A fragment of a giant vessel dating to the Late Geometric period (c. 750 BC) with two partly pres... more A fragment of a giant vessel dating to the Late Geometric period (c. 750 BC) with two partly preserved mourners from the margin of a prothesis or ekphora scene is kept in the archaeological collection of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens. It is demonstrated that the fragment formed part of a belly-handled amphora that was manufactured in the Dipylon workshop. The sherd was found in Athens in the area of the railway line slightly west of Theseion station. Therefore, the amphora fragment bears witness to the existence of an otherwise unknown high status burial place next to the cemeteries in the Kerameikos and the Agora area that was probably destroyed during construction of the railway.
The project »Shapes of Ancient Greece« is funded by the Federal Ministry
of Education and Researc... more The project »Shapes of Ancient Greece« is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and aims at digitizing and re-contextualizing the complete archaeological collection of the Athens branch of the German Archaeological Institute. Furthermore, all the approximately 37.000 objects will be provided with metadata. Most of these objects are pottery sherds. The items will be both photographed and scanned. The »Laser Aided Profiler« is used for generating two-dimensional profil drawings. The »Go!SCAN 3D-Scanner« for creating 3D models of selected objects. The digital images and the metadata will be published in iDAI.objects and linked to other databases under the umbrella of the iDAI.world portal.
J. Maran et al. (eds.), Objects, Ideas and Travellers. Contacts between the Balkans, the Aegean and Western Anatolia during the Bronze and Early Iron Age. Volume to the Memory of Alexandru Vulpe, Universitätsforschungen zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 350, 2020
The terms ‚wanax‘ (wa-na-ka) and ‚lāwāgetās‘ (ra-wa-ke-ta) are not only documented
in Linear B re... more The terms ‚wanax‘ (wa-na-ka) and ‚lāwāgetās‘ (ra-wa-ke-ta) are not only documented in Linear B records but also in very similar form in a Phrygian inscription on a façade monument or rock-cut shrine in Midas City. This so-called Midas monument dates to the years around 700 BC or even later. According to recent linguistic research, the Phrygian terms were not adopted from the Greek language, as often assumed in earlier studies, but constitute a common Greek-Phrygian linguistic heritage. The plausibility of this result of linguistic research is evaluated from an archaeological point of view and the possible consequences for our understanding of the development and structure of the Mycenaean society are discussed.
The evidence for cremation burials in the LH/LM IIIC
period is re-evaluated. It can be concluded ... more The evidence for cremation burials in the LH/LM IIIC period is re-evaluated. It can be concluded that the widely held view, according to which the custom of cremation was introduced to the Aegean from Asia Minor, no longer applies. It is necessary to differentiate between cremation as a minority rite in ordinary chamber tomb cemeteries and cremation as a majority rite in tumuli in order to understand the cultural affiliation of the custom. Cremation as a minority rite in chamber tomb cemeteries probably derives from Italian influence. The tumuli with inurned cremations in the Argolid seem to be connected to the Western Balkans. There was no direct or continuous development that led directly from the occasional LH IIIC cremation burials to cremation as the almost exclusively practiced type of burial in Attica and Euboea during the Early Iron Age. Cremations during the LH IIIC period and during the Early Iron Age are two separate phenomena, each having a different cultural and social background.
Gibt es submykenische Schichten in Siedlungen Mittelgriechenlands und Südthessaliens?
Die Exis... more Gibt es submykenische Schichten in Siedlungen Mittelgriechenlands und Südthessaliens?
