A. eds., Materiali minori dallo scavo del teatro di Leptis Magna, Quaderni di Archeologia della Libia, 15, 135-95. Bonora Mazzoli, G. (1996) Itinerari e strade nelle province romae dell’Africa del Nord: aspetti topografici e storici. IN Khanoussi, M., Ruggeri P., Vismara C. eds., L’Africa romana: atti dell’11. Convegno di studio (15-18 dicembre 1994, Cartagine, Tunisia), Sassari, Editrice Il torchietto, 1047-1054. Panella, C. (1973) La anfore. IN: Carandini, A. and C. Panella eds., Ostia III. Le terme del Nuotatore. Scavo dell’ambiente V e di un saggio nell’area SO, Studi Miscellanei, 21, Roma, De Luca, 463-633. Pentricci, M., Chrzanovski L., Cirelli E. et al. (1998), La villa suburbana di Uadi Er-Rsaf (Leptis Magna). Il contesto ceramico di età antonina, Libya Antiqua, 4, 42-97. Riley, J.A. (1979) The coarse pottery from Berenice. IN: Lloyd, J.A. ed., Excavations at Sidi Khrebish, Benghazi (Berenice),
This bottle has an oblique axis because of the irregular rotation of the lathe. Dating 2nd-3rd century A.D. M12- Jug. Inv. 792 (old inv. 13) (fig.15) Found with coins. Ø max 47.6; Ø foot 9.6; T body wall 1.2; T shoulder 1.15; T neck 1.1; H pres. With/without handle 27/27.5. Fabric 1. C red-brown (10R 5/6) fairly compact; some tiny vacuole, rare limestone grains. Cream slip (7.5YR 7/3) cover the inner and outer surface. Intact, but rim partially restored from several fragments. Ovoid jug, pear-shaped body; slightly thickened rim detached from the outer wall; handle with flattened section joining the body with the rim; short ring-shaped foot. The outer surface has oblique grooves, due to the irregular rotation of the lathe. Dating: 3rd century A.D. M13- Jug. Inv. 794 (old inv.14) (fig.16) Found with coins. Ø max 22.5; Ø foot 1.3; T body wall 0.8; T rim wall 1; H pres. With/without handle 29.4/29.7. Fabric 1. C red-brown (2.5YR 3/3) fairly compact; rare lenticular vacuole; many limestone grains. Cream slip (7.5YR 7/3) cover the inner and outer surface, partially faded. Restored from several fragments; missing part of the rim. Pear-shaped body; everted rim, fluted on the top, joined to the outer wall. Handle with circular section (W 2.6x1.7) joining the body with the rim; short ring-shaped foot. The outer surface has oblique grooves, due to the irregular rotation of the lathe. Dating: 4th century A.D. Bibliography Beltràn Lloris, M. (1970) Las anforas romanas en España, Monografias Arqueòlogicas. Universidad de Zaragoza, 8, Zaragoza. Bechthold, B., (1999) La necropoli di Lilybaeum, PalermoRoma. Bonifay, M. (2004) Etudes sur la céramique romaine tardive d’Afrique, British Archaeological Reports, International Series, 1301, Oxford, BAR Publishing. Bruno, B. (2005) Le anfore da trasporto. IN: Gandolfi D. ed., La ceramica e i materiali di età romana. Clsassi, produzioni,
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Francesca Trapani: The Coin Hoard from Misurata II, Supplements to Libya Antiqua V, Tripoli, Department of Antiquities, 91-467. Robinson, H.S. (1959) The Athenian Agora. Results of excavations conducted by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Pottery of the Roman Period. Chronology, V, Princeton, American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Romanelli, P. (1970), Topografia e archeologia dell’Africa Romana. IN: Enciclopedia Classica, III, X, 7, Roma.
Tomasello, F. (2011) Il tempio anonimo sul decumano maggiore di Leptis Magna, Monografie di Archeologia della Libica, 31, Roma, l’Erma di Bretschneider, in press. Vegas, M. (1973) Ceramica comùn romana del Mediterraneo occidental, Barcellona, Istituto di arqueologìa y preistoria. Vegas, M. (1994) La céramique du ‘Camp’ à Simitthus. IN Khanoussi M., Kraus Th., Rakob F., Vegas M., Der Tempelberg un das Römischer Lager. Simitthus, II, Mainz am Rhein 1994, Phili von Zabern, 141-243.
Fig. 1. Leptis Magna Museum: the Misurata container
Fig. 2. Amphora M01
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SOMA 2011
Fig. 5. Leptis Magna Museum warehouse: Mauretanian amphora Fig. 3. Amphora M02
Fig. 4. Amphora M03
Fig. 6. Amphora M05
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Francesca Trapani: The Coin Hoard from Misurata
Fig. 7. Amphora M05
Fig. 9. Amphora M06
Fig. 8. Athenian Agora excavations: Jug L40 (Robinson 1959: tab. 17)
Fig. 10. Amphora M07
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Fig. 11. Leptis Magna Museum warehouse: storage amphora
Fig. 13. Bottle M11
Fig. 12. Simitthus (Chemtou): storage amphora (Vegas 1994: fig. 179, n. 398)
Fig. 14. Leptis Magna Museum: bottle
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Francesca Trapani: The Coin Hoard from Misurata
Fig. 15. Jug M12
Fig. 16. Jug M13
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Archaeology Sicily and Italy Francavilla Marittima: a Contextual Analysis of Male Burials in the Necropolis of Macchiabate (9Th-6Th Century BC) Claudia Speciale
Università del Salento, Scuola di Specializzazione, Beni archeologici, Lecce, Italy
parallel to the phases identified in the sanctuary. Kleibrink (2004) identified seven phases, dating from the end of the tenth to the mid-sixth century (re-named A, B, C, D, E, F, G)2 and divided them by family groups (for example C1, C2, C3, etc.) following their topographical situation. Her chronological sequence is quite different from that proposed by Zancani Montuoro and de la Genière3, especially as regards the tombs attributed to the central phases. New chronological perspectives have been proposed by the team of Università La Sapienza, especially by Quondam (2009); his conclusions are, based on an accurate knowledge of the outfits, and specifically on the chrono-typological classification of the fibulae, as well as on the analysis of imported and Oenotrian painted pottery. Some marked differences from Kleibrink’s chronological framework depend mainly on different views of the colonial phenomenon.4 The main disagreement concerns Kleibrink’s intermediate phases.5 In Kleibrink’s reconstruction, there is a sequence without interruption, although during phases D, E and F – 7th c. BC – the cemetery underwent a sharp decrease in the number of burials; moreover, from C phase, the tombs concentrated almost exclusively on the Temparella mound. Finally, de La Genière had already questioned the existence of the so-called ‘Ceramico’ (Kerameikos) which according to Zancani Montuoro (1983: 9-12) should have preceded the necropolis. Kleibrink rules out this hypothesis, and identifies some of the structures, which had been previously thought to be the remains of huts, as partition walls between the groups of tumuli.6
Introduction This work is the result of research carried out within the course of Italian Protohistory at the Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici of the Università del Salento (Lecce), held by professor Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri. A group of five students (Elisa Cella, Eugenio Di Valerio, Natale Novellis, Clara Tamburrino, and the author) studied some of the most important Early Iron Age funerary contexts from Southern Italy; our aim was to analyze ritual aspects and the varying degrees of complexity of the Iron Age cemeteries, mostly to understand cultural and social dynamics of the communities who adopted either the ritual of cremation, or of inhumation. As regards inhumation, we selected five funerary contexts, focusing on both features specific of each cemetery, and features concerning the whole of southern Italy. To this end, we made use of an analytical and contextual approach in order to identify gender- and age-specific combinations of grave goods, and possibly horizontal and vertical roles; in the case examined in this paper, Francavilla Marittima, it was necessary to combine a synchronic perspective, aimed at reconstructing the complex social outline of contemporary groups, as well as an overall diachronic insight, in order to identify significant steps marking the development of the community through a time span of over three centuries1. The main focus of the present work is on male burials and their connection to kinship groups. Localization
Extension of the Necropoli
The site of Francavilla is located in northern Calabria, in the district of Cosenza. The site is 10km North-West of Sibari, on the Southeastern boundary of Parco del Pollino. The necropolis of Macchiabate is a low marine terrace on the southeastern slopes of Timpone della Motta, where there is the Sanctuary, and of the Plateaux (fig.1A). During the construction of the Strada Statale 105 some groups of tombs were destroyed. Paola Zancani Montuoro identified five main groups of graves at Macchiabate, plus some sporadic artefacts from destroyed funerary contexts in Zona Sacco Grande.
The cemetery extends over an area of about 22 hectares. The ca. 150 identified so far are organized by clusters: 93 at Temparella,7 Generation ‘H’ is cited, even if there would be no funeral deposition (Kleibrink 2004: 568). 3 De La Genière drew some chronological conclusions for the most part shared by the excavator (de La Genière 1994, n.1): the excavator usually indicates only the century, while de La Genière mostly points out the thirty years or quarter century. 4 For some good examples with references to the two main schools, see Vanzetti 2009, p.179 and nn.4, 66. 5 But not only, i.e., T57 is attributed to the first generation by Kleibrink and to IFe2B2 (as a third ‘phase’ of the necropolis) by Quondam. 6 From now on the tombs will be named, as in Quondam 2009, with the letter or the first two letters of the group they belong to (T=Temparella, U=Uliveto, V=Vigneto, CR=Circolo Reale) plus a number or only a letter if they belong to Lettere; the original numbers of Zancani Montuoro were respected, except for the four bodies T26, whose outfit attribution and chronology has been redefined by de La Genière, 1994: 159. 7 93 are the inventory numbers attributed by Zancani Montuoro, but the effective number of the deceased is higher, because there are double 2
The debate on relative chronology The analysis of the Temparella mound relies mainly on the work by Marianne Kleibrink; her revision is based on topographical and stratigraphical data, supported by observations on local and imported goods. The mound is considered to be chronologically For the methodological approach the main reference is Bietti Sestieri 2008. 1
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SOMA 2011 13 at Cerchio Reale, one in Zona Cima, another one called Tomba Strada, 16 in Uliveto, 7 in Zona Vigneto and finally 9 in zona Lettere (fig.1B). The new excavations indicated that in general the potential is still very high: at Temparella the tombs identified are ca. 50% of the total. The other groups are smaller, seven to sixteen graves in each cluster.8
the osteological remains are well preserved, the description of the funerary outfit is accompanied by a drawing (a total of 26) including both the skeleton and the grave-goods. However, despite the great attention in the observation of the skeletons, sex is mostly attributed through the outfits.16 As regards age determination, Zancani Montuoro based it not only on the outfits but also on the relative proportions of the body,17 pit and tumuli. Moreover, she thought that the situation of the body within the grave was gender specific: men were generally laid on the right side, women on the left. Actually, when it is possible to establish the position of the body, it seems that there is not a systematic difference, although the right side is more frequent in male burials and the left one prevails in female tombs: 12 women and 4 men were laid on their left side,18 12 women and 9 men19 placed on the right side. The supine position of the body is traditionally considered as a ritual feature of Greek origin, and is very common from phase E on.20 Multiple burial in the same tomb is very rare: at Temparella only T76 (two women) and T61/T62 (a man, a woman and probably a child) are undoubtedly contemporary; in T4 the time span between the two female burials was probably very short; the relative chronology of the burials from T26 is rather uncertain: according to de la Genière, the four burials have been laid in a sequence. In the Circolo Reale, CR11 and CR13 contained respectively a woman and a child. Tomb V5 probably contained a man and a child. In tomb G, there were a man in ‘stretched position’ and a woman in fetal position; probably the male burial is later, and dates from the ‘colonial’ phase.
Tomb Structures9 The earliest tombs are covered by a circular or, more frequently, oval tumulus,10 made from large flat slabs arranged to form a more or less elongated dome-shaped structure.11 Beneath the mound, the deceased were laid longitudinally over a sand layer.12 The prevailing orientation is North-West/South-East, especially in the Temparella group, but also in Uliveto, Vigneto and Tomba Strada. In the Circolo Reale and Lettere groups the tumuli are less elongated in shape, ca. 2-4m long and 1.5-2.5m wide, and do not seem to follow a uniform orientation. Some comparatively large tumuli belong to the earliest phases, e.g. CRα is 7.5m in diameter, CR1, V7, T41 and T60, are longer than 4 and wider than 3m; the largest one at Temparella, T87, is a male burial, with the richest funerary outfit of its kind in the cemetery, which includes a sword. In the Temparella group, there is a decrease in the use of tumuli from phase C; during phase D different tomb structures and rituals coexist: next to the last tumuli there are the first fossa graves (T79, T80, T89 e T90) and some cremations (T91). Cremation is occasionally practiced at Temparella (phase F, T46; phase G T31). During phases E, F and G, there are only inhumations in fossa graves,13 first in the areas unoccupied by the tumuli and later, during phase G, dug into the first generation tumuli.14 The Uliveto area is used during the first generation and the final phases of Temparella; there is a gradual transition from tumuli to fossa graves; tumulus tombs would be U8 and U9, which correspond to Temparella phases D/E, while U4 and U14, with ‘colonial’ outfits, are almost certainly fossa graves dug into the older tumuli.
Pottery is a very common component of the funerary outfits. Although Zancani Montuoro identifies the deposition near the feet as an ‘archaic’ feature, and indicates the one near the head as an anomaly for the first phases, actually it is not possible to confirm that there is a chronological difference between the two uses.21 Gendering the tombs22 Apparently, female burials are more numerous than male ones (tab. 2); however, this might be partly due to the scarcity of unquestionable gender indicators for men. Non-gendered burials are rather frequent, especially during phases F and G. The fairly regular associations in outfits and the low number of multiple depositions allowed the excavator and new revisers to agree at least in sex and age determinations in the majority of the cases.23
Anthropological data and some ritual feature Unfortunately, sex determination through anthropological analysis is lacking; this is obviously a critical bias that cannot be overcome. Gender identification is based primarily on the observations made by Zancani Montuoro during the excavation; she describes the position and dimensions of the bones, sometimes proposing sex determinations based on the observation of the pelvic bones or the general proportions of the body;15 when depositions (i.e. T76A e B), triple ones (i.e.T61+T62 A, B e C) and the depositions inside pithos (i.e. 18 and 18bis). 8 According to Kleibrink, Zancani Montuoro explored 10% of the total (Kleibrink 2004: 558). 9 Where it is not specified, for all the references to tombs T1 to T54 in Temparella, see Zancani Montuoro, 1983; for the tombs T55 to T93 see Zancani Montuoro, 1984; for the tombd T60, T69 and T87 see Zancani Montuoro 1977; for the tombs of the other groups, see Zancani Montuoro 1980. 10 Some authors prefer to call them a cumulo (‘heaped’) (Ferranti, Quondam 2006: 593). 11 It is thanks to this regular technique that it was possible to identify the overlap and the intersection of the tumuli, i.e. T7 and T8, T69 and T70, T88 and T93. 12 The so-called Tomba Strada is an exception for the presence of a plan of laying stones, the same as CRα, T60, T88, U16 and the new Tomba Strada 2 (Guggisberg 2010: fig.4). 13 The only exception would be the E phase young woman’s grave T72, with heaped covering stones. 14 The most significant examples are the several fossa graves obtained on T40 and T53. 15 She makes interesting anthropological observations also on T4, T86, U1.
For some tombs, Zancani Montuoro used the aid of the Anthropologists at Università di Pisa: T16; T24; T25; not realized yet when published the results on T40; for the teeth of CR13 she asked the help of an odontologist. 17 The little phalanxes inside the bronze rings or spirals (i.e. CR5, V4, T2) or small teeth (i.e. CR13, T2). 18 F. tombs: G, T8, T16, T22, T57, T62, T63, T67, T82, perhaps T4, T27, T62; M. tombs : U9, T61, T70, perhaps T53. 19 F. tombs : U2, U16, V3, T2, T39, T60 and T76A and B, perhaps I, T1, T13 and T59 ; m. tombs: F, T23A, T40, T41, T87, perhaps T85, V1, V5 and V7. 20 There is only a few exceptions before: T40 (A phase), T86 (B phase), U1 and T27 (C phase). 21 Phases A/C : in T1, T2, T4, T17, T39, T57, T61B, T76A and B, T88, the pottery is near the head; in T3, T15, T16, T20, T40, T41, T59, T60, T66, T67, T69, T70, T78, T81, T82, T84, T85, T86, G, the pottery is near the feet. So, there is a primacy in the deposition near the feet, but the other disposition is not an exception. 22 Table 1 summarizes all the male outfit associations, while figures 2-3 show the pictures of all the elements. 23 As an analysis of tomb groups, Tomba Strada was not considered, even if during the excavations in 2009 other two tombs were identified, demonstrating that the tomb was not isolated (Guggisberg 2010). 16
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Claudia Speciale: Francavilla Marittima From a typological and functional point of view, vessels in male burials are not particularly indicative. A pithos24 (T80, U9, U13) or two (V5) could be inserted in the covering stones of the tomb or put inside the grave (T87, V7); sometimes there was a small pithos on the tomb and another one as part of the funerary outfit inside (T61, T70); usually the external pithos is on the head side (de La Genière 1994: 155), while when inside it is near the feet; in this specific case, it is possible that it had the same function of the olla. Isolated pithoi in the cemetery are now interpreted as enchytrismoi,25 while their presence just outside the tombs might indicate that they were used as funerary sema (Peroni 1987, 124) and possibly for libations.26 It is important to point out that the pithos is also found in association to female burials, both inside and out of the grave; it should then be considered as a status marker, which is present in burials with rich outfits. Olla and cup are indeed the most common ceramic associations in male graves, but even in this case they are not gender specific; the cup is never associated with other small vessels for individual consumption, except for the single handled bowl; even if it is not exclusive to men, this vessel is mainly in male burials, sometimes associated with the pithos. A kantharos is present only in the two richest male tombs (T87, V7) during phase C. Apart from a few exceptions, such as U13 and possibly T80 and T25, the pitcher is a typical female vessel. Aryballoi, kotylai, kylikes, oinochoai, hydriae, amphoriskoi do not seem to be gender specific, and appear both in male and female outfits from phase D on, but especially during phases F and G. Although askoi27 were principally given to children, it is possible to find them in adult burials: two possibly male burials, T20 and U13, and two rather certainly male burials T79 and V5 one or two askoi; T80 perhaps also contained an askos.
out by Quondam and Ferranti, the so-called ‘shovels’ (T41, T79, V7) are better identified as tang axes (Ferranti, Quondam 2006: 593), always associated with the spearhead and, in the first two cases, with the axe. Sickles, chisels and other un-identified tools are quite often set in male burials from phase A to phase D. A unique bronze object called ‘zoma’ (‘thong’) is placed inside T40 and was probably worn by the deceased. Some bronze/iron objects are not gender markers but they are often in male tombs: the knife – smaller during phases A and B phases, while their size increases during phases C and D;29 bronze vessels, placed in adult tombs (men: T70, T87, T79, U9) during phases C and D; personal ornaments, such as the serpentine fibula – almost the only kind of fibula from male burials.30 However they are also quite common in female burials (e.g. T60); finally, bronze and iron rings, small spirals and pendants, rarely attested in male tombs, and more often associated with female outfits. A diachronic view of male outfits and groups31 As already mentioned, the necropolis is divided into groups of different phases. To study the representation of the male gender, it was necessary to analyze all the male burials from Macchiabate and elaborate their relative chronology and the phases of deposition for all the groups from Temparella; the same letters have been used to define them. T40 and T53 are two of the three-phase A tombs, considered from Kleibrink as ‘founder’ graves. The man from T40 had no weapons, but a knife and the zoma; T53 had no outfit, so its gender is not certain; finally T57 is a female burial. The so-called CRα, one of the first tombs dug by Zancani Montuoro, and CR1 could probably go back to the same generations; it is not possible to say if it was a real tomb or a cenotaph, as the archaeologist defined it; in the first case, the buried male outfit would include a chisel, an axe, another tool and some rings; CR1, with an olla, a cup, a knife and a serpentine fibula, is the only other male tomb; they are in a rather isolated position, not far from the group of women and children on the eastern side and on the sides of the rich female tomb CR13.
As regards metal objects, the most common weapon is the iron spearhead. The specimens from this cemetery apparently are all rather large, and therefore may be identified as spearhead rather than javelins; the only exceptions could be the T46 item, where the spearhead has a much longer socket compared to the head; and possibly the weapon from T79, described as ‘giavellotto’ by Zancani Montuoro for its lightness and the tight socket, which could only contain a thin shaft and was therefore more suitable as a javelin, even if the blade is quite long. Apart from the weapon from U5, with a cylindrical tang, all the other spearheads have a socket usually quite elongated; during phases B and C they have a very long blade and a foliate outline (‘olive tree leaf’) especially the one from U5; during phases D and E, the outline is almost oval and the point becomes sharper; the shape of the blade is the same for the javelin from T46 (phase F). The sword from T87, probably the only one from Macchiabate, has a bronze and ivory hilt and two iron elements on the sides, probably originally attached to a sheath made of perishable material.28 In Crα, one of the iron objects is defined as dagger, but it could be as well another tool (maybe a knife). A total of five iron axes with oval shaft-hole (‘occhio’) date from phases B, C and D; as pointed
During phase B, at Temparella there are two men with weapons: T41 and T62. T41 is a tomb with an outfit extremely rich in iron objects – not only a spearhead but also two axes and the tools; at least 11 serpentine fibulae decorated the man’s clothes; the tomb is in a central position, within group B1.1, also including female and child tombs and the man without weapons in T23A; this last tomb was re-opened during the latest phases of the cemetery, in order to bury the woman in T23B.32 T61-T62 is a double tomb: the male burial has a spearhead and a knife – the female one also has a knife; it belongs to phase B2.33 T85 is the only male burial from group B1.4. The outfit is composed only of pottery and two serpentine fibulae. In the other areas of Macchiabate, U12, U13 and F can be connected to the same phases. While U12 is definitely a male tomb, whose accessories consist of an axe and a spearhead, U13 has an unusual association of objects: one or two pithoi on the tumulus, an askos, a pitcher and a clay ‘bell’,
For pottery, Zancani Montuoro’s terminology is accepted in the main cases. 25 Zancani Montuoro considered the ones closed with ‘frammenti di ceramica grezza’ (‘raw potsherds’) as vessels for conservation relevant to the ‘Ceramico’ phase (i.e. T16bis, T17bis, T18bis, T55bis). 26 I.e. there is a cup inside the pithos in T61, as in the one in T70. 27 Sometimes it is difficult to understand the distinction made by Zancani Montuoro between askos and the askos-pitcher, so they are here considered all as askoi. 28 It is accordingly defined as a sword by the excavator and in Pacciarelli 2004, 461 and Ferrante, Quondam 2006, 593; examining the pictures, the blade looks to have two cutting edges (Zancani Montuoro 1977, tavv.XXX-XXXI). 24
During phase D, a knife is attested only in the female tomb T8. The only exception is the dragon fibula in U5, while the twisted long-foot fibula in U9 is probably of a woman; the iron circle in V7 could be a fibula of an un-identified kind. 31 The main referring figures are 4 and 5. 32 The derangement of the outfit is confirmed by the offering of new objects next to the earlier burial. 33 T20 could be the only male tomb of B1.2 group, perhaps two, if we consider the presence of both child and adult elements; but it could equally as well be a woman/child tomb. 29 30
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identified as an object for firing pottery.34 Finally, F is the only male tomb in the Lettere group, buried with pottery, a sickle and another small tool.
The number of personal ornaments is extremely low and the percentage of imported goods during phases C and D is almost insignificant if compared to those from the accessories of women and girls. Moreover, at least until phase F, male outfits are overall quite conservative in a diachronic perspective, while female tombs seem to be more open to changes.
During phase C at Temparella there are only 2 male burials, both with rich outfits: T70 has a pithos, a cup, a single-handled bowl, a bronze phiale, a spearhead, an axe and three serpentine fibulae; all around this tomb, there are child and female graves.35 T87, despite the location at the foot of the hill, was extremely rich: a pithos, a kantharos, a single-handled bowl, two bronze bowls, a big knife, a sword, an axe and 4 serpentine fibulae. The other area in use is Vigneto, with three male tombs: V7, with an outfit very similar to that of T87, but instead of the sword there is a large spearhead; knife and pithos here are missing. V5 is probably double, with two askoi, a single-handled bowl, a cup, and iron tools. If V1 is a male tomb, his outfit is very poor. The number of men and women in this group is rather similar and the disposition of tombs has no particular features. In Uliveto, area U5 contained an olla, a spearhead, a unique bowl and a dragon fibula.
Bibliography Bietti Sestieri, A. M. (2008), Domi mansit, lanam fecit: Was That All? Women’s Social Status and Roles in the Early Latial Communities (11th–9th Centuries BC), JMA 21.1, 133-159. Ferranti, F., Quondam, F. (2006), La prima età del Ferro in Sibaritide: una rassegna delle sepolture. IN Studi in onore di Renato Peroni, Roma, All’insegna del Giglio, 590-601. Guggisberg, M. A. (2010), Relazione 2009. Scavi archeologici nella necropoli di Macchiabate presso Francavilla Marittima (CS), see http://www.ifap-gia.nl/Upload//relazione%20 2009%20Guggisberg.pdf Kleibrink, M. (2003), Dalla lana all’acqua. Culto e identità nel santuario di Atena a Lagaria, Francavilla Marittima (zona di Sibari, Calabria), Rossano, Grafosud. Kleibrink, M. (2004), Aristocratic tombs and dwellings of the VIIIth century b.C. at Francavilla Marittima. IN Preistoria e Protostoria della Calabria, Atti della 37a RScIIPP, vol.2, 557-585. La Genière, J. de (1994), L’example de Francavilla Marittima. La nècropole de Macchiabate, secteur de la Temparella. Nécropoles et sociétés antiques. Grèce, Italie, Languedoc , Atti del colloquio (Lille 1991), 153-163. Pacciarelli, M. (2004), La prima età del Ferro in Calabria. IN Preistoria e Protostoria della Calabria, Atti della 37a RScIIPP, vol. 2, 447-475. Peroni, R. (1987), La protostoria. IN Settis, S., ed., Storia della Calabria 1, Roma/Reggio Calabria, Gangemi Editore, 65136. Quondam F. (2009), La necropoli di Francavilla Marittima: tra mondo indigeno e colonizzazione greca. IN Bettelli, M., De Faveri, C., Osanna, M. eds., Prima delle colonie. Organizzazione territoriale e produzioni ceramiche specializzate in Basilicata e in calabria settentrionale ionica nella prima età del Ferro, Matera, Osanna Edizioni, 139-178. Vanzetti, A. (2009), Notazioni sulla fine dell’età del ferro precoloniale nella piana di Sibari, in Prima delle colonie, op. cit., 179-202. Zancani Montuoro, P. (1972), Necropoli di Macchiabate, Coppa di bronzo sbalzata, Atti e Memorie della Società Magna Grecia, n.s. 11-12, 1970-1971, 9-33. Zancani Montuoro, P. (1977), I. Tre notabili enotri dell’VIII secolo a.C.; II. Dischi Compositi; III. La leggenda di Epeo, Atti e Memorie della Società Magna Grecia, n.s. 15-17, 19741976, 10-106. Zancani Montuoro, P. (1980), Francavilla Marittima, Necropoli di Macchiabate. Saggi e scoperte in zone varie, Atti e Memorie della società Magna Grecia, n.s. 19-20, 1977-1979, 7-91. Zancani Montuoro, P. (1983), Francavilla Marittima a)Necropoli e ceramico a Macchiabate zona T (Temparella), Atti e Memorie della Società Magna Grecia, n.s. 21-23, 1980-82, 7-130. Zancani Montuoro, P. (1984), Francavilla Marittima, Necropoli di Macchiabate zona T (Temparella, continuazione), Atti e Memorie della Società Magna Grecia, n.s. 24-25, 1983-1984, 7-110.
T79 is the only certain male burial during phase D: it has an olla, an askos, 3 kotylai, an axe and a hatchet, another iron tool, a triple chain of rings were buried with the occupant; T80 is next to T79 and only pottery was placed inside the tomb. These are at the foot of the tempa as with T87, but are far apart from the female and child tombs of the same phase. During phase E at Temparella there was only a single male burial within a small tumulus (T25), recognizable by the presence of a spearhead with the pottery vessels; U9 is considered by Zancani Montuoro to be a male tomb, but it could be of a woman (as the long-foot fibula suggests). Phase F is characterized by an incineration of a man with a spearhead (T46) and perhaps an inhumation with only an aryballos (T47), both of F1 group found at the top of the hill. During phase G, the tombs do not contain any weapons, and the pottery is not gender specific; probably one of the burials from T26, is male. In Uliveto, perhpas U9 and U14 may be considered male graves. Conclusion This is only the first stage in the analysis of male assemblages at Macchiabate, and the complexity of the context without doubt needs fuller examination. It is however possible to identify different family groups including male burials, at least until phase C, as indicated primarily by the relative position of the tumuli; groups are not detectable in the areas of Vigneto and Uliveto. Male tombs have a low level of characterization during the whole use of the necropolis of Macchiabate. The specific gender markers are only weapons and tools; during phases A and B male burials are both with and without weapons; spearheads and axes are the weapons in use, often associated with tools; a real division in roles is probably lacking and differences between group attributes are not stressed. Phase C tombs are fewer than in the previous phase, but their outfits become richer; the same phenomenon concerns female tombs; T87 is probably the only one with a sword and a large knife as well; spearheads are systematically associated with an axe. From phase E on, weapons start to decrease, probably only one javelin for each phase. Another feature to think about is The low grade of documentation about this zone and the chronology, only hypothetically advanced, do not allow us to make reliable observations about the existence of groups in this area. 35 T69, next to it, is one of the richest female tombs of the necropolis. 34
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Fig. 1. Macchiabate. A) Localization, B) Groups (not to scale)
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Fig. 2. Male outfits of A-C phases (not to scale)
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Fig. 3. Male outfits of D-G phases (not to scale)
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Fig. 4. Distribution of male tombs with/without weapons (phase G is not represented)
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Fig. 5. Sex and age distribution; A) Circolo Reale, B) Lettere, C) Vigneto, D) Uliveto, E) Temparella (Phases F and G are not represented)
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Table 1. Outifit Associations in male tombs; NT=Tomb Name; ZM=Zancani Montuoro Chronology; dLG=de la Genière Chronology; Kl=Kleibrink Chronology; ‘Impasto’ Ware:1=Pithos; 2=Olla; 3=Cup; 4=Pitcher; 5=Bowl; 6=Askos; Fine Ware:12=Olla; 13=Painted Olla; 14=Cup; 15=Pitcher; 16=Painted Pitcher; 18=Askos; 19=Painted Askos; 20=Painted Cup; 21=Kantharos; 22=Single-handled bowl; 24=Coritnhian Amphoriskos; 25=Hydria; 26=Oionochoe; 27=Ionian Cup; 29=Kotyle; 30=Kylix; 31=Lekythos; 35=Aryballos; Weapons/tools: 39=Knife; 40=Socketed Axe; 41=Chisel/Awl; 42=Sickle; 43= Tang axe; 44=Other Tool; 45=Spearhead/Javelin; 46=Sword; 47=Bronze Bowl/Phiale; 48=Zoma; Personal Ornaments: 49=Bronze Little Ring; 50=Bronze ring; 51=Iron Ring; 54=Buckle; 56=Fob Chain; 58=Little Bronze Spiral; 59=Little Lead Spiral; 64=Rings Pendant; 66=Other Pendant; 73=Bronze Serpentine Fibula; 74=Iron Seroentine Fibula; 75=Dragon Fibula; 87=Unidentified Fibula; 88=Other Element; SX=Sex; E=Age
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Table 2. Number of males/female
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The Fortified Settlement at Mura Pregne: an Indigenous Site Close to the Greek chora of Himera Calogero Maria Bongiorno University of Palermo
of these sections of walls, it is possible to relate them to other megalithic structures recognized in Sicily.
Introduction The aim of this paper is to investigate the current topographical and archaeological record related to one of the most important indigenous settlements in western Sicily on the reconstruction of the fortified structure and the chronology of these impressive walls that in the literature are variously dated from the Bronze Age to the late Archaic period.
The archeological area also extends to the top of the hill and the village of Brucato with its two small churches that document the medieval reoccupation of the location.7 On northern slope, also named ‘Castellaccio’, beyond the village, a part of the fortification line is visible that can be linked to ancient activity. The wall (Fig. 3) is about thick 3m and is composed of double course of stones (medium and large), some showing signs of being worked. The inner space between the walls is filled with small stones. The wall remains continue over the slope to the west, coasting the limit of a northern plateau and link to another relic wall. This second trace of wall flanks the north-western limit of the plateau to the point where it degrades to the east.
The site The hill of Mura Pregne (Fig. 1) is located near Sciara, a small modern village in the district of Palermo. This hill is the nearest that we can see coming from the underlying Torto River valley, which falls to the nearby coastline along the Tyrrhenian Sea. The area where the Mura Pregne hill is located is a widely studied sector of western Sicily, historically under the political control of the Himera polis.
Grotta del Drago
Mura Pregne belongs to the calcareous hilly system that is developed from the eastern slopes of Mt. S. Calogero. The hill slopes have been quarried for limestone since the 1950s, but these activities have been suspended by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage Archaeological of Palermo1 (Fig. 2).
Nearby at the south-eastern side of the rise was the Grotta del Drago (Fig. 4). The investigations carried out in 1936 and in 1966 did not record a stratigraphical sequence.8 The large amount of pottery found inside the cave is chronologically and typologically heterogeneous. This pottery includes indigenous products and selected classes of colonial Greek forms dated to the late 7th century BC.9
The original contours of the region have been dramatically modified by human activity at the top of the hill and important information has sadly been lost.
Megalithic Structure (Dolmen) Continuing to the north, over the rise, one meets the first structure built with megalithic techniques (Fig. 5). This monumental structure is located along the eastern edge of the natural terrace and is composed of two large lithic elements: the anterior element is built of large stones, while the posterior element has partially collapsed. In front of the in situ stone there are two parallel stones, 1m high, on the right and left of the structure. The construction is approximately 4m long, 1.8m wide and 1.10m high. More architectural remains were identified by the excavations of Bovio Marconi inside the structure in 1936, including some Neolithic and Eneolithic sherds, as well as flint tools ‘a minuto ritocco’.10 To the right of the terrace is the impressive wall actually traceable at Mura Pregne.
History of studie The first information of archeological interest is known from the last decades of the 19th century as a result of local scholars, Luigi Mauceri2 and Giuseppe Patiri.3 However, the first scientific excavations were carried out at the end of the 1930s by Prof. Jole Bovio Marconi,4 and subsequent investigations were carried out archaeological excavations in 1966 and 1970 by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage Archaeological of Palermo.5 Between 1972 and 1975, excavations were undertaken at the top of the hill complex, known as ‘Castellaccio’, thanks to collaboration with the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Scienses Sociales in Paris, under the supervision by Prof. Pesez.6
North-east wall
Archaeological evidence
According to the plan made by Rosario Carta in 1937, other walls were documented at other parts of the hill, especially along the access way at the top. This impressive architectural (Fig. 6) work (20m long by 5m wide) runs in a north-east direction to a large rock in front of the terrace. It is impossible to analyze the middle part of this wall because of its poor state of conservation. To
The archeological investigation principally was related to the north-east slopes of hill and focused on some caves, as well as on building remains. Thanks to the impressive stone-technique 1 2 3 4 5 6
Vassallo, S., Cucco R. M. 2007, 110. Mauceri, L. 1896. Patiri, G. 1899. Bovio Marconi, J. 1936. Di Stefano, C. A. 1970, 191-193. Pesez, J. M. 1977, 15-16.
7 8 9 10
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Pesez, J. M. 1984. Di Stefano, C. A. 1970, 191. Bovio Marconi, J. 1936, 462-465. Bovio Marconi, J. 1936, 468.
SOMA 2011 Mura Pregne seems to have been occupied from the Neolithic period, as some pottery of the so-called Diana facies confirms.14 Indeed, the sherds identified inside Grotta del Drago show an Eneolithic ocupation15 (Serraferlicchio facies fragments) until the Hellenistic period. This latter period could be related to the same occupational phases at the nearby Pestavecchia farm.16
the south, the wall is formed of stones of various sizes and gaps filled with smaller stones and rubble. The northern wall is made of larger stones. Hypothesis of dating Despite the various assumptions made by scholars, the chronology of these impressive fortification walls remains a puzzle. According to J. Bovio Marconi, a probable dating can be assigned to the Archaic period as the walls were probably built by local people to defend themselves against Greek invaders.11 Carmela Angela Di Stefano has dated the majority of the pottery
Bibliography Bovio Marconi, J. 1936. ‘Termini Imerese (Monte Castellaccio). Relazione Preliminare’, NSA XII, 15 (1936), 462-473. Di Stefano, C. A. 1970. ‘L’ignoto centro archeologico di «Mura Pregne» presso Termini Imerese’, Kokalos XVI (1970), 188198. Di Stefano, C. A. 1982. ‘Mura Pregne. Ricerche su un insediamento nel territorio di Himera’, Secondo quaderno Imerese, 175-194. Di Stefano, C. A. 1984. ‘La documentazione archeological anteriore al period medievale’, Brucato. Histoire et Archéologie d’un Habitat Medieval en Sicilie, 223-245. Mauceri, L. 1896. Sopra un’acropoli pelasgica esistente nei dintorni di Termini Imerese. Patiri, G. 1899. Termini Imerese Antica e Moderna. Pesez, J. M. 1977. ‘Foulles médievales à Brucato’, Sicilia Archeologica, X, 34 (1977), 15-22. Pesez, J. M. 1984. ‘Le site et les vestiges’, Brucato. Histoire et Archéologie d’un Habitat Medieval en Sicilie, 85-109. Vassallo, S., Cucco R. M. 2007. ‘Sciara’, Archeologia nelle vallate del Fiume Torto e del San Leonardo, 103-116.
found at Grotta del Drago to the early Iron Age, proposing close affinities to the S. Angelo Muxaro cultural assemblage.12 If this is correct, the fortification system could be dated to a period earlier than the foundation of the Greek colony at Himera. It is difficult to support the hypothesis of L. Mauceri who dates the buildings to the Bronze Age (1800-1600 BC).13 Conclusion To sum up, it is possible to conclude that the impressive and articulated fortification system at Mura Pregne testifies to the occupation of an important strategic area along the north-western coast of Sicily. Coastal proximity and possibility of controlling the fluvial Torto valley, promoted the locality’s growth over several historical periods.
Fig. 1: Southern view of ‘Mura Pregne’
Fig. 2: R. Carta’s plan made in 1937. The shaded area shows the quarry face
11 12 13
Bovio Marconi, J. 1936, 472-473. Di Stefano, C. A. 1982, 192; Di Stefano, C. A. 1984, 226-229. Mauceri, L. 1896, 11-12.
14 15 16
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Di Stefano, C. A. 1982, 184. Di Stefano, C. A. 1982, 185. Di Stefano, C. A. 1982, 191.
Calogero Maria Bongiorno: The Fortified Settlement
Fig. 3: Fortification line at the north of ‘Castellaccio’
Fig. 4: Entrance to the ‘Grotta del Drago’
Fig. 5: The north-west aspect of the megalithic structure
Fig. 6: The north-east wall
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Licodia Eubea-Style: Some Remark Marco Camera
Dottorato di Ricerca in Scienze Archeologiche e Storiche, Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Università di Messina, Italia from its origin in the eighth century to the final stage of the facies of Licodia Eubea with the latest specimens of the late sixth and the early fifth century B.C. The shape, with flaring rim, tapering or cylindrical neck, small projecting base, is characterized by a plump belly whose outline develops over time from globular into ovoid. There are two types which differ in the arrangement of the handles, always on the widest point: the first has horizontal loop handles, the second has vertical strap handles. There is no difference between the two types in decoration: it usually consists of a ‘triglyph-metope’ band on the handle zone composed of groups of vertical lines; the spaces between the ‘triglyphs’ can be empty or, more often, filled with simple geometric or linear motives (Figs 1-2). In the early vases the ‘triglyph-metope’ pattern can occur also on the shoulder and sometimes on the neck, while in later examples, especially in the western part of the diffusion area of this facies, it can be absent and replaced with bands or wavy lines which generally occur on the remaining parts of the vessel.
It was 1898 when Paolo Orsi, on the evidence of the necropolis at Licodia Eubea, identified a new phase of the indigenous civilization of Sicily, which he called ‘quarto periodo siculo’. It is the facies of Licodia Eubea, so named after the eponymous site taken as a type site of the latest manifestation of genuine indigenous culture of southeastern and central Sicily in the Archaic period, from the second half of the seventh century B.C. to the fifth century B.C. In that period a progressive fusing process started among native and Greek colonial communities, leading over the years to a common Sikeliote koine. The ceramic finds from the tombs at Licodia Eubea and other places enabled Orsi to develop a first analysis of a new class of ware, which was called ‘ceramica geometrica sicula’, whose first examples appeared in the eighth century B.C., when the first Greek colonies were founded on the Ionian coast of the island. This new class is the most considerable material documentation of the native culture during the Archaic period. Orsi’s study (Orsi 1898) defined the chronology and the main typological, technical and stylistic features of this class, identifying, with the knowledge at that time, its dealings with the more ancient native pottery as well as with Greek models from which it seems to derive because of the Greek appearance of most shapes and decoration formats. In spite of noting the repetitiveness and lack of artistic quality compared to the geometric pottery from Greece or native settlements of Southern Italy, Paolo Orsi emphasized its historical value as evidence of the slow and gradual process of Hellenization of Eastern Sicily native people.
Because of the difficulty in identifying specific parallels in Greek pottery, this shape has always been regarded as indigenous, even if some elements seem to remind of a Greek appearance, so that Orsi was the first to suppose a mixing between native and Cypriot models (Orsi 1898: 348-52) and Åkerström noted that it could be considered a distortion of a Greek amphora (Åkerström 1943: 24). Therefore it may be useful to delineate the history of this shape in indigenous pottery, trying to highlight the points of contact with the Greek ceramic repertoire. According to Paolo Orsi, the outline of this shape substantially repeats that of the Final Bronze Age amphoras of Pantalica North period (Orsi 1898: 348), a long-lived form whose later small examples were found at Cassibile (Orsi 1899: pl. XIV, 9) and Monte Finocchito (Frasca 1981: 79). It was recently shown that these belly handled amphoras (horizontal loop handles type) derive from LH III B-C models (Tanasi 2008: 80), and so this could be the reason of the Greek appearance of our vessels. Then if we look at the evolution of Greek pottery repertoire, we can easily see that this type is common in the Proto-geometric period and disappears completely in the next Geometric period, when it was replaced with neckor shoulder-handled amphoras. The vertical handles type has instead a different origin, probably connected to the Ausonian amphoras, well represented in Iron Age layers of Morgantina: the form, long-lived and found also in the Protohistoric necropolis of Monte Finocchito (Frasca 1981: 79), could represent the direct antecedents of later examples (Leighton 1993: 64-6).
Later, other scholars (Blakeway 1932-33: 184-91; Randall Mac Iver 1927: 152-5; Åkerström 1943: 23-8) have dealt with the Sikelo-geometric pottery developing different opinions about its prototypes and cultural roots. First François Villard and Georges Vallet, on the evidence of recent excavations at Megara Hyblaea, reintroduced the problem of Sikelo-geometric pottery, separating it from the perspective of a direct link with the Greek homeland pottery. They underlined the existence, since the end of the eighth or the beginning of the seventh century B.C., of a colonial geometric ceramic production, which they called ‘siceliote géométrique’. It would have exerted a deep influence on the indigenous pottery providing shapes and decorative motifs (Villard and Vallet 1956: 24-7). Since then the link with the colonial production was confirmed by subsequent studies (Fouilland, Frasca and Pelagatti 1994-95; Lyons 1996) focused on finds from single archaeological sites.
During the colonial period, when this form spread in native settlements, becoming one of the most typical, there are not exact parallels in Greek pottery. In the West, the only examples, very rare, were found in sites linked to the Euboean world, such as Canale-Janchina (Mercuri 2004) and Metauros (Sabbione 1983: 283, fig. 6). As regards the outline of late examples of belly amphora with horizontal loop handles, related to Licodia Eubea Style, it seems to be comparable to that of a vessel similar in shape, size and function like the hydria, very well represented
Even if the difficulty in identifying specific models outside a general sub-Geometric Style has been generally accepted, the analysis of the development of the indigenous ceramic repertoire, through some examples, is a good key to an understanding of the impact of the Hellenic element on the material culture of the native eastern Sicilian populations. A significant example may be the amphora, one of the most common and widespread shapes of the Sikelo-geometric pottery
511
SOMA 2011 So it seems that a genuine indigenous shape, even of remote Aegean derivation, in the archaic period was influenced in its typological evolution and in some aspects of decoration by Sikeliote pottery modelled on Greek prototypes. It does not appear to be an isolated case. The small mugs with high strap handle have a long history in native pottery since at Monte Finocchito at the end of the eighth century B.C. this globular shape appeared. Perhaps it was an evolution of a more ancient type under the influence of Greek products (Frasca 1981: 89). Later examples were found in graves belonging to the facies of Licodia Eubea in Monte Casasia (Fouilland, Frasca and Pelagatti 1994-95: 501 ff.), Centuripe (Libertini 1952: 334, fig. 3a) and Poira (Indelicato 2010: 38, pl. 4, A212). The seventh-century mugs (Fig. 4) have clear parallels at Leontinoi (Fig. 5) in examples which have been linked with Euboean models (Grasso 2008: 88 f.) and also the decoration, sometimes consisting of multiple-brush patterns which run vertically over the walls, crossing towards the base, suggests Euboean models (Fouilland, Frasca and Pelagatti 199495: 503; Mercuri 2004: 104 ff.), such as the one-handled cups (e.g. Andriomenou 1983: 213, fig. 55α; Popham and Sackett 1980: pl. 51) found also in Sicilian Chalcidian colonies (Pelagatti 1982: pl. 52, fig. 1, 1). During the sixth century these vases continued to have a Greek appearance, evolving after the model of colonial oinochoai dipped in matt paint (Fouilland, Frasca and Pelagatti 1994-95: 503).
in Sicilian Greek colonies since their foundation with locally produced examples, which in Chalcidian Naxos, Zancle and Mylai imitate Cycladic models (Lentini 1992: 25 ff.): it is clear that the only distinguishing feature between the two shapes is the presence of the third handle (Fig. 3). It could be an indirect confirmation of this hypothesis the fact that native potters started to produce hydriai very late, unlike many other shapes which they imitated very early. This is probably due to the circumstance that in the earlier phases native people used only amphoras as large containers for liquids. The same interpretation can be suggested by the decoration, sometimes very similar on the two forms, like in the case of a rare hydria from Monte Casasia, dated back to the seventh century B.C., with the ‘triglyph-metope’ scheme typical of contemporary amphoras (Fouilland, Frasca and Pelagatti 1994-95: 509; 367, fig. 41, no. 145). The type with vertical handles, which has no parallel, seems to be, during the Archaic period, simply a variant of the first type, having the same typological development. As regards decoration, locating the source of single decorative motifs is not simple because of the freedom with which they were used on different ceramic shapes, moving away from the original models and probably imitating a generic sub-geometric style developed by the workshops of the coastal colonies. Instead, if we do not consider isolated motifs but decorative formats as a whole, it is possible to notice how the main decoration in the handle area divided into metopes, the most common on our amphoras, appears on several large vases as kraters or stamnoi widespread in Sicilian colonies (e.g. Orsi 1895; Pelagatti 1984: 146, figs 4346; Orlandini and Adamesteanu 1960: 117, fig. 1, 2), while to find comparisons in close relation with the shape on which this decorative scheme is used, it is necessary to look towards Late Geometric Euboean and Cycladic amphoras (e.g. Coldstream 1968, pls. 37 and 41), whose fragments were found in Sicily and Naxos (Pelagatti 1983: 308 f.; pl. I,4). About single motifs filling metope spaces, although they are difficult to reduce to a certain origin, there are examples which point to a specific area, such as the broad cross or the simple oblique stroke motif, painted on amphoras from Licodia Eubea (unpublished examples in the Civic Museum), Calascibetta (Gentili 1961: 218, fig. 2a), Poira (Indelicato 2010: 37, pl. 3, A198) and Centuripe (Libertini 1952: 334, fig. 4): it is well represented on Late Geometric pottery from Euboea (Popham and Sackett 1980: pls 38, 27; 54, 248 and 251), Aegean islands such as Thera (Hiller Von Gaertringen 1903: 197, fig. 391) and Samos (Walter 1968: pl. 71, 387; Coldstream 1968: pl. 64a), and also on local ware from Chalcidian Zancle (Bacci 1978: pl. XVIII, 2) and Naxos (Pelagatti 1982: 154, fig. 15b, pl. 57, fig. 1).
One of the most long-lived and widespread native shapes is the one- or two-handled bowl. Some seventh century specimens, known from Licodia Eubea (Fig. 6, unpublished example in the Civic Museum, inv. 4703) and Monte Casasia grave goods (Fouilland, Frasca and Pelagatti 1994-95: 506 f.), while maintaining the depth of the genuine native bowl, have reflex handles which seem to adapt them to some Greek lekanai (Fig. 7). The closest parallels are once again from Leontinoi (Grasso 2008: 92 ff.), but sherds of lekanai of Euboean-Cycladic tradition were found in Chalcidian Naxos (Pelagatti 1982: 150 ff., figs 13 and 14; pl. 53) and Zancle (Bacci 1978: 102, pl. XVIII, 2; Bacci and Tigano 1999: 88-9, VLF 78; VLF 85). While the handles are the same, the decoration on Sikelo-geometric examples appears simplified, sometimes repeating the common wavy line or the triglyph-metope pattern widespread on contemporary bowls but maintaining the series of thin bands of Greek models. Moreover, also simple indigenous bowls, over time, generically adapt their size and decoration, consisting of a wavy line under the rim and bands on the remaining parts of the vessel, to those of Greek contemporary lekanai, often connected to Ionian prototypes. The previous examples have shown how some traditional forms of indigenous pottery, during the Archaic period, adapt their appearance to contemporary Greek ware attested in the coastal colonies, according to the criterion of morphological and functional affinity. But what happens if there is no similar form in the contemporary Greek repertoire? The askos may be one of the best examples. It has a long history in indigenous pottery dating from the Final Bronze Age until the late eighth century B.C., when it ceased to be produced, only reappearing in the second half of the sixth century B.C., showing a marked Greek appearance with remarkably similar parallels in eastern Greek specimens (Waldhauer 1929: 249-50, figs 11 and 12; Maiuri 1923-4: 288, fig. 184, no. 5) found also in eastern Sicilian native settlements (e.g. Camera 2010: 86-7, fig. 39, no. XVI.2). Their decoration is carried out with freedom, but the S-curve motif often recurring on the topside of these vases (e.g. an unpublished example in the Civic Museum of Licodia Eubea, inv. 5131, Fig. 8. This motif was also used to fill metope spaces on many sixth century
A further contribution may also come from the secondary decoration: while metope patterns painted on the neck of some early native amphoras seem to be a local choice originated from duplication of the belly decoration scheme, the single or multiple wavy line, so frequently painted on the neck of our amphoras, does not appear on large Greek vases but is widespread, once again, on the Cycladic hydriai (e.g. Dugas and Rhomaios 1934: pl. IX, 33; Isler 1978: pls XL and XLII) and their colonial imitations (Lentini 1992; Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1959: pl. XLVII). Lastly, also the groups of strokes decorating rims, typical of Euboean-Cycladic amphoras (Mercuri 2004: 125) since Protogeometric examples (Catling and Lemos 1990: pl. 62) up to Late Geometric ones (Coldstream 1968: pl. 40), appear on an hydria from Naxos (Lentini 1992: 17, no. 19) and on several native amphoras.
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Marco Camera: Licodia Eubea-Style Åkerström, Å., 1943, Der geometrische Stil in Italien (LundLeipzig: C. W. K. Gleerup–Otto Harrassowitz). Andriomenou A., 1983, ‘Ἀψιδωτά οἰκοδομήματα καί κεραμεική τοῦ 8ου καί 7ου αἰ. π. Χ. ἐν Ἐρετρία’, Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente LIX, pp. 187-236. Bacci, G., 1978, ‘Ceramica dell’VIII e VII secolo a.C. a Messina’, in Insediamenti coloniali greci in Sicilia nell’VIII e VII secolo a.C., Cronache di Archeologia 17, pp. 100-103. Bacci, G. and Tigano, G. (ed.), 1999, Da Zancle a Messina. Un percorso archeologico attraverso gli scavi, I (Palermo: Regione Siciliana–Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e Ambientali e della Pubblica Istruzione). Barberi, S., Patanè A. and Randazzo M., 2002, Museo Civico di Licodia Eubea (Catania: Edi.Bo.) Bernabò Brea, L., and Cavalier, M., 1959, Mylai (Novara: Istituto Geografico De Agostini). Blakeway, A., 1932-33, ‘Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Commerce with Italy, Sicily and France in the Eighth and Seventh Centuries B.C.’, The Annual of the British School at Athens XXXIII, pp. 170-208. Camera, M., 2010, ‘Terravecchia di Grammichele. La Necropoli di Casa Cantoniera. Scavi 1988’, in M. Frasca (ed.), Nelle terre di Ducezio, Euarchos, 1, (Acireale-Roma: Bonanno Editore), pp. 37-123. Catling, R.W.V. and Lemos, I.S. (ed.), 1990, Lefkandi II. The Protogeometric Building at Toumba, Part I. The Pottery (London: The British School of Archaeology at Athens– Thames and Hudson). Coldstream, J.N., 1968, Greek Geometric Pottery (London: Methuen & Co. Ltd). Dugas, C. and Rhomaios, C., 1934, Les vases préhelléniques et géométriques, Delos XV (Paris : E. De Boccard éditeur). Fouilland F., Frasca M. and Pelagatti, P., 1994-95, ‘Monte Casasia (Ragusa). – Campagne di scavo 1966, 1972-73 nella necropoli indigena’, Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, serie IX, volume V-VI, pp. 323-583. Frasca, M., 1981, ‘La necropoli di Monte Finocchito’, in Contributi alla conoscenza dell’età del ferro in Sicilia, Cronache di Archeologia 20, pp. 13-102. Gentili, G.V., 1961, ‘Assoro (Contrada S. Giuliano). Resti di tombe sicule del tipo ‘Licodia’’, Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, serie VIII, vol. 15, pp. 217-222. Grasso, L., 2008, La stipe del santuario di Alaimo a Lentini. Un’area sacra tra la chora e il mare, Monografie dell’Istituto per i Beni Archeologici e Monumentali–C.N.R. 2 (Catania: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche–Istituto per i Beni Archeologici e Monumentali). Hiller Von Gaertringen, F. Frhr. (ed.), 1903, Thera. Untersuchungen, Vermessungen und Ausgrabungen in den Jahren 1895-1902 (Berlin: Verlag Von Georg Reimer). Indelicato, C., 2010, ‘Esplorazione di alcune tombe in contrada Poira’, Aitna 4, pp. 21-44. Isler, H.P., 1978, ‘Samos: la ceramica arcaica’, in Les Céramiques de la Grèce de l’Est et leur diffusion en Occident (ParisNaples: Centre Jean Bérard–Institut Français de Naples), pp. 71-84. Leighton, R., 1993, The Protohistoric Settlement on the Cittadella, Morgantina Studies IV (Princeton N. J.: Princeton University Press). Lentini, M.C., 1992, ‘Un secondo contributo sulla ceramica di Naxos: idrie ed anfore’, Bollettino d’Arte 72, pp. 11-34. Libertini, G., 1952, ‘Centuripe. Rinvenimento di una tomba arcaica’, Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, serie VIII, vol. VI, pp. 332-41.
amphoras) has the same origin of the shape, appearing on the same eastern Greek specimens, so confirming the identification of prototypes (Figs 9-10). The late-Archaic askoi is not the only case of direct derivation from Greek pottery: it is a process that seems to characterize the whole facies of Licodia Eubea, also through the acquisition of shapes never appeared in the native repertoire before SikeloGeometric pottery. One of the most ancient examples includes the small stemmed kraters with composite or simple strap handles from Licodia Eubea (Barberi, Patanè and Randazzo 2002: 42, no. 4678 and other unpublished examples in the Civic Museum, e.g. inv. 4707 and 4748, Fig. 11) and Monte Casasia (Fouilland, Frasca and Pelagatti 1994-95: 511), dating back to the seventh or early sixth century B.C. This type of Krater is widespread in Greece during Late Geometric and Subgeometric periods. Probably indigenous kraters, the oldest of which date back to the eighth century B.C., were produced under the influence of Euboean prototypes, such as the miniature specimens (Fig. 12) from the votive deposit of Alaimo sanctuary in Leontinoi (Grasso 2008: 101 ff.). A later example is the hydria (Figs 13-14), as mentioned before, imitating locally produced examples derived from Cycladic models (Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1959: 110). To sum up, through the analysis of some examples, it seems clear that adaptation to the Greek pottery repertoire, not a close imitation, is, with some exceptions, more than just a trend, almost a ‘regulating criterion’, having great influence on the development of indigenous ceramic repertoire, by determining the survival or the abandonment of traditional forms and the introduction of foreign shapes. Furthermore, from a stylistic point of view, all these examples seem enough to remark the important role played by EuboeanCycladic and eastern Greek products in the development of Sikelo-geometric pottery, usually undervalued compared to the contribution of Corinthian pottery (Coldstream 1968: 3745). Even if the full analysis of the shapes and decorative motifs and patterns of indigenous pottery certainly provides a more comprehensive framework, useful to define the origin and the variety of influences reflected in this pottery, there seems to be a large area between Etna to the north and the Iblei Mountains to the south, under the influence of the Chalcidian colonies on the Ionian coast which spread, through their local production, models from the Greek homeland. So the Euboean influence on native pottery, recognizable on Geometric pottery from native necropolis near Leontinoi since the late eighth century B.C. (Coldstream 1968: 374; Frasca 1981: 87-8), probably spread together with colonial expansion in inland regions. Sikelo-Geometric pottery proves to be a valuable tool not only as a mirror of the transformation process experienced by eastern Sicily native inhabitants during the Archaic Period, but also because at the end of a long ceramic tradition belonging to the pre-colonization native population, it shows the signs of ancient previous contacts and interactions with foreign cultures as fossils. Bibliography Orlandini P. and Adamesteanu, D, 1960, ‘Gela.–Nuovi scavi’, Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, serie VIII, volume XIV, pp. 67-246.
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SOMA 2011 Lyons, C. L., 1996, The Archaic Cemeteries, Morgantina Studies V (Princeton N. J.: Department of Art and Archaeology Princeton University and Princeton University Press). Maiuri, A., 1923-24, ‘Jalisos–Scavi della Missione Archeologica Italiana a Rodi’, Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente VI-VII, pp. 83-341. Mercuri, L., 2004, Eubéèns en Calabre à lépoque Arcaïque. Formes de contacts et d’implantation (Rome : école Française de Rome). Orsi, P., 1895, ‘Gli scavi nella necropoli del Fusco a Siracusa nel giugno, novembre e dicembre del 1893’, Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, pp. 109-92. Orsi, P., 1898, ‘Le necropoli di Licodia Eubea e i vasi geometrici del quarto periodo siculo’, Römische Mitteilungen 13, pp. 305-66. Orsi, P., 1899, ‘Cassibile’, Monumenti Antichi pubblicati per cura della Reale Accademia dei Lincei, IX, coll. 117-44. Pelagatti, P., 1982, ‘I più antichi materiali di importazione a Siracusa, a Naxos e in altri siti della Sicilia orientale’, in La céramique greque ou de tradition greque au VIII siècle en Italie centrale et méridionale, Cahiers du Centre Jean Bérard, III (Naples: Institut Français de Naples), pp. 113-80. Pelagatti, P. 1983, ‘Bilancio degli scavi di Naxos per l’VIII e il VII sec. a.C.’, Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente LIX, pp. 291-311.
Pelagatti, P. 1984, ‘Siracusa: le ultime ricerche in Ortigia’, Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente LX, pp. 117-63. Popham, M.R. and Sackett, L.H., 1980, Lefkandi I. The Iron Age Settlement. The Cemeteries (London: The British School of Archaeology at Athens–Thames and Hudson). Randall Mac Iver, D., 1927, The Iron Age in Italy (Oxford: Clarendon Press). Sabbione, C., 1983, Reggio e Metauros nell’VIII e VII sec. a.C., Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente LIX, pp. 275-289. Tanasi, D., 2008, La necropoli protostorica di Montagna di Caltagirone, Praehistorica Mediterranea 1 (Monza–Milano: Polimetrica). Villard, G. and Vallet, F., 1956, ‘Gèomètric grec, gèomètric sicèliote, gèomètric sicule. Ètude sur le premier entre Grecs et indigene sur la côte orientale de Sicile’, Mélanges de l’Ecole française de Rome. Antiquité LXVI, pp. 7-47. Waldhauer, O., 1929, ‘Ein Askos aus der Sammlung Chanenko in Kiew und die altsamische Kunst’, Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 44, pp. 235-66. Walter, H., 1968, Frühe Samische Gefässe, Samos V (Bonn: Rudolf Habelt Verlag GMBH).
Fig. 1: Late Licodia Eubea Style amphora with horizontal loop handles
Fig. 3: Hydria. Naxos, North Necropolis (after Lentini 1992: 23, fig. 61)
Fig. 2: Late Licodia Eubea Style amphora with vertical strap handles
Fig. 4: Mug. Monte Casasia, Necropolis (after FouillandFrasca-Pelagatti 1994-5: 380, fig. 51, no. 215)
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Marco Camera: Licodia Eubea-Style
Fig. 5: One-handled cup. Leontinoi, Alaimo Sanctuary (after Grasso 2008: pl. XXXII, 344)
Fig. 8: Askos. Licodia Eubea, Vigna della Signora Necropolis (courtesy of Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. of Catania)
Fig. 6: Bowl/Lekane. Licodia Eubea, Serpellizza Necropolis (courtesy of Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. of Catania)
Fig. 9: Askos. Jalisos, Archaic Necropolis (after Maiuri 19234: 288, fig. 184, no. 5)
Fig. 10: Ionian askos. Moskau, Historisches Museum (after Waldhauer 1929: 250, fig. 12)
Fig. 7: Lekane. Naxos, (after Pelagatti 1982: 152, fig. 14)
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Fig. 11: Krateriskoi. Licodia Eubea, Serpellizza Necropolis (courtesy of Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. of Catania)
Fig. 13: Hydria. Licodia Eubea, Nostradonna necropolis (after Barberi-Patanè-Randazzo 2002: 41, no. 7281)
Fig. 12: Krateriskoi. Leontinoi, Alaimo Sanctuary (after Grasso 2008: pls XLVIII and XLIX, 481 and 486)
Fig. 14: Hydria. Mylai, Istmo Necropolis (after Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1959: pl. XLVII, no. 5)
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Recent Discoveries at the Sanctuary of the Divine Palikoi Laura Maniscalco
Parco Archeologico del Calatino [email protected]
Brian E. McConnell
Department of Visual Art & Art History, School of the Arts, D.F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.A. [email protected] been brought to light for a length of 82.3m and is presently in the course of excavation. The presence of a storey above the ground floor, indicated by a structure present in the corridor, suggests a date in the 4th century B.C., when the two-storey stoa seems to have been first conceived. The commercial function of this stoa is confirmed by the off-center placement of doors from the principal corridor into the interior rooms in such a way as to permit the creation of a window that could permit commercial activity.
Abstract Current excavations in the Stoà B at the archaeological site of Rocchicella di Mineo, ancient Palike’, permit us to better define the stages of transformation of the building after its initial destruction. More specifically, it has been discovered that several rooms in the building were re-used as places for the preparation and the drying of mud-bricks, which were found piled up and ready for use. Comparison of this data with the study of the production techniques and use of mud-brick in other areas of the Simeto river valley, such as the Archaic settlement of Monte Castellaccio (Paternò), offers reflection on the historical context of this construction technique in domestic and public architecture of the Sicilian hinterland between the 6th and 4th centuries B.C.
Stoa FA at Rocchicella was probably the first building that pilgrims approaching from the south and the east would have seen from afar, and everyone would have had to pass it on the way to the area in front of the grotto. As at other sanctuaries, here, too the stoa served to delimit and divide space, thus creating a connection between the exterior and the interior of the sanctuary temenos.
This paper offers new data particularly from the monumental structures at the archaeological site of Rocchicella di Mineo, ancient Palike`, where excavations have been underway since 1995, first under the aegis of the Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. di Catania and now under that of the Parco Archeologico Regionale del Calatino (Maniscalco 2008). Here we shall discuss the most recent discoveries in stoas B and FA. The sanctuary, the most famous cult-place for the indigenous peoples in the area, has a monumental layout datable to the second half of the 5th century B.C., which overlays at least three earlier layouts of the Archaic period. The Classical layout is characterized both by two stoas and by a hestiaterion (fig.1), each of which underwent rebuilding in later times. Among the modifications to the structure of Stoa B, one of the most interesting is the establishment of a workshop for the production of mud-bricks, which in this academic setting also offers occasion to discuss this particular building material.
Stoa B – architectural description, interior design and use In light of the current excavations we now have sufficient data to reconstruct the full plan of Stoa B (fig.2). The building is about fifty meters long, and on its northern side it is set up against the talus slope below the grotto. The stoa is characterized by a series of eight rooms that each open onto a corridor, which most likely was bordered on the southern side by a colonnade. Stoa B, which may be dated to the middle of the 5th century B.C., represents one of the earliest such structures with rooms closed off from the corridor, a building typology that became common only in the Hellenistic age. Another characteristic of Stoa B is the striking uniformity of the rooms, which (with the exception of Room 6, which will be discussed below) all have a square plan with sides roughly 5m long. Doorways connect both the rooms to the corridor and each room to its adjacent rooms: the thresholds that have been preserved are set perfectly at the center of the walls. The corridor, which is 2.5m wide, is marked on its ‘lower’ side by a long construction in stones with larger masses at intervals, which presumably was the foundation (soletta in Italian) of the colonnaded portico (the intervals are not quite regular enough to confirm the locations of columns).
The presence of stoas at sanctuaries is common already in the Archaic period, when most of these buildings are found, in fact, at sanctuaries rather than in non-sacred urban settings (Coulton 1976). These porticoes were structures that could serve pilgrims, and they stood sometimes as the physical, architectural border to the sacred temenos. The typology of the stoa also permitted it to serve as a kind of terrace on slopes, and as early as the Archaic period these structures were designed with visual effects in mind. In the case of Rocchicella, the stoas served a scenographic role in the way that they gave a cadence to the natural talus slope up to the grotto.
The rear wall of the stoa (US 510) consists of squared blocks in sandy limestone of varying dimension, and its interior surface is dressed in plaster. The upper portion of the wall may have been constructed in mud-brick, which is a common technique in buildings of the fifth and the fourth century B.C. The roof had a double pitch with beams in pinewood. In all of the rooms there were found the conspicuous remains of ‘Corinthian-type’ tiles, including fragments of kalypter hegemon. Room 6, which lies at the center of the structure, is twice as wide as the other rooms, and it has special features: first, a table (trapeze) and second, an area set apart for an altar and bothros, both of which suggest
Stoa FA – construction, interior design and use In Stoa FA the earliest materials recovered so far date to the fourth century B.C., as we have determined from a preliminary examination of find contexts, but in all likelihood at least the idea of the structure was included in the overall design of the Classical (5th century B.C.) layout of the sanctuary, together with Stoa B. The building, of which we still do not know the full length, has
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activities that were performed within the space (fig.3). Room 6 is the only room found so far at the sanctuary of the Divine Palikoi which suffered collapse clearly while it was still in use, and therefore it has maintained roughly the whole assemblage of items that were last used, including numerous cooking vessels, fine ware and storage vessels, all dating to the last quarter of the 5th century B.C. (Randazzo in Maniscalco 2008). In the eastern part of the room a small wall in mud-brick and plaster, of which there is preserved only the lowest course, delimited the area that was clearly for cult-use. The L-shaped structure in mud-brick set against the opposite wall may be interpreted as an altar, while the square pit with dressed limestone blocks along the edges, one of which had a drainage spout is clearly a bothros. Within the pit there were, among other items, black-glazed skyphoi, lamps, burnt bones of very young sheep-goat and pig (sus scrofa) (Castiglioni in Maniscalco 2008).
Mud-brick at Rocchicella and other location What purpose did the drying-area set into Rooms 8 and 9 of Stoa B serve? We may suggest an historical narrative that sees the initial destruction of Stoa B sometime after the middle of the 5th century B.C., perhaps at the hands of Syracuse, in reference to a passage by Diodorus Siculus (see his Universal History, Books 11 – 12.37.1, where Trinakie is thought to be another name for the settlement at Palike`). With the reconstruction, especially in the eastern part of the building and including the bothros and the mud-brick altar, the religious function of the building was maintained. We are not entirely certain about the rapport between the bothros complex and the mud-brick workshop, but they would seem to belong to different phases and the mudbrick workshop may have been created in regard to other, later construction, perhaps that of Complex P, a platform that rose to 5m above the remains of the rear wall of Stoa B (and it used the rear wall of Stoa B as a foundation) all the way up to the floor level of the Hestiaterion. We do not have much more than traces of the foundations of this immense platform, but the plan and the modular articulation of this structure suggest that it was derived from those of the Hestiaterion. While the superstructure of the Hestiaterion was created from ashlar blocks in sandy limestone with the best techniques of construction available in the 5th century B.C., we may suggest that the superstructure of the rooms of Complex P atop the platform may have been rendered with less costly material, which was also easier to obtain – mudbricks created on the spot.
The pit in Room 6 seems to have been installed in a later moment towards the end of the 5th century B.C., when the floor-level at least in this part of the room was raised with respect to that of the rest of the room. It would seem that the use of the bothros continued on after the initial collapse of the building because the pit was lined with limey clay (marna) and mud-brick. These modifications probably are related to a series of transformations that the stoa underwent at the beginning of the fourth century, which have been documented also in three rooms (8, 9 and 10), which are being excavated at present. In Rooms 8 and 9, there were found several areas for drying of mud-bricks on a new floor surface that had been prepared by leveling the upper portion of the collapse of roof-tiles. The mudbricks were set to one side, piled up end ready for use. In Room 8, there was a series of bricks in yellowish clay, each long roughly 47cm, which leaned toward the west and were bordered by raised ridges of a darker soil, which may indicate the former presence of wooden separators (fig.4). Near the rear wall of the room there were cavities, perhaps small tubs to hold water. This layout was bordered on the south by a line of burnt clay and charcoal. To the south of this area there were accumulations of reddish sand. In Room 9 the bricks were leaning toward the west and they appear to have been separated by wedges of clay with wooden elements (fig.5). Between one brick and the next one sees bands of burnt soil, which again correspond perhaps to the edges of moulding forms in wood.
A brief comparison of the dimensions of the mud-bricks found at Palikè with those found elsewhere can help us to contextualize the use of this material over time at various locations in Sicily. Already, a comparison chart has been developed for mud-brick at the convention ‘Grandi Strutture in Terra Cruda nell’Antichita’ held at Gela in 1997 (Galdieri 1998, Panvini 2008): Reggio Calabria, city wall, western side, second half of the 6th century B.C.: 40x40x10cm (these bricks were bonded with clay) Athens (Academy), Geometric period: 45x45x10 cm
The rebuilding of rooms 9 and 10 includes the construction of benches also directly on the collapse of the building’s original roof-tiles. The benches were made from mud-bricks roughly 35 x 35cm in area with borders in stone.
Tocra (cf. Boardman & Hayes, 1966: 9), pre-565 B.C.: 44x45x9cm Reggio Calabria, city wall, eastern side, 6th century B.C.: 42x42x8 +/-1cm
In rooms 8, 9, and 10 at a certain point in time this activity, which certainly was related to reconstruction work on the same building, was suspended, and the bricks were left where they were and the rooms were covered with sand of carbonic origin, which is not local but which most likely came from the hills in the area of Grammichele to the south (by the way, this sand was most likely used in the creation of the bricks, as well). On top of this fill in the 2nd or 1st century B.C., there were created a series of terrace walls, which correspond to areas of burnt soil and hearths that have been identified in the strata of the 2nd to the 1st centuries B.C. deposited on the ruins of neighboring Room 6 (fig.6). These ashy piles, which extend for an area of about 20m in an east-west line along wall 49, preserve a great quantity of finds, most of which are dated to this period, but with a few ceramic fragments that date to an earlier period in the 4th or 3rd centuries B.C. Most
Mozia, city wall, first phase 6th century B.C., second phase 5th century B.C.: 46x28x10 +/-10cm Mozia, (Lybian module): 27x30x11cm Mozia, area K, rooms with ‘woven-wall’ socles: 45x30x10cm Solunto (Monte Catalfano): 50x33x8cm Capo Bon/Utica (Kerkouane, Tunisia), Punic necropolis: 36x28x12cm
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Laura Maniscalco, Brian McConnell: Recent Discoveries Perhaps we see here the use of a Sikel unit of measure (let us call it a ‘foot’), which has been argued elsewhere to be 25.5 cm on the basis of the primary dimensions of the very precisely constructed Hestiaterion and those apparently of Stoa B itself. 47cm is the equivalent of 1.5 such feet, and 12cm is roughly half. Closer study of the many mud-bricks that have been recovered will permit us to establish more precise figures, but the notion of a Sikel system of measurement that was preserved well into the Hellenistic period at ancient Palikè is certainly a hypothesis that should be examined.
Gela, Capo Soprano, city wall, 4th century B.C.: 45x45x8cm Camarina, city wall, 4th century B.C. (?): 45x45x8cm There would seem to be a fairly consistent measurement of 45cm for large constructions, such as city walls at Greek centers, that was maintained from an early date through the Archaic period and even into the 4th century B.C., while measurements at Punic sites vary from the 45-cm measurement to larger and smaller dimensions. The apparently ‘Greek’ 45-cm dimension has also been found at an indigenous site with a clear Greek presence during the Archaic period–Monte Castellaccio in contrada Pietralunga in the territory of Paternò (McConnell 1997):
Photographs and drawings © Assessorato Regionale Beni Culturali ed Identita’ Siciliana – Parco Archelogico del Caltino.
Monte Castellaccio, Settore 10, U.S. 108: ?x37x11cm
Bibliography:
Monte Castellaccio, Settore 10, U.S. 108B: 45x?x13cm and 45x?x11cm (two courses)
Coulton, J.J. 1976. The Architectural Development of the Greek Stoa, Oxford. Galdieri, E. 1998. Note sulle strutture in mattoni crudi nell’antichità, in : Panvini R. (a cura di), Gela, il Museo Archeologico, catalogo generale, Gela 1998, pp. 123.124 Maniscalco, L. – McConnell B.E. 2003. The Sanctuary of the Divine Palikoi (Rocchicella di Mineo, Sicily): Fieldwork from 1995 to 2001, in AJA, 107, pp. 145-180. Maniscalco, L. – McConnell B.E., eds. 2005. Pasti rituali e non rituali presso il Santuario dei Palici (Mineo), in Atti del Convegno internazionale “Cibo per gli uomini Cibo per gli Dei. Archeologia del pasto rituale”, Piazza Armerina. Maniscalco, L. 2008 (a cura di) 2008. Il Santuario dei Palici. Un centro di culto nella Valle dei Margi, Palermo McConnell, B.E. 1997-1998. Scavi e ricerche tra Monte Castellaccio e Poggio Cocalo (Paternò) tra il 1994 e il 1997, Kokalos XLIII-XLIV, II, 1, pp. 115-129. Panvini, R. 2008. Strutture in mattoni crudi dell’antica Gela, in Germanà M. L.–Panvini R., La terra cruda nelle costruzioni. Dalle testimonianze archeologiche all’architettura sostenibile, Atti della Giornata di Studi (Caltanissetta, Museo Archeologico, Contrada Santo Spirito, 29 giugno 2007), Palermo, pp. 87-98
Monte Castellaccio, Settore 3/5, U.S. 108: 45x35x?cm and 25x25x11cm (individual bricks). The measurements of the mud-bricks at Rocchicella, which may date to the 4th century B.C., on the other hand, display measurements that are close to those at Monte Castellaccio, and even the coastal Greek locations, but they remain somewhat different. In particular, the number 47cm stands out as a repeated measurement. Tab. A. Mud-brick Measurements at Rocchicella di Mineo, Stoa B: Locus
Room
Measurements (cm) 49x20x12
1228 – drying area
8
M1212 wall parallel to wall M510 (rear wall of Stoa B)
9
1251 portion of mud-bricks set out to dry
9
M635 wall in mud-brick with stones (Locus 636)
10
1260 lumps of clay (or mudbricks) above the kiln
8
48x20x12 50x20 x12 47x35x6/8 41x38x8 47x12x20 47x21x6/8
39x43x8
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Fig. 1. Classical period layout
Fig. 2. Plan Stoa B
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Fig. 3. Room 6, Stoa B
Fig. 5. Mud-bricks in Room 9, Stoa B
Fig. 4. Mud-bricks in Room 8, Stoa B
Fig. 6. Burnt soil and hearths in ruins of Stoa B
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Rock Architecture and Some Colonial and Indigenous Centres: the Case of Leontinoi and Montagna Di Ramacca (Ct) Maria Nicotra, Giuseppina Gisella Lidia Verde
Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici, Università degli Studi di Catania
units, placed on multiple levels and consisting of one room, or two, rectangular or square, and carved into the rock on three sides. In the first room, in the north side of the cliff top, three pairs of communicating and recessed spaces suggested the possibility of a use as a stable. The west wall and the south had recessed circular holes, probably to accommodate the wooden poles supporting any storeys above. South of room 1 was dug the second room; along the south wall emerged a platform which presented four circular recesses, probably for large containers. Unfortunately it was not possible to explore more than the access corridor of room 3; on the north side of it 3 niches were visible. Room 4 shared the north wall with room 3; even in this room there was a platform carved from the stone on the west wall. Further on, the rock wall opened another living unit on to the hillside, consisting of two rooms, 5 and 5bis, connected by a corridor. In the room 5b, only fully uncovered at its north side, there was a platform surmounted by two niches very eroded; another niche was carved into the west wall. On the north wall of room 6, not aligned, two niches were also found, one rectangular and another one nearly square. Just south of the room, a circular cut in the rock suggests the presence of a well. Based on the materials found we can say that the site was frequented in both the Archaic and Classical periods; the longest archaeological phase, however, is dated between the second half of the 4th and the first half of the 3rd centuries B.C. Regarding the use of the building, recently an attractive hypothesis was made that the location was linked to craft activities, taking into account the location of the site, outside the city, and the presence of furnace-type features and other spoil/waste material.
Rock excavations at Leontinoi, as at Montagna di Ramacca, define the territory around the ancient town. The practice of exploiting the local physical features for housing needs traditionally takes two forms: providing buildings whose rooms are exclusively obtained using the steep calcareous walls; and others in which the rooms built according to the traditional technique, with dry walls and covering with clay tiles and added to the hypogean rooms. The rupestral buildings of the two centers have been numbered from 1 to 10 conventionally for easy identification. Leontinoi In the first years of the colony the utilization of a building located on the southern side of S. Mauro hill has already been dated. The building is formed of three rectangular rooms, aligned eastwest, linked to each other but with staggered floors. The western room is divided by a thin rock wall from the central room. The eastern room, also irregularly rectangular, had a circular drain in the south-west corner. The finds contained in the soil layer testify to the building’s use from the first years of the colony’s life from the 6th to 5th centuries B.C. On the same side of this rise another habitation was found composed of two rooms, to the south of the previous one. The rear room was dug in the rock, while the front one was built with stone walls. Near the N-E house corner a cistern was present; between the cistern and the wall a small semi-circular niche was seen in which a bronze disk and two clay figurines were found in the midst of burnt material. The findings in the complex belong to different periods.
Another example of rupestral architecture is the building excavated in Contrada Crocifisso, on a terrace overlooking the valley of S. Mauro and connected to the one below by a staircase carved in the rock. The excavation work thoroughly investigated four rooms there, including one built entirely within the cave and others partially or completely constructed. The building would certainly have had more than six rooms. Room 4, hypogean, had a continuous platform along its north and east sides. To the south opened there is an entrance to another hypogean room that could not be excavated, and to the west there is an opening that leads to room 3. Room 3, bordered on the north by the cliff top, was also initially hypogean. Its north wall was marked by three niches and above them was a cutting suitable for wooden beams to support a roof made of clay tiles that would have been used after the collapse of the rock covering.
The two large rupestral rooms found below Casa Aletta, on the northern S. Mauro hill are also interesting. This area was identified as the site of a temple. Both rooms had trapezoidal forms and were also separated by a thin rock wall and were similar in dimensions and cutting technique. The edifice is furthermore characterized by an anterior space. During the exploration of the eastern room, under a layer of clay and stone rubble, the investigators found three small ditches, each containing Ionic cups and a tronco-pyramidal loom weight. The interpretation of the small ditches as thusiai has led some to assume a ritual use for the two rooms. The materials found were Archaic (6th c. B.C.), while in superficial layer Attic pottery was also found (5th c. B.C.). The second room revealed Hellenistic (4th c. B.C.) and Archaic (6th and 5th c. B.C.) material. There are some doubts about the hypothesis of a ritual use for the building and, indeed, its use as a simple habitation seems more plausible. However, the presence of three pits containing the same material, such as loom weights, which often appear in votive deposits, may at least raise doubts about the real use of the complex.
Close to this north wall emerged three constructions irregularly rectangular, aligned with each other. They can be interpreted as ovens. The walls were probably plastered in the same way as space 4. Room 3 was bordered to the south by room 1, which incorporated the rock to the east. The other three sides were defined by thick stone walls. Room 2, built on the edge of the terrace, is not preserved entirely due to the partial collapse of the terrace itself. At the southwest corner of the room was unearthed
A more complex building was found at Contrada Caracausi, to the north-east of the modern town, outside ancient Leontinoi. Explorations discovered a total of six housing
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SOMA 2011 burning. The various layers of collapse were from the tiled roof. The first room was irregularly trapezoidal and was delimitated by dry-stone walls along NS/SW sides. In this room were found various fragments of iron nails related to the wooden truss roof. The collapsed rock room was not dug. The Cg house was similar in plan and construction to the previous one. In the SW corner there was a square platform (0.5x0.7m) and a circular tank made from ceramic fragments near the entrance of the sunken room. The entrance to this room, called Cg1, was rectangular and 1.1m wide and it was possible to enter through two steps cut in the rock. The W side, 3m long, has a niche, 60cm deep. The rock floor had a small pit (1.65x0.45x1.70x0.7m) in the centre of room, and a second one, of irregular shape, in the NE corner. Between the two houses is a space, labeled as Cf, enclosed by rock. In this space there were traces of burning, a heap of bones, and a circle of stones and tiles identified as a hearth. Studies of the archaeological evidence from the two houses (Ce and Cg) suggest an occupation date between the first half of the 4th century B.C. and the first quarter of the 3rd century B.C. This is the final phase of the center which saw the urban area move to the highest part of the plateau, used during the Archaic period as the acropolis.
a trapezoidal oven made of limestone blocks partly plastered. The phase of more intense occupation was in the Hellenistic period (end of 3rd–4th c. BC.), when the building underwent significant modifications (i.e. the obstruction of room 5 due to collapse, the creation of roof-cover in room 3, the restructuring of the room 1). However the presence of proto-Corinthian and Archaic pottery suggests that the site was already frequented between the 7th and 6th centuries B.C. Montagna di Ramacca A first construction was found in Cavallaro between the urban area and the west necropolis. The building had a rock wall and three sides built of dry-stone walls, it was divided into three rooms and included a small oven. Its location is nearer to the west necropolis and the rupestrian sanctuary than to the urban area. It seems possible to suppose that inside the building there may have been activities related to the nearby sanctuary, situated in the opposite low hill and dedicated to Demetra and Kore. The archaeological material found suggests a date in the Archaic period. Several examples of rock buildings were identified in the rocky outcrop that surrounds the urban area. A first room in rock, damaged by collapses, was probably a part of the house: the entrance was 1m wide and 1.8/2m. high. Beyond the entrance was a notch hewn out of the solid rock, 30cm high and 50cm deep, probably used to support the covering of another room realized with dry-stone walls.
With regard to the possible uses of these complexes, three functional types are assumed: 1. Purpose-built apartment: structures 1, 5, 7 and 10. The same functionality can be assumed for structures 2, 3 and 4. 2. Possible ritual structures may be proposed for rooms 3 and 6. 3. Workshop spaces might account for structures 4, 8 and 9. (Structure 5 also provided some possible evidence for craft related activities.
The building called ‘Edificio I’, aligned NNW-SSE, was built on the border of the projection which delimited the main plateau of Montagna di Ramacca. Edificio I had at least ten rooms, a few damaged by collapses, and it is characterized by its notches hewn out in the rock, its tanks and steps. The rooms are mostly rectangular but with varying dimensions (3.1m for room VII to 7.2m for room IV). Along the rocky spur there are many carvings, cuts, and tanks.
The archaeological evidence shows many points of contact and the same architectural features in both contexts, although with variations and simplifications. The more simplistic elements may distinguish the buildings of the chora from those of the colony. Although the architectural technique adopted is the same, the buildings are not always divided into several rooms and do not have the same technical level in the structuring of the interiors (platform masonry, tanks made with pottery fragments of reuse, small and simple hearths/ovens). The affinities found in the two centers add an important element to our knowledge of the relationship between the two centers already emphasized in several publications. Chalcidian influence is evident in the wider region, that includes Montagna di Ramacca, and in some of the indigenous local centers where we find the same phenomena of use change in the rock architecture – dwellings, locations for crafts and the processing of agricultural produce, functional buildings, and ritual spaces.
In the rocky outcrop that delimits the north of the plateau, in the highest area of Montagna di Ramacca, there were some foundations of the second rock built complex, called Edificio II (9.1m long and 5.25m wide). The building, opening on the S-S-W, is subdivided into two parts: the west side is higher and accessible via a step (20x20cm). This building had one circular pit (23cm wide by 10cm deep) and remains of a low shelf (70cm long and 65cm), beneath which there is an oval tank (88x80cm and 22cm deep) forming an oval collection tank (80x58cm). Room II had a circular tank (75cm high, 65cm wide, 35cm deep and with a diameter of 45cm). It seems possible to suppose that ‘industrial’ or agricultural transformation activities were carried on inside both rock buildings, thus justifying the presence of carvings, tanks, ducts and many rooms placed at several altitudes, probably to exploit the slope and the passage of liquids (wine? oil?) from the big tank to the smaller tank.
Bibliography: Adamesteanu D., Scavo nell’area sacra di Lentini, in Nsc 1956, pp. 402-414. Albanese R. M. , Procelli E., Ramacca (Catania). Saggi di scavo nelle contrade Castellito e Montagna negli anni 1978, 1981 e 1982, in NSc 1988-1989, I Suppl., pp. 7-150. Frasca M., Leontinoi, Roma 2009. Grasso L. et alii, Caracausi: un insediamento rupestre nel territorio di Lentini, in CronA 28 (1989), Catania 1996. Messina F., Palermo D., Procelli E., Ramacca (Catania). Esplorazioni di una città greco-sicula in contrada “La Montagna” e di un insediamento preistorico in contrada Torricella, in NSc 1971, pp. 565-574.
