A provenance study of Mycenaean pottery from Northern Israel

The occurrence of imported Mycenaean pottery in the Late Bronze Age southern Levant is one of the most conspicuous aspects of Eastern Mediterranean trade connections during this period. A group of 183 Mycenaean pottery vessels from 14 sites in northern Israel, from both coastal and inland settlement contexts were analyzed by Neutron Activation Analysis. The results indicate that the vast majority of these vessels have a similar profile and can be provenanced to the north-eastern Peloponnese or more specifically, to the Mycenae/Berbati workshop in the Argolid. Possible interpretations of these results are presented and discussed against the historical and cultural background of the Late Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean.     

Mycenaean pottery from the Argolid and Achaia—a mineralogical approach where chemistry leaves unanswered questions

The chemical classification of Mycenaean pottery from the Northern Peloponnese by neutron activation analysis (NAA) resulted in two groups with very similar chemical compositions assigned to production centres in the Argolid and in Achaia, respectively. The statistical separation of these two groups on the basis only of their chemical composition was difficult, and not clear‐cut for all of the examined samples. A complementary mineralogical examination by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) of some selected samples indicated differences in the mineralogical composition, which confirmed the determined chemical differences. Furthermore, a clay sample was examined, which showed a composition similar to that of the pottery.     

A Late Bronze Age Ship from Liman Tepe with Reference to the Late Bronze Age Ships from İZMIR / Bademgediği Tepesi and Kos / Seraglio

In this article, a Mycenaean pottery sherd from Liman Tepe is discussed. The piece, which was locally produced, probably belongs to a ring‐based crater (FS 281). Comparisons with other, similar sherds suggest that warriors aboard a ship are depicted. As one of the few examples of its period decorated in this way, the sherd has been dated to the early or middle phase of LH III C, belonging to the period after the collapse of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and the Mycenaean kingdoms in mainland Greece. The depictions on this sherd are highly significant, as they contribute to the corpus of evidence for migrations from the western to the eastern Mediterranean and the unrest which characterized the period.     

MYCENAEAN POTTERY FROM CILICIA IN OXFORD

Summary. The Ashmolean Museum possesses a small group of Late Mycenaean (Late Helladic IIIC) sherds from Kazanli in Southern Cilicia, which it acquired in 1930. These are of interest since, although similar pottery is known from nearby Tarsus, they appear to be slightly later in date than most of the other pottery from Kazanli recovered by excavation or surface survey. One of them has a pictorial representation of an unusual nature.
The appearance of Mycenaean pottery in Cilicia has often been associated with the arrival of Mycenaean settlers (particularly refugee settlers) around 1200 B.C. However, it is doubtful whether the pottery really justifies this interpretation. Where identifiable, the Cilician Mycenaean seems to display closer links with Cyprus and the East Aegean than with the Greek Mainland; and, when other evidence is taken into account, there seems little reason to suppose that it is necessarily the result of colonisation from Mycenaean Greece.     

Dating the A Cemetery at Kish: A Reconsideration

Abstract

The site of ancient Kish consists of a series of mounds about eight miles east of Babylon in the flood plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. On several of the eastern mounds extensive remains of the Sumerian (Early Dynastic = ED) period in the early 3rd millenium B.C. were excavated in the 1920s. Among these remains was a cemetery in which were found many examples of a distinctive kind of pottery, the so-called “goddess-handled jars,” which have come to be associated with the last phase of the period and thus to serve as a criterion for dating sites where these occur.

It will be argued here that such jars were actually manufactured over a longer span of time within the Early Dynastic period and that they are therefore a less precise instrument for dating than has been believed. In my view their absence from some sites is to be explained not by chronology but by regional differences. If this argument is correct, then the dating of a number of Early Dynastic sites will have to be re-examined with greater attention to regional considerations that have often been overlooked in the past.     

Variability of Ceramic Production and Consumption on the Greek Mainland During the Middle Stages of the Late Bronze Age: The Waterpots from the Menelaion,Sparta

The article examines pottery groups manufactured in non‐Mycenaean traditions from the site of the Menelaion in Laconia (southern Peloponnese, Greece) during the middle stages of the Late Bronze Age. Pottery traditions are first defined using macroscopic study of surface and break features. Two distinct handmade traditions, and another one employing the wheel but with some links to traditional handmade pottery manufactured on the island of Aegina, were recognized and subjected to petrographic analysis. Its results confirmed that potters’ choices regarding clay preparation were different in the case of each identified tradition, being most distinct for the largest group of handmade undecorated water jars. The study highlights survival of pottery traditions with roots in the Middle Helladic period well into the Late Bronze Age, a fact that has not received appropriate attention in the scholarly discourse. It captures the very last stage of their existence, as just a few decades later the production and consumption are entirely dominated by Mycenaean pottery.     