Die Existenz einer submykenischen chronologischen Phase ist das Thema einer langandauernden wissenschaftlichen Diskussion. Die submykenische Periode kann mittlerweile zwar mit ausreichender Deutlichkeit in Grabkontexten nachgewiesen werden, jedoch bleibt eine Unterscheidung von Siedlungsschichten der SH IIIC Spät-, der submykenischen und der protogeometrischen Zeit schwierig. Dies ist auch der Grund, warum die Existenz einer submykenischen Phase von manchen Wissenschaftlern angezweifelt wird. Diese Auffassung beruht jedoch auf methodisch problematischen Voraussetzungen: Zum einen wird erwartet, daß jede chronologische Phase auch in Siedlungskontexten bestimmte stilistische oder typologische Charakteristika aufweisen müsse, deren Vorkommen auf eine Phase beschränkt bleibt; zum anderen wird die Bedeutung von Siedlungsfunden überschätzt und die Aussagekraft von Grabfunden unterschätzt. Entscheidend ist jedoch nicht der Fundort, sondern die Qualität des Fundkontextes. Da es sich bei den submykenischen Einzelgräbern mit mindestens zwei Beigaben um geschlossene Funde handelt, kommt ihnen für die Definition der submykenischen Phase eine herausragende Bedeutung zu. Außerdem stammen die chronologisch aussagekräftigsten Gefäßformen mit der schnellsten stilistischen Entwicklung in dieser ebenso wie in vielen anderen
Epochen fast ausschließlich aus Gräbern. Es handelt sich insbesondere um Lekythen und Amphorisken. Die Studien, in denen die Existenz einer submykenischen Phase bezweifelt wird, leiden zudem an einem Mangel an innerer Stringenz, denn die Existenz einer chronologischen Periode zwischen dem Ende der SH IIIC Spät-Phase und dem Beginn der protogeometrischen Zeit wird überraschenderweise für möglich gehalten.
Für die chronologische Parallelisierung von Grab- und Siedlungsfunden müssen diejenigen Gefäßtypen besonders beachtet werden, die in beiden Kontexten mit einer gewissen Häufigkeit aufreten. Für den Übergang von der Spätbronze- zur Früheisenzeit kommt in diesem Zusammenhang insbesondere den Tassen eine herausragende Bedeutung zu, weil sie einen markanten stilistischen Wandel durchlaufen. Die zunächst tongrundigen Gefäße erhielten im Laufe der Entwicklung eine weitgehend monochrome, dunkle Außenseite.
Der Wandel von der hellen zur dunklen Gefäßaußenwand kulminierte in der submykenisch/protogeometrischen Übergangsphase. In dieser Zeitstufe treten sowohl hell- als auch dunkelgrundige Tassen auf und dazu eine Anzahl experimentell verzierter Gefäße, die stilistisch zwischen der submykenischen Vergangenheit und der protogeometrischen Zukunft einzuordnen sind. Mit Hilfe der Tassen und der frühesten mit dem Zirkel geschlagenen konzentrischen Kreise läßt sich ein submykenisch/protogeometrischer Zeithorizont von Attika über Lefkandi, Kynos (Livanates) und Kalapodi bis nach Volos nachweisen.
After a summary of the diverse interpretations regarding the meaning of the Mycenaean Psi figurin... more After a summary of the diverse interpretations regarding the meaning of the Mycenaean Psi figurines the significance of the upraised arms gesture is examined. According to written sources from the contemporary Near East and later first Millennium Greece upraised arms are a gesture of prayer or devotion. The same meaning can be deduced from the Minoan-Mycenaean iconography. The famous gold ring from Isopata is especially significant in this respect. Neither in the written sources nor in the iconography is there any indication for upraised arms as a gesture of epiphany or blessing. Therefore, an interpretation of the Psi figurines as well as the large Mycenaean and Minoan terracotta figures with upraised arms as goddesses can be excluded. Moreover, multifunctional explanations, which postulate a dependence of the meaning of the Psi figurines on their context, can be rejected. In conclusion Psi figurines and large Mycenaean and Minoan terracotta figures with upraised arms had basically the same meaning and function because the significance of the gesture was always the same. The figures and figurines with upraised arms are best interpreted as priestesses that were praying on behalf of the people that dedicated them. It is possible that they were used as substitutes for real priestesses.
Early Helladic pottery is published or reported from Attica’s three most important peak sanctuar... more Early Helladic pottery is published or reported from Attica’s three most important peak sanctuaries of the first millennium B.C.: Mount Parnes, Mount Hymettos, and the northernmost summit of the Tourkovounia Mountains. The material is presented and discussed and it is suggested that the peaks of Mount Parnes and Mount Hymettos functioned as places of worship in EH times. The further history of Mount Parnes during the Middle and Late Bronze Age is still unclear due to a lack of information. Mount Hymettos probably had uninterrupted use as a sanctuary throughout the entire Bronze through the Early Iron Ages. During the Chalcolithic and the EH I periods, the northernmost summit of the Tourkovounia Mountains was in all likelihood a temporary settlement; then after roughly two thousand years without any detectable human activity the peak became a sanctuary around 700 B.C.