In the main plateau of the complex used as an acropolis in the Archaic period, two houses called Ce and Cg were built and inhabited from the first half of the 4th century B.C. The Ce house had an outside room with dry-stone walls and one rock room, but this had collapsed. In the north-east corner there was a small structure, built up from a circle of stones, which contained some archaeological evidence. Opposite the small structure, along the W and SE walls, there is a rectangular stone platform (1.5x0.8m). To the north of the platform were found traces of
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Maria Nicotra, Giuseppina Verde: Rock Architecture Rizza G., Scavi e ricerche negli anni 1954-1955, in BdA XLII, 1957, pp. 158-171. Spigo U., La civiltà rupestre a Lentini e nella campagna di Lentini, in Atti del VI Conv. Int. Di Studi sulla Civiltà rupestre nel Mezzogiorno d’Italia, Galatina, 1986, pp. 271-282.
Procelli E., La Montagna di Ramacca, scavi 1984, 1985 e 1987. Nota preliminare, in Sicilia Archeologica, XXI, 66-68, 1988, pp. 73-79. Procelli E., Ramacca, in BTCG, vol. XIV, Pisa-Roma-Napoli 1996, pp. 549-554. Rizza G., Osservazioni sull’architettura e sull’impianto urbano di Leontini in età arcaica, in Architettura e Urbanistica, pp. 115-130.
Fig. 1. Colle San Mauro-Leontinoi, n. 1
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Fig. 2. Casa Aletta, n. 3
Fig. 3. Contrada Caracausi, Leontinoi, n. 4
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Fig. 4. Contrada Crocefisso, Leontinoi, n. 5
Fig. 5. Montagna di Ramacca, Houses Ce and Cg n. 10
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Fig. 6. Montagna di Ramacca, Edificio I, n. 8
Fig. 7. Montagna di Ramacca, Edificio II, n. 9
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The Necropoleis of Gela: Updated Researches and Topographical Observation Marina Congiu
Archaeologist, external collaborator with the Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. di Caltanissetta
In July 2009 the Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. di Caltanissetta excavated in the area of Quartiere Borgo (which corresponds to the area of the archaic necropolis of Gela) while overseeing the works for the renovation of the water system. These excavations uncovered several burials that were isolated and/or partially robbed (Via Mameli at the intersection with via Smecca, via Sammito and via Scorza at the corner with c.so Aldisio),1 and allowed a small and partially intact corner of the necropolis to be investigated in the area of Piazza Cappuccini. It is this latter excavation that will be addressed in this paper. The various discoveries have increased our knowledge of the necropoleis of Gela and permit some comments to be made about the topography and organisation of the burial area.
border is marked by the depression of vallone Pasqualello and comprises all the area of the villa Garibaldi and the old hospital almost up to the sea; the south-western border coincides, more or less, with the Collegio Pignatelli. However, if the borders of this necropolis appear to be relatively clear on three sides (North, East, South), the western border is less clearly delineated, in spite of Orsi, who claimed to have noted a border zone between the Archaic necropolis and the burials of a later period in this area from his first excavations onwards. This demarcation line consists of a sterile stratum between the Convitto Pignatelli and the chiesetta di San Giacomo: for Orsi, the small depression of Sant’Ippolito constituted a natural line of separation between the two necropoleis (due to its geomorphology).
The excavations and publications of P. Orsi,2 D. Adamesteanu and P. Orlandini3 have greatly clarified issues such as the distribution of the necropoleis of Gela with respect to the outskirts of the Greek city (Fig.1). Their conclusions can be summarised as follows:
Subsequent research carried out in the Borgo by P. Orlandini has led to this demarcation line being questioned, due to the discovery of a bath sarcophagus with its burial assemblage in contrada Sant’Ippolito that dates to the last quarter of the 6th century BC5 and of a burial, in the area to the west of via Salerno (at the crossroads with via Bevilacqua)6 that contained, among the funeral goods, a conspicuous number of red figure vases (500-450 BC). Orlandini concluded that the Classical necropolis might already have begun in the eastern part of via Salerno, up to the crossroads with via Cubba (now renamed via Sammito), with a “transitional” zone that contained mixed burials of the 6th and 5th centuries BC.7 Moreover, the western limit of the necropolis seemed to have been designated as the last burials found by Orsi in the western most part of via Buscemi (burials 400-402), which were relatively poor and placed a certain distance from each other8. The complete lack of burials and the discovery in two wells of material datable to the Hellenistic period already in via Bevilacqua, seems to indicate the presence of buildings of later periods. The discovery of fragments dated to the 4th-3rd centuries BC in the nearby area of the chiesetta di San Giacomo,9 together with the discovery of kiln wasters10 containing ceramic materials related to the end of the 4th/beginning of the 3rd centuries BC, suggests that there was a Hellenistic structure in this area that was probably artisanal or commercial in nature, but was certainly on the outskirts of the principle nucleus of the settlement, which extends to the south of via Palazzi.
1. The Archaic necropolis extends to the west of the wall circuit erected by Frederick, and more or less coincides with the quartiere del Borgo 2. The Classical necropolis is located in quartieri Capo Soprano and Piano Notaro 3. The Hellenistic necropolis has been found in contrada Costa Zampogna, which corresponds to the north-west slope of the Gelan hill, alongside the road to Butera This distribution is perhaps deceptively clear, as it is actually quite difficult to correlate it to the modern city plan, and delineate the perimeters of the necropoleis from each other, due to the changes made at the beginning of the 1900s (and again since the 1960s) to the names and borders of the districts mentioned, as well as the roads. The area of the Archaic necropoli It is known that the Archaic necropolis coincides with Quartiere Borgo (Fig. 2): the southern border of this area is marked by via Crispi, along which Orlandini found 15 burials (dating to between the end of the 7th and the 5th century BC);4 the eastern
If the necropolis in the Borgo seems to present readily defined characteristics from a topographical point of view, the burials that it contains are much less neatly defined in terms of their chronological limits, as they cover an arc of over two centuries in
I would like to thank my colleague, dott. Gianluca Calà, for having furnished the necessary information on the excavations of these tombs; see G.Calà, Le necropoli di Gela: aggiornamenti dalle nuove indagini, in Atti del Convegno Internazionale “Nel mondo di Ade. Ideologie, spazi e rituali funerari per l’eterno banchetto (VIII-IV sec. a.C.)”, Ragusa, Museo della Cattedrale presso Palazzo Garofano – Gela, Palazzo Pignatelli Roviano, 6-7-8 May 2010, in press. 2 Orsi 1906. 3 Adamesteanu and Orlandini 1956: 281-343; Adamesteanu and Orlandini 1960: 137-164. 4 Adamesteanu and Orlandini 1960: 137-151. 1
Adamesteanu and Orlandini 1960: 152ff. Adamesteanu and Orlandini 1956: 318ff (burial in via Salerno, n. 140). 7 Adamesteanu and Orlandini 1956: 335. 8 Orsi 1906: 180. 9 Adamesteanu and Orlandini 1956: 335ff. 10 Adamesteanu 1954: 129-132. 5 6
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SOMA 2011 with a single spear or javelin head that Orsi believed might have been related to someone who had died in battle and been honoured with a worthy burial by his family.20 Other burial groups21 were found along the central part of via Salerno (nos 142-148, 151, 165, 170) as well as a series of three sarcophagi (nos 176, 177, 183), three amphorae and a tile grave22, and the burials (nos 271277bis) found in via di Bartolo.23 In via Cappuccini,24 singularly and in groups of tombs, two trenches uncovered adult burials and 7 containers, among which were amphorae and pithoi containing the remains of children and babies. Many others could be added to these examples. One constant is the presence of infant burials inside containers of various types, in the immediate vicinity of the adult burials or, occasionally, superimposed over them.25
duration (from the 7th to the middle of the 5th centuries BC)11. In fact, Orsi had already discovered a clay sarcophagus containing 3 red figure vases that date to the first quarter of the 5th century BC (burial 396)12 and a tile grave containing 4th century BC material (burial 208)13 along via Salerno, which he described as “una vera eccezione al Borgo”. There is no shortage of other burials that date to the middle of the 5th century BC,14 just as there have been sporadic Archaic finds (for example the ovoid proto-corinthian aryballos of the second quarter of the 7th century BC in the area of the Cimitero, near the chiesa di San Biagio)15 in the area of the Classical necropolis. Of the Attic pottery found in the Borgo and Capo Soprano necropoleis, the previously published material has been studied quite recently.16 On the basis of this data, which is only a part of that which is available, it can be confirmed that the two necropoleis were used contemporaneously from 550 to 425 BC, although with differing levels of intensity. J. de La Genière,17 in a study of the funeral rituals of the Archaic and Classical necropoleis of Gela has raised this problem, and underlined how this phenomenon is tied to a criterion of assignation of space on the basis of family lots.
As it is no longer possible to carry out anthropometric analyses on the bones to identify potential blood-relations between individuals, and there are no extant historical sources that might shed light on the social organization of the Geloans, the only elements that suggest the existence (as P. Orsi had argued26 and J. de La Genière has more recently re-proposed)27 of distinct nuclei of burials that are attributable to family groups, corporations or phratriai, are analysis of the funerary assemblages, the typology of the tombs, and the planimetric distribution of the burials. In this context, the discoveries that have recently been made by the Soprintendenza di Caltanissetta permit a further confirmation of this point.
Organization of the necropoli In spite of the intensive urbanization the area has undergone, the fragmentation of the area explored, and the century-long activity of illegal excavators, it is possible to identify certain elements of the organization of the internal space in the Borgo necropolis. It is not possible to establish if there were paths or roads connecting the various burial areas within the necropoleis, because of the fragmentary character with which the excavations along the roads of the Borgo were carried out, but it is relatively clear that there were groupings of burials on the basis of family or social ties.18
The presence of the aforementioned funeral spaces and of an internal organization in the necropolis is most evident and appears to be most organised at Capo Soprano (Fig. 3): all of the burials in the Predio Leopardi were orientated E-W, parallel to the “Licata roundabout” (now via Palazzi) and delimited to the South by a wall that Orsi interpreted as the demarcation of the necropolis. It is also possible that the area of the necropolis was assigned to the colonists by family lots and was utilised over the course of succeeding generations: in the same Predio, Orsi excavated two rectangular trenches (burials 13-14)28 laid out lengthways and parallel to the road, of which the second was an empty trench that was prepared but never used.29 In addition, the remains of sepulchral buildings30 were also identified that were intended for ceremonial funerary use. The clearest indication is the existence of cuts in the rock at the border of the funerary spaces between the tombs, as is the case with burial 4 (a robbedout sarcophagus) which is separated from burial 3 by a small diaphragm of rock and, at the same time, is separated from burial 6 by another diaphragm of rock that originally bore a low wall of uncut blocks.31
This is the case of the group of burials numbered 88-95 that were found at the centre of the junction between via Smecca and via Granvillano (now renamed via Garibaldi).19 Adults, children and babies were found in the graves (3 monolithic sarcophagi, an amphora, two pithoi, a large dolium and an in situ cremation), but the relatively rare feature for this Archaic necropolis is the discovery of the remains of 4-5 soldiers in the large dolium (n.94) We are still awaiting a complete study of the Geloan necropoleis that examines the contexts in relation to the distribution of the burials. Therefore, the topographical notes that are advanced here are based solely on the published material of P. Orsi. The important work of synthesis conducted by F. Giudice and his team is limited to the attic finds discovered in funeral contexts in order to reconstruct a picture of the attic imports into the Geloan colony. 12 Orsi 1906: 173-178. 13 Orsi 1906: 124. 14 Via Granvillano, tt. 90 and 282; via Salerno, tt. 196 and 396; villa Garibaldi, tt. 11 and 12; via Crispi, tt. 2 and 11 (see further C. Lambrugo, La visibilità dell’invisibile: lo spazio funerario infantile nella Sicilia arcaica. Il caso di Gela, in Atti del Convegno Internazionale “La Sicilia in età arcaica. Dalle apoikiai al 480 a.C.”, Caltanissetta, 27-29 March 2008, note 5, in press). 15 Orsi 1906: 327, fig. 241. 16 F. Giudice et al. in Panvini and Giudice 2003: 23-71, in particular E. Sanguedolce and B. Sgarlata: 51-62. 17 J. de La Genière briefly assesses the most characteristic burials of the two necropoleis, Borgo and Capo Soprano, to examine the relationship between the Geolans and death (see further de La Genière in press) 18 Although the comfort of historical sources for this is lacking, we do have examples of burial groupings on a familial basis in the necropolis of Pezzino at Agrigento (see further De Miro 1989). 19 Orsi 1906: 63-69, fig. 38. 11
It is clear from Orsi’s plan that the 8 tombs (or perhaps 9 if tomb 2, a beautiful sarcophagus decorated on the inside with two small See further J. de La Genière, in press. Orsi 1906: 99ff., fig. 61. 22 Orsi 1906: 113, fig. 79. 23 Orsi 1906: 139-141, fig. 102 bis. 24 Orsi 1906: 191-194, fig. 148. 25 On this problem, see further B. Ferrara and S. Visco, Morire da bambini nell’antica Gela, in Atti del Convegno Internazionale “Nel mondo di Ade. Ideologie, spazi e rituali funerari per l’eterno banchetto (VIII-IV sec. a.C.)”, Ragusa, Museo della Cattedrale presso Palazzo Garofano – Gela, Palazzo Pignatelli Roviano, 6-7-8 May 2010, in press. 26 Orsi 1906: 233 and 517. 27 J. de La Genière, in press. 28 Orsi 1906: 399-403, fig. 282. 29 See further De Miro 1989: 12 and note 1 (necropoli di Pezzino at Agrigento). 30 Orsi 1906: 427. 31 Orsi 1906: 390-393. 20 21
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Marina Congiu: The Necropoleis of Gela columns with capitals and volutes and traces of colour, which was found a little to the west, is taken into account) were laid out and organised according to a precise criterion: they are grouped together side by side, share the same orientation, and contain funeral goods dated to the first thirty years of the 5th century BC. It seems evident that this is a corner of the necropolis that has been assigned to the same nuclear family, which was probably of a relatively high social standing.
If it is correct that the two individuals in tomb 4 were laid down arm in arm, this suggests that it may be an example of the unexpected death of members of the same nuclear family, and even more significantly, that there may have been a ‘ustrinum’ rite immediately beneath the burial. A similar case was found by Orsi in burial no.257 in via Buscemi,34 in which two adults were buried on a layer of tiles that were in turn placed on an ustrinum. These are probably a group of burials of similar type to tomb 253, again a tile-burial, which contained an infant, and was found next to the preceding one on its short side.
Tombs are regularly found in pairs in the Capo Soprano necropolis, separated from each other by discretely respectful areas that were used to define the funeral spaces. It therefore does not seem as though the Geloan necropoleis were regularly organised on the grounds of the morphology of the landscape or the availability of space. Thanks to the latest excavations, it is possible to argue that a definition of the funerary spaces, probably on the basis of family or social ties, was also made in the Archaic necropolis.
One of the most important facts to emerge from the excavations in piazza Cappuccini is that it has been possible to identify a clear delineation of the funeral space between the tombs in the ground itself, thanks to an angular cut made in the soft rocky bank that characterises the Geloan bedrock. The simple considerations that I have deduced from the new elements that have emerged from the latest excavations confirm and justify the always valid and intelligent interpretations of the data that were reached by the great archaeologist P.Orsi over a century ago. It is clear that a more profound study of the individual burials discovered in the different sectors of the Geloan necropoleis, together with a new examination of the funerary assemblages, might raise more significant data, above all in respect of the demography, the funerary ideology and the socio-economic conditions of the Geloan community.
The corner of the necropolis that was brought to light in piazza Cappuccini (Fig. 4) just underneath the road level consists of seven typologically different burials (there are enchytrismoi in pithos, in amphorae, trench-pits, a sarcophagus and a two person deposition on a double bed) that each have the same E-W orientation. This part of the necropolis dates between the first quarter of the 6th century BC and the first quarter of the 5th. The cut in the rocky bank separates tombs 7 (probably an enchytrismos inside an SOS amphora) and 4, which the sepulchral remains show to be a family burial (two adult inhumations in an earth trench and at least three infants). Tomb 4, which contained no grave goods, is unusual as it contained the bones of 2 individuals: the first seems to have had its right arm tied to the abdomen of the second, perhaps a young male, of which only the remains of the spinal vertebrae remain. It is possible that they were laid down arm in arm, presumably at the end of a rite that also envisaged an incineration32 (due to two large cups that show evident signs of burning). In the course of the excavation, it was possible to ascertain that the depositional plan of tomb 4 was laid out above an ustrinum, in which was found a small rough lekythos of Samian imitation33 (dated to the middle of the 6th century BC).
32 33
Bibliography Adamesteanu, D. (1954) “Dalle foci del Danubio agli scavi di Gela”, Sicilia, 6, 129-32. Adamesteanu, D. and P. Orlandini (1956) “Gela. Ritrovamenti vari”, Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 203-401. Adamesteanu, D. and P. Orlandini (1960) “Gela. Nuovi scavi”, Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 67-246. De La Geniere, J. (2001) “Le necropoli arcaiche e classiche di Gela, una rilettura”, in press. De Miro, E. (1989) Agrigento. La necropoli greca di Pezzino, Messina. Panvini, R. and F. GIUDICE edds. (2003) TA ATTIKA. Veder greco a Gela. Ceramiche attiche figurate dall’antica colonia, Roma.
See further Orsi 1906: 138, burial 257, Fig. 100. See further Orsi 1906: 142, burial 285, Fig. 105.
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Orsi 1906: 136, figg. 99 bis-100.
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Fig.1. Distribution of the necropoleis of Gela
Fig. 2. Quartiere Borgo: the area of the Archaic necropoleis
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Marina Congiu: The Necropoleis of Gela
Fig. 3. Plan of Predio Leopardi (Orsi 1906, fig. 282)
Fig. 4. Excavations in piazza Cappuccini
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A Sanctuary of Apollo (Re)discovered in Sicily? Archaeological Evidence, Topography and Historical Source Francesca Buscemi
Assegnista di ricerca, DISUM, Università di Catania
ancient sources that could shed some light on the function of the building. It is indeed remarkable from a topographical point of view because of its proximity to the arterial road, known in the Classical period as Via Elorina, that winds south towards Pachino and Capo Passero.
As part of a wider reassessment of certain monuments and topics concerning ancient architecture in South-Eastern Sicily, the site of S. Lorenzo Vecchio near Pachino (SR) seemed particularly relevant to aspects of interest of scholars in this field: dynamics of territorial control, roads network, commercial and economic activities, problems of demography and, especially, the longevity of these settlements. Such aspects did indeed emerge as principal topics during the two conferences that proposed a systematic interpretation of the territory over these last ten years (Balsamo– La Rosa 2001; Il territorio di Pachino).1
Originally connecting Syracuse to Helorus, the road continued as far as joining with Via Selinuntina on the Southern coast of Sicily via a coastal route (itinerarium per maritima loca) revealed by Itinerarium Antonini (Uggeri 2004, 163). The exact course of this stretch is fundamental to understanding the political and economic dynamics of most of south-eastern Sicily. The interpretation of the S. Lorenzo building, as an extraurban monument, could therefore not be separated from the examination of its whole territorial context and the corresponding road network. Scholars have certainly focused on this topic in the past: G. Uggeri (Uggeri 2004, 228-230) (fig. 7) considered the coastal route of Via Elorina departing the quagmire surrounding the Longarini, Portopalo, Pachino and Marzamemi ports from the East and heading towards Castellazzo della Marza on the South coast of Sicily. This site was identified in the statio of Apolline (Di Stefano 1982),4 one of the stops of the cursus publicus from the Late-Antique itinerary sources.
The S. Lorenzo complex constitutes a synthesis of all these topics, though we will only partially discuss them here. It was known to Tommaso Fazello (Fazello 1558, lib. IV), and was “rediscovered” at the end of 40s by Giuseppe Agnello (Agnello 1948) at the homonymous site a few meters from the provincial Noto-Pachino road (SP 19). The complex was part of an 18thcentury farm (masseria), now in ruins (figs. 1-2). A church consecrated to S. Lorenzo was active here, and was still the destination of a pastoral visit in 1790 (Rizzone 2005, 42). Its date of foundation is yet to be ascertained; however it is certainly far more ancient. The complex is composed of several parts: the most ancient nucleus is a building that Agnello interprets as a temple dating to the Greek period; a later building with a central plan and three apses was built very near it, but not quite in contact with it, as observed in the plan by R. Carta (Agnello 1948, 64, fig. 2; Agnello 1952, 132, dr. 18)2 (fig. 3). This and other aspects shall be discussed in a forthcoming study including new graphic documentation.
This topographical interpretation seems to paint a picture of isolation for the most of the south-eastern parts of the island that, however, seems to be in contrast with archaeological evidence. A multitude of settlements and commercial, productive and manufacturing interests from the Classical to the Hellenistic period endowed this area with high strategic value, and also because of its proximity to the town of Helorus and the frontiers of the territory controlled by Syracuse.
We shall now focus on the topographical value of the complex and propose an identity for it, referring particularly to its early phase. Indeed, some of the still visible structures can be associated with the Greek period because of the building technique (one row of blocks in a very well done pseudo-isodomic opus quadratum, without mortar) (figs. 4-5) and metrology (based on a “Doric foot” of cm 30.78).3 Analysis of the remains indicate a 16.3×9m building that was modified, perhaps in the Byzantine period, by the carving of doors and windows (fig. 6). These structures create a lot of exegetic problems and their dating is also difficult because of their gaps, the remarkable interment and the modern building above them, gradually collapsed. We do not aim to consider the monumental ancient structure or its chronology here, but shall rather focus on various topographical aspects and signs from
L. Arcifa (2001, 185-188, 199) actually proposed a continuation of Via Elorina across this area (fig. 8) towards the South, stressing the importance of productive activities on the coast between Vendicari and Porto Palo almost from the Late-Antique and Byzantine period. This launched a persuasive reconsideration of the territory, underlining its commercial dynamics and the extraordinary life span of the roads network from the late-antique to the medieval period. Surveys and excavations of the Soprintendenza of Siracusa and of the Parco Archeologico di Eloro e Villa del Tellaro e delle aree archeologiche di Noto e dei Comuni limitrofi during the last years also went in that direction. These greatly increased the knowledge of this area and allowed the reconstruction of the picture of the beginning of a scattered settlement pattern during the Classical period, with small centres associated with soil exploitation (Burgio; Capo Passero). Some of these sites were probably important considering to the stone quarries found all along the coast south of Syracuse; a perfect example being the
See also Guzzardi–Basile 1996. A few more details of the vault of the three apsidal building appear in the plan by G. Margani (2005, 52-54) and again in Margani 2005b. 3 Dinsmoor considered a foot of 29.6cm directly coming from Greece and findable in monuments of all Sicily, from Archaic to Hellenistic period (Olympieion at Agrigento, Tempio della Vittoria at Himera, Altar of Hieron II at Syracuse) (Dinsmoor 1961, 359-360). De Waele, instead, proposed a “variable foot” between 29 and 33 cm, on which the Arcaic and Proto-Classic architecture of Sicily would be based (De Waele 1982, 24). In general, on the problem of the Doric foot, see De Waele 1985, 88 (with bibl). 1 2
This identification has been generally accepted; see e.g. Uggeri 2004, 226-228. 4
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SOMA 2011 great quarries of Marzamemi (Lena–Basile 1986, 120; Lena – Basile – Di Stefano 1988, 15, 51-52) or those of the Cugni di Calafarina district (Trapani forthcoming), perhaps linkable to the Greek buildings at S. Lorenzo. These quarrying activities, probably intended for limited-range usage serviced by short coastal transportation (Lena – Basile – Di Stefano 1988, p. 51), were joined by further and more extensive commercial interests like fishing and above all fish produce5 that stimulated an increase of settlements in the Hellenistic period, especially along the Pachino coast region (Guzzardi forthcoming).6
Macrobius is not speaking about the institution of a new cult, but only about the new epiclesis (Libystinus cognominatus est) of a divinity already worshipped (ibi colitur). So, the source does not justify the reference to Semitic origins of the cult of Apollo Lybistinus proposed by some scholars (Columba 1906, 349).9 Uggeri especially considered this cult “highly plausible in a port of call to Africa via Malta, where Apollo was also venerated. It should be noted that the epithet Archegetes occurs both at Malta and at Naxos of Sicily where, with respect to cults, a link with the Punic world was seen” (Uggeri 2004, 227).10
In such a stimulating context, new possibilities for the interpretation of the building at S. Lorenzo arise from recent resumption of the proposal (Trapani forthcoming)7 moving the plaga Apollinis from Castellazzo della Marza to the south-eastern coast of Sicily (Itinerarium Antonini 96, 4; Uggeri 1970; Id 2004, 214-215, 227). From a topographical point of view, it is a very well-grounded hypothesis. It could be successfully associated with what was noticed for the Byzantine period in the area south of Cittadella dei Maccari: a distribution of sites suggesting an extension towards the south of the magna via di Respensa during the Swabian period (XIII century A.D.), “in a layout largely traced by the current Noto-Pachino provincial road” (Arcifa 2001, 185-186 and footnote 143). The presence of the S. Lorenzo monumental complex along this road could confirm the vitality of this topographical axis as early as the Greek period. The road is identifiable, with high probability, with the route ab Apolline Syracusas of the already mentioned Itinerarium per maritima loca. Moreover, the aforementioned hypothesis of locating Apolline on the south-eastern coast of Sicily suggests the possibility of classifying the S. Lorenzo building in the sanctuary that gave the name statio itself; indeed we know from Macrobius (Sat. I,17,24) that the toponym “Apolline” derives from a cult to an Apollo Lybistinus.
Because of this inversion of cause and effect based on the misunderstanding of a presumed Semitic cult that was later Hellenized, Uggeri resorts to previous Punic cults of NorthAfrican origin rather than focusing on Syracuse, the closest, powerful centre propelling the cult of Apollo Archegetes. At most, if a link should be sought between this cult in Sicily and other ones in Africa, Hellenized Africa would be preferable to Punic Africa; and above all Cyrene which, like Syracuse, was founded after a Delphic response (Herod., IV, 145-205; Callim., Hymn. Ad Apoll., 66-67) and is home to a sanctuary to Apollo well-known in all the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, a reference to Cyrenaica is perhaps possible in the perspective of the circulation of a shared sanctuarial culture11 more than direct contacts, however difficult to specify, especially in the Arcaic and Classical periods12 before Agatokles and the focusing of political and economic influence of Syracuse and Cyrene against Carthage (Consolo-Langher 1998, 152-155). Returning to Macrobius, with respect to the notion of identifying the Greek building at S. Lorenzo with the Apollonion of the homonymous statio, the late-antique source could give a contribution to the chronology of the structures. He does actually speak of an invasion of Lybies in Sicily that was halted by the divine intervention of Apollo, who struck the enemy with pestilence: as a consequence of these events the cognomen of Lybistinus was attributed to the divinity.
The distance from Syracuse, indicated in the Itinerarium Antonini as 32 miles, also seems to fit with this hypothesis. Indeed, since 1 mile = m 1.609 and the distance between S. Lorenzo and Syracuse is about 51 km8, it works better than the identification of “Apolline” in the generally accepted site of Castellazzo della Marza, that would nevertheless require a correction of the distance from Syracuse to 34 miles instead of 32 (Uggeri 2004, 228).
The polysemy of the word “Lybia” is well known from Herodotus to Procopius (Roques 1987, 56-58; Id. 1993-1994, 402-409; Laronde 1987, 45, n. 60): it indicates one of the three parts of the oikoumene, or all of Africa, now many smaller areas of it including present day Maghreb, the region of Marrakech, the oasis of Siwah or, more specifically, Tunisia and the Tripolitania,
With respect to the testimony of Macrobius, some misunderstandings by modern scholars suggest a reconsideration of the entire passage: Hinc est quod apud Pachynum Siciliae promuntorium, Apollo Lybistinus eximia religione celebratur. Nam cum Lybies invasuri Siciliam classem adpulissent ad id promuntorium, Apollo, qui ibi colitur, invocatus ab incolis inmissa hostibus peste et paene cunctis subita morte interceptis Lybistinus cognominatus est.
“The ancient maritime itinerary notes a place named plagia, 32 miles far from Syracuse, called Apolline. A such distance conducts us exactly to the island of Cape Pachino and confirms the notice of an Apollo Libystinus here worshipped. Clearly it is a Semitic divinity, identified with the Greek Apollo”. 10 Against the Semitic interpretation of the cults of Aphrodite, Pugliese Carratelli 1980:17. 11 All the Cyrenaica is influenced by Phocaean culture, that is Delphic culture, since Phocaeans and Theraeans came immediately after the first Euboean colonization of the African West in the 7th century (Braccesi 1993-94, 200-204). The link between Delphi and Cyrene does not seem to have reduced neither in the Classical period, when Pindar celebrates the win of the last of the Battiad dynasty at the Pythian games (462 A.D.) (Marginesu 2000, 165). 12 The notices by the historical sources allowed the reconstruction of contacts and routes between the two sides of the Mediterranean; particularly we know that one of the two North-South sea-ways reaching Sicily, the Eastern one controlled by Greeks, started from Syracuse to Cyrene, Naukratis and then Alexandria (Uggeri 2005: 192). Nevertheless, nothing is known from the period above mentioned; the two epigraphs coming respectively from the territory of Helorus (Guzzardi 2001: 9798) and from that of Noto (Manganaro 2001, 80), firstly interpreted as funerary epigraphs showing anthroponyms of Doric form attested at Cyrene, more recently have been interpreted as boundary-stones (Vinci 2004). 9
Apart from the topographical information regarding the vicinity of the sanctuary to the cape of Pachino, it is evident that Flourishing installations for salting the fish and for production of garum are known for the Hellenistic period at Portopalo and Vendicari (these ones have been working from IVth to Ist Century b.C.) (Basile 1992, 55-86). 6 Guzzardi forthcoming 7 So already Lena – Basile – Di Stefano 1988, 16: “In the roadstead of Portopalo the area of Marsa al bawalis (the “port of marsh” of El Idrisi) has to be placed, unless the same port clash with the centre of Apolline, now placed at Castellazzo della Marza”. 8 From Marconi square to the little port of Marzamemi, along the provincial road 19. 5
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Francesca Buscemi: A Sanctuary of Apollo or simply the region of Carthage as in Chariton from Aphrodisias (III, 3, 8) (Roques 1998, 491, 498).
the same time serving as admonition for people of Gela15 and Camarina.16
Avoiding excessive simplification13 and bearing in mind this complexity, the last interpretation would be the most probable in our case. In other words, Macrobius is speaking of a Carthaginian invasion in Sicily stopped by the intervention of Apollo. We know from Diodorus two such episodes: the first one (Diod., XIII,114) referred to the Carthaginian advance towards Syracuse in 406 B.C., stopped by a terrible pestilence; and the second one (Diod., XIV,71,1) to the end of the II Punic War due to a pestilence. It is to be noted that the notices by the ancient source could only indicate a terminus post quem for the cult, and do not give us the precise chronology of the bulding. This could be constructed later or constitute a rebuilding of an earlier monument.
Bibliography Agnello, G. (1948) S. Lorenzo Vecchio presso Pachino. BdA, XXXIII, s. IV, 1, 63-66. Agnello, G. (1952) L’architettura bizantina in Sicilia, Firenze. Arcifa, L. (2001) Tra casale e feudo: dinamiche insediative nel territorio di Noto in epoca medievale. IN: Balsamo – La Rosa 2001, 159-200. Arcifa, L. (2008) Il territorio tra Tardoantico e Altomedioevo nella cuspide sud-orientale della Sicilia. IN: in Buscemi, and F. Tomasello eds., Paesaggi archeologici della Sicilia sudorientale. Il paesaggio di Rosolini, Palermo, 5-32. Balsamo, F. and V. La Rosa (2001) Contributi alla geografia storica dell’agro netino, Atti delle giornate di studio, Noto 29-31 maggio 1998, Rosolini. Basile, B. (1992) Stabilimenti per la lavorazione del pesce lungo le coste siracusane: Vendicari e Portopalo. IN: Atti V rassegna di archeologia subacquea, Messina, 55-86. Braccesi, L. (1993-94) La Sicilia, l’Africa e il mondo dei “Nostoi”. IN: Kokalos, 39-40, 193-210. Consolo-Langher, S.N. (1998) Cirene, Egitto e Sicilia nell’età di Agatocle. IN: Catani, E. and S.M. Marengo eds, La Cirenaica in età antica, Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi, Macerata 18-20 maggio 1995, Macerata, 145-160. Columba, G.M. (1906) I porti della Sicilia, Palermo 1906. Copani, F. (2005) La Nemea IX di Pindaro e lo scontro tra Geloi e Siracusani all’Eloro. IN: MEFRA, 117.2, 651- 676. Copani, F. (2005b) Alle origini di Eloro. L’espansione meridionale di Siracusa arcaica. IN: ACME, 58.2, 245-263. Cordano, F. (2006) Sinecismi e regimi politici a Camarina. IN: Camarina 2600 anni dopo la fondazione. Nuovi studi sulla città e il territorio, Atti del Convegno Internazionale Ragusa 7 dicembre 2002/ 7-9 aprile 2003, Roma, 273-276. Di Stefano, G. (1982) Apolline: ricerche archeologiche al Castellazzo della Marza. IN: Il quindicinale, Ragusa, 30 dic. De Waele, J. (1982) La progettazione dei templi di Himera, Segesta e Siracusa. IN: Secondo Quaderno Imerese, (Studi e Materiali, 8), Roma, 1-25. De Waele, J. (1985) Le dessin d’architecture du temple grecque au début de l’époque classique, in Le dessin d’architecture dans les sociétés antiques, Actes du Colloque de Strasbourg, 26-28 janvier 1984, (Université de Sciences Humaines de Strasbourg, Travaux du Centre de Recherche sur le proche Oriente et la Grèce antique, 8), Strasbourg, 87-102. Dinsmoor, W.B. (1961) The basis of Greek temple design. Asia Minor, Greece, Italy. IN: Atti del VII Congresso Internazionale di Archeologia Classica, Roma–Napoli 6-13 settembre 1958, I, Roma, 355-368. Di Vita, A. (1999) Siracusa, Camarina, Selinunte: quale frontiera? IN: Atti del XXXVII Convegno di Studi sulla Magna Grecia, Taranto 29 settembre – 3 ottobre 1997, Taranto, 373-380. Di Vita, A. (2000) La kore di Camarina e il tempio di Athena. IN: Damarato. Studi di antichità classica offerti a Paola Pelagatti, Napoli, 104-109. Fazello, F. (1558) De Rebus siculis decades duae, I, Panormi.
Under a pure historical perspective, the possible chronological span for the building is therefore very large: occasions for its building could be the 484 a.C., after the forced synecism of people from Camarina to Syracuse decided by Gelon (Herod.,7,156,1-2) coinciding with a strengthened territorial control by Syracuse (Manganaro 2001, 74-75); the ambitious project of a territorial state of Hiero I (478-467 b.C.); the restoration after the defeat of Ducetius (440); the age of Timoleon who enhanced the cult of Apollo or, finally, the period of Hiero II - altough the planning features of the temple seem to indicate an earlier chronology than the Hellenistic period. Because of the lack of archaeological data regarding the original function and earliest chronology of the sanctuary itself, it is only possible to propose certain hypotheses on the basis of the dynamics of territorial control by the poleis in the south-eastern corner of Sicily. The pre-eminent topographical position of the building, lying along an important road just south of the Helorus and the Tellaro rivers at the limit of the territory controlled by Syracuse, seems to indicate the promotional aspect of the sanctuary in the Doric colony. If this association with an Apollonion is correct, the precise intention would have been a dedication to Apollo, the most ancient and prestigious divinity of Syracuse itself, in reference to the origins of the polis and perhaps as a clear distinction to the poliades cult of Athena of Geloan origin, established in Camarina (Cordano 2006). The S. Lorenzo building in this way could be interpreted with a political function of the border sanctuary.14 After all, Syracuse’s control of the south-eastern corner of Sicily was not assured, as demonstrated by hostilities with Camarina and its bold alliances (with Siculi, Geloans, Athenians) against Syracuse during all of the 6th century B.C. and a good part of the 5th, and by the resounding battle on the Tellaro river (492 A.D.). This demonstrated the capacity of the sub-colony to extend its influence along the eastern coast and the insatiable interest of Gela for this commercial front (Copani 2005). The sanctuary of S. Lorenzo should therefore have symbolised the Syracusan presence at the South of Helorus, catalysing and serving the religiousness of the nearby rural settlements and at
Regarding to the imposition of the cult of Athena at Syracuse by Gela in the 5th century B.C. see Pelagatti 2000, 174. 16 According to the archaeological evidence the presence of Siculi in this period, instead, is limited to the hyblaean plateau (Guzzardi forthcoming), even if their conflict with Syracuse has been reshuffled very much by historians (see Di Vita 1999; Mafodda 1999; Copani 2005b). 15
Like a identification of the Libyes with Numidians of the areas at the West and at the South of Carthage (Manganaro 2004: 1183). 14 For a classification of the extra-urban sanctuaries see Leone 1998, p. 9, 32-33 (with bibl.). 13
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SOMA 2011 Pelagatti, P. (2000) Camarina nel VI e V sec. Problemi di cronologia della documentazione archeologica. IN: Un ponte tra l’Italia e la Grecia, Atti del Simposio in onore di Antonino Di Vita, Ragusa 13-15 febbraio 1998, Padova, 173-190. Pelagatti, P. (2006) Camarina: studi e ricerche recenti. IN: Pelagatti, P., Di Stefano, G. and L. de Lachenal eds., Camarina 2600 anni dopo la fondazione. Nuovi studi sulla città e sul territorio. Atti del Convegno Internazionale, Ragusa 7 dicembre 2002 / 7-9 aprile 2003, Roma, 45-76. Pugliese Carratelli, G. (1980) La Sicilia nel VI secolo a.C. IN: Architettura e urbanistica nella Sicilia greca arcaica, Atti della 3^ riunione scientifica della Scuola di Perfezionamento in Archeologia Classica dell’Università di Catania, Siracusa 11-14 dicembre 1980, (CronArch, 19), Catania, 13-19. Rizzone, V. (2005) Per un inquadramento delle chiese di San Pancrati a Cava Ispica e di San Lorenzo presso Pachino. IN: SEIA, X, 25-51. Roques, D. (1987) Synésios de Cyrène et la Cyrénaïque du BasEmpire, Paris. Roques, D. (1993-94) Procope de Césarée et la Cyrénaïque du 6ème s. ap. J.C. IN: Rend. Accad. Arch. Napoli, 64, 393-434. Roques, D. (1998) La Cyrenaique dans le roman antique. Cyrene et l’Historia Apollonii Regis Tyri. IN: Catani, E. and S.M. Marengo eds, La Cirenaica in età antica, Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi, Macerata 18-20 maggio 1995, Macerata, 485-522. Trapani, F. (forthcoming) Il periodo romano e tardo antico: fonti e testimonianze archeologiche. IN: Il territorio di Pachino. Uggeri, G. (1970) Sull’Itinerarium per maritima loca da Agrigento a Siracusa. IN: Atene e Roma, n.s. XIV, 2-3, 107117. Uggeri, G. (2004) La viabilità della Sicilia in età romana, Galatina. Uggeri, G. (2005) Porti e viabilità terrestre nella Sicilia greca. IN: P. Minà ed, Urbanistica e architettura nella Sicilia greca, Palermo, 191-192. Vinci, M. (2004) Horoi: due nuovi cippi confinari nella Sicilia sud-orientale. IN: ArchStSir, s. III, XVIII, 83-104.
Guzzardi, L. and B. Basile (1996) Il Capo Pachino nell’antichità. IN: La Magna Grecia e il mare. Studi di storia marittima, (Magna Grecia, 10), Taranto, 189-225. Guzzardi, L. (2001) Il territorio di Noto nel periodo greco. IN: Basile – La Rosa 2001, 97-109. Guzzardi, L. (forthcoming), Il Capo Pachino dalla Preistoria all’età ellenistica. IN: Il territorio di Pachino. Hellmann, M.-Ch. (2002) L’architecture Grecque, 1. Les principles de la construction, Paris. Il territorio di Pachino dall’Antichità ai nostri giorni. Prospettive di ricerca e di valorizzazione, Atti del Convegno, Pachino 2021 maggio 2011, forthcoming. Laronde, A. (1987) Cyrène et la Libye hellénistique, Paris. Lena, G. and B. Basile, Coastal geomorphology and exploitation of lithic resources (latomies and limekilns) in the territory of Syracuse in ancient time. IN: Thalassa, 4.1, 117-122. Lena, G., Basile, B. and G. Di Stefano (1988) Approdi, porti, insediamenti costieri e linee di costa della Sicilia sud-orientale dalla Preistoria alla Tarda Antichità. IN: ASSir, s. III, II, 5-87. Leone, R. (1998) Luoghi di culto extraurbani d’età arcaica in Magna Grecia, Torino. Mafodda, G. (1999) Tiranni sicelioti ed indigeni in età arcaica. IN: Magna Grecia e Sicilia. Stato degli Studi e prospettive di ricerca, Atti dell’incontro di Studi, Messina 2-4 dicembre 1996, (Pelorias 4), 313-319. Manganaro, G. (2001) Noto greca e romana: fonti storiografiche, epigrafi e pseudo-monete. IN: Basile – La Rosa 2001, 73-96. Manganaro, G. (2004) Cartaginesi e Numidi-Libyes tra i Greci. IN: L’Africa Romana, 15.2, 1181-1192. Margani, G. (2005) Celle tricore. Edifici a pianta trilobata nella tradizione costruttiva siciliana, (Documenti del Dipartimento di Architettura e Urbanistica dell’Università degli Studi di Catania, 28), Enna. Margani, G. (2005b) L’edificio di “Bagno di Mare” presso Santa Croce Camerina. IN: Quaderni del Dipartimento di Architettura e Urbanistica dell’Università degli Studi di Catania, 22, 45-59. Marginesu, G. (2000) Il passaggio in “Lybie” nella tradizione intorno agli argonauti. IN: L’Africa Romana, 13.1, 159-175.
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Fig. 1) The farm of S. Lorenzo Vecchio near Pachino and the provincial road 19. (Satellite photograph)
Fig. 2) The ruined farm of S. Lorenzio Vecchio
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Fig. 3) S. Lorenzo Vecchio. General plan of the complex (from: Agnello 1948, p. 64, fig. 2)
Fig. 4) S. Lorenzo Vecchio. North wall of the building of Greek period
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Fig. 5) S. Lorenzo Vecchio. Southeastern corner of the building of Greek. The window is a later addition
Fig. 6) S. Lorenzo Vecchio. East wall of the building of Greek period. The door is a later addition
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Fig. 7) The Via Elorina according to Uggeri (2004, p. 229, fig. 71)
Fig. 8) Map of the Late Antique and Early Medieval sites in the south-easternmost part of Sicily (n. 20 = site of S. Lorenzo Vecchio). The Via Elorina according to Arcifa (da: Arcifa 2008, p. 80)
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Elite and Society in a Settlement in the Sicilian Hinterland: a New Interpretation of Some Funerary Assemblages from the Monte Castellazzo Necropolis Near Marianopoli Rosalba Panvini
University of Studies of Catania, Servizio Museo Interdisciplinare regionale di Caltanissetta
Over thirty years after the excavation of the Hellenized indigenous settlement of Monte Castellazzo near Marianopoli (Fig.1) and the subsequent publication edited by the director of the excavations, Graziella Fiorentini,1 it seems opportune to reconsider some funerary assemblages from the related necropolis in order to attempt a new reading of the contexts in the light of more recent methodological approaches. The materials under discussion are exhibited at the Museo Archeologico di Marianopoli and have been published in the pertinent scientific Catalogue edited in 2000.2
period, although it displayed several phases of uses that have already been illustrated. The objects discovered in the rooms document the high quality of life of the inhabitants of the place, and also the fact that it was used throughout the 4th century BC and until the beginning of the 3rd century BC. The Dionysian coins found in several parts of the terrace show that the site was frequented without any interruption after the end of the 5th century (contrary to the suppositions held at the beginning of the archaeological work, when they were erroneously related to Timoleon).6
As this paper aims to use the evidence from the necropolis to reconstruct the society of this ancient centre, which has been identified by some scholars as Mytistraton (Holm, Landolina, Cavallari, Ziegler, Pace, Manni), a city mentioned in the ancient sources for its strenuous resistance against the Roman army during the first Slave War (Polybius 1.24.11; Diodorus 23.4.9; Pliny the Elder, 3.91), it is necessary to make a few comments about the site before beginning analysis of the funerary assemblages.3 Not far from Madonie, Monte Castellazzo is located on a few natural terraces 782m above sea level on the fertile and ample valley of the Barbarigo-Belici river and, thanks to this particular location, was inhabited without interruption from the Neolithic to the Late Hellenistic period (Fig.2); traces of frequentation in the late Imperial period have been found on the slopes and in the country surrounding the hill.4 Leaving aside the full sequence of human inhabitation, which lies outside the bounds of this paper, discussion will be limited chronologically to the 4th century BC, during which time the remains of the settlement principally extended across the first terrace, above occupation levels dating to the prehistoric and archaic periods. For the latter, which do not have a uniform development and orientation, the most recent residential quarters, surrounded by the fortifications walls, revealed (albeit within the limits allowed by the restricted dimensions of the excavation) a rigorous N-S disposition (Fig. 3) that reflects a pre-ordered organization of urban type that in turn can be taken to suggest the existence of well distinguished social groups within the community. The houses consist of rectangular rooms arranged around an “L” shaped courtyard, sometimes with a room divided into two parts that was probably used for domestic cultic practices. This partition suggests that the rationally pre-ordered subdivision of spaces was related to the complex economic and religious activities of some elite families, a fact that is also hinted at by the size of the houses (one extended for 220m2). These families probably emerged through control of the agricultural surplus (as suggested by the retrieval of a hoe from one room of the settlement).5 A cultic building found near the fortification walls can also be related to the settlement of this
The necropoleis occupy the rocky slopes of the height, and due to their superficial position many tombs were disturbed by machines used during agricultural work. In spite of this, it was possible to explore a sector that was limited by the terrace to the S-W of the city where a group of four burials were found that were referred, both because of the space that they occupied and the typology of the elements of the funerary goods, to a single nuclear family, consisting of a woman and three infants. However, the semiology of death suggests that this interpretation be reconsidered by treating each item of the funerary documentation as part of a ritual that is defined by a social dimension, as well as a potential mirror of the social rank of the deceased and their family-relationship.7 Clarifying the methodological approach, it seems useful to describe the four burials under discussion, which were numbered 1, 2, 5 and 9 (Fig. 4). They were all pit-graves whose walls were lined with gypsum slabs: tomb 2 was the only large one, measuring 2.6x1.25; the NW-SE orientation of two of the funeral pits (Tombs 2 and 5) is known only from the planimetric drawing made at the time of their discovery. There is no information about their covering, with the exception of Tomb 9 which was closed with tiles, while fragments of iron objects such as small studs and nails allow us to deduce the presence, at least in tombs 2 and 5, of wooden sarcophagi, tiny parts of which were found at the bottom of the grave. The grave goods were gathered around the deceased. Tombs 1 and 9, orientated to the South and a few metres to the West of the other two, were recognised as being for two female infants thanks to the presence of small vases and a feeding bottle in Tomb 9. We should therefore reconsider the two respective assemblages. That of tomb 1 consisted of 6 objects (Fig. 5),8 and in particular a skyphoid pyxis with a lid that had a knobbed handle, both decorated in the Gnathia style, with traces of ivy leaves and
Fiorentini 1980-81: 583-593; Sole 2000: 65-76; Panvini 2000: 77100. 2 Panvini 2000: 65-100. 3 Fiorentini 1992: 300-307. 4 Panvini 2000: 100-101. 5 Sole 2000: 74.
Sole 2000 A: 108-112. D’Agostino 1982: 203-222; D’Agostino and Schnapp 1982: 17-25; Gnoli and Vernant 1982; Pontrandolfo and Rouveret 1982: 199-137; Morris 1987; Bietti Sestieri 1992: 43-47; Frisone 1994: 11-23; AA.VV. 1996; AA.VV. 2009. 8 Panvini 2000: 95-96.
1
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SOMA 2011 Sikeliot lekythos in the same funerary assemblage, which also included a bombylios decorated with palmettes and black painted dots, a lidded skyphoid-pyxis, an amphora and an amphoriskos decorated with branches of flowers and vine leaves over-painted in white and yellow in the Gnathia style, and also a small bowl, a kylix, a skyphos and a feeding bottle all painted in black. This particular item is associated with a context that allows us to identify the female sex of the deceased who, on the basis of the hair style of the two female heads represented on the vases, seems to have been a rather mature lady. As for the feeding bottle it is possible to put forward the same considerations made above for the specimen found in tomb 1. The burial assemblage of tomb 5 included objects typical of the female sphere (silver bracelet; pyxis and hydria, and the lekythos with its very specific representation), vessels associated with drinking (skyphos, kylix and small bowl), and vases for holding liquids (olpe) or unguents (amphoriskos). The drinking vases do not necessarily suggest that the women consumed wine, but might have been used for the symbolic libation in honour of the deceased who, considering the rich burial assemblage, might have held a high social rank.
vines, tendrils and bunches of grapes painted in white and yellow; a small red figure Sikeliot hydria depicting a scene of female life in which two women face each other, drawn in profile and separated from each other by a stylized palm, wrapped in a large himation with their hair tied at the neck (one of them looks into the mirror); one black figure olpe, 25cm in height, a pyxis, a juglet and a feeding bottle in black paint.9 With the exception of the feeding bottle, which is a miniature, the others are normal size and therefore not specifically attributable to an infant. The scene on the hydria would also not be suitable for an infant, but rather hints at a presumably mature woman (considering the kind of dress worn and the hair style). It should also be considered that a feeding bottle is also attested, as will be explained later, in two other tombs of this group in which two adult women were buried. This object could therefore have been located near the deceased because it represented a meaningful memory of her childhood, which had been kept with the utmost care throughout her life. In any case, we cannot rule out the possibility that it may have held a highly alcoholic drink that needed to be imbibed in small sips. Such a use has been documented by the results of chemical analyses conducted on Mycenaean specimens.10
These tombs did not provide elements that allow us to identify the deceased as members of the same family, and the only support for this hypothesis is provided by the dating of the funeral assemblage to the same time period (third quarter of the 4th century), which suggests that the three individuals died one after the other over a short space of time, and that it was easier to reserve a common funeral space for them. Above all, the excavation documentation does not provide evidence for structures indicating their isolation from other groups (e.g. walls, signs on the ground).
The number of items deposited in tomb 1 is within the parameters of the contemporary necropoleis in Sicily -Lipari (Contrada Diana),11 Agrigento (Contrada Pezzino, tombs 136, 376, 1367, 1468, 572),12 Cefalù,13 Assoro,14 Adrano (Via Eurelios),15 Monte Riparato Caltavuturo,16 Leontini,17 Polizzi Generosa,18 Abacenum,19 Gibil Gabib,20 Butera,21 Gela.22 We can turn now to tomb 9,23 which has also been attributed to a young woman (Fig. 6). The funerary assemblage, which consisted of two items (a small black painted jar 11cm in height, and a kylix with floral decoration over-painted in the Gnathia style), is not sufficient to suggest the age of the deceased, but only the sex: amphorae are mainly attested in female burials in the contemporary burials of the island, while in previous periods they are sometimes associated along with other vases in male burials (Vassallaggi or necropolis Pezzino di Agrigento, Sabucina, Gela etc.)
It remains to examine the last of the group of tombs, namely no.2, which has caused no small surprise since its discovery on account of the excessive number of objects that were found in it – 72 in total – including a clearly Dionysian coin that will be discussed later in regard to its specific value and circulation.25 I will not list the individual objects of the funeral assemblage, but will describe them in sequence grouped by type and class. Among them are two Sicilian red figure hydriae that have been attributed respectively to the Lentini Hydriae Group and the Borrelli painter, an artist who was part of the same workshop. The chronology of the two vases deserves to be highlighted because the former is dated to the second quarter of the 4th century, and the latter has recently been assigned to the third quarter of the same century. The chronological difference between the two vases permits a reconstruction of the modality of composition of the assemblage and the moment in which it was deposited. Proceeding in order: the first hydria has a representation of a woman’s scene (prenuptial dressing) (Fig. 8) that is worth describing in detail. In my opinion, the artist wanted to immortalize a particular moment in the life of a lady, namely that of the preparation for the wedding ceremony: a louterion is placed in the centre of the scene, and to the right of it is a naked young lady with loose hair in locks above her shoulder and surrounded by braids, who is about to wash in water that is running out of a lekythos held obliquely in her right hand. She is wearing slippers and is adorned on her arms, neck and ankles with bracelets and necklaces; earrings hang from her ear lobes, and all the jewels serve to indicate her elite rank. To the side of the lady are another two female figures wearing chitons and himathion and, as with the preceding lady, they are covered in jewels. Their hair is gathered in a kekryphalos adorned with a garland and vividly coloured bands painted over in yellow. The
The burial assemblage of tomb 5 is richer and includes 11 items, among which is a silver bracelet (Fig. 7).24 One vase stands out in particular: it is a sikeliot hydria which has a female head drawn in profile and facing left on the belly, with pendent earrings and necklaces at the base of the neck, and with her hair gathered in a sakkos of which it is possible to see the texture of the fabric marked by embroidery, and from which a few locks and curls emerge so as to frame the face. There are two owls with multicoloured plumage beneath the handles: their heads face the observer, while their bodies are in profile and their wings are closed. A very similar representation appears on the 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Panvini 2000: 95-96. Tzedakis-Mertlew 1999: 169, fig. 158. Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1965; Iidem 1994. De Miro 1989. Tullio 2008. Morel 1966: 232-287. Lamagna 2009: 129-145. Pancucci 2002: 115-123. Rizza 1955: 281-376. Tullio 1997: 267-274. Bacci and Coppolino 2009. Panvini 2006: 20, 23-37. Guzzone and Panvini 1998: 239-242. Panvini 1998: 136-137. Panvini 2000: 95. Panvini 2000: 97-100.
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Panvini 2000: 79-95.
Rosalba Panvini: Elite and Society in a Settlement in the Sicilian Hinterland lady to the left is handing a jewellery box to the naked youth and a long ribbon hangs from the container. The other, to the right, holds a phiale in her hand. Their jewellery suggests that they are two friends of the same social level as the young woman, rather than servants.
As has already been anticipated, other items of the burial assemblage also contribute to this interpretative reading, as they all belong to the feminine sphere and include a lebes gamikos of Sikeliot production which bears two female heads in profile on its two sides, adorned with jewels, with their hair kept in the embroidered sakkos and bordered by a diadem painted over in white and gold (Fig. 10). It is clearly a vase for holding a cream or face powder like the five precious pyxides with decoration painted over in the Gnathia style (Fig. 11), or the other five that are more simple, with or without lids, with an over-painted decoration in outline, that are rather rare in Sicily, but very widespread in the Italic area (Fig. 12); they are all toilette items of the woman, as well as the 5 Sikeliot bombylioi, three of which are red figure (Fig. 13). Two female heads in profile are represented on two of them, adorned with earrings and necklaces, with their hair gathered in the sakkos embellished by embroidery, kept on the head of the radial diadem and painted over in yellow and gold.
In my opinion it is possible to identify the female figure facing the louterion, to the left, as a servant. She is wearing a long sleeveless dress, has short hair and is offering a mirror to the naked young lady to whom, once the bath has been completed, she will also offer the cloth which is folded over her shoulder, so as to allow her to dry her body. The dimensions of this figure are intentionally reduced in comparison to the other figures, because in this way the painter intended to convey a sense of depth, inserting figures on several levels. At the same time this also underlined the less important role of this woman, as would suit a person of domestic status. Two details complete the scene: the kline with cushion to the far right, and the incense burner between the two women to the right of the louterion, while the gushing fountain at the far side of the scene seems to suggest that the room faced a courtyard. It is necessary to stress the presence of the xylophone hanging from above, to the left, and of the flying dove that, placed near the naked youth, underlines the event of the wedding ceremony. All these details lead us to believe that this is the hydria of the nuptial dowry of the woman deposited in the sarcophagus after her death.
Above the third vase, a naked eros moves forward to the right, shining light with a lantern which he holds in his left hand, while he holds a dish with offerings in his right. The iconographic subjects of the large pyxis and of the three bombylioi do not appear to have been chosen by chance, and indeed complete the repertoire of the images that, specifically, hint at the life of the deceased, a lady of advanced age, as underlined by her hairstyle, who is preparing to cross the border of terrestrial life accompanied by an eros with offerings and lamps so as to facilitate her entrance to the world of Hades.
The painter of the second hydria (Fig. 9) portrayed a completely different moment in the life of a woman. The scene depicts two women: one to the left, seated on a footstool with her right hand on its border and the left holding a harp, has her hair gathered at the neck and covered with a band so as to form a chignon, and wears a long dress that leaves part of her torso and an arm naked. The other woman is situated to the right of a stele that consists of a small pillar surmounted by a small kiosk, and leans with her left arm on a louterion, above which rests a lyre. Her head is bent to the left and she is covered by a cloak that wraps her entire body and stresses the melancholy that shines through her. She is adorned with a single necklace worn transversally around the torso. The female figure is different from the woman who prepares herself for the nuptial toilette: in this vase the painter wanted to represent the approaching transition to the other life. Moreover, a lyre hangs from above to the left, almost as if to stress the inclination of the woman for music, an activity commenced at an early stage of her life, before her wedding ceremony, and underlined also by another item of the burial assemblage that will be described later. The willingness to represent another phase of the life of the deceased on this vase is evident and, if this reading is correct, it can be seen that other elements of the funerary assemblage concur in revealing an attempt at representing the life of the deceased through precise images, fixing them as frames with the aim of perpetuating the memory of her time spent on the earth.
The scenes of the 5 lekythoi can be added to this intentionally chosen repertoire (Fig. 14). On the first of the series a young lady is depicted presenting a dish with offerings. She has long blond hair loose on her shoulders and her body is partially wrapped with a dark brown cloak that leaves a bare torso on which a white colour is applied so as to underline her young complexion. The second lekythos of the series could be that in which a woman is seated on a footstool with her body partially covered by a cloak while she looks backward to brush a swan with her right hand. Her hair is gathered in the sakkos, the colour of which has been stripped away, although the diadem that keeps it in place is still recognizable. The swan might hint at the myth of Leda abducted by Zeus and therefore, in this case, of the phase of the wedding of the woman. The third lekythos portrayed a seated woman from which the white colour that was laid above the torso has worn away, whereas on the fourth it is evident that the woman, with a white complexion, has a dish with offerings. The last vase of the series, with symbolic scenes, could be the one on which the woman is represented with her body wrapped in a large cloak from which only her hands emerge. Most likely because, given the advanced age indicated from the mass of hair gathered in a bun, it was not opportune to show off her wrinkled complexion. These vases just described, together with another seven of the same shape as the aforementioned, and a vase of Pagenstecher type with figures of birds on the body (Fig. 15), a large black painted lekythos with suspension holes (H 27cm) (Fig. 16), an alabaster alabastron and a bronze mirror, complete the toilette set that belonged to the deceased when she was alive (Figs. 17, 19). Five plain vases could be referred to the domestic daily sphere (Fig. 18), i.e. a deep askos, a small amphora, two small one-handled bowls, a lidded lekanis, but also other black painted vases of different shape, drinking vases, such as a skyphos, two small bowls and the small paterae to hold solid food. It cannot be excluded that the latter vases had only one occasional symbolic
It is in this context that the chronology assigned to the two vases can be understood, as the scenes represented on them define the span of time in which the woman, as a young lady, approached her wedding ceremony (the first hydria of the second quarter of the 4th century BC), and the moment when her death inexorably approaches (the second hydria of the third quarter of the 4th century BC).
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with the Greeks of the colonies, through which they acquired the rare and precious products given in exchange for their own products. Bibliography AA.VV. (1996), Studi sulle necropoli, in Studi, di Antichità, 9, 1996. AA.VV. (2009),Tra Etruria, Lazio e Magna Grecia: indagini sulle necropoli, Atti Incontro di Studi (Fisciano, marzo 2009), Paestum. Bacci, G.M. and P. Coppolino (2009), La necropoli di Abakainon. Primi dati, Messina. Bernabò Brea, L. and M. Cavalier (1965), Meliguìs Lipàra II. La necropoli greca e romana nella Contrada Diana, Palermo. Bernabò Brea, L. and M. Cavalier (1994), Meligunìs Lipara, VII. Lipari. Contrada Diana. Scavo XXXVI in proprietà Zagami (1975-1984), Palermo. Bietti Sestieri, A.M. (1992), L’archeologia della morte e il metodo dello studio della necropoli, in La necropoli laziale di Osteria dell’Osa, Roma, 43-47. Congiu, M. and V. Chillemi (2009), Monte Raffe di Mussomeli. Considerazioni topografiche dalle nuove indagini, in Congiu, M., C. Miccichè and S. Modeo (eds.), ΕΙΣ ΑΚΡΑ Insediamenti di altura in Sicilia dalla Preistoria al III sec a.C. (Caltanissetta, 10-11 maggio 2008), Caltanissetta 2009, 117-147. D’Agostino, B. (1982), L’ideologia funeraria nell’età del ferro in Campania, in La mort, les morts dans les sociétés anciennes, Cambridge, 203-222. D’Agostino, B. and A. Schnapp, Les morts entre l’objet et l’image, in La mort, les morts dans les sociétés anciennes, Cambridge, 17-25. De Miro, E. (1989), Agrigento. La necropoli greca di Contrada Pezzino, Messina Fiorentini, G. (1980-81), Ricerche archeologiche nella Sicilia centro-meridionale, Kokalos, XXVI-XXVII, II, 1, 583-593. Fiorentini, G. (1992), s. v. Monte Castellazzo di Marianopoli, BTCGI , X, 300-307. Frisone, F. (1994), Rituale funerario, necropoli e società dei vivi : una riflessione tra storia e Archeologia, in Studi di Antichità, 7, 11-23. Gnoli, G. and G. Vernant eds (1982), La mort, les morts dans les sociétés anciennes, Cambridge. Guzzone, C. (1998), Butera: la necropoli di Piano della Fiera- IIIIV strato, in Panvini, R. ed. (1998), 239-241. Lagona, S. (2006), Monte Raffe, in Panvini, R. ed. (2006), 235239. Lamagna, G. (2009), Adrano, piazza Eurelios: saggi nell’area della necropoli est, in Lamagna, G. (ed.), Tra Etna e Simeto. La ricerca archeologica ad Adrano e nel suo territorio, Giarre (Ct), 129-144. Morel, J.P. (1966), Assoro. Scavi nella necropoli, in Notizie Scavi di Antichità, s. VIII, vol. XX. Morris, J. (1987), Burial and ancient: the rise of the Greek city state, Cambridge. Pancucci, D. (2002), Monte Riparato, in Spatafora, F. and S. Vassallo (eds.), Sicani, Elimi e Greci. Storie di contatti e terre di frontiera, 114-123. Panvini, R. ed. (1998), Gela. Il Museo archeologico. Catalogo, Caltanissetta 1998 Panvini, R. ed. (2000), Marianopoli. Il Museo Archeologico. Catalogo. Caltanissetta, 77-100. Panvini 2006= R. Panvini ( a cura di), Caltanissetta. Il Museo Archeologico. Catalogo. Caltanissetta.
Finally, it is worth addressing two particular objects, a feeding bottle and a clay figurine representing a female flute-player (Fig. 20). The remarks made above about the feeding bottle remain valid, whereas the figurine of the aulòs player could have been chosen to highlight the musical activity of the woman, which she had engaged in during her life as is also shown by the instruments reproduced on the hydriae. The items of the funerary assemblage seem to hint at crucial stages of the life of the deceased, and of the time spent while alive in her nuptial house, and provide us with a rather clear reading of her social status and of her role within a group of relatives and girlfriends who, so as to pay homage to her, deposited 8 lekanai in the wooden sarcophagus with offerings (cosmetics or food?) and decorated it with garlands of flowers on the external surface in the Gnathia style because they constitute the symbol of the last gift offered to the woman (Fig. 21). In conclusion, it can be said that there are appreciable reasons for hypothesising (through the interpretation of the figurative and symbolic documentation of the funerary assemblage) the span of time over which the person buried in Tomb 2 lived, namely 390 to 330/320. This chronology is also supported by the Dionysian coin retrieved from the tomb, inasmuch as its circulation, as in all cases in which coins are deposited in the funerary assemblage, goes well beyond the normal time limit of their use and distribution. I believe that it is right to identify the deceased as a member of the local elite who willingly showed off her own high economic position, and played music while alive, perhaps as a priestess. The high economic level of the family to which she belonged, and her relevant rank, are also underlined by the abundance of the funerary assemblage that (a unique case in Sicily) amounted to 72 items. It is also probable that this family moved to the island as a consequence of the political and military relationship undertaken by Dionysios the Elder in Campania, to which it is possible to refer the small kemai used to hold face powder or creams and the abundance of the items of the assemblage. Therefore, albeit within the limits of an excavation conducted on a restricted area of a necropolis, it seems to be clear that members of a high social status lived in this settlement in the Sicilian hinterland in the 4th century BC, and that they probably derived their wealth from agricultural exploitation (see for example the hoe found in the settlement), an activity practiced in the area even nowadays. The same activity, together with sheep-farming, had allowed the indigenous elite of the hinterland, in the Archaic period (see, for example, the sites of Polizzello,26 Monte Raffe,27 Sabucina,28 Balate di Marianopoli29) to become rich and benefit from trade 26 27 28 29
Panvini, Guzzone and Palermo 2009. Lagona 2006; 235-239; Congiu and Chillemi 2009: 117-147. Panvini, Guzzone and Congiu 2008. Fiorentini 1984-85: 467-484; Panvini 2000: 27-64.
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Rosalba Panvini: Elite and Society in a Settlement in the Sicilian Hinterland Panvini, R. and C. Guzzone, D. Palermo eds. (2009), Polizzello. Scavi del 2004 nell’area del santuario arcaico dell’acropoli, Caltanissetta. Tullio, A. (1997), La necropoli ellenistica di Polizzi Generosa ( Contrada San Pietro) a cinque anni dalla scoperta (19921996), in AA.VV. Archeologia e territorio, Palermo, 267-274. Tullio, A. (2008), Cefalù. La necropoli ellenistica-1, Roma Tzedakis, Y. and H. Martlew eds. (1999), Minoans and Mycenaeans Flavours of their Time (Catalogue of Exhibition, Athens National Archaeological Museum), Athens.
Pontrandolfo, A. and A. Rouveret (1982), Ideologia funeraria e società a Posidonia nel IV secolo a.C., in La mort, les mortes dans les sociétés anciennes, Cambridge, 199-327. Rizza, G. (1955), Leontinoi, in Notizie Scavi di Antichità IX, 281-376. Sole, L. (2000) A, L’abitato di Monte Castellazzo, in Panvini, R. ed. (2000), 65-76. Sole. L. (2000) B, I rinvenimenti monetali da Montagna di Balate e Monte Castellazzo, in Panvini, R. ed. (2000), 108-116. Panvini, R. and C. Guzzone, M. Congiu eds. (2008), Sabucina. Cinquant’anni di studi e ricerche archeologiche, Caltanissetta.
Fig. 1. Map of South-central Sicily with the site of Monte Castellazzo of Marianopoli indicated
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Fig. 2. View of Monte Castellazzo
Fig. 3. Plan of the settlement
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Fig. 4. Tomb 5
Fig. 5. Burial assemblage of Tomb 1
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Fig. 6. Burial assemblage of Tomb 9
Fig. 7. Burial assemblage of Tomb 5
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Fig. 8. Hydria with nuptial scene and detail
Fig. 9. Hydria with the representation of two women: the standing one can probably be identified as the deceased
Fig. 10. Lebes gamikos with female heads on both side
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Fig. 11. Pyxides decorated in the style of Gnathia
Fig. 12. Pyxides with over-painted decoration and lidded pyxis with a lekythos-shaped handle
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Fig. 13. Sikeliot Bombylioi
Fig. 14 Figured Lekythoi
Fig. 15 Lekythoi Pagenstecher
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Fig. 16 Black figure Lekytho
Fig. 17 Alabastron in alabaster gypsum
Fig. 18. Table ware
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Fig. 19. Bronze mirror, jasper gems, silver bracelet and ring
Fig. 20. Black figure feeding bottle and clay figurine of flute player
Fig. 21 Lekanai decorated in the style of Gnathia
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A Female Clay Bust from the ‘Artemis Well’ in Syracuse Mario Cottonaro
Università degli studi di Messina, Italy, DISCAM of Tears Shrine’ (Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime) was constructed (Voza 1968-69: 363-4). During these excavations a 7.0m deep, and 0.90m wide well was found. It contained a lot of material, most of which has now been largely restored. These finds suggest a votive deposition, as a Greek inscribed dedication to Artemis Pheraia confirms ([H]IAROS ARTAMITOS PHERAIA[S]). This inscription was on a large black-painted vase (Fig. 2), a big krater with ribs, dating from the late 4th century BC (Voza 1968-69: 363-4, pl. LXXIII).
This article remarks on an exceptional clay product from the Late Classical Syracuse workshops: the ‘Artemis Well’ bust. However the chronology of this important archaeological find represents a problem which merits reconsideration.1* Introduction Female clay busts are one of the most significant objects of Sikeliote craft production. Their peculiarity raised many study issues: the source and creation of this iconographic type; the derivation of these products from protomai, through to protomai with bust. I seek to associate their images with Demeter or Persephone, but there are also new identification proposals. Other issues are the meaning of the representations, observing the partial display of the female figure in the bust representative pattern, and also the chronological problem for some pieces from the first half of the 4th century BC production, related to other Sikeliote clay products. The bust, which I will discuss in this report, is one part of this problem.
The context editor, Prof. G. Voza, named the place of this discovery the ‘Artemis Well’ because of the inscription. Among all the material, without doubt the beautiful and impressive bust stands out. It has now been restored (Fig. 3). It is larger than lifesize (50.5cm high) and polychrome. The face, neck and upper chest is white, the hair gold colour, and lips dark red. The violet upper section of the chiton has a frieze of animals (probably griffins) in dark-red paint (Voza 1973: 103-4). The context, unfortunately, remains largely unknown, but this find has been dated to the early 4th century BC. This chronology appears in some publications (Voza 1973: 102-4; Bonacasa 1986: 313), as is also indicated on the display case, no. 185 of the ‘P. Orsi Museum’ in Syracuse, where it is currently exhibited (item no. 66951). Some elements of the piece, however, suggest a different chronology.
The idea of this paper came from research into a group of busts from the Chthonian Shrine of Valle Ruscello, in the Piazza Armerina territory (Mambella 1990; Cottonaro 2010). This is a suburban sanctuary linked to the indigenous site of Montagna di Marzo, which must be identified with the Siculian city of Herbessos.2 The Valle Ruscello Shrine is articulated on different terraces of varied heights. It was in use from the later 6th to the later 3rd centuries BC. This shrine is constituted of four buildings with quadrangular rooms. On the west side was found the basement of a rectangular naiskos – but it is more likely that this building was an altar – and a bothros surrounded by a quadrangular stone fence.
Stylistic analysi Examining the stylistic elements that characterize the Artemis Well bust there are important chronological clues. First we observe the face: it has a full oval shape, as in the Classical and Late Classical traditions, but we see a trend towards elongation, which occurs in some pieces from Morgantina (Bell 1981: e.g. 138-9, no. 97-100, pls 24-25) and Scornavacche (Portale 2000: 273-4, figs 13-14) from the second half of the 4th century BC. The same trend is seen in the famous series of Agrigento clay busts (Figs 4-5), from S. Biagio Rocky Sanctuary (Rizzo 1910; De Miro 1986: figs 276-7, 279-80). These finds, dated at first instance from the end of the 5th century BC, are considered now as the most outstanding example of what M. Bell defines as the classical revival of the Timoleontic period (Bell 1972: 8-12; De Miro 1986: 239).
The archaeological excavations in this area, which were done in 1985, revealed a large amount of votive materials, including terracotta figurines and Classical and Late Classical female clay busts (Cottonaro 2010). One of these busts shows a plastic characterization of its drapery (Fig. 1), which is the only element that can provide a chronological support for this fragmented clay find. I dated it from the late 4th century BC (Cottonaro 2010: 145, fig. 12 b). My present research arose from this detail, because the Syracuse bust, the subject of this paper, is also characterized by the drapery.
The Syracuse bust seems to share other stylistic elements with those from Akragas, although the fragmentary condition of Syracuse bust does not help our stylistic analysis. The forehead of these finds is high, wide and triangular, especially in the upper part near the dividing hair line. This feature is obvious in the Agrigento busts, but it is easy to see it in our Syracuse find, although the forehead has been almost completely integrated by modern restoration. It could be a design element of great importance because in the Sikeliote busts, dated from the end of the 5th and beginning of the 4th century BC, the foreheads seem to be much lower and less wide, as seen in another bust from the Valle Ruscello Chthonian Sanctuary (Cottonaro 2010: 114, fig. 11 b) and another one from Gela (Panvini 1998: 68).
The ‘Artemis Well’ bust discovery The Syracuse bust discovery occurred during archaeological research undertaken in 1968 in the area where the ‘Our Lady I would like to thank Dr. B. Basile, ‘P. Orsi Archaeological Museum’ director, and Dr. A. M. Manenti, of the same Museum, for the support shown to this research and for permission to reproduce the ‘Artemis Well Bust’. Special thanks also to Dr. P. Curatolo for her English corrections and to Prof. E. C. Portale for her suggestions and advice. 2 This site is mentioned by: Polyb. I, 18, 5; Diod. XIV, 7, 6-7, 78, 7; XX, 31, 5; 8, 1; XXIII, 9, 5; Liv. 24, 30, 2; XXIV, 30, 9-11; 35, 1; Paus. VI, 12, 4; Plin. III, 91; Ptolem. Geogr. III, 4, 7; Sil. XIV, 264; Filis. in Steph. Biz. FGrHist 556 F 9. 1
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SOMA 2011 The rendering of the ears also seems to differ from the busts of late 5th/beginning of the 4th century. Their ears, in fact, are entirely visible, according to the traditional Classical style seen in the Grammichele busts (Orsi 1897: 243, pl. V; Kilmer 1977: 85, no. 43, 86-7 no. 48; De Miro 1986: 239, fig. 278), and like the find from Valle Ruscello (Cottonaro 2010: 114, fig. 11 b). On the Syracuse bust however only the lobes are visible: the hair covers the top and middle of the ears, similar to other examples from the second half of 4th century.3 The ears are also pierced for earrings, which would have been of a different material, probably made metal. This practice is still present in the Classical Grammichele busts, so it is not a chronological clue (Fig. 6).
The absence of plastic anatomical detail implies, only partially, no clothing elements, although there are accessories referring to them clearly visible, such as polos, necklaces and earrings, which in some cases, as I have said, were made of different material. The absence of the plastic drapery could, of course, be explained by a lost polychrome painting, simulating any drapery. It is testified to by some busts of the early 3rd century BC, from Syracuse and Morgantina (e.g. Bell 1981:142, no. 113 b, pl. 32), but we can find this element too on Classical finds, like a famous bust from Grammichele (e.g. De Miro 1986: fig. 278). Taking into account the drapery simulation in polychrome painting, we must broach the problem of those busts having a plastic drapery that is not simulated. The dating of these busts does not reach back before the early 3rd century, e.g. two finds from Agrigento (De Orsola 1994: 93, pl. LIII, figs 1-2), one from Gela (Orlandini 1957: 159, pl. LIX, 2; Orlandini and Adamesteanu 1960: 172, fig. 10 a; Panvini 1998: 141), and another from Morgantina (Bell 1981: 145, pl. 40).6 This dating is supported both by some new innovation style, such as the ‘melon’ hairstyle of the Gela and Agrigento finds, and by excavation data.
Unfortunately, the eyes of the Syracuse bust are only partially preserved, but the orbital arches show a clear-cut and sharp design, slightly curved like the Agrigento bust in the Syracuse Museum. The lips are well defined,4 the chin is full and rounded, the neck shows the ‘Venus’ rings. Another important design element is given by the hair. The linear style on the top above the forehead and on the sides of the face, made with calligraphic care by a stick, is a constant theme on busts of this typological class, but our example has more sharply defined locks. We can observe a similar trend on some other examples that date certainly from the early 3rd century BC (e.g. Voza 1968-69: pl. LXXI, fig. 2). However the presence of tubular braids that fall on the shoulders could be an absolute innovation, compared to the more ancient busts that show long locks down their necks.
As for the hair braids on the shoulders of the Agrigento busts, the presence of the drapery seems to promote a greater chronological coherence between the 3rd-century busts and the one from the ‘Artemis Well’. I emphasize that the chronological distance between our Syracuse bust and those with drapery from the early 3rd century is excessive, considering the traditional chronology for the ‘Artemis Well’ bust, as proposed by Prof. G. Voza. Again, we must not forget the documentation gap that is still to be determined.
We can find a similarity once again in some Akragas busts, e.g. from the Syracuse Museum (no. 16085), the ‘P. Salinas Archaeological Museum’ in Palermo (no number), and another from the Agrigento Museum (no. 1284).5 This iconographic element is also found in other finds from Centuripe (Libertini 1926: 95, pl. XX) and Morgantina (Bell 1981:142, no. 113 b, pl. 32): the former is dated from the beginning of the 3rd century BC, the latter from the first half of the same century.
It is not entirely correct to say that in Sicily there are no busts with plastic drapery and anatomical details, dating back to the middle and second half of the 4th century BC. In fact the archaeological site of Francavilla di Sicilia, in the interior of the Greek apoikìa of Naxos, has revealed some examples in this sense: a bust dating to 460 BC (Spigo 2000: 57, fig. 77; Spigo 2008: 86, fig. 5), and two protomai with bust, showing the same formal conception (Musumeci 2008: 92, pl. II, 7-8). They not only show details of clothing, but also an obvious anatomical construction of the breast.
It seems clear that the ‘Artemis Well’ bust could have been the model for this iconographic innovation. What makes us attribute this innovation to the early 4th century and then see a documentary gap of a 40-year period?
Chronologically these findings would be relatively distant from the ‘Artemis Well’ bust, assuming the higher dating, and they could also be an iconographic and stylistic model for the coroplast that created the Syracuse bust. But there is a very important formal element to consider: the Francavilla clay finds have a different formal language that links them closely to the Magna Grecia tradition, Medmean craft in particular, as Dr. U. Spigo, the publisher of the finds, points out (Spigo 2008: 86). Whereas the Syracuse bust plastic drapery suggests a transition to the less ‘abstract’ iconographic models of early Hellenistic bust production.
Let us return now to the starting point of this reflection: the plastic characterization of the drapery in the Syracuse bust. I affirmed that it is one of the main iconographic elements which led to doubts about the early 4th century BC dating. In fact, the outstanding feature of the Sykeliote busts type would be the absence of any realistic anatomical detail below the shoulders, from the earliest creation until the first Hellenistic age. On the late 5th–early 4th century BC Syracuse coins the ear of Arethusa is not entirely engraved, but is only half visible. It is important to note that the ear does not only include the lobe, as is the case with Late Classical busts. 4 A similar lip design is shown by a find, a male mask, discovered in a Greek cistern on the Hill of Temples in Agrigento (Griffo 1955: 111). This mask is dated to the middle of the 4th century, but could be slightly later, and it recalls a similar feature of the Syracuse bust (Bonacasa 1986: 313, fig. 397). 5 The Agrigento busts are displayed in different Sicilian Museums. For the Syracuse Museum bust: Marconi 1933: fig. 114; Kilmer 1977: 105-6, no. VII 5, fig. 62; for the Palermo Museum bust: Marconi 1933: fig. 116; Kilmer 1977: 105-6, no. VII 7, fig. 66; for the Agrigento Museum bust (from the Giacatello cistern): Bell 1972: 8, note 36, pl. 6,2; Kilmer 1977: 107-8, no. VII 11, fig. 71. 3
The formal characteristics of the Francavilla clay production certainly do not help us find the stylistic, formal and chronological links for a dating to the early 4th century of an exceptional find relating to the stylistic-formal Sikeliote koine expression,7 which characterizes the Syracuse bust. Another Morgantina draped bust has a ranging chronology between the early 3rd century and the 1st century BC: Bell 1981: 148, no. 155, pl. 44; Bonacasa 1986: 313-4, fig. 402. 7 For the concept of the stylistic-formal Sikeliote koine and Classical clay products: Pautasso 1996: 144-6. 6
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Mario Cottonaro: A Female Clay Bust I dell’edificio 3’ in Frasca, M., (ed.) Nelle terre di Ducezio. Monte Catalfaro–Terravecchia di Grammichele–Valle Ruscello–Contrada Favarotta, Euarchos 1 (Catania: Bonanno Editore) 125-63. De Orsola, D., 1994. ‘Il quartiere di porta II ad Agrigento’, Quaderni dell’Università di Messina 6, 71-105. De Miro, E., 1986. ‘La plastica siceliota nella seconda metà del V secolo a.C.’ in Pugliese Carratelli, G. (ed.), Sikanie. Storia e civiltà della Sicilia Greca (Milano: Garzanti) 233-40. Griffo, P., 1955. ‘Fortificazioni greche nella zona di Porta V. Officina di coroplasta’, Fasti Archeologici 10, 1783. Kilmer, M. F., 1977. ‘The Shoulder Bust in Sicily and South and Central Italy: A Catalogue and Materials for Dating’, Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 51 (Göteborg). Libertini, G., 1926. Centuripe (Catania). Mambella, R., 1990. ‘Le dee dei morti’, Archeologia Viva 9, 6670. Marconi, P., 1933. Agrigento arcaica. Il santuario delle divinità chtonie e il tempio detto di Vulcano (Roma, Il mezzogiorno artistico). Musumeci, M., 2008. ‘Le protomi fittili di Francavilla di Sicilia’ in Spigo, U. et al (eds) Francavilla di Sicilia. L’anonimo centro di età greca. L’area archeologica e l’antiquarium (Catanzaro: Rubettino), 88-99. Orlandini, P., 1957. ‘Tipologia e cronologia del materiale archeologico di Gela dalla nuova fondazione di Timoleonte all’età di Ierone II’, Archeologia Classica 9, 44-75, 153-73. Orlandini, P. and Adamesteanu, D., 1960. ‘Gela. Nuovi scavi’, Notizie degli scavi di antichità, 67-247. Panvini, R., (ed.). Gela. Il Museo Archeologico, Catalogo (Gela). Pautasso, A., 1996. Terrecotte arcaiche e classiche del Museo Civico di Castello Ursino a Catania, Studi e Materiali di Archeologia, 6, (Catania: Arti Grafiche Siciliane). Portale, E. C., 2000. ‘Le terrecotte di Scornavacche ed il problema del ‘classicismo’ nella coroplastica siceliota del IV secolo’, in Un ponte tra l’Italia e la Grecia (Atti del Simposio in onore di Antonino Di Vita, Ragusa, 13-15 febbraio 1998), (Padova: Bottega d’Erasmo Aldo Ausilio Editore), 265-82. Rizzo, G. E., 1910. ‘Busti fittili di Agrigento’, Jahreshefte des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes in Wien, 13, 6383. Spigo, U., 2000. ‘I pinakes di Francavilla di Sicilia (Parte II)’, Bollettino d’arte del Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione, 113, 1-78. Spigo, U., 2008. ‘Il santuario di Demetra e Kore. Il rinvenimento e lo scavo’ in Spigo, U. et al (eds) Francavilla di Sicilia. L’anonimo centro di età greca. L’area archeologica e l’antiquarium (Catanzaro: Rubettino) 81-7. Orsi, P., 1897. ‘D’una città greca a Terravecchia presso Grammichele’, Monumenti Antichi, 7, 201-74. Voza, G., 1968-69. ‘L’attività della Soprintendenza alle Antichità della Sicilia Orientale’, Kokalos XIV-XV, 357-64. Voza, G., 1973. ‘Esplorazioni nell’area della necropoli e dell’abitato’ in Voza, G. and Pelagatti, P. (eds) Archeologia nella Sicilia sud-orientale, Catalogo della mostra (Napoli: Centre J. Bérard), 81-7.
A further point to note is the absence of the polos and the presence of the diadema and the stephane. The absence of headgear could be related to a new conception of female representation, referring also to a divine representative, in which women mirrored themselves. This change, therefore, could be connected to changing times, which also seems to support a lower date hypothesis. The Herculean knot that appears in some S. Biagio bust hairstyles, associated with the polos, is sometimes seen as a diadema rather than a band, having a plastic consistency (Figs. 4, on the left, and 5). The iconographic inspiration of the S. Biagio busts based on our Syracuse bust would be another favourable element pointing towards a lower dating. Conclusion What has been analyzed so far, surely, cannot settle the chronological question of this beautiful clay bust, but many coherent clues emerge that could put the find into the third quarter of the 4th century BC. This reflection is a research proposal that, I hope, will find confirmation by data from the whole context publication of the ‘Artemis Well’, including especially its stratigraphy. Without it, in fact, any proposal will be destined to fail, because only excavation data can give real confirmations. It must be said, in conclusion, that a few published finds, and those exhibited in the P. Orsi Museum showcase and related to our bust context, seem consistent with stylistic clues from the analysis conducted, as there no datable finds before the end of the 4th century, such as the Tanagra type figurines (Voza 1968-69: pl. LXXI, figs 1-2; Voza 1973: 104-5), pear-shaped unguentaria, and Gnathia-type ceramics. If we consider only what is on show in the Syracuse Museum, then it would, no doubt, be scientifically unreliable and risky, because the data are partial and limited, of course. However the interpretation of the bust discovery context as a votive context, and the association with a large black-painted vase, which is also an extraordinary item, may not be random at all, and this fact, given the vessel chronology, could confirm a lower date for the ‘Artemis Well’ bust. Bibliography Bell, M., 1972. ‘Two terracotta busts from the Judica Collection’, Archeologia Classica 24, 1-12. Bell, M., 1981. Morgantina Studies. I. The Terracottas (Princeton: University Press). Bonacasa, N., 1986. ‘L’ellenismo e la tradizione ellenistica’ in Pugliese Carratelli, G., (ed.) Sikanie. Storia e civiltà della Sicilia Greca (Milano: Garzanti) 277-346. Cottonaro, M., 2010. ‘Il Thesmophorion di Valle Ruscello nel territorio di Piazza Armerina. Dati archeologici dai vani F, G,
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Fig. 1: Fragmented drapery bust from the Valle Ruscello
Fig. 3: The ‘Artemis Well’ bust (Photo © the P. Orsi Archaeological Museum, courtesy of Assessorato Beni Culturali e identità
Fig. 2: Black-painted vase from The ‘Artemis Well’, Syracuse Chthonian Sanctuary (Cottonaro 2010) (Voza 1973)
Fig. 4: Busts from the S. Biagio Sanctuary
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Fig. 6: Grammichele classical profile bust showing ear detail (Kilmer 1977)
Fig. 5: Bust with braids from S. Biagio Sanctuary in the P. Orsi Museum (De Miro 1986) in the P. Orsi Museum (De Miro 1986)
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Material Culture as an Indicator of Adoption and Resistance in the Cross-Craft and Cultural Interactions Among Greek and Indigenous Communities in Southern Italy: Loom Weights and Cooking Ware in Pre-Roman Lucania Alessandro Quercia, Lin Foxhall
Tracing Networks Project-University of Leicester, UK, School of Archaeology and Ancient History
(Dietler 2005: 63-6). These various approaches to colonial material culture by the indigenous groups are affected not only by functional and technological demands and different cultural perspectives, but also by other aspects, usually neglected, reflecting social, psychological and emotional processes which involved the entanglement of objects and human practices. Recent studies (Dietler 2005, 61-7 and Dietler 2006, 347-51) stress the concept of consumption as a process of structured improvisation exploring the practices through which groups and individuals use desirable objects to structure and position themselves within socio-politician relationships. Moreover, the material entanglement and association of the objects with a particular activity or groups/individuals inform us about affective relationships, emotional and psychological ties in terms of both personal and group identities (for the emotional role of the archaeological artefacts see Foxhall forthcoming A).