CHARACTERIZATION AND THERMOLUMINESCENCE DATING OF PREHISTORIC POTTERY SHERDS FROM MILENA

This paper reports the results obtained applying absolute dating methodologies and mineralogical, petrographical and micropalaeontological characterization techniques to prehistoric pottery sherds varying in age from the Sicilian Middle Neolithic to Bronze Age. All samples came from the archaeological area of Milena (Caltanissetta, Sicily); those of the Bronze Age were found on a site with a precise stratigraphic succession. The investigation has contributed to the determination of an absolute chronology for the Milena prehistoric period. The data provide, for the first time in Sicily, absolute dates covering a wide spectrum of cultures following one another in the same area and, for the Bronze Age site, correlated to the precise stratigraphic succession. The petrographical and mineralogical analyses allowed not only the identification of the principal constituents of the pottery, but also the formulation of some hypotheses regarding the specific manufacturing techniques of different epochs. The microfacies, obtained from the presence of fossils in the groundmass of the pottery, were also analysed and compared with the microfauna present in the Miocene clays outcropping in the area. The data identified local Messinian clay as the raw material probably used in the manufacture of the pottery and also support the presence, already assumed by archaeologists, of imported Mycenaean pottery, thus supporting the dates obtained on pottery taken from the same stratum.     

THE EMERGENCE OF WANAX IDEOLOGY IN THE MYCENAEAN PALACES

Summary. The following approach tries, as far as the Greek mainland is concerned, to discuss the prominent position of the wanax from the archaeological record in Mycenaean palaces, in the burial grounds and in the Linear B tablets. Multivariate analysis and explanatory methods related to repeated patterns reveal different stages in the Mycenaean ideological setting from the LH III A 1 period onwards, despite its roots in earlier stages of Mycenaean civilization. The complex and more sophisticated social position of the wanax points to historical implications associated with the rise of the centralized Mycenaean kingdoms.     

MYCENAEAN PICTORIAL POTTERY FROM CYPRUS IN OXFORD

Summary. Six fragments of Mycenaean pictorial vases picked up at different sites in Cyprus are described and discussed. Comparison with other such material and chemical analysis of most of the fragments lead to the conclusion that the original vases were made in the north-east Peloponnese. These and other findings suggest the possibility of a pottery export trade during the 14th–earlier 13th century BC (Late Helladic IIIA2–IIIB1), such as is documented for 6th century BC Athens.     

An assemblage of 17th-century pottery from Bombay Wharf,Rotherhithe, London SE16

Abstract

A detailed examination of an assemblage of pottery deposited during the last quarter of the 17th century at Bombay Wharf, in Rotherhithe, London, provides the opportunity to look at the wider context of painted earthenwares made at selected centres on the Continent and found in London. The Rotherhithe material includes a high proportion of imported pottery, with fine examples of Portuguese faience, Ligurian maiolica and Dutch tin-glazed ware. The wider distribution of these wares in London is considered, as well as questions of the original context in which they appeared and the circumstances of their disposal.     

THE ORIGIN OF THE PICTORIAL KRATER FROM THE ‘MYCENAEAN’ TOMB AT TEL DAN

A Late Bronze Age Mycenaean pictorial krater, decorated with a chariot procession, from tomb 387 at Tel Dan, Israel, was examined by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The origin of the krater is placed in the Argolid, very likely in the region of Mycenae or Berbati.     

Stable isotope analysis of 14 individuals from the Mesolithic cemetery of Vasilyevka II,Dnieper Rapids region,Ukraine

Bone collagen extracted from 14 humans from the Mesolithic cemetery of Vasilyevka II was analysed for their δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N ratios. This cemetery is one of only two later Mesolithic cemeteries from the Dnieper Rapids region, being dated to 7300–6220 cal BC on the basis of three radiocarbon determinations. This analysis provides insights into the nature of the diet of the Dnieper populations at the very end of the Mesolithic period, prior to the adoption of pottery in the region, and the assumed shift towards the exploitation of domesticates in the economies of the populations of the Dnieper region, and considers these in relation to broader temporal indicators of diet in the region.     