Simple wheel-headed pins as indicators for pan-European
long-distance contacts at the time of the... more Simple wheel-headed pins as indicators for pan-European long-distance contacts at the time of the deposition of the Nebra Sky Disc - In this paper a previously unconsidered specimen of simple wheel-headed pin from Glypha in central Greece is presented, which can be dated to LH (Late Helladic) I. This is almost certainly an imported piece from Central Europe. It was produced either in Lower Austria or in the Rhineland-Palatinate. Besides some other groups of objects, the simple wheel-headed pins – due to their distribution area – serve well for the reconstruction of pan-European long-distance relations at the end of the central European Early Bronze Age (BZ A2c). As the starting point for two contact-routes leading to Central Europe, south-west England and Brittany can be assumed. It is surmised that from there tin was exported to Switzerland and the Danube-Carpatian region. In phase LH I the Mycenaean Greeks probably managed to connect to this communication and exchange system. The contact-zone between Central Europe and the eastern Mediterranean was most likely the Caput Adriae.
A fragment of a giant vessel dating to the Late Geometric period (c. 750 BC) with two partly pres... more A fragment of a giant vessel dating to the Late Geometric period (c. 750 BC) with two partly preserved mourners from the margin of a prothesis or ekphora scene is kept in the archaeological collection of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens. It is demonstrated that the fragment formed part of a belly-handled amphora that was manufactured in the Dipylon workshop. The sherd was found in Athens in the area of the railway line slightly west of Theseion station. Therefore, the amphora fragment bears witness to the existence of an otherwise unknown high status burial place next to the cemeteries in the Kerameikos and the Agora area that was probably destroyed during construction of the railway.
The project »Shapes of Ancient Greece« is funded by the Federal Ministry
of Education and Researc... more The project »Shapes of Ancient Greece« is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and aims at digitizing and re-contextualizing the complete archaeological collection of the Athens branch of the German Archaeological Institute. Furthermore, all the approximately 37.000 objects will be provided with metadata. Most of these objects are pottery sherds. The items will be both photographed and scanned. The »Laser Aided Profiler« is used for generating two-dimensional profil drawings. The »Go!SCAN 3D-Scanner« for creating 3D models of selected objects. The digital images and the metadata will be published in iDAI.objects and linked to other databases under the umbrella of the iDAI.world portal.
J. Maran et al. (eds.), Objects, Ideas and Travellers. Contacts between the Balkans, the Aegean and Western Anatolia during the Bronze and Early Iron Age. Volume to the Memory of Alexandru Vulpe, Universitätsforschungen zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 350, 2020
The terms ‚wanax‘ (wa-na-ka) and ‚lāwāgetās‘ (ra-wa-ke-ta) are not only documented
in Linear B re... more The terms ‚wanax‘ (wa-na-ka) and ‚lāwāgetās‘ (ra-wa-ke-ta) are not only documented in Linear B records but also in very similar form in a Phrygian inscription on a façade monument or rock-cut shrine in Midas City. This so-called Midas monument dates to the years around 700 BC or even later. According to recent linguistic research, the Phrygian terms were not adopted from the Greek language, as often assumed in earlier studies, but constitute a common Greek-Phrygian linguistic heritage. The plausibility of this result of linguistic research is evaluated from an archaeological point of view and the possible consequences for our understanding of the development and structure of the Mycenaean society are discussed.
The evidence for cremation burials in the LH/LM IIIC
period is re-evaluated. It can be concluded ... more The evidence for cremation burials in the LH/LM IIIC period is re-evaluated. It can be concluded that the widely held view, according to which the custom of cremation was introduced to the Aegean from Asia Minor, no longer applies. It is necessary to differentiate between cremation as a minority rite in ordinary chamber tomb cemeteries and cremation as a majority rite in tumuli in order to understand the cultural affiliation of the custom. Cremation as a minority rite in chamber tomb cemeteries probably derives from Italian influence. The tumuli with inurned cremations in the Argolid seem to be connected to the Western Balkans. There was no direct or continuous development that led directly from the occasional LH IIIC cremation burials to cremation as the almost exclusively practiced type of burial in Attica and Euboea during the Early Iron Age. Cremations during the LH IIIC period and during the Early Iron Age are two separate phenomena, each having a different cultural and social background.