Introduction: the role of the everyday objects in ancient colonial encounter Recent studies debate the phenomena of colonial encounters in antiquity, from a different perspective than the traditional one, which considers the event of colonisation as a form of imposition by the ‘colonisers’, traditionally believed to be the culturally predominant group, upon the ‘colonised’ group. From this viewpoint, ‘colonisers’ are portrayed as engaging forms of contact where they played the main active role; and where exposure to a ’higher’ culture ‘somehow’ naturally triggers cultural change and ‘acculturation’ in the native communities. The introduction of more recent concepts deriving from postcolonial theories (Van Dommelen 2006a) such as “hybridization” (Van Dommelen 2005: Van Dommelen 2006b), “creolization” and “cultural entanglement” (Dietler 1998; Dietler 2005) are revisiting many issues in the archaeology of colonial encounter and the relevant forms of relationships, interactions and cultural mixing. In particular, hybridization suggests ‘a different perspective on the colonisers, emphasizing, on the one hand, the local roots and the local interest of at least part of the colonial community, while, on the other hand, also acknowledging their extra-regional involvement in a colonial network in association with the colonisers’ (Van Dommelen 2005: 118). Also, new cultural identities and a set of new values and cultural traditions were invented and forged in which local indigenous values encountered and incorporated objects and customs of the colonial incomers, and the indigenous communities played an active and self-determining role in this process; these new forms were ‘peculiar to each specific contact situation’ and subject (Van Dommelen 2006b: 136-137).
This paper explores how the indigenous communities of South Italy seem to have had a range of approaches towards Greek material culture, from fully adopting to ignoring, rejecting or resisting it, including everyday objects belonging to the Greek tradition. In particular, we focus on two key indicators of everyday activities, both of them likely to be associated primarily with the female domain, which carry much potential information: the cooking wares and the loom weights. Our key case study focuses on pre-Roman Lucania (Fig. 1), one of the most critical areas of Magna Graecia, which represents a paradigmatic example of intense and deep contacts between the Greeks, who established colonies, and indigenous communities, starting from the Iron Age (i.e. 9th century BC). This paper emerges from a major research programme – Tracing Networks. Craft Traditions in the ancient Mediterranean and Beyond1 which is investigating by means of archaeology and computer science, how technological knowledge, especially crafts knowledge, moves around the ancient Mediterranean world between the Late Bronze Age and the Hellenistic period, and the networks of human relationships through which this knowledge develops. All the projects in the research programme are based on two main common methodologies, chaîne opératoire and cross-craft interaction. These allow the development of comparisons across cultures and over time, across disciplines, to set technologies in their social contexts and to explore network of knowledge. Our own research within the research programme concerns the production and manufacture of loom weights, their role in textile activities and the insights they offer on revealing, cross-craft and cultural relationships, social links and
The analysis of the material culture attested in these culturally entangled contexts is one of the main pathways to a better understanding of the dynamics and the processes of interaction between social groups: as Miller said, ‘material culture studies work through the specificity of material objects in order ultimately to create a more profound understanding of the specificity of a humanity inseparable from its materiality’ (Miller 2006: 347). The reception of material culture from the colonial groups by the indigenous communities through various means– import, imitation, creative reinterpretation and manipulation–did not necessarily entail a wholesale adoption of colonial forms, meanings and values, but developed in the process of cross cultural discourse which reflected contextual demands and imperatives (Van Dommelen 2005: 139). Thus, the indigenous communities behaved as active cultural and social agents with distinctive identities, which chose and acquired some selected objects of the colonial material culture, as well as specific technological and craft knowledge, through conscious reworking and adaptation, while other objects were ignored or rejected
The project (2008-2014), which involves the Universities of Leicester, Glasgow and Exeter, is funded by the Leverhulme Trust. For a short description of the project, see the website (www.tracingnetworks. ac.uk.) and Foxhall forthcoming A. 1
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pottery as further archaeological evidence of modes of reciprocal interactions and contacts between culturally different groups which could be reflected in food processing practices and in the adoption of new culinary habits.
The cooking wares of Pre-Roman Lucania2
The lack of archaeometric analysis does not allow us to confirm whether the chytrai from Incoronata and Siris were imported or produced locally. A provenance from Corinth or Eastern Greek areas (Aegina, Rhodes, Cyclades), as suggested by some scholars, is merely hypothetical.3 Other chytrai attested in early Archaic contexts of Southern Italy (late 8th-7th centuries BC), such as the specimens coming from the necropolis of Mylai in Sicily (Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1959: 114-5, pls. 53-55) and those from Taranto (Lo Porto 1959-1960: 30, fig. 21) have been considered Greek and Eastern Greek imports. A Greek-style cooking pot is attested also in a tomb from the indigenous site of Francavilla Marittima (Kleibrink 2010: 59, fig. 60). On the basis of this documentation, a circulation of cooking pots coming from the motherland to the Southern Italy during the end of 8th-7th centuries BC, before the settling of the Greek poleis has been assumed, but in very small quantities.
In the Iron Age, the indigenous settlements of Lucania are characterised by the presence of handmade ‘Impasto’ pottery, term which is applied to wares of coarse fabric made usually without the use of a potter’s wheel (Levi 1999: 17). This ceramic category consisted of shapes with very limited morphological variations related for the most part to the Middle and Late Bronze Age repertoire. It had a widespread geographical diffusion with close relations with Japigian and Campanian area and Sibaritide (Bailo, Modesti, Ferranti et al. 1999: Levi 1999) as well. The vessels are multi-functional, used also for food processing, but only the archaeological association with cooking equipment, such as hearths and fire places, can provide reasonable clues in suggesting this function for some shapes (Bietti Sestieri, Cazzella et al. 2002): for example, bucket-shaped situlae and ollae of medium and small size used for boiling food–to be distinguished from the bigger specimens for storage functions, thick plates and pan for baking and dry cooking.
For the following phases (6th-5th centuries BC), one of the contexts with the best potential information is the Kerameikos of Metaponto, a workshop complex which was active from the Archaic age onward for three centuries (Silvestrelli forthcoming).4 In the second half of the 6th century BC there is no clear evidence of cooking ware production, since the kiln dumps provided only occasional fragments of chytrai (1.6% of the overall assemblage). Wear traces on these fragments suggest they were not kiln wasters; nevertheless a local production of these artefacts is not unlikely. From the 5th century BC cooking ware was clearly produced with a strong increase in its presence (16%). The main shape was still the chytra which appeared alongside a new form: a wide mouthed and lidded pot identified by some scholars as a kakkabe, a culinary vessel documented in the Greek ancient sources (Bats 1988: 46-8). The lopas, a shallow and handled vessel used for stewing food, was documented already in the 5th century BC but it became the best attested cooking pot produced in Metaponto from the first half of the 4th century BC. At this stage all the main vessels belonging to the Greek ‘batterie de cuisine’ (Fig. 4) which also characterised the repertoire used by Western Greeks at that time were produced at Metaponto (Quercia 2004).
From the 7th century BC, before the large-scale establishment of Greek poleis on the coast (Metaponto, Siris), the hilly area immediately facing the Ionian coast was inhabited by settlements, where different Greek and indigenous groups seemed to coexist in economic and social terms, as well as sharing craft traditions and material culture (Burgers, Crielaard 2007, 78-79). In this setting, we can also observe the introduction of cooking pots related to the Greek morphological repertoire, even if in very small quantities (Fig. 2-3). Some of the dwellings of the Incoronata site, which is located in the future countryside of the Greek town of Metaponto (Carter 2006: 51-78), included Corinthian and East Greek vessels and local imitations in their pottery assemblage, as well as impasto wares. Also, chytrai, cooking pots with a single or double handles which belong to the Greek repertoire (Pizzo 1992; Pizzo 1995; Stea 1997, 77-8, figs. 93-96: Lambrugo 2003: 74, figs. 75-78), appeared in quantities from 5% to 10% of the overall pottery: similar pots were discovered in a coeval context located in the future urban area of Metaponto (De Siena 1986: 203, pl. 68). Greek chytrai are attested in the area of the nearby settlement of Siris, located in the modern Policoro, from 700 to 630 BC (Berlingò 2007: 377, figs. 10.11-12, 16.27, 18.35-36 and 43): some sporadic fragments were unearthed in household contexts (Tagliente 1986: 130, pl. 29), while complete specimens, used as burial containers, were documented in several tombs of the Western necropolis, in association with Corinthian and east Greek wares and Indigenous Impasto situlae (Berlingò 2007: 376-9).
The rather limited data available for the Archaic and Classical ages seems to show that the Greek cooking ware repertoire was not fully adopted like other ceramic categories, such as the drinking vessels for wine which were imported by the Greek colonies or imitated locally (Pontrandolfo 1995). In the Archaic contexts of Satriano, an important inland site located in the Basento river valley, the impasto wares appeared to have been still the only vessels used for processing food in association with hearths and cooking stands (Garaffa and Vullo 2009), as well as in Roccagloriosa (Gualtieri, Fracchia et al.1990: 221-3, fig. 175). The occasional presence of cooking wares belonging to the Greek repertoire seems to be documented only in sites
Even in the houses of Incoronata, cooking pots are associated with Impasto vessels belonging to the indigenous repertoire, as pans, truncated pyramidal vases and situlae of small and medium size. Similar quantities of Greek cooking ware and indigenous kitchenware were observed as well in the assemblage of one dwelling (oikos E, Lambrugo 2005: 777-8). It has been suggested that this use of Impasto cooking vessels in the site could suggest the active presence of indigenous women, as has been suggested for other pre-colonial context of Southern Italy, as Pithekoussai (Lambrugo 2005: 779). However, it would be more prudent to consider the co-existence of Greek cooking pots and impasto
The cooking ware from Incoronata was mainly hypothesised as a ‘ceramica di fabbrica coloniale’ even if a Corinthian production was not completely ruled out (Lambrugo 2003: 74). Berlingò assumed that the cooking pots discovered in the Western necropolis of Siris were mainly produced in the Eastern Greek area and some of them were thought to come from the Cyclades and from Rhodian prototypes: Berlingò 2007: 377. 4 I am very grateful to Francesca Silvestrelli for providing me with preliminary data. See Quercia 2004 on the cooking ware from a 4th century BC kiln dump discovered in the workshop complex. 3
2
This section regarding the cooking wares was already developed in Quercia forthcoming.
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Alessandro Quercia, Lin Foxhall: Material Culture the olla represented the most attested cooking vessel. Also, some lopades with flat base attested in the site of Tricarico from the second half of the 3rd century BC (Caravelli 2008: 507-8, nos. 960-965) are reminiscent of the later Roman patinae from contexts in Central Italy (Bats 1988: 65-67), even if the Lucanian specimens still retain the handle and represent an intermediate version, A cooking device which also appears is the clibanus (Fig. 6), or testum, a sort of cooking bell probably used for baking or to reheat food, using hot coals and ashes against the upper wall of the vessel. Although it is known in Greece (i.e. in Athens, Sparkes 1962, 128, pl. 4.2) and in Etruria (Scheffer 1981: 107-108) as well in the Archaic and Classical periods, the form attested later in Central and South Italy has clear morphological differences and it does not often appear in the ceramic repertoire of the Western Greek colonies. The type with projecting flange is well attested in Lucanian sites (Tricarico: Caravelli 2008: 508-10, nos. 972-991; Satriano, Rinaldi 2005: 227, pl. 25.79-80; Monte Irsi, Small 1977: 133, fig. 30, no. 181). It also appears in Greek towns under Lucanian rule (Poseidonia: Cipriani, Longo and Viscione 1996: 269, no. 243: Laos: Munzi 2000: 94, pl. 46), as well as in neighbouring Apulian settlements, such as Gravina di Puglia, Monte Sannace (Cubberley, Lloyd, and Roberts 1988). The type is clearly paralleled by similar specimens attested in CentroItalic contexts dated from Republican and Late Republican Age (Cubberley, Lloyd and Roberts 1988: fig. 1). The presence of these forms, the olla and the clibanus, in the Lucanian repertoire could be interpreted in relation to the increasing Roman presence in the area from the first decades of the 3rd century BC and the corresponding introduction of the Roman ‘batterie de cuisine’, even if some adoption of these shapes preceding the Roman rule of South Italy, connected with the cooking ware repertoire used in Central Italy, is not to be completely ruled out.
quite close to the Metapontine chora, such as Cozzo Presepe, where fragments of chytrai, kakkabai and lopades were present in the Archaic assemblages alongside the much more abundant indigenous impasto (du Plat Taylor, Macnamara et al. 1983: 3757, cat. nos. 440, 441, 451, 459, 460, 463, 464, fig. 145-147). From the end of the 5th century BC the Indigenous communities of this area, which the ancient literary sources identify as the Lucanians coming from Central Italy, acquired a strong sense of “ethnic identity”, renewing and establishing fortified settlements, which affected the political stability of the Greek towns. Actually, the “Lucanians” were the result of a long and stratified process of transforming different indigenous groups in which the component from Central Italy was only a part (Pontrandolfo Greco 1982: 123-5). Moreover, it must be pointed out how in this phase it is quite hazardous to distinguish sharply between Greek and Indigenous in ‘ethnic’ terms, since “mixed” communities seem to have developed in Lucania, as the recent archaeological research in Metaponto’s countryside is showing (Carter 2006: 230-2). At this stage, the full adoption of the Greek culinary repertoire seems to take place. The cooking ware repertoire coming from the most investigated and best published Lucanian sites, dated from the second half of the 4th century BC, such as Cozzo Presepe (du Plat Taylor, Macnamara et al. 1983: 375-9), Pomarico (Bianco, Deodato and Marchegiani 1997: 186-92), Tricarico (Caravelli 2008), Laos (Munzi 1999) and Roccagloriosa (Gualtieri, Fracchia et al. 1990: 262-73) is fully consistent with the main vessels adopted in the ‘batterie de cuisine’ of Metaponto and Magna Graecia more widely. The use of this repertoire is not only attested in settlements but also in strictly conservative contexts, such as Lucanian cult places, (Torre di Satriano in Rinaldi 2005). The impasto pottery no longer seems to be intensively used, except in rare contexts, such as the large pans for baking and cooking by dry heat documented in some sites, for example Oppido Lucano and Cozzo Presepe (Lissi Caronna, Armignacco Alidori and Panciera 1992: 238, fig. 64).
From this overview, we can observe that the indigenous communities of Lucania took different approaches to the Greek cooking ware repertoire over time. Firstly, small quantities of Greek chytrai attested in Lucania before the establishment of Greek colonies could perhaps be a hint of the early introduction in Southern Italy of new culinary habits and food practices. However, their presence seems to be limited to some mixed communities composed of Greek and indigenous groups and does not appear to penetrate to the indigenous settlements along the internal river valleys. In the Archaic and Classical phases, when production of Greek cooking pots is attested in the urban workshops of Metaponto, the indigenous communities seem to have a conservative ‘resistance’ toward the Greek kitchenware and they mostly retain the Impasto kitchen repertoire of the Iron Age. In the 4th century, when the Lucanians controlled much of the territory and the indigenous communities acquired various Greek cultural habits, a phenomenon of voluntary and self-determined acquisition of the Greek culinary repertoire seems to take hold through local imitations of Greek forms. Simultaneously, a decrease of Impasto pottery in the kitchenware repertoire appears to be evident. Within the Lucanian ‘batterie de cuisine’, we can also observe the presence of specific vessel types which do not seem to belong to the Greek tradition, but rather to the Italic repertoire.
Sporadic archaeometric analysis and the identification of some workshops with kiln wasters consistent with cooking vessels, such as in Roccagloriosa (Gualtieri, Fracchia et al.1990: 275, fig. 188, nos. 321, 326-327) seem to attest the existence of various local cooking ware productions which replicate the Greek repertoire, even if imports from the Greek coastal towns (Metaponto, Heraclea) would not be hypothetically ruled out. It can be also observed that some types appear to be peculiar in the Lucanian area, as the lopas with curvilinear profile and vertical rim produced in the Kerameikos of Metaponto (Quercia 2004: 183-5, 194 types C1-C2, fig. 4), morphologically close to specimens from sites immediately beyond the Metapontinian countryside, such as Cozzo Presepe, Pomarico, Gravina and more sporadically in the Lucanian hinterland (Caravelli 2008: fig. 328, no. 939). Archaeometric analysis could define if they were Metapontine imports or local production. Moreover, from the end of 4th-early 3rd century BC we can observe the introduction of shapes not directly connected with the Greek tradition, but instead consistent with the Central Italic and Roman repertoire, such as the olla with out-turned rim and flat base (Fig. 5), which is the main cooking pot in Etruria and Latium from the Archaic period to the Late Republican Roman age (Bats 1988: 65-67). In some cases, as in the sites of Satriano (Rinaldi 2005: 224-5) and Tricarico (Caravelli 2008: 491-500),
The production and manufacture of loom weights in Lucania5 For the loom weights, the archaeological evidence shows a pattern significantly different from that of the cooking ware. The loom weights are indicators of textile production best 5
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SOMA 2011 documented in archaeological contexts of Pre-Roman Italy, with few changes in morphology from the Neolithic period onward.6 As we can observe in our preliminary survey of the Lucanian loom weights,7 only a limited number of types are attested: the pyramidal type is clearly predominant from the first millennium, while the other loom weights documented in smaller quantities (conical and discoid), occur in later phases. The almost exclusive presence of rectangular loom weights in indigenous contexts of the archaic period seems to suggest that this type was only used in this specific phase and not in Greek contexts (Gleba 2008: 132-3).
therefore not only function as textile tools, but also they acquire the value of personal object which reflect personal and perhaps family identities. They have the potential to provide information on social relationships and group identities. It does not seem accidental that two identical stamps rarely appear in the Metapontine repertoire. Within the ring and seal impressions, there are various figurative motifs: male and female figures in various positions, animals, mythological characters, and objects (Foxhall forthcoming B). The footprints or planta pedis impressions are also abundant (Foxhall forthcoming A: nos. 20 and 30) and they seem to be peculiar to Metaponto in different contexts, some, but not all from probable identical stamps, with few comparisons in Southern Italy (Fig. 8).
Loom weights were widely used in textile working by the Iron Age indigenous communities of Lucanian area long before the arrival of the Greeks. In particular, the pyramidal type (fig. 7) with decorative motifs occurred in the 8th BC necropolis of Incoronata (Chiartano 1977: 70; Chiartano 1994: 73) in a limited number of female graves belonging to high-ranking elites, often in association with spindle whorls (Gleba 2008: 171-2, fig. 117). The decorative motifs, such as pseudo-meanders, sigma and parallel lines impressed or carved on the edges of the longer sides, which recall those documented in various Iron Age loom weights from indigenous sites elsewhere in Southern Italy (Gleba 2008: 136-137), do not seem be elements of “personalization”, as we shall see later. This decorated type is no longer attested from the 7th century, when only undecorated pyramidal loom weights were documented in the ‘mixed’ settlement of Incoronata (Franchi 1986) and in inland sites, as well as in the early phase of the Greek colony of Metaponto (end of 7th century BC). The archaeological data suggest that textile activities continue to be associated mainly with the indigenous dominant elites.
If we consider the inland indigenous sites beyond the territory directly controlled by Metaponto, the archaeological evidence shows that the take-up of the Greek habit of ‘personalizing’ loom weights by local women with the impression of personal objects was widespread starting from at least the 5th century BC. The case of Oppido Lucano is one of the clearest examples9. Few graves document the presence of loom weights decorated with lines and personal ornament impressions from the early 5th BC throughout the century (Lissi Caronna 1980: 131-45, tombs 24, 32 and 36). Much more abundant are the attestations of the pyramidal type in household contexts from 350 to 280 BC. Preliminary analysis suggests that the decorative motifs mostly recall the categories documented in Metaponto, but they are never identical to Metapontine specimens since the impressions derive from different positives. In some cases loom weights with very similar impressions of fibulae, with or without tweezers, which were discovered in the same house could be hypothetically belonged to the same owner (for instance in House D: Lissi Caronna, Armignacco Alidori and Panciera 1992: 239, fig. 66, 277-9, fig. 105.1-3, 284, fig. 108.32, 34-35). It is noteworthy that the loom weights with impressions of fibulae and tweezers (Fig. 9) seem to be much more widespread in Oppido Lucano and other indigenous settlements than in the Greek sites of Lucania. ; Recently the regular occurrence of fibulae and other small metal tools in Metapontine tombs has been interpreted as a possible hint of indigenous presence (likely native women) and of the “mixed” communities which lived in Metaponto’s countryside (Prohászka 1995: 189-194).
In the Archaic period textile activities continue to be linked with the indigenous dominant elites. In an apsidal building recently discovered in the settlement of Satriano, loom weights and spindle whorls were found in association with a probable loom (Lanza 2009). The residence in question probably belonged to a personage of high rank and his family, and incorporated political and religious as well as domestic activities and functions. Starting from late 6th century BC the Greek settlements of Lucania, as in the rest of the Greek world, seem to acquire the habit of “personalizing” loom weights by marking them in some way. A significant number of loom weights found in Metaponto feature inscriptions (both single letters and names), lines and geometric shapes, relief decorations with floral or figurative motifs, as well as impressions of personal ornaments.8
A large number of specimens from Oppido are decorated by a series of graffito plain motifs. Provisionally, they seem to be very common in the other Lucanian settlements and far less frequent on loom weights from the Greek sites. It does not seem to be accidental that one of the best represented motifs as the diagonal cross made with dots or lines on the top and the longer sides of loom weights (Lissi Caronna 1983, figs. 89-90), is attested in the sanctuary of Hera next to Paestum, the Greek town on the Tyrrhenian coast which was ruled by Lucanian from the end of 5th century BC (Zancani Montuoro, Schläger and Stoop 1965-66: 73, pl. XVI.c). At this stage in the sanctuary’s history the presence of textile activity was probably related to cult , as attested by the discovery of over 250 weights within a building interpreted as a place where weaving was practiced (Greco 1996: 192-196: Greco 2003: 119, fig. 17). As in the Iron Age indigenous communities, the Lucanian women belonging to the dominant elites in Paestum
In particular, we stress that this last category, rather frequently, consists of marks that indicate personal possession; they are derived from the impression into the clay before it was fully dry of personal objects, such as finger rings, fibulae, earrings, tweezers, mostly likely belonging to women. The loom weights For an overview on the function and types of the loom weights attested in Pre-Roman Italy, see Gleba 2008, 127-138. 7 We are collecting the data on over 900 loom weights discovered in the Lucanian sites and already published in the archaeological literature within the Tracing Networks project. 8 The loom weights discovered in the chora of Metaponto during the survey and excavation of the Institute of Classical Archaeology, University of Texas are most recently subject of recent studies (Foxhall forthcoming A; Foxhall forthcoming B). Loom weights belonging to different types are also frequently attested in many contexts of the town (Lo Porto 1966: 153, pls IV-V), in cult places and workshops areas (Adamesteanu, Mertens and D’Andria 1980: 58-62, 106, 443; Liseno 2004: 67-8). 6
The houses discovered in the site, located in a plateau along the Bradano Valley and inhabitated from the Iron Age, yielded a large amount of loom weights, often located in such concentrations in some rooms that the presence of looms was hypothesised. See for full references Gleba 2008: 167. 9
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Alessandro Quercia, Lin Foxhall: Material Culture oscilla are reproduced on their local pyramidal loom weights. That is, Greek and indigenous women use the same types and modes of marking, but on different shapes of loom weights. This sort of “resistance” to the new type by the Indigenous communities could result from technological, functional or cultural reasons. As observed recently in some ethnoarchaeological studies and experimental weaving tests (Mårtensson, Nosch and Andersson Strand 2009: 382-391) the thickness and the weight of the loom weights, as well as the reciprocal combination of these two major functional parameters, plays an important role in their distribution along the vertical frame and affects the process of fabric weaving and the type of fabric produced. Moreover, the discoid type has two holes and a distribution of thickness different from that of the truncated pyramidal one, which has two bases of different sizes and only one hole, thus affecting the position of warp threads across the loom. Can technological reasons related to specific traditions of weaving, the production of preferred types of cloth, or local habits of tying the weights to the warp partially explain the rarity the oscilla in indigenous contexts? Or, should we rather think of cultural resistance by the Lucanian communities, which adopted the Greek custom of marking loom weights as personal objects, but not the new shape, whose form of decoration pattern also seems to have been alien to their mode of craft production? These two explanations need not be mutually exclusive.
frequently seem to be closely associated with textile activities, as documented also by the contemporary funerary paintings, where a woman is depicted holding a distaff (Gleba 2008: 35, fig. 16) These objects were traditionally considered to be ‘temple keys’, but should probably be interpreted as distaffs in some cases10. There are numerous examples present in the same building of the Paestan sanctuary where loom weights were found (Zancani Montuoro, Schläger and Stoop 1965-66: 152-158, pl. XLIV), as well in other Lucanian and Greek contexts. From the second half of the 4th century BC there is a massive influx of discoid loom weights (Gleba 2008: 132), traditionally called oscilla in the scholarship, in the Greek towns. These are introduced alongside the existing pyramidal type, whose form and decoration patterns seem to be affected by cultural and technological changes: at this time a horse-shoe shaped type was also introduced even in smaller quantities (Osanna, Prandi and Siciliano 2008: pl. XVII, below on right). Some of the oscilla and the horse-shoe shaped loom weights from Metaponto and Heraclea are decorated with motifs in relief that have close parallels in nearby Taranto. Common motifs include gorgoneia, theatrical masks, Erotes, heads facing each other, palmettes with volutes and geometric elements (Figs. 10-11).11 Moreover, some Greek names stamped in oscilla from Heraclea occur in specimens from Taranto (Giardino 2005: 420-2: Wuilleumier 1932 and Ferrandini Troisi 1986). In both of these cases we can suggest the stamps belonged to the workshop’s owners rather than the oscilla’s possessors. Points of contact between these three Greek towns regarding the production and decoration of loom weights can be assumed, which could be part of the political, cultural, and artistic influence that Taranto seems to exert on Heraclea and Metaponto from the 4th century BC. It seems quite evident that the new kinds of decoration were consistent with a different mode of production and manufacturing chaîne opératoires, where the users of these loom weights are further removed from the production process, since some oscilla were not personalized with objects belonging to the owners but were decorated instead using the moulds of the ceramic workshops.12
As observed for the cooking ware, different approaches toward technological and decorative aspects of the loom weights broadly situated within the Greek cultural domain seem to have been adopted by the local groups. Although women in Greek and indigenous communities appear to have their own traditions regarding personalization and use of loom weights, there seems to be clear evidence of exchange of ideas and habits. A marked phenomenon of personalizing loom weights seems to have been quite widespread among indigenous groups in Lucania, rapidly adopted from the Greek world. On the other hand, the adoption of other Greek elements, such as the oscilla with relief decoration, is not as much attested in indigenous communities for cultural, technological and functional reasons which the future research will hopefully clarify.
What was the behavior of the indigenous communities toward the new type of loom weight? While the Lucanians fully adopted the Greek cooking ware repertoire, the same communities clearly do not show interest in adopting the Greek discoid loom weights with their relief decoration. In fact, the occurrence of oscilla in indigenous settlements is very rare, while the pyramidal form continues to be the most common type. Oscilla were sporadically documented only in the same sites immediately beyond the Metapontinian countryside where Greek cooking ware is attested from the Archaic age, as in Cozzo Presepe (du Plat Taylor, Macnamara et al. 1983: 382, fig. 151.5-7). Lucanian women do not seem to like the new type, and this is further highlighted by the fact that the same types of impressions stamped on Metapontinian
Conclusion In conclusion, the two key-case studies presented show how different approaches in adopting, as well as in ignoring and refusing specific elements of the material culture of colonizing groups reflect a complex combination of (perhaps) technological, functional as well as cultural choices. The entanglement of these objects in the everyday life of both Greek and Lucanian societies, which also involves emotional and psychological components, could have triggered important processes of creative appropriation, manipulation and reinterpretation. As elsewhere observed (Mills 2008: 246-251), there may be as many barriers, impediments and reasons to not adopt a particular object, practice or technology as there are to adopt in complex cultural contexts: the different chronological distribution of the Greek cooking ware repertoire shows that the processes of adoption and assimilation might also be slowed and some practices were resisted only to become widely used later on. Finally, it seems quite clear that the mechanisms of cultural transmission between transmitters and receivers in colonial situations were varied and complex: new ideas moved in both directions and reflected the active and creative entanglement of social and personal identities.
10
Some of the ‘temple keys’ from the Paestan sanctuary are very similar to a distaff or a tool for textile working held by a woman represented in an Attic red figured vase, dated to 5th century BC: see Di Giuseppe 1996: 34, fig. 5. 11 Metaponto: Foxhall forthcoming B, no 34; Adamesteanu, Mertens and D’Andria 1980: 62, fig. 48, 288, fig. 300; Lo Porto 1966: 153, pls. IV.1-4, V.1-3, 5. Heraclea: Osanna, Prandi and Siciliano 2008: 49, pl. XVII. Taranto: Wuilleumier 1932: pl. IV.1,3-6; Bejor 1973 12 Noteworthy is the fact that some of the decorations on relief attested in discoid and pyramidal specimens, like as the concentric rows of lotus flowers, palmettes and meander patterns, are identical to those impressed in large discoid clay stamps (width from 18 to 33 cm.)–named traditionally ‘stampi per pani votivi’- discovered in Metaponto: Lo Porto 1966: 156-7, fig. 17, pl. VI. It is not to be ruled out that these stamps were used as mould for the decoration of loom weights.
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SOMA 2011 Occasional Paper 25, Carbondale, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University, 288-315. Dietler, M. (2005) The Archaeology of Colonization and the Colonization of Archaeology: Theoretical Challenges from an Ancient Mediterranean Colonial Encounter. In: Stein, G. ed., The Archaeology of Colonial Encounters: Comparative Perspectives. School of American Research Advanced Seminars Series, Santa Fe and Oxford, School of American Research and James Currey, 33–68. Di Giuseppe, H. (1996) Un’industria tessile di Domizia Lepida in Lucania. Ostraka, 5, 31-43. du Plat Taylor, J., Macnamara, E., Ward-Perkins, J. et al. (1983) Metaponto, ii, The Excavations at Cozzo Presepe (1969-72). Notizie degli Scavi, 31, suppl.,191-406. Ferrandini Troisi, F. (1986) ‘Pesi da telaio’. Segni e interpretazioni. IN: Decima miscellanea greca e romana, Roma, 91-114. Foxhall, L. forthcoming A Material values: emotion and materiality in ancient Greek. IN: Chaniotis, A. and P. Ducrey, eds., The Role of Emotions in Classical antiquity, Stuttgart, Steiner Verlag. Foxhall, L. forthcoming B Loom Weights. IN: Carter, J.C. and A. Prieto eds., The chora of Metaponto. The Survey I. Bradano to Basento, Austin Foxhall, L. and A. Quercia forthcoming Temporality, materiality and women’s networks: the production and manufacture of loom weights in the Greek and indigenous communities of Southern Italy. IN: Rebay-Salisbury, K., Foxhall, L. and A. Brysbaert, Material Crossovers: knowledge networks and the movement of technological knowledge between craft traditions, Oxbow. Franchi, E. (1986) Pesi da telaio e rocchetti. IN: I Greci sul Basento. Mostra degli scavi archeologici all’Incoronata di Metaponto 1971-1984, catalogo della mostra, Milano 1986, Como, Edizioni New Press, 178-9. Garaffa, V. and M. Vullo (2009) Il vasellame in impasto. IN: Osanna, M., Colangelo, L. and G. Carollo eds., Lo spazio del potere. La residenza ad abside, l’anaktoron, l’episcopio a Torre di Satriano. Atti del secondo convegno di studi su Torre di Satriano (Tito, 27-28 settembre 2008), Venosa, Osanna Edizioni, 33-9. Giardino, L.(2005) Herakleia e Metaponto: dalla polis italiota all’ abitato protoimperiale, in Tramonto della Magna Grecia, Atti del XLIV Convegno di studi sulla Magna Grecia, Taranto 2005,Taranto, Istituto per la Storia e l’Archeologia della Magna Grecia, 387-432. Gleba, M. (2008) Textile production in Pre-Roman Italy, Ancient textiles Series, vol. 4, Oxford, Oxbow. Greco, G. (1997). Des étoffes pour Héra. IN: Héra. Images, espaces, cultes. Actes du colloque international, Lille 29–30 novembre 1993, Collection du Centre Jean Bérard 15, Naples, Centre Jean Bérard, 185-99. Greco, G. (2003) Heraion alla foce del Sele. Nuove letture. La lettura stratigrafica dei saggi intorno al cosidetto thesauros. IN: Sanctuaires et sources dans l’antiquité. Les sources documentaires et leurs limites dans la description des lieux de culte. Actes de la table ronde, Naples, 30 novembre 2001, Napoli, Centre Jean Bérard, 103-35. Gualtieri, M., Fracchia, H. Cucarzi, M. et al. (1990) Roccagloriosa I. L’abitato. Scavo e ricognizione topografica, 1976-1986, Naples, Centre Jean Berard. Isayev, E. (2007) Inside Ancient Lucania. Dialogues in History and Archeology, London, Institute of Classical Studies, University Of London.
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Alessandro Quercia, Lin Foxhall: Material Culture Kleibrink, M. (2010) Parco Archeologico “Lagaria” a Francavilla Marittima presso Sibari. Guida, Rossano, Associazione “Lagaria” Onlus. Levi, S.T. (1999) Produzione e circolazione della ceramica nella Sibaritide protostorica. Vol. I. Impasto e dolii, Firenze, All’Insegna del Giglio. Lambrugo, C. (2003) Ceramica di fabbrica coloniale. IN: Orlandini, P. and M. Castoldi eds., Ricerche archeologiche all’Incoronata di Metaponto, 6. L’oikos greco del saggio E. Lo scavo e i reperti. 2003, Milano, 29-50, 67-90. Lambrugo, C. (2005) Un nuovo paradigma interpretativo per l’Incoronata di Metaponto: analisi della cultura abitativa ed interpretazione di taluni indicatori archeologici. IN: Attema, P., Nijboer A. and A. Zifferero eds., Communities and Settlements from the Neolithic to the Early Medieval Period, Proceedings of the 6th Conference of Italian Archaeology, University of Groningen, Groningen Institute of Archaeology April 15-17 2003, British Archaeological Reports, International Series, 1452 , Oxford, BAR Publishing, 773-81. Lanza, M., (2009). La lavorazione della lana: fuseruole, rocchetti e pesi da telaio. IN: Osanna, M., Colangelo, L. and G. Carollo eds., Lo spazio del potere. La residenza ad abside, l’anaktoron, l’episcopio a Torre di Satriano. Atti del secondo convegno di studi su Torre di Satriano (Tito, 27-28 settembre 2008), Venosa, Osanna Edizioni, 93-8. Liseno, M.G. (2004) Metaponto. Il deposito votivo Favale, Roma, Bretschneider. Lissi Caronna, E. (1980) Oppido Lucano (Potenza). Rapporto preliminare sulla seconda campagna di scavo, 1968. Notizie degli Scavi, 34, 119-297. Lissi Caronna, E. (1983) Oppido Lucano (Potenza). Rapporto preliminare sulla terza campagna di scavo 1969. Notizie degli Scavi, 37, 215-352. Lissi Caronna, E., Armignacco Alidori, V. and S. Panciera. (1992) Oppido Lucano (Potenza). Rapporto preliminare sulla quarta campagna di scavo (1970). Materiale archeologico rinvenuto nel territorio del comune. Notizie degli Scavi, 1-2 NS, 185-488. Lo Porto, F. G. (1959-1960) Ceramica arcaica dalla necropoli di Taranto. Annuario Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene, 37-38, 7-230. Lo Porto, F.G. (1966) Metaponto: Scavi e ricerche archeologiche. Notizie degli Scavi, 20, 136-231. Lo Porto, F. G. (1988-1989) Metaponto (Matera). Rinvenimenti nella citta’ antica e nel suo retroterra ellenizzato. Notizie degli Scavi, 42-43, 299-441. Mårtensson, L., M. L. Nosch and E. Andersson Strand (2009) Shape of things: understanding a loom weight. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 28(4), 373-98. Miller, D. (2006) Consumption. IN: Tilley, C., Keane, W., Kuechler, S., Rowlands, M. and P. Spyer eds., Handbook of material culture, London, Sage, 241-354. Mills, B, J. (2008) Colonialism and cuisine: Cultural transmission, agency, and history at Zuni Pueblo. IN: Stark, M. T., Bowser, B J., Horne, L. and W.A. Longacre eds., Cultural transmission and material culture: Breaking down the boundaries,Tucson, The University of Arizona Press, 245-262 Munzi, P. (1999) Laos. Aspetti di vita quotidiana attraverso lo studio del materiale ceramico. IN: La Torre, G.F. and A. Colicelli eds., Nella terra degli Enotri: atti del convegno di studi, Tortora, 18-19 aprile 1998, Paestum, Pandemos 91-8. Osanna, M., Prandi, L. and A. Siciliano (2008) Eraclea, TarantoCittà di Castello, Istituto per la Storia e l’Archeologia della Magna Grecia.
Pizzo, M. (1992) Ceramica da fuoco. IN: Orlandini, P. and M. Castoldi eds., Ricerche archeologiche all’Incoronata di Metaponto, 2. Dal villaggio indigeno all’emporio greco. Le strutture e i materiali del saggio T, Milano, 97-8 Pizzo, M. (1995) Ceramica da fuoco. IN: Orlandini, P. and M. Castoldi eds., Ricerche archeologiche all’Incoronata di Metaponto, 3. L’oikos greco del saggio S. Lo scavo e i reperti, Milano, 101-4. Pontrandolfo, Α. (1995) Simposio e elites sociali nel mondo etrusco e italico. IN: Murray, O. and M. Tecusan eds., In Vino Veritas, London, David Brown, 176-95. Pontrandolfo Greco, A. (1982) I Lucani. Etnografia e archeologia di una regione antica, Milano, Longanesi & C. Prohászka, M. (1995) Reflections from the dead. The metal finds from the Pantanello necropolis at Metaponto: a comprehensive study of grave goods from the 5th to the 3rd centuries B.C, Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, vol. 110, Jonsered, P. Åström. Quercia, A. (2004) La ceramica da fuoco dello scarico 1 dal kerameikos di Metaponto. IN: Cracolici, V., I sostegni di fornace del kerameikos di Metaponto, Bari, Edipuglia, pp. 175-99. Quercia, A. forthcoming Adoption, Adaptation and Resistance in the Cuisine of Magna Graecia: Cooking Ware in Interior and Coastal Lucania. IN: Spataro, M. and A. Villing eds., Ceramics, Cuisine and Culture: the Archaeology and Science of Kitchen Pottery in the Ancient Mediterranean World, 34th British Museum Classical Colloquium 2010. Rinaldi, M. (2005) Ceramica comune. IN: Osanna, M. and M.M. Sica eds., Torre di Satriano, 1. Il santuario lucano, Venosa, Osanna Edizioni, 222-39. Scheffer, C. (1981) Acquarossa, Vol. II, Part 1: Cooking and Cooking Stands in Italy, 1400–400 B.C. Acta Instituti Romani Regni Sueciae, Series in 4°, 38: II, 1, Stockholm-Lund, Paul Åström. Silvestrelli, F. forthcoming Ricerche sul Kerameikos di Metaponto. Small, A. (1977) Monte Irsi. Southern Italy. British Archaeological Reports, Supplementary Series, 20, Oxford. Sparkes, B.A. (1962) The Greek Kitchen, Hesperia, 82, 121-37. Stea, G. (1997) Ceramica comune. IN: Orlandini, P. and M. Castoldi eds., Ricerche archeologiche all’Incoronata di Metaponto, 5. L’oikos greco del saggio H. Lo scavo e i reperti, Milano, 75-86. Tagliente, M. 1986, Policoro: Nuovi scavi nell’area di Siris. IN: Siris-Poleion. Fonti letterarie e nuova documentazione archeologica. Incontro di Studi, Policoro 1984, Galatina, Congedo Editore, 129-33. Van Dommelen, P. (2005) Colonial interactions and hybrid practices: Phoenician and Carthaginian settlement in the ancient Mediterranean. IN: Stein, G. ed., The Archaeology of Colonial Encounters: Comparative Perspectives. School of American Research Advanced Seminars Series, Santa Fe and Oxford, School of American Research and James Currey, 109-41. Van Dommelen, P. (2006a) Colonial matters. Material culture and postcolonial theory in colonial situations. IN: Cusick, J.G. ed., Studies in Culture Contact. Interaction, Culture Change, and Archaeology. Occasional Paper 25, Carbondale, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University, 267-308. Van Dommelen, P. (2006b) The orientalizing phenomenon: hybridity and material culture in the western Mediterranean. IN: Riva C. and N. C. Vella eds., Debating Orientalization: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Processes of Change in
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SOMA 2011 the Ancient Mediterranean. Monographs in Mediterranean archaeology 10, London, Equinox, 136-54. Wuilleumier, P. (1932) Les disques de Tarente. Revue Archéologique, 35, 26-64. Zancani Montuoro, P., Schläger, H. and M.W. Stoop (196566) L’edificio quadrato nello Heraion alla foce del Sele. 1.
Lo scavo. Materiali, condizioni delle scoperte, cronologia. 2. L’edificio. 3. Oggetti dai depositi. Atti e Memorie della Societa’ Magna Grecia, 6-7, 23-159.
Fig. 1: Lucania, map of ancient sites in (modified from Isayev 2007, fig. 2)
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Fig. 2: Incoronata, chytra from the settlement, 7th century BC (Pizzo 1992, fig. 198)
Fig. 3: Siris, chytrai from the necropolis, 7th century BC (Berlingò 2007, fig. 18, nos. 36 e 43)
Fig. 4: Metaponto, Kerameikos, cooking ware repertoire from kiln dump, 4th century BC (modified from Quercia 2004,figs. 2, 4-7 )
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Fig. 5: Rome, olla, end of 4th century BC (Bats 1988, fig. 12.2)
Fig. 8: Metaponto, survey area, loom weight with impression of planta pedis, 4th century BC (photo: Lin Foxhall)
Fig. 6: Laos, clibanus, 3rd century BC (Munzi 1999, pl. 46)
Fig. 7: Incoronata, tomb 462, decorated loom weights, 8th century BC (modified from Gleba 2008, fig. 117)
Fig. 9: Montescaglioso, loom weight with impression of fibula and tweezer, 4th century BC (Lo Porto 19881989, fig. 94)
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Fig. 10: Metaponto, from survey area, oscillum with relief decoration of floral element, 4th century BC (photo: Lin Foxhall)
Fig. 11: Metaponto-Pantanello, rural sanctuary, oscillum with relief decoration of gorgoneion, 4th century BC (photo: Lin Foxhall)
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Archaeological Analysis of Roman Naval Warfare in Iberia During the Second Punic War Eduard Ble Gimeno Universitat de Barcelona
include transport vessels, which slowed down navigation in the same way.
Introduction This work is part of a thesis whose aim is to study the archaeological evidence of the presence of the Roman army in the northeastern part of Iberia, from the landing of Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus at Emporion in 218 BC to the civil wars between Caesar and Pompey’s supporters in the mid-1st century BC. Although most of this work will be devoted to ground military actions, these have to be linked to naval ones to avoid an artificial separation. Because of that, I intend to examine this topic in my own area of study.
De Souza, following the same line of thought, also defends the dependence of naval warfare on land. According to the author, this fact is especially evident when referring to their goals: “No ancient state ever attempted to employ naval forces without a land objective, so major naval engagements were normally fought for the purpose of eliminating an opposing fleet, forcing a passage to or from a harbour or coastline, defending a flotilla of transport or cargo vessels, or supporting or disrupting siege operations. Furthermore, due to the limitations of Hellenistic naval forces in terms of range and seaworthiness, almost all naval battles were fought very close to land and might even involve land-based forces”. (de Souza, 2008: 434)
On this occasion, I have decided to centre my analysis in Roman naval warfare in the Second Punic War, the conflict that signalled the beginning of Roman military presence in the Iberian Peninsula. This intervention always took place by sea, so this early conflict is the key to study the army at sea in this territory.
This lack of autonomy of warships resulted in a strong dependence on the availability of suitable ports for the development of naval warfare: “Ancient naval warfare was never about the control of the open sea. Ancient ships, especially warships, could not stay at sea for more than a few days at a time. Whenever possible, the crews of warships would put into shore at least once a day for rest, water and food. Hence their fleets needed to operate between secure beaches, or, preferably, harbours”. (de Souza, 2008: 443).
Ancient Naval Warfare This paper follows the footsteps of other recent studies that suggested a new approach to the analysis of naval warfare based on its integration in a global study of war (Rankov, 1996; de Souza, 2008). For these authors, naval warfare cannot be studied independently from land warfare. In fact, it is impossible to separate maritime manoeuvres from ground ones in ancient times, due to the type of navigation, and especially to the technical characteristics of warships. Actually, ships were only an army’s appendage because they had a limited autonomy from the mainland.
Thus, the key factor was the use of rowing in warships. With this premise, it is possible to understand how the logistical needs of the crew and the marines defined the type of navigation, and therefore it forces us to relate the movements of fleets to the availability of ports and the movement of ground forces. Naval warfare during the Second Punic War
Gomme first compared the routes used by merchant ships and warships and realized that while merchant ships tended to sail in straight lines across the open sea, a fleet of oared warships “had an extremely narrow range of action; it must be within easy reach, a few hour’s journey, of a suitable friendly shore–a shore that is, that has not only an abundance of food and water, especially the latter, but on which a regular encampment can be made, where man can land, cook, sleep, and embark again at any time”. (Gomme, 1933: 19)
The specific role of the fleet during the Second Punic War has been recurrently compared with its role in the First Punic War. In this sense, the traditional discourse has seen two cases diametrically opposed: while the first had been essentially a naval war for the control of Sicily (most of the major battles being fought at sea), the second was strictly a land war. This view was based on the belief that the Romans possessed an unquestionable control of the sea and that the Carthaginians did not dare to contest it. Instead, they were forced to attack their enemy on the ground to try to take the initiative in war. As Rankov denounced, until recent times “the war at sea has to a certain extent been seen as a sideshow, albeit an important one which ensured the isolation of Hannibal from potential reinforcements coming from Spain and from Carthage itself” (Rankov, 1996: 49).
Nevertheless, it was the results of the Olympias project experimentation with a reconstructed Greek trireme that produced sufficient data to prove this fact in practice (Coates and Morrison, 1985 and 1986). It worked out that the use of oars as the main driving force of warships implied the need to have large crews of rowers. Furthermore, since the ships based their military effectiveness on speed, the cargo was limited to the minimum. Oarsmen formed most of the ballast of the vessel, so they had to remain seated on their benches all the time. Moreover, the storage capacity for food and water was limited, and it was totally impossible to cook or sleep on board. These conditions significantly reduced the autonomy of a fleet, which was forced to make daily stops to allow the rowers to rest, and to gather food and fresh water (Rankov, 1996: 49-52). Otherwise, fleets had to
Rankov, on the contrary, affirms that important naval actions did happen, and that the Carthaginians tried to break the Roman maritime hegemony on several occasions. He stresses the need to have suitable ports between Africa and Italy as the main objective of Carthage, in order to send reinforcements to Hannibal. The first attempt took place at the beginning of the war, when minor naval clashes in Sardinia and a failed expedition to Pisa came about.
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SOMA 2011 With the uprising of southern Italy and the defection of Syracuse in 215 BC, a bridgehead was finally created (Rankov, 1996: 5355). Regarding the opposing side, the author affirms that “Rome used her sea power in the Second Punic War essentially to block invasion from Spain, from Africa through Sardinia an Sicily, and at least initially, from Greece” (Rankov, 1996: 56).
for the abundance of good natural ports, with the exception of Qart Hadasht. Therefore, the most common form of stopping would have been anchoring in inlets and estuaries, often vulnerable to the winds. On the occasion of storms or during the period of the mare clausum –coinciding with the winter shutdown of the army– they would proceed to beach the ships for safety reasons.
De Souza follows Rankov when he devises a strategy based on the control of certain key ports. “In the second war, the naval contest once again focused on controlling harbours, at Syracuse and Tarentum in particular, but it also required the guarding of standard routes, such as that along the coast of Spain, by which reinforcements might be sent to Italy” (de Souza, 2008: 444). So, again, it appears the idea of a defensive Roman naval strategy.
Ancient harbour Five sites of the Mediterranean coast of Iberia have been chosen to be the focus of this archaeological analysis, on the basis of the relevant role they played during the Second Punic War according to ancient sources. Actually, only four of them can be considered port cities: Emporion, Tarraco, Arse-Saguntum and Qart Hadasht. I consider that all of them had a certain part in the development of naval warfare as first or second order naval bases. To these four sites it should be added the Roman military camp of La Palma, located at the mouth of the Ebro, and which probably had also some significance in Roman naval strategy.
From my point of view, this approach, although much more accurate than the traditional one, still suffers from a certain simplicity in the case of Iberia. It is based on a Carthaginian aggressive attitude in front of Rome, which possessing Sicily and Sardinia and the control of the sea remains in a defensive position. Therefore, her first naval action –the landing at Emporion in 218 BC– is seen only as an attempt to protect Italy from the arrival of more troops. According to this approach, the Romans only took the naval offensive when the Carthaginian ground threat in Italy ceased (Rankov, 1996: 55-56). At that time, they used their control of the sea through Sicily to open a new front of war in North Africa.
Emporion The intensive work of excavation and archaeological survey carried out at the Emporion seafront during the last 25 years has allowed us to document up to three harbours for this city. Nevertheless, in the late 3rd century BC only one of them was operative: the so-called “natural port” located between the two Greek settlements, the Palaiapolis (Sant Martí d’Empúries) and the Neapolis (fig. 1).
By contrast, I consider that in the case of Iberia we are facing a completely opposite situation. In fact, it is the only scenario, besides the final episode of North Africa, where Rome took clearly the offensive. Here, Carthage held most of the ports and coastal cities, so the Romans were forced to conquer them one by one, in a long war whose front moved gradually towards the south. This model suggests that the opening of a new front in Iberia not only intended to prevent the Carthaginians from sending reinforcements to Hannibal, but also tried to undermine its greatest source of income. Eventually, this led to the conquest of this territory.
This harbour, as can be gathered from the geophysical profiles made in 2003, consisted of a small inlet opened to the NE that measured about 400m long and 200m wide. Most of its shore had not enough depth to allow ships approach and formed two wide beaches, one north next to the Palaiapolis and another to the west and southwest by the Neapolis. There was only a small mooring area for medium draft vessels on the south side, where the existence of some kind of quay is assumed (Nieto et al., 2005: 82-89). Therefore, the most common form of stationing ships would be anchoring in the centre of the basin or beaching them on the sand, and it should be provided of some shipyards.
Reconstructing the ancient coastline Another consequence of the special type of navigation ascribed to ancient war fleets is that the knowledge of wind patterns or ocean currents is secondary to the study of naval warfare, while the old coastline is, if possible, even more important than for the study of commercial navigation. In this regard, several factors have contributed to the alteration of the coastline over the centuries, of which two are the most important: variation in sea level and the processes of sedimentation and erosion, whether these are produced by rivers or the sea (Nieto et al., 2005: 74).
This kind of port matches with a quote from Livy about the arrival of Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio to Emporion, where he says that he moored his fleet, and then landed his army (Livy, XXI, 60, 1). Hence, we have to imagine it was a well-equipped harbour, but maybe a little small for military purposes. The impossibility of fulfilling the needs of the fleet could have motivated the election of a new site to place the Roman naval base: Tarraco.
The results of the excavations at the current port of Marseille have suggested that the sea level in Roman times was not very different from today, only about 50 cm. lower (+/- 10 cm.) (Nieto et al., 2005: 74-75). For that reason, the possible changes in the coastline should be attributed to the progressive sedimentation of rivers and streams. According to Izquierdo (2009: 444), in Roman times the coast would have been much steeper and bays more marked. The river mouths would still have tended to form estuaries and major deltas, such as the Ebro or the Llobregat, would have been in a very incipient stage.
In the case of Tarraco, the accumulation of results from rescue digs has recently allowed some work of synthesis around the port conditions of the city in ancient times. The currently accepted interpretation is that the harbour would have taken advantage of a natural basin formed in the mouth of the Francolí River. It was opened to de S-SW and was located south of the hill of Tarragona, where the first Roman praesidium is believed to have laid (fig. 3).
Tarraco
A pier made of pilae in opus caementicium is believed to have existed during Roman times. As some local scholars described, among which Pons d’Icart (16th century) and Hernández Sanahuja (19th century), a sort of breakwater went through
Thus, the conditions for navigation and ships shelter would be substantially better. Even so, the coast of Iberia did not stand out
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Eduard Ble Gimeno: Archaeological Analysis of Roman Naval Warfare anchor and unload ships is very likely to have existed. If so, this would have been possibly in the same course of the river, taking advantage of some of the small inlets the river described on the terrace where the camp laid. This would allow ships to stock up with fresh water (fig. 4).
the modern dock from NE to SW until the end of 19th century. It would have started at the east end of the basin (the current Plaça dels Carros) and would close it and protect it from those winds (Pociña and Remolà, 2001: 85-87; Bea, 2006: 216-223). Unfortunately, no remains of the structure have survived, so it is impossible to know when it was built. Nevertheless, traditionally a quote of Polybius coming from the lexicon of Suidas has been used to defend its dating in the Second Punic War, exactly in 211 BC, after the arrival of Gaius Claudius Nero:
In addition, the classical sources tell us that it was at this place where the army was concentrated at the beginning and the end of each war season, and from there it crossed the Ebro: in 216 BC (Livy, XXII, 5-6) 210 BC (Livy, XXVI, 17, 1-2) or 209 BC (Livy, XXVI, 41, 1-2). This would have required some kind of stable system to enable the crossing at the maximum width point of the river, and where the existence of a ford is completely impossible. From my point of view, the fleet could also have played a role in this aspect, working both in the transport and the protection of this dangerous manoeuvre.
the Romans hauled their ships up onto land, and, after gathering those in Tarrakon [who were left over] from the previous defeats, they created a naval base, with a view to protecting their allies who had occupied positions in advance of the [Roman] cross-over (Suidas, Epsilon, 2488).
Arse-Saguntum
In addition, archaeological excavations have recently revealed the existence of an Iberian port district dated between the 5th and the third quarter of the 2nd century BC. It was situated in the western side of the harbour and consisted of some fisherman houses. They had a single rectangular room and were lined-up with the shore (Bea, 2006: 226-230).
The city of Arse-Saguntum, despite being located about 2.5km from the sea, has been known throughout history for its important maritime tradition. This aroused the wish to find its ancient port area since the early 18th century (Aranegui, 2001/2002). However, it has not been until recently, when several structures corresponding to the old harbour have been located in the area of Grau Vell, in the context of an archaeological survey project of the current port of Sagunto (de Juan, 2002).
With all this in mind, Pociña and Remolà pointed to a functional differentiation between the two halves of the harbour: “the most protected area and closer to the city would be the military port, while the far side to the west and closer to the indigene settlement would have a commercial and fishing function”. (Pociña and Remolà, 2001: 94)
The results of this project allow us to distinguish four phases in the development of the harbour. For this work it will be useful to focus on the first two. Firstly, in the Iberian period (from the 6th to the 4th centuries BC) the port area was limited to the Gola de Colomer, a lagoon connected to the sea by a channel that was used as a dock. Its position was ideal, next to the Alter de Colomer, a small hill by the sea where an Iberian settlement was built in relation with the harbour.
In my opinion, these later findings change our view of the port conditions of Tarraco during the Second Punic War. It shows that the harbour was totally natural and did not stand out for its port facilities. Maybe the Roman army added some new equipment to fulfil its needs, but it was nothing that could deeply change its aspect. For example, a complex structure such as the opus caementicium pier was unlikely to be built in campaign. It only could exist something more straightforward, like a wharf, and it would be made of perishable materials, like sand and wood.
During the 3rd century BC, the harbour mouth was strengthened with the construction of a breakwater just north, which protected the channel from the sediments of the river Palancia, which threatened to block it. At the same time, the structure allowed its use as a quay on the south side, the one which is protected both from the north and from the east winds (Fernández and de Juan, 2008: 122-123). It has been also documented the building of a tower atop the Alter de Colomer, which protected the access to the lagoon (fig. 5).
Thus, in the same way as Emporion, Tarraco had no real docks that might lead the ancient sources to refer to the city as a port. However, it has been said that it, instead of the former, became the main naval base in Iberia. If Rome reacted like this it was because the shore of the basin had enough capacity to allow the beaching of the entire fleet. In fact, ancient sources show the Romans hauling their ships ashore when Gaius Claudius Nero arrived at Tarraco in 210 BC (Livy, XXVI, 17, 2-3).
In conclusion, we can say that although it had small dimensions, the space formed by the lagoon plus the south side of the breakwater would have allowed the anchorage of a certain number of warships, becoming a secondary base as Emporion.
Nova Classis (La Palma)
Qart Hadasht
The site of La Palma (l’Aldea, Tarragona) has been the object of archaeological surveys since 2006 by a research group from the University of Barcelona. The data collected until now firmly support its attribution to a temporary camp, exactly like the one that the Scipios, both the brothers and ‘Africanus’, set up in the mouth of the Ebro between 217 and at least 209 BC, and mentioned once as Nova Classis by Livy (Noguera, 2008 and 2009).
Of all the ports mentioned in this work, Qart Hadasht was surely the one which had the greatest capacity and security, as various classical authors said. According to Polybius, during the reported period it “was nearly the only town in Iberia which possessed a harbour suitable for a fleet and naval force”. (Polybius, X, 8, 2). Unfortunately, although there is a great deal of data from several archaeological excavations in the port area, we still do not have any archaeological evidence of the Carthaginian harbour. Even so, with the available data from Roman times, especially Imperial (Martin, Perez and Roldán, 1991), and the reconstruction of the
In this case no structures related to a possible harbour have been found. However, taking into account the closeness of the site to the Ebro and the ancient coastline and the high percentage of Greco-Italic amphora fragments found there, a space able to
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The role of the fleet during the Second Punic War
The shape and dimensions of the bay have changed throughout history, but its aspect in ancient times is quite well known. The bay opens to the south and it is flanked by two hills on both sides that protect it from most of the winds. The mouth is 720m wide at the narrowest point, and inside it forms a double basin that measured about 1850m long and 1400m wide. Finally, in ancient times an island closed the mouth, hiding to some extent the basin from the sea (Más, 1998: 79-83; Ramallo and Martínez, 2010: 143-148).
As mentioned above, the intervention of the fleet in battle during the Second Punic War was merely testimonial, very far from being its main use. Even so, one of the most important naval engagements of the war occurred in Iberia, by the mouths of the Ebro, in the spring of 217 BC. In view of the advance of the Carthaginian army and the fleet commanded by Hasdrubal, who sought to cross the Ebro, and given the Roman clear inferiority in ground troops, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio decided to engage the enemy only by sea:
Archaeologists have established that the main Roman harbour was at the western end of the peninsula where the city lay. This shore of about 500m long would have been divided into three areas with different functions. Firstly, the northern sector, known as Puertas de Murcia (between Cerro del Molinete and the channel that connected the bay with the lagoon), was occupied by beaches with only some wharfs made of wood. Secondly, the space between Cerro de la Concepcion and Molinete was the most suitable and easily accessible from the city. There (exactly in Calle Mayor, 35) a large structure made of sandstone was found. It was parallel to the shoreline, so it has generally been interpreted as the main quay of the harbour. Finally, it is known from an inscription of the early 1st century BC that the city had a pier in opus caementicium. It was likely to start in the south end of this shore, where the inscription was found, closing the inner basin known as Mar de Mandarache (Berrocal, 1998; Ramallo and Martínez, 2010: 149-150). Although we have no port structure remains dating from this time port, it is plausible to assume that these would have been approximately in the same place.
Suspecting their design, Gnaeus Scipio was for issuing from his winter quarters and meeting them both by land and sea. But hearing of the number of their troops, and the great scale on which their preparations had been made, he gave up the idea of meeting them by land; and manning thirty-five ships, and taking on board the best men he could get from his land forces to serve as marines, he put to sea. (Polybius, III, 95, 4-5)
Naval battle
The Roman squadron was composed of 35 vessels (plus at least 2 Massaliote skiffs), while the Carthaginians, under the command of Himilco or Hamilcar, had 40 ships. Sosylus attributed the victory to the participation of the Massaliote squad in the struggle (FGrH, Sosylus, 176, 2). It is interesting that one of the first battles in Spanish territory was disputed at sea. The outcome favourable to the Romans, together with the capture of 25 Carthaginian ships, reinforced Roman sea power, weakening at the same time its enemy’s one. As a result of victory in the mouths of the Ebro, Romans obtained a clear naval superiority in Iberia.
In addition, there are other areas that also could have been used as harbours. On the one hand there is the western side of Mar de Mandarache, where it forms an inlet. This was possibly the oldest harbour of the city, and it was already used in Punic times and even earlier, but it was likely to have only commercial functions. Moreover, it was linked to an Iberian settlement documented at the top of the Atalaya (Berrocal, 1998: 102-104, 112-113). On the other side of the city, near the southeast corner of the city walls, a ramp was documented. From the city, it descended into an area suitable for the construction of a dock (Berrocal, 1998: 108-110). This structure dates from Republican times, so it is impossible to affirm its existence in late 3rd century BC. However, considering its position on the sea side of the city, and the fact that it faces directly the mouth of the basin, it is the most logical place where to place the landing of Gaius Laelius during the Roman siege of the city.
However, it should be stressed that even with a total control of the Iberian coast, the Romans were unable to turn it into a real advantage in a short time. This fact reiterates the position of Rankov when he stated that “the control of naval bases by land was as important, perhaps even more important, than the actual possession of a fleet. The ability to defeat and destroy the enemy’s ships was worthless if one could not land.” (Rankov, 1996: 55) This was only the first step of a much more complex strategy. Combined siege The other major scenario in which the fleet could participate as an actor was the siege of cities with water access, either simply by blocking the port, or directly participating in the assault with an attack on the sea or river wall sector. The best known case in the context of Iberia is the capture of Qart Hadasht by Scipio Africanus in 209 BC.
In conclusion, although we do not know much about the Punic structures, the natural conditions of this port and the later existence of several harbours make clear its role as a first order naval base. At the same time, Polybius considered Qart Hadasht the single port city on the Mediterranean coast of Iberia, meaning that it was the only one to have its own shipyards. All this explains the capacity to build new ships shown by Carthaginian generals and justifies the interest of Scipio Africanus in controlling it.
In this regard, sources inform us that the Romans utilized their ships to both objectives. On one hand, initially they were used to close the city by sea while the army was doing the same thing on land: he drew up his ships in the harbour, that he might exhibit to the enemy the appearance of a blockade by sea also; he then went round the fleet, and having warned the commanders of the ships to be particularly careful in keeping the night-watches, because an enemy, when besieged,
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Eduard Ble Gimeno: Archaeological Analysis of Roman Naval Warfare Here the importance is emphasized of both groups keeping the same pace, so that the army was seen by the inhabitants of Qart Hadasht at the same time that the fleet entered the mouth of the bay. This fact, on the one hand, shows that this kind of manoeuvre would not be easy, especially during such a fast march (Livy, obviously exaggerating, says that it only took 7 days to travel from the Ebro to the Punic city). On the other hand, it also shows the existence of an interest beyond the logistical level, the intention to exploit the surprise element during the assault and to cause a psychological effect of fear in the enemy.
usually tried every effort and in every quarter at first, he returned into his camp. (Livy, XXVI, 43, 1) On the other hand, they were used as a platform to place their missiles (which would include artillery) to attack the walls of Qart Hadasht: Next morning he stationed ships supplied with missiles of every sort, all along the seaboard, under the command of Gaius Laelius. (Polybius, X, 12, 1) Finally, as evidenced by the corona muralis dispute between a soldier from the army and one of the navy (Livy, XXVI, 48), there were also troops landing from the ships. This assault by sea, obviously, could not have happened if the Romans had not obtained first a total control of sea. Thus, we see how even the possession of a fleet means nothing without control of the naval bases on land, this is much more complicated if there is no support from the sea. In conclusion, all this shows once again the important link between booth media, land and sea, and that they constitute a single system of warfare.
In another sense, light fleets were often also used in reconnoitring actions. De Souza states that most ancient naval commanders seem to have used scout ships of some kind or another to carry out reconnaissance of the enemy positions and movements. For example, the Roman commander Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio in 217 used two fast ships from Massalia to scout ahead of his fleet along the Spanish coast (Polybius, III, 95, 6) (de Souza, 2006: 445). In fact, the presence of Massaliote seaman, together with the Emporitani force, is evidenced in La Palma by the presence of a large amount of Greek coins coming from these cities (Noguera, 2008 and 2009).
Ground troops supporting In contrast to what has been said before, it seems that the main use the Romans gave to the fleet was as defensive and logistical support for ground troops. In effect, ancient sources described that, in several campaigns, the army moved south along the coastline, while the fleet accompanied it by sea maintaining the same speed. This is the case, for example, of the expedition lead by the Scipio brothers to Saguntum, when it is also specified that they divided the command of the army and navy:
Piracy and plunder Finally, a minor point but certainly not a negligible one, is the participation of the fleet in plundering actions against coastal territories, and in general, in activities related with piracy. These, although they have left little documentary evidence (and of course none in the archaeological report), were probably very common. In fact, this would be its main task in times of low enemy threat or war inactivity.
When the two brothers [...] had arrived before the city of Saguntum, they pitched their camp about forty stades from it, near the temple of Aphrodite, selecting the position as offering at once security from the attacks of the enemy, and a means of getting supplies by sea: for their fleet was coasting down parallel with them. (Polybius, III, 97, 6-8)
That is what makes us understand the passage in which, after the Roman victory in Cissis, the seamen and the marines were dispersed throughout the territory south of Tarraco to plunder, later being caught and put to flight by Hasdrubal, who then marched with his army from the south. The sources tell us that “the men of the fleet scattered about the country (Polybius, III, 76, 9), or the soldiers belonging to the fleet and the mariners […] scattered and wandering through the fields”. (Livy, XXI, 61, 2)
Here it is interesting to see how the Romans decided to camp by the sea, in a strategic position similar to the case of Palma, or to the least known case of Sucro (the current Júcar river). Indeed, it seems that the Scipios tried to move as far south as possible, and when the enemy blocked their path they opted to fortify themselves at a place near the sea, whose control was already in Roman hands. Thus, even if they were just a few miles from the enemy, he was unable to cut their lines of supplies or to prevent the Scipios from fleeing easily if he decided to face them in a battle.
Regarding plunder, it is also interesting to discuss the naval expedition narrated by Livy after the Roman victory at the mouths of the Ebro. According to him, the Romans: Advancing, then, with their fleet to Honosca, and making a descent from the ships upon the coast, when they had taken the city by storm and pillaged it, they afterwards made for Carthage: then devastating the whole surrounding country, they, lastly, set fire also to the buildings contiguous to the wall and gates. Thence the fleet laden with plunder, arrived at Longuntica, where a great quantity of oakum for naval purposes had been collected by Hasdrubal: of this, taking away as much as was sufficient for their necessities, they burnt all the rest. Nor did they only sail by the prominent coasts of the continent, but crossed over into the island Ebusus; where, having with the utmost exertion, but in vain, carried on operations against the city, which is the capital of the island, for two days, when they found that time was wasted to no purpose upon a hopeless task, they turned their efforts to the devastation of the country; and having plundered and fired several villages, and acquired a greater booty than they had obtained on the continent, they retired to their ships,
Another paradigmatic case is the march of Scipio Africanus against Qart Hadasht, when the army and the navy again went together. In this case, the fleet command was held by Gaius Laelius, while Scipio was directly responsible for the ground troops. No one but Caius Laelius knew whither he was going. He was sent round with the fleet, and ordered so to regulate the sailing of his ships, that the army might come in view and the fleet enter the harbour at the same time. Both the fleet and army arrived at the same time at New Carthage, on the seventh day after leaving the Iberus. (Livy, XXVI, 42, 5-6)
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when ambassadors from the Baliares came to Scipio to sue for peace. From this place the fleet sailed back, and returned to the hither parts of the province. (Livy, XXII, 20, 5-12)
However, it seems that these efforts were not enough to stop the growing Roman naval superiority, and the remaining Carthaginian offensives in Iberia were always ground attacks. In addition, the Roman maritime forces were reinforced at the end of 217 BC by the arrival of Publius Cornelius Scipio, thereby further increasing the number of ships. From here, the Scipio brothers took advantage of its maritime power and managed to move the war front gradually towards the south:
From my point of view, and following the naval warfare model proposed in the first pages of this paper, it is impossible to accept this kind of long-range attacks. According to the sources, in 217 BC, the Roman army had not still crossed the Ebro, so it is really unlikely that the fleet was able to find enough suitable natural ports to sail until Qart Hadasht or Ebusus. Militarily, the Romans were able to approach the main Carthaginian bases because of its naval superiority, but they were unable to do it in logistical terms.
• In 216 BC they were fighting near Hibera, just south from the Ebro river. • In 215 BC they took the Iberian towns of Intibili and Iliturgi, possibly in the southern Ilercavonia (current province of Castellón). • Between 214 and 212 BC some struggles took place further south. The city of Akra Leuke is mentioned as one of the scenarios (possibly the Roman Lucentum, i.e. current Alicante), and also the area of the upper Betis, but this last clashes seem more difficult to be accepted. This situation of almost total control of the Mediterranean coast of Iberia, except from Qart Hadasht to the south, is what allowed the Romans to launch the ground offensive against the upper valley of the Guadalquivir (Betis) in 211 BC. Still, it seems logical to suggest that a land base would be required to launch the offensive. This premise would allow the proposal of the establishment of the camp at Sucro at this time. The importance of the availability of a camp supplied by sea at the mouth of the Júcar River, the natural way of access to the Meseta from the coast, is completely coherent with the exposed progressive advance model.
In comparison, it is known that the Punic fleet was able to raid the Italian coast (exactly against Pisa) in 217 BC. Rankov argues that if this type of plunder expedition from Africa or Iberia was possible it was because the Carthaginians counted on the help of some of the indigenous communities of Sardinia, which allowed them to make the necessary stopovers in some coves, even if the island was nominally in Roman hands. Only in one case they dared to sail in a straight line, when, after the fallen of Gades, Mago sailed from Minorca to Liguria and tried to take Genoa by surprise. This is explained by Rankov as a desperate manoeuvre at the end the conflict. Thus, in the face of the total defeat in Iberia, the Carthaginians took the risk of undertaking an expedition that otherwise would be unthinkable (Rankov, 1996: 53). Therefore, we cannot consider this situation to the aftermath of the Battle of the Ebro, when the war had just begun. War phases from a naval point of view With all the things mentioned above, now we are able to draw schematically the different phases the Second Punic War went through in Iberia at the naval level. At first, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio prioritized the conquest of the coastline from Emporion to the Ebro before entering inland. This reiterates the aforementioned importance of the coastal naval control to undertake subsequent ground actions.
The Roman disaster in that campaign led to some loss of the achievements attained so far. Still, it does not seem that the Carthaginians used the situation to turn the tables, recovering its former possessions, or at least they were not able to do it. It is quite possibly that the Roman control of the sea played again a key role in minimizing the consequences of the defeat.
Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio, who had been left by his brother Publius in command of the fleet, setting sail from the mouth of the Rhone, came to land with his whole squadron at a place in Iberia called Emporium. Starting from this town, he made descents upon the coast, landing and besieging those who refused to submit to him along the seaboard as far as the Iber [...]. When he had garrisoned those towns on the coast that submitted, he led his whole army inland. (Polybius, III, 76, 1-3)
With the arrival of reinforcements in 210 BC, first led by Gaius Claudius Nero and then by Scipio Africanus, the culmination of the conquest of the Mediterranean coast was then possible. A last remaining coastal base, and at the same time the best harbour, is still in Carthaginian hands. This strategic interest in controlling Qart Hadasht is evidenced by the words of the general: we shall gain possession of a city, not only of the greatest beauty and wealth, but also most convenient as having an excellent harbour, by means of which we may be supplied with every requisite for carrying on the war both by sea and land. (Livy, XXVI, 43, 7)
After having conquered a land base in northeastern Iberia, the Romans changed the strategy and launched a naval offensive to obtain the control of the sea. As we have seen, this led to the battle of the mouths of the Ebro, which meant the loss of almost the entire Punic fleet. Despite this defeat, and at least during the early years of conflict, the Carthaginians appreciated the importance of controlling the sea in Iberia, so they undertook certain efforts to keep it. They decided to strengthen its navy with the building of another fleet and to launch the first maritime raids against Italy:
We have seen that the conquest of Qart Hadasht provided an enormous booty to the Romans, among which more than 20 ships. However, the most important consequence was that it implied de facto the end of the naval war in Iberia. After the conquest of the Carthaginian capital, Rome controlled all the Iberian ports of the Mediterranean coast, and became therefore virtually master of the sea. In this situation, warships were no longer required and thus Scipio took the liberty of expanding the army at the expense of the fleet. Here it is perfectly clear how the role of warships
But when news of this reverse arrived at Carthage, the Carthaginians at once despatched a fleet of seventy ships,
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Eduard Ble Gimeno: Archaeological Analysis of Roman Naval Warfare of Greek and Roman Warfare. Vol. 1. Greece, the Hellenistic World and the Rise of Rome, Cambridge University Press, 434-489. Fernández, A. and De Juan, C. (2008): “El port i els ancoratges e Arse-Saguntum”, in J. Diloli, (ed) Ports marítims i ports fluvials: la navegació a l’entorn del nord-oest mediterrani durant l’Antiguitat, Citerior, 4, 119-147. Gomme, A. W. (1933): “A Forgotten Factor of Greek Naval Strategy”, Journal of Hellenic Studies, 53, 16-24. Izquierdo, P. (2009): “Introducció a l’arqueologia portuària romana de la Tarraconense”, in M. A. Cau and F. X. Nieto (eds), Arqueologia nàutica mediterrània, 443-456. Martin M., Pérez M. A. and Roldán, B. (1991): “Contribución al conocimiento del área portuaria de Carthago Nova y su tráfico marítimo en época alto-imperial”, Archivio Español de Arqueología, 64, 272-283. Más, J. (1998): “Portus Carthaginensis. Simbiosis de un emporio y una gran base militar”, Actas de las III Jornadas de Arqueología Subacuática, 1997, Valencia, 79-97. Morrison, J. S. and Coates, J. F. (1986): The Athenian Trireme: The History and Reconstruction of an Ancient Greek Warship, Cambridge University Press. Morrison, J. S. and Coates, J. F. (1987): An Athenian Trireme Reconstructed: the British Sea Trials of ‘Olympias’, BAR international series, 486. Nieto, X., Raurich, X. and Barberà, J. (2003): “Els treballs arqueològics subaquàtics al port romà d’Empúries (l’Escala, Alt Emportà)”, Tribuna d’Arqueologia, 1999-2000, 165-178. Nieto, X., Revil, A., Morhange, C., Vivar, G., Rizzo, E. and Aguelo, X. (2005): “La fachada marítima de Ampurias: estudios geofísicos y datos arqueológicos”, Empúries, 54, 71-102. Noguera, J. (2008): “Los inicios de la conquista romana de Iberia: los campamentos de campaña del curso inferior del río Ebro”, Archivo Español de Arqueología, 81, 31-48. Noguera, J. (2009): “Los campamentos romanos en el curso inferior del río Ebro durante la Segunda Guerra Púnica”, in Á. Morillo (ed), 20th International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies (León, 2006), Anejos de Gladius, 13, Vol. 3, 329-338. Pérez, J. (2009): “Puertos, rutas y cargamentos: el comercio marítimo en época republicana”, in M. A. Cau and F. X. Nieto (eds), Arqueologia nàutica mediterrània, 551-566. Pociña, C. A. and Remolà, J.A. (2003): Nuevas aportaciones al conocimiento del puerto de Tarraco (Hispania Tarraconensis), Saguntum 33, 85-96. Ramallo, S. and Martínez, M. (2010): “El puerto de Carthago Nova: eje de vertebración de la actividad comercial en el sureste de la Península Ibérica”, Bollettino di Archeologia on line, I, Volume speciale B, 141-159. Rodgers, W. L. (1937): Greek and Roman Naval Warfare, United States Naval Institute. Rankov, N. B. (1996): “The Second Punic War at sea”, in T. J. Cornell, N. B. Rankov and Ph. A. Sabin (eds), The Second Punic War: A Reappraisal, BICS, Supplement 67, 49–57. Ruiz De Arbulo, J. (2001-2002): “Erastótenes, Artemidoro y el puerto de Tárraco. Razones de una polémica”, Revista d’Arqueologia de Ponent, 11-12, 87-107. Thiel, J. H. (1946): Studies on the History of Roman Sea-Power in Republican Times, North Holland, 32-199.
had been simply to assist the land troops in their task and, once achieved, they make do without the fleet. For seeing that there was no necessity for ships, as the whole coast of Spain was clear of Carthaginian fleets, he hauled his ships on shore at Tarraco and added his mariners to his land forces. (Livy, XXVII, 17, 6) Conclusion This paper has allowed us to reflect on the inexistence of large port cities in Iberia by the time of the Second Punic War, contrary to what happened in Italy. Therefore, Roman fleets were forced to take more advantage of all the natural elements, and the pre-existing structures, whether these were indigenous, such as Tarraco or Arse, or the product of Greek initiatives, as with Emporion, even though they had not been built for naval purpose. At best they could subtly improve port facilities with provisional structures made of sand and/or wood, whereas the Carthaginians had the excellent harbour of Qart Hadasht. As a result, the number of ships that comprised the Iberian fleets tended to be lower than those in active service in the same period in Sicily, Sardinia or the Adriatic Sea. In fact, it rarely exceeded 50 ships, and after the taking of Qart Hadasht, with the addition of the booty acquired in the city, the number only rose to 80. In conclusion, Roman naval warfare in Iberia was different not only because of the scale of the conflict, but also because its offensive character and its function. The early control of the sea was the key to a further ground control: it allowed the continued advance of the Roman army to the south with the fleet facilitating and protecting its march. This was, indeed, the modest, but also the most important role played by Roman naval warfare in Iberia during the Second Punic War. Bibliography Aranegui, C. (2001-2002): “El puerto de “Arse-Saguntum”, elementos para su localización y adscripción cultural”, Saitabi, 51-52, 13-28. Bea, D. (2006): “El port romà de Tarraco. Aportacions historiogràfiques i noves interpretacions. La intervenció arqueològica als solars de l’UA 15 de Tarragona (Tarragonès)”, Tribuna d’Arqueologia, 2004-2005, 215-243. Berrocal, M. C. (1998): “Instalaciones portuarias en Carthago Nova: la evidencia arqueológica”, Actas de las III Jornadas de Arqueología Subacuática, 1997, Valencia, 101-114. Blackmann, D. J. (1982): “Ancient harbours in the Mediterranean”, IJNA, 11, 2, 79-104. Casson, L. (1971): Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, Princeton University Press. De Juan, C. (2002): “Primera aproximación a la infraestructura portuaria saguntina”, Saguntum, 34, 115-126. De Souza, Ph. (2008a): “Naval Forces”, in P. Sabin, H. van Wees and M. Whitby (eds), The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare. Vol. 1. Greece, the Hellenistic World and the Rise of Rome, Cambridge University Press, 357-367. De Souza, Ph. (2008b): “Naval Battles and Sieges”, in P. Sabin, H. van Wees and M. Whitby (eds), The Cambridge History
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Fig. 1 Map of the Greek city of Emporion and the natural port. 2. Ancient coastline // 3. Bathymetric line -3 m // 5. Mooring area // 4 and 6. Ancient beaches (from Nieto et al., 2005: 85)
Fig. 2 Map of the lower part of Tarraco with different coastline and harbour reconstruction proposals: B. Herández Sanahuja (with dots), W. Pérez (broken line) and C. Pociña and J. A. Remolà (solid line) (from Pociña and Remolà, 2001: 87)
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Fig. 3 Map of La Palma and its possible anchoring area
Fig. 5 Map of Cartagena bay in Roman times with the different harbours and archaeological finds related to them (Berrocal, 1998)
Fig. 4 Map of Phase II of the Grau Vell area (3rd century BC) (Fernández and de Juan, 2008: 146)
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Sailing Towards the West: Trade and Traders on the Routes Between the Iberian Peninsula and Campania Between the 2nd Century BC and the 1st Century AD Michele Stefanile
Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”, Dipartimento di Studi del Mondo Classico e del Mediterraneo Antico
In the course of the year 206 B.C., at the end of the 2nd Punic War, after the victory of Astapa and the fall of Gadir, the Roman legions drove the Carthaginian troops back to the sea, and took the place of the Barcids in the control of the southern and eastern coastal strips of the Iberian Peninsula.1 Subsequently the Romans took possession of the rich natural resources of the Iberian territory, starting a long process of conquest and assimilation which would come to an end only two centuries later, with the control of the whole peninsula. During the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. the Romans confronted the complex mosaic of cultures and peoples that occupied the territory: some of these populations, developed thanks to the relationships established in the course of the centuries first with the Greeks, then with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, welcomed peacefully the new conquerors: others, such as Celtiberian and Lusitanian peoples continued to oppose Rome for a long period, keeping the interior of the Peninsula in a lasting state of war that culminated in riots, guerrilla campaigns and mass slaughter on both sides, of which Viriathus’ rebellion and the lasting Numantine war were only two of the most dramatic episodes. The difficulty L. Licinius Lucullus had in gathering a new army, after the first years of war against the Celtiberians, is a clear sign of how difficult and dangerous the Iberian war theatre was. With the creation of two provinces (Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior) in 197 B.C., and thanks to the work of such figures as Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, that divided the towns into civitates stipendiariae, civitates liberae sine foedere and civitates foederatae, founding several colonies, Rome engaged in inserting the newly conquered territories into her own administrative structure. In the 1st century B.C. the Sertorian war and the battles of the bellum civile at Ilerda and Munda resulted in a final phase of bloodshed: the pacification of Iberia coincided ultimately with the end of the military expeditions in the far north-west, towards Cape Finis Terrae, and with the reorganization of the provinces in the time of Augustus.
full of promises”.3 Soon after the end of the 2nd Punic War large amounts of resources become available for the Romans: in primis some of the richest metallurgical districts known in this period – silver, lead, and other metal from the regions of Carthago Nova and Castulo (Sierra Morena) – that had already made the Barcids’ wealthy and starting, with the treaty of Lutatius, an economic recovery after the restrictive conditions imposed by Rome at the end of the 1st Punic War. The historian Diodorus wrote: “After the Romans had made themselves masters of Iberia, a multitude of Italians have swarmed to the mines and taken great wealth away with them, such was their greed.”4 The mines of Carthago Nova, the ancient Qart Hadashat founded by Hasdrubal, probably endowed with the best natural port of the Mediterranean, according to Polybius,5 had a diameter of 400 stadia, and gave work to 40,000 people, with a daily profit of 25,000 drachmae. The other resources of the Iberian Peninsula included extensive cultivable areas, forests, grazing lands, and fishing grounds. New markets were readily found for the surpluses of these resources. To the many immigrants arriving in Hispaniae to exploit these resources can be added the Italic arrivals following the legions. Afzelius,6 on the basis of Livy, estimated that (from 197 to 169 B.C.) some 251,400 entered Iberia – a number that would certainly have increasde with the outbreak of the Celtiberian and Lusitanian wars. Of this number, many would have died in the region and others would have returned to their homelands, but many would have settled in the new provinces: these were Italics who had joined the legions because of land shortages back home or who were simply impoverished groups hoping to improve their living conditions and become rich in the army. Many were soldiers married to local women and starting families in settlements such as Carteia, mentioned by Livy,7 a colonia libertinorum created in 171 B.C. to offer a base for the more than 4,000 resulting from unions between Roman soldiers and their Iberian partners. Other towns were founded for veterans, such as Italica, established by Scipio for the veterans of the battle of Ilipa in 206 B.C.,8 or Valentia, founded by Decimus Iunius Brutus in 138 B.C. for those who ‘sub Viriatho militaverant’.9 Moreover, together with these soldiers, great numbers of people living off the troops were reaching Hispaniae, including redemptores, in charge of providing supplies to the army, or mercatores/ mangones, those trading prisoners in irons, and these also settled in the new territories.
Notwithstanding the geo-political context of such complexity, the Romanization of the Iberian Peninsula developed in a very quick and effective way, so much that Theodor Mommsen wrote “many are the fields in which we find evidence that Roman civilization penetrated into Hispania before and most effectively than in any other provinces of the Empire”.2 In a short time within the provinces of Hispaniae there appeared houses, roads, mosaic-floors, decorative elements, pottery and objects of domestic use which were typically Roman. Spreading from the great port of entry of Carthago Nova and Tarraco they branched off towards the coastal and internal regions along the old axes of communications left by the earlier inhabitants. This was a consequence of the massive arrival of Romans and Italic peoples in the new provinces, defined by Richardson as “a land
On the basis of surviving documents it is possible to study in detail the circulation of people reaching Hispania from the Italian 3 4 5 6
This contribution stems from the author’s PhD project at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”. 2 Mommsen 1957. 1
7 8 9
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Richardson 1997. Diodorus V, 36. Polybius, 34, 8, 11. Afzelius 1944. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe condita, LXIII, 3. Appian, Iberia, 38. Titus Livius, Periochae, LV.
SOMA 2011 Peninsula from the beginning of the 2nd century B.C. We can reconstruct commercial maritime routes planned for trading Italic products in the new western markets, through the presence of markers such as Campanian Calene pottery, or the Campanian A of the Gulf of Naples, found in the Escombreras shipwreck, and along the coastal sites of the Iberian Peninsula, and more generally though the study of all the imported goods from Italy. Such routes, according to the economic principle of ‘never sail with an empty hold’, counterbalanced the export routes from Iberia along which flowed quantities of metal ingots, amphorae of salted fish and fish sauce, kalathoi filled with honey, and cargoes which do leave no archaeological evidence: hides, rope, slaves. The shipwrecks found in the Mediterranean provide evidence of these routes between Iberia and Italia. At the two ends of these routes were significant harbours, such as Tarraco, Dianium, and above all Carthago Nova on the Iberian coast, and Ostia, Minturnae and Puteoli on the Thyrrenian coast.