PROVENANCE DETERMINATION OF MYCENAEAN IIIC VESSELS FROM THE 1934–1939 EXCAVATIONS AT TARSUS‐GÖZLÜKULE BY NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS

Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) has been carried out in order to determine the provenance of a selected set of 30 sherds of Mycenaean style excavated at Tarsus‐Gözlükule. The provenance could be established or made feasible in 80% of the samples. The results confirm the current status of research, namely that in the LH IIIC phase trade patterns changed and Mycenaean wares, which used to be exported to the Near East, were now produced locally. At Tarsus, the LH IIIC imports came from Cyprus and the eastern Aegean.     

Hazor - a city state between the major powers

The problem of the identity of the conqueror of Hazor is discussed against the background of the basic political constellations in South Syria and North Canaan in the 13th century. The Biblical references to Hazor in Joshua and in Judges are critically examined. This is followed by a survey of the results of excavations in Hazor up to the present (Dec.1999). The thesis that Hazor was destroyed around 1230 B.C. is questioned in the light of the recent debate on the Mycenaean IIIB ware dating. The final destruction of Hazor is seen as one of the aftermaths of the battle of Kadesh, when Ramses II directed his first campaign at Upper Galilee to subdue his rebellious vassals.     

XRF analysis of glass beads from the Mycenaean palace of Nestor at Pylos,Peloponnesus, Greece: new insight into the LBA glass trade

In recent years there has been a growing interest in Mycenaean glass among archaeologists and scientists. Scholars have traditionally thought that all Mycenaean glass was imported either in finished form or as ingots and simply shaped or worked at the Mycenaean sites. Chemical studies of other Mycenaean glass (50 and 43) support the hypothesis that glass was imported into Mycenaean Greece, but there is also indication for glass production in mainland Greece at the palace of Thebes (Nikita and Henderson, 2006). There is no evidence for glass making or working at the Palace of Pylos, yet there is an abundance of glass beads there. The aim of this paper is to identify the technology and source for the glass of these beads and thus to ascertain how Pylos was connected to the broader Mycenaean and Mediterranean economies. The composition of the glasses was determined by means of portable XRF analysis and compared to that of other Late Bronze Age glasses from Egypt, Mesopotamia and mainland Greece. Four blue beads coloured with cobalt and one blue bead coloured with copper have Ti and Zr compositions consistent with an Egyptian origin of manufacture while five other beads show Ti and Zr concentrations consistent with a Mesopotamian origin (Shortland et al., 2007). Based on the dearth of Egyptian and Mesopotamian imports in Pylos, the presented data support the hypothesis that Pylos was receiving via internal Greek trade routes foreign-produced glass, which may have been worked abroad or in Greece.     

Firing technique characterization of black-slipped pottery in Praeneste by low field 2D NMR relaxometry

This study was aimed at individuating characteristics related to the pottery’s firing technique of Classical Roman producers, through the low field single-sided NMR relaxometry. The approach is based on a recent method of analysis, the correlation of the longitudinal and transverse NMR relaxation times of a liquid probe (in this case distilled water) filling the porous system of ceramics. The analyzed findings form two homogeneous classes with dating and place of production well established through the producer trademarks. Pottery findings belong to the black-slipped pottery productions of the Latin ancient city of Praeneste between third and second century B.C. and have been attributed to two different ”patriziae” production families: gens Samiaria and gens Trebonia. A further fragment with Greek kylix style, found in the same archaeological area, has also been analyzed, in order to understand if it had been imported from Greece, or made in Praeneste in imitation of the Greek style.     