Gibt es submykenische Schichten in Siedlungen Mittelgriechenlands und Südthessaliens?
Die Exis... more Gibt es submykenische Schichten in Siedlungen Mittelgriechenlands und Südthessaliens?
Die Existenz einer submykenischen chronologischen Phase ist das Thema einer langandauernden wissenschaftlichen Diskussion. Die submykenische Periode kann mittlerweile zwar mit ausreichender Deutlichkeit in Grabkontexten nachgewiesen werden, jedoch bleibt eine Unterscheidung von Siedlungsschichten der SH IIIC Spät-, der submykenischen und der protogeometrischen Zeit schwierig. Dies ist auch der Grund, warum die Existenz einer submykenischen Phase von manchen Wissenschaftlern angezweifelt wird. Diese Auffassung beruht jedoch auf methodisch problematischen Voraussetzungen: Zum einen wird erwartet, daß jede chronologische Phase auch in Siedlungskontexten bestimmte stilistische oder typologische Charakteristika aufweisen müsse, deren Vorkommen auf eine Phase beschränkt bleibt; zum anderen wird die Bedeutung von Siedlungsfunden überschätzt und die Aussagekraft von Grabfunden unterschätzt. Entscheidend ist jedoch nicht der Fundort, sondern die Qualität des Fundkontextes. Da es sich bei den submykenischen Einzelgräbern mit mindestens zwei Beigaben um geschlossene Funde handelt, kommt ihnen für die Definition der submykenischen Phase eine herausragende Bedeutung zu. Außerdem stammen die chronologisch aussagekräftigsten Gefäßformen mit der schnellsten stilistischen Entwicklung in dieser ebenso wie in vielen anderen
Epochen fast ausschließlich aus Gräbern. Es handelt sich insbesondere um Lekythen und Amphorisken. Die Studien, in denen die Existenz einer submykenischen Phase bezweifelt wird, leiden zudem an einem Mangel an innerer Stringenz, denn die Existenz einer chronologischen Periode zwischen dem Ende der SH IIIC Spät-Phase und dem Beginn der protogeometrischen Zeit wird überraschenderweise für möglich gehalten.
Für die chronologische Parallelisierung von Grab- und Siedlungsfunden müssen diejenigen Gefäßtypen besonders beachtet werden, die in beiden Kontexten mit einer gewissen Häufigkeit aufreten. Für den Übergang von der Spätbronze- zur Früheisenzeit kommt in diesem Zusammenhang insbesondere den Tassen eine herausragende Bedeutung zu, weil sie einen markanten stilistischen Wandel durchlaufen. Die zunächst tongrundigen Gefäße erhielten im Laufe der Entwicklung eine weitgehend monochrome, dunkle Außenseite.
Der Wandel von der hellen zur dunklen Gefäßaußenwand kulminierte in der submykenisch/protogeometrischen Übergangsphase. In dieser Zeitstufe treten sowohl hell- als auch dunkelgrundige Tassen auf und dazu eine Anzahl experimentell verzierter Gefäße, die stilistisch zwischen der submykenischen Vergangenheit und der protogeometrischen Zukunft einzuordnen sind. Mit Hilfe der Tassen und der frühesten mit dem Zirkel geschlagenen konzentrischen Kreise läßt sich ein submykenisch/protogeometrischer Zeithorizont von Attika über Lefkandi, Kynos (Livanates) und Kalapodi bis nach Volos nachweisen.
After a summary of the diverse interpretations regarding the meaning of the Mycenaean Psi figurin... more After a summary of the diverse interpretations regarding the meaning of the Mycenaean Psi figurines the significance of the upraised arms gesture is examined. According to written sources from the contemporary Near East and later first Millennium Greece upraised arms are a gesture of prayer or devotion. The same meaning can be deduced from the Minoan-Mycenaean iconography. The famous gold ring from Isopata is especially significant in this respect. Neither in the written sources nor in the iconography is there any indication for upraised arms as a gesture of epiphany or blessing. Therefore, an interpretation of the Psi figurines as well as the large Mycenaean and Minoan terracotta figures with upraised arms as goddesses can be excluded. Moreover, multifunctional explanations, which postulate a dependence of the meaning of the Psi figurines on their context, can be rejected. In conclusion Psi figurines and large Mycenaean and Minoan terracotta figures with upraised arms had basically the same meaning and function because the significance of the gesture was always the same. The figures and figurines with upraised arms are best interpreted as priestesses that were praying on behalf of the people that dedicated them. It is possible that they were used as substitutes for real priestesses.