Ischia (Campania).14 In a short time the Atellii become one of the most important families in the town, leaving various signs in the epigraphy (at least 6 texts15), and soon joining the ranks of city authorities – as we can see from the coins of P. Atellius, Cn. Atellius Ponti[---] and Cn. Atellius Flaccus.16 Considered as Campanians by Domergue17 on the basis of the reference to the clan of the Menenia, the Atellii of Carthago Nova are probably to be connected with the town of Herculaneum, whose citizens were registered to that clan, like those of other towns of the lega Nucerina (Nuceria, Pompeii, Surrentum, Stabia), where at least four fragments of documentary evidence of the nomen are known.18 (A link to the Atella between Neapolis and Capua, whose inhabitants were registered in the Falerna clan, is unlikely.) On account of the references to the Menenia tribe, the Seii, the Utii and the Carullii have been also been linked to the Gulf of Naples too.19 The latter, however, documented in Praeneste (L. Carol20) and in Minturnae (C. Carulios21) in Archaic times, and later in Capua, Stabia, Ostia,22 might also have come from northern Campania or southern Latium. Of old Sabine origin, but already present and active in Campania in the Late Republic, are the Catii mentioned in a 2nd century B.C. Oscan stele from Teanum Sidicinum23 and later widely documented in Beneventum24 and, from the Imperial Age, in Puteoli25 and probably the Aefulani: both families are named in a column from Carthago Nova for the organization of pompam ludosque.26 The Lollii are documented in Republican times within four different areas: Picenum,27 in the Hernican territory,28 in the Samnium29 and in Campania
The study of the epigraphical evidence present in the arrival ports, and especially in the towns of Carthago Nova, Ilici, Lucentum, Dianium, Saetabis, Edeta, Valentia, and Saguntum, assists the analysis of the various components involved in the flow of people to Hispaniae and allows us to highlight the presence of gentes coming from Campania. Among the Roman inscriptions so far, which may be dated back to the years from the end of the war against the Carthaginians up to the Imperial Age, it has been possible to detect the presence of 159 gentilitia, 29 of which have been linked to Campania. The statistics are meaningful if we consider that the determination is based on the study of the more recognizable gentilitia, and if we take into account that there is a considerable percentage of widely diffused names whose origins are difficult to ascertain. Moreover, the proposed figures to date are based on a first analysis of the area between Carthago Nova and Dianium, and will certainly increase with the inclusion of the area between Dianium and Saguntum, in which we can recognize, besides the many nomina identified in the southern area, some meaningful gentilitia. The area to the north of the port of Dianium (Dènia), still important because of its proximity to the island of Ibiza, is not rich in finds of epigraphic evidence regarding the families of mercatores italici. This is in contrast to the great numbers of inscriptions from cities such as Saguntum and Valentia (but not Dianium, because of the later flourishing Arabian trading port and the modern one). Prevailing are the gentilitia connected to the military and political leaders who had interests in Hispania, and who created their groups of clientes there, such as the Cornelii, Sempronii, Pompeii, Fulvii, Iunii. South of the Cabo de la Nao, and especially in Carthago Nova, the epigraphic remains from the necropolis, coin finds and seals on lead ingots (that spread from Cartagena all over the Mediterranean) provide evidence of a series of gentilitia closely related with Campania.
Cn. Atellius Cn. f. Miserinus, Stefanile 2009. CIL II 3451; CIL II 3430; CIL II 3521; CIL II 3449; CIL II 3450; Abascal, 1994; Abascal and Ramallo, 1997 (Atellia Cleunica Cn. l., Atellius Cn. f. Men., Cn. Atelius Cn. l. Philoxenus, Cn. Atellius Cn. l. Theophrastus, Cn. Atellius Cn. l. Toloco). 16 RPC 146 (P. Atellius, in the first monetary issue of the town, 40 B.C.); RPC 169 (Cn. Atellius); RPC 185 and RPC 186 (Cn. Atellius Flaccus, in the last monetary issue of the town, A.D. 37/38). 17 Domergue 1990. 18 AE 1993, 462; CIL X 1403; Camodeca, 1993; Camodeca , 2008 (Sex. Atellius Felix, Sex. Atellius Comicus, Sex. Atellius mulieris l. Felix, Sex. Atellius Sex. L. Merc[---], I century A.D.). 19 Domergue, Laubenheimer, Liou, 1974; Domergue 1990. 20 CIL XIV 3086. 21 CIL I2 2438. 22 In Capua: CIL X 4065 (M. Carulius Saturninus, Carulia M.l. Hilara, M. Carulius M.l., Carulia M. l. Mystis, M. Carulius Tyrannus); in Stabia: CIL X, 776 (Carullae Maete); in Ostia: CIL XIV 316; 317; 318; 774; 775; 776; 4562a; 4569 (L. Carullius Epaphroditus, L. Carullius Felicissimus, Carulliae, Carull, Caryllia Eutocia, Caryllius Charito, L. Carullius Terminalis, Carullius Attalus). 23 Rix SI 11 = Pocc. 137 (Nu. Cattius Nu. f.). 24 CIL IX 1632 (Catia Vibi f.). 25 CIL X 2138; 2243; 2244; EE VIII 393-394. 26 L. Catius M. f., Ser. Aefolanus (CIL I2, 2269 [=1555]; CIL II 3408 and p. 952). 27 M. Lollius Palicanus, tr.pl. 71 B.C., pr. 69 B.C., candidate as consul for the year 66 B.C., “homo novus de humili loco Picens, loquax magis quam facundus” (Sallustius, Historiae, IV, 43) son of a Lollius included in Silla’s lists in 82 B.C., perhaps father of Lollia, wife of A. Gabinius, tr.pl. 67 B.C. (as reported in Valerius Maximus, III, 8, 3), and her brother Lollius Palicanus, known on the basis of the monetary issues of 45 B.C. (RRC 1, 482, no. 473). 28 M. Lollius C.f., censor in Ferentinum (3rd quarter of the II century B.C.), CIL X, 5837-40. 29 Lolios, aner Samnites (Zonaras, VIII,7), involved in the 269 B.C. Samnite rebellion, a M. Lollius M. f. in Telesia, and maybe the M. Lollius M.f.., cos. 21 B.C., defeated in Gallia (in a “clades lolliana”, as reported by Svetonius, Augustus, 23) and mentioned in CIL VI 1305 (Roma, 23 B.C.); this latter has probably to be identified with the M. Lollius M.f. Volt. mentioned in an honorary inscription from Philippi (I Philippi 200) and father of a homonymous M. Lollius M.f. (Horatius, Epistulae, I, 2 and 18). 14 15
To the area of the Gulf of Naples, around the busy port of Puteoli, the Delus minor of the ancient authors, can be connected the Aefulanii, the Atellii, the Catii, the Lollii, the Seii, the Utii and perhaps the Paquii. The Atellii are the most interesting: present in Carthago Nova probably already from the beginning of the 1st century B.C., they became rich from the exploitation of the lead they exported all over the Mediterranean: their ingots have been found in the shipwrecks at Mahdia (Tunisia),10 Mal di Ventre11, and Capo Testa (Sardinia),12 and near Capo Passero (Sicily)13 and 10 11 12 13
Cn. Atellius T.f. Men, CIL I 2396; AE 1913, 147. Cn. Atellius T.f. Men., AE 1992, 862f; Salvi 1992, 661-672. Cn. Atellius Cn. l. Bulio, AE 1989, 349d; Bonello Lai 1986-1987. Cn. Atellius Cn.l. Bulio, Thisseyre, Tusa et al., 2008.
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Michele Stefanile: Sailing Towards the West and later near Teanum, the Forum Popilii, Formia, Puteoli, and Pompei,41 and contemporarily in Delos and in Carthago Nova; the Ofellii, who appear on one of the most ancient inscriptions of Carthago Nova42, and on the base of a statue from the Agorà des Italiens in Delos, and who are widely documented in Capua and surroundings (Teanum, Suessa), in Herculaneum, in Beneventum.43 The Plotii, who appear in Cartagena (one of them buys an insula and razes it to the ground to build a cryptam and porticum),44 and that are present in Delos with one ‘L. Plotius L. l. Philippus’. A man with the same name is found among the Plotii in Capua45 (this is, however, a very common name in Campania and as a consequence a more accurate determination of the origin is difficult). The Pomponii46 were a very well-known family that might have had a branch with strong trade interests in Carthago Nova and in Delos, and two large groups in Capua and in Minturnae. The Titinii were documented in Delos at the end of the 2nd century B.C. and then at Carthago Nova on two funerary inscriptions47 of the beginnings of the 1st century A.D. and on one48 of the first half of the 1st century B.C. that reminds us of the construction of the pilae for the seaport – very similar in the form to the Late Republican cippi found in Minturno – and to the inscriptions of the magistri Campani from Capua. The gens Titinia, who had joined the Senate already in the 2nd century B.C., had a very well documented nucleus in Minturnae. 49 Here, besides various people attested in the epigraphic documentation, lived some of the Titinii quoted by Plutarch and Cicero,50 related in marriage to the above mentioned Fannii. To this branch of the family may have belonged the IIvir of Luni Titinius L. f. Petrinianus51 (Petrinus is a vicus between the mouth of the Garigliano river and Sinuessa).
(Capua,30 Pompeii31 and Puteoli,32 this latter connected with the Hernican centre of Ferentinum, involved in the colony of 194 B.C.). They were also active in the second half of the 2nd century B.C. in Delos33 and in the 1st century A.D. in Carthago Nova and Lucentum.34 In their case it is possible to go back both to the northern Campanian nucleus of Capua and to the very well documented Pompeian one, in which is also present a C. Lollius Rufus, candidate as aedilis, homonymous of the Lollius in Lucentum. Of Pompeian origin may be the Paquii, present among the magistri on an inscription from the Cabo de Palos,35 and in a funerary text from Cartagena.36 The variant ‘Paquius’ of the Oscan name Paccius/Pacuvius, is well documented in the Vesuvian city as the IIvir P. Paquius Proculus, whose name stands out among the electoral tituli picti on a very central house in Via dell’Abbondanza (but not necessarily his home). Of real interest is a group of families from northern Campania. These gentes, scarcely documented if not ignored in many of the studies on the subject, came from the Capuan, Calenian and Auruncan areas, and gravitated presumably around the port of Minturnae, where we can count on a very rich Late-Republican epigraphic documentation. These gentes link together two successful export hubs in the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. On the one hand the Hispanic provinces, on the other the Campanian plain, a major area for the production of wine and the amphorae in which it was shipped and whose figlinae have been correctly identified in the coastal strip between Volturnum and Minturnae. The port of Minturnae, at the mouth of the Garigliano, appears in the Late Republic as a key point, although so far somewhat neglected, for maritime trade and in which were concentrated gentes with commercial interests in Iberia as well as in the Eastern Mediterranean, through the island of Delos. A similar case is the Fannii,37 a commercial branch of an important gens who are supposed to have reached the Hispaniae during the Sertorian war and who were later engaged both in the East and in the West, where they exported lead. The Geminii were a family of old Praenestinian origin who spread very early in Campania and who are documented in Carthago Nova, Minturnae, Puteoli, Ostia and in the Agorà des Italiens on Delos.38 The Messii,39 attested in the territory of Capua from the end of the 3rd century B.C.40
To northern Campania can also be linked the Aurunculeii, who had marked some Iberian lead ingots in the 1st century B.C. and that appear later in a funerary inscription found in the surroundings of Cartagena, dated to the first half of the 1st
Teanum: Messius [-] f. Stichus, probably censor of the town (CIL I2 1573); C. Messius, tr.pl. 57 B:C, supporting Pompeius:, aed. cur. 55 B.C., legatus of Caesar in Gallia (54 B.C.), and in Africa (46 B.C.) (Cicero, Ad Atticum, VIII, 11, 2); C. Pontius, Messiae f. (CIL X 4810, postcaesarian time); Forum Popilii (today Civitarotta-Carinola, very close to Teanum): C. Messius C. f. Q. n. Scaeva, IIvir (AE 1998, 188, Flavian times); Formia: Ti. Messius Q.f., aed. (CIL I2 1565) and Messia C. f. (CIL X 6085); for the volsco-auruncan area, very important is the IV century B.C. Vettius Mettius ex Volscis (Titus Livius, Ab Urbe condita, 4, 28, 3); Puteoli: C. Messius Epaphroditus, C. Messius C. l. Primigenius, C. Messius C. l. Tertius, C. Messius Rufus, C. Messius Clemens Rufi f., C. Messius C. l. Faustus, Messia L. f. Pompeiana (CIL X 2732-3334-35); Pompeii: Tr. Meziis Tr., aed. (Pocc.108, very old), A. Messius Chrysanthus, A. Messius P(h)ronimus, A. Messius Speratus, M. Messius Inventus, Messius Secundus, Messius Ba[---], A. Messius Faustus, A. Messius, Messius Arrius ( CIL IV 1101, 2249, 5187, 7541, 7573, 2392, 3340, 4617, CIL X, 888, 892). 42 C. Ofeli(us) C. l. (CIL II, 3492). 43 In Capua we can count on 11 persons, from 110 B.C. until the 2nd century A.D.; in Herculaneum, thirteen persons; for an updated picture of the Ofellii in Campania,see Camodeca 2008, p,204 44 C. Plotius Cissi l. (CIL II 3428); L. Plotius and Plotia Prune (CIL II 3295). 45 CIL I2 3124. 46 C. Pomponius C. l. Philodamus (CIL II 3496, Carthago Nova, beginnings of the 1st century A.D.). 47 L. Titinius P.f. (CIL II 3506) and Titinia mulieris l. Mart(h)a (CIL II 3507). 48 Alexander, L. Titini servus (CIL I2 2271 (= I 1477) + CIL I3, p. 1104; CIL II 3434). 49 On that nucleus, see Guidobaldi and Pesando 1989. 50 Plutarchus, Marius, XXXVIII, 4; Cicero, Ad Atticum, VII, 18, 4 and II Verrina, I, 128. 51 CIL XI 1347-48. 41
M. Lollius Q.f., L. Lollius L.f., M. Lollius M.f. Ale[---] (112-71 B.C., CIL I2, 2949). 31 50 inscriptions of at least nineteen individuals. 32 M. Lollius Philippus, mentioned in the Tabulae Pompeianae Sulpiciorum (Camodeca 1999), libertus of a Lollia Saturnina. 33 Hatzfeld 1912. 34 P. Lollius P.l. Philemo (Carthago Nova, beginnings of the 1st century A.D., Abascal and Ramallo 1997, no.98); C. Lolius Rufus (Lucentum, end of the 1st century A.D., Corell 1999 n. 70). 35 L. Paquius L.l. Silvanus (CIL II 3433). 36 N. Paquius N.l. Diphilus (Abascal and Ramallo 1997, no. 68). 37 C. Fannius Latini f. Censorinus (Carthago Nova, middle of the I century A.D., Abascal and Ramallo 1997, no.76). On the Fannii, Cassola 1983; on their nucleus in Minturnae, Guidobaldi and Pesando 1989. 38 C. Geminius Faustus (Carthago Nova, late I century A.D., CIL II 3469-70); Timotea, Geminii serva; Pistis, Geminii servus; Geminia Fortunata (Minturnae, CIL I 2680 and 2687; CIL X 6036); Geminius Crescens, Geminia Sirica, Geminia Helpis, C. Geminius Hagnus (Puteoli, CIL X, 2478-79; EE 08-01-403); on the origin of the Geminii, Castrén 1975. 39 M. Messius M.l. Samalo, faber lapidarius (Carthago Nova, Abascal and Ramallo 1997, no.154); C. Messius L.f. (marked lead ingot from Carthago Nova, Domergue 1990 no. 1023). 40 Statius Mettius, a general of a Campanian army, under the command of the meddix of Capua, that tried to defend the philo-punic city of Casilinum in 214 B.C., seized by the Romans during the Hannibal wars. Another Messius, P. Messius Q.l. is attested in Capua in ca. 100 B.C. in the list of the magistri Campani (CIL I2 2506). 30
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SOMA 2011 of Cn. Pompeus, M. Planius Heres.67 Calenian, finally, must have been the Vinuleia Calena from the 1st-century B.C. inscription from Carthago Nova,68 related to L. Vinuleius L. l. Philogenes, mentioned in a text from the same context69 and perhaps in some relationship with the L. Vinuleius Hesper recorded in Valentia.70 The determination of the provenance is based not only on the cognomen, possibly an origo, but also on the fact that three of the five Vinuleii known up to now in Italy for the period (Rome excluded) are from Campania, and one from Cales.71
century A.D.52 The etymology (recalling the Auruncans who settled along the Garigliano river, the Roccamonfina volcano, and Monte Maggiore) is backed up by nine epigraphic records (Rome excluded) of the gens, that, although absent in the heart of the Auruncan territory, can be found immediately beyond its borders.53 Of Samnite origin, although they had settled since the 2nd century B.C. in the Volscan-Auruncan territory, can be added the Cervii, named among the magistri in the inscription of the Cabo de Palos.54 One ‘A. Cervios A.f.’ was cosol (consul), in this case, like in Ariminum, a citizen authority, in 3rd- century B.C. Beneventum55. A ‘Pe(tro) C(e)rvi(os)’, quaestor in the vicus Supinas (now Trasacco, in the valley of the ancient lake of Fucinus) in the 2nd half of the 3rd century B.C.56 is the first of a series of Cervii in the territory of the Marsi. Later one P. Cervis is registered in Ardea57 as well as one Dama, Cervi servus in Minturnae, among the magistri.58 Calenian must have been, instead, the Fiduii, whose ingots were also found in Ventotene,59 in the Pontine islands, and whose only epigraphic record in the Italian peninsula is actually in the town of Cales.60 Even the Fufii were probably from Cales: they are attested in Carthago Nova,61 and in Ilici, in a very interesting small bronze plate62 regarding a land allocation, in which stands out one Fufius Baliaricus, who seemingly can be linked to the two only records so far known in Spain, in the territory of Pollentia, on the island of Mallorca. The Fufii were widespread over Campania and Samnium in the Republican Age, and particularly in Capua63 and Cales. In this town there was a very important group, from where come ‘Q. Fufius Q.f. Q.n. Calenus, cos.’ 47 B.C., quoted by Cicero,64 a brother of L. Calenus, who was a witness against Verres in 70 B.C.65 He was the son of one Q. Fufius, a rich landowner in the plain between Capua and Cales, and perhaps a grandson of the author of the 154 B.C. lex Fufia de tr.pl. Certainly from Calenia were the Planii, whose ingots are scattered all over the Mediterranean.66 The first records in Cales date back to the 3rd century B.C. (a Calenian pottery manufacturer with the mark Q. PLA), the most remarkable is the Calenian negotiator, supporter
To conclude, one may present the case of the Saufeii, who seem to summarize in a very clear way the so far described phenomenon. This family, well documented in Late Republican times in Latium and Campania, are considered to have come from Praeneste but spread very early all over the Campanian plain, creating important nuclei in Pompeii and Minturnae.72 From Minturnae, or as a second possibility from Puteoli, a branch of the family started various maritime enterprises. Some members of the family settled in Delos, in Hispania, in the three ports of Tarraco (four recordings73), Dianium (three),74 Carthago Nova (two).75 One of these, A. Saufeius, could have been the navicularius of the ship, laden with amphorae (Dr. 1A, 1B, 1C, Lamb. 2) and black ware pottery, discovered in Ponza in 1986,76 linked to Hispaniae or Gallia Narbonensis. Bibliography Abascal, J.M., 1994, Los nombres personales en las inscripciones latinas de Hispania, Murcia Abascal, J.M. and Ramallo, S.F., 1997, La ciudad de Carthago Nova: la documentación epigráfica, Murcia Afzelius, A., 1944, Die Romänische Kriegsmacht während der Auseinandersetzung mit der hellenistischen Grossmachten, Copenaghen Araneguí Gascó, C., Bueno, M., 1995, ‘L. Planius Russinus en las costas de Dénia’, Saguntum, 29 – 2 Barreda, A., 1998, Tesis doctoral. Gentes itálicas en Hispania Citerior (218-14 d.C.).Los casos de Tarraco, Carthago Nova y Valentia, Barcelona Camodeca, G., 1993, ‘Archivi privati e storia sociale delle città campane: Puteoli ed Herculaneum’, IN: Prosopographie und Sozialgeschichte der Kaiserzeit, Kolloq, Köln 1991 Camodeca, G., 1999, Tabulae Pompeianae Sulpiciorum (TPSulp): edizione critica dell’archivio dei Sulpicii, Roma Camodeca, G., 2008, I ceti dirigenti di rango senatorio, equestre e decurionale della Campania romana, Napoli Cassola, F., 1983, ‘I Fannii in età repubblicana’, Vichiana, 12, 84-112 Castrén, P., 1975, Ordo populusque ponpeianus. Polity and society in Roman Pompei, Acta Instituti Romani Finlandiae, 8, Roma Coarelli, F., Torelli, M., Uroz Sáez, J., 1992 (eds.), Conquista romana y modos de intervención en la organización urbana y territorial. Primer Congreso Histórico – Arqueológico Hispano – Italiano, Roma
L. Aurunculeius L. l. C[--]ta (lead ingot from Carthago Nova, see Domergue 1990, ling.1007), perhaps in some relationship with the Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta, legatus of Caesar, murdered in Gallia by the Eburonii in 54 B.C. (Caesar, Bellum Gallicum, II, 11, 3; IV, 22, 5 and IV, 38, 3; Svetonius, Iul. XXV; Florus, Epistulae, III, 10, 8; Euthropius, VI, 17). L. Aurunculeius L. [-] At[---] (lead ingot from Carthago Nova, Domergue 1990, ling. 1008), maybe the same person appearing in the mark of another lead ingot found in Campofrío, Huelva, in Baetica. [Au] runculeia mulieris l. (Abascal and Ramallo 1997, no. 121, a funerary inscription from Carthago Nova, beginnings of the I century A.D.). 53 C. Aurunculeius (CIL X 3699, 2, 41, from Cumae, but in a late inscription, dating A.D. 251); L. Aurunculeius Secundio (AE 1909, 45, Pompeii); L. Aurunculeius Faustus (CIL IX 2388, Allifae, Julio-Claudian Age); P. Aurunculeius D.f. (CIL X 5688, Isola di Sora); Auruncleius and Auruncleius Chresimus (CIL X 6689 and CIL XV 7802, Antium); Aurun[culeius] T. et C. l. Er[---], Aurunculeia L.l. (CIL XIV 3731, and CIL IX 4048, Carseoli), Aurunculeia L. [-] (AE 1975, 302, Marruvium). 54 L. Cervius L.f. (CIL II 3433). 55 CIL IX 1633. 56 CIL I2 2873. 57 CIL I2 3039, on a mosaic. 58 CIL I 2679. 59 On the ingots of the Fiduii, Domergue 1990, ling. 1015. 60 CIL X 8379 and another one not yet published. 61 Fufia (CIL II 3495, I century B.C.); L. Fufius L. l. Varus (CIL II 3465). 62 AE 1999, 960 = 2001, 1251 = 2004, 857 = 2005, 863 = 2006, 682. 63 M. Fufius L.f., magister Castori et Polluci takes part in the construction of the theater in 106 B.C., building murum et pluteum (CIL I2 678 = X 3778); P. Fufius P. l. Chaeremo (CIL I2 683, 84 B.C.); M. Fufius C.f. Fal. (AE 1980, 218); M. Fufius M. l. Ga (CIL X 4119). 64 Cicero, Philippicae, 8, 13. 65 Cicero, Verrinae, II, 21-24. 66 Domergue 1965 and Domergue 1990, Aranegui and Bueno 1995. 52
On the Planii of Cales, Camodeca 2008 CIL I3 3449k. Abascal and Ramallo 1997. 70 CIL II 1480. 71 Vinuleia M.l. Vassa (EE, 08-01, 557, Cales); L. Vinuleius Cladus (CIL X 8059,443, Neapolis); Vinuleius Fortunatus (AE 1974, 258, Puteoli). 72 Guidobaldi and Pesando, 1989. 73 CIL II 4969,49-50, 165b, 188. 74 CIL II 3613-14; CIL II, 5973. 75 CIL II 6257, 73 and 173. 76 Galli 1993. 67 68 69
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Michele Stefanile: Sailing Towards the West Hatzfeld, J., 1912, ‘Les italien résidant à Délos’, Bulletin de Correspondance Héllenique, 36, 1-218 Marín Díaz, M.A., 1988, Emigración, Colonización y Municipalización en la Hispania Republicana, Granada Mommsen, T., 1923, Römische Geschichte, Berlin Richardson, J.S., 1997, ‘Una tierra de promisión’, IN: Arce, J., Ensoli, S. and La Rocca, E., Hispania Romana. Desde tierra de conquista a provincia del Imperio, Madrid-Milano Stefanile, M., 2009, ‘Il lingotto di piombo di Cn. Atellius Cn. f. Miserinus e gli Atellii di Carthago Nova’, Ostraka, 2009-2, 559-65 Thysseire, P., Tusa, S. et al., 2008, ‘The lead ingots of Capo Passero: Roman global Mediterranean trade’, Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 27-3, 315-23 Uroz Sáez, J., Noguera, M., Coarelli, F., (eds.) 2008, Iberia e Italia: modelos romanos de integración territorial, Murcia
Corell, J., 1999, Inscripcions romanes d’Ilici, Lucentum, Allon, Dianium i els seus territoris, Valencia Diaz Ariño, B., 2008, Epigrafía Latina Republicana de Hispania, Barcelona Domergue, C., 1965, ‘Les Planii et leur activité industrielle en Espagne sous la République’, Mèlanges de la Casa Vélazquez, I, 9-27 Domergue, C., Laubenheimer-Leenhardt, F. and Liou, B., 1974, ‘Les lingots de plomb de L. Carulius Hispalus’, Revue d’Archéologie de la Narbonnaise, 7, 119-37 Domergue, C., 1990, Les mines de la Péninsule Iberique dans l’Antiquité Romaine, Roma – Paris Galli, G. , 1993, ‘Ponza. Il relitto della Secca dei Mattoni’ IN: Archeologia Subacquea. Studi, ricerche, documenti, 1, 117129 Guidobaldi, M.P. and Pesando, F., 1989, ‘Note di prosopografia minturnense’, IN: Coarelli, F., Minturnae, Roma
Fig. 1. The area under discussion
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Fig. 2. The gentilitia mentioned in this study: their distribution and possible origins
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Michele Stefanile: Sailing Towards the West
Fig. 3. The origin of the gentes considered in this study
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Roman Period Theatres in Sicily: a Structuralist Approach Zeynep Aktüre
Izmir Institute of Technology (Izmir, Turkey), Department of Architecture
Additionally, we observe the early appearance, in pre-Roman examples in Greece, of modifications on the natural slope of land to obtain the optimum impact required for the cavea (e.g. Theatre of Dionysus in Athens); of wings constructed over manmade embankments (Argos, Sicyon, Dodone, Megalopolis) with interior and/or exterior buttressing in the latter two; and of components such as vaulted passages (Sicyon) or external stairways leading to a large exit above the central cuneus (Dodona, Megalopolis) from where the spectators could descend to their seats in the upper galleries of the cavea, which are features that are generally expected in Roman period theatres. In the context of Greece, these components were apparently introduced as a solution for functional requirements, such as structural and circulation problems, stemming from huge numbers of spectators to be accommodated during Pan-Hellenic Games or local assemblies in these cities which grew remarkably in size as the centres of local leagues during a period of transition into the Roman imperial system in the Mediterranean. The majority of the smaller theatres in both areas have their cavea on a natural slope.
This paper is the outcome of postdoctoral research in the summer of 2005, mainly in the collections of the American School of Classical Studies and the British School at Athens, Greece with a postgraduate research fellowship of the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation. The research is in continuation of doctoral work on a geo-historical classification of the ancient theatres in Greece and the Iberian Peninsula (Aktüre 2005). The main finds in the two areas were separately published earlier, one among the proceedings of SOMA 2005 that was held in Chieti, Italy (Aktüre 2008, 2007). Both publications refer to the working method and terminology of Braudel’s well-known structuralist approach to the history of the Mediterranean (e.g. Braudel 1980), especially in his seminal work The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II (1995). This study is divided into three parts that correspond to three planes of historic time in Braudel’s theory: the almost timeless history of the relationship between man and the environment that is called ‘geo-history’; the graduallychanging history of economic, social and political ‘structures’; and the fast-moving history of ‘events’. Braudel argues that the history of ‘events’ is unintelligible without the history of ‘structures’, which is in turn unintelligible without ‘geo-history’. This argument was heavily criticized for portraying the human race as a plaything in the hands of the Nature, as addressed by Kinser (1981). This present study, nevertheless, adopts it as a better classificatory model than one based on a distinction between Greek and Roman theatres.
This implies a connection between the size of a theatre and the construction technique used for its cavea, confirming the explanation of Gros (1994: 61), for the invention of a system of large and complex arches and vaults for the substructure of the Roman theatre cavea, as a solution to the problems posed by the necessity of accommodating huge numbers of spectators. The size of a theatre, on the other hand, may be observed to correlate in general with its rank in the regional settlement hierarchy. So, as observed at the Theatre of Kyme in Asia Minor, modifications in the orchestra or stage building of ancient theatres may result from changes in taste or ‘events’, such as imperial visits. Cavea enlargements, on the other hand, usually resulted from an improvement in a settlement’s status. The disputable method of calculating the population of a settlement from its theatre’s seating capacity is based on this correlation hypothesis. Strategic importance in economic, administrative, or military terms has an important part to play in settlement rank, in accord with Braudel’s accent on ‘geo-history’ as a determinant of ‘structures’.
The Starting Hypothesi The main problem with the widely-used Greek-Roman binarism is its openness to a colonial and ethno-centric explanation of cultural change. As an example, some Roman period theatres of Asia Minor have a larger-than-semicircular cavea, on the natural slope of a hill and detached from the stage building, unifying visually and physically with the natural landscape. These are all characteristics generally attributed to Greek theatre building and such survival of the local Greek-Hellenistic theatre-building tradition into the Roman period is often interpreted as an indication of resistence to cultural ‘Romanization’ (e.g. Frézouls 1982: 396-409; Bernardi 1990: 133; Sear 2006: 24). Roman period theatres are rather expected to have a semicircular cavea ‘on high subconstructions from level ground with a rich façade, a colonnaded gallery, and sometimes shrines on top’ (Bieber 1961: 189). However, the majority of the ancient theatres in the Iberian Peninsula, which all date from the Roman period, have a cavea ‘built against the hillside, and therefore has no outside façade’ (Bieber 1961: 189), as in the idea of a ‘Greek Theatre’. Only the largest in the provincial and conventus capital Corduba (modern Cordoba) and in the conventus capital Caesaraugusta (modern Saragossa) have their cavea on high sub-constructions from level ground.
This paper will discuss the conformity of the case of Roman Sicily with this starting hypothesis. Hellenistic Theatres of Early Republican Roman Sicily Beginning with ‘geo-history’, Sicily is located at the divide between the eastern and western, and northern and southern Mediterranean. In the Hellenistic period, this meant a divide between Carthage and Rome. In the Classical period, Carthaginian trading posts in western Sicily co-existed with Greek city-states on its eastern half, Syracusae being the most important (Fig. 1). In the course of the 5th century BC, Syracusae extended its control over other Sicilian Greek city-states and over the south-western
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SOMA 2011 the differentiation of an elite culture (Gosden 2004: 41-7), as exemplified by Hieron II in Sicily. The colonial experience is characterised by new forms of social and cultural capital that are seen by the local elite as novel resources that can be used for their own ends, such as the theatrical culture and architecture.
Mediterranean under powerful tyrants. This was made possible through victories over the Carthaginians (at Himera in 480 BC) and Etruscans (in a naval battle in 474 BC), rivalling Athens itself. Victories over Athens and Carthage followed in 415-13 BC and 410-397 BC respectively, and the following Carthaginian invasion of Sicily in the mid-4th century BC was repelled with Corinthian help in 339 BC, resulting in a re-building of the Greek cities and the establishment of democratic government in each. However, Syracusae would soon expand its power again over these cities and challenge Carthage for the hegemony over the island (PECS; Serrati 2000a: 109).
According to Dearden (2004: 123), Syracusae may be attributed a major role in acclimatising Romans to the theatre, due to the known existence of a pre-Roman theatre building designed by Damocopus of Myrilla. This was where Aeschylus’s Aetna and Persae may have been performed in 476 BC and 472 BC (Sears 2006: 191). No architectural remains have been securely identified with this building. However, there exist remains from a rock-cut rectilinear theatron, with no preserved trace of an orchestra or stage building. Anti and Polacco attribute these remains to an earlier trapezoidal phase leading to the nearby main theatre. These remains have formed the basis for the two authors for their alternative to the theory of a beginning in a circular orchestra at the site of the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens as the origin of ancient theatre architecture (e.g. Polacco 1983). They have argued for a linear evolution from stone rectilinear steps in the theatre areas of the Bronze Age Cretan palaces to those in the Archaic agoras of the Dorian cities of Dreros and Leto on Crete, before reaching the mainland to evolve there into a curvilinear form from the rectilinear and trapezoidal seating arrangements that are well documented in the Attic demes.
A soldier initially exiled by the oligarchy of Syracusae, which enabled him to acquire experience as a mercenary captain in Italy before his military coup in 319 BC, Agathocles (316-289 BC) later became one of the powerful Syracusan tyrants of this period. He crowned himself king in 305 BC and married a stepdaughter of Ptolemy I, both of which deeds brought Sicily more firmly into the Hellenistic world. After his death, the Mamertini (Sons of Mars) mercenaries he hired from Campania seized the northern city of Messana (Messina) to transform it into a raiding base (Serrati 2000a: 109-10). Syracusae first appealed, in 278 BC, to King Pyrrhus of Epiros, cousin of Alexander the Great and related to Agathocles through marriage, and he intervened on their behalf with success against both the Mamertini and the Carthaginians. Finally the most famous Syracusan tyrant Hieron II (269-15 BC) defeated the Mamertini in 265 BC, taking back Messana. The Mamertini appealed first to Carthage and then to their fellow Italians in Rome. This marks the beginning of Roman involvement in Sicily starting with the First Punic War in 264 BC (Serrati 2000a: 10910).
The surviving rock-cut cavea measures 138.5m in diameter, one of the largest in the Greek world (Fig. 2). It belongs to the theatre (re-)constructed by Hieron II in the 238-15 BC (Sears 2006: 191). Inscriptions on some of the seats document his family. According to Polacco (1977), the semicircular cavea of this theatre shaped the development of the Roman type of theatre (Wilson 1990: 364), whose seats are characterised by their semicircular format, differing from the larger-than-semi-circular Greek theatron. Segesta, among other pre-Roman Sicilian theatres, that also has analemmata parallel to the stage, as a possible model for the Roman type of theatre (Sturgeon 2007). Another Magna Graecian theatre, at Metapontum, is regarded by other scholars, including Mitens (1993: 94), as the real forerunner. Dating perhaps to the end of the 4th century BC, the theatre of Metapontum has the earliest semi-circular cavea that rises additionally on flat land over an earth fill of a minimum slope of 9º contained in polygonal walls whose outer façade is decorated with a Doric order of columns ‘carrying a triglyph frieze, cornice, and low attic, which has been seen as foreshadowing the Roman type of theatre façade… The theatre is of particular importance because Metapontum is near Tarentum, which the Romans captured in the early third century BC. Mertens [1982: 37-9] noted that there was a Macedonian influence in the tombs of the region and the theatre at Metapontum may have been subject to similar influence.’ (Sear 2006: 48) In any case, all these examples point to a direction from Sicily and Magna Graecia to Rome, and not vice versa, for the dissemination of the semi-circular cavea form.
Although the initial Roman capture of Messana had forced Hieron into alliance with Carthage, his failure to receive help during the following Roman siege of Syracusae in 263 BC led him into a treaty with Rome to retain his kingdom. Although dating to the Republican period, this accords with Gills (2003: 267) in that centralisation renders the land-owning elite dependent on the purposes of the state in empires, reducing their power through accumulation to the benefit of the state. The treaty kept Hieron untouched by war after 263 BC, enabling him to bring to Syracusae an unprecedented level of prosperity through his tax on grain, styling himself as an eastern Mediterranean monarch complete with his royal family and ruler-cult. Hieron continued to supply food to the Roman army until his death in 215 BC, when Carthage seized control of Syracusae. This forced Rome to lay siege to Syracusae in 213 BC. After the city finally fell and was sacked in 211 BC, it became the capital of the first Roman provincia. This marks the end of the Second Punic War in Sicily, and the beginning of a transformation to be completed under Augustus (Serrati 2000a: 110-12). Ancient theatrical culture and architecture of Sicily is one of the areas that reveal this two-century period as one of mutual interaction, in the sense described by Gosden (2004: 68-70) as ‘colonialism within a shared cultural milieu’. Gosden suggests the possibility that colonies may have altered the homeland as well as the colonised if operating in a period when identities were in the process of creation, as in the fluid world of the Mediterranean before the establishment of a centre with the Augustan pax romana. In this flexible network, a symbolic centre of reference and hierarchy in terms of production and exchange are maintained through the agency of local leaders, resulting in
Passing to the architectural development of the stage building, Sears (2006: 49) highlights the importance of the Sicilian theatres in Segesta and Tyndaris in the transition from the Hellenistic to the Roman type of stage building, as both have not only paraskenia but also three doorways flanked by columns. Importantly, excavations of these two monuments have established firmly for both, and less firmly for the theatre in Monte Iato, a 2nd-century BC initial construction (Wilson 2000: 143). ‘In other words some of the so-called “Greek” theatres of Sicily, of which Segesta’s is one of the most famous, do not belong to the late fourth century
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Zeynep Aktüre: Roman Period Theatres in Sicily to the destruction of the city by Rome in 146 BC (Frank and Thompson 2004), the same year as Corinth on the Greek mainland. Corinth also owed its power to lead the resistance against Roman control in Greece to its central position in the Mediterranean trade network. Remarkably, both cities were refounded as Roman colonies in 44 BC, less than two decades before the official establishment of the Roman Empire under the first emperor Augustus in 27 BC.
BC, the date usually ascribed to them in the archaeological literature, but were constructed up to two centuries later when Sicily was already a Roman province.’ (Wilson 2000: 143) Conforming to a correlation between theatre size and settlement rank, Hieron II’s Theatre at Syracusae was sizeable enough to serve the capital of this first Roman province. Later Roman alterations in the monument do not involve cavea enlargement as they do in the theatres of the other Roman colonies on the island (Fig. 3).
Frank and Gills (1993) argue for the possibility of expanding the ‘world-systems theory’, as formulated by Wallerstein, in time and space to cover the whole globe as a single system. They base their argument on continuity in capital accumulation in a centre-periphery hierarchy, among the characteristics by which Wallerstein distinguishes the modern capitalist worldsystem. While Wallerstein focuses on the mode of agricultural production as the source of continuous capital accumulation, Frank and Gills highlight trade as creating interdependencies and interconnectivity in a network, making it work as a single system within which cycles of economic expansion and contraction lead to periods of hegemony and competition, resulting in shifts of centre. They argue that capital accumulation results from technological development and investment in the infrastructure of agriculture, transportation, communications, defence, production, and trade; as well as in that of culture, ideology and religion to justify the hegemony of the centre. The impressive theatre at Syracusae may be counted among such investments on Sicily, importantly through the initiative of a local tyrant who had now become dependent on the purposes of Rome in exchange for immunity from war. This led to the abandonment of pre-existing hilltop settlements as an indication of the lost precedence of defence. As to the pre-existing city-states, they were in large part left to govern themselves, while several enjoyed special privileges – a system that apparently worked for about two centuries with minor disturbances (Serrati 2000a: 112).
Early Imperial Roman Performance Buildings in Sicily Alcock (1989: 87), among others, notes a Roman preference for administration through indirect rule with the pre-existing local elite based in cities, which made cities the basic building blocks of Roman rule (Alcock 1989: 94). Sicily provides an early example supporting this argument with the Syracusan tyrant Hieron II, who continued to provide food to Rome and the Roman army after the treaty of 241 BC. Urban centres were promoted in areas where they did not already exit; and wherever they existed, their organization was adapted to the administrative needs and financial requirements of the imperial power through population displacement and colonial foundations. This resulted in a hierarchical urban network that was articulated by communications and exchanges (Alcock 1989: 90-95). In Sicily such a network of coastal trading posts, city-states and lesser hilltop settlements already existed before the establishment of Roman control over the island (Fig. 1). This was due to the attraction of the agricultural resources and the strategic location of the island between the eastern and western, northern and southern halves of the Mediterranean, which were connected through commercial transactions after the establishment of a network of Greek and Phoenician trading posts. The maritime and commercial centre of the network was Carthage, a Phoenician foundation in North Africa that served as a stepping stone for the export of tin from modern Cornwall (s/w England) to Tyre, enabling great capital accumulation in the city (Baird 2000). The establishment, in 600 BC, of the Greek emporium of Massilia (modern Marseilles) by the Phocaeans from Anatolia created an alternative market, introducing competitiveness and resulting in a series of military engagements between Carthaginians and Phocaeans that ended with the latter’s defeat in the Battle of Alalia in 535 BC. In that period Rome was a land-based power that had slowly advanced to a dominating position in the Italian Peninsula, with few trading interests, culminating in an adventurous move into Sicily that led to the First Punic War (Warmington 1980: 8).
One of these privileged cities was Messana, the city at whose behest Rome invaded Sicily, which was now given the status of a full ally (civitas foederata) while four other places (Halaesa, Halicyae, Centuripe, and Segesta) were declared to be free states which were immune from taxes (civitates sine foedere immunes ac liberae). ‘Halaisa and Halicyai both surrendered to Rome in 263, while the other two were accorded these privileges because they claimed a kinship with the Romans through Aeneas.’ (Serrati 2000b: 120) The theatres constructed at Segesta, Tyndaris, and possibly Monte Iato in the 2nd century BC may be interpreted as a reflection of this period of peace and prosperity on the island. However, in 42 BC, Pompey’s son Sextus took control of Sicily and blockaded the grain supply to Rome in cooperation with the islanders, ‘an action for which they would pay a price.’ (Serrati 2000a: 113) On taking back the island, Octavian pardoned those who surrendered to him immediately while he stripped others of their Latin rights, which had been conferred on them by Caesar, and charged large indemnities (Fig. 3).
The period of the Punic Wars corresponds to one of economic contraction in Italy and one of expansion for Carthage/Africa among the cycles of economic expansion and contraction during the Early Iron Age, as hypothesized by Frank and Thompson (2004). These scholars identify the emergence of Carthage as a strong competitor as being the result of the synchronic Assyrian siege of Tyre in the eastern Mediterranean. The Phoenician Levantine cities, such as Carthage, had in their turn emerged from another contraction phase, between 1200-750 BC, that had fuelled commercial and colonial expansion in the same way that a contraction phase had fuelled Roman commercial and colonial expansion a millennium later, putting them in competition with the Carthaginians. The competition was for the control of the trade network established during Greek and Phoenician expansion, under what Gills (2003: 254) names as a ‘command empire’. Carthage would remain predominantly expansive up
As an example, the entire population of Tauromenium was deported and an Augustan veteran colony was settled there in 21 BC, when others were established also in Catina, Syracusae, Termini Imerese, and Tyndaris; to be followed in 14 BC by a sixth colony in Panormous (Palermo). Except for Termini Imerese and Panormous, where no ancient theatre remains have been unearthed so far, these colonies are where intense theatreconstruction activity is attested for the Early Imperial Roman period. A spectacular example is the theatre at Tauromenium, where comprehensive Roman period rebuilding resulted in
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SOMA 2011 the latter two cases (Wilson 1990: 57). Also at Segesta, while traces of concrete (when interpreted in the light of numismatic evidence) suggest Augustan refurbishment to support seating in the upper cavea, later alterations are unevidenced (Wilson 1990: 58). Theatre-construction is observed, instead, at strategic sites along the land and sea routes connecting Rome to the eastern and western provinces of the Empire, in such a way as to support Braudelian geo-historical determinism. These newly-established marginal centres formed the nodes in the administrative network, together with the allied city-states and leagues scattered throughout the countryside (Rizakis 1997: 15). According to our starting hypothesis, a classification of ancient theatre remains by size would overlap hierarchies intrinsic in this network (Fig. 6). I
a physical shift from a ‘Greek’ to a ‘Roman’ building form in terms of the binarism outlined earlier. This may encourage an interpretation of Roman-period theatre construction and reconstruction on Sicily as a form of forced Romanisation to consolidate Roman power by imposing a common architectural vocabulary that is thought to be the same in every city of the Empire (Ball 2000: 247; Beacham 1999: 126, 128), as in the domination-and-resistance model of ‘Romanisation’. However, as Kathryn Lomas (2000: 166) also points out, both at Tauromenium and at Catina: ‘the rebuilding and substantial romanisation of the theatres was not a single act but an on-going process, with building phases and additions at several points in the first and second centuries AD (notably Augustan/JulioClaudian, Flavian and Antonine/Hadrianic.
Indeed, after Roman-period modifications, the largest theatres in Sicily were located in the four Roman colonies in eastern Sicily. Syracusae had the largest capacity of 14,000-17,000, in accord with its rank as the provincial capital. Even in its Hellenistic phase, the building would rank as an ‘event’ conditioned by contemporary economic, social and political ‘structures’, as Hieron II was a Roman client king who supported the Roman cause during the Punic War. The theatre in Tauromenium had a capacity of 10,000; and those in Catina and Tyndaris of 7,000 people. To enable a comparison, before the Roman remodelling, the theatre of Tyndaris had a capacity of 2,000-3,000; and those at Monte Iato and Segesta 4,400 and 3,200 respectively (Rossetto and Sartorio 1994/95/96). Moreover, while the theatres in these latter two sites along the western coast underwent a gradual process of neglect and abandonment, the four Augustan colonies along its eastern coast were furnished with other types of performance buildings. Odeon remains have been unearthed at Tauromenium and Catina. Historical sources mention the existence of circuses at Catina and Syracusae and amphitheatre remains have been attested at Catina and Syracusae (Figs. 4-5), while traces indicate a conversion for amphitheatre games in the theatres at Tauromenium and Tyndaris (Wilson 1990: 78-90). The investment exemplified in the performance buildings of these colonial establishments resulted in the marginalisation of some western Sicilian cities.
Therefore, although Early Imperial Roman theatres in Sicily do exemplify the so-called Roman type, especially in their stage building and its unification with the cavea, some of these characteristics had precedents in pre-Roman theatres on the island and then were repeated in the newly-established Roman colonies that were the most active in terms of public building constructions (Lomas 2000: 167). The four Augustan colonies marked by Roman public buildings as such are located along the eastern shore of the island, which may be interpreted as an outcome of a structural change introduced by the Augustan conquests and administrative re-organisation in the Mediterranean. By that time, as Serrati notes (2000a: 113), ‘the importance of Sicily to the Roman empire, though still significant, was beginning to wane, as the vast grain fields of Egypt had now been incorporated into the Roman borders.’ The four flourishing Augustan colonies on Sicily, including the provincial capital Syracusae, are all along the sea route connecting those Egyptian fields to the city of Rome through the Messena Straits. In none of the Roman settlements in the western (formerly Punic) half of the islands, remains from novel theatres have been attested so far. These minor Roman settlements include the major Republican garrisons established after the Second Punic War at Lilybaeum (Marsala), the former Carthaginian capital of Sicily, and at Drepana (Trapani) (Serrati 2000b: 128). In addition to the one reported in Termini Imerese (Himera) on the northern coast, ‘Lilybaeum and Panormus [Palermo] probably had amphitheatres by the second century [AD], but these are attested only in inscriptions.’ (Lomas 2000: 167)
As an example, as were all the other important Carthaginian towns on Sicily, the Phoenician base at Panormous was an oppidum in the Augustan period, up to the settlement there of a Roman colony in 14 BC. Palermo is currently the capital of the Autonomous Region of Sicily and the largest city on the island. The second largest is Catania, followed by Messina, Siracusa, and Marsala. This continuity with the Roman-period settlement hierarchy, and the re-development of the sites of Phoenician trade posts, such as the Carthaginian capitals on the island, may perhaps be explained by the strategic location of the island and seem to justify Braudel’s emphasis on geo-history.
Conclusion When taken together, these establishments and subsequent investments in the urban infrastructure display the gradual transformation of the hierarchical structure in the looselyknit pre-Roman settlement network on Sicily parallel to the centralization of power in the transition of Rome from a republic into an empire. The distribution of Roman period theatre constructions on the island accords well with the settlement hierarchy in administrative terms, as hinted in the pioneering works that have adopted systems approach in Classical Studies (e.g. Woolf 1997; Alcock 1993; Rizakis 1997). These argue that the emergence of a hierarchical urban network through a reallocation of agricultural land and establishment of new colonies was the most obvious indication of Roman rule in the provinces of the Early Empire. An indication of such re-structuring on Sicily may be the apparent neglect and decline in the Theatres of Acrae, Helorus, Monte Iato, and Soluntum, with domestic buildings over the theatre as early as the 1st century AD in
Returning to our starting hypothesis of a possible correlation between size and construction technique of the cavea, the largest four Sicilian theatres fail to provide support for it, as they all have their cavea carved into the native rock except for Catina where: ‘[t]he summa cavea was the only major part of the seating not resting on the natural slope of the hillside: it was raised over the outermost and largest of the three internal corridors designed to assist access to, and rapid egress from, the main part of the auditorium.’ (Wilson 1990: 66) (Fig. 7) In this respect, the Sicilian examples parallel those on the Iberian Peninsula, revealing the still employed technique of using a natural slope for seating arrangements as part of the
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Zeynep Aktüre: Roman Period Theatres in Sicily Dearden, C. (2004) Sicily and Rome: the Greek context for Roman drama. IN: Beaumont, L., C. Baker and E. Bollen eds., Festschrift in Honour of J. Richard Green – Mediterranean Archaeology, 17, 121-30. Frank, A.G. and W.R. Thompson (2004) Early Iron Age economic expansion and contraction revisited. Available from: www. safarmer.com/Indo-Eurasian/ironagetext.pdf [Accessed 27 April, 2011] Frézouls, E. (1982) Aspects de l’histoire architectural du théâtre romain. Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt–Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der Neueren Forschung II, 12, 1, 343-441. Gills, B.K. (2003) Dünya sisteminde hegemonik geçişler. IN: Frank, A.G. and B.K. Gills eds., Dünya Sistemi: Beş Yüzyıllık mı, Beş Binyıllık mı?, İstanbul, İmge Kitabevi, 235-79. Gosden, C. (2004) Archaeology and Colonialism. Cultural Contact from 5000 BC to the Present, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Gros, P. (1994) Le schème Vitruvien du théâtre latin et sa signification dans le système normatif du De Architectura. Revue Archéologique, 1/1994, 57-80. Kinser, S. (1981) Annaliste Paradigm? The Geohistorical Structuralism of Fernand Braudel. American Historical Review, 86/1, 63-105. Lomas, K. (2000) 12. Between Greece and Italy: an external perspective on culture in Roman Sicily. IN: Smith, C. and J. Serrati eds., Sicily from Aenas to Augustus. New Approaches in Archaeology and History, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 161-73. Mertens, D., A. De Siena (1982) Metaponto: il teatroekklesiasterion, I. Bollettino d’arte, LXVII, 16, 1-60. Mitens, K. (1993) Theatre architecture in Central Italy: reception and resistence. IN: Bilde, P.G., I. Nielsen and M. Nielsen eds., Aspects of Hellenism in Italy: Towards a Cultural Unity?,. Copenhagen, Museum Tusculanum Press, 91-103. PECS – Stillwell, R. ed. (1976) Princeton Encyclopaedia of Classical Sites. Available from: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu [Accessed May 2007] Polacco, L. (1983) Théâtre, sociéte, organisation de l’État. IN: Théâtre et Spectacles dans l’Antiquité – Actes du Colloque de Strasbourg, 5-7 novembre 1981, Strasbourg, Université des Sciences Humainés de Strasbourg, 5-15. Polacco, L. (1977) Il teatro greco di Siracusa: modello al teatro romano. Numismatica e antichità classiche, 6, 107-17. Rizakis, A.D. (1997) 2. Roman Colonies in the Province of Achaia: Territories, Land and Population. IN: Alcock, S.E. ed., The Early Roman Empire in the East, Oxford, Oxbow Books, 15-36. Sear, F. (2006) Roman Theatres. An Architectural Study, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Serrati, J. (2000a) 9. The Coming of the Romans: Sicily from the fourth to the first centuries BC. IN: Smith, C. and J. Serrati eds., Sicily from Aenas to Augustus. New Approaches in Archaeology and History, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 109-14. Serrati, J. (2000b) 10. Garrison and grain: Sicily between the Punic Wars . IN: Smith, C. and J. Serrati eds., Sicily from Aenas to Augustus. New Approaches in Archaeology and History, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 115-33. Sturgeon, M.C. (2007) Review of Sear (2006). Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007.02.16. Available from: http://ccat.sas. upenn.edu/bmcr/2007/2007-02-16.html [Accessed 31 May, 2007] Warmington, B.H. (1980) Punic Wars. IN: Encyclopedia Americana, 23, Danbury, Connecticut, Americana Corporation, 8-9.
almost timeless history of the relationship between man and the environment. Nevertheless, these conclusions should be regarded with caution in the light of the scarcity of archaeological data (Fig. 6). Twenty Sicilian cities are cited as featuring one or more ancient performance buildings in the Teatri Greci e Romani edited by Ciancio Rossetto and Pisani Sartorio (1994/95/96), which catalogues all the ancient Greek and Roman performance buildings documented in written and/or architectural remains. In one of these cities (Gela), a performance building is only hypothesised. In four others (Agrigento, Enna, Entella, Palermo) theatres are recorded in written documents. In yet another city (Halaesa Arconidea/Tusa), scanty remains from a performance building have been found near the forum area and in another (Agyrium/Agira), they have been attested beneath a standing church. This leaves us with thirteen Sicilian cities with one or more performance buildings from which there are architectural remains in a state of preservation sufficient to provide data for the present research. Future discoveries will contribute to these tentative conclusions. Bibliography Aktüre Şiram, Z. (2008) Geographic distribution and architectural characteristics of Roman theatres in Greece. A theoretical approach based on Fernand Braudel’s three planes of historical time. IN: Menozzi, O., M.L. Di Marzio and D. Fossataro eds., SOMA 2005 Proceedings of the IX Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, Chieti (Italy), 24–26 February 2005, Oxford, BAR International Series 1739, 311-18. Aktüre, Z. (2007) Geographic distribution and architectural characteristics of ancient theatres in modern Spain – a structuralist interpretation. IN: Croxford, B., N. Ray, R. Roth, N. White eds., TRAC 16 – Proceedings of the Sixteenth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference, Cambridge 2006, Oxford, Oxbow Books, 17-33. Akture, Z. (2005) A Typology of Ancient Theatres in Modern Spain and Greece – A Geo-Historical Approach. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Ankara, Middle East Technical University. Alcock, S.E. (1993) Graecia Capta: An Archaeological and Historical Study of Roman Greece, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Alcock, S.E. (19899 Archaeology and imperialism. Roman expansion and the Greek city. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 2/1, 90. Baird, R.B. (2000) Cadiz. Available from: http://www. ancientroute.com/cities/Cadiz.htm [Accessed July, 2002] Ball, W. (2000) Rome in the East. The Transformation of an Empire, London; New York, Routledge. Beacham, R.C. (1999) Spectacle Entertainments of Early Imperial Rome, New Haven, Yale University Press. Bernardi Ferrero, D. de (1990) Batı Anadolu’nun Eski Çağ Tiyatroları, Ankara, İtalyan Kültür Heyeti Arkeoloji Araştırmaları Bölümü. Bieber, M. (1961) The History of the Greek and Roman Theater, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press. Braudel, F. (1995) The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, , Berkeley etc., University of California Press. Braudel, F. (1980) On History, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press. Ciancio Rossetto, P. and G. Pisani Sartorio (1994/95/96) Teatri Greci e Romani – Alle Origini del Linguaggio Rappresentato, Roma, Edizioni Seat.
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SOMA 2011 Woolf, G. (1997) 1. The Roman Urbanization of the East. IN: Alcock, S.E. ed., The Early Roman Empire in the East, Oxford, Oxbow Books, 1-14.
Wilson, R.J.A. (2000) 11. Ciceronian Sicily: an archaeological perspective. IN: Smith, C. and J. Serrati eds., Sicily from Aenas to Augustus. New Approaches in Archaeology and History, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 134-60. Wilson, R.J.A. (1990) Sicily under the Roman Empire. The Archaeology of a Roman Province, 36 BC – AD 535, Warminister, Aris and Phillips Ltd.
Fig. 1: Pre-Roman settlements on Sicily (after http://www.mmdtkw.org/CNAf0310GreekCarthSettlements.jpg [Accessed 27 February, 2011])
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Fig. 2: Theatre of Siracusa (March 2011)
Fig. 3: Augustan period settlement hierarchy on Sicily (after Wilson 1990)
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Fig. 4: Remains from the amphitheatre at Siracusa (March 2011)
Fig. 5: Remains from the amphitheatre at Catania (March 2011)
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Fig. 6: A classification of ancient theatre remains on Sicily by their cavea dimensions or seating capacitie
Fig. 7: Vaulted substructures of the Roman-period theatre (left) and odeon (right) at Catania (March 2011)
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A Fish-Processing Plant in Milazzo (ME) During the 1st Imperial Age Annunziata Ollà
Soprintendenza Beni Culturali e Ambientali di Messina (Sicily)
be linked to the preparation of garum, although the presence of residue still connected to vertebrae does not allow us to rule out the hypothesis of the simple processing of salted fish.
Over the last two decades, Milazzo has undergone numerous urban-archaeology investigations which have allowed us to deepen our knowledge of the ancient topography of the town, and have shown a continuous residential presence from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine Period. Of particular interest are the investigations carried out in the Vaccarella area, the sole area, until now, to have provided evidence of the inhabited and production quarters of the Roman city.1 The said Roman city comprises the area (Fig. 1) which is the subject of this study, and which, pin-pointed in modern maps under the name of “piazzetta Mezzaluna”, is situated not far from the current coast line, within the sea inlet of the ancient port of Mylai.2
The tanks retain their waterproofing in cocciopesto and mortar, with rounded corners at the bottom for the collection of waste material. The mortars do not remain on other surfaces, cavities or around the drainage holes that allow for better cleaning of the tanks. Given the fragmentation of the structures it is not possible to provide a detailed reading of the organisation of the internal spaces of the plant (tanks, fish-cleaning, amphorae storing and equipment storing areas), nor may we suppose a different function for the single tanks, as only one of these seems to have been abandoned during its period of use. However, the areas reserved for the tanks and processing remain clearly defined.
Some parts of structure and layers were discovered here, which provide evidence of recurring human presence in four distinct historical periods with the continued exploitation of the site from at least the Hellenistic age to the Late Roman age, the latter proven only by pottery found in the filling of the tanks and in the areas that indicate their partial destruction. However only the fish-processing plant dating back to the 1st Imperial Age will be discussed in this study. Of the said plant six tanks were identified, five of which are next to each other and the sixth, even though in the same direction, is separate from the other tanks and shows signs of modern disturbance. The tanks (the so-called cetariae) are rectangular and, apart from tank number 6 which lies EW, all the others are NS oriented. It has not been possible to verify the orientation of tank number 5. Built in ordinary cobble-stone wall work and rendered waterproof by the use of hydraulic mortar, the tanks already in ancient times appeared to be free of their original surmounting structures (Fig. 2).
The stratification of the various resurfacing phases of floor mortaring, quite visible under the partition wall between tanks 1 and 2, provides evidence of the on-going usage of the structure over time (Fig. 4). The phase identified, according to the assumed conjunction with the amphora (US116) finds, and according to a series of correlations that may be made with the other structures present on the site, can be dated back to the 1st Imperial Age. Of particular interest is also a layer belonging to a more ancient production plant discovered in the easternmost area of the site and characterised by the presence of burnt fish residue (US289). Such a level is consistent with short lengths of wall and ceramic fragments, particularly amphorae and black-glazed pottery, which date back to between the end of the 4th and the 3rd centuries B.C.
Sealed directly by the preparatory stratum of the modern square, the tanks displayed different stratigraphical filling conditions. Tanks 1 and 3 were full of soil fill, mixed with pottery sherds dating back to between the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 6th century A.D., among which the presence of cooking pans in Pantellerian ware, is worth noting. Tank 2 displayed, underneath a surface deposit with pottery dating back to between the 4th and the 5th centuries A.D., substantial residue of mortar and stones (US117), probably connected to the dismantling of the surmounting part of the structure. Tank 6 displayed, apart from its fish residue, a very small quantity of pottery (US81) consisting of tile fragments and a very few sherds of Dressel 2122, and a sherd rim of a bowl in African-Red Slip ware (Hayes 67 Type; 2nd half of the 4th-5th century A.D.). The activity of the plant is exemplified more evidently by tank 4, which was full of an homogeneous deposit of fish residue (US119) about 30 cm thickness.
Some layers from a site slightly more to the north, in the same area of Vaccarella, also belong to the same chronological period. These layers are characterised by the presence of organic residue of fish and of fragments of amphorae (MGSIII). The small tanks discovered in a third area to the south of the site of Piazzetta Mezzaluna should belong to an intermediate phase. Two of these small tanks, the fill of which dates back to the 1st Imperial Age, are preserved for at least a metre in height. Such evidence would confirm the practice of activities connected with the conservation of fish along this stretch of coast from at least early Hellenistic times. Returning to the site of Piazzetta Mezzaluna, we note in the southern sector an area that, due to the number (48 items)4 and arrangement of the amphorae, can be identified as a stocking area. Such evidence (US116), characterised by the presence of amphorae still in situ and sometimes with their content still in them (fish and ochre), confirms the existence of fish processing, be it salting or the preparation of sauces.
In this deposit 532 examples of fish residues were identified (mainly spinal rays and vertebrae), of which 283 can be linked to tuna (Fig. 3). Other fish residues – unidentifiable small spines and vertebrae – provide evidence of the use of other species, smaller in size, also traceable to bluefish3. All the residues can 1 2 3
The material, very homogeneous, consists mainly of amphorae related to the Dressel 21-22 Type, to which can be added a
Ollà 2009: 252-53. Tigano 2003; Tigano 2005; Tigano 2008. Mangano 2009: 271.
The quantity refers to the minimum number of the entire assemblage of amphorae finds, including toes and handles. 4
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among which we note only one different amphora type (‘pseudo Cos-en Cloche’ type?).15
The amphorae storeroom was covered by a collapsed layer5 of tile sherds and carbonized remains relating to the roof.
Among the Milazzo finds two main fabrics were identified: the first is a light-coloured clay, almost yellowish, soft, depurated, and the other is a red clay, stiffer and more compact and characterised by the precise nature of its eventual fractures. Only a limited number of fragments have been analysed petrographically so far and these have allowed the identification of a medium-coarse fabric, variable in colour from an orange yellow to a brownishred, a greenish colour, and the identification of a base fossiliferous paste, and with the presence of metamorphic agents and calcite.16 The two types of fabric are used randomly for the morphological variants. On the basis of the bibliographical comparisons of the petrographic analyses, both the Campania-region production and the items coming from Alcamo were excluded. It has not yet been possible to carry out a petrographic comparison with the one single amphora that was salvaged from the wreck of Panarea, whose morphology seems similar to at least two amphorae from Milazzo.
The abovementioned level sealed, in part, a wall segment separating two rooms. On the floor level (US262) of the room to the north fragments of Italian terra sigillata were found, including a Ritterling 5/Haltern 8 bowl6 with a circular ATEI mark7 indicating the use of the above-mentioned structures at least until Claudian times. On the basis of the dislocation of these rooms and the direction of the collapse and the stratigraphical succession, it is thought (see the layout plan) that the original location of the amphorae store was immediately in front of the rooms and that therefore the area was originally terraced. The most frequently mentioned container at US116, as previously noted, is the Dressel 21-22 (Fig. 5). To this grouping also belong, on the basis of toes/feet and handles, at least 32 items that display morphological variations to rim and body. At least one of these items preserves part of its content, i.e. processed fish, the residue of which appears similar to that present in tank 4. Various items of the same type, often also containing residue of processed fish, come from other areas of the excavation under study.
Regarding the type of product transported by Dressel 21-22 containers, there is ever increasing evidence of their use for various liquid foodstuffs. Their presence at a fish plant has already been recorded at Pompeii,17 in the unit ascribed to ‘Aulus Umbricius Scaurus’. Here the amphorae were stored upside down waiting to be used. Recent studies, through the reassessment of the inscriptions, marks and Tituli Picti on the Dressel 21-22 assemblages from both Spain and Italy increasingly identify such amphorae as containers of fish sauces.18 In the light of such evidence the importance of the Milazzo complex appears even more conspicuous, especially because of the obvious link between the plant and the store area, where at least one of the Dressel 21-22 finds contains the fish sauce processed in the tanks.
Nine variants to the rim shapes were identified, changing from rounded section to a pseudo-rectangular one, more or less ribbed. A clear lower cavity shows in variants 1-6, but not in types 7-9. The size of the rim appears constant, varying in diameter between 18 and 22cm and with a height ranging from 2.8 to 4cm. The bodies, more or less tapered, sometimes reveal a heavier shape, with a larger diameter in the lower part. The maximum size is constant: height 85-96cm, with maximum diameter 26-29cm. The handles are generally ribbed and always placed at the top of the body at a height that ranges from 9 to 11cm.8
The rarer finds include the two examples of the Richborough 527/Lipari Type.19 One of these amphora from our contexts belongs to the Lipari 2a Type, dating back to between the second half of the 1st/ early 2nd century A.D. The other item example was used as a container for ochre.20 Because of its fragmentary condition it is difficult to date, but it could belong to the 1B type coming from the end of the Augustan era or early Flavian times. Confirmed by petrographic studies,21 the macroscopic analysis of the fabric (very coarse and hard, full of vacuoles and inclusions, varying in colour between light-yellow and yellow-green, with no slip) suggests a Lipari provenance.
These containers are almost absent in the province of Messina, where, apart from the evidence from Milazzo, they are known only from a limited number of items at Lipari,9 Messina,10 Caronia (Kalè Aktè)11 and San Fratello (Apollonia),12 even though important complexes dating back to the 1st century A.D. were found at sites such as Tindari, Giardini and Tusa. There is little evidence of the said containers along the coasts of eastern Sicily,13 whereas the type is more widespread in western area of the island (Fig. 7).14
Dressell 2-4 amphorae are represented by rim sherds from fragmented amphorae, of which only one single container has been reassembled to the shoulder. The fabric22 and morphology could indicate a connection with the amphorae of the same kind discovered in the Ionian and Tyrrhenian areas of Sicily. On a first morphological and petrographic-macroscopic examination, the item appears very similar to the example coming from
Among the most recent finds we may mention the interesting kiln at Alcamo, whose production seems however different (both morphologically and petrographically) from the items found at Milazzo and, above all, from the wreck discovered at Panarea (over 100m below sea level and still in its original location at the time of its sinking), whose cargo consists of Dressel 21-22 forms, Ollà 2009: 258, fig. 3. Ettlinger 1990: forma 22.1-3, p. 90, Atlante II, tav. LVII, nn. 11-15, p.197. 7 Oxè and Confort 1968: nn. 144, 405h, 419a, 560-562, 618, 628, 678682, 752-750. 8 Ollà 2009: 258-262, tav. I-IV. 9 Messina, Ancona and Ollà: 1998: 365. 10 Bonanno 2001: p. 201. 11 Bonanno and Sudano 2008: 35, Lindhagen 2006: 60-69. 12 Bonanno and Perrotta 2008: 45. 13 Basile 1992: pp. 55-86. 14 Purpura 1977: 53; Isler 1980: 25, Purpura 1986: 143, Wilson 1988: nt. 21; Botte 2009: 122, fig. 4-09. 5 6
Tusa 2010: 268-9. Barone et al. 2009: 291-2, 297. Botte 2009: pp. 95-97. Gonzales Muro 2006, Gonzales Muro 2009, Botte 2009: 120-168. Borgard and Capelli 2005: 211-13; Borgard and Cavalier 2005: 157-
15 16 17 18 19
169.
Chemical analyses were made by the laboratory of the Scienze Geologiche di Catania and Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra di Messina. 21 Barone et al.: 290, 297. 22 Barone et al.: 2009: 291-292, 297. 20
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Annunziata Ollà: A Fish-Processing Plant Tindari Cercadenari.23 The rim fragments identified indicate the presence of at least six items, not all of them characterised by the same fabric. A variety of fabrics was noticed which were macroscopically comparable with those of Dressel 21-22 type.
Bibliography Aa.Vv. 1992. Atti V Rassegna di Archeologia Subacquea. V Premio Franco Papò. Giardini Naxos 19-21 ottobre 1990, Messina. Borgard, P., Brun, J-P.and Picon M. eds, 2005. L’alun de Méditerranée, Colloque International (Naples, 4-6 juin 2003 – Lipari, 7-8 juin 2003), Naples – Aix-en-Provence 2005. Ancona, G., Messina, E. and Ollà, A. 1998. Studio tipologico delle anfore rinvenute negli scavi 1970-1972 nell’area del terreno vescovile intorno alle mura urbiche ed alle case romane. IN: L. Bernabò Brea and M. Cavalier eds., Meligunìs Lipàra, vol. IX, Topografia di Lipari in età greca e romana. Parte II. La città bassa, Palermo 1998, pp. 353-377. Atlante II Atlante delle forme ceramiche, vol. II: Ceramica fine romana nel bacino del Mediterraneo, suppl. EAA, Roma 1985. Barone, G., Belfiore, C.M., Mazzoleni P. et alii, 2009. Indagini archeometriche su reperti ceramici da Milazzo. IN: Tigano, G. ed. 2009, pp. 273-301. Basile, B., 1992. Stabilimenti per la lavorazione del pesce lungo le coste Siracusane: Vendicari e Portopalo, in Aa.Vv. 1992, pp. 55-86. Bonanno, C., 2001. Messina, via Catania. IN: Bacci, G.M. and Tigano, G. eds. 2001. Da Zancle a Messina: un percorso archeologico attraverso gli scavi, vol. II.1, Messina, pp. 195213. Bonanno, C. and Perrotta, G., 2008. I materiali di età ellenistico-romana. IN: Bonanno, C. ed., Apollonia. Indagini archeologiche sul Monte di San Fratello 2003-2005, Roma, pp. 39-45. Bonanno, C. and Sudano, F., 2008. I materiali. IN: Bonanno, C. ed. 2008. Kalè Akté.Scavi in contrada Pantano di Caronia Marina 2003-2005, Roma, pp. 29-46. Bonifay, M. 2004. Etudes sur la ceramique romaine tardive d’Afrique, BAR Int. S. 1301, Oxford 2004. Borgard, P. and Capelli, C.2005. Origine et typologie des amphores à alun de Lipari. IN: Borgard, Brun and Picon eds., 2005, pp. 211-213. Borgard, P. and Cavalier, M. 2005. Les amphores à alun (Ier siècle avant J.C.-IVe siècle après J.C.). IN: Borgard, Brun, Picon (eds.). 2005, pp. 157-169. Botte, E. 2009. Salaisons et sauces de poisson en Italie du sud et en Sicile durant l’Antiquité, Naples. Bruno, B. 2005. Le anfore da trasporto. IN: Gandolfi, D. ed., La ceramica e i materiali di età romana. Classi, produzioni, commerci e consumi, Torino, pp. 353-394. Etienne, R. and Mayet, F. 2002. Salaisons et sauces de poisson hispaniques, Paris. Ettlinger, E. et alii, 1990, Conspectus Formarum Terrae Sigillatae Italico Modo Confectae, Romisch-Germanische Kommission des Deutschen, Archaologischen Instituts zu Frankfurt a. Main, Bonn. Gonzales Muro, X. 2006. Lo scavo archeologico: prime condiserazioni sulle strutture e il materiale rinvenuto. IN: D. Giorgetti (ed.), Le fornaci di Alcamo. Rassegna, ricerche e scavi 2003-2005, Roma, pp. 35-97. Gonzales Muro, X., 2009. La fornace «B» di Alcamo Marina. Produzione della forma Dressel 21-22 (Trapani-Sicilia). IN: Pasqualini M. ed. Les céramiques communes d’Italie et de Narbonnaise. Structures de production, typologies et contextes inédits. IIe siècle av. J.C. – IIIe siècle ap. J.C., Naples, pp. 451-470.
One single rim provides evidence of the Dressel 9 form, the production of which (datable from Augustan times to the whole of the 1st Century A.D.) is traditionally linked to the transport of garum and other fish sauces. The production of these amphorae, typical of Spain, spread to the wider area of modern Morocco.24 The Milazzo example, with its reddish clay, numerous yellowish lime inclusions and a beige yellowish surface, does not allow us, upon simple macroscopic analysis, to rule out an African origin. The proof of the existence of amphorae Tripolitania 1, even though limited to just three items, is also important. Two of the items identified, characterised by the widespread red and grey clay with many white inclusions, are traced back to the production of the Tripoli region (Leptis Magna). The third item, very fragmented, with orange-red clay, fine and compact, could belong to the Tripolitanian Zitha/Zian atelier25 in modern Tunisia. Final Remark Despite the poor preservation of the archaeological finds and the limited area of exploration, the fish-processing plant (1st century B.C./1st century A.D.) appears therefore to provide evidence of the existence of two areas reserved for separated and different activities. The northern sector, in which the greater wall structures were discovered, was reserved for production activities (dating from the 4th century B.C. at least until 2nd century A.D.), while the southern sector was used for the storing and preservation of foodstuffs and finished trade produce. The main element of the storeroom remains the consistent presence of Dressel 21-22 amphorae used for the transport of fish sauces or simply the salted fish produced on site. For the containers, which are similar to the type 1 identified by Emanuelle Botte at Cumae and Pompeii, we may assume the existence of a production site not very far from the area of the original discovery. It would be interesting to verify also the area of production of the containers present in the Panarea wreck, and the products they contained, in order to clarify the eventual connection with the context of Milazzo. For the moment, Sebastiano Tusa assumes that this vessel was en route from a port in western Sicily to central Italy via the Aeolian Islands. In conclusion it can be stated that the results obtained from the site of Piazzetta Mezzaluna and the other sites which fall within the bay of the ancient port of Mylai, certify the presence in this area of fish-processing activities that, with almost no interruption, developed from the Hellenistic age until the present day. Furthermore they represent an important element in the knowledge of the different phases of the urban and economic development of Mylai, from the Hellenistic to the Roman age, and of the distribution of the fish-processing plants in Sicily (Fig. 8). Moreover, the said results lead us to believe that Mylai, between the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century A.D., and despite its size, was one of the cargo ports of eastern Sicily within the wider trade route from Sicily to the ports of central and southern Italy (Pozzuoli and Ostia). 23 24 25
. Ollà 2008: 281, 284. Bruno 2005: 309. Bonifay 2004: 29, tav. I, n. 2.
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SOMA 2011 Purpura, G. 1986. Rinvenimenti sottomarini nella Sicilia Occidentale, in Archeologia Subacquea 3, Boll. D’Arte Suppl. al nn. 37-38, pp. 139-160 Tigano, G. 2003. Milazzo: per la topografia del centro antico IN: Bacci, G.M. and Martinelli, M.C. eds., Studi classici in onore di Luigi Bernabò Brea, Messina, pp. 281-294. Tigano, G. 2005. Milazzo. IN: F. Ghedini et alii (edd.), Lo stretto di Messina nell’antichità, Roma, pp. 293-312. Tigano, G. 2008. Appunti di topografia storica.IN: Chillemi, F. ed. 2008, Milazzo: il porto e l’arte, pp. 61-89. Tusa, S. 2010. Arte e storia nei mari di Sicilia, Palermo Vanaria, M.G. 2009. La fabbrica di salagione del pesce. IN: Bacci G.M., Cavalier M., and Vanaria M.G. eds., Isole Eolie. Il termalismo nell’antichità, Palermo, pp. 155-157. Wilson, R.J.A. 1988. Trade and industry in Sicily under the Roman Empire, ANRW, 11,11,1, pp. 207-305.
Isler, H.P. 1980. Bolli d’anfora e documenti affini dagli scavi di Monte Iato. IN: «Miscellanea di studi classici in onore di Eugenio Manni IV», Roma, pp. 1215-1219. Lindhagen, A. 2006. Caleacte. Production and exchange in a North Sicilian Town, Lund. Mangano, G. 2009. I resti faunistici del sito di contrada Vaccarella a Milazzo. IN: Tigano, G. ed. 2009, p. 271. Tigano, G. ed. 2009, Mylai II. Scavi e ricerche nell’area urbana (1996-2005), Messina. Ollà, A. 2008. Anfore romane. IN: Leone, R. and Spigo, U. eds. Tyndaris, vol. 1: Ricerche nel settore occidentale: campagne di scavo 1993-2004, Palermo, 2008, pp. 279-287. Ollà, A. 2009. Uno stabilimento per la lavorazione del pesce a Milazzo. IN: Tigano 2009 (ed.), pp. 253-270. Oxè, A. and Comfort, H. 1968. Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Bonn. Purpura, G. 1977. Nuove anfore nell’Antiquarium di Terrasini, SicA 35, pp. 54-68
Fig. 1. Map showing the location of excavations at Piazzetta Mezzaluna
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Fig. 2. General view of the excavations
Fig. 4. Details of the stratification between Tanks 1 and 2
Fig. 3. Tank 4 (details)
Fig. 5. Amphora with fish sauce
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Fig. 6. Dressel 21-22 amphorae
Fig. 7. Distribution map of Dressel 21-22 amphorae in Sicily
Fig. 8. Map of fish-processing plant localization in Sicily
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Some Observations On The Road Network Through The Peloritani Region, North-Eastern Sicily Anna Lisa Palazzo Independent archaeologist
the Hellenistic period5 Abakainon-Tripi6) and the Ionic one (Francavilla). A recent work by M.G. Bacci7 clearly points out the limits of the research on this area, whose topographical boundaries are formed by the above-mentioned towns, which the archaeological surveys have only partially investigated.
The existence of internal routes passing through the Peloritani chain, the mountainous region that characterizes the north-eastern area of Sicily, is one of the least known and discussed issues in the archaeological literature. The particular topographical conformation of this mountainous belt, making it almost an island within the island, has certainly discouraged, so far, the beginning of systematic surveys about the process of understanding the peopling of this area in historical times. This paper aims at focusing on one of the major unresolved issues characterizing the area in ancient times, the question of the road network. Relying on the historical, archaeological and topographical clues of material culture, it seems possible to provide some diachronic observations regarding the possible existence of two types of routes: an internal route, passing through the Peloritani Centrali (called Transpeloritana) – an particularly through the area of the today’s towns of Francavilla di Sicilia and Novara di Sicilia – and a road system using dry riverbeds, connecting the Ionian coast to the Tyrrhenian Sea.1
Even if today this region is mainly used as a grazing area, it includes plenty of woods characterized by high-mountain tree species (particularly pines, oaks, chestnuts), especially in the highest areas above sea level. Up to now, no evidence of material culture in historical times has been found in this mountainous region between the two above-mentioned indigenous towns, which are likely to represent the limit of human penetration of this area. Nevertheless it is worth remembering that the indigenous centre of Abakainon8 probably extended its chora as far as the wooded areas to the south in the direction of Rocca Novara9. As a matter of fact, the sēma of a local coin (litra) of Abakainon, representing a wild boar sometimes accompanied by its offspring and/or acorns, has been interpreted as proof of this, since, according to G. Manganaro, it refers to one of the main features of the local landscape and wildlife typical of the Nebrodi and Peloritani regions.10 From the Dionysian age onwards, following the foundation of Tyndaris (396 BC), and the resulting phenomenon of control by the Syracusan hegemony on the Tyrrhenian coast and then the inclusion of the coastal indigenous towns in the sphere of influence of Syracusai,11 this area seems to have become an intermediate transit area.
The internal route – Transpeloritana This mountainous area presents two very different habitats, both from the topographic and orographic point of view. The first is the habitat of the Alcantara River Valley2 which includes the town of Francavilla sulla Valle dell’Alcantara with its Greek sanctuary, representing the peak of the cultural and religious Greek expansion towards the ‘boundary’, perhaps not only a natural one, of the Peloritani region.3
For this period only G. Uggeri proposes an itinerary that reconstructs the existence of a road linking various places of the hinterland of the Ionian coast and intercepting this area. The road probably climbed the Peloritani chain up to Rocca Novara/Salvatesta and, running along the Fantina dry river (maybe identifiable with the ancient river Longanos), reached
At the end of the Alcantara Valley there is a belt of territory (Fig.1, zone 1) characterized by high mountains alternating with steep saddles4 that in ancient times too was probably located in an intermediate position compared to the indigenous or colonial settlements close to the Tyrrhenian coast (Longane-Rodì; since
As for the settlement and the necropolis of Longane (c.da Grassorella, Rodì), see Genovese 1977: 9-54, and Bacci 1999: 258, with previous bibliography. 6 The identification of the site in Contrada Piano (Tripi- Messina), inhabited since prehistoric times, with Abakainon is a recent archaeological investigation; the necropolis area is located in Contrada Cardusa, and dates back to a period between the 4th and the 2nd centuries BC. The burials are characterized by the presence of monumental epitymbia – comparable to the monumental types of Tindari, Messina, Lentini – and by rich grave goods, perhaps belonging to a high status city elite. 7 Bacci 1999. 8 Manganaro 1999: 122, n. 54, and proposing comparisons with similar types from Morgantina. 9 The boundaries of the chora have been beautifully reconstructed by Bacci 1999: 258, who recalls that, after the disappearance of Longane, the Abakainon territory extended up to the chora of Zancle. After the founding of Dionysian Tyndaris (396 BC) some of the territory passed under the control of the coastal town. 10 Manganaro 1999: 122, n. 54. 11 On this issue see Consolo Langher 1996: 577 with previous bibliography. 5
I wish to thank Valeria Leotta for helping me with the English translation. 2 I.G.M., F. 262, I SW Taormina; I.G.M., F. 262, IV SE Castiglione di Sicilia. 3 Already peopled in the Bronze and Iron Age, Francavilla in the Valley of the Alcantara River (ancient Akesines) was the site of a settlement, probably situated in the upper part of the village (where a medieval castle is currently located) and of a sanctuary where pinakes of Locrian type have been found and subsequently related to the presence of the Dinomenidi in Naxos during the 5th century BC. For an overview of the status quaestionis, with previous bibliography, see Spigo 2003: 64364. 4 I.G.M., F. 262, IV NE Rocca Novara. From the geological point of view, the ‘coperture tardorogene pre-collisionali dell’OligoceneMiocene Inferiore’ characterizing this habitat refers to two different units (Cfr. Lentini, Catalano, Carbone 2000): the one characterizing the area of Monte Trefinaite (OMar) presents ‘alternanze argilloso-arenacee, costituite da arkosi grigio-giallastre in strati da decimetrici a metrici cui si intercalano livelli decimetrici argilloso-marnosi’, while the other side, in the area of Monte Donavedao-Poggio Primavera, is characterized by Capo d’Orlando Flysch deposits (OMc). 1
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SOMA 2011 place within the polistellare20 topographical system, because of the castles and market places that already characterized the Islamic period and made its road system very different to that of earlier times. In the early medieval period the area was still crossed by the Dromo: at this time the route took its final shape (and probably still followed by today’s SS 185). The network of Basilian monasteries, built in order to control the inland areas that were very important after the re-conquest of the island by the Normans21 (Novara di Sicilia, Badia Vecchia, S. Giacomo di Calò),22 became more thoroughly organized around the Dromo.
the Mazzarrà river (Helikon)12 and continued along the coast. According to G. Manganaro, the northern stretch of this road was covered by the theoroi of Delphi on their journey from Tyndaris to Abakainon at the beginning of the 2nd century BC.13 There is no evidence of human settlement in this area during the Roman period. For the Republican period the hypothesis of a Transpeloritana route, going from Tauromenion to Mylae and passing through the area of Portella Mandrazzi, has been reconstructed on the basis of an episode of the Bellum between Octavian and Sextus Pompey (the so-called Anabasis by Cornificius, 36 BC14) variously reconstructed by historians. Hypothetically, this road intercepted also the areas downstream of Monte Trefinaite, or even an area of the hinterland of Poggio Primavera (Argimusco), as suggested by A. Holm.15 The immediate northern hinterland of this area has yielded evidence of the fact that Abacaenum was inhabited also in the following period (according to R. Wilson, from the age of Augustus it became vicus of nearby Tyndaris).16
The historical reports allow us to say that this region represented a transit area for long periods of time, the idea being to make quick links between the two coasts easier and also assist military purposes. These reports demonstrate that this area was crossed by a road system that was probably introduced by the Greeks and was exploited more intensely from the Byzantine period and especially during early medieval times, because of the phenomenon of territorial control following the spread of Basilian monasticism in the vicinity of the main axis (Dromo). It would be interesting to identify archaeologically areas of human activity or settlement at this site – where it was not always easy to live because of its position and altitude – linked to the exploitation of the land for hunting, especially in prehistoric times (as happened in the neighbourhoods of Monte Donavedao and Monte Paulera/Sperlinga di San Basilio),23 but perhaps also during later periods.24
There is little known of the human settlement during the Byzantine period, but this area was probably very important for the new road network of the province of Byzantium which, even if maintaining the coastal main routes of the Roman cursus, began to prefer an internal road system, less smooth running but important for the strategic control of the area as well as for quick and efficient links between the coasts when the coastal roads were not practicable.17
The road system along dry riverbed
The central area of the Peloritani chain – and particularly the area around the mountainous saddle near Portella Mandrazzi – probably played a significant role in this new topographic balance that combined the exigencies of control of the area and the need for routes of communication. This area probably had a major road system existing since the Byzantine period (Dromo), going from the Ionian coast to Francavilla di Sicilia and, through Novara, to the coast near today’s Castroreale San Biagio.18
The other main route was the one that followed the path of the dry riverbeds below the mountains (Fig.1, zone 2). It is difficult to reconstruct this kind of road network, but the presence of some archaeological, topographical and historical clues help us to make some assumptions. The dry riverbeds are the most noticeable phenomena of the Peloritani region. They run along the valley floor of the ridge on the Ionian coast, ascend the mountainous watershed and drop down the opposite ridge, connecting the Tyrrhenian and Ionian coasts.