Attempts at thermoluminescence dating of fired materials from the Przeworsk Culture settlements

The thermoluminescence (TL) dating method has a significant measurement error margin reaching almost 10%. Due to this fact it could be considered as little effective in case of such sites from the Roman period as burial grounds with many artefacts useful for archaeological dating. However, for many settlements from this period, where pottery is the only kind of artefacts, the TL method can give notable results. The main purpose of the study was to make an attempt at TL dating of pottery and clay daub samples from the Nieszawa Kolonia and Kręcieszki sites and to compare the obtained dates with the results of archaeological dating of selected features from the Przeworsk Culture settlements. In the Kręcieszki site the fragments of burnt clay daub were dated by the TL method for the first time in the Lublin laboratory. It turned out that clay daub is an equally good dating material as pottery. It can be found that the TL dating of pottery from Nieszawa Kolonia confirms two stages of settlement. The first settlement stage is related to the phases B2-B2/C1-C1a of the Roman period, i.e. from the beginning of the 2^nd to the beginning of the 3^rd century. The second group of TL dates corresponds to the phases C2D that is to the second stage of settlement, from the second half of the 3^rd century to the half of the 5^th century AD. The results of TL dating of pottery and clay daub in the Kręcieszki site are rather similar and correspond to the phase B1/B2 of the period of Roman influence, determined from pottery style, but can also indicate the phase B2/C1.     

THE ALPS—A BARRIER OR A PASSAGE FOR CERAMIC TRADE?*

The Alps as a barrier : ceramic remnants of the so‐called Laugen‐Melaun culture (c. 11th to c. sixth centuries bc ) can be found in the northern Italy (Trentino/Alto Adige)—eastern Switzerland—Liechtenstein and western Austria region. A petrographic study of 454 sherds from this area covering a time span of 500 years reveals the following. (1) The pottery from the Trentino/Alto Adige contains a predominantly volcanic temper, which can be linked to the volcanic rocks of the Bolzano area—in other words, to the core region of this culture. This material is therefore of a local/regional production. (2) These ceramics were imported from the Bolzano region to southeastern Switzerland (the Inn Valley) and the amount of imported pottery decreases markedly from the 11th century bc (approximately 70% imported) to the seventh to sixth centuries bc (approximately 10% imported). (3) No imported pottery can be detected north of the Alpine crest in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria, and in this region serpentinite temper was preferred by ancient potters. These results demonstrate that long‐lasting contacts and ceramic trade existed between the populations of the Inn Valley and the Trentino/Alto Adige. Such contacts could have been motivated by intermarriages between the two populations and/or economic exchange. The potters north of the Alpine ridge adopted the Laugen‐Melaun style and produced such pottery locally. The use of serpentinite temper is puzzling and not related to any technological advantage. (Could it be recycled material? Or does it have any sociocultural specificity?) The Alps as a passage : 59 fragments of a black gloss ware, the so‐called Campana, unearthed at 11 Late Latene sites (second to first centuries bc ) in Switzerland and neighbouring Germany were analysed chemically by X‐ray fluorescence. The results revealed: (1) that all of them were produced either in Italy or Lyon and then exported to the north; (2) that two principal south–north exchange routes existed, (a) fluviatile, along the Rhône–Rhine corridor and (b) trans‐Alpine, using the Alpine passes, such as the Simplon and the Grand St Bernard.     

Technology Transfer at the Periphery of the Mycenaean World: The Cases of Mycenaean Pottery Found in Central Macedonia (Greece) and the Plain of Sybaris (Italy)*

The study of technology transfer in pottery production to the periphery of the Mycenaean world has been addressed by considering two different areas, southern Italy and central Macedonia. Technological features such as ceramic paste, decoration and firing have been determined for different ceramic groups established according to provenance criteria. The studies of technology and provenance have been performed following an archaeometric approach, using neutron activation analysis, petrographic analysis, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results have revealed the existence of two different models. On the one hand, southern Italy seems to exhibit a more organized pottery production, which follows a Mycenaean‐like technology, while in central Macedonia production is probably more varied, being based in part on the technology of the local tradition.     

Lighting practices in early Greece (from the end of the Mycenaean world to the 7th century BC

Reconsideration of the materials of lighting from a number of Early Greek sites leads to a review of the long-standing scholarly argument about an abrupt break in the use of typologically distinctive lamps in the period between the 11th and early 7th centuries BC. According to this, there is a marked absence of easily identifiable lamp-types, after the elaborate stone and clay Minoan and Mycenean series. Drawing on a combined approach to both its literary and archaeological aspects, I shall attempt to re-assess the truth of this 'traditionally' negative argument. In particular, certain pottery series, such as bowls, kothons and similar categories of plain pots with wide geographical distribution and popularity from the Mycenaean to Historical times (mainly until the 3rd century BC) will be reviewed and suggested as possible sources of light. In addition, I shall suggest — with the aid of a simple experiment — other simple ways of lighting a lamp by means directly available from nature.