Early Helladic pottery is published or reported from Attica’s three most important peak sanctuar... more Early Helladic pottery is published or reported from Attica’s three most important peak sanctuaries of the first millennium B.C.: Mount Parnes, Mount Hymettos, and the northernmost summit of the Tourkovounia Mountains. The material is presented and discussed and it is suggested that the peaks of Mount Parnes and Mount Hymettos functioned as places of worship in EH times. The further history of Mount Parnes during the Middle and Late Bronze Age is still unclear due to a lack of information. Mount Hymettos probably had uninterrupted use as a sanctuary throughout the entire Bronze through the Early Iron Ages. During the Chalcolithic and the EH I periods, the northernmost summit of the Tourkovounia Mountains was in all likelihood a temporary settlement; then after roughly two thousand years without any detectable human activity the peak became a sanctuary around 700 B.C.
Simple wheel-headed pins as indicators for pan-European
long-distance contacts at the time of the... more Simple wheel-headed pins as indicators for pan-European long-distance contacts at the time of the deposition of the Nebra Sky Disc - In this paper a previously unconsidered specimen of simple wheel-headed pin from Glypha in central Greece is presented, which can be dated to LH (Late Helladic) I. This is almost certainly an imported piece from Central Europe. It was produced either in Lower Austria or in the Rhineland-Palatinate. Besides some other groups of objects, the simple wheel-headed pins – due to their distribution area – serve well for the reconstruction of pan-European long-distance relations at the end of the central European Early Bronze Age (BZ A2c). As the starting point for two contact-routes leading to Central Europe, south-west England and Brittany can be assumed. It is surmised that from there tin was exported to Switzerland and the Danube-Carpatian region. In phase LH I the Mycenaean Greeks probably managed to connect to this communication and exchange system. The contact-zone between Central Europe and the eastern Mediterranean was most likely the Caput Adriae.
uploads
of Education and Research and aims at digitizing and re-contextualizing
the complete archaeological collection of the Athens branch of the
German Archaeological Institute. Furthermore, all the approximately 37.000 objects will be provided with metadata. Most of these objects are pottery sherds. The items will be both photographed and scanned. The »Laser Aided Profiler« is used for generating two-dimensional profil drawings. The »Go!SCAN 3D-Scanner« for creating 3D models of selected objects. The digital images and the metadata will be published in iDAI.objects and linked to other databases under the umbrella of the iDAI.world portal.
in Linear B records but also in very similar form in a Phrygian inscription on a façade monument
or rock-cut shrine in Midas City. This so-called Midas monument dates to the years around
700 BC or even later. According to recent linguistic research, the Phrygian terms were
not adopted from the Greek language, as often assumed in earlier studies, but constitute a common
Greek-Phrygian linguistic heritage. The plausibility of this result of linguistic research is
evaluated from an archaeological point of view and the possible consequences for our understanding
of the development and structure of the Mycenaean society are discussed.
period is re-evaluated. It can be concluded that the widely
held view, according to which the custom of cremation was
introduced to the Aegean from Asia Minor, no longer applies.
It is necessary to differentiate between cremation as
a minority rite in ordinary chamber tomb cemeteries and
cremation as a majority rite in tumuli in order to understand
the cultural affiliation of the custom. Cremation as a minority
rite in chamber tomb cemeteries probably derives from
Italian influence. The tumuli with inurned cremations in the
Argolid seem to be connected to the Western Balkans. There
was no direct or continuous development that led directly
from the occasional LH IIIC cremation burials to cremation
as the almost exclusively practiced type of burial in
Attica and Euboea during the Early Iron Age. Cremations
during the LH IIIC period and during the Early Iron Age
are two separate phenomena, each having a different cultural
and social background.
