NEW ARCHAEOINTENSITY RESULTS FROM GREEK MATERIALS*

This paper reports palaeointensity results from Greek materials from EC and AD periods, recently obtained in the Sofia palaeomagnetic laboratory. The classical Thellier method was applied and of 26 specimens studied 20 gave acceptable results. The paper aims to compare the newly obtained results with previously published ones from Greece and neighbouring territories relating to the same period of time. The trend of palaeointensity obtained for the period 2900–1700 BC coincides well with the Bulgarian intensity variation curve, while the younger period, 1900–1200 BC, needs further investigation because of the contradictory results obtained by different authors. It is also established that the bricks from the church of Agios Ioannis are earlier than the date of the building's construction and are reused.     

RADIOCARBON DATING OF MORTARS FROM ANCIENT GREEK PALACES

This study deals with radiocarbon dating of lime mortars which were used as supports for Mycenaean and Minoan paintings. The ¹⁴C dates are. on the whole, compatible with the historical data. and thus show that a large proportion of the Mycenaean surficial coatings can be dated by the radiocarbon method. However. in order to determine the age of the mortars accurately. it is necessary to evaluate the amount of sedimentary carbonate which may have been added to them. It is shown here that the oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of lime mortars are significant indicators that such a mixing actually took place.     

A LYONS BRANCH OF THE POTTERY-MAKING FIRM OF ATEIUS OF AREZZO

Fifty-one waster sherds of Terra Sigillata (～20-0 b.c. ) from Arezzo, Italy and Lyons, France have been chemically analysed for twenty-eight elements by neutron activation and seven by X-ray fluorescence. Most of the elemental abundances were measured with high precision and cross-comparisons of the two techniques of measurement (and sample preparation) give added insight as to their relative precision, the calibration differences and the extent to which volatile materials such as carbonate or water influence the results. The sherds from Arezzo formed a homogeneous and distinctive chemical group while all but two of those from Lyons were classified into three such groups. Two of the Lyons groups (MML A and MML B) were from Montée de La Muette and one was from Loyasse. Four additional sherds from houses excavated in Strasbourg and one from Lyons, all of which bore the signature of the famous Anetine pottery-making firm of Ateius, were also analyzed by the same techniques. These signed sherds all had the same composition pattern and it closely matched one of those from Montée de La Muette (MML A) in Lyons. It is therefore suggested that these five sherds bearing the Ateius signature were made in the general vicinity of Lyons and were part of the output of an as yet unknown Gallic branch of the firm of Ateius.     

EVALUATION OF INCLUSIONS IN MORTARS OF DIFFERENT HISTORICAL PERIODS FROM GREEK MONUMENTS*

Mortars were among the first materials used for construction purposes, even from prehistoric times. Their systematic study reveals that they often contained inclusions, which were introduced with the main constituents or added as improvers of mortars' properties. The present study focuses on recording the types of inclusions found in more than 1000 mortar samples of different types (structural, renders and floor mosaic substrates), taken from various monuments of Greece. This extensive study proves that inclusions occur in all types of mortars of all periods and can be distinguished into two categories: those that are added deliberately to mortars to meet specific needs of improvement of their final properties, such as fibrous materials (wood chips, straw); and inclusions that are incorporated into the mass as impurities in the raw materials (lime and clay lumps, shells and probably charcoal particles).     

A GREEK METROLOGICAL KOINE: A LEAD WEIGHT FROM THE WESTERN BLACK SEA REGION IN THE ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM, OXFORD

Summary. A unique commercial lead weight from the western Black Sea region is examined in its metrological and historical context. The style and combination of relief symbols on the object (Athenian owl and Kyzikene tunny) suggest a quarter mina in a market weight system used equivalently at Athens and Kyzikos by the last quarter of the fifth century BC, and developed within a long-term process of broad commercial integration of the Aegean and Black Seas in Classical times. The authors consider such a process to have been caused by the economic motivations of individual city-states, not the direct Athenian imperialism expressed in the so-called Standards Decree.     

STUDY OF ANCIENT GREEK COPPER COINS FROM NIKOPOLIS (EPIRUS) AND THESSALONIKI (MACEDONIA)

Ancient copper coins from the Greek cities Nikopolis in Epirus and Thessaloniki in Macedonia, minted during Roman imperial times (31 BC to AD 268), were analysed non-destructively by proton induced X-ray emission, after removal of the patina. An intercompar-ison study using different analytical methods was also performed on five coins. Eleven elements were analysed quantitatively on all coins. Statistical analysis of the results was performed for their presentation in the form of dendrograms. Finally, the variations in the concentrations of some individual elements from emperor to emperor were examined.     