As for the medieval period, it is worth recalling that Al-Idrisi19 mentioned the nearby town of Tripi and its role as a stopping
It is a natural road system, probably related to seasonal activities such as sheep rearing – nowadays it is still used for the same purpose. On the highlands immediately overlooking the dry riverbeds there are grazing areas concentrated around particular structures typical of the region, still in use until last century (the so-called pagghiari), a reconstruction of which can be seen at the Museuo della Civiltà Agro-Pastorale in Antillo (Messina).25
G. Uggeri has recently suggested that this route followed approximately today’s layout of SS 185, going from Giardini Naxos to Terme Vigliatore (Uggeri 2004: 124). As for the identification of the Fantina with the Longanos, and of the Helikon with the Mazzarrà, see Uggeri 2004: 206. 13 Manganaro 1996: 131. 14 As for this episode, recalled by App., Bell. Civ., V, 113-114, see Roddaz 1984: 113-14. 15 Spigo 2003: 647 reconstructs the route probably followed by Cornificius’ army according to the proposal by Pace 1947: I, 308-9: Francavilla, the Zavianni creek valley, Portella Mandrazzi, NovaraSalvatesta, Barcellona; the other itinerary, conjectured by Aiello-Holm (Holm 1901: 393-94), assumed the crossing of the Peloritani chain from the Mount Etna side: the north bank of the Alcantara River, Gaggi, Francavilla, Mojo, S. Domenica Vittoria, Roccella Valdemone, Bosco dell’Arginusco, Montalbano and the Tyrrhenian coastal area. 16 The Roman settlement, of about 30 hectares, was characterized by the presence of structures probably belonging to a forum and a columned temple, see Wilson 1990: 149. The sporadic finding of ARSW (Hayes 8a) and a monumental inscription fragment (AE 1955, 195; I BC) mentioning two duoviri – see Bejor 1986: 495 – have also been reported from this site. 17 Arcifa 2006: 142- 43. 18 As for the possibility that the Dromo already existed in the Byzantine period, see Arcifa 1997: 181-186; as for the ‘privilegio di Ruggero II’ see Pirri 1773; as for the Dromo in the Peloritani region see also Uggeri 2004: 124 and Manganaro 1996: 131. 19 Edr. VI, 66, 1-2 (Amari 1982: 119). 12
20 21
7.
See Uggeri 2004: 293. Arcifa 1997:181-86; Arcifa 2006: 141-52; see also Pirrotti 2006: 16-
Prestipino 2000: 72. Riparo della Sperlinga: Cavalier 1971: 7-63. As for this issue see also Biddittu 1971: 68. As for the geological and climatical charateristics of the Peloritani region in prehistorical periods see Agnesi- Macaluso- Masini 1997: 44-45 and 52-53. In order to get a general view about the expansion of the wooded environment due to a major climatic change since the Holocene (10,000 BC) and about the typical fauna that populated this environment (deer, wild boar, dormouse) see also Villari 1997: 223-26 and Tagliacozzo 1997: 227-47. 24 Think of the litrai from Abakainon with sēma of wild boar or\and acorn, as suggested by Manganaro 1999: 122, n. 54, recalling the typical faunal and arboreal environment of the hinterland of the indigenous village. 25 For the importance of the continuity of the anthropological characteristics in non-industrialized areas, with special reference to 22 23
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Anna Lisa Palazzo: Some Observations The existence of a route along the dry Agrò riverbed during the Roman period has been reconstructed thanks to the analysis of the settlement of Scifì, above Forza d’Agrò, in the ancient district inland of Capo S. Alessio,26 halfway along Via Pompeia a Tauromenio ad Palmas. At this site, already inhabited since the 2nd century AD, some archaeologists discovered the structures of a villa from the 4th-5th century BC that was probably used as a dwelling place. The publisher of the complex, M.C. Lentini, writes that it was a statio viaria near an unofficial route connecting the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian coasts, thanks to the mountain paths that, through the area around Fondachelli, descended to the coast.27
In particular, most of the items kept at the museum come from the areas surrounding the top and slopes of Pizzo Pinazzo, where a settlement area31 and some tombs were located.32 Other reports of the presence of materials probably dating back to the Byzantine period come from the Contrade Marraleo, Sciarra,33 S. Cataldo,34 Caucinara, Acquafredda (loc. Caldaffella),35 Ferraro, Ghialoru,36 Qualinoto, Ciccuddu,37 During the early medieval period the road system of the area seems to be related to the phenomenon of Basilian monasticism,38 even if the existence of a Basilian church in Contrada Ferraro, on the top of Monte Schia39 – remembered by local historians, but not mentioned by historical sources and not proven by remains of buildings – is not certain. Therefore, these reports could be traced back to the hypothesis of the so-called sistema a pettine, the unofficial road system suggested by L. Arcifa for the central area of the Peloritani chain in the early medieval period (fig. 2).
The fact that the settlement of Scifì was still peopled in the 5th century AD seems to strengthen the facies of this region as a connecting area during the period of the ‘Theme’ of Sicily, characterized by the presence of connecting roads not always official, but very important for short-distance communications and above all useful for rapid movements of troops or to get to refuge areas in the interiors.28
After reaching the first peaks of the Peloritani chain at Antillo, this road went probably down in the direction of today’s town of Fondachelli Fantina (Messina).40 There are few clues to any
No clues of material culture have been found in this area, but some remains of artefacts from the immediate hinterland are now kept in the small museum at Antillo which houses some fragments of dolia and semicircular roof tiles (the so-called tegole pettinate) typical of the 5th-7th centuries AD.29 The tiles are scored with vertical and corrugated grooves, a technique recently noticed in the storerooms of building material and transport amphorae from Statio Acium (5th century AD).30 Therefore these items point back to the late Roman-Byzantine chronological horizon. A local historian and retired teacher, M. Smiroldo, discovered some materials and highlighted the areas of origin, mainly concentrated in the region south of Antillo, between the homonymous stream and the upper part of the river Agrò.
According to Smiroldo this would be the site of a burial area, ‘tra rocce calcaree, ad una decina di metri a monte della vecchia comunale piazzo-Ibissaro’, that held remains of a burial with grave goods, and further upstream, near Contrada Don Piano Cola, remains of cremations (Smiroldo 1991: 45). 32 Smiroldo 1991; 47, (proprietà Sebastiano e Onofrio Pinto); in 1935, the area was destined to the construction of residential buildings. 33 Smiroldo 1991: 47, reports the accidental discovery, from Contrada Marraleo e Sciarra, of ‘una o più ampolle con foro prominente e con disegni sulla superficie superiore’, which are currently not found among the materials kept at the Antillo museum. Smiroldo moreover indicates Contrada Marraleo as the place where a stone slab was discovered in the 1950s and then destroyed. 34 Smiroldo 1991: 46, reports the presence of the remains of a silo (rinvenimento Giuseppe Lo Schiavo), of a basaltic millstone (proprietà Crupi), and some tombs. 35 Smiroldo 1991: 35. 36 Smiroldo 1991: 51 (roof and tiles). 37 Smiroldo 1991: 35, 54 (presence of dolia fragments). 38 For this topographical issue and the relations between the Norman invaders and the Basilian monasteries, see the observations by Arcifa 2001: 2: ‘Possiamo, infatti, ipotizzare, pure in mancanza di esplicite testimonianza documentarie, l’esistenza di una importante via di comunicazione lungo il crinale del Dinnamare, alla quale si attestavano, in un sistema a pettine, una serie di assi ortogonali che risalivano le fiumare, discendendo in alcuni casi lungo il versante opposto. Questo sistema, tagliando trasversalmente la catena montuosa dei Peloritani, realizzava, così, un collegamento tra l’asse viario costiero del versante ionico e la costa tirrenica. Parte integrante di questo sistema è la maglia degli insediamenti basiliani, la cui ubicazione consentiva di intercettare le comunicazioni da e per l’interno. In questa logica, dunque, anche la disposizione di SS. Pietro e Paolo d’Itala, SS. Pietro e Paolo d’Agro, del S. Salvatore di Bordonaro, di S. Filippo il Grande, di S. Maria di Mandanici, di S. Maria di Mili risponde in modo capillare alla necessità di controllo di queste importanti arterie di penetrazione.’ 39 Smiroldo 1991: 63. 40 I.G.M., F. 262, I NW Limina; I.G.M., F. 262, IV NE Rocca Novara. From the geological point of view, the area has homogeneous specific qualities that point back to the characteristics of Unità di S. Marco d’Alunzio (m3), see Lentini-Catalano-Carbone 2000. It is also worth noting that the immediate hinterland of the area is characterized by the presence of mining districts for the production of lead, iron, pyrite, silver, which, until the beginning of the 20th century, were exploited via mining installations at Argentiera (Monte Trefontane), Saitta-Purracchino (Monte Sereno), Rio delle Canne (Fantina), Volcano (Canale di Broccuro), Canale-San Giorgio Raccui (Fondachelli). As for these mining districts, probably known in ancient times, when the processes of mining were not yet known, see Wilson 1989: 217. As for the 1129 grant by Ruggero II acknowledging the exploitation of the mining area by the owners from Messina, see Bianchi 1841: 173-75. For the end of this privilege in the Svevian period and the returning of the territories where the mining districts were located to the public treasury, see Puzzolo Sigillo 1936: 54. For the copper, lead and silver mines operating in Fondachelli – and 31
pastoral economies, see Cambi 2000: 253. Structures of this kind have been observed also in the cultures of the smaller Eolian islands since the Middle Bronze Age. They are likely to represent a clue to the persistence of elements of material culture within societies that were essentially static in the long run (see Martinelli and Lopes 2005: 281- 85). 26 Capo S. Alessio, located along the coastal route called via Pompeia a Tauromenion ad Palmas, is characterized by a small bay sheltered below the promontory where two excavation campaigns (1983 and 1986) revealed structures dating back to a period from the 2nd to the 4th/5th centuries AD, perhaps belonging to a settlement possessing a small harbour. This settlement was probably the statio Palmae sive Tamariciae (20km south of Messina) mentioned in the Itinerarium Antonini (see It. Ant., 87, 13; Portale 2006: 39 and Sirena 2006). 27 Portale 2006: 44. As for the hypothesis of an ‘unofficial route’ behind the Via Pompeia that went through the Peloritani region connecting the Ionian and Tyrrhenian coasts, see Lentini and Ollà 2001: 123-27. For the site of Scifì, in the Peloritani chain area that splits the Ionian coast of eastern Sicily from the Tyrrhenian highlands, three excavation campaigns (1985, 1995, 1997) showed the presence of a settlement from the 2nd century AD, with the most intense phases of population at the end of the 4th/early 5th centuries AD, and yielded some flat-bottomed transport amphorae produced in that same area, and some amphorae produced in North Africa (see Casasola 1996: 1191-1193) associated with ARSW D. 28 In the case of the Nebrodi and the Peloritani mountains, this phenomenon has been highlighted by L. Arcifa in 1997 (Arcifa 1997: 181-86) and during a lecture in 2006 (Arcifa 1997: 141-152). 29 As for this production, peculiar to the Byzantine period in Sicily, see the still important essay by Wilson 1979: 23, fig. 2.1.c; pl. 2. VI. b. 30 The semi-circular tiles kept at the Antillo museum seem to be comparable with the materials of the 5th- century AD layers that come from the kiln of S. Venera al Pozzo-Statio Acium that have been dated to the early 4th century AD on the basis of the finding of coins of Constantine I and transport amphorae (Keay LII, Keay LIII and their variants), as well as of building material; for a comparison see Amari 2007: 154, n. 15.
611
SOMA 2011 material culture that can prove the presence of nearby settlements, nevertheless, it is worth pointing out the discovery of a globular shaped dolium – comparable to the series of Late Roman dolia coming from the Peloritani region and recently published by M. C. Lentini41 – along the eastern ridge of the Vallone Bocca di Cane, in the surrounding area of the town of Fondachelli. Despite the absence of other evidence, the existence of a route running beside the dry Fantina riverbed (probably identifiable with the river Longanos), up to the Mazzarrà (Helikon) dry riverbed42 and along the coast, cannot be ruled out. The role played by dry rivers in this area was still important until the last century, when the dry riverbed system was paralleled by a road axis characterized by the presence of a warehouse that was still active at the end of 180043 and was mainly used for the supply of the villages inland of Mount Etna as for the goods coming from the ports on the Tyrrhenian coast (Milazzo in particular44). It was surrounded by scattered groups of houses gathered in districts that lodged the agricultural labourers who were employed in the large estates of Novara di Sicilia, to which Fondachelli still belonged until the 1950s.45 Even today the irregular topographical arrangement of the districts reflects the original status of groups of scattered dwellings.
paths, which were more suitable for mules or for non-commercial traffic.47 Nevertheless, we can hardly rule out the existence of roads of this type, not only because of the need for quick connections between the two coasts, but also because of the exigencies arising from the exploitation of the resources of the area – more or less seasonal (timber, grazing areas, etc.) – and because of the presence of dry rivers, especially the Agrò and the Fantina, that are still today a natural connecting route to the Tyrrhenian coast. The above-mentioned remarks seem to encourage the hypothesis of a more effective human presence after the Late Roman period and after the beginning of the ‘per iuga et per munitissima castra’48 peopling of the inland areas, during which the importance of connecting roads, unofficial but essential for communications on a small scale, becomes self-evident. Such road networks often sprang from spontaneous needs and are often considered of minor importance. Their traces are difficult to find, even if frequently accompanied by the presence of small settlements. The recent archaeological evidence (mostly dating back to the 5th-7th centuries AD), that seems to have an equivalent in the discoveries made on the other side of the Peloritani chain, can probably be linked to this issue. Further archaeological researches are required to throw more light on this subject.
Therefore, in the area between the two dry rivers on the Tyrrhenian and Ionian coasts (Agrò and Fantina) and underlying the mountainous watershed and ridges, there was probably a road system dating back to the Greek or perhaps Late RomanByzantine period, as demonstrated by the remains relevant to settlements inland of Antillo (Pizzo Pinazzo), and also by the report of the finding of dolium at Fondachelli.
Bibliography Agnesi V.- Macaluso T.-, Masini F. (1997), L’ambiente e il clima della Sicilia nell’ultimo milione di anni, IN Tusa S. ed., Prima Sicilia. Alle origini della società siciliana, Palermo. Amari S. (2006), I materiali in esposizione nell’AntiquariumSale I-II-III, IN Branciforti M. G. ed., L’Area Archeologica di S. Venera al Pozzo-Acium, Palermo, 105-83. Amari S. (2007), A Late Roman Factory and a Brick Pottery in Sicily (Santa Venera al Pozzo), IN Waksman S. Y. ed., Archaeometric and Archaeological Approaches to Ceramics. Papers presented at EMAC ’05, 8th European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics, Lyon 2005, B.A.R. Int. Ser. 1691, Oxford, 121-28. Arcifa L. (1997), Vie di comunicazione e potere in Sicilia (sec. XI-XIII). Insediamenti monastici e controllo del territorio, IN Gelichi S. ed., Atti del I Congresso Nazionale di Archeologia Medievale, Pisa, 181-86. Arcifa L. (2006), Strade e monasteri sui Nebrodi, IN Radici Colace P. and Zumbo A. eds., Atti del convegno Itinerari Basiliani, Messina 24-25 Marzo 2006, Napoli, 141-52. Bacci G. (1999), Siti ed insediamenti nell’area peloritana e nella cuspide nord orientale della Sicilia, IN Barra Bagnasco M., DE Miro E., Pinzone A. eds., Magna Grecia e Sicilia. Stato degli studi e prospettive di ricerca, Messina, 415-38. Baldanza G. and Triscari R. (1987), Le miniere dei Monti Peloritani, Messina. Biddittu I. (1971), Considerazioni sull’industria litica e la fauna del Riparo della Sperlinga di S. Basilio, Bull.Pal.It, XXII, 80, 64-76. Borghese G. (1875), Novara di Sicilia-Notizie Storiche, Milano. De Borch M. J. (1780), Mineralogie sicilienne, Torino. Cambi F. (2000), s.v. Ricognizione Archeologica, IN Francovich R. and Manacorda D. eds., Dizionario di Archeologia, RomaBari, 39-43.
Conclusions The debate about the existence of routes passing through the Peloritani chain, alternative to the main coastal thoroughfares and allowing quicker connections between the major coastal towns of the northern Ionian area (the coloniae of Catina and Tauromenion) and the Tyrrhenian region (the oppidum of Mylae) – without having to rely on the Traiectus – is still ongoing in light of the lack of documentation on the traditional routes that made up the road system in Sicily.46 Other important factors included transport methods, i.e. carts used in preference on the carriage roads of the cursus publicus, rather than the mountain certainly exploited at various times from 1726 to 1734 and from 1749 to 1759 by the Bourbons and from 1824 to 1840 by the British firm Routh, Valentine & Wallin, and from 1847 to1866 by W. Beck (MacLean Company) – and for the last attempt by J. F. Marchand in the two-year period 1874-1875, see the historical reconstruction by Prestipino 2000: 44- 68. For more recent projects relating to the exploitation of tungsten in the 1980s, carried out by the University of Messina and from the EMS (Ente Minerario Siciliano), see Baldanza and Triscari 1987: 134-139. 41 As reported by Mr. Italo Galofaro (Fondachelli Fantina). The artefact is currently in good condition and is kept, partially buried, near the entrance to the former olive press (‘Casa degli Inglesi’) in Fondachelli, now under renovation in preparation for a local museum of modern art. For a comparison, see Lentini 2001: 140-41, especially n. 8. 42 G. Uggeri has recently suggested that this route followed approximately today’s layout of SS 185, going from Giardini Naxos to Terme Vigliatore, v. Uggeri 2004, p. 124. For the identification of the Fantina with the Longanos, and of the Helikon with the Mazzarrà, see Uggeri 2004: 206. 43 For the derivation of the toponym ‘Fondaco-Fondachello’ from the Arabic word funduq = stopping place, see Uggeri 2004: 294. For the importance of toponomastic researches and archaeological surveys, see Cambi 2000: 253. For Fondachelli’s first built area, of uncertain date and on the outskirts of Novara di Sicilia, see Prestipino 2000: 86, 118-20. 44 Prestipino 2000: 28. 45 Prestipino 2000: 161. 46 The issue is just hinted at by Portale 2006: 44.
47 48
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Uggeri 2004: 287. Uggeri 2004: 289.
Anna Lisa Palazzo: Some Observations Portale E. C. (2005), Sicilia, IN Portale E. C., Angiolillo S., Vismara C. eds., Le grandi isole del Mediterraneo Occidentale. Sicilia, Sardinia, Corsica, Roma, 17-139. Prestipino F. (2000), Fondachelli Fantina. Un esempio di civiltà contadina, Torino. Renfrew C., Bahn P. (1995), Archeologia. Teorie- MetodiPratica, Bologna. Roddaz J. M. (1984), Marcus Agrippa, B.E.F.A.R., 253, 421-75. Smiroldo M. (1991), Antillo ed il suo favoloso altopiano, Furci Siculo. Spigo U. (2003), Un ventennio di ricerche a Francavilla di Sicilia, IN Calderone A., Caltabiano M., Fiorentini G. eds., Archeologia del Mediterraneo. Studi in onore di Ernesto De Miro, Roma, 643-64. Tagliacozzo A. (1997), Dalla caccia alla pastorizia: la domesticazione animale. Le modificazioni economiche tre il Mesolitico ed il Neolitico e l’introduzione degli animali domestici in Sicilia, IN Tusa S. ed., Prima Sicilia. Alle origini della società siciliana, Palermo, 227-47. Terrenato N. (2000), s. v. Sito\Non Sito, IN Francovich R. and Manacorda D. eds., Dizionario di Archeologia, Roma-Bari, 279-81. Uggeri G. (2004), La viabilità della Sicilia in età Romana, Galatina. Villari P. (1997), Il ruolo della fauna nella preistoria siciliana: caccia, pesca, domesticazione, allevamento, IN Tusa S. ed., Prima Sicilia. Alle origini della società siciliana, Palermo, 223-226 Wilson R. J. A. (1988), Trade and industry in Sicily during the Roman Empire, ANRW, II.11.1, 207-305. Wilson R. J. A. (1990), Sicily under the Roman Empire. The archaeology of a Roman province, 36 BC-AD 535, Warminster. Wilson R. J. A. (1979), Brick and tiles in Roman Sicily, IN Mc Whirr A. ed., Roman brick and tile, B.A.R. Int. Ser. 68, Oxford, 11-39.
Cavalier M. (1971), Il Riparo della Sperlinga di S. Basilio (Novara di Sicilia), Bull.Pal.It, XXII, 80, 7-63. Consolo Langher S. N. (1996), Siracusa e la Sicilia Greca tra Età arcaica e alto Ellenismo, Messina 1996. Genovese P. (1977), Testimonianze archeologiche e paletnologiche nel bacino del Longano, Sic.Arch., X, 33, 9-54. Holm A. (1901), Storia della Sicilia, III, Palermo. Lentini M. C. (2001), Dolia tardoantichi da Malvagna ed altre evidenze, IN Lentini M. C. ed., Naxos di Sicilia in età romana e bizantina ed evidenze dai Peloritani. Catalogo Mostra Archeologica Museo di Naxos (3 dicembre 1999-3 gennaio 2000), Bari, 135-41. Lentini M. C. and Ollà A. (2001), Esplorazioni a Scifì (Comune di Forza d’Agrò)- Catalogo, Lentini M. C. ed., Naxos di Sicilia in età romana e bizantina ed evidenze dai Peloritani. Catalogo Mostra Archeologica Museo di Naxos (3 dicembre 1999-3 gennaio 2000), Bari, 123-27. Manganaro G. (1980), La provincia romana, IN Gabba E. and Vallet G. eds., La Sicilia antica, II, 2, Napoli, 415-61. Manganaro G. (1988), La Sicilia da Sesto Pompeo a Diocleziano, A.N.R.W., II.11.1., Berlin- New York, 3-89. Manganaro G. (1999), La Syrakosion Dekate, Camarina e Morgantina nel 424 a.C., Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 128, 115-123. Martinelli M. C., and Lopes L. (2005), Il Pagghiaru dei Monti Peloritani: un confronto etnografico, IN M. C. Martinelli ed., Il villaggio dell’Età del Bronzo Medio di Portella a Salina nelle Isole Eolie, Firenze, 281-285. Pace B. (1949), Arte e civiltà della Sicilia antica I, RomaNapoli- Città di Castello. Pirrotti S. (2006), I monasteri basiliani di Sicilia: origine, dislocazione, funzione religiosa ed economica, decadenza, IN Radici Colace P. and Zumbo A. eds., Atti del convegno Itinerari Basiliani, Messina 24-25 Marzo 2006, Napoli, pp. 11-18.
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Figure Palazzo_Fig_1.JP Fig. 1: Map of the Sicilian watercourses, indicating zones 1 (the probable area of the Transpeloritana road) and 2 (the probable area of the road system along the dry riverbeds). (After Piano di Tutela delle Acque in Sicilia, Bacino Idroeologico dei Monti Peloritani,, I.N.G.V.- Regione Sicilia, Dicembre 2007) G
Fig. 2: The road network within the Peloritan region during Medieval times (after Arcifa 2006)
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SOMA 2011 Proceedings of the 15th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, held at the University of Catania 3–5 March 2011 VOLUME II
Edited by
Pietro Maria Militello Hakan Öniz
SOMA 2011
B A R
2695 SOMA 2011 II cover.indd 1
BAR International Series 2695 (II) 2015 05/02/2015 08:34:41
SOMA 2011 Proceedings of the 15th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, held at the University of Catania 3–5 March 2011 VOLUME II Edited by
Pietro Maria Militello Hakan Öniz
Università di Catania, Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche, Corso di laurea magistrale in Archeologia, opzione internazionale
General Association of Mediterranean Archaeology
Università di Catania Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici
Turkish Foundation for Underwater Archaeology
BAR International Series 2695 (II) 2015
ISBN 9781407313429 (Volume I) paperback ISBN 9781407313436 (Volume II) paperback ISBN 9781407313443 (Volume set) paperback ISBN 9781407343075 (Volume set) e-format DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407313443 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
BAR
PUBLISHING
Table of Contents Volume I Preface
v
Part I – Prehistory and Protohistory of Europe and Anatolia
1
General Topics
3
Exchanges Between Paleolithic Hunter-gatherer Groups Neyir Kolankaya-Bostanci
3
Understanding Cross-cultural Communication in the European Bronze Age Paulina Suchowska-Ducke
Anatolia
11 21
Early Bronze Age (ca. 3000-2000 BC) Mining Activities in Central Anatolia, Turkey Derya Yilmaz
21
Observations on the Troy I Period in the Light of Recent Survey Finds from the Coastal Troad Derya Yilmaz
27
From the Middle Danube to Anatolia: Contacts During the Second Millennium BC. a Case Study Anca-Diana Popescu, Radu Băjenaru
35
Kitchen furniture in the second millennium BC: evidence from Salat Tepe Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Gamze Kaynak
43
Remnants of Incantation Rituals from the Middle Bronze Age Settlement at Salat Tepe: an Ethnoarchaeological Approach 51 Tuba A. Ökse, Ahmet Görmüş, Tülin Bozkurt Glass Trade in the Light of the Late Bronze Age Finds from Panaztepe Nazli Çinardali-Karaaslan
59
A Group of Urartian Metal Finds from the Karaman Archaeological Museum Makbule Ekici
65
Investigations in the Çaldiran Plain/Lake Van Basin: the Middle Iron Age Aynur Özfirat
71
Europe
81
Antique Bone and Antler Anvils Discovered in Romania Corneliu Beldiman, Diana-Maria Sztancs
81
A Joint Consideration of the Lithic Industries of Shell Middens in Muge, Portugal, and the Coastal Mediterranean Mesolithic Sites Anabela Joaquinito, Nuno Ribeiro Daily Life and Social Reconstruction of an Argaric Settlement at Peñalosa (Baños de la Encina, Jaén) Juan Miguel Rivera Groennou, Eva Alarcón García
Greece
89 93 101
Archaeological Models and the Archaeology of Mesara (Crete) between the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Rosario Maria Anzalone
101
Reconstructing the Landscape of the Dead. Some Observations on the Minoan Funerary Space in the Agiopharango Valley 111 Sylviane Déderix Some Eccentric Linear A Tablets from Ayia Triada Pietro Militello
121
Studying Grey Ceramics in the Adriatic Area. A Preliminary Report Eleonora Ballan
127
Protogeometric and Geometric Pottery from the Kos Early Iron Age Necropolis Revisited. Some Features of the Local Ceramic Production Maria Grazia Palmieri
i
135
Italy
143
Settlement Strategies and Territorial Organization: a Methodological Approach to the Sardinian Bronze Age Context Francesca Cadeddu
143
Ceramic Ethnoarchaeometry in Western Sardinia: the Case of Oristano Evanthia Tsantini, Giuseppe Montana, Miguel Ángel Cau
155
Lyres in the Daunian Stelae: Towards a Better Understanding of Chordophones in the Mediterranean Iron Age Raquel Jiménez Pasalodos, Placido Scardina
161
Sicily
175
An Analytical Study of Neolithic Combustion Structures in the Province of Messina Francesca Cannizzaro, Maria Clara Martinelli
175
Material Culture and People. Some Methodological Remarks on the Study of Aeolian Middle Bronze Age Settlement Contexts Gianmarco Alberti
185
Oversea Lithic Exchanges Between the Aeolian Islands and Malta from an Inland Perspective: Preliminary Data from a Late Neolithic Site in Licodia Eubea, Catania - Sicily Damiano Bracchitta
197
Decorated Footed Bowls: Type, Distribution and Use Valeria Grasso, Carla Maria Caterina Cirino
203
Creating Boundaries: Elaborate Tombs and Trade Goods in the Early Bronze Age Necropolis at Castelluccio (Sicily, Italy) Anita Crispino, Massimo Cultraro
211
Dwelling in the Darkness: the Prehistoric Caves of the Hyblaean Mountains (Sicily) Dalma Cultrera
217
An Early Bronze Age Settlement Near Ragusa Francesco Cardinale, Giovanni Di Stefano, Milena Gusmano, Saverio Scerra
227
The Late Copper Age Phase in Rocchicella di Mineo: Preliminary Data Ivana Vacirca
233
Innovation and Tradition in the Technology of Large Storage Jars from the Sicilian Middle Bronze Age Carlo Veca
239
Piano dei Casazzi (Mineo, Catania). Data on the proto-historic inhabitation Francescaromana Alberghina
249
Ceramic ethnoarchaeometry in Sicily: recent traditional productions as a tool for understanding past manufactures Giuseppe Montana, Anna Maria Polito, Evanthia Tsantini
253
Use of Space in the Early Bronze Age on the Basis of Artefact Distribution: the Village of Coste Di Santa Febronia Roberta Mentesana
259
Archaeology and Sciences
265
Gis, Geographical Models and Archaeology: a Case Study for Late Prehistory Populations (5500-550 Bc) on the Ripoll River (Catalonia, Spain) Maria Yubero Gómez
265
Technical and Typological Approaches to Bronze Age Worked Bone from Central Iberia. The Settlement of Motilla del Azuer Manuel Altamirano García
273
Birch Resin Not Only As Climate Marker. Integration Between Chemical And Paleobotanical Analysis In Sicilian Prehistory 285 Roberta Mentesana, Giuseppe De Benedetto, Girolamo Fiorentino
Part II – History and Archaeology of the Classical World I
291
Archaeology Greece and the Mediterranean
293
Seeing the Attic Vase: Mediterranean Shapes from 635 to 300 B.C. – The Beazley Data Filippo Giudice, Rossano Scicolone, Sebastiano Luca Tata
293
The Walled Towns of Thesprotia: from the Hellenistic Foundation to the Roman Destruction Marco Moderato
313
Ionian Sanctuaries and the Mediterranean World in the 7th Century B.C. Kenan Eren
321
ii
Stoa–bouleuterion? Some Observations on the Agora of Mantinea Oriana Silia Cannistraci
Archaeology The East
329 335
Two Fragmentary Sarcophagi from Aphrodisias in Caria: Imported Sculptors in the City of Sculpture? Esen Ogus
335
Hellenistic and Roman Pottery of Zengibar Kalesi (Isaura Nova?): from the South Necropolis Survey Zafer Korkmaz, Osman Doğanay
349
Some Archaeological Material from Seydişehir Asuman Baldiran
361
Archaeological Survey in Aksaray (Cappadocia): a Preliminary Report Mehmet Tekocak
379
Ancient Monuments between Research and Development: the Theatre of Kyme (Turkey) Stefania Mancuso
391
The Agora Basilica, Smyrna Burak Yolaçan
399
Archaeological Excavations at Istanbul’s Lake Kucukcekmece–2010 Hakan Oniz, Sengul Aydingun, Emre Guldogan
407
Excavations in Ancient Smyrna Akin Ersoy, Gülten Çelik
411
The Cult of Zeus in Lykaonia Asuman Baldiran
417
‘Hierapolis of Phrygia’: a Roman imperial pottery deposit (US 274) found in the Northern Necropoli (Atlante di Hierapolis, foglio 18) Dario Sergio Corritore
421
Kyme of Aeolis. Excavations in the Necropolis (2007-2008): Preliminary Data Fabrizio Sudano
431
A Grave Dated to the Late- and Sub-Geometric Period at Mengefe Makbule Ekici
435
Archaeology The West and Africa
439
Beyond Aleria. Local Processes and Tyrrhenian Connections in the Early Corsican Iron Age (8Th–5Th Centuries Bc) Marine Lechenault Genesis and Development of the First Complex Societies in the Northeastern Iberian Peninsula During the First Iron Age (7th-6th Centuries BC). The Sant Jaume Complex (Alcanar, Catalonia) David Garcia i Rubert, Isabel Moreno Martínez, Francisco Gracia Alonso, Laia Font Valentín, Marta Mateu Sagué
439
445
Phoenicians in the Azores, Myth or Reality? Nuno Ribeiro, Anabela Joaquinito, Sérgio Pereira
453
The Roman uilla of Sa Mesquida: A rural settlement on the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) Catalina Mas Florit, Bartomeu Vallori Márquez, Patricia Murrieta Flore, María José Rivas Antequera, Miguel Ángel Cau Ontivero
461
Lamps From the Anonymous Temple of the Main Decumanus at Leptis Magna Veronica Riso
467
New Data on the Roman Wall Paintings of Leptis Magna. A Preliminary Report Giuseppe Cinquemani
475
The Coin Hoard from Misurata: the Container Francesca Trapani
483
Archaeology Sicily and Italy
495
Francavilla Marittima: a Contextual Analysis of Male Burials in the Necropolis of Macchiabate (9Th-6Th Century BC) Claudia Speciale
495
The Fortified Settlement at Mura Pregne: an Indigenous Site Close to the Greek chora of Himera Calogero Maria Bongiorno
507
Licodia Eubea-Style: Some Remark Marco Camera
511
iii
Recent Discoveries at the Sanctuary of the Divine Palikoi Laura Maniscalco, Brian E. McConnell
517
Rock Architecture and Some Colonial and Indigenous Centres: the Case of Leontinoi and Montagna Di Ramacca (Ct) Maria Nicotra, Giuseppina Gisella Lidia Verde
523
The Necropoleis of Gela: Updated Researches and Topographical Observation Marina Congiu
529
A Sanctuary of Apollo (Re)discovered in Sicily? Archaeological Evidence, Topography and Historical Source Francesca Buscemi
535
Elite and Society in a Settlement in the Sicilian Hinterland: a New Interpretation of Some Funerary Assemblages from the Monte Castellazzo Necropolis Near Marianopoli Rosalba Panvini A Female Clay Bust from the ‘Artemis Well’ in Syracuse Mario Cottonaro
543 557
Material Culture as an Indicator of Adoption and Resistance in the Cross-Craft and Cultural Interactions Among Greek and Indigenous Communities in Southern Italy: Loom Weights and Cooking Ware in Pre-Roman Lucania Alessandro Quercia, Lin Foxhall Archaeological Analysis of Roman Naval Warfare in Iberia During the Second Punic War Eduard Ble Gimeno Sailing Towards the West: Trade and Traders on the Routes Between the Iberian Peninsula and Campania Between the 2nd Century BC and the 1st Century AD Michele Stefanile
563 575
585
Roman Period Theatres in Sicily: a Structuralist Approach Zeynep Aktüre
593
A Fish-Processing Plant in Milazzo (ME) During the 1st Imperial Age Annunziata Ollà
603
Some Observations On The Road Network Through The Peloritani Region, North-Eastern Sicily Anna Lisa Palazzo
609
Volume II Part III – History and Archaeology of the Classical World II
615
Iconography and Artistic Production
617
The ‘Mosaic of the Sages’ from Lyrbe / Seleukeia Nazlı Yildirim
617
Some Remarks on the Iconography of Hermes Kriophoros in Magna Graecia and Sicily in the 5th Century BC Ambra Pace
627
The Origins of the lorica segmentata Marco Conti
633
Handmade Terracotta Figurines: Subjects Of Daily Life Vanessa Chillemi
639
Hellenistic Plastic Vases in Sicily: Some Reflection Alessandra Granata
651
Between Myth and History: Mediterranean Funerary Monuments in the 4th Century BC Alessandro Poggio
657
Archaeology of Gesture and Relics: Early Signs of the Sacred In Veii Laura Maria Russo
661
History
677
The Dionysus Cult in Antioch İnanç Yamaç
677
Economy and Institutions in Ancient Greek Proverbs. A Contribution on Trade and Taxation Carmela Raccuia
685
Attic Weights and the Economy of Athen Mario Trabucco
691
iv
Sitodosia, euerghesia and emporia: Some Examples from Sicily Elena Santagati
695
Greeks and Sikels in the Hyblaean Area: an Historical Interpretation of the Epigraphic Evidence in the Chalcidian Hinterland Nella Sudano
699
Reconstructing Aspects of pre-Roman History, Political Organization, Religion and Trading Contacts of Greek Colonies of ‘Thracia Pontica’: the Case of Histria and Kallati Maria Girtzi
709
The Role of Professional Associations in the Romanization Process of the Western Provinces. A Study Proposal Ilenia Gradante
717
The Eastern Mediterranean in the Greek Anthroponymy of Roman Hispania: the Case of Aegyptu Pedro Marques
723
In the Land West of the Euphrates: the Parthians in the Roman Empire Leonardo Gregoratti
731
The Ecclesia Dei in Early Christian Inscriptions: Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons in Sicily Giuseppe Falzone
737
The Two Agorai of the Piraeus: Literary, Epigraphic and Archaeological Source Valentina Consoli
749
From Earthquake to Archaeological Rediscovery: Two Unpublished Epigraphs from the Aquila Province Carla Ciccozzi, Alessandra Granata, Walter Grossi
757
Numismatic
763
Water Fauna and Sicilian Coins from the Greek Period Mariangela Puglisi
763
Coinage and Indigenous Populations in Central Sicily Lavinia Sole
779
Greek and Hellenistic Coins in the Central Adriatic Apennines Between the 5th and 2nd Centuries BC Maria Cristina Mancini
789
Coins in Messapia: Research and New Perspective Valeria G. Camilleri, Paola d’Angela, Valeria R. Maci, Stefania Montanaro, Lorenzo Rinaudo, Giuseppe Sarcinelli, Aldo Siciliano, Adriana Travaglini
793
The ‘Six Emperors’ Coin Hoard’ from the Bay of Camarina Giovanni Di Stefano, Giuseppe Guzzetta, Viviana Lo Monaco, Maria Agata Vicari Sottosanti
805
Archaeology and Sciences
809
Trapeza: A Computer Approach to the Study of Domestic Pottery in Greek Sicily Alessandra Cilio
809
Punic Amphorae from Entella (Sicily): Archaeometric Characterisation of This Possible Consumption Centre Giuseppe Montana, Anna Maria Polito, Mariella Quartararo
815
Physical And Chemical Causes of Deterioration in Excavated Gla Ceren Baykan
825
Some Archaeological and Archeometric Observations on Two Amphorae from the Venice Lagoon Iwona Modrzewska, Giancarlo Taroni, Franco Pianetti
837
Part IV – Byzantine and Medieval Archaeology and History, Museography, Historiography
847
Byzantine and Medieval Anatolia
849
Byzantine Bronze Coins Found in Anatolia and Their Circulation Zeliha Demirel Gökalp
849
An Early Byzantine Graveyard Area in Ankara Ayse Fatma Erol
857
Stoneworks with Animal Motifs Along the Mediterranean Coast of Anatolia During the Byzantine Period Ferda Önengüt, Pinar Serdar
865
The Usage of the Golden Ratio in East Mediterranean Early Byzantine Churche Sener Yildirim
871
The Contribution of Women in the Construction and Decoration of Churches in the Holy Land Lihi Habas
881
v
The Beçin–Yelli Madrasah Kadir Pektaş
895
Taş (Stone) Madrasah – The Akşehir Archaeological Museum Melda Arca Yalçın
901
Some Medieval Glazed Wares Uncovered from the Archaeological Excavations at Alanya Castle, Southern Turkey Sema Bilici
911
The 18th-Century Saliha Sultan Tomb Bilge Karaöz
915
Mediterranean Ships in the Russian Medieval Written and Graphic Tradition Petr Sorokin
919
Some Seljukid Tiles Uncovered from the Archaeologıcal Excavatıons at Alâıyye Castle, Southern Turkey Leyla Yılmaz
925
Italy, Sicily and the Mediterranean
929
Urban Topography in the Adriatic Italic Area: the Cult of S. Lorenzo in the Middle Age Carmen Soria
929
Late Medieval Pilgrim Ampullae from Southern Apulia. An Indicator of Long-Distance Pilgrimage or Local Shrines? Marco Leo Imperiale
937
Typological Analysis of a Cooking Ware Vessel for the Dating of Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeological Contexts in Salento Patricia Caprino
941
The Serapieion and the Church of St. Pancratius in Taormina. The Building from Antiquity to the Middle Age Leonardo Fuduli
945
Importation and Trade of African Pottery in the Ancient Ecclesia Carinensis During the Late Roman Age Emma Vitale
959
Production and Circulation of Palermitan Amphorae in the Medieval Mediterranean Fabiola Ardizzone
963
Agrigento between Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Dynamics of Transformation in the Area of the Early Christian Cemetery from the 3rd to the 11th Centuries A.D. Giuseppina Cipriano
975
Vandals in the Mediterranean: a Problematical Presence Vincenzo Aiello
987
Vandals in the Mediterranean: Sicily and its Role Elena Caliri
991
Vandals in the Mediterranean: the Monetary System Daniele Castrizio
997
The Settlement in the District of Grammena-Valcorrente Near Belpasso (Ct) between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages Elisa Bonacini, Maria Turco, Lucia Arcifa
1001
Qui eadem aqua utuntur. A Late Antique and Early Byzantine Village in Rural Calamonaci (Agrigento, Sicily) Maria Concetta Parello, Annalisa Amico
1011
The Dump of Burgio: the Kiln Wastes of the First Pottery Workshops (16th-17th Centuries A.D.) in the Garella District Maria Concetta Parello
1019
Interdisciplinary Study of a Rupestrian Site Differently Utilized from 5Th-6th to 14th Centuries (South-East Sicily) Noemi Billeci, Lorella Pellegrino, Giacomo Caruso, Francesco Paolo Mancuso, Franco Palla
1025
Marble Production and Marble Trade Along the Mediterranean Coast in the Early Byzantine Period (5th-6th centuries AD): the Data from Quarries, Shipwrecks and Monument Elena Flavia Castagnino Berlinghieri, Andrea Paribeni Medieval Byzantine Shipwrecks in the Eastern Adriatic Vesna Zmaić
1033 1043
Museums, Historiography, Enhancement
1051
The Archaeological Museum of Thassos: the New Permanent Exhibition Dimitria Malamidou, Zisis Bonias, Konstantinos Galanaki
1051
Ancient Sardinia on the Move Barbara Costa
1063
vi
From the Universal Museum to the Public Museum: the Role of Archaeological Finds in Palermo Between the 18th and 19th Century Rosanna Equizzi
1075
The Legend of Mount Nemrud: Commagene Kingdom 3D Reconstruction of the Archaeological Remains of the Holy Sanctuary on Mount Nemrud Ahmet Denker, Hakan Oni ̇z
1081
Some Examples of Traditional Housing from the Village of Eskikizilelma and the Aktopraklik Höyük Excavations, Bursa Abdullah Deveci
vii
1089
viii
Part III History and Archaeology of the Classical World II
Iconography and Artistic Production The ‘Mosaic of the Sages’ from Lyrbe / Seleukeia Nazlı Yildirim
Department of Archeology, Akdeniz University, Antalya
The city of Lyrbe/Seleukeia is located in the Manavgat County of Antalya, approximately 23km northeast of Side (Fig. 1). The Mosaic of the Sages, which is the subject of this research1 was found in Room 10 in 1979 by the research team headed by Jale İnan during archeological excavations at Lyrbe/Seleukeia Agora (Fig. 2). Due to destruction threat, the mosaic was taken to the Antalya Archeological Museum in the same year2 and today it is exhibited in this museum.
southern sections of the mosaic and three portraits in the east and west sides, visible to the audience walking along the wall. The southern section of the mosaic was damaged but we are still able to identify the figures in the first two panels thanks to the inscriptions. By taking these inscriptions into consideration we can say that Xenophon was represented in the first panel, based on the letters ‘(…)phon’ (Fig. 17), and Diogenes was represented in the following panel based on the letters ‘Di(…)Nes’.4 As well as damage to Heracleitos, Hesiodos, Herodotus, Diogenes and Xenophon, a large part of the middle panel, where the main scene was placed, and four panels in the southeast section of the mosaic were completely destroyed.
Having been named as a ‘library’3 by researchers Room 10, in which the mosaic was situated, is at the northwest corner of agora. To the east of this room are Gate F and Room 11, understood as an exedra (Fig. 3). This room is 4.40 x 4.30m and has a plan close to a square. The room walls are well preserved, and there is a niche 0.76m x 0.80m x 0.38m in the eastern wall in addition to small holes indicating that the walls were probably clad with marble plates (Fig. 4); there is no evidence of windows in the walls (Fig. 5).
Having formed a huge square by linking to each other with simple guilloche design, these panels were taken framed by a large border comprising motifs of the crowstep, three-stand guilloche, crowstep, swastika-maeander and star respectively (Fig. 18-19). The workmanship of the mosaic is of a high quality. The wide border surrounding the panels was created by regular-cut black tesserae. As one moves forward to the internal parts from this border, the tesserae become smaller and the number of colours used increases. For example vivid black, grey, white, yellow and red colours were used. The hairstyles and beards of the figures, the physical characteristics of which were emphasized in detail, were formed by coloured and small tesserae (Fig. 20). Despite these details, the comparison between the figures and their equivalents shows that there is no correlation between them in terms of portraits.5 Therefore, it is possible that the figures were processed individually and originally.
This mosaic is 3.90 x 3.95m and consists of a main scene centered by three figures and is surrounded by 16 panels (Fig. 6). The center section of the mosaic, where the main scene was situated, was arranged as a square panel (1.46 x 1.46m). Although a large part of the main scene was destroyed, we are able to obtain knowledge about the figures represented in this section with the help of the names written on the upper section. According to inscriptions, the main scene contains personalized representations of the two Homeric epics, Iliad and Odyssey, and a figure of Homer in the middle (Fig. 7). There are 16 panels around the main scene, all of which were placed side by side in such a manner that they would form five panels. The panels were framed by simple guilloche features and are 0.42 x 0.42m in size. Portraits of famous historians, philosophers, poets and statesmen of antiquity were placed in each panel, and personal information about these figures was given by inscriptions. According to the inscriptions, respectively from right to left, we have Anaxagoras (Fig. 8), Phythagoras (Fig. 9), Pherekydes (Fig. 10), Demosthenes (Fig.11), Heraclitus (Fig. 12), Hesiodos (Fig. 13), Lycurgus (Fig. 14), Solon (Fig. 15), Thucydides (Fig. 16) and Herodotus (Fig. 17). Five of the portraits were placed in the northern and
The first information about the ‘Seven Sages’, which are considered to constitute the subjects of the mosaic and appear in ancient sources on several occasions, is provided by Plato’s Protagoras.6 According to this, the list of these Seven Sages is as follows: Thales of Miletus, Pittacus of Mytilene, Bias of Priene, Athenian Solon, Cleobulus of Lindus, Myson of Chen and Chilon of Sparta. In some sources, Periander or Anacharsis appear 4
İnan 1998: 87. But today these letters have disappeared. İnan 1998: 88-90. See for the description of Anaksagoras: Richter 1984: 86. See for Phythagoras: Richter 1984: 193; Schefold 1997: 152-5, 276. See for Demosthenes: Richter 1984: 108-13; Schefold 1997: 200-1. See for Herakleitos: Richter 1984: 127-129. See for Hesiodos: Parlasca 1959: TextTaf. C; Richter 1984: 135; Schefold 1997: 262. For Lykourgos: Richter 1984: 156-7; Schefold 1997: 240. For Solon: Richter 1984: 2045; Schefold 1997: 160-1. For Thukydides: Richter 1984: 213-5; Joyce 1980: Taf. 109-2. Schefold 1997: 144-6. For Herodotos: Richter 1984: 131-3. See for Ksenephon: Schefold 1997: 162- 3. For Diogenes: Richter 1984: 113-6; Schefold 1997: 252-3. 6 Plato Protagoras, 70. 5
1
The Lyrbe mosaic has been published by many researchers. These researches focused on general definitions about the work but few touched upon the details. İnan 1980: 13-4; Stupperich 1982: 231-2; Bingöl 1997: 123-5 Abb. 88; Schefold 1997: 392; İnan 1998: 86-91 Res. 78-87; Mitchell 1998-1999: 171-2 Fig. 60-3. 2 İnan 1980: 13-4. 3 İnan 1998: 24. Even though there is no explicit information available to evaluate this room as a ‘library’, that the room was located in the agora, representations on the mosaic, and the presence of a niche in the wall must have given rise to such an interpretation.
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SOMA 2011 instead of Myson.7 In later the names of the Seven Sages did not change but different names may have been added to the list.8 According to ‘The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers’ of Diogenes Laertios, it was during the archonship of Damasias (582/1 BC)9 that the Seven Sages first became known as ‘the wise men’, Thales being the first so acknowledged.10 In the same book he also refers to the names given by other writers of antiquity, including Plato, Plutarch, Dicaearchus, Hermippos and Hippobotus.11 In spite of this variety of names, the names firstly given by Plato are the generally accepted names of the Seven Sages. All of these wise men lived in the 7th and 6th centuries BC and gained great importance as a result of their lifestyles and ideas, and became one of the main subjects in the visual arts of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.12
symposium. The identities of the portraits in the panels were made clear by inscriptions in both mosaics. The panels now in the Cologne Mosaic are hexagonal and separated from each other by a simple guilloche (Fig. 24). Diogenes was represented on the main panel and Socrates, Cleoboulos, Sophocles and Chilon were respectively represented to the left of Diogenes. Although the identities of those represented on both sides of Chilon were unknown (since the panel disintegrated) it is considered that Plato, Thales or Aristotle must have been represented on them.21 Having survived until today, the Baalbek mosaic (Fig. 25) provides the most explicit information about Seven Sages representations. On this mosaic all of the Seven Sages were represented just as originally mentioned by Plato. Calliope was situated on the main panel and Socrates was situated on the panel above Calliope. From Socrates, counterclockwise, are Solon, Thales, Bias, Cleoboulos, Periander, Pittacus and Chilon. This mosaic is an important reference for other mosaics as it gives significant information about the identities of the seven figures other than Socrates in the Pompeii, Sarsina and Apamea mosaics. According to this information, in all these mosaics, the Seven Sages, with Socrates the main central figure in general, were visually represented as mentioned by Plato and the other ancient writers.22
During the said periods, iconography of Seven Sages was frequently used on portraits, sculptures, mosaics and murals. These works were generally exhibited in public spheres such as public baths and libraries; in addition they were preferred and used by privately owned villas and gardens.13 There are a total of five mosaics incorporating Seven Sages iconography, which are of importance in terms of our subject.14 These mosaics are from Pompeii, Sarsina, Cologne, Baalbek and Apamea Mosaics. Pompeii15 (Fig. 21), Sarsina16 (Fig. 22) and Apamea17 (Fig. 23). The Mosaics display similar characteristics in terms of the way of processing iconographies. All three mosaics include figures in groups on the left and right sides of the central main figure, and these representations, in general, are interpreted as symposium scenes.18 In the Apamea mosaic, only the central figure was mentioned as Socrates by the inscription; no information was given about the identities of the other figures.
Since the Lyrbe/Seleukeia mosaic consisted of portraits in panels, which were separated from each other by simple guilloche, it bears a resemblance to the Cologne and Baalbek mosaics. However it differs from the above-mentioned examples due to its uncommon main central scene and the presence of more than seven figures situated around this scene. Muses or important philosophers such as Diogenes and Socrates were placed in the main scenes of Seven Sages mosaics in general. However the Lyrbe/Seleukeia version differs from these mosaics in its iconography of personalized figures from the Iliad and Odyssey.23 Even though the figures situated in this section were completely destroyed, it is possible to interpret the scene with the help of different examples of references to Homer. For instance, in the Archelaos relief24 Homer sits on a throne and characters from the Iliad and Odyssey remain on bended knees on both sides of the throne (Fig. 26). Taking this and other examples25 (Fig. 27) into account, it is possible to conclude that in this section Homer might have also been represented on a throne and Iliad and Odyssey figures might have been symbolized as the young women on both sides of him26 (Fig. 28). The Iliad figure which appears in the section, a small part of which has been preserved,27 supports this view since it represents a young lady holding a spear in her right hand (Fig. 30).
The Seven Sages from Cologne19 and Baalbek20 are completely different from other representations. In these mosaics, each of the Seven Sages were represented in the panels by individual portraits and not through pictorial representations at a 7
This name is given by Plutarch. See: Plutarch Moralia 356-47. Aune 1978: 56; Richter 1984: 196; See for the subject of Seven Sages: Elderkin 1935; Hanfmann 1951: 209 -12; Heintze 1977; Richter 1984: 196-8. 9 Develin 1989: 40. 10 Diogenes Laertius The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers I. I. I. 11 Diogenes Laertius The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers I, IX; I, I, XIV. 12 Smith 1991: 33-40 Fig. 21-43. 13 Richter 1984: 196; Bassett 1996: 506. 14 However, there are some examples of mosaics which contain many poets, philosophers, soldiers, historians or politicians apart from these mosaics. See for description of Hippokrates and Anaximander: Schefold 1997: 382 Abb. 249-50; See for Thukydides, Alkman ve Homeros: Schefold 1997: 384-5 Abb. 251-2; Joyce 1980: 307-25 Taf. 100, 1092, 111-1; See for Anakreon, Sappho, Alkman and Alkibiades: Schefold 1997: 386-9 Abb. 253-6; See for Hesiodos, Cicero, Vergil and Menander: Parlasca 1959: 41-8 Taf. 43-3, 44-2, 46-2-3; Schefold 1997: 390 Abb. 258; See for Menander and Vergil: Schefold 1997: 398 Abb. 268-9; See for Sokrates, Sappho and Chilon: Strocka 1977: H 2/ 7, 12, 24 Abb. 194, 263. 15 Richter 1984: 198; Elderkin 1935: 92-111 Pl. XXII- A; Schefold 1997: 294-6 Abb.172; Höricht 1986: 53 Fig.1. 16 Richter 1984: 198; Elderkin 1935: 92-111 Pl. XXII- B. 17 Richter 1984: 198 Fig. 159; Hafmann 1951: 207-10 Fig. 1-2; Höricht 1986: 89 Fig. 32. 18 Diogenes Laertius The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers I, I, XIV; Betz 1978: 56-7. 19 Richter 1984: 197-8; Parlasca 1959: 80-2 Abb. 10 Taf. 80-2; Schefold 1997: 394 Abb. 262-6. 20 Donderer 1989: 53-4 Taf. 2; Richter 1984: 198 Fig. 158; Schefold 1997: 396 Abb. 267; Höricht 1986: 53 Fig. 9. 8
21
Parlasca 1959: 80-2 Taf. 80-1 There are different mosaics which contain many poets, philosophers, soldiers, historians or politicians. See for example the Zeuxippos Bath: Stupperich 1982: 210-35; Bassett 1996: 491-506; Kaldellis 2007: 361-83. See for Exedra which is located in the Memphis Sarapieium: Ridgway 1990: 131-4; Wilcken 1917: 149-225. See for the Ostia Bath: Schefold 1997: 380 Abb. 246-248. For the example of Brutus Villa: Richter 1984: 196-7. 23 In respect of this important subject the Monnus mosaic is of high importance. Here Homer was interestingly represented together with Calliope and Ingenium. Parlasca 1959: 41 Taf. 42-1, 47-1. 24 Schefold 1997: 336-8 Abb. 213; Richter 1984: 147, Smith 1991, 187 Fig. 216. 25 For the other example see: Seaman 2005: 173-90; Baratte and Metzager 1985: Cat. No. 186; Thompson 1954: Pl. 14-c. 26 İnan 1998: 86-7. 27 Because of damage only the tip of the arrow can be seen today from this section. See: Fig. 7. 22
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Nazlı Yildirim: The ‘Mosaic of the Sages’ The above-mentioned main scene, where Homer was represented, was surrounded by square panels containing 16 famous faces. In contrast to Seven Sages mosaics, the main purpose of which was to emphasize the wise men identified by ancient writers, the main purpose of the Lyrbe/Seleukeia mosaic was different and the name misapplied.28 Among the persons represented on this mosaic, only Solon is one of the Seven Sages and the others are unfamiliar. The names put on the mosaic were those of influential persons of the time. Information on the other characters is scarce, however some of the groups are striking. For example, three significant historians – Thucydides, Herodotus and Xenophon – were placed in the lower left corner of the mosaic, side by side. Similarly, three important philosophers of the pre-Socrates period – Pherekydes, Pythagoras and Anaxagoras – were represented in upper-right corner. It is not exactly known who were represented in the four panels since they have not been well preserved, however it is possible, based on similar examples, that they may represent Thales, Aristotle, Sophocles, Socrates or Euripides.29 Evaluating the Seven Sages mosaics as a whole, it is evident that these mosaics, excluding the examples from Pompeii and Sarsina, have no relationship to each other in terms of typology, interaction and dating. The mosaics that were used in villas in general are dated to the 1st and 4th centuries AD by their workmanship and locations. On the other hand the Lyrbe/ Seleukeia mosaic is dated by some researchers to the 4th century AD, however this mosaic, which is of great importance in terms of its subject and quality of workmanship, must have been made at an earlier time.
30-31), in terms of the facial detail and expression, and the use of similar borders consisting of crowstep design, strengthens the hypothesis that both mosaics were constructed in the 2nd century AD. Furthermore this room should have been used for a special purpose because of the inspiring iconography of the sages: it may have been a store for important city documents or, as noted by researchers, it could have been used as a small library. The Lyrbe/Seleukeia mosaic differs from other ‘sage’ mosaics in that it incorporates a wide range of professions including two poets, three philosophers, a genealogist, a mathematician, three historians, a rhetorician, a statesman and a law-maker. Also it was located in a public building and featured an unusual central scene. The Lyrbe/Seleukeia mosaic, the most populated sage mosaics known (with its 16 famous names, 12 of which are known) is also one of the earliest examples. Ancient Source Diogenes Laertius: The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (Translated by C. D. Yonge. London, 1853). Plato: Protagoras (Translated by B. Jowett. USA, 2009). Plutarch Moralia (Translated by F. C. Babbitt. London, 1962). Bibliography Aune, D. E. 1978. Septem sepientium convivium (Moralia 146B-164D) in F. C. Babbitt (ed.) Plutarch’s ethical writings and early Christian literature, Studia ad Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti, 4 (Leiden, Brill) pp. 51-105. Baratte, F. and Metzger, C. 1985. Musée du Louvre. Catalogue des arcophages en pierre d’époques romaine et paléochrétienne (Paris, Ministére de la Culture Èditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux) Bassett, S. G. 1996. ‘Historiae custos: Sculpture and tradition in the Baths of Zeuxippos’, American Journal of Archaeology 100, pp. 491-506. Bingöl, O. 1997. Malerei und Mosaik der Antike in der Türkei. Kulturgeschichte der antiken Welt, 67 (Mainz/Rhein: Philipp von Zabern). Develin, R. 1989. Athenian Officials 684-321 BC (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Donderer, M. 1989. Die Mosaizisten der Antike und ihre wirtschaftliche und soziale Stellung. Erlanger Forschungen 48 (Erlanger: Universitätsbund Erlangen). Elderkin, G.W. 1935. ‘Two Mosaics Representing the Seven Wise Men’, American Journal of Archaeology 39, pp. 92-111. Hanfmann, G. M. A. 1951. ‘Socrates and Christ’, Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 60, pp. 205-233. Heintze, von, H. 1977. Zu den Bildnissen der sieben Weisen. Festschrift für Frank Brommer (Mainz/Rhein: Philipp von Zabern ) pp. 164-173. Höricht, L. A. S. 1986. Il Volto Dei Filosofi Antichi (Napoli: Bibliopolis). İnan, J. 1980. ‘Seleukeia Kazısı ve Onarımı’, Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 2, pp. 11-14. İnan, J. 1998. Toroslar’da Bir Antik Kent: Lyrbe?-Seleukeia? (İstanbul, Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları) Joyce, H. 1980. ‘A Mosaic from Gerasa in Orange, Texas, and Berlin’, Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäeologischen Instituts Röemische Abteilung 87, pp. 307-325. Kaldellis, A. 2007. ‘Christodoros on the Statues of the Zeuxippos Baths: A New Reading of the Ekphrasis’ in K. J. Rigsby- J. D. Sosin (eds.) Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 47 8Duke University) pp. 361-383.
As a result of the surveys of the architectural remains, Gate F and the Exedra, which were situated in the northern section of the agora at Lyrbe/Seleukeia are dated to a period between the second half of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century AD.30 The presence of some remains in the room where the mosaic was structured makes it possible that this structure was made during the same period as Gate F and the Exedra. For example the 2.8m-high eastern wall of the room and the parts formed by the well-cut stones of the lower courses of the northern wall show similar characteristics to the walls of some of the northern structures. Furthermore, the great number of small holes that appear on the eastern wall, indicating the existence of marble plates, similarly appear on the Exedra walls. Based on these architectural details, it is possible to say that this room was constructed in the same period, together with some other northern sections. However the existence of the walls bonded by smaller cut blocks shows that this room was repaired between the 4th and 5th centuries AD when repairs were made to every part of the agora. In addition to this information, high-quality mosaic examples, which appear in many structures of the city, suggest that the city had a highly-developed infrastructure. The most remarkable mosaic was found in the Exedra. Named the Orpheus Mosaic31 (Fig. 29), it is dated to the 2nd century AD considering the architectural details and stylistic characteristics of the room for which it was made.32 As a result of the surveys carried out on the mosaics, it is seen that there are some similarities between these two mosaics in terms of workmanship and manner of expression. For instance, in the Orpheus Mosaic, Nape and Hyle, which are terms for forest and valley, were personified as woman. Such personifications belong to Roman concepts. Furthermore, in addition to the similarities between Nape and Iliad figures (Fig. 28 29 30 31 32
İnan 1998: 86-91. Parlasca 1959: 81-2. See for the architectural details: İnan 1998: 23-37. İnan 1998: 84-6 Res. 77, 127-8; Tülek 1998: 50-1. İnan 1998: 86.
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SOMA 2011 Byzantium (Great Britain: Ashgate Publishing Limited) pp. 173-190. Smith, R. R. R. 1991. Hellenistic Sculpture (London: Thames and Hudson). Strocka, V. M. 1977. Die Wandmalerei Der Hanghauser In Ephesos. Forschungen in Ephesos VIII/1 (Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften). Stupperich, R. 1982. ‘Das Statuenprogramm in den ZeuxipposThermen’, Istanbuler Mitteilungen 32, pp. 210-235. Thompson, H. A. 1954. ‘Excavation in the Athenian Agora: 1953’, Hesperia 23, pp. 31-67. Tülek, F. 1998. Efsunsu Orpheus. Orpheus, The Magician. The Transition of orpheus theme from Pasanism to Christianity in late Roman-Early byzantine Mosaics (İstanbul: Arkeloji ve Sanat Yayınları). Wilcken, U. 1917. ‘Die griechischen Denkmäler vom Dromos des Serapeums von Memphis’, Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 32, pp. 149-203.
Machatschek, A. and Schwarz, M. 1981. Bauforsungen in Selge. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-Historische Klasse Denkschriften 152 (Wien: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften). Mitchell, S. 1998-1999. ‘Archaeology in Asia Minor 1990-98’, Archaeological Reports 45, pp. 125-192. Parlasca, K. 1959. Die Römischen Mosaiken in Deutschland. Römisch-Germanische Forschungen 23 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co.). Richter, G. 1984. The Portraits of the Greeks (New York: Cornell University Press). Ridgway, B. S. 1990. Hellenistic Sculpture I, The Styles of ca. 331-200 B. C. (USA: The University of Wisconsin Press). Schefold, K. 1997. Die Bildnisse der Antiken Dichter, Redner und Denker (Switzerland: Schwabe & Co.). Seaman, K. 2005. ‘Personifications of the Iliad and the Odyssey in Hellenistic and Roman Art’, in Stanfford, E.-Herrin, J. (eds.) Personification in the Greek World: from antiquity to
Fig. 1. After Machatschek-Schwarz 1981: Taf. 1
Fig. 2. After İnan 1998: Çiz. 5
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Fig. 21 After Elderkin 1935: Pl. XXII-A
Fig. 22 After Elderkin 1935: Pl. XXII-B
Fig. 23 After Hanfmann 1951: Fig. 1
Fig. 24 After Parlasca 1959: Abb. 10
Fig. 25 After Höricht 1986: Fig. 9
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Fig. 26 After Richter 1984: Fig. 109
Fig. 27 After Baratte and Metzger 1985: Cat. No. 186
Fig. 28
Fig. 29 After İnan 1998: Çiz. 33
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Fig. 30 After İnan 1998: 79
Fig. 31 After İnan 1998: Res. 152
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Some Remarks on the Iconography of Hermes Kriophoros in Magna Graecia and Sicily in the 5th Century BC Ambra Pace
Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Università degli Studi di Messina (Italia)
In the varied framework of terracotta figurines from Sicily in the 5th century B.C., many of which represent female figures, there is a small group of male figurines representing kriophoroi (‘ram bearers’). These include two figurines from Gela, the first one (Fig. 1) kept in the British Museum (Higgings 1954: 308, no. 1132), the second one (Fig. 2) from the acropolis (Orlandini and Adamesteanu 1962: 376, fig. 51; Panvini 1998: 56, I.65), a fragmentary figurine (Fig. 3) from a sacred area of Agrigento,1 and a figurine from the Poggio dell’Aquila shrine (Fig. 4), at Terravecchia di Grammichele, near Catania.2 The figurine from Grammichele is from a sanctuary connected with the cult of Demeter and Kore (Orsi 1897: 212-64) and it is certainly identifiable with Hermes because of the caduceus and pileus. It is very likely also that the statuette in the British Museum represents Hermes, as proposed by Higgings, because it shares with the figurine from Grammichele clothes, attitude and iconographical scheme. The iconography of the other two figurines, the first one from Gela found in association with female terracottas and Athena Lindia figurines (Orlandini and Adamesteanu 1962: 376-7, fig. 50), the second one from the area of a shrine of chtonian deities of Agrigento, follows faithfully the iconographical scheme of the others, even if there are not elements exclusive to Hermes. The figurine from Gela is naked and has a pileus, whereas the figurine from Agrigento is headless, wears the himation and with the right hand under the ram’s back.
wears simple boots or winged sandals. Only in three cases he holds a caduceus; sometimes he gives Persephone a crown or a cock. Also in the shrine of the anonymous site of Francavilla di Sicilia, Hermes appears exclusively as a kriophoros in anakalypteria scenes: he is always represented as a boy; the ram is on his chest or on his shoulders or by his side; he always wears a chitoniskos with himation draped on his arms, only once is it replaced by a chlamys fastened around his neck; he wears winged boots, only once is he barefoot; one example has him holding a cock, but never the caduceus. It seems that the wide range of iconographies offered by the pinakes of Locri and Francavilla, datable to the first half of the 5th century B.C., was used and revised by Sikeliot artisans: they combined different elements from thee iconographies of pinakes, creating a distinct iconographical scheme: a naked and young figure with pileus, himation draped on arms, ram on shoulders, arms along the body or holding the ram’s legs, and the caduceus. The reiterated Hermes’s presence on pinakes from Locri and Francavilla has been analyzed by many scholars in the framework of Locrian milieu, where also later figurines of kriophoroi were found, (Barra Bagnasco 2009: 165-70), and in the religious context of the sanctuaries, associating it to the important role of Hermes in boys’ education, in relation to gymnasium contexts during the Classical age (Torelli 1976: 169; Spigo 2000: 22). Such a cult of Hermes is archaeologically and epigraphically attested in Metapontum (Lo Porto 1988: 20-2), where in two of Hesychius’s episodes he was known as eùkolos, ‘companion’, and paiodokòres, ‘who satisfies boys’,6 epithets linked to his role as protector and guardian of the young. Also in Medma, one of the sub-colonies of Locri probably sharing cults with the mother city, there are archaeological traces of the Hermes cult at Contrada Calderazzo, where hundreds of figurines of kriophoroi were found by Paolo Orsi at the beginning of the 20th century.7
Kriophoroi figurines are not widespread in Greece. They have been found especially in Boeotia, but with different features and iconographical schemes.3 The iconography of Sicilian figurines is instead very similar to the iconography of Hermes kriophoros on pinakes from the sanctuary of Mannella at Locri (Figs. 5-8)4 and from the shrine dedicated to female deities at Francavilla di Sicilia (Fig. 9),5 where there is a very wide range of clothes, attitudes, and situations. Hermes and Dionysos are the most represented gods on pinakes from the Persephone shrine at Locri, and Hermes is represented as kriophoros exclusively in anakalypteria scenes, i.e. connected with the marriage ceremony and the moment of ‘aparchai’, offered by deities to the married couple.
The archaeological literature underlines the initiation value of Hermes in the education of boys in the sanctuaries of Persephone, in an ideal pendant with the functions of support and protection offered by Persephone to girls in the delicate transition from childhood to adulthood. Moreover, Hermes is also intimately linked with the figure of Kore-Persephone because, appointed by Zeus, he took her back from the realm of Hades to Earth, as indicated in the pseudo-Homeric hymn to Demeter (Hymn. Dem. vv. 335-86). The changing and multiform personality of Hermes, who, besides being a messenger is a guide, and especially a guide on dangerous paths and border passages (Kahn 1979), is well suited to these sacral contexts, where male presence was
Hermes is represented bearded on only one example. The ram can be near his chest, on his shoulders, or on the ground at his side; sometimes he wears a chitoniskos, sometimes he is naked, but always wearing a chlamys or an himation, draped on his arms; he always wears a hat: simple or winged petasus, pileus, a strange headgear with feathers; sometimes he is barefoot, sometimes he De Miro 2000: 246, no. 1480. The editor defines this figurine as kourotrophos. The male genitalia and the iconographical scheme probably characterize it as a kriophoros. 2 The figurine is unpublished and is housed in the Archeological Museum ‘Paolo Orsi’ at Syracuse (inv. 21771). 3 Mollard-Besques 1954: 14, B 80-1; 90, C 41-2. For Hermes kriophoros iconography, see Siebert 1990: 311-14. 4 Barello, Cardosa, Grillo et al. 2007: 22-4 (types 8/2, 8/8-8/18). 5 Spigo 2000: 22-31(types XIV/1-3). 1
Hesychius s.v. eukolos and paidokores. Orsi 1913: 119-24; Tinè Bertocchi 1963. Moreover, a Hermes kriophoros figurine was found in the 1960s (Agostino 1993: 52, fig. 29; Agostino 1996: 115, 2.40). 6 7
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erotic scene by the altar represents Silenus coupling with a hind, grabbing its belly and udders (Fig. 10).11 This scene seems to underline Hermes’s fertile, ithyphallic value relative to the power of wild nature, in combination with Aphrodite, ‘goddess of love, sex and the creative force which operates in nature through love’ (Sourvinou-Inwood 1978: 119). Moreover, Hermes appears as Aphrodite paredros also at the Cretan sanctuary of Kato Syme, operative from the 8th to the 5th centuries B.C., where the main attributes of the god, as evidenced by numerous bronze pinakes, rich also in representations of kriophoroi, are linked with wild vegetation and animal fertility. In this shrine Hermes, especially in the Archaic and Classical periods, was the god of youth and athletes, in connection with the rites of initiation that aided the passage of the young to adulthood.12
In this framework it is also important to remember that Hermes is always represented as kriophoros in anakalypteria scenes. Without forgetting the context of these scenes, where the god pays homage to a married couple, and the purifying aspects related to the ram, an animal assigned to sacrifice, it is pertinent to make some reflections about the choice of the representation of Hermes with the ram on pinakes from Locri and Francavilla. The choice of the ram as sacrificial victim par excellence comes from the typical features of this animal, symbolizing power, life and wealth. Power, because he the horned beast is chief of his herds (Korres 1970: 1-6). Life, because of his obvious virility; and wealth resulting from the prosperity he can bring to his owner (see Hoffmann 1994: 34-6; Aversa 1995: 9). For these reasons, in Archaic times, eastern Greek plastic vases in the form of a ram, widespread in religious and funerary contexts, were considered as symbols of new life, and, later, the ram head was a favoured decorative motif for armour, expressing and endowing power on the warriors who wore it (Korres 1970: 1-6; Aversa 1995: 97). The ram’s ability to generate and regenerate linked it also to the stars and the constellation of Spring: on April 21st, at the vernal equinox, the sun enters the constellation of Aries, associating it with the power of generation and regeneration of that season, when life flourishes and lambs abound.
The value related to the virility of Hermes is also evident in its most common form of representation, the herm, shared with Dionysus, the other god most represented on pinakes from Locri and Francavilla. The many facets of Dionysus are similar to Hermes’s personality: in addition to chthonic aspects, he has initiating values related to the world of the symposium and connections with renovation and sexual power. An intrinsic relationship between the two gods is expressed at various levels and on several occasions: in myth, where Hermes entrusted the child Dionysus to Cheiron; in art, where they appear on the East frieze of the Parthenon leaning on each other; in religious festivals, where, during the Anthesteria, the festival in honour of Dionysus and the waiting for imminent spring, participants drink fermented wine and a dish made with oats, with the evocative name “panspermia” is offered to Hermes Chtonios on the day of Chytroi.13 Moreover, the link between the two gods is clear from one of the pinakes from Locri, where Dionysos and Hermes kriophoros are represented together in the presence of Persephone (Fig. 5).14
The function of conservation and renovation of the life cycle ascribed to the ram, attested in many cultures, is also attested in the myths in two episodes linked with the god Hermes: the first, when Phrixus escapes from certain death on the back of the golden-fleece ram, donated by Hermes, who brings him to a new life (Apollod. bibl. I, 80-3; see also Bruneau 1994: 398-404); the second features Hermes saving Tanagra’s herds from pestilence by carrying a ram around the walls (Pausanias IX, 22, 1).
These considerations illustrate how the meaning of the iconography of Hermes kriophoros cannot be traced back simply to the pastoral world, but it is rich in implications and deeper values.15
Connections between Hermes and the ram have strong mythological bases, highlighting a particular aspect of the divinity, sometimes in the shadows, linked with the sphere of fecundity and wealth. Hermes, in fact, is often depicted as god of shepherds and flocks, but his function is not only to protect livestock, a role better-suited to Apollo, but rather to multiply it (Cassola 1975: 153). This aspect, known from very ancient times, is evident in ancient sources where Hermes is ‘excellent in multiplying cattle’ (Theogony, 444-7), he ‘grants wealth’ to Phorbas, polymelos (‘many herds’), and possesses the nymph Polymele (‘many herds’) (Iliad, XIV, 490-1), begetting the hero Eudoros (‘beautiful gifts’) (Iliad, XVI, 179-186). Moreover, in the pseudo-Homeric hymn dedicated to him, Hermes is placed in the custody of Apollo’s herds and foresees that oxen and cows will produce quantities of both male and female cattle (Hymn. Herm. 493-4).9
The choice of the god as kriophoros at the shrine of Locri is well-suited to initiating dimension of the cult of Persephone, dedicated to girls as they pass from childhood to adulthood, signed by menarche, which, marking the ability of conceiving children, made them ready for a fruitful marriage. As we have seen, Hermes combines aspects of a guide on difficult and transitional paths, confirmed by a cock offered on some pinakes, with aspects of initiation, sexual power and strength, signified by the ram as a symbol of new life. In the same way, Dionysos, god of vegetation, renovation and virility, must have evoked similar suggestions on pinakes. Hermes kriophoros, Dionysos, and also the less widespread presence of the Dioskouroi,16 allusive of warrior values, depict a masculine world focused on physical and sexual power, obtained by the difficult and complex path of initiation. The presence of these gods in the sanctuary was interpreted by Mario Torelli as ‘controparte maschile del patto nuziale, […] in una dimensione lontana, divina od eroica’ (Torelli
This aspect, linked to reproduction and the sexual sphere, is clear on a pinax from Locri. It is a scene of solemn sacrifice between a man and a woman in front of a temple with two statues of gods, by now unanimously identified with Aphrodite and Hermes.10 The
Grillo, Rubinich and Schenal Pileggi 2003: 98-109 (type 3/6). Lebessi 1985. See also Muhly 2008: 62-71, with examples of terracotta rams. 13 Spineto 2004, with further bibliography. 14 Barello, Cardosa, Grillo et al. 2007: 121-5 (type 8/9). 15 Concerning the meaning of Hermes kriophoros figurines at Medma, see also Paoletti 1996: 96. 16 Barello, Cardosa, Grillo et al. 2007: 25-31 (types 8/27, 8/34-8/37). 11
Cardosa 2002: 99 (helmets and shields, complete and fragmentary. The presence of a helmet decorated with rams’ heads is also significant). 9 Cassola 1975: 153-4. See also Siebert 1990: 287. 10 Many scholars have identified the divine couple with Hermes and Aphrodite (Prükner 1968: 17-19; Torelli 1976: 166; Sourvinou-Inwood 1978: 118). Zancani Montuoro has proposed Persephone and Hades (Zancani Montuoro 1940: 216-17; Zancani Montuoro 1994-5: 191-2). 8
12
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Ambra Pace: Some Remarks on the Iconography of Hermes Kriophoros 1976: 171), but it could also be evidence of male frequentation, even if exiguous, archaeologically attested by dedications of bronze and terracotta weapons.
fruitful marriage and to guarantee the continuous perpetuation of the eternal cycle of life. Acknowledgments: I would like to thank Antonella Pautasso and Fabio Caruso for their useful suggestions and interesting exchange of ideas.
It is also very interesting to note that on pinakes from Locri and Francavilla, Hermes kriophoros, except in one case,17 is represented as a young man. This choice of iconography, although set in the Late Archaic and Severe imagery which effects a general ‘rejuvenation’ of deities (Siebert 1990: 288-9), apparently contrasts with the representations on Attic pottery, where, even if the iconography of the beardless Hermes is well attested, the god carrying a ram is very often represented as a mature bearded man.18 Far from claiming Locrian primacy of invention of the beardless iconography of Hermes kriophoros, it is useful to underline the precocious appearance of this representation in the Greek colony, which fits well within the framework of the Locrian sanctuary, projected onto the world of youth.
Bibliography Agostino, R. (1993), Medma contrada Calderazzo: scavi 1964/1966. Note sui culti e sulla topografia, Klearchos, XXXV, 29-87. Agostino, R. (1996), Medma il deposito votivo in località Calderazzo (saggi 1964-1966), in Lattanzi, E., Iannelli, M.T., Luppino, S. et al. eds, I Greci in Occidente. Santuari della Magna Grecia in Calabria, Napoli, Electa, 112-15. Alroth, B. (1987), Visiting Gods – Who and why, in Linders, T. and Nordquist, G. eds, Gift to the Gods, Proceedings of the Uppsala Symposium 1985, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Boreas. Uppsala Studies in Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Civilizations, 15, Uppsala 9-19. Alroth, B. (1989), Greek Gods and Figurines. Aspects of the Anthropomorphic Dedications, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Boreas. Uppsala Studies in Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Civilizations, 18, Uppsala. Aversa, G. (1995), Gli arieti dei Pisistratidi: studio sulla sima dell’Athenaion tardo arcaico sull’Acropoli di Atene, Annali dell’Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli-Dipartimento di Studi del Mondo Classico e del Mediterraneo antico- Sezione Archeologia e Storia Antica, 2, 89-102. Bruneau, Ph. (1994), s.v. Phrixos et Helle, in LIMC, VII.1, Zürich-München, Artemis Verlag, 398-404. Barello, F., Cardosa, M., Grillo, E. et al. (2007), I pinakes di Locri Epizefiri – Musei di Reggio Calabria e Locri – Parte III, Lissi Caronna, E., Sabbione, C. and Vlad Borrelli, L. eds, Atti e Memorie della Società Magna Grecia, Quarta Serie III, 2004-7. Barra Bagnasco, M. (2009), Locri Epizefiri V. Terrecotte figurate dall’abitato, Alessandria, Edizioni dell’Orso. Cardosa, M. (2002), Il dono di armi nei santuari delle divinità femminili in Magna Grecia, in Giumlia-Mais, A. and Rubinich, M. eds, Le arti di Efesto. Capolavori in metallo dalla Magna Grecia, Cinisello Balsamo, Silvana Editoriale, 99-104. Cassola, F. ed. (1975), Inni omerici, Milano, Mondadori Editore. Ciaceri, E. (1911), Culti e miti nella storia dell’antica Sicilia, Catania, Battiato Editore. De Miro, E. (2000), Agrigento. I. I santuari arcaici. L’area sacra tra il tempio di Zeus e Porta V, Roma, ‘L’Erma’ di Bretschneider. Gabrici, E. (1927), Il santuario della Malophoros a Selinunte, Monumenti Antichi della Reale Accademia dei Lincei, XXXII, 5-420. Grillo, E., Rubinich M. and Schenal Pileggi, R. (2003), I pinakes di Locri Epizefiri – Musei di Reggio Calabria e Locri – Parte II, Lissi Caronna, E., Sabbione, C. and Vlad Borrelli, L. eds, Atti e Memorie della Società Magna Grecia, Quarta Serie II, 2000-3. Higgings, R.A. (1954), Catalogue of the Terracottas in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities-British Museum, Oxford, University Press. Hoffmann, H. (1994), Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori: the imagery of heroic immortality on Athenian painted vases, in Goldhill, S. and Osborne, R. eds, Art and text in ancient Greek culture, Cambridge, University Press, 28-51.
In the light of these observations, the presence of Sicilian kriophoroi in their contexts should be revised, in terms of the evident connections in iconography and archaeological contexts with pinakes from Locri and Francavilla. All the figurines examined were found in archaeological contexts associated with female deities, and, in particular, the statuettes from Agrigento and Grammichele were found in sacred areas linked with chthonic deities, connected to the feminine universe and rites of passage governing it. The male presence, even if minimal, was already attested in the Archaic and Late Archaic periods in these sanctuaries,19 and, more generally, in sanctuaries dedicated to female deities in Sicily,20 as shown by the kouroi figurines found in Catania (Pautasso 2010: 114-15), or at the shrine of Malophoros in Selinus (Gabrici 1927: 219-22). Connections between Hermes kriophoros and the shrines of Demeter and Kore seem to continue in the following centuries. Similar Hermes kriophoros figurines were found in Lipari in a suburban sanctuary dated between the second half of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd century B.C. (Sardella and Vanaria 2000: 126).21 Moreover the aspect of the cult of Hermes linked with the formation of young people is attested in Sicily by historical sources and inscriptions, recalling the celebration of Hermaia in Syracuse, where Dionysius (Diodorus Siculus) and Hiero II (Athenaeus) built several gymnasia along the Anapo River, and the cult of the god practised at Tindari and Taormina (Ciaceri 1911: 181-2). Thus, the examined figurines of Hermes kriophoros, dated to the first half of the 5th century B.C., could be likely linked, as supposed for Locri and Francavilla, to a male frequentation of these shrines, perhaps in connection with rites of passage to adulthood. Historical well-attested links between Sicily (Syracuse in particular) and Locri in the 5th century B.C.22 support the hypothesis of Locrian influence in the creation of these figurines in relation to sacred contexts related to Persephone, emphasizing the aspects linked with fertility and reproduction, essential for a
Barello, Cardosa, Grillo et al. 2007: 117-20 (type 8/8). For example see Siebert 1990, 313-14, nos 294-7. 19 Marconi 1933: 51-2; De Miro 2000: 107 (Agrigento). A few of fragments of a kouros figurine, unpublished, are known also from Grammichele (Pace 2003-4). 20 For the notion of ‘visiting gods’, see Alroth 1987; Alroth 1989: 65113. 21 Other fragmentary kriophoroi figurines were found in Lipari in the ‘bothros di Eolo’ (Spigo 1998, 56). 22 For a deep synthesis of archaeological studies about relationships between Locri and Sicily during fifth century B.C., see Spigo 2000: 51-3. 17 18
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SOMA 2011 in Branciforti, M.G. and La Rosa, V. eds, Tra lava e mare. Contributi all’archaiologhia di Catania, Atti del Convegno, Catania, Le Nove Muse Editrice, 109-18. Poli, N. (2004), Un’insolita iconografia di Hermes kriophoros. Nota su due terrecotte da Taranto, Atti dei Civici Musei di Storia ed Arte di Trieste, n. 20, 241-246. Prükner, H. (1968), Die Lokrisken Tonreliefs, Mainz am Rhein, Verlag Philipp von Zarben. Sardella, A. and Vanaria, M.G. (2000), Le terrecotte figurate di soggetto sacrale del santuario dell’ex proprietà Maggiore di Lipari, in Bernabò Brea, L. and Cavalier, M., Meligunìs Lipàra X. Scoperte e scavi archeologici nell’area urbana e suburbana di Lipari, Roma, ‘L’Erma’ di Bretschneider, 87-180. Siebert, G. (1990), s.v. Hermes, in LIMC, V.1, Zürich-München, Artemis Verlag, 285-387. Sourvinou-Inwood, C. (1978), Persephone and Aphrodite at Locri: a model for personality definition in Greek religion, Journal of Hellenic Studies, XCVIII, 101-21. Spigo, U. (1998), Il bothros di Eolo, in in Bernabò Brea, L., Cavalier, M., and Villard, F., Meligunìs Lipàra IX, 1. Topografia di Lipari in età greca e romana, Palermo, Regione Siciliana, Assessorato Beni Cuturali ed Ambientali e della Pubblica Istruzione, 41-57. Spigo, U. (2000), I pinakes di Francavilla di Sicilia (Parte II), Bollettino d’Arte, 113, 1-78. Spineto, N. (2004), La panspermia degli Anthesteria, Revista de Ciencias de las Religiones. Anejos, XII, 141-6. Tinè Bertocchi, F. (1963), Considerazioni sui criofori di Medma, in Klearchos, V, 7-17. Torelli, M. (1976), I culti di Locri, Locri Epizefiri, Atti del XVI Convegno di Studi sulla Magna Grecia, Napoli, 147-184. Zancani Montuoro, P. (1940), Tabella fittile con scena del culto, Rivista del R. Istituto d’Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte, VII, 205-24. Zancani Montuoro, P. (1994-5), Tabella fittile locrese con scena del culto, Atti e Memorie della Società Magna Grecia, Terza Serie, III, 177-94.