Die Existenz einer submykenischen chronologischen Phase ist das Thema einer langandauernden wissenschaftlichen Diskussion. Die submykenische Periode kann mittlerweile zwar mit ausreichender Deutlichkeit in Grabkontexten nachgewiesen werden, jedoch bleibt eine Unterscheidung von Siedlungsschichten der SH IIIC Spät-, der submykenischen und der protogeometrischen Zeit schwierig. Dies ist auch der Grund, warum die Existenz einer submykenischen Phase von manchen Wissenschaftlern angezweifelt wird. Diese Auffassung beruht jedoch auf methodisch problematischen Voraussetzungen: Zum einen wird erwartet, daß jede chronologische Phase auch in Siedlungskontexten bestimmte stilistische oder typologische Charakteristika aufweisen müsse, deren Vorkommen auf eine Phase beschränkt bleibt; zum anderen wird die Bedeutung von Siedlungsfunden überschätzt und die Aussagekraft von Grabfunden unterschätzt. Entscheidend ist jedoch nicht der Fundort, sondern die Qualität des Fundkontextes. Da es sich bei den submykenischen Einzelgräbern mit mindestens zwei Beigaben um geschlossene Funde handelt, kommt ihnen für die Definition der submykenischen Phase eine herausragende Bedeutung zu. Außerdem stammen die chronologisch aussagekräftigsten Gefäßformen mit der schnellsten stilistischen Entwicklung in dieser ebenso wie in vielen anderen
Epochen fast ausschließlich aus Gräbern. Es handelt sich insbesondere um Lekythen und Amphorisken. Die Studien, in denen die Existenz einer submykenischen Phase bezweifelt wird, leiden zudem an einem Mangel an innerer Stringenz, denn die Existenz einer chronologischen Periode zwischen dem Ende der SH IIIC Spät-Phase und dem Beginn der protogeometrischen Zeit wird überraschenderweise für möglich gehalten.
Für die chronologische Parallelisierung von Grab- und Siedlungsfunden müssen diejenigen Gefäßtypen besonders beachtet werden, die in beiden Kontexten mit einer gewissen Häufigkeit aufreten. Für den Übergang von der Spätbronze- zur Früheisenzeit kommt in diesem Zusammenhang insbesondere den Tassen eine herausragende Bedeutung zu, weil sie einen markanten stilistischen Wandel durchlaufen. Die zunächst tongrundigen Gefäße erhielten im Laufe der Entwicklung eine weitgehend monochrome, dunkle Außenseite.
Der Wandel von der hellen zur dunklen Gefäßaußenwand kulminierte in der submykenisch/protogeometrischen Übergangsphase. In dieser Zeitstufe treten sowohl hell- als auch dunkelgrundige Tassen auf und dazu eine Anzahl experimentell verzierter Gefäße, die stilistisch zwischen der submykenischen Vergangenheit und der protogeometrischen Zukunft einzuordnen sind. Mit Hilfe der Tassen und der frühesten mit dem Zirkel geschlagenen konzentrischen Kreise läßt sich ein submykenisch/protogeometrischer Zeithorizont von Attika über Lefkandi, Kynos (Livanates) und Kalapodi bis nach Volos nachweisen.
the significance of the upraised arms gesture is examined. According to written sources
from the contemporary Near East and later first Millennium Greece upraised arms are a gesture
of prayer or devotion. The same meaning can be deduced from the Minoan-Mycenaean
iconography. The famous gold ring from Isopata is especially significant in this respect.
Neither in the written sources nor in the iconography is there any indication for upraised arms
as a gesture of epiphany or blessing. Therefore, an interpretation of the Psi figurines as well as
the large Mycenaean and Minoan terracotta figures with upraised arms as goddesses can be excluded.
Moreover, multifunctional explanations, which postulate a dependence of the meaning
of the Psi figurines on their context, can be rejected. In conclusion Psi figurines and large Mycenaean
and Minoan terracotta figures with upraised arms had basically the same meaning and
function because the significance of the gesture was always the same. The figures and figurines
with upraised arms are best interpreted as priestesses that were praying on behalf of the people
that dedicated them. It is possible that they were used as substitutes for real priestesses.