TRADE IN GREEK DECORATED POTTERY

Summary. The suggestions that Greek decorated pottery was cheap, and that in trade overseas it can be regarded as little more than 'saleable ballast', are refuted by demonstration of its relative value, by weight and by volume, beside that of other commodities for which comparable evidence is available. From this its profitability may also be deduced.     

MILLSTONE PROVENANCING USED IN TRACING THE ROUTE OF A FOURTH-CENTURY BC GREEK MERCHANT SHIP

A Greek merchant ship carrying a cargo of millstones, amphorae and bronze vessels was wrecked at Sec, off Mallorca, Spain. in about 375-350 BC. Geochemical provenancing of the millstones helps in reconstructing the route of the ship and complements evidence from the amphorae. Thirty-eight lava hopper-rubber millstones and one Pompeian-style rotary mill from the ship were sampled for provenancing. The hopper-rubbers are mainly of basalt from the island of Pantelleria off North Africa in the Sicilian channel, one is from Nisyros off the Anatolian coast, and the Pompeian mill is of ignimbrite from Mulargia in Sardinia. The hopper-rubbers are the most westerly examples known in the Mediterranean. and the Nisyros mill represents the first proven instance of millstone transport between the east and the west Mediterranean. The occurrence of the Pompeian mill in a fourth-ceniury BC context is evidence of the use of this type a century earlier than previously thought. The Nisyros mill was probably taken on board at the start of the ship's voyage in the eastern Mediterranean, the Pantellerian mills may have been collected partly as ballast at Pantelleria, and the Mulargia mill was probably picked up at Carthage.     

EARLY GREEK VASES IN CYPRUS: EUBOEAN AND ATTIC

Summary. The aim of the present project is to put to the test by using chemical analysis the origin of early Greek vases imported to Cyprus. In the present case samples were taken from vases found in the cemetery at Amathus published by Prof. J. N. Coldstream. The scientific results coincide with his attributions and confirm the suggestion that there was a revival of communication between the Aegean and Cyprus from the end of the tenth century, and that Euboean vases were the earliest imports to have reached the island and outnumbered other imports.     

MICROSTRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF EARLY WESTERN GREEK INCUSE COINS*

In this research, we studied the compositional, crystallographic and microstructural properties of a series of incuse silver didrachmae stemming from the Achaean colonies of Metapontum and Caulonia. In this paper, we address the following points: (i) the metal sources, (ii) the fabrication process and (iii) degradation phenomena, such as incrustation and embrittlement. In this investigation, we employed energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X‐ray diffractometry, and scanning electron and optical microscopies. The patina is mainly composed of chlorargirite. The coins consist of a silver‐rich alloy containing ～ 1% of Au and Cu. Metallographic and local compositional analyses revealed a complex scenario of inclusions. In one instance, unalloyed copper grains, two‐phase copper/bismuth globuli and high‐bismuth filaments were observed. In other cases, globular Cu ₂ S (chalcocite) inclusions were noticed. The presence of SiO ₂ and iron oxide inclusions is ubiquitous in these samples. Distorted twin lines and strain lines can be detected, denoting work‐hardening of recrystallized flans. Grain polygonalization can occasionally be noticed, hinting at secondary recrystallization processes. The irregularly shaped iron oxide particles often act as crack initiation sites. Fracture facets are generally intergranular. On some areas, intergranular decohesion is also observed. Open cracks sometimes contain AgCl. The strain lines that can be noticed on the fracture surfaces indicate work‐hardening and residual microstructural deformation. Information regarding inclusions and the presence of significant amounts of gold can be tentatively used to address provenancing and fabrication issues.     

CARBON AND OXYGEN ISOTOPIC RATIOS: A DATA BASE FOR CLASSICAL GREEK AND ROMAN MARBLE

An isotopic data base of δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O analyses of 528 samples collected from 39 classical Greek and Roman quarries of Turkey, Greece, Italy and Tunisia has been accumulated. The discriminative possibilities of the data base vary from quarry to quarry. Most quarries have a distinctive pattern for either or both variables, but some have more than one grouping. The data also overlap for many quarries preventing a unique provenance assignment. If the alternatives are known so that the total pool of possible sources is reduced, the data base can then discriminate and assign a provenance for most classical marble artifacts.