Kahn, L. (1979), Hermès, la frontière et l’identité ambiguë, Ktema, 4, 201-11. Korres, G.S. (1970), Τὰ μετὰ κεφαλῶν κριῶν κράνη (ἡ κηφαλὴ κριοῦ ὡϛ ἔμβλημα αρχῆϛ), Ἀθῆναι, National and Kapodistrian University Press. Lebessi, A. (1985), Tò ἱερò τοῦ Ἑρμῆ καὶ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης στὴ Σύμη Βιάννου I.1. Χάλκινα κρητικὰ τορεύματα, Ἀθῆναι, Library of the Archaeological Society at Athens102. Lo Porto, F.G. (1988), Testimonianze archeologiche di culti metapontini, Xenia, 16, 5-28. Marconi , P. (1933), Agrigento arcaica. Il santuario delle divinità chtonie e il tempio detto di Vulcano, Roma, Società Magna Grecia. Mollard-Besques, S. (1954), Catalogue raisonné des Figurines et Reliefs en terre-cuite Grecs, Étrusques et Romains, Paris, Éditions des Musèes Nationaux. Muhly, P. (2008), The sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite at Syme Viannou IV. Animal images of clay, Athens, Library of the Archaeological Society at Athens 256. Orlandini, P. and Adamesteanu, D. (1962), Gela – L’acropoli di Gela, Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, pp. 340-408. Orsi, P. (1897), D’una città greca a Terravecchia presso Granmichele in provincia di Catania, Monumenti Antichi della Reale Accademia dei Lincei, VII, 201-74. Orsi, P. (1913), Rosarno (Medma). Esplorazione di un grande deposito di terrecotte ieratiche, Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, Suppl., 55-144. Pace, A. (2003-4), Terravecchia di Grammichele. Nuovi anathemata fittili dal santuario di Poggio dell’Aquila, Degree Thesis, University of Catania. Panvini, R. ed. (1998), Gela. Il Museo Archeologico. Catalogo, Caltanissetta, Regione Siciliana, Assessorato regionale dei Beni Culturali e Ambientali e Pubblica Istruzione. Paoletti, M. (1996), I culti di Medma, in Lattanzi, E., Iannelli, M.T., Luppino, S. et al. eds, I Greci in Occidente. Santuari della Magna Grecia in Calabria, Napoli, Electa, 95-8. Pautasso, A. (2010), Santuari lungo le rotte. Per una storicizzazione della stipe votiva di Piazza San Francesco,
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Fig. 3: Kriophoros from Agrigento (after De Miro 2000: 246, no. 1480) Fig. 1: Hermes kriophoros from Gela (© Trustees of the British Museum)
Fig. 4: Hermes kriophoros from Grammichele (© Trustees of the Museo Archeologico Regionale ‘Paolo Orsi’, Siracusa; Courtesy of Assessorato Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana della Regione Sicilia. Any reproduction is forbidden)
Fig. 2: Kriophoros from Gela (after Panvini 1998: 56, I.65)
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Fig. 5: Pinax from Locri (after Barello, Cardosa, Grillo et al. 2007: fig. 9)
Fig. 8: Pinax from Locri (after Barello, Cardosa, Grillo et al. 2007: fig. 16)
Fig. 6: Pinax from Locri (after Barello, Cardosa, Grillo et al. 2007: fig. 13)
Fig. 9: Pinax from Francavilla (after Spigo 2000: fig. 41)
Fig. 7 Pinax from Locri (after Barello, Cardosa, Grillo et al. 2007: fig. 14)
Fig. 10: Pinax from Locri (after Grillo, Rubinich and Schenal Pileggi 2003: fig. 6)
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The Origins of the lorica segmentata Marco Conti
La Sapienza University of Rome, [email protected]
The study of the lorica segmentata has seen fierce debate in the past (Le Bohec 2008: 173, with bibliography) among specialists of Roman military equipment, especially about the end date of its production and its interpretation as a specific response to the weapons of a restricted group of enemies. Some fresh thoughts, unconsidered by scholars to date, might be of value regarding some aspects of the topic.
but the time of application of this technology to chest-protection gear is still unknown. The result of such a use could be the kind of armour sculpted at the base of the Trajan’s Column, identified as part of the defensive equipment of the Sarmatians: unfortunately we do not have sure data about the chronology of this armour. As far as we know, the populations of the Steppes, such as the Scythians and Sarmatians, used articulated armour, but it seems that they did not utilize this technology for chest protection (von Gall 1990: 67-9 and Mielczarek 1993: 57-60).
The archaeological finds of Dangstetten1 dated around 9 BC allow us to place the start of the production of the segmented cuirass in the Augustan age. However the definition of the correct chronological setting does not help us in finding prototypes able to explain the development of this laminated armour: the precedents (Bishop 2002: 18-22) still commonly suggested for the segmentata are the so-called manicae and the Dendra cuirass (De Souza 2008: 93; Bishop 2002: 18-9).
Scholars have as yet not determined why armies familiar for centuries with the technology of the manicae did not develop the segmentata, while it was apparently devised suddenly by the Romans under Augustus. With the absence of an evolutionary model for the formation processes of the laminated cuirass, it is perhaps possible to study the subject from another, unconventional approach.
The armour of Dendra is dated to the 15th century BC; it has a very strong resemblance to the laminated Roman armour, but the chronological distance between the two and the lack of sculptural and pictorial representations of the Dendra cuirass cannot justify a direct connection. In fact, a direct link between these two types of defensive equipment cannot be supported by any document, and it seems very unlikely.
Such an approach is to investigate the relationship between the Roman laminated cuirass and the defensive equipment of ancient Italic peoples, such as the Samnites, Equi, Lucani and Campani.7 The Italic cuirasses share a common element: two metal plates are worn over a leather doublet, one on the back and one over the chest. For the protection of the abdomen there was a broad metal belt, decorated to distinguish military and social status.8 The two plates can be associated with the so-called kardiophylaka9 from the literary sources. The oldest specimens date back to the 8th century BC and have a rounded shape, but there are also rectangular kardiophylaka, like those found at Tarquinia and Veio (Saulnier 1990: 31). Initially the Samnites used a single protective disc, but eventually the number of discs increased to three, arranged in a triangular scheme. The Campani employed Samnite armour and a short muscled cuirass, with the usual belts for the abdomen. These examples clearly show the Italic preference to protect the upper part of the chest with plates and the abdomen with belts.
On the contrary, the limb armour known as manicae has a much more plausible connection with the segmentata. This armour type, of eastern origin (von Gall 1990: 67-9; Mielczarek 1993: 57-60), was renowned in the Classical world, as testified by the words of Xenophon,2 the reliefs in the Sanctuary of Athena Polias in Pergamon (belonging to the reign of Eumenes II) and the finds of Ai Khanum (Bernard 1990: 452-7, fig. 11), dated around 150 BC. The inclusion of this kind of protection in the repertoire of Roman military equipment is proved from various sources: the famous sculptures on the Tropaeum Traiani3, disparate archaeological finds,4 and by the images which can be seen in the oldest editions of the Notitia Dignitatum.5 The manicae, used also in gladiatorial fights,6 entered into the legionaries equipment in the 1st century A.D., thus in a period close to the beginning of the production of the articulated roman armour. The technology used for the manicae is very similar to that needed for the segmentata,
Use in battle of this full Italic equipment, significantly against the Roman army, ended in the course of the 3rd century BC, but its memory remains in the gladiatorial equipment. Some of the oldest gladiatorial reliefs, such as the example from the Tiber,10
‘Inserire informazioni su Dangstetten e su Kalkriese’. Xenophon On Horsemanship XII, 5-6. 3 See also the stelai of Sex. Valerius Severus and G. Annius Salutus, legionaries of the XXII Primigenia, form Mainz dated to AD 43-70 (Seltzer 1988: 140-2, n. 54, 59). 4 For the finds from Carnuntum, see von Groller 1901: 2, 5-132, tab. 17, n. 23-25, tab. 18, n. 27-9, 35, 37-41, 44, tav. 19, n. 51, 53-4, 57-62, 65-7. For the finds from Newstead see Curle 1911: 156-8, fig. 11, n. 1, 4, 8, 10-1, tav. 22, tav. 35, n. 9, tav. 76, n. 11, tav. 81, n. 9; Bishop 1999: 27-8, 31-2, fig. 2-6.; Robinson 1975: 185-6, tav. 503-4. For Corbridge see Bishop 2002: 76, note 18. For Eining see Bishop 2002: 76, note 19. For Leon see Bishop 2002: 76, note 20. For the well-preserved specimens from Carlisle see Richardson 2001: fig. 3. 5 Notitia Dignitatum Oc. IX, Or. XI 6 See Bishop 2002: 18, 68-9 and especially Coarelli 2001: 153-73 for gladiatorial equipment.
For the Samnites and their army see Salmon 1967: 101-12 and Tagliamonte 1996: 217-8. On the military equipment of the Equi see Lapenna 2004: 47, 58-9, 64, 70. On the militaria of the Lucani see Bottini 1994: 43-6, 114, 128, 153-55, 181-2, 221-2. For the military equipment of the Campani see Benassai 2001: 47, 189, 201, fig. 37, 199, 213 and Pontrandolfo and Rouveret 1992: 156, 205, 363-4, fig. 3, 205. 8 For a pictorial representation see the images from Tomb 30 at the Nola necropolis (Benassai 2001: 202, fig. 15). 9 See Polybius Histories VI, 23, 14: ‘Ai μὲν οὖν πολλοὶ προσλαβόντες χάλκωμα σπιθαμιαῖον πάντῃ πάντως, ὃ προστίθενται μὲν πρὸ τῶν στέρνων, καλοῦσι δὲ καρδιοφύλακα, τελείαν ἔχουσι τὴν καθόπλισιν’. In this passage Polybius is describing the equipment of the Roman legionaries. 10 Dated to the 1st century AD (Faccenna 1959: 37-44, tav. II), but Coarelli’s hypothesis is more likely, proposing a date around 30 BC
1
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SOMA 2011 show combatants armed with kardiophylax and belt: the presence of the kardiophylax and its jointed belt allows us to identify these fighters as Samnites. The Samnite class of gladiators disappeared around the second half of the 1st century AD: the last known attestation of a Samnis is the inscription of a gladiator named Amanus, who describes himself as Sam(nes) Ner(onianus).11 After the Augustan reforms, for the munera, chest plates became less common for gladiators, while the belts were still in use perhaps until the end of the spectacles, and surely in the 3rd century AD, as shown by many sources, such as the mosaic at the Villa Borghese (Sabbatini Tumolesi 1988: 96-103, Tab. XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, 1), or the relief from the Via Appia (La Regina 2001: 361, cat. n. 76). It is impossible ascertain the exact number of these belts (lora). Some reliefs, like the example in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Kohe and Ewigleben 2000: 71, fig. 78), or the Apri relief (Robert 1971: tav. XXIV, n. 27), show that protective belts for the chest (in some cases reaching the breastbone) were used alone, without plates for the upper torso. A confirmation for this theory could be a relief from Aquileia (Scrinari 1972: 122, n. 356), where two slaves work on a press of some kind. Over a simple tunic they wear a sort of protection for the abdomen formed by some belts, very likely made of leather (Fig. 1). This sculpture can be used to confirm the use of such protective vestments in civil and work activities. Even if this evidence is from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, it is possible to hypothesize that cuirasses of this kind were known in the Roman world over a long period, given.12 Examining this evidence seems to show that the protective devices, as depicted by Varro (‘Lorica, quod e loris de corio crudo pectoralia faciebant’),13 were of the same shape as those worn by the slaves in the Aquileia relief.
The specimens from Dura also show the transposition from a metal prototype to a leather one, an occurrence that shows the possibility of producing the same kind of protection with different materials. From these finds, the opposite course of events, here proposed for the varronian lorica, appears at least to be plausible. In the light of the previous arguments, I can suggest that the evolutional course that led to the production of the segmentata was the result of the fusion of a part of the equipment of the Samnite class of gladiators, the kardiophylaka, used for protecting the chest, with a metal varronian lorica for the abdomen. Subsequent trials, for now impossible to document, must have led to the multiplication of the upper chest and back plates, and to the creation of a structure of leather straps to link the plates. On the evidence of the finds from Dura, the commentary of Varro, and of various reliefs (i.e. Aquileia), it can also be assumed that the girth hoops of the laminated armour are descended from the varronian lorica, rather from the Samnite belt. Roman segmental armour evolved in Augustan times, as testified by the archaeological finds. While the lack of consideration about the relationship between Italic armours and the Roman laminated cuirass produced uncertainty about the plausible prototypes, one merit of the above hypothesis rests on the understanding of the start of production of our armour within a coherent context from a cultural and chronological point of view. A further confirmation of our theory could be found in the morphological features of the segmentata: its plates differ from each other in shape and dimension, depending on the area of the body they protect: the girth plates are short and wide, while the plates of the upper unit have a vertical structure, as opposed to the lower unit. The shoulder plates have a tapering design, and at the same time differ from the other elements of the armour. The chain mail, lamellar armour and scale cuirasses16 derive from the same base unit (a ring, a scale or a small plate) duplicated over all the areas of the armour. This internal homogeneity cannot be found in the segmentata, and this characteristic can be identified as the legacy of the Italic tradition of armour-making.
The major objection to this theory is linked to the common view on leather Roman cuirasses, considered to have been employed by the Roman army in a very limited way.14 Unfortunately, as we have seen, the documentation on the ‘varronian’ lorica is inconclusive, the archaeological finds are unknown, and, most of all, the preservation of organic material is determined by conditions that rarely happen. However there is the strong possibility that the effective diffusion and typological differentiation of Roman leather armour has been underestimated (and thus scarcely investigated) by specialists, as the fragments of scale leather cuirasses from Dura Europos15 seem to testify.
Some technical aspects assume a relevance quite different from what was commonly thought. The structure of the lower unit of the segmentata permits greater movement in comparison with the muscled cuirass. Rather than being conceived to protect against Celtic or Germanic arms, as scholars such as Bishop propose (2002: 9), the overlapping plates could have been designed to allow the soldier to move without reducing the protection of the body. The segmental armour, compared to other cuirasses, affords more protection to the shoulders, and resists arrows in a way similar to medieval armour, as shown by the results of experimental archaeology,17 without the weight of chain mail, or hampering movement as the muscled cuirass would. These characteristic seem more the result of a series of experiments toward the better protection of the wearer than the response to a specific threat or style of combat.
(Coarelli 2001: 153-173). 11 See Sabbatini Tumolesi 1988: 77-8, 134-5, tav. XX, 3. Patrizia Sabbatini Tumolesi affirms that: ‘È probabile che anche i contendenti raffigurati sul rilievo del Tevere (Faccenna 1959: 37-44, tav. II), di età augustea siano dei samnites’. Coarelli dates the relief to 30 BC; he does not describe the equipment of the Galli class (prior to the Augustan reforms) but he considers it very similar to that of their successors, the murmillones. On the Samnites, Coarelli quotes only their disappearance at the start of the Imperial age, and uses the relief from the Tiber (with others) to demonstrate that sometimes the gladiators actually used some kind of chest protection prior to the Augustan reforms. 12 See the comparison between Roman and modern tools in Adam 1989: 91-105. 13 Varro On the Latin language V, 116 14 See James 2004: 114, where the author says: ‘It is possible that [leather] was as widely employed as armour of copper alloy (...) Common use of organic materials for armour in Roman service is not a generally accepted idea, but it seems to me quite possible that it was a very widespread practice, especially in the later period; pseudo-scale garments like the Dura cuisses would probably be indistinguishable from metal scale in depictions.’ 15 See James 2004: 123-5, n. 441-2. The author affirms that: ‘…if this armour were common across the empire, it would be almost undetectable. Its organic construction would
militate against its survival in the archaeological record, while in any representation its construction would make it almost indistinguishable from scale armour.’ For the varronian lorica it is possible to make the same assumptions. 16 For the chain mail see Robinson 1975: 164-73, Feugère 1993: 89, and Bishop and Coulston 1993: 59. For the scale armour see Robinson 1975: 153-4. For the lamellar cuirass see Robinson 1975: 162-3, tab. 4568, fig. 190. 17 For experiments on the resistance of the segmentata against arrows and ballistae shots see Wilkins 2000: 92-3, with bibliography.
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Marco Conti: The Origins of the lorica segmentata To summarize, the segmentata can be interpreted as a Roman answer to the need to protect the soldier with a piece of equipment able to grant reasonable freedom of movement, and at the same time be strong enough to protect from blows. Its component parts seem to have derived from Italic prototypes. The explanation of this evolutionary course as the result of experimentation entirely based on Italic forms is a new solution to the problem: hopefully one more productive than the interpretation of segmental armour as a response to the military equipment of the Germans and Parthians. The earliest archaeological finds of this cuirass belong to the period of Augustus. This was a time when the unification of the legions under a single entity, new-found stability and peace, and the creation of military administrative structures able also to solve logistical problems, made it possible for major changes to occur in the core equipment of the Roman infantry.
the army.23 Recruitment levels were so difficult that Theodosius had to resort even to the disabled.24 In the Early Empire the costs of arms and armour were detracted from pay. With the Tetrarchy, arms provision was nationalized with the instruction of the fabricae25 and the corp of the fabricenses, organized as a true militia. The activity of the fabricae is based on the reduction of costs: the items produced were simple, efficient and, above all, cheap. The obvious consequence was a decline in quality, a standardization of equipment, and the abandoning of all decoration. Even though there has been no study of production costs for the segmentata, like that made by Sim for chain mail (Sim 1998: 79), it can be assumed that laminated armour needed specialized workers and that its production became uneconomic for a cash-strapped state. In addition, Roman segmental armour required regular maintenance (Bishop 2002: 84-6), as opposed to scale mail (Robinson 1975: 153-62), and this could depended on well-disciplined, professional men, a state of affairs rare in Late Roman armies. The economic and social changes that happened after the crisis of the 3rd century made it impossible to train and equip the army as of old. The turning point must have come between the founding of the fabricae in the Tetrarchy (James 1988: 265-6) and the reign of Constantine, i.e. the early decades of the 4th century, with the establishment of the mandatory levy, the reform of army structure, and the ever-increasing recruitment of barbarians, with their own equipment and styles of combat. Thus it seems plausible to affirm that the production of the lorica segmentata ceased with the contemporary manifestation of three decisive factors: a great number of recruits of low quality and discipline; the recruitment of barbarians unfamiliar with Roman combat styles; and the state nationalization of equipment production caused by financial constraints.
The end of the production of the lorica segmentata Most scholars set the 3rd century AD as marking the demise the production and use of the segmentata (Bishop 2002: 91-3; Menendez Arguin 2000: 327-44; Stephenson 1999: 41-4), based on the reliefs of the Arch of Severus in the Roman Forum as a terminus a quo, without truly investigating the possible reasons for this event. For long time it has been thought that the use of any kind of armour by Roman soldiers ended around the reign of Diocletianus. It is interesting to try and understand why only the segmentata, among all ancient armour, should disappear in Late Antiquity without being produced in the Medieval period as well. Specialists, such as Bishop and Coulston, maintain that the use of armour by the Romans did not end in the 3rd century,18 but the question about the segmentata is still open. A new contextualization of the problem can help to fix the end of the production of Roman laminated armour in the early decades of the 4th century AD
A find from el-Lejjun could provide a first confirmation for this theory.26 The fragment (Fig. 2) is a small plate from square K6 in the NE quarter of the fortress. This plate was found in the topsoil, and was included at first by the excavators with the domestic objects. However its characteristics, the context of its finding and the state of preservation can be interpreted in a different way. Only the upper border is in its original state. In spite of the damage, the actual length of the fragment is not so different from the time of its production, and in all regards is near to the average dimensions of the plates of the segmentata described by Bishop (Bishop 2002: 23-61). My hypothesis is that this fragment is part of a girth hoop of a section of laminated armour, damaged beyond repair and with all of its functional elements removed, including the rivets that were probably in the holes on the upper border, but now lost.27
It is obvious that a radical change in military equipment causes a transformation in the type of combat employed. In the 4th century Roman soldiers resorted only occasionally to close combat weapons, preferring long range equipment and spears; the role of the cavalry was central (Le Bohec 2008: 160). Such a change is very difficult to comprehend without a strong central imperative and strategy. If, as Le Bohec says (Le Bohec 2008: 42), Diocletianus was not an innovator and his military reforms brought about only an increase in the numbers of soldiers and infrastructure, it must be rather in the reign of Constantine the Great that the major changes in legionary equipment and type of combat can be ascribed.19 In the 1st and 2nd centuries the Emperors relied on a great number of volunteers20 trained to a combat style close to Hoplite tactics. The recruits were carefully selected.21 Under the Tetrarchy and Constantine the levy became mandatory22 (Southern and Dixon 1996: 67). The recruitment process in the 4th century led to various forms of corruption: state officers siphoned off the adaeratio tax and landowners only sent their least able men for
The historical objections to this theory have been already investigated in this paper. The geographical arguments are essentially based on the absence of finds and figurative Late Roman recruitment is summarized in Le Bohec 2008: 79-93. Recruits were tattooed to prevent desertion, a phenomenon much more frequent in Late Antiquity than in the Early Empire. 24 Codex Theodosianus 7. 13. 10. 25 On the origin of the fabricae see James 1988: 265-71, and 275-8 for the organization of the fabricenses. 26 On the analysis of some fragments from Leon, Fernandez (2006: 309-34) produces the same hypothesis. He affirms in fact that there is the need to ‘levar la cronología de estas armaduras [i.e. the segmentatae] hasta los inicios de la cuarta centuria’. For the final publications of the el-Lejjun excavation, and its identification as the site of ancient Betthorus, founded around AD 300 as the base for the legio IV Martia see Parker 2006. 27 On the role of scrap metal in armour production in the Roman world see Bishop 1985: 1-42. 23
See Bishop and Coulston 1993: 167. The authors affirm that the use of armour by the infantry continued in Late Antiquity, even though the analysis of funerary reliefs suggests the opposite. They claim that the words of Vegetius ‘…cannot be extended to the whole Empire for the entire late Roman period’. 19 On Constantine’s reforms see Mazzarino 1973: 651-97 and Le Bohec 2008: 43-56. 20 See Forni 1953: 29-30 and Le Bohec 1992: 95. 21 On recruitment issues from Augustus to Caracalla see Le Bohec 1992: 91-133, with bibliography, especially 95-7 for selection criteria. 22 Codex Theodosianus 7.23.1. 18
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SOMA 2011 representations of the segmentata in the East, and on the supposed low discipline of the eastern legions. The lack of finds can be understood in terms of the limited number of excavations, but also for the presence of the finds, albeit sporadic, at Masada (Stiebel 2007: 1-93), Gamala (Bishop 2002: 45, note 2), and Banasa (Boube-Piccot 1994: 6-63, tables 3-4) that provide at least a much more detailed revision of the problem. Unfortunately the context of the Banasa finds is unknown and so it is difficult to date them precisely, while the Gamala plate (of an upper unit? A back plate?) is published without an adequate iconographical commentary. On the other hand the recent publication of the militaria from Masada is well documented, and the context allows us to date the finds with precision. This absence could be the legacy of the culture of the artists and clients more than proof of the lack of use of the cuirass. It is very likely that the images of an official monument built for a province with a long Hellenistic tradition had an exterior aspect determined by Hellenistic models but with an organization of the images that is ideologically Roman. Therefore an eastern artist could have depicted Roman soldiers armed in the Hellenistic style, much more appreciated by his clients, consciously ignoring the actual equipment of the legions quartered in the East. In this iconographical context the segmentata had no place.
finds of the fortress there is also a pilum of tapering pyramidal shape; unfortunately another chance find.31 Nevertheless this pilum is useful in that it might suggest that the soldiers quartered at el-Lejjun were trained in the classic legionary style of combat, strongly linked with the segmentata. If the new identification is correct, it poses more questions than answers, first of all about the possible changes in the equipment of the soldiers after the division of the army in limitanei and comitatenses corps made by Constantine. In conclusion, the evolutional model here proposed considers the end of the production of the segmentata as a consequence of the transformation of urban society in the Late Antique sociopolitical system. In this context, interpreting the laminated armour as a strictly Roman expression of the military material culture becomes a very strong possibility, able to explain its dismissal in the Middle Ages, where the other defensive equipment continued to be produced. If, as Musti says (1990: 78-9), archaeology can provide the long-term processes while the historical research recognizes single events, it is not possible to use fragments, such as that from el-Lejjun, as proof of a particular event. However, as a result of it, it becomes possible to consider the continued use of Roman segmental armour over perhaps a further century. At least it can be used to postulate an hypothesis that, hopefully, could be the start of future studies.
For the lack of discipline of the eastern legions, in the past years some modern scholars considered them as ill disciplined, likely to discard their armour because of the hot weather.28 It is a misleading evaluation that can be traced back to the political propaganda of the Triumviral age, unfriendly towards Antony’s legions and eventually extended to all the eastern legions, as demonstrated by Wheeler in 1996.29 The laxity of the eastern legions and the non-use of armour as a result of the heat are literary topoi, disproved, for example, by the simple observation that the first corps of cataphracts in the service of the Empire were recruited locally, enrolling native fighters from the eastern provinces.
Bibliography Adam, J. P. (1989). L’arte del costruire presso i Romani. Milano. Aurrecoechea Fernández, J. (2006). Talleres dedicados a la producción del equipo militar en los campamentos Romanos de León, con especial referencia a los restos de lorica segmentata. IN: Morillo Cerdán, A. ed. Arqueologia militar romana en Hispania II: producción y abastecimento en el ambito militar. Leon, 309-34. Benassai, R. (2001). La pittura dei Campani e dei Sanniti. Atlante Tematico di Topografia Antica. IX Supplemento–2001, Roma. Bernard, P. (1990). Campagne de fouilles 1978 à Ai Khanoum (Afghanistan). Comples rendus de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belle Lettres, 1990, 435-59. Bishop, M. C. (1985). The military fabrica and the production of arms in the early principate. IN: Bishop, M. C. ed. The Production and Distribution of Roman Military Equipment. Proceedings of the Second Roman Military Equipment Conference, British Archaeological Reports International Series 275, Oxford, 1-42. Bishop, M. C. (1999). The Newstead lorica segmentata. Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies, 10, 27-43. Bishop, M. C. (2002). Lorica Segmentata. Vol. I. A Handbook of Articulated Roman Plate Armour. Braemar Bishop, M. C. and Coulston, J. (1993). Roman Military Equipment. From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome. London. Bottini, A. ed. (1994). Armi. Gli strumenti della guerra in Lucania. Bari. Boube-Piccot, C. (1994). Les bronzes antiques du Maroc. IV. L’equipment militaire et l’armament. Parigi. De Souza, P. (ed.) (2008). La guerra nel mondo antico. Roma Brizzi, G. (2002). Il guerriero, l’oplita, il legionario. Gli eserciti nel mondo classico. Bologna. Coarelli, F. (2001). L’armamento e le classi dei gladiatori. IN: La Regina, A. Sangue e Arena. Milano, 153-74
The archaeological objections are instead based on the chance el-Lejjun find. However it is worth considering that our plate was found in the vicinity of a room used as a forge in the first and second phase of the fortress. The excavators interpreted this forge as being for the repair of tools needed for the care of the animals in the nearby enclosure, but the existence of the animal fence is supposed on the basis of a single wall, not fully excavated. Part of a wall and an unusual concentration of animal bones could lead to the interpretation suggested by the excavators, but the provisional character of this view cannot be dismissed, given the extension of the unexplored area. The excavators of the fortress recognize that the forge in area K6 could have supported all the needs of the garrison, so the finds from it can be included in both the military and domestic contexts. From the description of the stratigraphic context30 where the plate was found it is clear that it contained material from 4th and 5th centuries AD. Among the See Brizzi 2002: 165-79, with bibliography, about the different positions held by scholars on the use of segmentata in the pars orientis. 29 The entire question of the laxity of the Eastern legions is summarized in Wheeler 1996: 229-76, with full bibliography. 30 See Parker 2006: vol. I, 181: ‘The upper of these layers (K.6:002) yielded no pottery later than Early Byzantine, but, since it covered K.6:004 and K.6:002, could also be no earlier than Stratum III’. On the basis of the matrix published in the figure 5.11, the layer supposedly formed in the period of Stratum III, namely AD 502-551, is K6:001 (from which comes our fragment) and not K6:002. Following Parker, the layer K6:001 contained materials dated between AD 324 and 502. Even though it might be possible to date our fragment to the 5th century AD, I think it is much more cautious to assume it belongs to the 4th. 28
The excavators date it to a period after the foundation of the fortress, despite its resemblance to Flavian types. 31
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Marco Conti: The Origins of the lorica segmentata Curle, J. (1911). A Roman Frontier Post and its People. The Fort at Newstead. Glasgow. Faccenna, D. (1959). Rilievi Gladiatorii. Bullettino Comunale, LXXVI, 37-75 Feugère, M. (1993). Les Armes des Romains. Paris. Forni, G. (1953). Il reclutamento delle legioni da Augusto a Diocleziano. Milano-Roma. von Gall, H. (1990). Das Reiterkampfbild in der iranischen und iranisch beeinflussten Kunst parthischer und sassanidischer Zeit. Teheraner Forschungen, 6, 67-9. von Groller, M. (1901). Das Lager von Carnuntum. Der Römische Limes in Österreich, 2, 15-84. James, S. (1988). The fabricae: state arms factories of the Later Roman Empire. IN: Coulston, J. C. ed., Military Equipment and the Ide.ntity of Roman Soldiers. Proceedings of the Fourth Roman Military Equipment Conference, British Archaeological Reports 394, Oxford, 257-331. James, S. (2004). Excavations at Dura-Europos 1928-1937. Final report VII. The Arms and Armours and other Military Equipment. London. Kohe, E. and Ewigleben, C. (2000). Gladiators and Caesars: the power of spectacle in Rome. London. Lapenna, S. (2004). Gli Equi tra Abruzzo e Lazio. Sulmona. Le Bohec, Y. (1992). L’esercito romano: le armi imperiali da Augusto a Caracalla. Roma Le Bohec, Y. (2008). Armi e guerrieri di Roma antica. Da Diocleziano alla caduta dell’impero. Roma Mazzarino, S. (1973). L’impero romano. Roma. Menéndez Argüín, A. R. (2000). Evolución del armamento del legionario romano durante el s. III d. C. y su reflejo en las tácticas. Habis, 31, 327-44.
Mielczarek, M. (1993). Cataphracti and clibanarii. Studies on the heavy armored cavalry in the ancient world. Łódź. Parker, S. T. (2006). The Roman Frontier in central Jordan: Final Report of the Limes Arabicus Project 1980-1989. Washington. Pontrandolfo, A. and Rouveret, A. (1992). Le tombe dipinte di Paestum. Modena. Robert, L. (1971). Les Gladiateurs dans l’Orient Grec. Amsterdam. Robinson, H. R. (1975). The Armour of Imperial Rome. London. Salmon, E. T. (1967). Samnium and the Samnites, Cambridge. Saulnier, C. (1990). L’armée et la guerre dans le monde étruscoromain, VIII-IV s. Paris. Sabbatini Tumolesi, P. (1988). Epigrafia anfiteatrale dell’Occidente Romano. I. Roma. Roma. Scrinari, V. S. M. (1972) Catalogo delle sculture romane. Museo Archeologico di Aquileia. Roma. Seltzer, W. (1988). Römische Steindenkmäler: Mainz in römischer Zeit. Mainz. Southern, P. and Dixon, K. (1996). The Late Roman Army, London. Stephenson, I. P. (1999). Roman Infantry Equipment: the Later Empire. Stroud. Stiebel, G. D. (2007). The military equipment from Masada, Masada VII. The Yigael Yadin Excavations 1963-1965. Final Reports. Jerusalem. Tagliamonte, G. (1996). I Sanniti. Milano. Wheeler, E. (1996). The laxity of Syrian legions. IN Kennedy, D. L. ed., The Roman Army in the East, Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series, 18, Ann Arbor, 229-76. Wilkins, A. J. and Morgan, L. (2000). Scorpio and Cheiroballista. Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies, 11, 77-101.
Figure 1: Relief with slaves at work from Aquileia (Scrinari 1972: 122, n. 356)
Figure 2: The fragment from el-Lejjun (Parker 2006: vol. II, fig. 15.23, n. 314)
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Handmade Terracotta Figurines: Subjects Of Daily Life Vanessa Chillemi University of Messina
The subject of this paper is a particular class of mixed-technique handmade terracotta figurines coming from the votive deposit found at Saint Francis square in Catania, Sicily.1
production drivers or attitudes for plastic figurines in the ancient world: the best known being the ‘hieratic’ attitude, including deities and votive reproductions, and the ‘genre’ attitude, comprising reproductions of daily life and the domestic world.7
The numerous archaeological finds (about 15,000 examples of pottery and coroplastic art) are unfortunately without stratigraphic or contextual indicators: in fact, they were found during the repair of a sewer pipe in the area, which ranges from the church of Saint Francis to the monument in memory of Cardinal Dusmet. The loose soil combined with the presence of a water-bearing stratum prevented the execution of an actual archaeological excavation, thus the finds were in effect fished out of the muddy water.2
To understand the meaning of such representations, it may be useful to consider that, for Greek society, many actions apparently pertaining to domestic life, in reality also had ritual meanings, for example the preparation of food for ritual offerings. Consequently, it is not always easy to identify the boundaries between the religious sphere and the everyday one. However the symbolic meaning of these figurines can be found in connection with religious contexts.
Within the publication of the votive deposit, involving many scholars and different expertises, I was given the taste of studying the handmade figurines (about 800 specimens including animal and human subjects). This study is the topic of my PhD thesis.
The figurines found in the votive deposit at Saint Francis square are performing daily activities, such as: • Kneading and placing dough in the oven • Milling corn • Grinding grain
This present paper focuses on a specific class of terracotta objects: the so-called ‘genre scene’ figurines, conceived singly or in groups and in which the characters perform daily tasks.
Making bread: kneading and baking
Boeotia is commonly considered as the region where this series of subjects were usually created. In the first half of the 6th century B.C., Boeotia had a varied and well-structured ceramic trade which included the production of various and important specimens useful for a comparison with the statuettes from the votive deposit in Catania. Studying these materials, our attention focuses on both their iconographic and documentary interest, which is borne out by a comparison with the different aspects of material life, focusing in particular on utensils, pottery, habits and customs known from ancient sources over the centuries.
The examples from Catania portray three figures (no. 59, no. 60 and no. 62) attending to the preparation of food: these artifacts substantially differ in their morphology and manufacturing techniques. No. 59 (fig. 1, a-b-c) has a coarse structure, but it is very expressive. It is hand-moulded with scant attention to anatomical details: the feet are not rendered separately from the legs, which are attached to the base of the basin, a kneading trough, over which the figure is leaning. The fingers of hands are shown with incised lines. The face shows no accurate features with the exception of the nose, shaped by pinching the clay between the fingers. Because of the large body and lack of hair it could be a male figure. These terracotta figurines have a resemblance to an example preserved in Dresden,8 coming from an unknown place, and another from Tiryns,9 dated to the beginning of the 6th century B.C. Both are female and have the same posture as sample No. 59. The facial features are not defined.
There is a strong trend to consider the representations of these figures as images of daily life, and undoubtedly they offer a broad range of daily activities and aspects of ancient handicraft, such as eating habits and the tools in use at the time. However scholars have suggested different hypotheses according to the various find contexts. In 1900 Pottier3 claimed that such objects were placed in the tombs to satisfy material needs in the afterlife. One century later Karageorghis4 suggested that these tools could represent the professions of the deceased (or those of the for the sanctuary finds). Objects from children’s tombs naturally suggested they were toys or favourite items5.
Another female figure from Locris, with defined facial features but indistinct body, dates to the beginning of the 5th century B.C.10 The figurines all fall into the Pisani classification (2003). The Italian scholar, comparing the coroplastic materials with the terminological richness found in the source (‘μάκτρα, κάρδοπος, σκάφη e μαγίς’), divided the kneading troughs into four types, which in turn have variants:11
A contrary view was taken by Chase, who dismissed both their univocal interpretations and functions6 saying that there were two 1
This paper is to the memory of Prof. Giovanni Rizza, who offered me the opportunity to pursue this research. I would also like to thank Dr Antonella Pautasso for her encouragement and support. 2 Rizza 1960; Rizza 1996; Pautasso 2010. 3 Pottier 1900, p. 515. 4 Karageorghis 2000, p. 160. 5 Pisani 2003, p. 3, note 6. 6 Chase 1930, pp. 50-51.
7 8 9 10 11
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Pisani 2003, p. 3. Sparkes 1965, tab. XXX, 1 Frichkenhaus 1912, p. 83, 142. Higgins 1954, pl. 164, 1206. Pisani 2003, p. 10 ss.
SOMA 2011 a. Kneading trough with oval basin on trivet b. Kneading trough with circular basin and deep bowl resting on a high pedestal c. Kneading trough with circular basin, either with shallow bowl or shelf on a high pedestal (κάρδοπος, type b) d. Kneading trough with oblong bowl on a support (‘μάκτρα’)
a wooden paddle. The opening of the oven is in front of the woman. A similar find comes from a grave at Megara Hyblaea.22 Here a woman leans the oven. Her right hand is inside the oven touching the dough, while her left hand rests on the exterior surface. Another example comes from Elaios,23 but here the oven is bell-shaped and there is no dough baking inside.
Pisani includes the kneading trough of the figurine from Catania within those of type III; furthermore, she points out that this remarkable morphological articulation is not tied to any regional division or chronological evolution, but rather it answers to the need to differentiate the subject in a subtle way, distinguishing those figures mixing dough in deep vessels (see the figurine from Catania and samples from Thebes,12 Tanagra13 and Lipari14) from those preparing loaves for baking on flat slabs (see the two specimens exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens15).
With reference to the incomplete find No. 62 (fig. 4), it is very difficult to suggest clearly what the woman is doing. The posture, bending forward, suggests that she is mixing dough in the kneading trough – matching the finds from Tanagra24 and Eretria25 now in the National Museum in Athens. The similarities between these types are the pose of the rather flattened body, the broad shoulders, and the long and flared dress finishing in a flat base. One major difference concerns their hair. In the Catania figure the hair is made by a thin strip of clay worked separately and then fixed to the head. The hair is long and reaches down her back, typical of the Argive terracottas. This production, although the figures are in an upright position and have more detailed hair, can be compared to a figure from Perachora.26 The state of preservation of figurine No. 62 does not allow us to verify if the face was handmade or mould made.
Other examples of figurines mixing dough on kneading troughs similar to the specimen from Catania were discovered at the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia in Sparta16 and are dated to the 8th century B.C., as well as other specimens from Cyprus.17 The samples from Perachora18 are dated to the 6th century. Some scholars also suggest that the above-mentioned specimens from Boeotia can be dated to the beginning of the 5th century B.C.
Two fragments could be from this group: a heavy and trapezoidal base (No. 61, fig. 3) on which there are two almost circular footprints, referable to a group similar to No. 60, and a small fragment with a flat and thin base, on which there are a dish and a support for a plate (no. 67, fig. 5a-b). The latter seems to belong to typical scenes of Boeotian production, representing a man standing in front of a vessel containing food and supporting some dishes,27 or a woman bent over a kneading trough for mixing dough. At the feet of the woman there is a bowl.28 This base is similar to another one found at Camarina,29 in the Provide kiln near to the River Ippari (5th century B.C.)
Although these subjects are generally dated between the end of the Archaic period and the 5th century B.C., the oldest specimens of such ‘genre’ scenes date back to the Sub-Mycenaean and Geometric phases. There is, for example, the famous Mycenaean statuette from a private collection in Athens19 portraying a stylized male figure in the process of kneading dough. The second find from the votive deposit that represents the preparation of food is a group standing in front of an oven, the only one to be preserved.
Milling corn Acknowledging the importance of the saddle-quern for milling, some 3rd-Dynasty statuettes found in Egyptian graves have been widely identified as portraying ‘saddle-quern’ servants. One find is exhibited in the British Museum.30 Although dating back to different phases of Egyptian history, these statuettes are similar to each other and show the same structure as the specimen No. 63 (fig. 7, a-b-c) from Catania.
Find No. 60 (fig. 2) represents a cylindrical oven on a flat base. A hole has been drilled into the clay at one end to allow smoke to escape. Inside there are two small balls of clay near the outer edge, perhaps representing loaves placed there for baking, while a remnant of clay on the outer surface may be all that remains of the leaning figure’s hand. Women in front of their ovens are the most common daily life subjects from Boeotia. A specific parallel for the representation of the oven from Catania comes from Elaios,20 an Athenian colony in the Thracian Chersonese, and it is dated to the 5th century B.C. Another scene of bread baking is depicted in a figurine coming from a Cypriot workshop and exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.21 It portrays a woman bending over her oven, in which she is baking bread and using
A human figure, usually a woman, is portrayed in a kneeling position behind a flat slab. This stone slab is placed either horizontally or often at an angle of 15 degrees or more, towards the human figure, whose knees are usually resting against the upper part of the stone. The waist is bent forward. The arms are stretched and the palms reach to hold the ends of the stone placed transversally over the above-mentioned inclined plane.31 The pose of the figure illustrates how the weight is transferred over the stone set under the hands. Usually the stone is halfcylindrical in shape, with both ends conical. Underneath the base, the hollow used to collect the milled corn can be seen. (Bennet
12
Pisani 2003, fig. 3. Pisani 2003, fig. 12. Pisani 2003, fig. 9b e Bernabò Brea-Cavalier 2001, tav. CCXCIII,1. 15 Pisani 2003, figs. 13, 14 16 Dawkins 1929, pl. XL, 13-15. 17 Karageorghis 2000, p. 162, n. 265. 18 Payne 1940, pl. 111, 264 e 265. Concerning the structure of the body, these two specimens considered by Jenkins (Argive production) and Stillwell (from Corinthian production) are similar to our find No. 62, although the latter does not strictly belong to the classification as it lacks tools. 19 Blegen 1950, fig. 1-4. 20 Mollard Besques 1954, pl. XXXIII, B 304. 21 Vandenabeele 1986, p. 42, fig. 7; Sparkes 1981, tab. 4a. 13 14
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
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Sparkes 1965, p. 163, 79A, pl. XXX, 4; Sparkes 1981, pl. 4b. Sparkes 1981, pl. 4c; Mollard Besques 1954, pl. XXXIII, B 302. Pisani 2003, p. 11, fig. 12 Pisani 2003, p. 13, fig. 14. Payne 1940, pl. 111, 264 Szabò 1994, 140. Mollard Besques 1954, pl. XVI, B 120. Pisani 2008, tab. V d. Moritz 1958, pl. I, fig. a. Moritz 1958, p. 29.
Vanessa Chillemi: Handmade Terracotta Figurines and Elton suggest some parallels between this figure style and other world primitive societies (including America in the 17th century), as this milling technique was used in so many regions and societies.32)
This hypothesis can be supported by a comparison with the figurine in mixed technique from Thasos,42 which, in her rounder face, shows the same elements of the figurine from Catania. Furthermore this find seems to be similar to the figurine from Catania in terms of the technique, the posture of her arms, and the rendering of her shoulders and bust.
There are several analogies. A similar statuette from Camiros33 (Rhodes) and dated to the first half of the 5th century B.C. is today in the British Museum. Another similar figurine from Thebes34 is dated to the end of the 6th century B.C. and represents a seated man. Another Rhodian figure, also in the British Museum,35 shows a woman mixing dough behind a vessel.
Grinding grain The specimens from Catania portray two figures (No. 65 and No. 66, fig. 8) grinding corn in a mortar. The similarities between these finds are both in the subject and technique.
Comparing these examples it can be seen that these terracotta figurines portray people either grinding cereals or making bread. Bennet and Elton suggested that some Egyptian kneeling statuettes depict milling and modern studies have supported this hypothesis.36
Find No. 65 (fig. 9, a-b) is the only one that remains almost undamaged. It shows a more advanced technique: the body is handmade, the head is mould made, and the mortar is wheel made. The rendering of the body shows a lack of accuracy in terms of detail. It is not possible to see clearly the feet, nor the arms and hands holding the pestle. The stout legs are attached to the round base of the vessel. Although the chest is not shown, both the facial features and the body allow us to identify the figure as female, the most common subject in these productions.
The posture of the worker is a good criterion, because a kneeling person can exert more pressure over a longer time. According to Sparks, it is very difficult to distinguish between the two actions – milling and kneading37 – because in both circumstances the figure would be represented standing and bent over a vessel and rarely in a kneeling position.
Concerning the subject, from a stylistic point of view Pisani compares find No. 65 with some female figures performing other activities found in Sicily: two female statuettes on a klibanos and a hydrofora from Megara Hyblaea.43 There is also a woman sitting in front of an oven found in a grave at the Rito Necropolis in Ragusa,44 and a woman holding a baby in her arms from the necropolis at Mount Bubbonia45 (figs. 10-13). Ionic and Attic stylistic features can be seen in these examples, as well as in the production of female statuettes of deities, or devotees, or other subjects belonging to the Archaic period throughout Sicily.46
From the above-mentioned observations and comparisons, it is more likely that the figurine from Catania is seen milling. Although it is difficult to distinguish between a ball of ‘dough’ and a grinding stone in plastic art, one should note here the perfect correspondence between the slope of surface in the Catania figurine and the previously mentioned finds, and the shape of the object placed under the hand of the figurine. (It seems also to be similar to some grinding stones from Olynthus.38) With reference to Pisani’s classification of cooking scenes, the same tool appearing in figurine No. 63 and fragment No. 64 (fig. 6) could be a saddle-quern (μύλη και ὄνος ἀλέτης- ἀλετρίβανοςδοἶδυξ).39 Furthermore, the scholar observes that the figurines are kneeling so as to exert more weight when milling.40
Such features, represented above all in the finds from Catania, include: large eyes, highlighted in some circumstances in colour, high-arching eyebrows, prominent cheekbones, protruding chins, and stylized smiles. Specimen No. 66 (fig. 8), whose bowl is not preserved, represents a woman holding in her hands a pestle similar to the previous one, and adopting the same position. Although the face has some abrasions, both finds appear to come from the same mould, or from two moulds of different generation.
The figurine from Catania is also interesting for its technical elements. The rather schematic mould made head is attached to the handmade and schematic body, whose lower limbs are bent and indistinct, without interruption between the bust and pelvis. She has well- defined facial features and long hair falling over her back, recalling the ancient Korai. A similar hairstyle can be seen on an Ionic figurine from the sanctuary of Malophoros in Selinunte,41 dated to the 6th century B.C. This detail, along with the rendering of the face, is further evidence for dating it towards the end of the Archaic age.
On the basis of the archaeological evidence and literary and epigraphical sources, Pisani classifies three types of mortar:47 I. mortar with deep basin (όλμος) used with a long pestle (ύπερον) II. mortar vessel (θυεία) used with a short pestle III. mortar vessel with pouring spout The Catania finds No. 65 and No. 66 are type I, as well as the terracotta figurines found by Orsi in a grave at the Medma necropolis48 that represent a poorly moulded figure, perhaps holding a pestle in its hands.49
32
Bennet-Elton 1898, p. 38. Moritz 1958, pl. I, fig. b. Moritz 1958, pl. II, fig. a. 35 Moritz 1958, p. 32, note 1 36 Bennet-Elton 1898, p. 46. 37 Sparkes 1962, p. 125; Sparkes 1965, p. 162. 38 Moritz 1958, pl. II, fig. b. 39 Pisani 2003, p. 9 40 To support this interpretation, some experts assert that some specimens are associated with a vessel featuring a flat end at one extremity and a raised semicircular edge at the other, so that it would be possible to collect the flour under the stone table: this detail could confirm that the portrayed figures are not kneading dough. 41 Gabrici 1927, tab. XXXVIII, 8-a. 33 34
42
Weill 1985, pl. 3, 20. Pisani 2003, figg. 6, 7 and 18. Pisani 2003, fig. 17; Pelagatti 1970, p. 27, fig. 10. 45 Pisani 2003, fig. 8; Pancucci-Naro 1992, tab. VI, 9. 46 Pisani 2003, p. 7. 47 Pisani 2003, p. 13. 48 Orsi 1913, p. 45, fig 14. 49 In formal terms it seems to be similar to the above-mentioned terracotta figurine: a male figure bent over to prepare dough (No. 59), from Locris according to Higgins. Higgins 1954, p. 327, pl. 164, 1206. 43 44
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SOMA 2011 Comparisons for these productions are numerous, above all those finds from Boeotia. These include a find from an unspecified place,50 another from Tanagra,51 where the figure standing in front of a hemispherical bowl holds a long (unpreserved) pestle, an undamaged group from Tanagra,52 another in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,53 and another example preserved in the National Museum in Sofia.54
evidence their distribution from Attica in the 6th century B.C. and a link to Tearione, the famous Athenian baker. 61 Recognizing that in a group showing baking bread from Athens62 (fig. 16) there are two deities or priestesses represented, Amouretti proposes a cultic or religious significance for the artefact. Although this hypothesis is attractive, it is not easy to apply it to this subject whose origin is unknown. If the figurines could be linked to a specific context, funerary or sanctuary, as seen in the specimens from Catania, then Pisani’s hypothesis63 of an ex voto function for these representations might be relevant. Although then not strictly an everyday subject, the groups might well portray priestesses or sacred attendants baking bread (or focaccia even) for a ritual meal.
All these figurines are dated between the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 5th century B.C. This is a likely date also for the specimens from Catania. Pisani dated these figurines between the second half of the 6th century and the first decades of the 5th century B.C. This period felt the effects of the koinè influence in the choice of subjects (which are actually echoed in different contexts), and was also influenced by local craft working, so that it becomes possible to identify regional peculiarities at a stylistic level.55
Bibliography Barra Bagnasco, M. 1989 (a cura di). ‘Locri Epizefiri III. Cultura materiale e vita quotidiana’, Firenze. Bennet, R. and Elton, J. 1898. ‘History of Corn Milling, Vol. 1: Hardstones. Slave & Cattle Mills’, London. Bernabò Brea, L., Cavalier, M. & Villard, F. 2001. ‘Gli scavi nella necropoli greca e romana di Lipari nel territorio vescovile’, Meligunìs Lipàra, XI, 2, Palermo Blegen, C. W. 1950. ‘A Mycenean Breadmaker’, Annuario della Scuola di Atene, XXIV-XXVI, 1946-48, pp. 13-16. Dawkins, R. M. 1929. ‘The sanctuaries of Artemis Orthia at Sparta’, London. Frichkenhaus, A. 1912. Tiryns. Die ergebnisse der ausgrabungen bes instituts. I Die Hera von Tiryns’ , Athen. Gabrici, E. 1927. ‘Il santuario della Malophoros a Selinunte’, MAL XXXII, cc. 5-420. Higgins, R. A.1954. ‘Catalogue of the Terracottas in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities British Museum’, II, London. Karageorghis, J. 1998. ‘The coroplastic art of ancient Cyprus V, The Cypro-archaic period: Small Female Figurines. B. Figurines moulées’, Nicosia. Karageorghis, V. 2000. ‘Ancient art from Cyprus: the Cesnola collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’, New York. Karageorghis, V. 2003. ‘Ancient Cypriote art in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens’, Athens. Koster, A. 1926. ‘Die griechischen Terracotten‘, Berlino. Mollard-Besques, S. 1954. ‘Catalogue raisonné des figurines et relief en terre cuite grecs, étrusques et romains, I. Epoques préhellénique, géométrique, archaïque et classique’, I-II, Paris. Molli Boffa, G. 1977. ‘Problemi di coroplastica’, AA. VV. 1977, Locri Epizefiri I, Firenze, pp. 206-244. Moritz, L. A. 1958. ‘Grain, Mills and Flour in Classical Antiquity’, Oxford. Muller, A. 1994. ‘La coroplathie: un travail de petit fille? Les figurines de terre cuite, de l’atelier a la publication: questions de méthod’, RA, 1, pp. 177-187. Muller, A. 1997. ‘Description et analyse des productions moulées : Proposition de lexique multilingue, suggestions de méthod’, Le moulage en terre cuite dans l’antiquité. Creation et Production Dérivée, Fabrication et Diffusion, Actes du XVIII Colloque du Centre de Recherches Archéologiques – Lille III (7-8 déc. 1995) édités par Arthur Muller, pp. 437-463.
Interpretation Sparkes observes that vase-painting showing the preparation of food, cooking or baking, was uncommon and so manufacturers seem to have found an open market for their subjects. A woman baking bread is depicted on a fragmented cup by the ‘Douri follower’, perhaps Akestorides56 (fig. 14). On the outside of the cup, between two women, there is a terracotta barrel with a circular opening near its base – which is clearly an oven. One of the women is holding in front of her an irregularly shaped object in her right hand. The artist has painted flames coming out from the opening (with slip clay lines) in order to indicate that the oven is in use. The object held by the woman could be a ball of dough. The everyday oven was operated by heating the bowl and when hot enough the flat loaves were placed on the inner walls.57 These small, portable ovens could be moved from fire to fire. The Greek name of the oven is not certain. Amyx58 has suggested chytropous or lasana, but it could also well be klibanos (kribanos). The likely fuel would have been wild grasses rather than wood. A close parallel for the oven can be found in contemporaneous vase paintings and figurines. The popular origin of these figurines suggests that this baking process was common throughout all the Greek world, the Near East and beyond.59 In Sri Lanka, it is commonly known as tandoori: a large clay pot insulated with non-conducting materials60 (fig. 15). Sparkes, observing that a symposium scene is depicted inside the cup mentioned above, imagines that there is a relationship between the two representations. The occasion could be the daily preparation of the food needed for the symposium. For the more complex groups and detailed bread-making scenes, the same scholar suggests that they may represent bakeries, giving as his 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
Mollard Besques 1954, tab. XVI, B 121. Mollard Besques 1954, tab. XVI, B 120. Koster 1926, pl. 9a. Sparkes 1965, pl. XXIX, 4. Sparkes 1965, App. 33B. Pisani 2003, p. 5. Sparkes 1981. Sparkes 1981, p. 175 Amyx 1958, p. 230, note 100. Sparkes 1981, p. 176. www.omero.it/media/79/20070415-Tandoori1.jpg.
61
Sparkes 1962, p. 123, note 13; Tearione is quoted by Aristophanes fr. 1 (Kock I 392); Plato (Gorgia 518b); Antifanes, fr. 176 (Kock II 83). 62 Pisani 2003, p. 5, fig. 2. 63 Pisani 2003, p. 5
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Vanessa Chillemi: Handmade Terracotta Figurines Pisani, M. 2008. ‘Camarina. Le terrecotte figurate e la ceramica da una fornace di V e IV secolo a. C.’, StA 164, Roma. Pottier, E. 1890. ‘Les statuettes en terre cuite dans l’Antiquité’, Paris. Pottier, E. 1900. ‘Les sujects de genre dans les figurines archaïque de terre cuite’, BCH XXIV, pp. 510-533. Rizza, G. 1960. ‘Stipe votiva di un santuario di Demetra a Catania’, BdA III, pp. 247-262. Rizza, G. 1996. ‘Catania in età greca: l’evidenza archeologica’, Catania Antica, Pisa-Roma 1996, pp. 11-18. Rizza, G. 2008. ‘Demetra a Catania’, Demetra. La divinità, i santuari, il culto, la leggenda, Atti del I congresso internazionale Enna, 1-4 Luglio 2004, pp. 187-191. Sparkes B. A. 1962. ‘The Greek Kitchen’, JHS, LXXXII, pp.121137. Sparkes, B. A. 1965. ‘The Greek Kitchen: Addenda’, JHS, LXXXV, pp.161 e 163. Sparkes, B. A. 1981. ‘Not Cooking but Baking’, Greece and Rome, XXVIII, pp. 172-178. Szabò, M. 1994. ‘Arcaic Terracottas of Boeotia’, StA, 67, Rome. Vandenabeele, F. 1986. ‘Bread in the Cypriotes Terracotta Production of the Archaic Period’, Medelhavsmuseet 21, pp. 39-43. Webster, T. B. L. 1950. ‘Greek Terrakottas’, Edimburgh. Weill, N. 1985. ‘La plastique archaïque de Thasos. Figurine et statues de terre cuite de l’Artemision’, Paris.
Myres, J. L. 1914. ‘Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus’, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Nicholls, M. 1952. ‘Type, Group and Series: A Reconsideration of Some Coroplastic Fundamentals’, BSA, XLVII, pp. 217226. Orsi, P. 1913. ‘Locri Epizefiri’, NSc, suppl., pp. 3-54. Pancucci, D. & Naro, M. C. 1992, ‘Monte Bubbonia. Campagne di scavo 1905, 1906, 1955’, SIKELIKA, (collana di monografie pubblicate dal centro siciliano di studi storicoarcheologici “Biagio Pace”), Roma 1992. Pautasso, A. 2010. ‘Santuari lungo le rotte. Per una storicizzazione della stipe votiva di Piazza San Francesco’, La Rosa, V. & Branciforti, M. G. 2010 (a cura di). Tra Lava e Mare. Contributi all’archaiologia di Catania, Atti dell’incontro di studio Catania, Novembre 2007, Catania, p. 109-118. Payne, H. (et al.) 1940. ‘Perachora. The sanctuaries of Hera Akraia and Limenia. Excavation of the British School of Archaeology at Athens 1930-1933. Architecture, bronzes, terracottas’, Oxford. Pelagatti, P. 1970. ‘Il Museo Archeologico di Ragusa’, SicA 11, 1970, pp. 21-31. Pisani, M. 2003. ‘Vita quotidiana nel mondo greco tra il VI e il V secolo a.C., un contributo per la classificazione delle rappresentazioni fittili’, BdA 123, pp. 3-24. Pisani, M. 2006. ‘Terrecotte della Fornace Provide presso l’Ippari (V-IV secolo A. C.), in Camarina’, pp. 223-251.
Fig. 1a-c: Man kneading dough
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Fig. 2: Oven
Fig. 4: Woman kneading dough (?)
Fig. 3: Trapezoidal oven base
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Fig. 5a-b: Flat base with a dish
Fig. 6: Fragments showing ‘saddle-querns’ (?)
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Fig. 7a-c: Woman grinding corn
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Fig. 8: Women grinding grain
Fig. 9a-b: Woman grinding grain
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Fig. 11: Woman in front of oven
Fig. 10: Hydrophora
Fig. 12: Kourotropho
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Vanessa Chillemi: Handmade Terracotta Figurines
Fig. 15: Tandoori
Fig. 13: Woman in front of oven
Fig. 16: Group figurine (baking bread) from Athen
Fig. 14: Cup fragment by the ‘Douri follower’
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Hellenistic Plastic Vases in Sicily: Some Reflection Alessandra Granata
University of Messina, Italy, Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità
5-6). Higgins also drew attention to the role of these plastic vases. Those in Group A as containers to fill the lamps, those in group B and C as lamp-oil containers (Higgins 1976: 13, 14); Higgins 1992: 355).
This paper relates to Hellenistic plastic vases and particularly those of Magenta ware, drawing inspiration from a larger work in progress as part of a Ph.D. in Archaeological and Historical Sciences at the University of Messina. My personal interest in Magenta ware was born from the observation of some critical issues relating primarily to the correct identification of this class, often not recognized even in recent publications. Another problem in this field so far has been the variety of terminology used to describe these vessels, in fact more different terms such as askoi, gutti, jugs, plastic lekythoi, oinochoai and rytha in archaeological publications are used. Chronological appearance is partly solved thanks to specimens from stratigraphic excavations, but it may be possible to establish a chronological sequence with more precision through the study of the morphological evolution of functional elements since this class covers at least three centuries. However, other aspects still remain which require clarification such as the identification of centres of production and the function of these vases.
Several hypotheses regarding the function of these vases have been put forward. These include: containers for example for oil or perhaps for wine (Erlich and Kloner: 66), for perfume (Lusingh Scheurleer 1993: 200), or simply as ornamental features. The filter jugs such as containers used in medical practice for the preparation of infusions (Rotroff 1997: 181) and the lamp-fillers such as vases for the offering of oil at the tomb (Hoffmann 1997: 50, fig. 24; 68, fig. 37). The probable content could be a condiment (Bovon and Bruneau 1966: 139-143). Later, interpretations of Higgins work, on the ‘absolute’ chronology and the centre of production were made in a critique in 1983 by J. Gy. Szilagyi who analysed the samples of Magenta Ware stored in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest (Szilágyi 1978: 43; 1983: 358-364; 2007: 69-70, pl. 28). He proposed to raise the dating of the lamp-fillers from the second half of the third century BC (see also Mercklin 1928: 339-342) as suggested by the correlation with earlier gutti for the presence of strainer, handle and a lion head spout and considered to be the natural ancestors of Magenta Ware. The Hungarian scholar suggested the presence of more production centres located between Apulia, Campania, Sicily, Etruria. Imitations of this class appear, according to Szilagyi, on the Black Sea coast and recently also in Asia Minor (Szilágyi 2007: 70), by virtue of the rapid spread during the Hellenistic period, resulting in early models of local imitations.
In general, the subjects represented on Hellenistic plastic vases are mythological, theatrical subjects such as actors and masks, genre scenes, human figures or body parts (head, feet and breasts), whole animals, both wild, domestic and aquatic, or parts of their bodies, usually the head, and fights between animals. The subjects represented belong to a long tradition of configured vases going back as far as the 6th century BC. Towards the end of the 4th century we begin to observe an innovation of the subjects of plastic vases compared to those of earlier centuries, which reflect specific influences taken from Roman mythology, Alexandrian genre scenes and representations related to the Egyptian gods (Sguaitamatti 1991: 140). John Beazley identified Magenta Class for the first time in 1953. He gave the group its name due to the surface of the best preserved specimens which showed a purplish-pink pigment. The English academic undertook a systematic study, which was then continued by Reynold Higgins in 1961. Higgins published the first classification of the vases known to him at the time from museums and collections all over the world in The British Museum Yearbook I in 1976. He subdivided the vases into three groups based on functional elements: Group A – lamp-fillers featuring strainer, handle and spout (Higgins 1976: 6-13); Group B – handled flasks with neck-vessel, handle and spout (Higgins 1976: 13-14); group C – strainer flasks with a hole-filling in the form of a circular strainer and lugs horizontally pierced with holes for suspension (Higgins 1976: 14).
Simultaneously, the same conclusion was also reached by Michel Sguaitamatti, who had undertaken a typological study of Hellenistic plastic vases of Magna Graecia and Sicily, during the same period (Sguaitamatti 1981: 107-115; Sguaitamatti 1991: 117-145). According to Sguaitamatti the earliest examples, already in use in the 4th century BC, are those that combine parts in brown glaze with details painted in black glaze and those in black glaze completed by overpainting white, red or yellow, while the new technique of Magenta Ware appears in the second half of the 3rd century BC (Sguaitamatti 1991: 118), confirming, as Szilagyi claims, the close links between the production of plastic black glazed vases, in part earlier examples in part contemporary, and the Magenta Ware (Sguaitamatti 1991: 120). He also admitted to the existence of centres of production in Apulia, Campania, Etruria, Sicily, in Greece, southern Russia but also in Egypt and in the western Mediterranean (Sguaitamatti 1991: 140).
The origin of this production was attributed to a Greek city in Campania and pointed out that most of them were discovered in the West, i.e. Italy, Sicily and Spain (Higgins 1976: 5), and Higgins proposed a date between 120 and 70 BC for the ‘lampfillers’ and for the ‘handled flasks’ and ‘strainer flasks’ a date between 80 BC and the end of the first century (Higgins 1976:
The presence of imports from the West and of local production is also confirmed by Michaelides’ study of Magenta Ware from Cyprus (Michaelides 1994: 311-332). Further confirmation of
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local imitations of Magenta Ware comes from the site of Tell Maresha in Israel where, alongside the plastic vases which were certainly imported, there are also local imitations. This data is confirmed by archaeometrical analysis performed on terracotta and plastic vases found at this site (Erlich and Kloner 2008: 67, 106).
The autoptic analysis of the specimens examined so far in Sicily has revealed evidence of anomalies in relation to the means of production. The first anomaly concerns the modelling which could have been done either with double mould or using more than two moulds. From the sample of the recumbent leopard found in Morgantina and published by Malcolm Bell in 1981 the head was made separately and then applied to the body, in turn, making a double mould (Bell 1981: 236, n. 950, pl. 140).
Further, problems of chronology have now been overcome thanks to the data from the stratigraphic excavations. A brief summary was updated by Danielle Leibundgut Wieland, who was in charge, after the death of Sguaitamatti, in collaboration with Rosina Leone, of publishing a catalog, still to this day unpublished, of Hellenistic plastic vases of Magna Graecia and Sicily (Leibundgut Wieland 2001: 259-270). Based on new data, this researcher proposes a date between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC and a contemporary use of the specimens of the three groups on the basis of a discovery of a goose strainer flask in the necropolis of Mylai dated with certainty to the second quarter of the 3rd century BC (Leibundgut Wieland 2001: 267)
The comparison with whole samples such as one stored in Musée du Louvre of the Campana Collection (Higgins 1976: 29, n. 104, fig. 58) and the other from the urban necropolis of MetapontoCrucinia (De Siena 1992: 134, n. 14, figs. 219, 221), shows that the heads with different degrees of rotation were applied to the recumbent body and with different details. The presence of a garland on the neck, which can be interpreted as a symbol of sacrifice, could be a technical artifice to hide the junction between head and body. Further, different functional elements were applied on the same subject. The first sample is a strainer flask the other one is a handled flasks. Higgins attributed the specimen of Morgantina to strainer flasks but the presence of the open mouth to pour the liquid means it can be recognized as a handled flask. The chronology of the sample from Metaponto allows us to raise the date of the specimen of Morgantina to the latter half of the 3nd century BC.
A vase in the form of Herakles in combat with the Nemean Lion was found in Cefalù an offering in grave number 76 (deposition in amphora) which is one of the oldest examples of this production. It can be dated between the middle and the end of the 4th century BC, through comparisons of iconographic and stratigraphic data (Tullio 2010: 35-36, 117, Tav. XXII, 1-4). Higgins study was based on an analysis of 108 vessels found in museums around the world, 26 of which come from Sicily. The partial update of data through bibliographic research and surveys in some museums in Sicily, have identified 60 specimens, which add to the 26 already recognized by Higgins. The distribution map of Magenta Ware in Sicily shows the locations in white of known examples from Higgins. Whilst, in black the areas identified up to this date by the researchers (Fig. 1). The specimens appear in Sicily, in Higgins’ study, to be concentrated on the eastern side. The new acquisitions testify to the presence of such ware in northern, western and southern Sicily.
The leopard from Morgantina is also of pink clay, porous and with visible white inclusions and a wall thickness and weight major to that of canonical characteristics of Magenta Ware that are lightweight and have a minimum thickness of wall (0.2cm). The comparison with specimens of Syracusa shows real differences in technical characteristics of the samples found at the two centres. It is therefore possible to assume, in the absence of archaeometrical analysis, the presence of one or more workshops in Morgantina other than those that produced the specimens found in Syracusa, using different clay that did not meet the standards of ‘typical’ Magenta Ware.
Further, from the study of contexts, it is possible to see that most specimens have been found in the necropolis, with more examples from collections, probably pertaining to the necropolis. Then there are those found in settlements and only one specimen from a sanctuary.
The good quality clay, compact, well-purified and the presence of ‘glaze’ (black or orange) makes the vases of Magenta Ware capable of containing liquids and ensures their functionality. The technical characteristics of the fragment of a cockerel, stored at the Paolo Orsi Museum1 are very different (Figures 2-3). It was found in Syracuse at the southern entrance of the Anphitheatre in 1914 (Inv. 35171). The clay surface is light colour and not uniform (Munsell 10 YR 7/2), a light red coat (Munsell 2.5 YR 6/6) and the interior is of light gray (Munsell 2.5 Y 5/1). The clay is somewhat purified, porous, with some vacuoles. Glaze and traces of colour are completely absent; the wall thickness is between 0.5cm to 1cm.
A point of certainty, according to Higgins, was that the technical characteristics of production of Magenta Ware were constant. However, the data now presented here re-opens the issue of the centres of production and relations with coroplastic. I would like to give a brief introduction on the production technique of this class provided by Higgins. He speaks of specimens obtained from double moulds. After moulding vase attachments such as handles, spouts and strainers were made separately and fixed with slip and details such as garland and wreath were handmade. The clay is of high quality, cream-coloured or pale lemon-yellow, with a small quantity of mica. The clay surface is covered with orange brown ‘glaze’. Higgins says that occasionally the clay is light grey with a poor black ‘glaze’. This effect is determined by the cooking process which in this case occurred in a reducing atmosphere instead of the regular process of the oxidizing atmosphere. Over the glaze there is a decoration with typical pigments of Hellenistic terracottas such as red, yellow, blue, black, white and purplish pink which inspired the name ‘Magenta’. This class is recognisable by certain recurring characteristics: its extremely light weight determined by the thinness of its walls, the fine
This is a very interesting specimen because the characteristics are not strictly relevant to Magenta Ware but rather to coroplastic. Only the presence of the attachment of the handle and the neckvessel mean that this example falls within the plastic vases classification. One could say that this is a figurine made functional by its secondary elements, but with the absence of technical characteristics that provide waterproofing and functionality. 1
I want to thank Dr. Beatrice Basile, Director of the Archaeological Museum ‘Paolo Orsi’ of Siracusa for giving me permission to study and publish this item, and to Dr. Giusi Monterosso for bringing this item to my attention.
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Alessandra Granata: Hellenistic Plastic Vases in Sicily Another point of discussion to be explored further is the use of figurines to which were added functional elements, which not only may be considered as the symbolic significance of the subject represented, but also the symbolism of the function. Further, it is possible to think of a form of ‘de-functionalization’, i.e. a product which can not be used in a practical sense, but assumes the symbolic meaning of the function, such as in the miniature form of ceramic from Taranto produced exclusively for funeral use (Graepler 2002: 213).
De Siena, A. (1992). Metaponto, Crucinia-Necropoli urbana. IN: De Lachenal, L. ed. Da Leukania a Lucania. La Lucania centro-orientale fra Pirro e i Giulio-Claudii, Roma. Erlic, A. and Kloner A. (eds.) (2008). Maresha Excavations Final Report II. Hellenistic Terracotta Figurines from the 19891996 Seasons, Jerusalem. Graepler, D. (2002). La necropoli e la cultura funeraria. IN: Taranto e il Mediterraneo: Atti del quarantunesimo convegno di studi sulla Magna Grecia, Taranto 12-16 Ottobre 2001, Taranto, 195-218. Griffo, M.G. (2005). I reperti della necropoli di Birgi nella collezione ‘G. Whitaker’ a Mozia. IN: Spanò Giammellaro, A. ed., Atti del V Congresso Internazionale di Studi Fenici e Punici, II, Palermo, 631-643. Higgins, R.A. (1976). Magenta-ware. IN: The British Museum Yearbook I: The Classical Tradition, London, 1-32. Higgins, R.A. (1992). Terracotta Figurines and Other Objects. IN: Sackett, L.H. ed. Knossos, from Greek City to Roman Colony, Oxford, 351-361. Hoffmann, H. (1997). Sotades. Symbols of Immortality on Greek Vases, Oxford. Leibundgut Wieland, D. (2001). Von antiken Dolly. Zur Produktion von Hellenistischen Plastischen Gefässen der Magenta-Klasse. IN: Buzzi, S. ed., Zona Archeologica: Festschrift für Hans Peter Isler zum 60. Geburtstag, Bonn, 259-270. Lusingh Scheurleer, R.A. (1993). Finally Awake. IN: Bulletin Antieke Beschaving 68, pp. 195-202. Mercklin, v. E. (1928). Antiken im Hamburgischen Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe. IN: Archäologischer Anzeiger, col. 339342. Michaelides, D. (1994). ‘Το Magenta Ware στην Κύπρο’ (Magenta ware in Cyprus), in Γ’ Επιστημονική Συνάντηση για την Ελληνιστική Κεραμική: “Χρονολογημένα ΣύνολαΕργαστήρια”. Θεσσαλονίκη, 24-27 Σεπτεμβρίου 1991 (=Βιβλιοθήκη της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας, Αριθ. 137), Αθήναι. Munsell, Soil Color Charts (2000). New Windsor, NY. Rotroff, S.I. (1997). The Athenian Agora XXIX. Hellenistic Pottery, Princeton. Sguaitamatti, M. (1981). Zwei plastische Vasen aus Unteritalien. IN: Antike Kunst 107-115. Sguaitamatti, M. (1991). Vases plastiques hellénistiques de Grande Grèce et de Sicile. Remarques préliminaires. IN: NumAntCl, 117-145. Spadea, R. (1987). Produzioni ellenistiche sullo stretto. IN: Lo stretto crocevia di culture: Atti del ventiseiesimo Convegno di studi sulla Magna Grecia, Taranto-Reggio Calabria, 9-14 ottobre 1986, Taranto, 337-360. Spigo, U. (2001). Nota sulle produzioni di ceramica a decorazione sovraddipinta e sulla coroplastica ellenistica a Messina. IN: Bacci, G.M. and G. Tigano eds. Da Zancle a Messina: un percorso archeologico attraverso gli scavi, vol. II.2, Messina, 59-70. Szilágyi, J.G. (1978). Megjegyzések az un. MagentaKeramikarol. IN: Studia Antiqua, 25, 43. Szilágyi, J.G (1983). Bemerkungen zur Magenta-Ware. IN: Études et Travaux XIII, 358-364. Szilágyi, J.G. ed. (2007). Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Hongrie– Budapest, Musée des Beaux-Arts, vol. 2, Roma. Tullio, A. ed. (2010). Cefalù. La necropoli ellenistica, Roma.
The cockerel from Siracusa and the comparison with a specimen of Magenta Ware from Acarnania (Figure 3) stored at the British Museum (Higgins 1976: 28, n. 92) open the question of the relationship between the vases of Magenta Ware and coroplastic, is not simply about the subjects represented, but also their production. The question remains: did the workshops that produced the terracottas also produce Magenta Ware? We can therefore hypothesize that there was the presence of workshops where artisans produced both figurines and plastic vases using the same moulds but with clay with different degrees of purification and with varying thickness of walls. A different point of view is expressed by D. Leibungut Wieland in relation to the specimen in the form of a water-bird in a private collection in Palermo. This was made using the same moulds as a sample of Magenta Ware stored at the Musée du Louvre, however pertaining to a workshop which had little or no familiarity with this technique. The scholar hypothesizes a dynamic exchange of moulds between different workshops (Leibundgut Wieland 2001: 269-270). The definition and exact localization of the workshop is still yet to be established. There is talk of a production from the ‘area dello Stretto’ that comprises Messina, Milazzo, Lipari and Reggio Calabria. Spigo speaks of a local production of Magenta Ware of Messina (Spigo 2001: 70). Probably the workshops were in Syracusa (Spadea 1986: 358), Centuripe and Morgantina. For specimens of Lilibeo there is talk of local production inspired by a Punic cultural koinè (Griffo 2005: 642). The only archaeometrical analyses so far are petrographic ones. These have been performed on a single fragment from Milazzo. The results, which are still preliminary, are compatible with local production (Barone, Belfiore et al. 2009: 284). The comparisons with some specimens of Magenta Ware so far are absent. Furthermore, the archaeological documentation does not help, in fact so far specific indicators of local production of this class in loco such as workshops, moulds, furnaces or discard of production are lacking. The hope is that soon archaeometric analysis on specimens from others sites can be made that could finally allow us to define with precision the centres of production. Bibliography Barone, G., Belfiore, C.M. et al. (2009). Indagini archeometriche su reperti ceramici da Milazzo. IN: Tigano, G. ed., Mylai II. Scavi e ricerche nell’area urbana (1996-2005), Messina, 273300 Bell, M. (1981). Morgantina Studies I: The Terracottas, Princeton. Bovon, A. and Ph. Bruneau (1966). Huiliers hellénistiques. IN: Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 90, 131-143.
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Figure 1. Distribution map of Magenta ware in Sicily
Figures 2 and 3. Cockerel from Siracusa (Museum ‘Paolo Orsi’)
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Figure 4. Cockerel from Acarnania (London, British Museum)
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Between Myth and History: Mediterranean Funerary Monuments in the 4th Century BC Alessandro Poggio
PhD RCAC – Koç University, Istanbul to look for a single key to their interpretation. War clearly emerges as the theme that unifies the two dimensions – mythological and historical – of the decorative programme of this façade. The two couples depicted on the architrave have no direct connection with the martial theme, but their presence was dictated by convention. In Lycian funerary art it was expected that the owner of a tomb would be portrayed in a prominent position, for example on the lid of the sarcophagus at Payava, or on the eastern pediment of the Nereid Monument (Poggio 2007: 74-75).
An iconography based on Greek mythology was widespread in the Mediterranean in the 4th century BC. In the Eastern Mediterranean funerary monuments of varying forms, built by powerful rulers and aristocrats, were often embellished with figurative decoration in which stories from Greek mythology were juxtaposed with commemorations of historic battles or scenes from daily life. The Heroon at Trysa provides an example of the use in the Eastern Mediterranean of mythological iconography in a monumental context. The Heroon, which dates to c. 370 BC, consisted of a large walled enclosure surrounding a free-standing houseshaped tomb, delimiting a space that was probably used for funeral rites (Childs 1976; Marksteiner 2002: 160-89; Barringer 2008: 173-4). The walls of the temenos were richly decorated with sculpted reliefs which many scholars have described and sought to interpret (Landskron 2008: 219-22). This paper seeks to contribute some observations regarding the criteria used to interpret the meaning of these reliefs.
The coupling of mythological and historical subjects on the external façade of the Heroon at Trysa should not be considered unusual or pose a problem in terms of interpretation. Indeed it is coherent with what is to be found on the Nereid Monument at Xanthos. Built slightly earlier than the Heroon at Trysa (Childs 1973: 116), this tomb was placed on a high podium decorated with a double frieze in marble with a moulding (Coupel and Demargne 1969: 49-67; Childs and Demargne 1989: 43-181). The larger frieze features the representation of a battle modelled on the traditional Amazonomachy (Childs and Demargne 1989: 257-63); it contains no topographical references and it employs the motif of the duel to represent the battle, reminiscent of the mythological friezes in the Greek tradition. However we may choose to interpret this frieze, its divergences from the more specific scenes depicted in the smaller frieze above it cannot be ignored. In the latter we find an extended representation of city walls (BM 877; Childs and Demargne 1989: pl. 60, fig. 1), scenes of troops attacking these walls using specific strategies (BM 872; Childs and Demargne 1989: pl. 41, fig. 1), and the portrayal of the ruler in accordance with the formula of the audience (BM 879; Childs and Demargne 1989: pl. 57, fig. 2). All of these details point to a concrete historical context for the scenes depicted, as in the case of the coastal battle that appears on the Heroon at Trysa.
The Heroon at Trysa displayed a clear hierarchy with different decorative programmes for the exterior and interior walls that were probably conceived for different audiences (Poggio 2007: 76). The exterior façade was embellished with four friezes arranged in two parallel rows running along the upper part of the wall, on either side of the entrance, which was decorated with a sculpted architrave. To complete the decoration a moulding was added, ornamentation that was lacking on the inside walls. On the left side of the entrance we find an Amazonomachy (above) and a Centauromachy (below), while on the right side the myth of the Seven Against Thebes (above) and a coastal battle scene were depicted (below) (Benndorf and Niemann 1889: pl. 25). There is some disagreement as to the interpretation of the fourth frieze; according to some it recounts an episode from the Trojan War (Benndorf and Niemann 1889: 201-12; Bérard 1988: 1923). If this hypothesis is correct, then the four scenes depicted on the external façade were all drawn from Greek mythology. Other scholars believe instead that the last relief commemorates an actual event in local history (Eichler 1950: 53; Oberleitner 1994: 27; Barringer 2008: 175). I think that the second hypothesis is more plausible, because in this frieze we find iconographic conventions typical of the genre of the historical commemoration rather than Greek mythology. For example, the dynast is portrayed – in accordance with the formula for audience scenes – sitting in profile, like the figures sculpted on the architrave. Moreover the battle is not represented exclusively by means of the conventional duel motif, but also through a massed array of soldiers engaged in specific, recognizable strategies: the attack is spearheaded by warriors armed with lances and shields who engage in combat; they are followed by archers, and then soldiers ready to hurl stones. Behind the lines an archer prepares his bow (Benndorf and Niemann 1889: pl. 24, B 2).
Thus we can observe similarities between the external façade of the Heroon from Trysa and the podium of the Nereid Monument: the friezes may have reflected different genres, but they were unified by the theme of war. The smaller frieze on the podium of the Nereid Monument served the same purpose as the scene of the coastal battle on the façade of the monument at Trysa: both were designed to celebrate the ruler’s military exploits. The use of narratives drawn from or modelled on myth provided a heroic counterpart to the principal story recounting historical events (Barringer 2008: 196). The glorification of the ruler’s victories was the central message of these decorative programmes and the theme of war therefore dominated the part of the monument that was visible to the broader public, i.e. the podium at Xanthos and the exterior façade at Trysa. At Trysa only the ruler’s family and perhaps members of the aristocracy would have been allowed to enter the temenos, where it is likely that rituals were periodically held, as traces of a wooden structure in the southeast corner suggest (Barringer 2008: 173-4). While the scenes depicted on the exterior façade of the Heroon could have formed an autonomous whole, the decorative programme inside the enclosure appears to have
When the door of the temenos was closed, the visitor to the tomb would have only been able to see these friezes, so it is reasonable
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SOMA 2011 known mythological couples. This signifies that the role of myth in this monument was not limited to its direct parallels with the historical scenes. Through the flexible use that could be made of it, mythology also served as the vehicle for autonomous messages.
been designed as a flexible visual itinerary open to various interpretations. The motif of the hunt figures prominently, as in other funerary monuments in the Eastern Mediterranean. On the north wall of the enclosure a hunting scene is depicted in the form of a paratactic sequence of episodes involving animals of different species, in accordance with the formula of the ‘multiquarry hunt’ (Tripodi 1991: 153; Miller 2003: 30; Benndorf and Niemann 1889: pl. 17). As in other dynastic constructions such as the Nereid Monument, it is probable that in this relief the hunters represent the ruler and his entourage. If this is so, then the presence of the story of the Calydonian boar hunted by Meleager and his companions in the lower frieze on the south wall to the west of the entrance becomes extremely significant (Barringer 2008: 196; Benndorf and Niemann 1889: pls. 7-8, B 1-7). This relation between historical and mythological themes in the reliefs inside the enclosure served the same purpose as the reliefs decorating the external wall of the Heroon. The difference is that within the enclosure the hunting scenes appear on different walls rather than in close proximity. The practice of linking different hunting stories can be found on a smaller scale in Lycia as well, in the carved decoration of sarcophagi that were probably commissioned by the aristocracy. On one side of the so-called Caeneus sarcophagus from Limyra, along the ridge a series of hunting episodes are depicted. From left to right, in the first two scenes two animals – a panther and a boar – are being pursued. In the third a battle between the Arimaspi and a griffin is depicted (Bruns-Özgan 1987: 182-7, 279-80, pls. 35-6). In this context, such a scene was probably intended to represent a mythological hunt in which humans were required to do battle with fabulous and fearsome creatures. On the sarcophagus we find the mythical and the real united in a single frieze, but the aim remains the same – the glorification of the dead and his achievements.
Scholars have shown that mythological imagery, while not typical of funerary art in mainland Greece, was common in religious architecture. Moreover, in the decoration of prominent public monuments, links were drawn between the mythological narrative and historical events involving the entire polis (such as the battle between the Greeks and the Persians) in order to convey the glory of collectivity. The Athena Nike temple on the Acropolis of Athens comes to mind in this context (Hölscher 1973: 97-8; Knell 1990: 140-9). In contrast, the 4th century BC funerary monuments under consideration here were intended to glorify individual men – the dynasts of Lycia – and their achievements, generally in the realms of war and the hunt (Barringer 2008: 198-9). However, these dynastic monuments, due to their topographic location and renewed aspirations of monumentality, represented more than dynastic tombs; they were also erected as important monuments to their settlements. In fact, the use of images from Greek mythology in the dynastic funerary monuments of the Eastern Mediterranean must be analyzed in the context of a broader phenomenon; in this period the conception of the tomb was undergoing a marked evolution in which the architectonic model of the Greek temple made its influence felt. The Nereid Monument, for example, consisted of a cella with decorated pediments, surrounded by columns. The Heroon at Limyra also imitated the form of the Greek temple, complete with caryatids and acroteria decorated with mythological motifs (Borchhardt 1976).
However, through its associations with other scenes the Calydonian boar hunt depicted inside the enclosure of Trysa could suggest yet other visual itineraries. Above this frieze we find the scene of the killing of the suitors by Odysseus in the banquet hall, with Penelope and her servants depicted in a space nearby. Here the iconography has been modified, because Penelope is never shown in the traditional iconography (Poggio 2007: 64-9). However, as some studies have pointed out, myths are not to be viewed as static tales pertaining to a distant past. In reality, they were dynamic vehicles and their appearance provides us with valuable clues regarding the time, place and circumstances of their use (Hölscher 1999: 29). The fact that Penelope appears in this scene may reflect the culture and customs of Lycia, in which the female members of the family probably played an important role. In this context the choice of the Calydonian hunt becomes even more significant, because one of the main protagonists was a woman – the huntress Atalanta – who can be recognized in the frieze standing behind two male protagonists (Benndorf and Niemann 1889: pl. 7, B 2). Moreover, the episode in which Meleager falls in love with Atalanta had been introduced not many years earlier by Euripides (Woodford 1992: 414). Thus we find that the reliefs on this side of the south wall draw a direct connection between two mythical couples: Penelope and Odysseus above and Atalanta and Meleager below. If the earliest scholars of the monument were correct in identifying the hero courageously facing the boar as Meleager (Benndorf and Niemann 1889: 107), then his presence in the frieze just below the figure of Odysseus serves to reinforce the connection between the two figures.
Another significant innovation can be found in the placement of the tombs in this period. The Nereid Monument and the Heroon at Limyra were each built in a prominent position overlooking the plain below, while the Heroon at Trysa was erected in one of the highest parts of the settlement. The Nereid Monument represented a complete departure from the pillar tombs of the previous century, which had been located in an area that a Greek inscription on the so-called Inscribed Pillar referred to as the ‘agora’ (Des Courtils and Cavalier 2001: 154). The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus is paradigmatic in a different way, given its architecture and the central function that it played in the layout of the new settlement (Pedersens 1991: 95; Jenkins 2006: 2069; regarding the so-called ‘proto-Mausoleum’, see Rumscheid 2010). While these new tendencies may have been emerging contemporaneously, Lycian culture was selective (Childs 1973: 116), adopting and adapting specific aspects of each as a function of prevailing taste and the requirements of the occasion. At Trysa, for instance, the house-shaped tomb of local tradition was preferred, but innovative iconographies connected with Greek culture were chosen for the decoration. Bibliography Barringer, J.M. (2008). Art, myth, and ritual in classical Greece, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Benndorf, O. and G. Niemann (1889). Das Heroon von Gjölbaschi-Trysa, Wien, Adolf Holzhausen.
In short, the heroic celebration of the dynast and his wife perhaps provided the cue to juxtapose the representations of two well-
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Alessandro Poggio: Between Myth and History Knell, H. (1990). Mythos und Polis. Bildprogramme griechischer Bauskulptur, Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Landskron, A. (2008). Mythos und Lebensbild: Das Heroon von Trysa. Jahrbuch des Kunsthistorischen Museums Wien, 10, 116-27. Marksteiner, T. (2002). Trysa – eine zentrallykische Niederlassung im Wandel der Zeit. Siedlungs-, architekturund kunstgeschichtliche Studien zur Kulturlandschaft Lykien, Wiener Forschungen zur Archäologie, 5, Wien, Phoibos. Miller, M.C. (2003). Art, myth and reality: Xenophantos’ lekythos re-examined. IN: Csapo, E. and M.C. Miller eds., Poetry, theory, praxis. The social life of myth, word and image in ancient Greece. Essays in honour of William J. Slater, Oxford, Oxbow, 19-47. Oberleitner, W. (1994). Das Heroon von Trysa. Ein lykisches Fürstengrab des 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr., Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie, 18, Mainz am Rhein, Philipp von Zabern. Pedersen, P. (1991). The Maussolleion terrace and accessory structures, The Maussolleion at Halikarnassos, 3:1, Aarhus, Jutland Archaeological Society. Poggio, A. (2007). Il fregio della mnesterofonia a Trysa. IN: De Angelis, F. ed., Lo sguardo archeologico. I Normalisti per Paul Zanker, Pisa, Edizioni della Normale, 63-76. Rumscheid, F. (2010). Maussollos and the ‘Uzun Yuva’ in Mylasa: an unfinished Proto-Maussolleion at the heart of a new urban centre?. IN: Van Bremen, R. and J.-M. Carbon eds., Hellenistic Karia: proceedings of the First international conference on Hellenistic Karia, Oxford, 29 June–2 July 2006, Bordeaux-Paris, Ausonius-De Boccard, 69-102. Tripodi, B. (1991). Il fregio della Caccia della II Tomba Reale di Vergina e le cacce funerarie d’Oriente. Dialogues d’Histoire Ancienne, 17, 1, 143-209. Woodford, S. (1992). Meleagros. IN: Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, VI.1, Zürich und Münich, Artemis, 414-5.