B.C.: Mount Parnes, Mount Hymettos, and the northernmost summit of the Tourkovounia Mountains. The material is presented and discussed and it is suggested that the peaks of Mount Parnes and Mount Hymettos functioned as places of worship in EH times. The further history of Mount Parnes during the Middle and Late Bronze Age is still unclear due to a lack of information. Mount Hymettos probably had uninterrupted use as a sanctuary throughout the entire Bronze through the Early Iron Ages. During the Chalcolithic and
the EH I periods, the northernmost summit of the Tourkovounia Mountains was in all likelihood a temporary settlement; then after roughly two thousand years without any detectable human activity the peak became a sanctuary around 700 B.C.
long-distance contacts at the time of the deposition of the
Nebra Sky Disc - In this paper a previously unconsidered specimen of simple
wheel-headed pin from Glypha in central Greece is presented,
which can be dated to LH (Late Helladic) I. This is almost certainly
an imported piece from Central Europe. It was produced
either in Lower Austria or in the Rhineland-Palatinate.
Besides some other groups of objects, the simple wheel-headed
pins – due to their distribution area – serve well for the
reconstruction of pan-European long-distance relations at the
end of the central European Early Bronze Age (BZ A2c). As the
starting point for two contact-routes leading to Central
Europe, south-west England and Brittany can be assumed. It is
surmised that from there tin was exported to Switzerland and
the Danube-Carpatian region. In phase LH I the Mycenaean
Greeks probably managed to connect to this communication
and exchange system. The contact-zone between Central Europe
and the eastern Mediterranean was most likely the Caput
Adriae.
of Education and Research and aims at digitizing and re-contextualizing
the complete archaeological collection of the Athens branch of the
German Archaeological Institute. Furthermore, all the approximately 37.000 objects will be provided with metadata. Most of these objects are pottery sherds. The items will be both photographed and scanned. The »Laser Aided Profiler« is used for generating two-dimensional profil drawings. The »Go!SCAN 3D-Scanner« for creating 3D models of selected objects. The digital images and the metadata will be published in iDAI.objects and linked to other databases under the umbrella of the iDAI.world portal.
in Linear B records but also in very similar form in a Phrygian inscription on a façade monument
or rock-cut shrine in Midas City. This so-called Midas monument dates to the years around
700 BC or even later. According to recent linguistic research, the Phrygian terms were
not adopted from the Greek language, as often assumed in earlier studies, but constitute a common
Greek-Phrygian linguistic heritage. The plausibility of this result of linguistic research is
evaluated from an archaeological point of view and the possible consequences for our understanding
of the development and structure of the Mycenaean society are discussed.
period is re-evaluated. It can be concluded that the widely
held view, according to which the custom of cremation was
introduced to the Aegean from Asia Minor, no longer applies.
It is necessary to differentiate between cremation as
a minority rite in ordinary chamber tomb cemeteries and
cremation as a majority rite in tumuli in order to understand
the cultural affiliation of the custom. Cremation as a minority
rite in chamber tomb cemeteries probably derives from
Italian influence. The tumuli with inurned cremations in the
Argolid seem to be connected to the Western Balkans. There
was no direct or continuous development that led directly
from the occasional LH IIIC cremation burials to cremation
as the almost exclusively practiced type of burial in
Attica and Euboea during the Early Iron Age. Cremations
during the LH IIIC period and during the Early Iron Age
are two separate phenomena, each having a different cultural
and social background.
Die Existenz einer submykenischen chronologischen Phase ist das Thema einer langandauernden wissenschaftlichen Diskussion. Die submykenische Periode kann mittlerweile zwar mit ausreichender Deutlichkeit in Grabkontexten nachgewiesen werden, jedoch bleibt eine Unterscheidung von Siedlungsschichten der SH IIIC Spät-, der submykenischen und der protogeometrischen Zeit schwierig. Dies ist auch der Grund, warum die Existenz einer submykenischen Phase von manchen Wissenschaftlern angezweifelt wird. Diese Auffassung beruht jedoch auf methodisch problematischen Voraussetzungen: Zum einen wird erwartet, daß jede chronologische Phase auch in Siedlungskontexten bestimmte stilistische oder typologische Charakteristika aufweisen müsse, deren Vorkommen auf eine Phase beschränkt bleibt; zum anderen wird die Bedeutung von Siedlungsfunden überschätzt und die Aussagekraft von Grabfunden unterschätzt. Entscheidend ist jedoch nicht der Fundort, sondern die Qualität des Fundkontextes. Da es sich bei den submykenischen Einzelgräbern mit mindestens zwei Beigaben um geschlossene Funde handelt, kommt ihnen für die Definition der submykenischen Phase eine herausragende Bedeutung zu. Außerdem stammen die chronologisch aussagekräftigsten Gefäßformen mit der schnellsten stilistischen Entwicklung in dieser ebenso wie in vielen anderen
Epochen fast ausschließlich aus Gräbern. Es handelt sich insbesondere um Lekythen und Amphorisken. Die Studien, in denen die Existenz einer submykenischen Phase bezweifelt wird, leiden zudem an einem Mangel an innerer Stringenz, denn die Existenz einer chronologischen Periode zwischen dem Ende der SH IIIC Spät-Phase und dem Beginn der protogeometrischen Zeit wird überraschenderweise für möglich gehalten.