Bérard, C. (1988). La Grèce en barbarie: l’apostrophe et le bon usage des myths. IN: Calame, C. ed., Métamorphoses du mythe en Grèce antique, Religions en perspectives, 4, Genève, Labor et Fides. Borchhardt, J. (1976). Die Bauskulptur des Heroons von Limyra. Das Grabmal des lykischen Königs Perikles, Istanbuler Forschungen, 32, Berlin, Gebr. Mann. Bruns-Özgan, C. (1987). Lykische Grabreliefs des 5. und 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr., Istanbuler Mitteilungen, 33, Tübingen, Wasmuth. Childs, W.A.P. (1973). Prolegomena to a Lycian chronology: the Nereid Monument from Xanthos. Opuscula Romana, 9, 10516. Childs, W.A.P. (1976). Prolegomena to a Lycian chronology, II: The heroon from Trysa. Revue archéologique, 281-316. Childs, W.A.P. and P. Demargne (1989). Le monument des Néréides. Le décor sculpté, Fouilles de Xanthos, 8, Paris, Klincksieck. Coupel, P. and P. Demargne (1969). Le monument des Néréides. L’architecture, Fouilles de Xanthos, 3, Paris, Klincksieck. Des Courtils, J. and L. Cavalier (2001). The city of Xanthos from Archaic to Byzantine times. IN: Parrish, D. ed., Urbanism in Western Asia Minor. New studies on Aphrodisias, Ephesos, Hierapolis, Pergamon, Perge and Xanthos, Journal of Roman Archaeology, Supplementary Series, 45, Portsmouth. Eichler, F. (1950). Die Reliefs des Heroon von Gjölbaschi-Trysa, Kunstdenkmäler, 8, Wien, Franz Deuticke. Hölscher, T. (1973). Griechische Historienbilder des 5. und 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr., Würzburg, Triltsch. Hölscher, T. (1999). Immagini mitologiche e valori sociali nella Grecia arcaica. IN: De Angelis, F. and S. Muth eds., Im Spiegel des Mythos. Bilderwelt und Lebenswelt / Lo specchio del mito. Immaginario e realtà, Palilia, 6, Wiesbaden, Reichert, 11-30. Jenkins, I. (2006). Greek architecture and its sculpture, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press.
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Archaeology of Gesture and Relics: Early Signs of the Sacred In Veii Laura Maria Russo
S.A.Fist. Department, Catania University
“The soil is an historical document which, like a written record, must be deciphered, translated, and interpreted...”
which manifest themselves13 in the provenance contexts,14 in the deposition15 and in the association of artefacts.16
(P. Barker)
As regards the theoretical and methodological background reference must be made to the concept of relic object17 and its link to the notion of archaeology of gesture. In order to attribute a meaning to an artefact out of its context18 the concept of residual has to be taken into account. An artefact is residual when it is no longer used. Accordingly it can be argued that the issue of relic can be located within the conceptual sphere of the “residual”.19 Being relics, artefacts preserved and used as worth-remembering items, are characterised by chrono-typological incongruousness with the stratigraphical contexts which include it.
“..je voudrais inviter les analystes des ensembles polythéistes à découvrir comment les puissances divines sont connectées par des dizaines de facettes à l’ensemble des obiets et des phénomènes de la vie sociale et du monde naturel.” (M. Detienne) Peduncolo rettangolare a base arrotondata; alette leggermente concave
The concept of “residual”20 implies a deliberate act: according to the action theory, ancient communities give the use of artefacts different values and meaning from time to time. Consequently there occurs a polysemy of gestures. The concept of “residual” implies a wide range of meanings.21 An artefact is congruent if chrono-typologically compliant with the stratigraphical level that includes it.
Preface The present contribution is set within the field of sacred archaeology,1 which has recently2 focused its attention on relic objects as elements signalling interrelated systems of functions and meanings3 and on the symbolic feature of material culture.4 In fact, objects and contexts could have a wide range of meanings, linked to correlated functions.5
Analysis of the artefact The object of this case study is an artefact discovered during Pallottino’s excavations in 1939-1940 in the votive deposit under the high altar of the suburbian Veii Sanctuary (Menrva altar), on the Portonaccio terrace (Fig.1), between22 Valle la Fata and the Grotta Gramiccia necropoleis.
This contribution is meant to be an attempt to reconstruct early manifestations of the religious beliefs in the Early Iron Age. Even though similar studies have been already carried out on Southern Italy, according to Maggiani6 “…il n’en va pas de meme pour l’Etrurie”.
According to Manacorda (2008: 226) the main question of archaeology is to draw information about invisible phenomena from material traces perceivable by senses. In Etruria, for example, archaeological records lack constituents of the inherent ritual (Bonghi Jovino 2005a: 31). 14 Manacorda 2008: 224. 15 According to Renfrew, it must be underlined that religious conventions are linked to modes of constructing and transmitting material data; Manacorda 2008: 226, nota 28. 16 The “container” is no less meaningful than its contents because it gives back information on occurrences, associations and ritual differences (Bonghi Jovino 2005a: 31-46). 17 Bonghi Jovino 2001: 73. 18 Bonghi Jovino 2001: 73. 19 Cfr. Bonghi Jovino 2001: 73. 20 Cfr. Bonghi Jovino 2006b: 721. 21 What is worth noting here is Pasqui’s (1907: 632) mention of flint from the female grave VII of the Acciaierie necropolis (Terni): “...questi pezzi di selce assumono un significato relativo alla religione dei morti, poiché da notizie assunte dagli operai abbiamo potuto constatare che in moltissime tombe, a circoli di pietre sono apparsi, e talvolta di tale grandezza che hanno appunto fermata l’attenzione come di cose estranee a materiali di riempimento artificiali”. 22 The position of the terrace with respect to the Villanovan cemeteries contributes to the explanation of the function and religious meaning of actions which took place at that site. 13
Religious phenomena is a coherent and organized system, related to social context of reference ancient community.7 In this field, archaeologists of religion8 can effectively borrow from anthropological studies9 the concept of “archaeology of gesture”,10 to investigate trinomial offerings/men/gods.11 The ratio that rules offerings, a network of symbolic gestures12 conveys many signs The idea of the sacred implies the concept of restriction on human behaviour. So that if an artefact or is sacred, it must be put out of everyday life to recognize the peculiar meaning; Carmichael et al. 1994. 2 Osborne 2004: 3. 3 On dichotomy function/meaning, Guidi 1988: 236; Bonghi Jovino 2000: 287. 4 Giannichedda 2002 : 110. 5 Manacorda 2008: 219 ss. 6 Cfr. Maggiani 1997: 431. 7 Cultraro 2005: 13. 8 Renfrew 1985: xii. 9 For theoretical archaeology, Giannichedda 2002. 10 Leroi Gourhan 1977; Chazan 1997: 716. 11 Osborne 2004: 5. 12 On the constituents of the ritual of “invisible archaeology” see Bonghi Jovino 2005a: 31. 1
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SOMA 2011 In this context an obsidian arrowhead was found (h. 3.2cm)23 saved in a bronze bivalve box (Fig. 2), slender in shape,24 with asymmetric alette and a rounded rectangular peduncle.25 A similar find comes from S. Polo-Brescia,26 linked to the Eneolithic Bell Beaker culture.27 It was reused as a pendant, which, according to the age of its deposition can be defined as an amulet.28
settings,44 often in necklaces.45 Moreover, tusks as pendants are attested in western Sicily, in the Valdesi46 necropolis framed within the Conca d’Oro Eneolithic facies. As an incongruous artefact, the wild boar tusk pendant is widespread in Early Iron Age and Orientalising period contexts:47 it was a status indicator, an amulet48 and a talisman exclusively found in female burials. In Archaic times in the Este area, it was likely to have had homoeopathic powers, like cervine horns,49 and a symbol of virility (a function known since Homer).50
The obsidian arrowhead is a residual artefact, characterised by chrono-typological incongruousness with the stratigraphical contexts which include it. It was (1) reused as an ornament29 and (2) concealed in the votive deposit30 under the high altar, as a worth- remembering element of shared feelings.31 Therefore it constitutes a relic,32 irreducible to context and rare. It combines in itself amulet properties33 as an item of everyday life, reused as a pendant,34 and as a talisman,35 because obsidian has features of death and magical power of renewal against evil.36
The flint loom weight, a specimen of instrumentum domesticum,51 is a remarkable circumstantial element in the sphere of mundus muliebris.52 Finally, a bronze drop pendant (Fig. 4), with crushed ring,53 concealed in the votive deposit beneath the Menrva altar, might also have belonged to this nucleus. This kind of ornament came from the Aegean area, in the 9th century B.C and reached Italy probably through Phoenician mediation.54 It is defined as a typical element of the Villanovan culture.55 This artefact is widespread in Tarquinia funerary contexts:56 a specimen was found in the protoVillanovan infant burial pit 293 of Pian di Civita (Tarquinia).57 Another drop pendant comes from burial 82 at the Osteria dell’Osa necropolis,58 associated with a flint arrowhead59 and covered by a metal sheet.
The artefact, correlato37 of beliefs which it expresses, has been analysed according to a minimum associative nucleus38 individuated in the votive deposit: the object has been associated with other three residual artefacts. Minimum associative nucleus: ‘the speaking context’ or ‘disclosing implied meaning’ In the votive deposit in which the arrowhead has been concealed, a minimum associative nucleus has been identified which the artefact belongs to. It consists of two further residual object ascribable to the same semantic field of the arrowhead: a wild boar tusk used as a pendant39 (Fig.3) and a flint loom weight.40
Even though not belonging to the votive deposit, two yellowish, small flint knives are worth mentioning here. They were discovered during the Pallottino excavations60 in the fill layers next to the rocks at Zone H5, together with fragments of impasto. A yellowish flint scraper61 was also found in a similar context in Zone HW, also together with Villanovan fragments of impasto.
The boar tusk41 pendant is widespread in the Eneolithic. In northern and central Italy it is commonly found in female and infant burials, associated with arrowheads.42
All these remains are from the Eneolithic age62 and are meaningful because they can be set within the context of Eneolithic artefacts
In Sardinia it is found in sub-Ozieri contexts (3200-2700 BC.) as well as Monte Claro and Bell Beaker A43 (2700-2200 BC) Martelli and Antonioli 2002: note 171, n. 887, pl. LXVII. The slender shape is a feature of Eneolithic lithic industry of Rinaldone and Remedello; Cocchi Genick 1996. 25 Bagolini 1970: 221-254. 26 Baioni and Ferrarese Ceruti 2008: 165, fig. 11. 27 The chronological framework was provided by following Cocchi Genick 1996. 28 Ebert 1924-1932. 29 About function and change in use, see Osborne 2004: 2. 30 For a classification of votive deposits see Fenelli 1989-90: 487, Osborne 2004: 6 ff., Bonghi Jovino 2005a: 31-48. 31 In order to maintain an ancient cultural background ancient communities complied with ancestral rules; Bonghi Jovino 2006a: 389. 32 Bonghi Jovino 2006b: 721. 33 Cartailhac 1878; Cherici 1989: 370, note 33. 34 Bonghi Jovino 1999: 493. 35 Boudge 1961: 11. 36 Chiaramonte Trerè 2003b: 472. 37 Correlati are defined as data which have an indirect link with activities of ancient communities (Guidi 1994: 93). 38 Despite its coming from ‘fill’ (the deposit under the high Menrva altar), the artefact could be placed in an ideal minimum associative nucleus together with other concealed objects. 39 Inv. n. VTP 101; Martelli and Antonioli 2002: n. 854, pl. LXVII. 40 Martelli-Antonioli 2002: 195, n. 546. 41 Leroi Gourhan 1991: 535. 42 From a Grotticella of Arma (Grá of Marmo) Ligurian context; from Tridentine area (Borrello and Palmieri 2004: 43-52); in a Tuscan field, from an infant burial of Fontino Cave (Grosseto) (Vigliardi 2002: 209, fig. 53B, n. 26), associated with a flint arrowhead; from the cave burials of Castello of Vecchiano (Pisa), associated to a great cache of arrowheads; from Leone of Agnano Cave (Cazzella et al. 1988: 342 ss.). 43 For Beaker B culture, see Nicolis 1998, Baioni et al. 2008: 9 ff. 23 24
Su Crocifissu Mannu burial XVI, cella and layer 1, within the Monte Claro facies with Bell Beaker elements; from Padru Jossu of Sanluri hypogeum, the Monte Claro facies. 45 Lilliu 1999: 147, fig. 177; 226-233. 46 Bovio Marconi 1944: col. 54. 47 In addition to the Veii finds, specimens come from female Grave 33 in the S. Pietro in Campo necropolis (Terni), dating to the end of the 8th cent. BC; from the Orientalizing period monumental area of Pian di Civita (Tarquinia) (Inv.180/60; Bonghi Jovino 1999: 493); and from the Picenum in Campovalano necropolis (Chiaramonte Trerè 2003b: 480). 48 Such talismanic power is already well-known in Homeric Greece. See Bucholz et al. 1973: 30. 49 Literary sources point to its officinal properties (Plinio Nat. Hist. XXVIII, 163, 166; XXX, 119, 193). 50 Bucholz et al. 1973: 30. 51 In the votive deposit under the high altar, a dark impasto fuseruole was also found. Specimens n. 571 (VTP 99) and n. 572 (VTP 100). See Colonna 2002: 196. 52 Bonghi Jovino 2005b: 78. 53 Martelli and Antonioli 2002: 216, n. 890, pl. LXVII. 54 Dizionari terminologici, pl. LXXXI, 4. 55 Bartoloni 2002: 170. 56 Attested in the Impiccato and Selciatello necropolises; Tabone 2001: 497, note 26. 57 N. 189/1/1; Tabone 2001: 497; tav. 150. 58 Bietti Sestieri 1992: 824, 83/7. 59 Bietti Sestieri 1992: 824, 83/9. 60 Colonna 2002: 133. 61 Colonna 2002: tav. XXI b; nn. invv. VTP X22; VTPX23; VTP X24. 62 Colonna (2002: 144) reports that at Taccuini Pallottino they are found in Eneolithic contexts. 44
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Laura Maria Russo: Archaeology of Gesture and Relics In contexts of domus de janas, widespread in the phases mentioned so far, the arrowhead is associated with flint and obsidian blades and knives, millstones, bone pins, bivalve shells, necklaces, and green stone hatchets79 at many sites, including burials I and II at Oliena (facies Ozieri, and then Late Neolithic),80 burial I at Janna Ventosa (sub-Ozieri facies and Filigosa Abealzu),81 burial I at Filigosa,82 and the hypogeum at Padru Jossu (Bell Beaker facies).
from Veii, signalling Villanovan funerary rites.63 As funerary equipment artefacts from Zones H5 and HW, in which Early Iron Age activities have been detected,64 they constitute traces of the mundus muliebris 65 sphere. The scraper and knife are widespread in cult contexts ruled by goddesses66 and in female burials67 frequently associated to arrowheads68. As for the knife, it could be considered as a symbol of the underworld and interruption of life.69 In any event, the knife is taken as an instrumentum tessile70 and frequently associated with spool and loom weights.71
The sub-Ozieri phase of the Monte d’Accoddi sanctuary constitutes a meaningful case.83 The altar zone is characterized by shells, flint and obsidian arrowheads and blades, dressed stone hatchets, and millstones.84 The sanctuary might have been sacred to religious feasts linked to an agrarian and fertility cycle,85 ruled by a Mother Goddess.86
Comparanda review: Mediterranean, Italian and Veienti contexts. Congruence and irreducibility
It is significant that in pre-Nuragic architecture domus de janas are dwellings for witch-like figures whose malign influence renders them equal to dead spirits. The death cult was based on fears that necessitated certain remedia.87 This cult was governed by a goddess, a guardian of the dead,88 who combines in herself fertility, death and renewal. Hence the spread of obsidian arrowheads in the domus de janas context and the talismanic value of obsidian as a renewal material was widely known.
The artefact has been studied making reference to occurrences in funerary and cult contexts. In the same field two categories have been defined: (1) contexts where an artefact is representative of a congruous object, coherent with the context of its lying position; and (2) contexts where an artefact is representative of a residual relic.72 Congruence with context: funerary and cult contexts between Late Neolithic and Final Eneolithic
The arrowhead represents therefore one of the trace indicators of this goddess. This can be deduced from the artefacts’ associations and their frequency in religious contexts governed by the primordial Mother Goddess and by their presence in female and infant funerary contexts, alluding to fertility, death and renewal processes.
In consistent funerary contexts, the obsidian arrowhead is widespread in Italian female and infant burials; obsidian confers to it a magical value related to death and renewal processes.73 Apart from Italian funerary contexts (e.g. the Fontino Cave, with Sardinian elements, the Porcareccia necropolis, the Fontanile of Raim necropolis, Ischia di Castro-Viterbo, the Ponte S. Pietro necropolis, Ischia di Castro-Viterbo), constitute a representative sample of the diffusion of the arrowhead in Central Italy;74 in Sicilian contexts75 it is found in Sardinian funerary (domus de janas) and cult contexts (the Monte d’Accoddi altar, sub-Ozieri facies), connected to rural and fertility cycles, governed by a Mother Goddess,76 framed between the Late Neolithic (35002800 B.C.)77 and the Final Eneolithic (2200-1800 B.C.). 78
The discoveries of two artefacts of different chronology contribute to the definition of features and attributes related to various Mediterranean goddess figures: the Vicofertile figurine (published by Bernabò Brea89 and the askoid jug from Vetulonia (published by Delpino).90 The Parmense figurine (Fig. 6), made of unfired impasto,91 comes from a Neolithic female burial92 and represents the personification of death and rebirth: a Mother Goddess.93 Such a definition is coherent with its discovery context,94 which reveals Sardinian
Grave DD8-9 at the Quattro Fontanili necropolis has revealed an Eneolithic flint arrowhead. For Quattro Fontanili, see Bartoloni 1997; 2003: 50-5. 64 Burnt areas at the site suggest local (ritual?). 65 It is a typical item of proto-historic funerary contexts; Finley 1972: 124, mentioned in Bartoloni 1989: 41, note 47, defines it a female emblem. 66 A scraper came from the votive deposit at Satricum (Mater Matuta sanctuary); Della Seta 1928: 292. 67 Specimens come from the well/tomb pit grave XI of the Poggio alla Guardia necropolis (Vetulonia) (Falchi 1891: 83, d, tav. VI: 12); from Grave 16 at the Crocefisso del Tufo necropolis (Klakowicz, 1972: 178); from Graves 5, 6, 8, 9 from the Cassino protohistoric necropolis (Carettoni 1958-59); from the Esquilino cemetery (Pinza 1905: c. 192 and fig. 80); from Grave IV of the S. Antonio Pontecagnano necropolis (D’Agostino 1968: 133). 68 Esquilino cemetery: CI burial group (Pinza 1905: c. 192); burial CXX (Pinza 1905: fig. 80). For the use of these objects as amulets, see Pinza 1905: 223. 69 Guidi and Zarattini 1993: 183-194. 70 D’Erme 2001: 90-91; 2003: 54. 71 Pacciarelli 1998: 35-41. 72 For a definition of relics as residual objects, see supra. 73 For the magical value of obsidian, see Amore 1979: 21; nota 71. 74 Negroni Catacchio and Miari 2001; Vigliardi 2002. 75 Albanese-Procelli 1988-1989: 202 ff. 76 Lanternari 1954-55; Atzeni 1975-1977: 1- 69. 77 The production of pre-Nuraghic Mother Goddess figurines is widespread between the end of the Neolithic and the beginning of the Eneolithic. 78 On the production and diffusion of Sardinian obsidian see Bloedow 1987: 59; Tykot 1992: 57. 63
Such associations of finds have been detected at Cannas di Sotto, Taulera, the female hypogeum 12 (sub-Ozieri; Foschi Nieddu 1998); at Marinaru domus de ianas (Bell Beaker, pre-Bonnannaro), Su Crucifissu Mannu, Ponte Secco (Contu 1952-54: 21), Anghelu Ruju (Bell Beaker, pre-Bonnannaro), and Mandra Antine III (Tanda 1998: 127). 80 Sanges 1980: 181ff. 81 Foschi Nieddu 1998: 273-283. 82 Foschi 1980: 289ff. 83 The building reveals analogies with the Near Eastern and Mesopotamian ziqqurat, in particular with Uruk Anu, chronologically not dissimilar to the Monte d’Accoddi altar. See Basoli 1990: 252-253; Lo Schiavo 1990: 65-67, and previous bibliography. 84 Atzeni et al. 1988: 445 and previous bibliographical references. 85 The signs of which reveal a fertility cult, including a female figurine and other artefacts; Atzeni 1975-77: 1- 69; Atzeni et al. 1988. 86 Antona 1998: 111-119. 87 Lanternari 1954-1955: 13. 88 Lanternari 1954-1955: 31. 89 Bernabò Brea 2006: 197-202. 90 Delpino 2006: 167. 91 Bernabò Brea 2006: 199. 92 This burial belongs to the second phase of the ‘Vaso a bocca quadrata’ culture; for this facies, see Cocchi Genick 1996, II: 120-129. 93 Bernabò Brea (2006: 200) has focused her attention on the chthonic features of goddess, identified by Gimbutas 1989. 94 The female burial, in a central position, was arranged between three males and an infant burial. One of these burials contained an obsidian blade. 79
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SOMA 2011 similarities. The askoid jug95 from Vetulonia96 (Fig. 5), in spite of its Nuragic shape,97 can be considered a local imitation.
Marittima,115 the necropoli di Fontanile di Raim, Ischia di Castro necropolis (Viterbo),116 di Ponte S. Pietro, and Ischia di Castro necropolis (Viterbo).117 All these sites and contexts constitute a representative sample of the diffusion of the arrowhead in central Italy.118
It is a funerary multiple vessel,98 to which a female figurine99 is applied, with anatomical features related to a Mother Goddess but with raised hands.100 This piteous gesture signals an invitation to hieros gamos in an alcoholic haze,101 by an infernal and sympathetic Mother Goddess, who can be linked to the Etruscan Thanr.102
Irreducibility to context: review of the relics within Italian and Veienti funerary context Relic irreducibility to contexts (use and deposition position) can be found in the Italian and Veienti archaeological record119 from the Early Iron Age120 and with extra-territorial attestations.121 Frequently, since the Early Iron Age, prehistoric lithic artefacts are saved in burials as amulets,122 reused as pendants with magical powers123 in a meaningful position (chest,124 head, hand, abdomen, pelvis125) in female burials, to emphasize their fertility association
Multiple vessels (kernoi) of Aegean origin reached Italy in the Final Bronze Age103 and mark the connection between fertility and funerary cults. As Maggiani104 has argued, the accentuation of traits linked to the spheres of fertility and death is a peculiarity of the Villanovan material culture:105 the Olmobello106 bronze cinerary is a prime illustration. During the Villanovan period in the Etruscan area, therefore, the assimilation of a Sardinian107 primordial Mother Goddess of death and renewal, identified with Thanr had already been established. She can be related to Near Eastern and Aegean iconographic models, which, during the second half of the 8th century B.C., will develop in Etruria.108
As for the Veienti contexts, lithic arrowheads have been found at the Villanovan Quattro Fontanili necropolis (contexts CC4, DD8-9, G8-9)126 and funerary context 847 at the Casale del Fosso necropolis,127 wrapped in a bronze sheet.128 The occurrence of this artefact is not restricted to Etruria.129 Specimens are known from the Bologna Benacci,130 Bazzano131 and Villanovan Savignano sul Panaro132 necropolises, in the form of necklaces elements covered with bronze sheets.
By the fusion and specification of such attributes and divine activities the reasons for the attestation and concentration of obsidian arrowheads can be accounted for in: (1) cult contexts ruled by a primordial Mother Goddess, linked to cycles of vegetation109 and (2) in female and infant funerary contexts.
In the Faliscan ager area, specimens come from Burial 18 of the Pizzo Piede necropolis (Civita Castellana133 covered by a copper sheet), from the well/tomb pit Grave I of the Celle necropolis,134 from Burials IX, XI, XXV, XXX of the Montarano necropolis,135 from Grave 2 the of Nazzano necropolis,136 and from Burials 33C137and 94-C138 from the Saliere necropolis (Capena).
This phenomenon characterizes the Italian Eneolithic age:110 preNuraghic and Tyrrhenic Italian contexts (Poggialti Vallelunga necropolis,111 the Porcareccia di Pitigliano necropolis,112 the Fontino cave113 with Sardinian elements,114 the Prato cave, Massa
For askoid jugs see Gras 1980: 522, Campus and Leonelli 2000, p. 392- 417, Lo Schiavo 2006. 96 Sardinian askoid jugs are widespread in the Mediterranean. In Etruria they are widely attested in Early Iron Age contexts; a great number of them come from Vetulonia (Delpino 2002: 168). 97 Cygielman and Pagnini 2002: 387-410. 98 The funerary use is extraneous to Sardinia; a multiple vessel derived from an askoid jug, with an applied anthropomorphic figurine, is attested in Etruria in Villanovan funerary contexts. See Delpino 2006: 167. 99 For this class of material, related to the sphere of symbolic offerings to the dead, and widespread during the Villanovan I, see Torelli 1996: 333-68. 100 The ritual was meant to welcome the dead to the Underworld. See Delpino 2006: 171. 101 For the use of jugs as containers of alcoholic drinks for ceremonial and ritual practices, see Delpino 2006: 169. 102 Delpino 2006: 170. 103 Iaia 2002. 104 Maggiani 1997: 438. 105 Bull-shaped askoi, found in Villanovan I female funerary contexts, belong to the same semantic sphere; Maggiani 1997: 441, note 72. 106 Discovered in Burial XXII of the Olmobello/Bisenzio necropolis; Aigner Foresti: 1980; Maggiani 1997: nota 72. 107 It must be underlined that in the Vicofertile Neolithic figurine, features not extraneous to Sardinia have also been detected (Bernabò Brea 2006: 200). 108 Delpino 2006: 171. 109 Lanternari 1954-1955: 30; Burkert 2000: 1-21. 110 On the Eneolithic Age in central Italy see Silvestrini 1999, Grifoni and Negroni Catacchio 2001: 71-90, Cultraro 2001: 215- 233. 111 Negroni Catacchio and Miari 2001: 383ff. 112 Negroni Catacchio 1992: 200. 113 Vigliardi, 2002. 114 For the Fontino Cave as Final Eneolithic evidence of a link between Sardinia and Tuscany, see Vigliardi 1980: 247-286.
Grifoni Cremonesi 1982-83: 91-124. Grifoni Cremonesi et al. 2001: 71-90. 117 Aranguren et al. 1987-1988: 199-237. 118 Silvestrini 2001; Negroni Catacchio and Miari 2001; Vigliardi 2002. 119 Carettoni 1959: 196, note 53; Cherici 1989: 332. 120 Ebert 1924-1932. 121 Carettoni 1959: 196, note 53 refers to arrowheads found in cremation mounds of the Grand Bassin (Linguadoca) necropolis. 122 Pinza (1924: 158) states: “L’industria litica scheggiata deve essere decaduta mentre si diffondeva tra gli indigeni l’uso di oggetti in bronzo… i relativi prodotti nell’Età del Ferro erano trasformati in amuleti ed oggetti di ornamento.” 123 Cartailhac 1878; Ebert 1924-1932; Carettoni 1959: 196, nota 53. 124 For Italian evidence, see Cherici 1989: 367, note 15. 125 From Burial 6 of the proto-historic Cassino necropolis comes a flint splinter, near the deceased’s pelvis; Carettoni 1959: 200. 126 Batchvarova Wheeler 1970: 218, n. 5, fig. 22. 127 For a bibliography on the Casale del Fosso necropolis, see Van Kampen 2003: 54. 128 Cherici 1989: 344. 129 Specimens from Tarquinia and Veii, Casale del Fosso. 130 Crespellani 1875: pl. A. 131 Crespellani 1875: 12, note 28, pl. A, IV: 39. 132 Crespellani 1874: 7, note 34, pl. II: 7, 27. 133 Pasqui 1894: c. 361: “...servirono da amuleti e si portarono come pendagli, piccole frecce silicee, fasciate di lamina di rame. Una dalla tomba XXX della necropoli falisca, dove se ne trovarono e sempre in tombe a fossa della forma più antica. Se ne ebbe una simile dalla tomba 18 del quinto sepolcreto a sud di Pizzo Piede.” (fig. 3 L, pl. III L, n. XXXIX, 4) 134 Cozza and Pasqui 1897: 18, 4 (I). 135 Cozza and Pasqui 1897: 24 ss., 2 (XXIX), n. 3. 136 Pasqui 1902: 324. 137 Della Seta 1928: 332, inv. n. 15304; Stefani 1958: c. 131. 138 Pettazzoni 1923: 167; Stefani 1958, c. 93.
95
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Laura Maria Russo: Archaeology of Gesture and Relics In Umbria, some specimens come from Grave 3 of the Acciaierie necropolis.139 In Picenum,140 examples come from Burials 69141 and 166142 of the Campovalano necropolis, with a circle of infant burials.
It is necessary to start with data from the Pallottino excavations. In this zone, investigations started from where Stefani stopped,156 that is the North and East sections of the main altar157 and working westwards. As well as flint blades and knives, typologically dated to the Eneolithic,158 the early signs of activity on the Portonaccio terrace are huts beneath the Menrva altar: traces of huts have been identified under the main altar,159 both in the west and south areas near it and under the portico with an L-shaped feature.160
In Latium specimens come from Burials CII and CXX of the Esquilino necropolis,143 from Burial 82144 of the Osteria dell’Osa necropolis,145 from Burial 60 of the Caracupa, Sermoneta necropolis,146 in which it was found on the abdomen of the skeleton.
They were discovered thanks to post holes, burnt patches and a strong, dark ground layer deposited on rocks in Zone HW and around the middle altar.161 The middle altar area has revealed many bones, teeth, traces of dark, burnt impasto, a large amount of red impasto, a dolium (?), and many fragments of pebbles and flint.162
In Campania specimens come from a 7th century BC burial of the Pontecagnano necropolis (Ferrari property),147 and from an unidentified site.148 From Lucania and Bruttium, specimens have been found in Burial A34 of the Sala Consilina north-west necropolis,149 and from Burials 48150 and 54151 of the Torregalli necropolis.152
Pallottino’s research in the altar zone has gone back to section H5 (Fig. 8), down to the bedrock.163 In the fill layers next to the rocks of Zone H5 zone, together with fragments of impasto, two small, yellow flint knives were discovered.164 The fill layers next to the rocks in Zone HW, together with Villanovan impasto fragments,165 revealed a yellowish flint scraper.166 All these remains, together with burnt patches, suggest perhaps a local ritual activity.
In the review of the Veienti and Italian funerary contexts some remarkable data emerge: (1) the arrowheads are objects of exclusively female and infant burials; (2) in female burials they are reused as ornaments, saved in bronze or copper sheets as amulets;153 (3) the reuse as ornaments has already been attested in Early Iron Age contexts.154
What is more, they appear to confirm the data from Stefani’s excavations: the discovery of hut postholes (e and f)167 next to canal F, reaching a tuffaceous seam. In addition, traces of huts from the Early Iron Age were identified by Stefani along the north slope.168 The unusual dimensions of one of these elliptical huts (30 x 5.71m) would signal some form of sacred use.
In the funerary context of a burial from the Villa Cassarini necropolis, Ebert reported that prehistoric artefacts were already widespread in Villanovan contexts: Der villanova Zeit… sind also tatsachlich genau so zu beurteilen, wie die als Amulette verwendenten Steinespitzen. Die Verwendung beider Arten ist nur denkbar, nachdem geraume Zeit verflossen war, seit solche Spitzen als wirkliche Waffen gebraucht wurden.155
During the same excavations some elliptical and circular cavities were found carved into the rock, on which archaic constructions were superimposed. One of these cavities was made of clay and came from the Early Iron Age (cavity l).
Stratigraphical levels of the Menrva altar zone: Taccuini Pallottino, Stefani’s excavations and new remark
This cavity,169 together with burnt patches at the site, the great sacred elliptical hut, the prehistoric residual artefacts belonging (or not) to the minimum associative nucleus,170 the impasto jar, whose use as a box for foodstuffs has been well reported,171 all help to define the area as a ‘sacred’ zone, and to mark the incipit
An analysis of the stratigraphical levels of the Menrva altar zone (Fig. 7) has revealed dynamics which contribute to decode religious signs and gestures attested on the Portonaccio terrace, linked to the semantic sphere of arrowhead concealments.
Vedi ultra. Stefani 1953: 42. 158 Colonna 2002: 146, tav. XXI b. 159 The position of the Villanovan huts reflects a settlement process similar to that of other communities dated to the Final Bronze and Early Iron Age. On this topic, see Delpino 1979: 279ff; Negroni Catacchio 1998. 160 To understand the topographical layout of the altar zone, see Colonna 2002: 137; figs. 5-7. 161 Colonna 2002: 137, fig. 4o. 162 Colonna 2002: 140. 163 Colonna 2002: 144. 164 Inv. VTPX22; VTPX23; Colonna 2002: 144; tav. XXI b. For a description, see the Catalogue section in this work. 165 Van Kampen 2003: 39; cat. 15 and 16. 166 Inv. VTP X24. 167 Stefani 1953: 42; Van Kampen 2003: 27. 168 During the same investigation, the remains of a hollow with a round hole (30cm in diameter) were detected; flint splinters were found in it. See Stefani 1953: 102-103. 169 The habit of digging up pits and filling them with (burnt) vegetative offerings is a ritual gesture related to soil fertility rites. See Negroni Catacchio et al. 1989-1990: 579. 170 See infra. 171 Can be found in samples from Torrionaccio (example 0192, zone 2; trench D, layer I). See Cassano and Manfredini 1978: fig. 69, Van Kampen 2003: 43. 156
Stefani 1914: 36; Randall-McIver 1927: tav. 32.2. 140 On contacts between Veii and Picenum, see Camporeale 2003. 141 Cherici 1989: 349. 142 Chiaramonte Trerè 2003a: 62. 143 Pinza 1905: c. 164 ss., fig. 68: r; c.189, fig. 80: i; Gjerstad 1956: 238, fig. 212. 144 This context is dated to Villanovan II (770-730 BC). See Bietti Sestieri 1992: 823- 826. 145 Bartoloni 1979: 68, nn. 90, 91, tav. XII: 90. 146 Savignoni and Mengarelli 1903: 297, 339, n. 11, fig. 65. 147 Correra 1911: 209. 148 Von Duhn 1924, I: 627. 149 Kilian 1970: 138 ff., 334, tav. 19. II:5. 150 Orsi 1926: c. 43 ff., 209ff., fig. 37. 151 Orsi 1926: c. 45, 209ff. 152 For the Torre Galli necropolis, see Orsi 1926, Randall-McIver 1927. 153 Helbig 1894: 56 note 2, mentioned an arrowhead found in Burial XV of the Arnoaldi necropolis (Bologna) as the oldest example of a link between relics and superstition. For amulets, see Daremberg- Saglio (entry: amuletum). 154 Regarding the arrowhead wrapped in a bronze wire from a well/tomb of the Corneto necropolis (Tarquinia), Helbig (1894: 56) comments: “... ne risulta il fatto interessante che le armi di pietra già al tempo a cui appartengono le tombe a pozzo si usavano come amuleti, e che la superstizione risale fino a tempi tanto antichi.” 155 Ebert 1924-1932. 139
157
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SOMA 2011 (900-780 B.C.).189 North-west of the grave a schara came out from a small pit, filled with dark earth and charcoal fragments, animal bones, a cervine horn, and some impasto pots.
of cultic activity172 on the Portonaccio terrace since the beginning of the Early Iron Age. In any event, among the proto-historic communities ritual gestures are interpreted as cult actions.173 An analysis of realia from animal and vegetable kingdoms,174 according to similar research outcomes in different Veienti areas,175 could confirm this hypothesis.
A similar stratigraphical layout has been identified in Satricum,190 where the sacred elliptical hut of the 9th-8th century B.C. was found under the sacellum of the 7th century B.C., and a temple from the first half of the 6th century B.C. Under this hut was found a 1.26m x 106m squared pit, filled with dark earth and charcoal fragments; it is considered as some sort of mundus. As in Veii, the stratigraphical layout confirms that it is a sacred place and had a stable occupation phase.191
The Villanovan occupation phase is followed by an open-air cult dating from the 7th century B.C.,176 probably overseen by a Mistress of Animals,177 whose role could be defined by the discovery of a sub-Geometric votive bronze178 and a hunter figurine.179
The stratigraphical layout of Ardea, Colle della Noce192 also belongs to the Italian comparanda review. Here the Early Iron Age huts were found under the foundations of the Archaic temple, together with infant and female graves. The discovery of Early Iron Age huts under the temple foundations suggests that Ardea continued the cult that is evidenced from the Portonaccio terrace. Moreover, at Ardea, as with the Portonaccio terrace,193 two huts have been detected on the edge of the hill slope, in a central position, arranged along the same axis as the Archaic temple and the intermediate buildings of the 7th century B.C.194 Similarities with Veii are evident and significant.
The Archaic stratigraphical layout is characterized by an oikos sacellum180 dedicated to Aphrodite/Turan, oriented west-southwest,181 and the early Menrva altar. To sum up, if there is a specification of divine attributes and roles, which merged at the beginning of early signs of sacred activity, there is also a continuity of use. Stratigraphical layout in Italian comparanda: the cases of Satricum and Ardea
Stratigraphical layout in Mediterranean comparanda: the cases of Athens and Tegea
The analysis of the stratigraphical layout in Italian comparanda182 must start from the Veiente context of the Piazza d’Armi. Excavations carried out in 2003,183 contributing to the reconstruction of the processes of sacred activity, have revealed a significant stratigraphical layout. Under some levels of the second half of 6th century B.C.184 a male grave has been detected,185 lacking in equipment (C14: 940-810 BC). The grave was probably covered by a small hut186 connected to an elliptic building187 and marked by post holes,188 perhaps a ritual hut. The fill, together with fragments of dark impasto, is dated to Veio I
The Mediterranean stratigraphical layout analysis starts with two sample cases: the Athena Alea sanctuary at Tegea, Peloponnesus and the oval hut of the Areopagus in Athens, Attica. In Tegea,195 beneath the naos of the temple of Athena (Fig. 11) some hut postholes of the Geometric phase have been detected. Several cavities of the same stratigraphical level contained earth and a few fragments. Animal bones could be associated with the hut’s strata and could indicate sacrifice practices and ritual dining. Even though such stratigraphical levels have not received exhaustive investigation, it is possible to hypothesize a religious continuity ruled by a goddess figure, such as at Veii.
Negroni Catacchio et al. 1989-1990. For the boundary between ritual and everyday life activities, see Manacorda 2008: 225. 174 For a theoretical and methodological background, see Bonghi Jovino 2005b. 175 Van Kampen 2003: 39-40. 176 Colonna 2001: 39. 177 Colonna 2002: 147, notes 64 and 65. 178 Colonna 2002: 147, n. 745. 179 It was detected by Stefani under the Area G level. 180 Torelli (2003: 671ff) has argued that the oikos plan is related to female deities. 181 Prayon (1991: 1290, note 13) has emphasized that WSW orientation characterises the early sacellum of Gravisca, dedicated to Turan/ Aphrodite (= regio 11), the temple of Gabii, the early temple of Satricum, the sub-urban sacellum of Gabii, dedicated to a protectress of the birth goddess. 182 It must be underlined that data from Early Iron Age settlements are limited: they are surface finds; huts have been detected from foundation trenches and postholes. See Bartoloni 2002: 72 ff. 183 Bartoloni 2003: 63 ff. 184 It is worth mentioning that at this zone in the beginning of the 7th cent. BC, the link between the major and minor streets (NE and SW) is emphasised. 185 For burials among the living, see Bartoloni 2003: 71, notes 61 and 62. 186 The burial was encircled by postholes. A similar topographical layout has been detected at the Pontecagnano Villanovan I burial 2145, and at Lefkandi (Greece) from the 10th cent. BC. See Mazarakis Ainian 1997: 54ff. 187 It had a north-west entrance and exceptional dimensions (12x5m). 188 Inside the postholes were found Villanovan impasto fragments. 172 173
In Athens,196 a sacred oval building from the 9th century BC (Fig.12) was situated on the Areopagus north slope. Vitruvius197 referred to a primitive hut in this area. Under the hut, an infant burial from EGI (900-875 B.C.)198 was detected, testifying to a permanent occupation of the site.199 The chthonic nature of the nearby votive deposit (7th century B.C.) and the heroon of the 5th century B.C., demonstrate a religious purpose for the elliptical building. These Mediterranean examples of sacred sites demonstrate that at Veii, as well as at other contexts, the Portonaccio terrace had For the chronological seriation of the Villanovan at Veii, see Bartoloni 2002: 111. 190 Negroni Catacchio 1989-1990: 579; Heldring 1998. 191 Maaskant Kleibrink 1984. 192 Crescenzi and Tortorici 1988: 29-32. 193 Stefani 1944: col. 102. 194 The function and plan are uncertain; the foundations are tuffaceous. 195 Mazarakis Ainian 1997: 80. 196 Mazarakis Ainian 1997: 86. 197 Vitruvio De Architectura II, 1, 5. 198 Mazarakis Ainian 1997: 87, note 439. 199 In the surrounding zone was found a burial of the Early and Middle Geometric periods. 189
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Laura Maria Russo: Archaeology of Gesture and Relics a socio-religious focus that could have been maintained across the centuries.
from the head of Tinia. Another mirror from Orvieto210 portrays Thanr receiving a child from the hands of Hercle, a gesture linked with Menrva.211
Concluding remarks: evidences of the divine and early signs of the sacred in Veii
Thus, in the Villanovan phase, Portonaccio’s Mother Goddess/ Thanr could find justification in Archaic and Classical period attributes, and divine activities associated with Menrva, Turan212 and Aritimi,213 confirming the importance of the divine female from the earliest phases of sacred rites at Veii.214
From the overall data so far analysed it could be deduced that early signs of sacred activity on the Portonaccio terrace can be dated to the Villanovan I period, with a cult hut200 area from which the arrowhead could have come, on its imagined journey from daily use to relic, to pendant, together with its wild boar tusk,201 and the dark flint loom weight, in its original lying position. It was later concealed under the main altar for its devotional and mystical properties.
Consequently, the archaeological stratigraphy of the east zone of the sanctuary could be a sign of stratification of deities, revealing a transition from the Villanovan phase, with a combination of attributes and actions (‘cult in huts’), to an orientalising Archaic phase in a combination of divine features indicated by the openair cult and the subsequent phase of the early Menrva altar and the oikos sacellum dedicated to Aphrodite/Turan. This evidence seems to confirm that the socio-religious focus, as Renfrew puts it,215 should be identified with the eastern section of the Portonaccio terrace.
Thanks to data from analysis of the Piazza d’Armi stratigraphical layout,202 and from Zone H5 of Portonaccio H5, it could be hypothesized as a ‘cult in hut’ phase, governed by an ancestral ‘Underworld Mother Goddess’203 who combines in herself attributes fertility, death and renewal.204 Such divine activities are significant as regards the siting of the Portonaccio terrace between the Valle la Fata and Grotta Gramiccia Villanovan necropolises. In fact, it is not unexpected that obsidian arrowheads have been found in female and infant funerary contexts and in religious contexts governed by the Mother Goddess. The talismanic value of obsidian as a renewal material is well known.
Constructing the sacred in Veii: links to Sardinia? Further research Such divine activities and features make us think of possible links to Sardinia (obsidian arrowheads and wild boar tusks are typical finds in Sardinian domus de janas and religious contexts ruled by a Mediterranean Mother Goddess), as well as being widely attested in the central Tyrrhenian region of Italy during the Final Bronze and Early Iron Age. Could this suggest the traffic of goods or the presence of such an agency in Veii? An answer is not possible, even though many present studies216 have recently focused on contacts between Sardinia and central Italy in the Final Bronze and Early Iron Age.
Thanks to an analysis of the Italian funerary context205 it can be deduced that already in the Early Iron Age the artefact could have been reused as a relic, in pendant form. How can this be accounted for? The above-mentioned askoid jug from Vetulonia, the Olmobello cinerary urn, the impasto figurine from Grave C of Montecucco near Castelgandolfo206 (Fig.13) (IB- IIA Latial phase), and the salt vase from the Tarquinia Arcatelle necropolis (9th century B.C.) (Fig.14) all attest that, (1) in Villanovan Central Italy and Etruria, development of sacred rites had already begun; (2) they mark the connection between fertility and funerary cults, ruled by an Underworld and a fertility goddess. In such a characterisation, the deity has been considered similar to Thanr, whose semantic connection with Menrva and Turan is widely attested by the iconography of certain 4th century B.C. Etruscan mirrors.207 Hence the need to conceal the arrowhead under the altar because of its sacred associations.
Certainly widespread finds of Sardinian imports in burials is not random, especially in relation to female burials217 in the central Tyrrhenian part of Italy during the Final Bronze and Early Iron Age. Further research determining the origins of the obsidian finds (Monte Arci?) could provide new insights into the early appearance of sacred activity at Veii. Like the askoid jugs and Nuraghic vessels, extensively imported between the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 8th century B.C., and saved in burials or in sanctuaries as offerings, a similar route can be conjectured for our obsidian arrowhead, which reached Etruria and can then be traced from dwellings to a votive deposit under the main altar.
Links between Thanr, Menrva and Turan208 are well-known: on Etruscan mirrors found at Arezzo and Palestrina209 Thanr is represented as the assistant (Eileithyia) at the birth of Menrva
Maras 1998: 177. It is worth remembering that at the Punta of Campanella sanctuary Menrva is an hypostasis of the Mother Goddess of nature. See Maria Bonghi Jovino’s contribution in Atti Ciac 2008. 212 As for the binomial Afrodite/Menerva a graffiti inscription on a fragment of black gloss pottery has been found in the sanctuary area of Lavinium. It involves the word ‘ana’, which occurs in Messapic inscriptions associated with the name of Aphrodite. In such inscriptions ana mean ‘mother’ or ‘wet nurse’. The word also occurs in Etruscan inscriptions from Caere and Narce from the 6th and 5th centuries B.C. It is worth remembering that at the Lavinium sanctuary (as well as the Portonaccio sanctuary), Menerva is worshiped as kourotrophos. See Castagnoli 1980: 166, note 15. 213 On the divine figures in the sanctuary, see Colonna 1987; Baglione 1989-1990; Bartoloni 2007: 111- 43. 214 The importance of a female element in the sanctuary has been pointed out by Michetti (2002: 249). 215 Renfrew 1994: 47-54. 216 Gras 1980; Lo Schiavo 2002; Botto 2007. 217 Bartoloni 2002: 185. 210 211
The evidence of hollows and the position of the large hut on the Portonaccio terrace reveal its sacred use. See Van Kampen 2003: 27. 201 An object of special power, similar to cervine horns. See Chiaramonte Trerè 2003b: 480. 202 To the funerary chapel belonged a cervine horn and various impasto fragments. See Bartoloni 2003: 63 s. 203 Gimbutas 1989. 204 Lanternari (1955: 32) emphasises that Aegean religion is marked by a cult ruled by a goddess who combines in herself death and fertility. For an updated bibliography see Marinatos 2000 and Laffineur 2004. 205 Quattro Fontanili (Bartoloni 1997), Casale del Fosso (D’Erme 2003: 54 and included bibliography), San Montano in Pithecusa (Macnamara 2006: 267-279) Torre Galli (Orsi 1926) necropoleis. 206 Torelli 1996: 337. 207 LIMC s.v. Thanr. 208 Maras 1998: 173-198. 209 I.e. Gerhard ES66 from Arezzo, V6 from Palestrina; and V64b from Orvieto (Maras, cit.: 174ff). 200
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SOMA 2011 Overall data suggest, in Lo Schiavo’s words, the presence of:
Bonghi Jovino M. (2000). Funzioni, simboli e potere. I “bronzi”del “complesso” tarquiniese. In Prayon F., ed., Der Orient und Etrurien Internationales Kolloquium,Tubingen 1997, (Pisa: Istituti editoriali e poligrafici internazionali), 287-298. Bonghi Jovino M. (2005a). Mini muluvanice-mini turuce. Depositi votivi e sacralità. Dall’analisi del rituale alla lettura interpretativa delle forme di religiosità. In Comella A. and Mele S. eds., Depositi votivi e culti dell’Italia antica dall’età arcaica a quella tardo-repubblicana (Bari: Edipuglia), 31-46. Bonghi Jovino M. (2005b). In Chiesa F., ed. Offerte dal regno vegetale e dal regno animale nelle manifestazioni del sacro. Atti dell’incontro di studio, Milano 26-27 Giugno 2003. Tarchna/Supplementi I , (Roma: L’Erma di Bretschneider). Bonghi Jovino M.., (2006). Prospettive di pensiero e prassi archeologica. Appunti in margine alla classificazione e all’interpretazione dei materiali archeologici di Tarquinia. In AA.VV. Studi di Protostoria in onore di Renato Peroni, (Firenze: All’insegna del Giglio), 718-722. Borrello M.A. and Palmeri A., (2004). Gli ornamenti preistorici lavorati in conchiglie conservati presso il Museo tridentino di Scienze Naturali. Preistoria alpina, 40, Suppl. 1, 43-52. Botto M., (2007). I rapporti tra la Sardegna e le coste mediotirreniche della penisola italiana: la prima metà del I millennio a.C. In G.M. Della Fina, ed., Etruschi Greci Fenici e Cartaginesi nel Mediterraneo centrale, Atti del XIV Convegno Internazionale di Studi sulla Storia e l’Archeologia dell’Etruria, Orvieto 24-26 Novembre 2006, Roma 77- 135. Boudge W.H.D., (1961). Amulets and talismans, (New York) . Bouma J.W, (1996). Religio votiva, The Archaeology of Latial Votive Religion. The 5th-3rd c.B.C. Votive Deposit and south west of the main Temple at Satricum Borgo La Ferriere , I, University of Groningen. Bovio Marconi J., (1944). La cultura tipo Conca d’Oro della Sicilia nord- occidentale. Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei, XL, 80-97. Bucholz H.G., Joehrens, G., Maull, I., (1973). Jagd und Fischfang, Archaologia Homerica, Göttingen. Burkert. W., (2000). Migrating gods and syncretisms: forms of cult transfer in the ancient Mediterranean, in Ovadiah A. (ed.), Mediterranean cultural interaction The Howard Gilman Intern. Conferences, 2, Tel Aviv, 1-21. Camporeale G., (no date). “Ancora tra Piceno e Etruria” I Piceni e l’Italia medio-adriatica.Atti del XXII Convegno di Studi Etruschi e Italici. Ascoli Piceno- Teramo- Ancona, 9-13 Aprile 2000. Campus F., Leonelli V., (2000). La tipologia della ceramica nuragica. Il materiale edito, (Viterbo). Carettoni G.F., (1958-1959). Necropoli dell’Età del ferro di Cassino. Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana, LVII-LVIII, 166204. Cassano S.M., Manfredini A., (1978). Torrionaccio (Viterbo). Scavo di un abitato protostorico. Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, XXXII, serie VIII, 159-382. Castagnoli F., (1980). Santuari e culti nel Lazio Arcaico. Archeologia laziale 3, 164-167. Cherici A.. (1989). Keraunia. Note e discussioni. Archeologia classica, XLI, 329- 381. Chiaramonte Trerè C., (2003a). La necropoli di Campovalano. Spunti per una rilettura della fase arcaica. Mélanges Ecole Francaise de Rome. Antiquité, 115-1, 51-84. Chiaramonte Trerè C., (2003b). “Symboli nella necropoli orientalizzante e arcaica di Campovalano” I Piceni e l’Italia medio-adriatica.Atti del XXII Convegno di Studi Etruschi e Italici. Ascoli Piceno- Teramo- Ancona, 9-13 Aprile 2000.
‘Piccoli nuclei familiari dalla Sardegna che ricevono asilo nei grandi centri della costa tirrenica….una presenza indiziata da ritrovamenti, modelli, acquisizione di fogge e tecnologie.’218 Bibliography Amore G., (1979). Nuove acquisizioni sul Neolitico nel territorio di Caltagirone. Kokalos, XXV, 3-24. Antona A., (1998). Le statuette di Dea Madre nei contesti prenuragici: alcune considerazioni, in Balmuth M.S., Tykot R.H. eds., Sardinia and Aegean Chronology, 111-119. Aranguren B., Pallechi P., Perazzi P., (1987-1988). La Necropoli di Garavicchio (Capalbio- Grosseto). Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche, XLI, 199-236. Atzeni E., (1975-1977). La Dea madre nelle culture prenuragiche. Studi Sardi, XXIV, 1-69. Atzeni E., (1988) “Tombe megalitiche di Laconi (Nuoro)” in L’Età del Rame in Europa, Viareggio 15-18 Ottobre 1987, Atti del Congresso internazionale. Rassegna di Archeologia 7, 526-527. Bagolini B., (1970). Ricerche tipologiche sul gruppo dei Foliati nelle industrie di età Olocenica della Valle Padana. Annali dell’Università di Ferrara, sez. XV, I, 11, 221-254. Baioni M., Poggiani Keller R., (no date). Bell Beakers in Lombardy: sites and settllement strategies. In M. Baioni, V.Leonini, and etc eds., Bell Beaker in Everyday life, Proceedings of the 10th Meeting “Archéologie et gobelets”, Florence- Siena- Villanuova sul Clisi, May 12-15, 2006. Bartoloni G., (2001). I.E. Piazza d’Armi. In In A.M. Sgubini Moretti, ed., Veio, Cerveteri, Vulci: Città d’Etruria a confronto, Catalogo della mostra, Roma. Bartoloni G., 2002, La cultura villanoviana, (Roma: Carocci). Bartoloni G., (2003). Una cappella funeraria al centro del pianoro di Piazza d’Armi-Veio. Annali di Archeologia e storia antica dell’Istituto Orientale di Napoli, 9-10, 2002-2003, 63- 78. Bartoloni G., (2003). Le società dell’Italia primitiva, (Roma: Carocci). Bartoloni G. (2007). Pallottino e Veio: le scoperte a Portonaccio e la loro presentazione nel Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia. In L.M. Michetti (ed.) Massimo Pallottino. A dieci anni dalla scomparsa, Atti dell’Incontro di Studio, Roma 10-11 Novembre 2005. Basoli P., (1990) Sassari. Località Monte d’Accoddi. Altare Prenuragico. Bollettino di Archeologia, 1-2, 1990, 252-253. Batchvarova M.T., Wheeler A., (1970). Continuazione degli scavi nella necropoli villanoviana di località Quattro Fontanili. Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 178-239. Bernabò Brea M., (2006). Una statuina femminile da un contesto funerario neolitico nel parmense. Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche, LVI, 197-202. Bietti Sestieri A.M., (ed.), (1992). La Necropoli laziale di Osteria dell’Osa, (Roma: Quasar). Bloedow E.F., (1987). Aspects of Ancient trade in the Mediterranean: obsidian. Studi Micenei ed Egeo- Anatolici, 26, 59-124. Bonghi Jovino M., (1999). Produzioni in impasto. Ceramica, utensili e oggetti d’uso. In M.Bonghi Jovino, C.Chiaramonte Trerè, Tarquinia. Testimonianze archeologiche e ricostruzione storica. Scavi sistematici nell’abitato,. Campagne 1982-1988. I materiali I. Tarchna II, Roma. 218
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Laura Maria Russo: Archaeology of Gesture and Relics Fenelli M., (1989-90). “Culti a Lavinium: le evidenze archeologiche”, in Anathema. Scienze dell’Antichità 3-4, 487-505. Foschi A., (1980). La tomba I di Filigosa (Macomer). Atti della XXII Riunione scientifica nella Sardegna centrosettentrionale, 21-27 Ottobre 1978, Firenze, 289-304. Foschi Nieddu A.F., (1998). Una fase Ozieri dell’Età del Rame nella Tomba I di Janna Ventosa (Nuoro). In Balmuth M.S., Tykot R.H. eds., Sardinia and Aegean Chronology, 273-283. Gainnichedda E., (2002). Archeologia teorica, (Roma: Carocci). Gimbutas M., (1989). The Language of the Goddess, (San Francisco). Gjerstad E., (1956). Early Rome (II), (Lund: Gleerup). Gozzadini G., (1884). Bologna. Nuovi scavi nel fondo s.Polo presso la città. Relazione del commissario conte G. Gozzadini. Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 61- 77. Gras M., (1980). L’Etruria villanoviana e la Sardegna settentrionale: precisazioni ed ipotesi. Atti della XXII Riunione scientifica nella Sardegna centro-settentrionale, 2127 Ottobre 1978, Firenze, 513- 539. Grifoni Cremonesi R., (1982-1983). La Grotta prato di Massa marittima (Grosseto). Rassegna di Archeologia, 3, 91- 124. Grifoni Cremonesi R., Negroni Catacchio N., Sarti L., (2001). Eneolitico. In Preistoria e protostoria della Toscana, Atti XXXIV Riunone Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze 29 settembre -2 Ottobre 1999, 71-90. Guidi A, Zarattini A., (1993). Guidonia. Rinvenimenti di età pre e protostorica. XI Incontro di studio del comitato per l’Archeologia Laziale. Archeologia Laziale 11, 2, Roma, 183194. Guidi A., (1980). Luoghi di culto dell’età del bronzo finale e della prima età del ferro nel Lazio meridionale. Archeologia Laziale, 3, 148- 155. Guidi A., (1994). I metodi della ricerca archeologica, (Bari: Laterza). Helbig W., (1894). Corneto-Tarquinia. Nuove scoperte di antichità nella necropoli tarquiniese. Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 52- 58. Kilian K. (1970). Archäologische Forschungen in Lucanien, III, Früheisenzeitliche Funde aus der Sudostnekropole von Sala Consilina, Heidelberg. Klakowicz B., (1972). La necropoli anulare di Orvieto, I. Crocefisso del Tufo- Le Conce, (Roma). Laffineur R., (2004). Les divinités féminines dans l’iconographie minorenne et mycénienne. In A. Sacconi ed., I culti primordiali della grecità alla luce delle scoperte di Tebe, Convegno Internazionale, Roma 24-25 Febbraio 2000, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Lanternari V., (1954-1955). Il culto dei morti e della fertilità e fecondità nella paletnologia della Sardegna. Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana, 64, 9-45. Leroi Gourhan A., (1977). Il gesto e la parola, (Torino: Einaudi). Leroi Gourhan A., (1991). Dizionario di Preistoria, I-II, (Torino: Einaudi). Lo Schiavo F., (1990). Santuario preistorico di Monte d ‘AccoddiSassari. Archeologia e territorio, (Nuoro), 65-67. Lo Schiavo F., (2002). Osservazioni sul problema dei rapporti tra Sardegna ed Etruria in età nuragica- II. In Etruria e Sardegna centro settentrionale tra l’età del Bronzo Finale e l’Arcaismo. Atti del XXI Convegno di Studi Etruschi ed Italici, 13-17 ottobre 1998, 51- 70. Lo Schiavo F., (2007). Il Mediterraneo occidentale prima degli Etruschi. In: AA.VV. Gli Etruschi e il Mediterraneo. Commerci e politica, Atti del XIII Convegno Internazionale
Cocchi Genick D., (2001). Processi storici dell’Eneolitico dell’Italia centrale tirrenica nel contesto peninsulare. In M. Silvestrini, ed., Recenti acquisizioni, problemi e prospettive della ricerca sull’Eneolitico dell’Italia centrale, Atti dell’incontro di Studio, Arcevia 14-15 Maggio 1999, 149-162. Cocchi Genick D., 1996, Manuale di Preistoria, III. L’Età del Rame, (Firenze: Octavo). Colonna G., (1987). I culti del santuario di Portonaccio Veio. Scienze dell’Antichità, 2, 419-446. Colonna G., (1988-1989). Note preliminari sui culti del santuario di Portonaccio a Veio. In Anathema. Scienze dell’Antichità 3-4, 419-446. Colonna G., (2001). I.F. Portonaccio. In A.M. Sgubini Moretti, ed., Veio, Cerveteri, Vulci: Città d’Etruria a confronto, Catalogo della mostra, Roma, 37-88. Colonna G., (ed.), (2002). Il santuario di Portonaccio a Veio I. Gli scavi di Massimo Pallottino nella zona dell’altare (19391940), Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei, Serie miscellanea, VI3, Roma. Contu E., (1952-1954). Ipogei eneolitici di Ponte Secco e Marinaru presso Sassari. Studi Sardi, XII-XIII , 21- 80. Contu E., (1990-1991). L’ossidiana e la selce della Sardegna e la loro diffusione. Origini, XV, 241-254. Correra L., (1911). “Necropoli di Pontecagnano” in Sumbolae litterariae Iulii de Petra, (Napoli), 211 ff. Cozza A. and Pasqui A., (1897). Carta Archeologica d’Italia (1891- 1897), Materiali per l’Agro Falisco, Forma Italiane serie II, 2, Firenze. Crescenzi L., Tortorici E., (1988). Ardea: resti di capanne nell’area del tempio di Colle della Noce. Quaderni della Soprintendenza Archeologica del Lazio, 1, 29-32. Crespellani A., (1874). Di un sepolcreto preromano a Svignano sul Panaro, (Modena). Cultraro M., (2001). Aspetti dell’Eneolitico dell’Italia centrale nel quadro dei rapporti con la penisola balcanica e l’Egeo. In Preistoria e protostoria della Toscana, Atti XXXIV Riunone Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze 29 settembre -2 Ottobre 1999, Firenze, 215-233. Cultraro M., (2005). Luoghi di culto e depositi votivi nella Grecia post micenea: il caso dell’Argolide. In Comella A.M and Mele S. eds., Depositi votivi e culti dell’Italia antica dall’età arcaica a quella repubblicana, Atti del Convegno di Studi, Perugia 1-4 Giugno 2000, (Bari: Edipuglia), 13-24. Cygielman M., Pagnini L., (2002). Presenze sarde a Vetulonia: alcune considerazioni, in O. Paoletti, ed., Etruria e Sardegna centro settentrionale tra l’Età del Bronzo e l’arcaismo. Atti XXI Convegno di Studi Etruschi ed Italici, Sassari-Torralba 13-17 Ottobre 1998, 387-410. D’Erme L., (2001). Necropoli di Casal del Fosso, tomba 838. In A.M. Sgubini Moretti, ed., Veio, Cerveteri, Vulci: Città d’Etruria a confronto, Catalogo della mostra, Roma, 90-91. Daremberg M., Saglio E., (no date). Dictionnaire des Antiquités grecques et romaines, Della Seta A., (1918). Il Museo Etrusco di Villa Giulia, (Roma). Delpino F., (1979). “Il Bronzo Finale nel Lazio settentrionale” in F.Delpino, M.A.Fugazzola Delpino (ed.) Il Bronzo Finale in Italia, Atti della XXI Riunione Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze. Delpino F., (2006). Tra Sardegna nuragica ed Etruria villanoviana. In E. Herring, I. Lemos, F. Lo Schiavo, and etc. eds., Across frontiers. Etruscan, Greeks, Phoenicians & Cypriots. Studies in honour of David Ridgway & Francesca Romana Serra Ridgway, Specialist studies on the Mediterranean, London. Ebert M., (1924-1932). Reallexicon der Vorgeschichte, 1, I-XV. (Berlin: de Druyter)
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SOMA 2011 di Studi sulla Storia e l’Archeologia dell’Etruria, 14-16 Dicembre 2005. Macnamara E., (2006). Pithecusan gleanings II. Other Early Italic bronze objects from Pithecussai. In E. Herring, I. Lemos, F. Lo Schiavo, and etc. eds., Across frontiers. Etruscan, Greeks, Phoenicians & Cypriots. Studies in honour of David Ridgway & Francesca Romana Serra Ridgway, Specialist studies on the Mediterranean, London. 267-279. Maggiani A. (1991). L’uomo e il sacro nei rituali e nella religione etrusca. In AA.VV., Le civiltà del Mediterraneo e il sacro. Trattato di Antropologia del sacro 3, Milano, 191-198. Maggiani A. J., (1997). “Réflexions sur la religion étrusque primitive, de l’époque villanovenne à l’époque archaïque” in F.Gualtier, D.Briquel (ed.) Les Etrusques. Les plus religieux des hommes. Actes du Colloque International, galerie nationales du Grand Palais, 17-18-19 Novembre 1992, Paris, 431-448. Manacorda D., (2000). Lezioni di archeologia (Bari: Laterza). Maras D., (1998). La dea Thanr e le cerchie divine in Etruria: nuove acquisizioni. Studi Etruschi, 64, 173-198. Marinatos N., (2000). The Goddess and the Warrior. The Naked Goddess and Mistress of Animals in Eearly Greek Religion, (New York: Routledge). Martelli Antonioli V., (2002). Catalogo dei materiali. In: G.Colonna, ed., Il santuario di Portonaccio a Veio I. Gli scavi di Massimo Pallottino nella zona dell’altare (1939-1940), Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei, Serie miscellanea, VI-3, Roma. Martini F., (2008). Bell Beaker Lithic industries in the Florentine Area. In M. Baioni, V. Leonini and etc eds., Bell Beaker in Everyday life, Proceedings of the 10th Meeting “Archéologie et gobelets”, Florence- Siena- Villanuova sul Clisi, May 1215, 2006, 113-118. Mazarakis Ainian A., (1997). From Rulers’ Dwellings to Temples. Architecture, Religion and Society in Early iron Age Greece (1100-700 B.C.), Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology , 121, Jonsered, Astroem. Negroni Catacchio N., Domanico L., Miari M., (1989-1990) Offerte votive in grotta e in abitato nelle valli del Fiora e dell’Albegna nel corso dell’età del Bronzo: indizi e proposte interpretative, Anathema. Regime delle offerte e vita dei santuari nel Mediterraneo Antico. Scienze dell’Antichità 3-4, 579 ff. Negroni Catacchio N. and Miari M., (2001). Le necropoli rinaldoniana di Poggialti Vallelunga (Grosseto): aspetti del rituale funerario. In Preistoria e protostoria della Toscana, Atti XXXIV Riunone Scientifica dell’Istituto Italiano di Preistoria e Protostoria, Firenze 29 settembre -2 Ottobre 1999, Firenze, 383- 394. Negroni Catacchio N., (1992). La necropoli della Porcareccia (Pitigliano- Grosseto). Origini, XVI, 195-219. Negroni Catacchio N., (2001). “La facies di Rinaldone e i suoi rapporti con le comunità eneolitiche dell’Italia centrale” in M. Silvestrini, (ed.), Recenti acquisizioni, problemi e prospettive della ricerca sull’Eneolitico dell’Italia centrale, Atti dell’Incontro di Studio, Arcevia 14-15 Maggio 1999. Orsi P., (1926). Le necropoli pre elleniche di Torre Galli e di Canale, Ianchino, Paturiti. Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei, XXXI, c. 1- 376. Osborne R., (2004). Hoards, votives, offerings: the archaeology of the dedicated object. World Archaeology , 36, 1-10. Pacciarelli M., (1998). Rito funerario e società nel Bronzo Finale dell’Etruria meridionale. Preistoria e Protostoria in Etruria, Terzo incontro di Studi, 35-48.
Pasqui A., (1894). Delle tombe di Narce e dei loro corredi. Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei, IV, 361-384. Phillips P., (1992). Western Mediterranean Obsidian Distribution and the European Neolithic. In Tykot R.H., Andrews T.K eds., Sardinia in the Mediterranean: a footprint in the sea, Sheffield, 71-82. Pinza G., (1905). Monumenti primitivi di Roma e del Lazio antico. Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei, XV, 43Pinza G., (1924). Storia della civiltà latina, (Roma: Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia). Prayon F. (1991). Deorum sedes. Sull’orientamento dei templi etrusco italici, Miscellanea Etrusco Italica in onore di Massimo Pallottino. Archeologia Classica XLIII, 1285-1295. Randall-McIver D., (1924), The Iron Age in Italy, Oxford 1924, tav. 32.2. Randall-McIver D., (1927). The Iron Age in Italy, Oxford. Renfrew C., (1985). The Archaeology of Cult. The Sanctuary of Phylakopi, British School at Athens, Suppl.18, Oxford. Renfrew C., (1994). The Archaeology of Religion. In Renfrew C., Zubrow E.W. (eds.), The Ancient mind. Elements of Cognitive Archaeology, Cambridge, 47-54. Sanges M., (1980). Due domus de janas nel territorio di Oliena (Nuoro). Atti della XXII Riunione scientifica nella Sardegna centro-settentrionale, 21-27 Ottobre 1978, Firenze, 181-197. Sarti L., Martini F., (2001). L’Eneolitico in area fiorentina: appunti e riflessioni. In M. Silvestrini, ed., Recenti acquisizioni, problemi e prospettive della ricerca sull’Eneolitico dell’Italia centrale, Atti dell’Incontro di Studio, Arcevia 14-15 Maggio 1999, 163-178. Savignoni L., Mengarelli R., (1903). La Necropoli arcaica di Caracupa tra Norba e Sermoneta. Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 289-344. Stefani E., (1914). Regione VI. Terni. Scoperte archeologiche nella necropoli delle Acciaierie. Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1-22. Stefani E., (1953). Veio. Tempio detto dell’Apollo: esplorazione e sistemazione del santuario. Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 8, ser.,7, 29-112. Tabone A., (2001). “Manufatti vari” in Bonghi Jovino M.Chiaramonte Trerè C. (ed.) Tarquinia. Scavi sistematici nell’abitato. Campagne 1982-1988. I materiali II. Tarchna III (Roma: L’Erma di Bretschneider). Tanda G., (1998). Cronologia dell’arte delle domus de janas. M.S. Balmuth, R.H. Tykot eds., In Sardinia and Aegean Chronology, 1998, 121-139. Torelli M., (1996). Rango e ritualità nell’iconografia italica più antica. Ostraka, 2, 1996, 333- 368. Torelli M., (2003). I culti di Himera tra storia e archeologia. In G.Fiorentini and etc eds., Archeologia del Mediterraneo. Studi in onore di Ernesto De Miro, L’Erma, Roma, 671-683. Tykot R.H., (1992). The sources and distribution of Sardinian obsidian. In R.H. Tykot, T.K. Andrews eds., Sardinia in the Mediterranean: a footprint in the sea, Studies in Sardinian Archaeology, Mediterranean Archaeology, Monographs, 3Sheffield, 57- 70. Van Kampen I., (2003). Dalla Capanna alla casa. I primi abitanti di Veio. Catalogo della Mostra, (Formello: Museo dell’agro Veientano). Vigliardi A., (1980). Rapporti tra Sardegna e Toscana nell’Eneolitico Finale- Primo Bronzo: la Grotta del Fontino nel Grossetano. Atti della XXII Riunione scientifica nella Sardegna centro-settentrionale, 21-27 Ottobre 1978, Firenze, 247-288.
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Cat. 1.4 drop pendant; inv. n. VTP 1182 Prov.: altar zone; votive deposit Dim.: length cm 3.2 State of preservation: the surface is corrupted Material: bronze Description: hook with crushed ring Bibl.: Martelli Antonioli 2002: 216, n. 890, pl. LXVII. Remarks: it could be compared with specimen 189/1/1 from Pian di Civita (Tarquinia)
Catalogue of artefacts belonging to a minimum associative nucleus Cat. 1.1 arrowhead; inv. n. VTP 516 Prov.: altar zone; votive deposit Dim.: box h. cm 5.5; width. cm 2.3; arrowhead h. cm 3.2 State of preservation: the box is chipped Material: bronze bivalve box; obsidian Description: bivalve box with a ribbon hook in which the arrowhead has been saved Bibl.: Martelli Antonioli 2002, nota 171, n. 887, pl. LXVII. Remarks: as for its shape it can be compared to an Eneolithic arrowhead from S. Polo-Brescia, Bell Beaker Culture.
Cat. 1.5 small knife; inv. n. VTP X 22
Cat. 1.2 wild boar tusk; inv. n. VTP 101
Cat. 1.6 small knife; inv. n. VTP X 23
Prov.: altar zone; votive deposit Dim.: length cm 4.3. State of preservation: chipped Material: bone Description: pierced at the upper end. Bibl.: Inv. VTP 101; Martelli Antonioli 2002: 214, n. 854, pl. LXVII. Remarks: it is widely spread in the Eneolithic Age, particularly in Bell Beaker Culture.
Prov.: altar zone; H5 section Dim.: h. cm 5.7 State of preservation: Material: yellowish flint Description: rectangular with two cut Bibl.: Martelli Antonioli 2002: 161, n. 4, pl. XXI b. Remarks: in Taccuini Pallottino the specimen is linked to the Eneolithic (Colonna 2002: 144)
Cat. 1.3 loom weight ; inv. n. VTP 678b
Prov.: altar zone; HW section Dim.: h. 5.4 cm State of preservation: Material: yellowish flint Description: Bibl.: Martelli Antonioli 2002: 161, n. 5, pl. XXI b. Remarks: in Taccuini Pallottino the specimen is linked to the Eneolithic (Colonna 2002: 144)
Prov.: altar zone; H5 section Dim.: h. cm 4.5 State of preservation: Material: yellowish flint Description: rectangular Bibl.: Martelli Antonioli 2002: 161, n. 3, pl. XXI b. Remarks: in Taccuini Pallottino the specimen is linked to the Eneolithic (Colonna 2002: 144)
Cat. 1.7 scraper; inv. n. VTP X 24
Prov.: altar zone; votive deposit Dim.: h. cm 4.5, base cm 3 State of preservation: undamaged Material: dark flint Description: truncated-pyramid shaped Bibl.: Martelli Antonioli 2002: 195, n. 546, pl. LXVII.
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Fig. 1. Veii. The Portonaccio terrace
Fig. 2. Veii. Obsidian arrowhead in bivalve box found in the votive deposit under the altar of the suburban Portonaccio Sanctuary (Menrva altar) (Pallottino’s excavations)
Fig. 3. Veii. Portonaccio Sanctuary. Votive deposit under the Menrva altar. Wild boar tusk used as a pendant
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Fig. 4. Portonaccio Sanctuary. Votive deposit under the Menrva altar. Bronze drop pendant
Fig. 5. Vetulonia. Askoid jug from the Villanovan tomb
Fig. 6. Vicofertile (Parma). Neolithic figurine of Mother Goddess from female burial
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Fig. 7. Portonaccio Sanctuary. East zone showing stratigraphical level
Fig. 10. Veii. Portonaccio terrace. Villanovan hut (scavi Stefani)
Fig. 8. Map of the altar zone with indications of the sections of the Pallottino excavation
Fig. 11. Tegea. Geometric cult buildings beneath the central nave of the temple of Athena Alea
Fig. 9. Description of Eneolithic small knives from Zone H5 at Taccuini Pallottino
Fig. 12. Athens. Areopagus. The religious oval building (9th cent. B.C.)
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Fig. 14. Tarquinia. Salt vase from the Arcatelle necropoleis (9th cent. B.C.)
Fig. 13. Impasto figurine from Grave C, Montecucco near Castelgandolfo
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History The Dionysus Cult in Antioch İnanç Yamaç
Archaeology Department, Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey
The second fragment is a miniature male head which is characterized by its expressionless frontal gaze, wavy hair, long beard that reaches past the neckline and a moustache with turned up ends (fig. 2). It resembles the Dionysus herm of Alkamenes but it is difficult to determinate it conclusively as Dionysus or Hermes (Kondoleon 2000: 179). The head is made of white marble and is 10.2cm high. It was found in Antioch and is now exhibited by the Baltimore Museum (Stillwell 1941: 118, no.257, pl. 9; Kondoleon 2000: 179).
Dionysus was the god of wine, drunkenness and theatre (Erhat 2000: 91-96) and his attributes made him one of the most popular gods in Greek and Roman times. Greek and Roman centres have revealed numerous different Dionysus sculptures, mosaics, ceramics and other materials. The Dionysus cult was represented at Antioch, one of the most important cities in the Hellenistic and Roman world. Antiocheia ad Orontem (Antioch on the Orontes) was an ancient city on the southern section of the Amuk plain, below mounts Silpius and Staurin (Downey 1961: 16). The city was founded by Seleucos I. Nicator, a general of Alexander the Great. Because of its strategic position the city became the capital of the kingdom of Seleucos (Malalas, Ch. VIII.14-15). The city was occupied by the Romans in 64 B.C (Downey 1961: 139-145) and became one of the largest cities of the empire with Rome, Constantinopolis (Istanbul) and Alexandria (Iskenderiye) (Kondoleon 2000: 3). Antioch was also the centre of Roman power in the east. Most of our knowledge on Antioch comes from the excavations of 1932-1939 (Elderkin 1934; Stillwell 1938 and 1941; Lassus 1972). The Committee for the Excavation of Antioch was a consortium of different universities and museums. After the excavations no further scientific research was undertaken in Antioch until 2004. In 2004, the Department of Archaeology of the Mustafa Kemal University started the Hatay Province Antakya and Samandağ Archaeological Survey Project (Pamir 2006-2008). Most of the data about the Dionysus cult in Antioch came from the previous excavations finds of mostly sculpture and mosaics.
The third fragment is a similar to the upper part of the face above but the left eye and most of the top of the head are missing. However enough remains to associate the head with a well known series (Stillwell 1938: 178, no. 232, pl. 22; Kondoleon 2000: 180). The severity and symmetry of his countenance, the sleepy eyes and regular linear markings of the long beard and moustache, with ends turned up, are matched by the bearded male heads found on several double-headed herms. The combination of a young beardless head joined at the back to an older bearded one was a favourite conceit of the Roman Imperial period. These heads have been identified as either Dionysos or Hermes, but a degree of uncertainty remains. The iconographic confusion is due in part to the fact that one type, similar to the Antioch head, seems to be a free Roman invention that combines a prototype from the late 5th century B.C., namely, the Hermes Propylaios of Alkamenes, with a Dionysos identified with the workshop of Praxiteles. The miniature scale of these heads suggests its use as a table or garden ornament (Kondoleon 2000: 180).
Sculpture
The fourth and fifth fragments are body parts identified to Dionysus by excavators. The heads, arms and body below the diaphragm are all missing. Fragment was one found in Seleucia Pieria, a port of Antioch, and has a maximum dimension of 50cm, and the excavators describe it as a fairly close parallel to the Dionysus from Tivoli (Stillwell 1941: 121-122, no. 312, pl.5). The second fragment is generally similar; it was found at Daphne. Its maximum dimension 20cm, so smaller than the other. The back is roughly finished and both pieces are made of white marble (Stillwell 1941: 122, no. 319, pl.5).
The sculpture collection of the 1932-1939 excavations contains six Dionysus sculpture fragments. The identity of some of these fragments is debated however the excavation team and most of the other researchers interpret them as representing Dionysus. First fragment is certainly defined as Dionysus (Stillwell 1941: 120, no.290 pl.4; Kondoleon 2000: 177; Becker and Kondoleon 2005: 253-254). It is a body part of a Dionysus sculpture (fig. 1) dated to the 2nd century A.D. This headless statuette represents the god Dionysus half draped and leaning on a tree trunk entwined with vines and grape clusters. This sculpture was found buried in the foundations of a late period pool in the House of Menander at Daphne. It was found with another 12 fragments of male and female statues (satyrs and maenads?), and thus all the fragments might be from a Dionysus group. This theme is known from houses at Pompeii (i.e. the garden of the House of Marcus Lucretius) (Kondoleon 2000: 177). The sculpture is missing hands and feet and its surface area eroded; it is now exhibited in the Worcester Museum.
The final fragment is a panther head and a piece of a leg. It is identified to the Dionysus and panther style and was found in Seleucia Pieria (Stillwell 1941: 121, no. 305, pl.12). Dionysus associate group sculptures are also an important stylistic theme. We can examine these fragments in two variants. One of these is the Silenos theme and a sleeping Silenos was found in Antioch. Its length is 53.3cm (Stillwell 1938: 172, no.140, pl.8; Vermeule 2000: 96, fig.8). Another found piece is identified as
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SOMA 2011 One of the surviving panels has four heads or masks. The first three are of women or adolescents, one in a colour darker than the others as if to indicate a black servant. The last one to the right is a bearded head crowned with tendrils. Half-opened door wings on two sides of the heads indicate the caskets in which they were kept. The other panel shows three tragic masks, one of a bearded man between two female ones. On both sides are caskets for keeping masks. The four corner panels show single heads set obliquely. From these only a veiled female head with dishevelled tufts of hair coming out from her veil is preserved (Levi 1947: 91-99; Cimok 2004: 91-92).
either Silenos or Marsys. The figure wears a cap with a pointed tip falling to the right. There is a break, showing an attachment near the point of the cap. The body is strongly curved, the left arm thrown back and down, and the right arm, broken below the shoulder, may have been bent up so as to make the hand touch the head (Stillwell 1941: 119-120, no.286, pl.4). Another thematic associate of Dionysus groups is the satyr. There are three identified satyr sculptures from Antioch and its vicinity. All these sculptures suggest Dionysus themes and they might have been used to decorated gardens or atriums of Roman houses (Stillwell 1938: 172-174, no. 137, 138, 161, pl.7, 13; Vermeule 2000: 93-98, fig.2, 9, 11).
Dionysus and Ariadne (fig.4): This panel was found in a house on the slopes of Mt Pieria at Seleucia Pieria and dates from the end of the 2nd or beginning of the 3rd century AD. The scene of Dionysus and Ariadne in Naxos has an architectural setting. Four Corinthian pilasters rise from a podium and divide the scene into three sections supporting a cornice decorated with a frieze of eggs from which hangs a garland. Above this there is a row of dentils in perspective. The uppermost frieze shows a crater flanked by griffins and a cup and an eagle on each side, all on a black background. The pavement is one of the largest representations of a single myth. Minos’ daughter Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and helped him in killing her half-brother the Minotaur. Afterwards they boarded a ship and fled from Crete to the island of Naxos. Here Theseus left Ariadne asleep on the shore. Then Dionysus with his retinue of satyrs and maenads came to Ariadne’s rescue (Levi 1947: 141-150; Cimok 2004: 124-128).
Mosaic Another important group of Dionysus representations are from mosaics and there are several fine examples from Antioch. We can identify Dionysus (and/or associate figures) in nine panels of mosaics. These are: Satyr, Dionysus and Maenad (Bacchic Thiasos): This mosaic comes from the house of the same name on the slopes of Mt Silpius, descending towards the valley of the Orontes and dates from the 2nd century AD. Dionysus is shown intoxicated and flanked by a satyr and a maenad. His dark red mantle reaches the ground at the back but leaves the front part of his body naked. He is crowned with a wreath of vine leaves tied by a fillet. Across his chest is a fringed animal skin. His high boots are made of strap leather. His thyrsus is decorated with pine cones and ribbons at the top and with pine cones at the other end. A panther turns its head up to catch the wine dripping from his rhyton (Levi 1947: 45-46; Cimok 2004: 58-59).
Drinking Contest from Antioch (fig. 5): This panel was recovered from a building known as the Atrium House at Antioch and is thought to date from the turn of the 2nd century AD. It belonged to the floor decoration of an inverted T-shaped triclinium. The arrangement of the mosaics was the same as other triclinia at Antioch, a layout also common in the other provinces of the Roman Empire (Cimok 2004: 25; Dobbins 2000: 53-57).
Drunken Dionysus (fig.3): This pavement comes from the terraces of Mt Staurin. While the pavement, which decorated a room, dates from the 2nd century AD. The pavement consists of a long rectangle divided into two panels, a figured and a geometric one, all surrounded by two straight bands of different widths. Originally the outermost white border reached the walls of the room. The panel representing the drunken Dionysus has a frame of a row of stepped pyramids and one of wave crests. At its centre Dionysus is shown intoxicated and taking an uncertain forward step with his left leg. His head droops slightly over his left shoulder and his eyes gaze into space. He wears a wreath of vines on his violet-red hair. Long soft locks fall over his shoulders. His mantle is wrapped around his loins and legs, leaving the upper body naked. A small panther tries to catch the wine dripping from a kantharos dangling from his right hand. The god is supported by a dark-skinned young satyr who has taken a wide step to his left (Levi 1947: 40-45; Cimok 2004: 50-51).
This mosaic originally consisted of three rectangular panels, a wide one between two narrow ones, which altogether form the horizontal bar of the inverted T and face the entrance of the room, and square panels forming the T’s vertical line facing the far end of the room. The square U-area of the pavement, or the three sides of the vertical line of the T, which was covered by the three couches, showed a geometric decoration with a thick net pattern. This panel stood at the centre of the horizontal bar of the inverted T of triclinium and would have greeted guests as they entered. Its border consists of a two-strand guilloche band, a row of stepped pyramids in red and a meander (fig. 6). The latter contains enclosed squares in black and yellow. The border was produced, like the figured central part, not at the site but at the mosaicist’s workshop. The story in which Heracles and Dionysus compete with each other as to who could drink more is thought to derive from a prototype where the two gods were shown lying side by side at a banquet. However, compositions like this mosaic, where the two gods are represented in the actual drinking contest, are rare but encountered twice on Antioch pavements. The panel was flanked by that of a satyr and a Bacchante, both being among the common secondary participants of such scenes. They look in towards the central representation (Morey 1938: 28; Levi 1947: 21-24; Kondoleon 2000: 170-171; Cimok 2004: 25-27).
Dionysian Scene and Triumph of Dionysus: This scene comes from the rooms of a house called the ‘Triumph of Dionysus’ at Daphne. Both date from the 2nd century AD. Outside the emblema the scene has a frame of a guilloche band limited by rows of dentils. Inside is a row of diamonds and that of solids in perspective. The figured section shows a Dionysian procession. Dionysus is in his chariot drawn by tigers. He holds one rein with his uplifted naked right arm. He is crowned with a wreath of flowers and leaves, rendered with glass tesserae in many tones of blue, green, red and orange. The Dionysian scene section of the mosaic shows a Bacchic composition in which several figures participate. The three lateral panels, which covered the space between the emblem and the walls, show heads and masks.
Drinking Contest from Seleucia Pieria: This mosaic comes from Seleucia Pieria and is thought to date from the second half of the 3rd century AD. The emblema which represents the drinking
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İnanç Yamaç: The Dionysus Cult in Antioch decorated Dionysus or Dionysian scenes (Kondoleon 2000: 186, 205).
contest between Heracles and Dionysus belonged to a triclinium. On its three sides, where couches would have been placed, there is a geometric decoration. Dionysus reclines comfortably to the right. His left elbow rests on a cushion. With his right hand he raises a slim rhyton with a defiant air. The end of the rhyton seems to reveal the shape of a small head of a fawn. The god’s torso is naked. His head is framed by soft locks that fall on his neck and crowned with a wreath of coloured flowers that stand out against the radiance of a nimbus. A red and orange mantle covers his legs. On the ground in front of the couch are Heracles’ club, a crater and another rhyton with a panther head (Levi 1947: 156-159; Cimok 2004: 134-135).
Other evidence about the Dionysus cult in Antioch come from ancient sources, Malalas and Libanius being the most important. Malalas wrote: ‘The emperor Tiberius built as well a temple to Dionysus near the mountain and set up outside the shrine two great statues of Amphion and Zethos, in their honour: they were the Dioskouroi born to Antiope.’ (Malalas, Ch. X.10) This information indicates a possible temple built on the flanks of Mt. Silpius, behind the theatre (fig. 9). Malalas also comments on the Dionysus festivals, recalling that the emperor Commodus organized festivals in Antioch, one being known as the ‘Maioumas’. Malalas writes: ‘…celebrating the nocturnal dramatic festival, held every three years and known as the Orgies, that is, the Mysteries of Dionysus and Aphrodite, that is, what is known as the Maioumas, because it is celebrated in the month of May-Artemisios, setting aside a specific quantity of gold for torches, lights, and other expenses for the thirty-day festival of all night revels.’ (Malalas, Ch. XII.3) After that Malalas refers to the Roman poet Virgil’s words about the festival: ‘Every third year when Dionysus calls aloud in the night the festival of the Orgies on the mountain of Kithairon.’ (Malalas, Ch. XII.3)
Dionysus Portrait (fig.7): This pavement comes from a villa at Daphne and dates from the first half of the 4th century AD. This square panel, which belonged to the rectangular section of the pavement, has a medallion with a border of a band of wave crests in red and a thin black line. Each spandrel is filled with a crosslet of five dots. In the medallion is a bust of Dionysus. The god is dressed in a pardalid knotted on his right shoulder. The skin’s spots are indicated in black dots. His headdress is the most distinguishing feature of the head. It is adorned with a crown of tendrils and small bunches of grapes. His long locks fall on his shoulders. The white and pink ribbons of his headdress are rendered in stone and terracotta tesserae. The latter was rarely used by Antiochene mosaicists. His head seems to carry a veil whose undulating edges reach the shoulder. A mysterious structure rises from the top of the head. It is like a small, thin phial, shaped like a slim baluster, in yellow and white shaded in violet, resting on a rectangular base. It brings to mind the high conical part of the wedding dress in ancient eastern Anatolia on which a veil was dropped (Levi 1947: 244-248; Cimok 2004: 218-221).
Remarkably, evidence about the Dionysus cult in Antioch is generally dated after the Roman occupation of the city. Antioch was also an important Hellenistic centre and also old Syrian and Greek cults must have existed here together. So the Dionysus cult at Antioch might have arrived before the Roman occupation. References to Maiouma also indicate old Syrian cults (Downey 1961: 234). But the archaeological evidence (sculpture and mosaics) shows us that the Dionysus cult at Antioch developed in Roman Imperial times in the city. This period was a generally secure period for Antioch until the 4th-century Persian attacks. Dionysus might be a symbol of this secure period and have resulted in the Antiocheians favouring the cult. In addition, it should be noted that some researchers suggest that the Dionysus cult influenced the rise of Christianity (Öztürk 2010: 194). This idea might be explained by the Dionysus nimbus in Hermes and Dionysus mosaics.
Hermes and Dionysus (fig.8): The mosaic comes from a bath building at Antioch and dates from the 4th century AD. The emblema was surrounded by a double border of a wave crest and a twisted ribbon. In this it has a frame of black lines. In the surviving part Hermes is shown carrying the infant Dionysus to the nymphs of the legendary mountain Nysa; these nymphs were represented on the right. His head is turned in the opposite direction as if listening to Zeus’ orders to take the boy away from the wrath of his jealous wife Hera. Hermes is naked but for the dark red mantle falling behind him and fastened with a disc-shaped jewelled clasp on the right shoulder. His left hand holds the staff of the caduceus, the tip of which is adorned with ribbons. His short hair forms a single mass, and is adorned with a fillet with a kind of large pear-shaped jewel above the forehead; the god’s wings are apparently fastened to the fillet. Two other wings rise from each ankle, above the naked feet, casting strong shadows on the grey ground. Only a fragment of the last letter of his name survives. The right arm is bent at the elbow and the right hand lifts a group of folds of the mantle for the child Dionysus to sit on. The latter is completely nude, sitting between Hermes’ two hands, apparently encircling Hermes’ left arm with his left arm, and reclining his curly little head. His head is wreathed and adorned with a nimbus. To the right of Hermes’ head is what is left of the inscription of Dionysus (Levi 1947: 287-289; Cimok 2004: 228-229).
Bibliography Becker, L. and Kondoleon, C. (2005). The Arts of Antioch, Worcester: Worcester Art Museum. Cimok, F. (2004). Antioch Mosaics, İstanbul: A Turizm Yayınları. Dobbins, J. (2000). ‘The Houses at Antioch’, In Kondoleon, Christian (Ed.) Antioch The Lost Ancient City (pp. 51-61), New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Downey, G. (1961). A History of Antioch in Syria from Seleucus to the Arab Conquest, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Elderkin, G. W. (ed.) (1934). Antioch on the Orontes 1: Excavations of 1932, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Erhat, A. (2000). Mitoloji Sözlüğü, İstanbul: Remzi Kitabevi. Kondoleon, C. (ed.) (2000). Antioch The Lost Ancient City, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Levi, D. (1946). Antioch Mosaic Pavements I-II, New Jersey: Princeton University Press; London: Oxford University Press. Malalas, J. (1984). The Chronicle, (İng. Çev.: E. Jeffreys, M. Jeffreys and R. Scott), Melbourne: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies. Morey, C. R. (1938). The Mosaics Of Antioch, London: Longmans, Green and Co. Pamir, H. and Brands, G. (2006). ‘Asi Deltası ve Asi Vadisi Arkeoloji Projesi Antiocheia, Seleuceia Pieria ve Sabuniye
There are also some panels without Dionysus’ description but consisting of Dionysus associates and Dionysian scenes. Some different finds come from other Syrian provincial cities. These include glass wares, metal cups and ceramics with
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SOMA 2011 Yüzey Araştırmaları 2004 Yılı Çalışmaları’, 23. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 2. cilt, 30 Mayıs-3 Haziran 2005, Ankara: Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı DÖSİMM Basımevi, s. 89-102. Pamir, H. and Brands, G. (2007). ‘Asi Deltası ve Asi Vadisi Arkeolojisi Projesi Antakya ve Samandağ Yüzey Araştırmaları 2005’, 24. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 2. cilt, 29 Mayıs-2 Haziran 2006, Ankara: Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı DÖSİMM Basımevi, s. 397-418. Pamir, H., Brands, G. and Çevirici, F. (2008). ‘Hatay İli, Antakya ve Samandağ Yüzey Araştırması 2006’, 25. Araştırma
Sonuçları Toplantısı 3. cilt, 28 Mayıs-1 Haziran 2007, Ankara: Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı DÖSİMM Basımevi, s. 393-410. Stillwell, R. (ed.) (1938). Antioch on the Orontes 2: Excavations of 1933-1936, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Stillwell, R. (ed.) (1941). Antioch on the Orontes 3: Excavations of 1937-1939, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Öztürk, B. (2010). Roma İmparatorluk Çağı Küçükasyası’nda Dionysos Kültü, İstanbul: Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları. Vermeule, C. (2000). ‘The Sculptures of Roman Syria’, In Kondoleon, Christian (ed.) Antioch The Lost Ancient City (pp. 91-102), New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Fig 1. The body of Dionysus (Becker and Kondoleon 2005: 253)
Fig 2. The head of Dionysus (Kondoleon 2000: 179)
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Fig 3. Drunken Dionysus (Cimok 2004: 51)
Fig 4. Dionysus and Ariadne (Cimok 2004: 51)
Fig 5. Drinking contest (Cimok 2004: 27)
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Fig 6. Atrium House, Triclinium (digital reconstruction) (after Becker and Kondoleon 2005: 20)
Fig 7. The portrait of Dionysus (Cimok 2004: 221)
Fig 8. Hermes and Dionysus (Cimok 2004: 229)
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Fig 9. Probable location of Dionysus Temple on the restored map of ancient Antioch (original map adapted from Downey 1961: fig.11)
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Economy and Institutions in Ancient Greek Proverbs. A Contribution on Trade and Taxation Carmela Raccuia
Department of Scienze dell’Antichità, University of Messina, Italy
siege of Melos. Other expressions have been taken from the everyday lexicon and attracted the curiosity and explication of historians (e.g. Sardonios ghelos studied by Timaeus)11 while others retain the echo of words actually spoken by politicians of great importance: these are the so-called apophthegmata as, for example, ‘For the need’, spoken by Pericles;12 ‘Polycrates gives the mother;’13 ‘Welcome to anyone who will benefit’, coined by Philip II according to Theopomp.14
My report aims to analyze forms of trade and taxation in the Greek poleis through an unusual source represented by some proverbs in the collections of the two main Greek paroemiographoi. In recent years, I have often focused on the works of Zenobius and Diogenian, two scholars who lived under Emperor Hadrian,1 and the analysis of some proverbial expressions revealed valuable information on relevant aspects of public opinion and attitudes, everyday life and historical events of the Greeks.2 The works of these authors, organized in alphabetical order for centuries, retain expressions from many sources as is illustrated by the, more or less brief, comment added to each saying: we can find proverbs derived from (or used by) poets (lyricals, elegiacs, comedians, tragedians); expressions used by philosophers or orators, while others are forged by historians or accepted by them in their narration. As a brief demonstration of this, I recall, among the most famous epic or lyric poets, frequently cited – e.g. – Hesiod, Solon or Pindar;3 many expressions can be found in comic and tragic authors;4 among the outstanding philosophers we find Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle;5 there are also frequent references to important historians such as Herodotus,6 Thucydides,7 Theopomp,8 Duris, etc.9 In particular, it seems that some proverbs derive just from historical works and they refer, by definition, to historical circumstances: for example I may cite ‘desolateness by the will of Syloson’ (Z. 3, 90) where the ionic term εὐρυχορίη recalls and corresponds to the Herodotean narration in 3, 149.10 Another case is Λιμῷ Μηλίῳ/ (Z. 4, 94), that echoes the famous Thucydidean chapters on the Athenian
The proverbs may therefore have a dual origin: many come from a prestigious author, while others reflect the experience, language and the popular mentality.15 It is not a coincidence that in the collections of proverbs Aesop is often mentioned;16 but above all we must remember what Aristotle theorized about the essence of the proverb: according to the philosopher the proverb captures a quid of the ancient wisdom, represents a form of auroral philosophy (palaias philosophias), is a synthetic and effective expression and contains the seeds of immortality because of its continuous use.17 But Aristotle did not only reflect about the nature of the proverb; he made a collection of paroimiai probably accompanied by a commentary (as attested by Diog. Laert. 5, 26).18 We know certainly that in his works the proverbial genre is also considered an effective means in the oratory, the procedural communication19 and even in the systematic research about the politeiai. So, for example, the proverb about the philochrematia, born from an oracle, appeared in the Aristotelic Lakedaimonion politeia;20
Our source is Suda s. v. Ζηνóβιος: he wrote an Epitome from the precedent collections edited by Loukillos Tharraeus and Didymus; he also translated in Greek the sallustian Bellum Iugurthinum. See also Suda s.v. Διογενειανòς Ήρακλείας. The available editions are Leutsch and Schneidewin 1839 (repr. 1958); Lelli 2006a; for the so-called Zenobius Athous, see Bühler 1982-1999. From now on, I abbreviate them in Z. and D. 2 Raccuia 1992: 273-302; Raccuia 2004: 195-212; Raccuia 2008: 17391; Raccuia 2008: in press. 3 Z. 3, 86: the expression eis Makaron nesous (‘to Islands of the Blessed’) seems to derive from Hes. Op. 166. The Pindaric derivation is clear for Z. 6, 43 (it is the famous Χρήματα χρήματ’ ἀνήρ of Isthm. 2, 11: see Bühler 1999: 532-41) and for Z. 5, 59 and D. 7, 12: ‘the Scythian and the horse’. Solon’ gnomic poetry lent itself very well to produce pills of wisdom (as ‘I age learning always many things’–Γηράσκω δ’ αἰεὶ πολλὰ διδασκόμενος: Z. 3, 4= f. 28 G.-P., or ‘the beautiful is hard’, Χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά: Z. 6, 38, which is even an apophthegma). For these and other poets see Lelli 2006a: 46-8, Lelli 2006b. 4 De Grouchy 1985; García Romero 2000: 153-60; Lelli 2006 a: 4951. 5 E.g. I remember Z. 4, 79, koinà ta philon, the famous Pythagorean precept (on this see Bühler 1999: 488-99 and 619-22). Plato figures in many proverbs (Z. 1, 49 and 59; 3, 9, 34 and 95; 4, 16; 5, 55; 6, 28 and 38). For Aristotle see below. 6 Z. 6, 35: Phokaeon arà, and 6, 47: ‘colophonian gold’. 7 Z. 4, 94: ‘Melian hunger’, to compare with the fifth book of Thucydides (84-116). 8 Surely Z. 5, 26; 6, 33 and perhaps 4, 78 (about an oracle to Philip, cited also in Plut. Dem. 19, 1: see Bühler 1999: 446-51); and D. 8, 28. 9 Z. 2, 26; 2, 28 and 5, 64. For a more detailed list see Raccuia 2008, in press. 10 For this proverb see Bühler 1982: 172-6. 1
Z. 5, 85= Timaeus FGrHist 566 F 64. Z. 3, 91; Plut. Per. 23, 1, from Ephorus, according to Schol. Aristoph. Nub. 858 (= FGrHist 70 F 193). See Bühler 1982: 257-63. 13 Z. 5, 64; Duris FGrHist 76 F 63 (from the Samion horoi): the words of Polycrates appear in direct form (‘I give you this woman as mother’. On this, Landucci Gattinoni 1997: 227-8. 14 Z. 5, 26; Theop. FGrHist 115 F 235. The expression forged, or reused, by Philip is also in D. 4, 73. See Bühler 1999: 404-8. 15 So Taylor 1931; Rupprecht 1949: 1707-35. See also Cirese, 1972; Agostiniani 1978: 78-109; Franceschi 1978: 110-47; Grzybek 1987: 3985; Tosi 1991; Lelli 2006 a: 33-46; Lazaridis 2007. 16 Z. 1, 47: 5, 16; D. Praef. (where the proverb is defined as a kind of allegory to which, among other genres, the Aesopic fable belongs) and D. 1, 46. See Carnes 1988. 17 Sines. Enc. calv. 22, 85 = Aristot. fr. 13 Rose: ‘What makes immortal the sayings is their continuous use because the same issues that they concern always bring them to mind. The events that occur from time to time, call them as witnesses and strengthen them with new examples’. Here, the bishop of Ptolemais captures the element of rigidity inherent in the creation and diffusion of a proverb, but also its flexibility and adaptability to new contexts. See Ieraci Bio 1978: 235-48. 18 As Schneidewin 1839: I, wrote in his Praefatio, Aristotle was the first author that ‘proverbia contrahendi exaplanandique provinciam in se susceperunt’. Many students followed his example (i.e. Theophrastus, Clearchus, Dicaearchus: about the Aristotle’s disciples see Wehrli 1967 and 1969). In the Hellenistic period eminent scholars such as Aristophanes of Byzantium and Didymus produced collections of commented proverbs (Tosi 1994: 143-209). 19 Aristot. Rhet. 1376 a; 1395 a, 10-12; 1395 b. 20 Z. 2, 24; Aristot. Lacaed. Resp. fr. 544 Rose. 11
12
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SOMA 2011 still another, Z. 6, 29 (on Callicrates) is related to Ath. Resp. 28, 3; another expression refers to the constitution of Samos (Z. 6, 12).21 Overall, more than 120 proverbs or sayings are used in the works of Aristotle, including Politics.22
current situation. Mandron, though he was not worthy, was elected navarch for the operations in the Hellespont. They say that he even commanded a vessel of fig-wood, that is completely worthless. This wood is cheap and unfit.’
Given these brief remarks, we understand how the Greek proverbs keep, tightly intertwined, elements inspired by historical events and famous actors, but also anonymous people, ‘microhistories’ and solid wisdom sprung from real life experiences.
The stratigraphy of this proverb offers a deeper level that sheds light on the ancient knowledge and the naval technology; another layer gives more recent information about an unknown episode that became proverbial: the explication, with its obscure “φασὶ”, does not cite any literary source about Mandron; we can only think that he was a willing and vain Athenian who participated in some battle in the Hellespont. If ships in fig-wood were really made we have evidence of serious difficulties in Athens (perhaps in the last phase of the Peloponnesian War).26 The proverb, however, clearly says that this wood is of little value and inadequate for the plating of triremes: from the Homeric poems as far as the information provided by Theophrastus, in his Historia plantarum, and other sources, we know that the woods used for ships and warships are pine, fir, cypress, cedar.27 For Athens, we also know that this type of timber for ships was imported mostly from the Thraco-Macedonian area, but also from southern Italy:28 Demosthenes even stated that a cargo of lumber from Macedonia cost 1750 drachmas.29 Another sea power, Syracuse, of course, was supplied by the forests around Etna, but the tyrant Dionysius imported lumber from southern Italy, as attested by Diodorus.30 As for the archaeological evidence, I can give an example from the waters around Sicily: the analysis of the wreck of Gela, edited by Rosalba Panvini, confirms the prevalence of pine and oak in this ship.31
With reference to the two areas of inquiry at the heart of my contribution, there are many proverbs in the collections of Zenobius and Diogenian and, for convenience, I have grouped them into three files. I. On Building ships and on Navigation The construction of (both merchant or war) ships and the knowledge of the routes came from experience and experimentation. A body of rules, derived from this contamination, well relies on the synthetic and effective communication of the proverb, because it fixes reliable warnings to ‘memoria futura’ from real examples. A specimen of this is represented by Z. 2, 37: Ἄιδεις ὥσπερ εἰς Δῆλον πλέων: ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀφροντίστου καὶ φιληδονοῦντος. Εὐχερὴς γὰρ ὁ πρὸς τὴν Δῆλον πλοῦς, καὶ οἱ ἐκεῖσε καταίροντες ἀφροντίστως πλέοντες ᾖδον. ‘You sing as if you are going to Delos: for those who are carefree and relaxed. In fact, navigating to Delos has no trouble and people going to the islands sing carefree while browsing.’
Finally we also recall Z. 1, 39 (Αἰθέρα νήνεμον ἐρέσσειν: ἐπὶ τῶν μάτην πονούντων), regarding the difficult or impossible navigation without winds; Z. 1, 75 and 98 (on the painful emptying of a flooded bilge and draining the bilge with both hands); Z. 5, 62 (πάντα κάvλω σεῖε)32, an invitation to loose all the moorings, i.e. metaphorically to abandon all delay and risk everything.
It is clear that this expression springs from a real experience of a risk-free navigation to the Cycladic island, but it also maintains an echo of the soundtrack that accompanied the sailing of the pilgrims to the sacred island: we immediately think to the Homeric hymn to Apollo Delius where the helkechitones Iaones went with their sons and their wives; they celebrated agones with boxing, dancing and singing in honour of the god.23 We also think to Herodotean narrative on offerings wrapped in wheat straw that came to the temple, even from the country of the Hyperboreans,24 and finally to the Thucydidean pages about Delos tied to Rheneia with a chain by the tyrant Polycrates and to the great xynodos es ten Delon of Ions and nearby islanders.25
The last proverb in this subset is D. 1, 66 (Ἀττικὸς εἰς λιμένα), on the proverbial show of skill (the spoudé) of the Attic rowers when they left the port on a military expedition.33 Overall these proverbs capture human behaviour, special events and making them timeless models through a broad understanding and general use.
Another interesting proverb is in Z. 3, 44: The verb ‘echeirotonethe’ probably locates the story in Athens. Theophr. HP 5, 7, 1-2 and 8, 3; also Plato Leg. 705 C; Plut. Quaest. conv. 5, 3, 1. Magnificent ships are described in Athen. 5, 37-44 (from the historians Callixenus: FGrHist 627 F 1, and Moschion: FGrHist 575 F 1). Alder, poplar, balsam, oak and beech are mentioned for the hull in Hom. Il. 16, 482-4; Od. 5, 239-40; Verg. Georg. 1, 136 e 2, 451; Theophr. HP 4, 2, 6. For wood and fleets see Torr 1919: 31; Casson 1971; particularly Meiggs 1982: 116-53 (and 423-57, on the accounts of the Eleusinian Commissioners in 329/8 BC in IG II2, 1672, and other lists from Epidaurus, Delphi, Delos); Morrison and Coates 1986. 28 Thuc. 6, 90, 3 and 7, 25, 2 from the Silane hinterland. About the forests of southern Italy, Meiggs 1982: 462-6 and 325-70, for timber trade. 29 Demosth. C. Timoth. 49, 29. 30 Diod. 14, 42, 4. 31 See Panvini 1998: 96; Terranova and Lo Porto 2001: 109-13. 32 It was also cited in Z. 1, 98. 33 This is the explication: ‘For those who do with enthusiasm what they are responsible for. In fact, the Attics, when they are about to leave for battle and go out of the harbour, row with enthusiasm to be seen by their families.’ On this proverb, Bühler 1982: 160-3. 26
Ἐγένετο καὶ Μάνδρωνι συκίνη ναῦς: ἐπὶ τῶν παρ’ ἐλπίδα καὶ ἀναξίως εὐπραγησάντων, εἶτα θρυπτομένων ἐπὶ τοῖς παροῦσι. Ναύαρχος γὰρ ὁ Μάνδρων ἐχειροτονήθη πρὸς τὰ ἐν Ἑλλησπόντῳ ἀνάξιος ὤν· φασὶ δὲ καὶ συκίνης ἄρχειν νηὸς, τουτέστιν, εὐτελεστάτης. Τὰ γὰρ σύκινα ξύλα εὐτελῆ καὶ ἄχρηστα.
27
‘Also Mandron had a fig-wood ship: for those who unexpectedly and without merit are successful and strut in the Corcyraean details are in Z. 4, 49; the same can be said for Citnos Z. 4, 83, and Thebes, 6, 17. Athen. 8, 348, remembers a proverb from Nax. Resp. fr. 558 Rose. 22 Mc Evoy 1996: 167-79. 23 Hom. Hymn. Ap. 3, 146-50. 24 Hdt. 3, 33-35. See also Callim. Del. 283-84 and Paus. 1, 31, 2 (on the secret nature of these offers). 25 Thuc. 3, 104, 2-3. 21
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Carmela Raccuia: Economy and Institutions in Ancient Greek Proverbs empirical data becomes a general warning to be vigilant and not negligent when in potential danger.
II. On Mediterranean trade A significant aspect of the economic activity in the Greek cities is represented by the trade, especially in the Mediterranean. Trade has left numerous traces in the proverbial expressions and their reading is very interesting. We will analyze some now.
The second – Z. 2, 20 – says: ‘the amount of salt goes from whence it came’, followed by this explanation: ‘Some said that a merchant had put to sea in a ship with a cargo of salt. Because the sailors had gone down to sleep, the sea water, penetrated into the hold, dissolved the salt and sank the ship’.
First, the main purpose of the emporia – i.e. the achievement of profit – is at the basis of Z. 3, 6: Γλαὺξ εἰς Ἀθήνας, so annotated ‘For those who make unnecessary trade (achrestous emporias), because the owl is quite familiar to the Athenians’. The core or engine of the exchange, that is the acquisition of unavailable goods, is portrayed with a metaphor both of local wildlife and type coin; so the proverb is one of many on unprofitable trade or inconclusive actions.34
It is clear that both sayings come from a trivial observation (a common physical experience), but the explanation looks like a fairytale with final gnome in the manner of Aesop. In fact the exegesis to these proverbs is essentially the same: a merchant (with some nautai in the second proverb), filled the hold of salt, fell asleep, and did not notice that the water had flooded the bilge so he lost his cargo. It is logical to think that a real disaster produced this knowledge and these expressions: in fact, we find haloga ploia mentioned in Plutarch.41
The glimmers of an import-export trade appear in a proverb that is usually marginalized and regarded as fanciful:35 Z. 2, 12: Ἁλώνητον ἀνδράποδον| ἶσον τῷ, βάρβαρον καὶ εὐτελές. Εἰς τὴν μεσόγειον γὰρ ἀναβάντες οἱ ἔμποροι ἐκόμιζον ἅλας, ἀνθ’ ὧν τοὺς οἰκέτας ἐλάμβανον. Ὅθεν καὶ ὁ κωμικὸς φησί· Θρᾷξ εὐγενὴς εἶ πρὸς ἅλας ἠγορασμένος.
In addition to numerous historical sources42 another proverb attests ancient contacts (perhaps business links?) between the Aeolians, Ions and Thracians: it criticizes the lack of loyalty of the latter (Z. 4, 32: ‘Thracians don’t know – or respect [gr. ἐπίστανται – oaths’). We also remember that, according to Theopomp, chattel slavery was introduced by the islanders of Chios, i.e. Ions.43
‘A slave purchased for salt: equates to barbarian and cheap. In fact, the merchants going to the hinterlands brought salt, in exchange they took slaves.’
Salt was continuously requested by residents of inland areas with a pastoral economy, so it could easily become a traded commodity.44 But in times of war Aristophanes portrays a Megarian seeking from Dicaeopolis a reward of salt and garlic.45
From here also the comic (sc. Menander): ‘You are a wellmannered Thracian, salt purchased.’ The so called ‘salt-purchased slave’ also appears in D. 1, 100 in this form: τὸ εὐτελὲς, τὸ πρὸς ἅλας ὠνηθέν, followed by the Menander’ verse36. But the combination ‘Thrace/salt-purchased servant’ dates back to the successor of Aristotle, Theophrastus, author of the Characters,37 of a book About salt, nitro and alum and, in turn, of a collection of Paroimiai (he was emulated by other peripatetic scholars, such as Clearch and Dicaearchus38).
For people living in the 4th century BC, as in the time of Hadrian (like Zenobius and Diogenian), the monetary value of salt appeared inevitably old fashioned and barbaric. Consequently, proverb collectors, ancient lexicographoi and antiquarians explained the expression ‘salt-purchased servant’ as equal to ‘barbaric, wild, of no value’ (so, Pollux46), ‘of a good price, worthless’ (by Hesychius47), and ‘worthy of no consideration’ (in Suda48) reflecting in this way a dramatic downgrading of the ‘divine salt’,49 ‘gift by Poseidon’,50 ‘dear to the god’s offering’.51
As I have previously analyzed in a report to the 32nd International Colloquium GIREA,39 the salt trade to inland areas was not an invention. There is a hint at it in two other proverbs that have escaped scholars.40 The first is Z. 1, 23: Ἅλας ἄγων καθεύδεις (‘you carry a load of salt and sleep’), explained as: ‘For those asleep and in grave danger. A merchant, having filled his vessel with salt, fell asleep. It happened that the water in the bilge increased and dissolved the salt. Hence the proverb.’ Here the
Plut. Mor. 685 D. See Braund 2001: 7-25. 43 Theop. FGrHist 115 F 122 a (ap. Athen. 6, 88). For the considerable related bibliography and discussion, see now Andreau and Descat 2009. 44 The halologues (scholars of salt) showed that the production of ‘saltbread’ was a status symbol for people in northern-central Europe): Carusi 2008: 41-2. 45 Aristoph. Ach. 812-814; again Aristoph. Eccles. 812 -4, give us news about a decree on salt. For sources on salt and salt-pans in Attica, the Thracian coast, Pontic and Ionic areas, Crete, etc., see Carusi 2008: 49133. 46 Poll. On. 7, 14, ἀλώνετον = εὐτελές, μηδενὸς ἄξιος, explained as: ‘because the Thracians of the hinterland exchanged salt with servants’. 47 Hesych. s.v Ἁλώνητος, explained as ‘the Thracians took salt and gave slaves. … at a good price, of small value’ (οἱ δὲ εὔωνος, ὀλίγου ἄξιος) The adjectives ‘cheap, of small price’ figure later in Eustath. ad Il. 7, 475. 48 Suda 1384 s.v. ἁλώνητον, where we find emporoi bringing salt to inland areas in exchange for servants. Almost all these antiquarians gave priority to the indication of market values. 49 Hom. Il. 9, 214, where the lack of salt appears as a marker and an alternative measure of geographical distance from the sea, the Mediterranean culture, the Hellenic paideia. 50 Lycophr. Al. 133. 51 Plato Tim. 60. An older reference to the high economic value of saltpans is on an inscribed silver foil from the Artemision at Ephesus (VIIVI BC): there were mentioned the revenues from a salt-pan in temple 41 42
See Bühler 1982: 114-22, and Lelli 2006a: 406. So Bühler 1999: 442: ‘quicumque primis servum ita appellavit – de poeta comico cogitaveris – in composito usitato per ludibrium salem pro argentum substituit, quo magis mancipium detractaret … suspicor illum non re vera sale emptum significasse, sed tamquam sale emptum derisisse, adludentem ad talis commercii mirum quondam usum rumore tantum notum.’ 36 See Apostol. 2, 27 (= 20, 59); Arsen. 48, 474. The fragment of Menander (Θρᾷξ εὐγενὴς εἶ πρὸς ἅλας ὠνημένος) = 891 K.- A. 37 Theophr. Char. 28, 2 (‘you are a well-mannered Thracian woman, salt purchased’). His treatises on salt and about the proverbs are mentioned in the list drawn up by Diogenes Laertius (Vit. phil. 5, 42 and 45): the treatise on salt perhaps inspired Pliny’s chapters in 21, 73-105. Finally, a mention of Theophrastus’ Peri nomon occurs in Z. 4, 36. 38 We find Clearchus in Z. 3, 41; 4, 87; 5, 44 e 47-48; 6, 18 e 29; and Dicaearchus in Z. 2, 15; 3, 65; 4, 26; 5, 23; 6, 16; D. 5, 8. On the first see Dorandi 2006: 157-70; on Dicaearchus (specialist in proverbs derived from historical events) Lelli 2006 a: 22. 39 Raccuia 2008, in press. 40 So Bühler 1999: 442: ‘rei a veteribus interpretibus nostri proverbii relatae alia testimonia non extant’. 34 35
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SOMA 2011 But, in this regard, they did not know (or had forgotten) that in the Hellenistic kingdoms and Roman age salt and salted products were very important and, as they were subject to taxation, became eponymous for a tax pro capite: the so called halike that is mentioned on ostraka and papyri relating to the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms.52
of getting rich and the heavy taxation that did not spare even the dead. And now, dulcis in fundo, there is a stimulating saying that portrays a vivid scene set in Athens. It is found in Z. 1, 74: ‘One thing is what Leucon says, another is what leads Leucon’s donkey’. Here, the added explanation presents – with comic nuances – an energetic customs control and an unsuccessful attempt at evasion:56
III. On taxation forms There are several allusions to taxes and responsibilities for taxation in the proverbs of Zenobius and Diogenian.
‘A farmer, Leucon [i.e. ‘Candid’ or ‘Naïve’57), after having put some containers of honey in the bottom of the baskets, took them to Athens. But he put barley on top of the panniers to pay the lighter duty on cereals. The donkey tripped and the tax collectors, wanting to help, realized that there was honey underneath and denounced him as a tax evader.’58
A lively narrative is provided in Z. 4, 76: ‘Even distress produced tax exemption’, explained as: ‘They say that the tyrant Pisistratus required that the Athenians pay a tenth of the crops. Once he showed up and saw an old man working among stones and stony places. Pisistratus asked the old man what revenue he could get from those places and the old man said, “Pain and distress and Pisistratus receives a tenth of them”. The tyrant, admiring the frankness of the answer, exempted him from his tithe. From this episode the Athenians used the proverb.’
The items of interest in this proverb are several. First, it certifies the transport of honey from the countryside to the city of Athens. We know from many sources that Attic honey (especially from Hymettus) was widely appreciated and destined for export because it was akapnon (or akapniston, not smoked).59 As already noted by A. Boeckh, in his classic The public economy of Athens,60 this story proves that there was a duty for passing through the city gates, the so-called diapylion (Hesych. s.v.),61 not to be confused with the fee for the right to market a product (agoràs telos, almost a fee for the use of public land for selling products), or excise duty on sales (eponion).62
Here we well capture the mutual attraction between saying and historiography, as between aphorism and proverb, even if the protagonist of the answer is an anonymous old Athenian. We know the episode also from the narrative of Diodorus who read it in his source (probably Ephorus of Cyme).53 The story presents and preserves the technical vocabulary of taxation (ateleia, i.e. exemption, and dekate, tenth) but here we do not address the problem of the amount of this tax (tenth or eikosté54). We note only that a particular fact or expression spread and became always expendable to indicate the resignation but also the subtle revenge of a taxpayer.
Also we gain the valuable detail that there were different taxes for goods: barley tax was clearly lower than the honey tax. In fact, we know that honey figures among the ingredients for a banquet of top quality;63 that Attic production was continuously in great demand everywhere; that a kotyle of pure and selected honey, at the time of Socrates,64 was 5 drachmas, but only 3 obols in an inscription ‘perì hiereosynon’ from Athens.65
And that the tax collection could become oppressive and pervasive over time, is also demonstrated by an eloquent saying, included in the explanation of another proverb (D. 1, 9) about ‘Cilician wealth’, that came from an obscure episode of Milesian history.
This episode confirms ‘le principe de la déclaration individuelle au centre du système fiscal’ (Roubineau 2007: 187). 57 Suda s.v. Λεύκων, the comic writer who wrote ‘The donkey loaded with skins’ (Onos askophoros). 58 See also D. 2, 21; Apostol. 2, 68 e Suda s.v. ἆλλα μέν. 59 Plut. Sol. 23. Attic honey was so named because the bees were not removed from the hive by smoke. See Schuster 1931: 364-84; Dalby 2003: 179-80 (with other bibliographical references). Add now Bortolin 2008 and Giuman 2008. 60 Boeckh 1903: 426-7; for indirect or consumption taxes (diagoghia, tele, eponia, hekatostai, agorastiká, phoridia) see Andreades 1961: 16075; and, now, Chankowski 2007 : 299-331; Roubineau 2007, 179-200 (with other bibliography and discussion). 61 Hesych. s.v. corrected in διαπύλιον, only adds that it was the name of an Athenian telos. 62 In Schol. Aristoph. Ach. 896, the agoras telos (mentioned also in Xenoph. De vectigal. 4, 49 and Schol. Demosth. Ol. 1, 22) is explained as τέλος ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐπώλησας to give tois loghistais, but properly to the agoranomoi and/or telonai. On these officials see Aristot. Athen resp. 51, 1. For the eponion (the sales tax) Harpocr. s.v. supposed the incredible amount of a one-fifth; Aristot. Oecon. 2, 2, 14, refers to a tenth in Byzance. On the various terms/amounts of the tele (i.e. pentekosiosté, hekatosté, pentekosté, eikosté, dodekate, dekate) see Roubineau 2007, 182-3. 63 See Athen. 2, 547 E (who lists ointments, wine of Thasos, eel, cheese, for a total cost of one talent); Eup. ap. Pollux 9, 59, gives a value of 100 drachmas. 64 Plut. De tranquillit. 10, 470 F. 65 IG II 1, 631 (oscillating between 4th and 2nd century BC). In Aristoph. Pax 254, for the same quantity the evaluation was 4 obols. For data from the papyri see Chouliara-Raïos 1989. 56
It regarded ‘those who get rich themselves in indecent (or inappropriate) manner. A Cilician having betrayed Miletus, became rich. It is the same as “to collect taxes from the dead” (Ἀπὸ νεκρῶν φορολογεῖν)’. As we can see, the proverb (that in Z. 1, 3, presents the anthroponym Killikon55) criticizes both the betrayal as a means properties (I. Ephesos Ia 1, l. 7 side A and ll. 2-3 side B, see Carusi 2008: 84-5). For salt and its uses (ritual, therapeutic, essential in the preservation of food, in the complex process of mummification, tanning, and even for oath ceremonies), see now Carusi 2008, with the preceding bibliography. 52 In 264/3 BC, the salt tax seems to have become the basis for other tax purposes, perhaps 8 drachmas a year (see Clarysse and Thompson 1995: 223-39; Clarysse and Thompson 2006; Mollo 1996: 145-56; Carusi 2008: 214-46). 53 Diod. 9, 37, 2-3. For the relationship between history, anecdote and proverb see Bühler 1982: 67-73. 54 While Hdt. 1, 64, 1, attests substantial income for Pisistratus from personal possessions at the Struma, Thuc. 6, 54, 5, remembers the eikostèn ton gignomenon; the tithe returns in Aristotle (Ath. Resp. 16, 4, 4). On Pisistratus, see the classical Berve 1967: 41-77; De Libero 1996: 41-134; Lavelle 1993; Sancisi Weerdenburg 2000. 55 For the inherent problems see Lelli 2006 a: 370-1 (about Killikōn or Kallikōn) and 481 (for the variant ‘Cilician’ wealth).
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Carmela Raccuia: Economy and Institutions in Ancient Greek Proverbs Finally, we find in the story of Leucon the telonai as stewards/ tax collectors near the gates because the episode clearly concerns a domestic trade: probably they are subordinate to the ten agoranomoi, but their name does not figure in the Aristotelian list of public officers (the so-called archai). Because of its derivation from telos/ telein,66 the term probably preserves the true title for these feared inspectors, whose behavior will be described by Plutarch:
Chankowski, V., 2007. ‘Les categories du vocabulaire de la fiscalité dans les cités grecques’ in Andreau, J. and Chankowski, V. (édd.) Vocabulaire et expression de l’èconomie dans le monde antique, Etudes 19 (Bordeaux), 299-331 Chantraine, P., 1977. s.v., ‘τέλος’ (Paris), 1101-2 Chouliara Raïos, H., 1989. L’abeille et le miel en Égypte d’après les papyrus, Epistimoniki epetiris filosofikis skholis Dhodhoni, 30 (Joannina) Cirese. A.M., 1972. I proverbi: struttura delle definizioni (Urbino) Clarysse, W. and Thompson, D.J., 1995. ‘On the salt-tax rate once again’, CE 70, 223-39 Clarysse, W. and Thompson, D.J., 2006. Counting the people in Hellenistic Egypt, 2: Historical studies (Cambridge: C.U.P.) Dalby, A., 2003. Food in the ancient World from A to Z (LondonNew York: Routledge). De Grouchy, G.A., 1985. Proverbial and gnomic material in Greek tragedy (Cambridge: Cambridge U.P.) De Libero, L., 1996. Die archaische Tyrannis (Stuttgart: F. Steiner) Descat, R., 1993. ‘La loi de Solon sur l’interdiction d’exporter les products attiques’ in Bresson, R. and Rouillard, R. (éds.) L’emporion (Paris: De Boccard), 145-61 Dorandi, T., 2007. ‘Il Περὶ παροιμιῶν di Clearco di Soli: contributi a una raccolta dei frammenti’, Eikasmos 17, 157-70 Eder, E., 2002. s.v. ‘telonai’ in DNP, 12/1 (Stuttgart- Weimar: Verlag Meltzer) 103. Franceschi, T., 1978. ‘Il proverbio e l’A.P.I.’, AGI 63, 110-47 García Romero, F., 2000. ‘Sobre algunos proverbios usados en commedia’ in Garzya, A. (ed.) Idee e forme nel teatro greco. Atti del Convegno italo-spagnolo, Napoli 14-16 ottobre 1999 (Napoli: D’Auria), 153-60 Giuman, M., 2008. Melissa. Archeologia delle api e del miele nella Grecia antica (Roma: G. Bretschneider) Grzybek, P., 1987. ‘Foundations of Semiotic Proverb Study’, Proverbium 4, 39-85 Ieraci Bio, A.M., 1978. ‘Il concetto di paroimia in Aristotele, RAAN 53, 235-48 Landucci Gattinoni, F. (1977.). Duride di Samo (Roma: L’Erma di Bretschneider) Lavelle, B.M., 1993. The sorrow and the pity. A prolegomenon to the story of Athens under the Peisistratides, c. 560-510 B.C. (Stuttgart: F. Steiner) Lazaridis, N., 2007. Wisdom in loose Form. The language of Egyptian and Greek proverbs in Collections of the Hellenistic and Roman Periods (Leiden-Boston: Brill) Lelli, E. (ed.), 2006a. I proverbi greci. Le raccolte di Zenobio e Diogeniano (Soveria Mannelli: Rubbettino) Lelli, E. 2006b. Volpe e leone. Il proverbio nella poesia greca (Alceo, Cratino, Callimaco) (Roma: Edizioni dell’Ateneo) Leutsch, E.L.A. and Schneidewin, F.G., 1839. Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum, 1, (Göttingen, repr. Hildesheim 1958: G. Olms) Mc Evoy, J., 1996. ‘Aristotelian friendship in the light of Greek proverbial vision’ in Motte, A. and Denooz (édd.) Aristotelica secunda. Mélanges Ch. Rutten, CIPL (Liège), 167-179 Meiggs, R., 1982. Trees and timber in the ancient Mediterranean world (Oxford: Clarendon Press) Mollo, P., 1996. ‘Il problema dell’HALIKE seleucide alla luce dei materiali degli archivi di Seleucia sul Tigri’ in Boussac, M.F. and Invernizzi, A. (éds.) Archives et Scéaux du monde Hellénistique , BCH suppl. 29 (Paris), 145-56 Morrison, J.S. and Coates, J.F., 1986. The Athenian trireme. The history and reconstruction of an ancient Greek warship (Cambridge: C.U.P.)
‘…we are annoyed and displeased with customs-officials (τοὺς τελώνας βαρυνὸμεθα καὶ δυσχεραίνομεν), not when they pick up those articles which we are importing openly, but when in the search for concealed goods they pry into baggage and merchandize which are another’s property…’67. Bibliography Agostiniani, L., 1978. ‘Semantica e referenza nel proverbio’, AGI 63, 1978, 78-109 Andreades, A.M., 1961. ‘Storia delle finanze greche dai tempi eroici fino all’inizio dell’età greco-macedonica’, it. tr. of the 2nd ed., in E. Morselli (ed.) Storia della finanza pubblica, I (Padova: CEDAM) Andreau, J. and Descat, R., 2009. Gli schiavi nel mondo greco e romano (it. tr. of the French ed. Esclave en Grèce et à Rome, 2006, Paris: Hachette) (Bologna: Il Mulino) Berve, H., 1967. Die Tyrannis bei den Griechen, (München: Beck) Boeckh, A., 1851. Die Staatshaushaltung der Athener (2nd ed., Berlin), it. transl.: L’economia pubblica degli Ateniesi, in Pareto, V., 1903, Biblioteca di storia economica (Milano: A. Forni) Bortolin, R., 2008. Archeologia del miele DocArch 45 (Padova) Braund, D., 2001. ‘L’impatto sui Greci di Traci e Sciti: immagini di sfarzo e austerità’ in Settis, S. (ed.) I Greci, 3. I Greci oltre la Grecia (Torino: Einaudi), 5-38 Bühler, W., 1982. Zenobii Athoi proverbia vulgari ceteraque memoria aucta ed. et enarrata, IV (Gottingae: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht) Bühler, W., 1987. Zenobii Athoi proverbia vulgari ceteraque memoria aucta ed. et enarrata, I, Prolegomena (Gottingae: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht) Bühler, W., 1999. Zenobii Athoi proverbia vulgari ceteraque memoria aucta ed. et enarrata, V (Gottingae: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht) Carnes, P. (ed.) 1988. Proverbia in fabula. Essays on the relationship of the fable and the proverb (Bern-New York: P. Lang) Carusi, C., 2008. Il sale nel mondo greco (VI a.C.-III d.C.). Luoghi di produzione, circolazione commerciale, regimi di sfruttamento nel contesto del Mediterraneo Antico (Bari: Edipuglia) Casson, L., 1971. Ships and seamanships in the ancient world (Princeton: Princeton U.P.) On the term see TGL 1829, 2002; Chantraine 1977: 1101-2; Eder 2002: 103. 67 De curiosit. 518 E. On the nomoi telonikoi, Demosth. C. Timocr. 24, 96 and 100-1. The severity of the controls can be explained if we remember that Solon forbade the export of grain from Attica (Plut. Sol. 24,1; see Descat 1993: 145-61). In addition to wheat, in Athens it was forbidden to export timber, pitch, wax, textile materials such as hemp, cotton, skin, useful for the preparation of ships (they are the so-called apobleta: Aristoph. Ranae 365-7). It is uncertain whether the ban was permanent or only in time of war. 66
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SOMA 2011 Sancisi-Weerdenburg, H., 2000. Peisistratos and the tyranny. A reappraisal of the evidence (Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben) Schuster, M., 1931. s.v. ‘mel’ in RE XXIX (Stuttgart), 364-84 Stephanus, E., 1829. s.v. ‘τελώνης’, TGL (Parisiis- photogr. reprod. 1954, Graz), 2002 Taylor, A., 1931. The proverb (Cambridge Mass.: Harvard U.P.) Terranova, F. and Lo Campo, P., 2001. ‘Analisi dei reperti lignei’ in Panvini, R. (ed.), 1998, La nave arcaica di Gela (e i primi dati sul secondo relitto) (Palermo), 109-113 Torr, C., 1919. s.v. ‘navis’, in DAGR, IV/1 (Paris: Hachette et C.ie), 24-40 Tosi, R., 1991. Dizionario delle sentenze latine e greche (Milano: BUR) Tosi, R., 1994. ‘La lessicografia e la paremiografia in età alessandrina e il loro sviluppo successivo’ in La philologie grecque à l’époque hellénistique et romaine, Entretiens Hardt 40 (Vandoœuvres-Genève), 143-209 Wehrli, F. (hrsg.), 1967-69. Die Schule des Aristoteles. Texte und Kommentar, I. Dikaiarchos; III. Klearchos (Basel-Stuttgart: Schwabe)
Panvini, R., 1998. ‘La nave greca arcaica’ in Panvini, R., (ed.) Gela. Il Museo Archeologico (Gela), 96-7 Raccuia, C., 1992. ‘La fondazione di Gela’, Kokalos 37, 273-302 Raccuia, C., 2004. ‘Rileggendo Zenobio: una nota sulla percezione e rappresentazione dei Siculi’, Polifemo 4, 195212 Raccuia, C., 2008. ‘Pirati e barbari. Rappresentazioni di Fenicio -Punici nella Sicilia greca’ in Congiu, M., Micciché, C. et al. (eds.) Greci e Punici in Sicilia tra V e IV secolo a.C., (Caltanissetta-Roma : S. Sciascia), 173-91 Raccuia, C., (2008). ‘Schiavo comprato col sale. Riflessioni sul tema’ in Pinzone, A. (ed.) Forme di dipendenza nelle società di transizione. Atti del XXXII Colloquio internazionale GIREA, Messina, 15-17 maggio 2008 (in press) Roubineau, J.M., 2007. ‘La fiscalité des cités grecques aux époques classique et hellénistique’ in Brun, P. et Bresson, A. (éds.) Ėconomies et societés en Grèce classique et hellénistique, Pallas 74 (Toulouse : Presses universitaires du Mirail), 179-200 Rupprecht, K. 1949. s.v. ‘Paroimia’, in RE XVIII, 1707-35
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Attic Weights and the Economy of Athen Mario Trabucco
Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
In opposition to the elaboration of theoric trends, based on data “already implicated in elite acts of representation” (Morris 1994: 360), we have now the chance to build new models combining the literary informations, e.g. using the ‘indirect approach’ experimented by Millett on attic rhetors (Millett 1991: 2), the always increasing mass of data coming out from the epigraphies (Ampolo 1979: 127; Scheidel 2007), from the studies of urban and rural topography (Foxhall 1992; Osborne 1987), historical demography (see e.g. the great contribution of M. H. Hansen; Scheidel 2006) and, of course, archaeology with its studies on production and circulation of goods and their new role in shaping the economic systems of ancient societies (Greene 2007).
The long debate over the nature and proper study of the ancient economy has been dominated for a long time by an ‘orthodox view’ pretending that the economy had no role at all in the Greek panorama of organized knowledge (Burke 1992: 199; Davies 1998: 226; Cohen 2006: 11). The followers of Weber and Polanyi, and most importantly those who supported M. I. Finley’s theories, interpreted the economic behaviour and the gain-oriented attitudes of ancient man as by-products of bigger social and ideological processes focusing on honour and success (Polanyi 1957; Weber 1958 and 1976; Finley 1973; Nafissi 2005). Nevertheless it is nowadays admitted by a growing number of scholars that Finley’s model of the classical economy cannot answer all the questions, and, above all, is incapable of explaining the extreme dynamicity of the Greek economy not only in the royal states of the Hellenistic period but in Classical Athens as well (Morris 1994: 357; Cohen 2006: 3). The once useful models of redistribution, reciprocity and household are no longer enough to explain the impressive social stratification (e.g. over 150 different professions surveyed by Harris 2002), the bureaucratization of the state through the large number of officials (we can just mention here Develin 1989 and Hansen 1991: 319), the value of contracts, compliance with which may be coercively imposed by law (Cohen 2003; Id. 2006), the existence of market factors in the determination of prices and wages (Cohen 2006: 10-16; Gallo 1987; Loomis 1998: 257), the presence of monetary institutions and the need of money in small denominations from very ancient times (Kim 2002).
This is the general framework used for the interpretation and contextualization of a somehow neglected class of objects: the official weights of the Athenian state.1 The attic system of weights and measures is something we may call a ‘closed system’ (Stazio 1959: 549, 560), that is a system in which the different series of units for the various types of quantities measured (solid goods, liquids, values) are linked to one another by fixed proportions, through equivalencies between units of different series, vertically (multiples and submultiples of the unit) and horizontally from one series to the other (Stazio 1959: 561, 571). The reconstruction work of this series relies on the comparative study of hundreds of items that we can easily recognize as official weights and measures, whose properties were carefully fixed, checked, and then guaranteed by the State with its seal and the inscription ΔΕΜΟΣΙΟΝ/ΔΗΜΟΣΙΟΝ, often abbreviated to ΔΕΜΟ/ΔΗΜΟ.
It is time then to embrace a more universalist approach, taking note of the limitations of exaggerated modernism and the risks that a formalist perspective presents for our ability to analyze (as made by Davies when he argues that “…present-day economic theory as a potentially applicable set of ideas can not be ignored.” Davies 1998: 232; Amemiya 2004: 58). This is not to deny tout-court the substantivist paradigm, I just want to argue that structural similarities can be exploited to investigate the past, provided we do so within the framework of the ‘New Institutional Economics’, with the emphasis on social norms, the role of institutions, and most importantly, the two-way relationship between social and economic aspects (North 1990; Rawski 1996: 2; Lyttkens 2006: 4), and doing that in the broader context of the so-called ‘New Economic Sociology’ (Smelser and Swedberg 1994; Morris 2002: 25).
During all the Classical period the state periodically made series of specimens of the measure units officially recognized, called symbola, that were kept in the Agora, in the Tholos, and also in the city of Eleusinion, and were used by officials (metronomoi and agoranomoi; Ehrenberg 1932; Vanderpool 1968) in their control duties. Other series were dedicated in sanctuaries (Polosa 2002: 720), but it is not yet clear whether this was to put them under the protection of the gods, or as metal dedications after their service, especially bronze ones. It is clear enough, on the other side, that some weights were actually used for the weighing and accounting of offerings, as we can see in the inventories, where the precise weight of the objects was carefully recorded (Bresson 2000: 211-242). All the procedures for the fabrication, custody, use, and accounting of these official standard weights were set by law (like the preserved IG I3 1013, or the other nomos by Tisamenes mentioned by Andocides; see Breglia Pulci Doria 1985 and Andok. Myst. I, 83), giving these objects the same legal value we recognize in the coins.
It is also important to note that the approach, once defined ‘modernist’, that sees between the household economy and that of the city only a quantitative difference is ultimately the most prevalent in antiquity itself, well documented in the sources but fallen out of favour for the single opposition to it by Aristotle, that was dictated by ethical considerations and rhetoric reasons and cannot alone replace all the other literary data, as consistently demonstrated by Faraguna (Finley 1970; contra Faraguna 2006b).
1 The topic of my doctoral dissertation at the University of Messina.
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SOMA 2011 it was a coin with a very good degree of trust just because of its great stability.
These items come mainly from the excavations of the Akropolis and Agora of Athens, a little group coming from the Panhellenic sanctuary of Olympia, and the rest from the antiquarian market, without context (Pernice 1894, Lang 1964, Hitzl 1996). From the chronological point of view, only a small number of weights have supporting excavation data, for the most part we depend on stylistic considerations. I will deal here with the items for which we have the safer dating.
Once we have a reliable time-line of changes in standards during the period we are dealing with, through the reunification and re-examination of the data provided by the Attic weights, the next step is the correlation of these data with those concerning revenues and expenditures of Athens as an economic system: mainly the production flows of the Laurion mines (for which see Conophagos 1980, Flament 2007) and, of course, the quantitative development of Athenian minting in the period under review (Figueira 1998: 180-197; Kroll 1993: 4-10, but also Rihill 2001; van Alfen 2010). The fist of these changes to the weight standard was made by the controversial metrological reforms of Solon (Horsmann 2000), while the last one happened at the end of the 2nd century BC, before the definitive shift to the Roman weight standard (IG II2 1013 and Breglia Pulci Doria 1985).
Careful examination of the symbola coming from the American excavations in the Athenian Agora, conducted by Mabel Lang and published in the 10th volume of the Athenian Agora series in 1964, emphasizes how these official weights, although they are all examples of the same Attic system of measures, can be separated into smaller groups, each of them united by internal coherence. We have objects showing the same symbols, same shape, more or less the same dimensions, but not the same weight, nor the same name in some cases (Lang 1964: 2). The problem comes when differences in weight are too great to be explainable with preservation processes and chemical or physical damage to the items.
For the first we can only rely on estimates, and it has been said that, at its high point, production was between 736 and 1000 talents per year. But it was not always so, and the production of silver from the mines had also conspicuous variations, as estimated by Conophagos in his study of 1980.
Lang proposed to explain this phenomenon as a periodical update of the standard to maintain weights and measures coherent with major fluctuations of the value of the goods measured, going along with the variation of the silver/bronze ratio (Lang 1964:18-21). But she does not explain the need for this update, so her theory is generally set aside. It is proposed therefore to extend this basic intuition to all the Attic weights and study them in the broader context of the political economy of the city in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Examining the evidence of changes to the standards we should ask ourselves: was it intended? What was it intended for?
Of all this bullion, 50% to 80% of it seems to have been converted to coins in the mint, and went immediately into the circulation system, being available for expenditures, tax paying, public and private wages, military use, etc. Although we have not yet a comprehensive die study giving a precise picture of the evolution of the minting of the Athenian owls, we nevertheless have a sketchy idea of the trends and it is possible to see some moments of large-scale coin production, with more and more silver entering the economic system from the mines, the treasury of the Delian League, the phoros and all foreign currencies. But this was not a one-way movement: Athens now also had more expenditures: raw materials, such as grain, luxury goods and Parian marble, military costs, etc.. There was not only a bigger treasury, but also a bigger economic system, and so greater expenses. And all this system was much more monetized than we can grasp, considering only the negative opinions on coin exchange preserved in some, but not all, of the ancient literary texts (see e.g. Faraguna 2003).
First of all we should note that this update of the weight standard had the effect of counterbalancing the rise of prices during periods of bad economic conditions. This was made by changing the quantity of a good corresponding to a fixed value, a practice used in various pre-industrial economies: if the price is high you get less, if the price is low you get more with the same value (Kula 1971: 77-78). But you can only really know that you are getting more or less if the weight standard remains the same, while the change of the standard will no longer show any loss. This was not devised to hoodwink citizens: to receive the same nominal amount of a good for the same price was useful to avoid the kind of social problems that came with inflation, following prices rises of raw materials. On the other hand the variation in the standard was noticeable only on the larger scale, and not for a single item, so it was a stratagem good for the state and the larger economic systems but not a great change for household economies. On the wider scale, a similar effect was probably foreseen by Solon with his metrological reform, explaining the link established by later authors between the change of the standard and the seisachteia, a partial relief from the debts obtained by the reduction of the weight standard so that debtors could give the same amount of goods owed to creditors while giving less in absolute terms (Androtion, FrGrHist 324 F 34 = Plut. Sol. 15, 3; Horsmann 2000: 266). So we have, therefore, a first consequence on the internal side.
All these bullion and cash movements can then easily explain some variation in prices, some inflation phenomena requesting that public wages be raised, as we know from the comedies. This picture can also explain the fluctuation of the silver/bronze ratio, and also the parallel gold/silver ratio (for the latter see Figueira 1998: 511-513 and tab. 19.1). In this broader picture the updating of the weight standards takes its proper sense as something consciously enacted by the demos to soften the effects of major economic crises (such as military defeats) and to stabilize the purchase value of the coinage from market fluctuations; it allows us also to follow this major fluctuations giving us another piece in the puzzling economic history of Athens. Concluding, it cannot be a coincidence that the same noun used for the weights, symbolon or Xsymbolon, is the same one used for the coin before the wider acceptance of nomisma. In Plato (371b) we have in fact the coin defined as ξύμβολον τῆς ἀλλαγῆς ένεκα (a symbolon made for the exchange) and, as emphasized recently by Faraguna, the term symbolon recalls something that materializes a relation (Faraguna 2003: 126). So the coin is the
The other effect, on the external side, was that the change of the standard by small adjustments permitted keeping the weight of the dracma coin unaltered, and this was very important because Athenian owls were used not only in Athens but also in many other states with which she had commercial relations, given that
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Sitodosia, euerghesia and emporia: Some Examples from Sicily Elena Santagati Università di Messina
As a consequence of the colonial expansion of the 8th century BC, an intense commercial traffic1 developed over decades around the Mediterranean. The trade mainly affected food: olive oil,2 fruit, salted fish and, above all, wheat production and trade. Most of the insular and peninsular Greek world was not selfsufficient in wheat,3 and this primarily because the geography was not suitable for the cultivation of wheat, which is sensitive to soil and climatic conditions.
exercising considerable control over Chalcis and the Sicilian populations. Gelo,11 his successor, understood the validity of the military-strategic choices made by his predecessor and maintained the same policy, expanding and strengthening what had already been inherited through usurpation.12 As a matter of fact, his political vision and his choices had resulted in major changes within the Mediterranean political landscape. According to tradition, although not the first to adopt such policies, he was the first to exploit wheat surpluses by promoting awareness of its political power and prestige: gifts or sales of grain in the wider Mediterranean represented a strong political and propagandistic impact
It was thus for the above-mentioned reasons that wheat4 was a very precious commodity in ancient times. In particular, for the tyrants of the West5, its wide availability represented a tool for legitimizing their position of power both within the polis, and within a broader strategy of making the same power more international.
In 491 BC, Rome was hit by a severe famine initiated by the so-called first secession of the plebeians,13 who opposed war against the Equi and left their towns and settlements and went to the Aventine hills. According to sources, this gave Gelo14 his opportunity to intervene and bring relief to the ‘young’ Rome.
Sicily and Magna Graecia6 were situated in very favourable geographical locations which helped the control of emporia and commercial routes. It is no coincidence that Sicily was considered in literary sources, as Persephone’s favourite land.7 This myth was revived in the Roman period in the fifth book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses,8 which traditionally creates and spreads a Sicilian setting for the abduction of Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Zeus from Hades, god of the underworld.
As Livy15 wrote: ‘…consules deinde T. Geganius P. Minucius facti eo anno, cum et foris quieta omnia a bello essent et domi sanata discordia, [2] aliud multo gravius malum civitatem invasit, caritas primum annonae ex incultis per secessionem plebis agris, fames deinde, qualis clausis solet.’
This paper seeks to examine the grain grants (sitodosiai) undertaken by Sicily’s nobles (dynastai). The historical phenomenon is usually fragmented into works dealing with single entities. We will diachronically examine the most meaningful statements offering a political interpretation of the entity and the ending of sitodosiai.
At the time Rome was still a small political centre, but showed clearly its potential to become a great future power. Again in the words of Livy:16 ‘… ventumque ad interitum servitiorum utique et plebis esset, ni consules providissent dimissis passim ad frumentum coemendum non in Etruriam modo dextris ab Ostia litoribus laevoque per Volscos mari usque ad Cumas, sed [quaesitum] in Siciliam quoque.’
Since the Archaic period it was evident that the control of vast territories would give not only power over men and cities but also control over the main routes leading to inlands. It would also reinforce the management of wealth associated with the land and the functional resources necessary for the legitimacy9 of tyrannical power in the Greek area.
Unfortunately Livy gives little specific information about the precise source of the grain, and only hints at Sicily. He also emphasizes17 that the Romans were forced to seek and receive help from Sicily (‘adeo finitimorum odia longinquis coegerant indigere auxiliis’) by the hatred of their neighbours. He did not make clear18 whether the grain was donated or bought, but only refers to a large quantity of wheat that arrived from Sicily ‘magna vis ex Sicilia advecta’, and the senate convened to decide the selling price of the grain to the public.
During his seven-year tyranny, Hippocrates10 had undertaken a policy of expansion on a large scale, especially regarding the fertile plains of eastern and central Sicily, with the intention of For commercial traffic, see Bravo 1977; id. 1984; Mele 1979; Reed 1984. 2 Richter 1968: 134-49. 3 Bravo 1996, 527-560; Ampolo 1994: 29-36; Gallo 1984. 4 Fantasia 1993: 9-31. 5 Luraghi 1994; Braccesi 1998; Hofer 1999. 6 Berard 1963; Boardman 1986; Cordano 1986; Pugliese Carratelli 1986; Pugliese-Carratelli (ed.) 1997; Antonetti 1997; 7 Diod. 5,3. 8 Ov. Met. V, 390 ss.; cfr. Ov. Fasti IV 417; Claudian., De raptu Proserpinae, III 332 ss.; Cic., In Verrem II 46-47. 9 Nicosia 1990: 55-61; Pickard-Cambridge 1962: 230-90; Arnson Svarlien 1990-91: 103-10; Vallet 1984: 285-319. 10 Luraghi 1994: 119-186; Braccesi 1998: 22 ss., Procelli 1989: 67989; Mafodda, 1998: 19-31. 1
Plutarch,19 in the life of Coriolanus, specifies that the wheat was not bought from Italy, ‘but it just came to Syracuse as a gift, Luraghi 1994; Mafodda 1996, Consolo Langher 1997. Hdt. 7,155,1. See G. Mafodda 1996: 43 ss.; Luraghi 1994: 273 ss. 13 Liv., 2, 34; Dion. Hal., 7,1-2; Plut. Coriol., 16,1; Cass. Dio 5,18,4. Cfr. Ranouil 1975, Guarino 1975, Richard 1978, L.Capogrossi Colognesi 1981. 14 Mafodda 1996, Mafodda 2004: 253-9. 15 Liv., 2,34,1. 16 Liv. 2,34,3. 17 Liv., 2,34,4. 18 Liv. 2,34,7. 19 Plut. Coriol. 16,1. 11
12
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SOMA 2011 sent by Gelo the tyrant’. In the passage Plutarch specifies that the wheat was sent as a gift from the tyrant, and further on reasserts this: ‘…while the Senate was in a meeting, people were waiting outside and everyone was waiting for the result of the session, hoping that the wheat would have a philanthropic price on the market and that it would have been distributed freely.’ He thus confirms20 that the amount of wheat from Sicily had been donated and not purchased.
as being extremely helpful to the Greek envoys, offering ships and men in addition to stores of grain sufficient to feed the whole Greek army.28 This confirms that the area produced volumes of wheat exceeding the needs of the population. However, the above incident does not prove that these surpluses were exported regularly, including to areas of central Italy. In the history of Greek Sicily (late 3rd century) Hieron II ‘Basileus’ of Syracuse is the politician who best epitomizes how a valuable land resource could be critical for the management and preservation of political power,
Another source of extreme importance for this event is Dionysius of Halicarnassus ,21 who clarifies certain points and confirms others. He says that the Senate sent Valerio and Gegan to Sicily to buy the wheat. The historian states that ambassadors went to see Gelo, who had recently become tyrant. Dionysius22 strongly disagrees with the historians Licio, Gellius and others (who are not mentioned), because they made the mistake of having given the wheat not to Gelo (72nd Olympiad) but to Dionysius the Elder (93rd Olympiad), making an error of at least 85 years. According to the historian, the older chronicles stated that: ‘… under these consuls ambassadors were sent to Sicily to buy wheat and they had returned from there bringing what the tyrant had given them as a present.’
Although the kingdom of Syracuse had been drastically reduced, thanks to the strategy of the two major powers in the western Mediterranean, Rome and Carthage, Hieron did manage to maintain a broad sphere of territorial influence, including Syracuse, Acre, Leontinoi, Megara, Eloro, Neto and Tauromenion. The possession of the most fertile parts of Sicily allowed the king to increase production in all sectors, especially cereals. Pliny29 talks about the region of Leontini where the ground was producing a hundred times the amount of seed planted. In terms of both the economic and political program of the Basileus, his agricultural resources thus became the key to his power in the Mediterranean (both East and West).
Additional explanations by Dionysius also remark on Plutarch’s failure to say that the wheat had come from Syracuse. In fact, in 491/0 BC Gelone was not the tyrant of Syracuse, but still only the tyrant of Gela.23 He would become the tyrant of Syracuse only in 484 BC. Very likely Plutarch made this mistake because at the time Dinomenide’s fame was linked to Syracuse and not to Gela.
As part of his policy strategies, Hieron sent wheat to Rhodes, Carthage, Alexandria, and especially to Rome. We know that he introduced the famous and much debated lex Hieron30 leading to the creation of a broad-based economic policy and useful propaganda based on euerghesia. All his subjects provided a tithe (a tribute consisting of one-tenth of annual wheat production) and from these reserves Hieron II maintained his state finances, assisted other communities abroad in distress, and began a large civic building programme at home.
We also know that transport expenses were paid by Gelo. The historian24 also states (7.20.3) that the two ambassadors Gegan and Valerio were sent to Sicily for fifty thousand medimni of Sicilian wheat, half of which cost a very low price and the other half had been donated by the tyrant ‘at his own expense’.
What follows is an outline of the most significant examples of Hieron’s examples of eurghesia in the Mediterranean.
Dionysius’ comment about the purchase of half the grain at a good price25 and the rest being a gift is quite persuasive, as it reflects both a pragmatic careful approach to the positive consequences of the tyrant. Through this donation Gelo expresses his euerghesia (beneficence) for people in serious difficulties, and thus improves his image following his illegitimate acquisition of tyrannical power.
As early as 270 BC, when Rome decided to punish in Legio Campana’s Decius Vibellius, Hieron helped the Romans during the ensuing siege by providing both men and wheat.31 Later (250 BC), when the Romans were besieging the Lilibeo32 it seems that he gave 200,000 medimni of wheat as a gift to the Roman army.
At the same time the emporia of cheap wheat gave Gela the possibility to open up to new markets and to increase its trade in the western Mediterranean. This event was also wisely promoted at home and gave prestige to his family. The donation of such an enormous quantity of wheat would confirm the tyrant’s complete control of grain distribution and the region’s large wheat surpluses.26
Eutropius33 tells us that following the philia and symmachia34 between Rome and Syracuse, the Sicilian Basileus was invited to Rome in 237 BC to attend the games he brought a significant gift of wheat for the people.
28
Hdt., 7,160,2. Plinius, N.H. 18,95. 30 Aristotle (Athenaion Politeia 16,4-6) says that Pysistratus had already imposed on the citizens a tax equal to 10% of output. See Rhodes 1981: 215 ss. About the Lex Hieronica cfr., De Sensi 1977: 138 ss. 31 Zon. 8,6,15; 8,3; Dio Cass. fr. 43,1. 32 Liv. 21,50; ‘Ti. Sempronius consul Messanam venit […..] rex Hiero classem ornatam obviam duxit,[……] pollicitusque est, quo animo priore bello populum Romanum iuvenis adiuvisset, eo senem adiuturum; frumentum vestimentaque sese legionibus consulis sociisque navalibus gratis praebiturum; grande periculum Lilybaeo maritimisque civitatibus esse et quibusdam volentibus novas res fore. Ob haec consuli nihil cunctandum visum quin Lilybaeum classe peteret.’ 33 Eutrop. 3,1,2: ‘eodem tempore potentissimus rex Siciliae Hiero Romam vanit ad ludos spectandos et ducenta milia modiorum tritici populo donum exhibuit.’ 34 De Sensi 1977, 134 ss.
At the time, Sicily reaped large quantities of wheat, produced both in the chora geloa and mesogheia under the control of Gela. This fact is also confirmed by the extract in Herodotus27 where he talks about the embassy sent by Gelone shortly before the second Persian invasion of Greece. On that occasion, Gelo is described
29
Plut. Coriol. 16,1-2. Dion. Hal. 7,1,4. 22 Dio. Hal. 7,1,4-6. 23 See also Paus. 6,9,4. 24 Dion. Hal. 7,20,3 see also Plut. Coriol. 16,1. 25 Mafodda 1996: 58. 26 Nenci 1993: 5; Fantasia 1993: 9; Maddoli 1980: 37; Gallo 1992: 374; Dunbabin 1948: 216. 27 Hdt., 7,158,4 ss.; cfr. Mafodda 1992: 247-271. 20 21
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Elena Santagati: Sitodosia, euerghesia and emporia Bravo, B. 1996, ‘Una società legata alla terra’, in I Greci (ed. S. Settis), II,1, (Torino) 527-560 Capogrossi Colognesi, L. 1981, La terra in Roma antica, I: Età arcaica (Roma) Consolo Langher, N.S. 1997, Un imperialismo tra democrazia e tirannide. Siracusa nei secoli V e IV a.C. (Roma) Cordano, F. 1986, Antiche fondazioni greche. Sicilia e Italia meridionale (Palermo) De Sensi Sestito, G. 1977, Gerone II: Un monarca ellenistico in Sicilia (Palermo) Dunbabin, T.J. 1948, The Western Greeks (Oxford) Fantasia, U. 1993, ‘Grano siciliano in Grecia nel V e IV secolo’, ASNP 23, 9-31 Gallo, L. 1984, Alimentazione e demografia nella Grecia antica (Salerno) Gallo, L. 1992, ‘La Sicilia occidentale e l’approvvigionamento cerealicolo’, ASNP, s. III, 22, 2, 365-398. Guarino, A. 1975, La rivoluzione della plebe (Napoli) Hofer, M. 1999, Tyrannen, Aristokraten, Demokraten (Bern) Luraghi, N. 1994, Tirannidi arcaiche di Sicilia e Magna Grecia. Da Panezio di Leontini alla caduta dei Dinomenidi (Firenze) Maddoli, G.1980, ‘Il VI e il V secolo. Ducezio e il movimento siculo’, in La Sicilia antica, ed. Gabba E.- Vallet G., II, 1, (Napoli), 1-101 Mafodda, G. 1992, Erodoto e l’ambasceria dei Greci a Gelone, Kokalos 38, 247-271 Mafodda, G. 1996, La monarchia di Gelone tra pragmatismo, ideologia e propaganda (Messina) Mafodda, G. 1998, ‘Tiranni ed indigeni di Sicilia in età arcaica tra schiavitù, guerra e mecenariato’, Hesperia 9, 19-31 Mafodda G. 2004, ‘Transazioni economiche e relazioni diplomatiche tra Roma e Gela al tempo della tirannide di Gelone’, Kokalos, 253-259 Mele, A. 1979, Il commercio greco arcaico. Prexis ed emporie (Napoli) Nenci, G. 1993, ‘Agrigento e la Sicilia nel quadro dei rifornimenti granari del mondo greco’, ASNP 23, 1-7 Nicosia, S. 1990, ‘Tiranni e cavalli’, CatMostra Lo stile severo in Sicilia. Dall’apogeo della tirannide alla prima democrazia (Palermo), 55-61 Pickard Cambridge, A. W. 1962, Dithyramb, Tragedy and Comedy, 2d ed, revised by TBL Webster (Oxford) Procelli, E. 1989, ‘Aspetti e problemi dell’ellenizzazione calcidese nella Sicilia orientale’, MEFRA 101, 679-689 Pugliese Carratelli, G. (ed.) 1986, I Greci in Occidente, Catalogo mostra Venezia Palazzo Grassi (Milano) Pugliese-Carratelli, G. (a cura di) 1997, Magna Grecia, lo sviluppo politico, sociale, economico (Milano) Ranouil, P.Ch. 1975, Recherches sur le patriciat (Paris) Reed, C.M. 1984, ‘Maritime traders in the Archaic Greek World. A typology of those engaged in the long-distance Transfer of Goods by sea’, AncW 10, 31-44 Richard, J.C. 1978, Les origines de la plèbe romaine (Rome) Richter, W. 1968, ‘Die Landwirtschaft im homerischen Zeitalter’ in Archaeologia Homerica II H, (Gottingen), 134-149 Rhodes, P.J. 1981, A Commentary on the Aristotelian, Athenaion Politeia (Oxford) Vallet, G. 1984, ‘Pindare et la Sicilie’, in Pindare. Entretiens sur l’antiquité classique, 21, (Vandœuvres-Genève), 285-319
In narrating events of 225 BC, Diodorus35 says that when the Celts and Galatians went to war against the Romans the citizens of Rome were greatly alarmed but the Basileus of Syracuse, Hiero II, gave his support to the Romans, sending wheat supplies that could be paid for after the war. As a demonstration of the political power of the ruler of Syracuse, it is worth remembering that Hiero had helped the Carthaginians, who were among the Greeks’ bitterest enemies. In 240 BC, the Carthaginians, at a critical time in their history, were facing a mutiny by their Libyan mercenaries which resulted in an uncontrollable riot. The Carthaginians, further hampered by low grain supplies, seemed on the verge of succumbing when Hieron sent grain to feed their army. The tyrant well knew the importance of Carthage in the western Mediterranean as a counterbalance to the power of Rome.36 In 227/6 BC a disastrous earthquake destroyed the strategically important island of Rhodes in the Eastern Mediterranean. One of the major allies to assist the stricken island was Hieron.37 The euerghesia of Hiero II is also attested by Athenaeus, who writes that Hiero had built a huge ship designed by Archimedes. Athenaeus38 tells us that the ship was filled with 60,000 bushels of wheat, 10,000 containers of Sicilian fish, 20,000 talents of wool and 20,000 talents of other goods. In addition, it seems that Hieron was seeking emporia able to receive and distribute these huge cargoes. When he learned that Egypt was suffering from a severe famine, Hiero gave the ship and its cargo to Ptolemy III Evergete, and, as a further sign of friendship, he changed the name of the ship to Alexandria Syracosia. These episodes show that wheat production was not only considered as a primary source of food, but also as an important and effective means of political propaganda, which was properly and repeatedly exploited by subsequent Sicilian tyrants and kings. Bibliography Ampolo, C. 1994, ‘Tra empória ed emporía: note sul commercio greco in età arcaica e classica’, AION n.s. 1, 29-36 Antonetti, C. 1997, ‘Megara e le sue colonie: un’unità storicoculturale?’, in C. Antonetti (ed.), Il dinamismo della colonizzazione greca. Atti della tavola rotonda Espansione e colonizzazione greca di età arcaica: metodologie e problemi a confronto (Venezia 1995), (Napoli), 83-94 Arnson Svarlien, D.1990, ‘Epicharmus and Pindar at Hieron’s Court’, Kokalos 36-37, 103-110 Bérard, J. 1963, La Magna Grecia (trad. it.), (Torino) Boardman, J. 1986, I Greci sui mari. Traffici e colonie, (The Greek Overseas. Their Early colonies and trade, London 1964), (Firenze) Braccesi, L. 1998, I tiranni di Sicilia (Roma-Bari) Bravo, B. 1977, ‘Remarques sur les assises sociales, les formes d’organisation et la terminologie du commerce maritime grec à l’epoque archaïque’, DHA 3, 1-59 Bravo, B. 1984, ‘Commerce et noblesse en Grèce archaïque’, DHA 10, 99-160
35 36 37 38
Diod. 25,13. See also Polyb. 2,23-31 Polyb. 1,83,2-3 Polyb. 5,88 Athen. 5,298
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Greeks and Sikels in the Hyblaean Area: an Historical Interpretation of the Epigraphic Evidence in the Chalcidian Hinterland Nella Sudano
University of Salento, Department of Cultural Heritage, Lecce, Italy
In this contribution we analyze the inscriptions found in two anhellenic sites of the Chalcidian hinterland, Licodia Eubea and Terravecchia of Grammichele. This is an area affected by the installation of Greeks elements since the 7th century BC. The contact between the two peoples has also led to the acquisition of writing by an oral culture such as that of the Sikels. It is literacy passing from a stage of bilinguism, through the application of the alphabetic system to the Greek language, up to a total adherence to the Greek language.1 I will highlight, in the fluid local context of eastern Sicily in which there is interaction of various cultural codes, the phenomenon of linguistic and onomastic interference resulting from contact between Greek and Epicoric languages (taking account of local dialects and differentiated elaboration capabilities), detectable in morphology and syntax of the texts of the inscriptions presented.
1). Preserved in the ‘P. Orsi’ Archaeological Museum (SR). Dated to the second half of the 6th century BC. The inscription has bustrophedic trend with alpha reversed (with scratches misinterpreted as alpha flag, unlikely on the basis of the analogy with the alpha of the next word), delta orthograde progressive, omicron not squared, my lopsided, rho with diacritic hyphen (probable evidence of anteriority, comparable with the Sciri and Castiglione’s rho, different from the rho of classical form in the inscriptions of Centuripe and Adrano), with a strong resemblance to the Greek alphabet. Several hypotheses have been proposed to read it: Αδιομις Ραροιο (Paino 1958: 163-8; Cordano 2003: 44-5; Agostiniani 2009: 4957), Αδιομις Βαροιο (Lejeune 1972-73: 304), Υδιομις Ραροιο (Zamboni 1978: 987, which reproduces Schmoll 1962: 54-5). After autoptic viewing of the text, I propose to read Αδιομις Βαροιο: The beta with upper horizontal tract is similar to that of Sciri, and it would be plausible for the geographical proximity, and very distinctive from rho, that, in the same word, has the upper tract angular. It is an onomastics formula, with two elements, of dubious linguistic attribution, composed by a proper noun in the nominative with ending in -is and a patronymic genitive. The interference between different linguistic systems is obvious: the ending of the first name -is is widely attested in the Sicilian area (like Àguris2), probably derived from the termination of the oscan *-yos and comparable with the outcome messapic -es from -ias [ -es.
4) Attic Kylix type C concave lip, from the necropolis of Casa Cantoniera (Fig. 10), preserved in the Civic Museum of Grammichele (CT). Dated to the first half of the 5th century BC. The first qoppa is characteristic of the Sikel alphabet (and it has a long-term use in Sicily of the 5th century BC, even among the Greeks); the ypsilon is without the lower tract; the gamma is lunate; the epsilon is with oblique lines. Against the reading proposed by Manganaro (Manganaro 2003: 150-1), should be noted that when we read as dividing straight stroke the fifth and twelfth graphic sign should be considered as dividing straight stroke also the seventh and the ninth sign. By a careful observation of the inscription it can be seen that the fifth letter is a simple iota and that the ‘down line pointing to the left’, that Manganaro notes, does not start from iota but it is a smear of the central tract of ‘E’ (the smear just looks like a continuous sign from the shaft of the ‘Ε’).
This is certainly a phenomenon of linguistic interference, but that does not removes the probability that it is a Sikel inscription (Oltesqo is certainly not a Greek name -om is a not Greek ending). For an anhellenic interpretation of the text also it speaks up the termination in -ed (points 20 and 21), and the Italic morphology of perfect (Agostiniani 1992: 140. Zamboni 1978: 987). 3) Attic Kylix type C plain rim, from the necropolis of ‘Casa Cantoniera’ (Second half of 6th-first quarter of 5th century BC) (Fig. 9). Preserved in civic Museum of Grammichele (CT). Dated to the first half of the 5th century BC. It reads Nedai. Inscription rightwards, but the first letter is left-handed. Presents the reverse ny, the epsilon with very oblique traits, the Sikel arrow alpha.
So we read ϙυπειπινιγοιεμι. The text can be interpreted as an onomastics formula with two elements modeled on the Italic onomastics formula (But it also have comparisons at Mendolito Reses Anires or Rukes Hazsuies. Agostiniani and Cordano 2002: 85-7. Agostiniani 2009: 49-57) with both members marked as dative, indicating possession. The absence of a derivational nature (like *-yos o *-nos) in the second name only apparently is a difficulty.
Several hypotheses were made about the interpretation of the name: theonym (Manganaro 2003: 149), common name of the devotee and funerary formulary (Agostiniani 1976-7: 229-30), anthroponym (Agostiniani-Cordano 2002: 83-5). It should be the wrong output of Nendas, with the fall of ny because internal weak position. Comparisons are different and of the same period.16
For onomastical comparisons we have to remember that Steph. Byz. records a toponym ‘Κύπε, Σικελίας φρούριον’, and in Esichius we find ‘Κυπάρα: ή έν Σικελία κρήνη Άρέθουσα’ (Sikel name of Arethousa spring. Zamboni 1978: 974) to compare with the lat. cupa ‘pit’, lic. kupa and κύπελλα ‘fragments of bread left on the table’.17
Comparetti 1919-20: 200-3 (knew the words derived from the work of Phryn. Ephialtes). Manganaro 1968-69: 202 (and thought it meant the kottabos race, recalling a passage from the comic Antiph. 666f-667a. Edmonds, and supporting the Greekness of the language). Lazzarini 1973-74: 344-6 (doubted the Greekness of inscription and proposed for the term poteroµ the inclusion in the Etruscan area). Agostiniani and Cordano 2002: 82-3 (gives the graffito to the indigenous sphere but with a loanword from Greek). 14 ‘In the achaean alphabet and anhellenic language that seems to refer to an institutional and territorial self-definition of the indigenous people through the word touta, designating the fundamental political and organizational instance of the italic world and Osco in particular’. 15 ‘Eine Nennung des Gegenstands ist zwar grundsätzlich möglich, doch stimmen weder dessen Gestal noch die Lautung der Sequenz genau zu einer Entlehnung von griech.’ (Willi 2008: 346) 16 We can find it at Castiglione (Ragusa) on two ionic cups (Cordano 1993: 155-6); at Gela (Ν]ενδαι εμι Καριμαιοι) (Manni Piraino 1980: 40), at Montagna di Marzo (νενδας in the grave n. 211 and in the grave n. 188 two inscriptions νεν probably abbreviations of νενδας (Crevatin 1975: 26 a-b and 27), at Sciri Sottano (as first word in the famous funerary stone) (Schmoll 1958: 30-1). We have to remember that in Siciliy is attested also the anthroponym Νειάδας (noun derivated in -das) at Gela (dated in the 6th- 5th century BC) (Landi 1981: 98). Besides ‘Νήστις: Σικελική θεός’ water goddess of Agrigento, attested by Phot., Lex, cfr. Eustath. 1180. 14, it is attributed by Zamboni to a *ned-tis, to compare also with the illiric Νέδα. 13
Furthermore, the same stem is attested as anthroponym on a lead plate broken in three pieces of 450-400 BC from the area of Gela, with the name of an indigenous debtor child (Κυπυρα); the same onomastics root Κυπρά/Κυπυρα is also on two inscribed clay weights from Terravecchia of Cuti of the 6th-5th century BC (Dubois 1989 175 and 177).18 We are in the presence of a further linguistic interference in which a Greek morphology (termination of the dative with iota ascribed) is associated to an anhellenic onomastics and syntactic construction (influenced by italic, the dative of possession is not attested in archaic Greek epigraphy, where the owner’s name appears in the genitive case, as well as the onomastics formula with two elements completely foreign to the Hellenic world). Besides, if εμι is interpreted as borrowing of the Greek verb ‘to
Philetas ap. Ath. 483 A. Also in Apulia (Cupàre), and at Agrigento (Cupìas) (4th century BC), in Campania (Cùparos) (1st BC–1st AD). 17 18
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Nella Sudano: Greeks and Sikels in the Hyblaean Area be’, here we note a very interesting case of ‘infrasentential codemixing’.
Ainesidemos, either with the Euboia conquest in 485 BC, near to Terravecchia, because of Gelon,22 which, as attested by Strabo23, became for a short time a Syracusan phrourion before being finally deserted.
5) Small bronze plate, from the sanctuary of ‘Poggio dell’Aquila’ (Fig. 11). Preserved in the ‘P. Orsi’ Archaeological Museum (SR). I propose a date around the mid-5th century BC. We read Δαμαίνετος Μνασία.
6) Faraone (1991: 195) writes on this that ‘the lead voodoo doll from Sicily has an ugly face, which has rightly been described as “demonic”’. This relates to a lead figurine (7.5cm high), of magical significance (a Rachepuppe, revenge doll), naked with the head covered in holes, with head and feet completely twisted around (Fig. 12). It is an apotròpaion against the evil eye, a voodoo doll. Purchased at Terravecchia by P. Orsi in 1903 for the Syracuse Museum. Preserved in the ‘P. Orsi’ Archaeological Museum (SR). Dated to 5th–first 4th century BC. Manganaro (1997: 334-5) has proposed a comparison with a specimen found at Pozzuoli, and also with the male figure in bronze from Kephallenia.
This is a personal name followed by patronymic. For onomastics comparisons it should be noted that a Δαμαίνετος is attested at Akrai (in the 3rd century BC), at Taras and at Syracuse (ca. 340-335 BC) as well as in ionic form in Plutarch,19 Δημαίνετος (demagogue opposed to Timoleon’s democracy). Diodorus20 records a native anthroponym Daimenes that has the same stem. There are different attestations in genitive Δ[αμαι]νετο[υ (IG XIV 189 Agrigenti, 190 Licata and 191 Catina). Μνασίας is widely attested.21Μνασανδρίδα is attested at Selinous in the first half of the 5th century BC, as well as in Crete (3rd BC), Kyrenaica (4th-3rd BC), Rhodes (3rd-2nd BC), Lindos (4th-1st BC). From Gela we have a Μνασιθάλες (6th-5th) and a Μνασίμαχος (5th) appears in a contract from the territory of Gela (Dubois 1989 134). The onomastics are doric.
There are ten names inscribed on his back (the third and seventh are of uncertain reading): Θοας | Σοστρατος | ΙΙαρον | Ηερμοδορος | Ηιερονυμος | Αριστις | Σιναρας | Λυσανιας | Αθανις | Σοσιμος Of the ten names inscribed only one is of dubious Hellenic origin, the others are Doric.24 A doric personal onomastics in a document pertaining to the private sphere, like a ‘Rachepuppe’, is highly indicative. The dating of the voodoo doll at 5th–beginning of 4th century BC would well fit in the historical events of the period.
Two interpretations have been proposed for the function of the plate: public card (Cordano 1992a: 455-8), which is essential for its owner to participate in the public life of his city, to vote, to be chosen for the functions of public office, etc.; or a small dedicatory plate (Manganaro 2003: 152) applied over an anathema, but there are no holes for the application. To support the first hypothesis the comparisons are not with the cards from Kamarina but with a leaden plate from Styria, Euboea (first half of 5th BC) (IG XII (9) 56), where 500 little plates were found near an altar. In favour of the second hypothesis we have a similar bronze plate, found in the sanctuary of ‘Scala Portazza’ at Leontini, on which we read six names with patronymics (dating from the mid-5th century) (Manganaro 2004: 61-2).
Hdt. VII, 156. Strabo. X, 1, 15. 24 Θοας is attested at Ragusa (Nunziata Vecchia) in a Hellenistic epitaph (2nd-1st BC). Σοστ(ρ)ατος is attested at Taras, Kamarina (5th BC Cordano 1992), Syracuse (472-468 BC Pindar Ol. VI 9, 80), Centuripe (1st BC Cic., In Verr. II). Compound noun from Σω-