Für die chronologische Parallelisierung von Grab- und Siedlungsfunden müssen diejenigen Gefäßtypen besonders beachtet werden, die in beiden Kontexten mit einer gewissen Häufigkeit aufreten. Für den Übergang von der Spätbronze- zur Früheisenzeit kommt in diesem Zusammenhang insbesondere den Tassen eine herausragende Bedeutung zu, weil sie einen markanten stilistischen Wandel durchlaufen. Die zunächst tongrundigen Gefäße erhielten im Laufe der Entwicklung eine weitgehend monochrome, dunkle Außenseite.
Der Wandel von der hellen zur dunklen Gefäßaußenwand kulminierte in der submykenisch/protogeometrischen Übergangsphase. In dieser Zeitstufe treten sowohl hell- als auch dunkelgrundige Tassen auf und dazu eine Anzahl experimentell verzierter Gefäße, die stilistisch zwischen der submykenischen Vergangenheit und der protogeometrischen Zukunft einzuordnen sind. Mit Hilfe der Tassen und der frühesten mit dem Zirkel geschlagenen konzentrischen Kreise läßt sich ein submykenisch/protogeometrischer Zeithorizont von Attika über Lefkandi, Kynos (Livanates) und Kalapodi bis nach Volos nachweisen.
the significance of the upraised arms gesture is examined. According to written sources
from the contemporary Near East and later first Millennium Greece upraised arms are a gesture
of prayer or devotion. The same meaning can be deduced from the Minoan-Mycenaean
iconography. The famous gold ring from Isopata is especially significant in this respect.
Neither in the written sources nor in the iconography is there any indication for upraised arms
as a gesture of epiphany or blessing. Therefore, an interpretation of the Psi figurines as well as
the large Mycenaean and Minoan terracotta figures with upraised arms as goddesses can be excluded.
Moreover, multifunctional explanations, which postulate a dependence of the meaning
of the Psi figurines on their context, can be rejected. In conclusion Psi figurines and large Mycenaean
and Minoan terracotta figures with upraised arms had basically the same meaning and
function because the significance of the gesture was always the same. The figures and figurines
with upraised arms are best interpreted as priestesses that were praying on behalf of the people
that dedicated them. It is possible that they were used as substitutes for real priestesses.
B.C.: Mount Parnes, Mount Hymettos, and the northernmost summit of the Tourkovounia Mountains. The material is presented and discussed and it is suggested that the peaks of Mount Parnes and Mount Hymettos functioned as places of worship in EH times. The further history of Mount Parnes during the Middle and Late Bronze Age is still unclear due to a lack of information. Mount Hymettos probably had uninterrupted use as a sanctuary throughout the entire Bronze through the Early Iron Ages. During the Chalcolithic and
the EH I periods, the northernmost summit of the Tourkovounia Mountains was in all likelihood a temporary settlement; then after roughly two thousand years without any detectable human activity the peak became a sanctuary around 700 B.C.
long-distance contacts at the time of the deposition of the
Nebra Sky Disc - In this paper a previously unconsidered specimen of simple
wheel-headed pin from Glypha in central Greece is presented,
which can be dated to LH (Late Helladic) I. This is almost certainly
an imported piece from Central Europe. It was produced
either in Lower Austria or in the Rhineland-Palatinate.
Besides some other groups of objects, the simple wheel-headed
pins – due to their distribution area – serve well for the
reconstruction of pan-European long-distance relations at the
end of the central European Early Bronze Age (BZ A2c). As the
starting point for two contact-routes leading to Central
Europe, south-west England and Brittany can be assumed. It is
surmised that from there tin was exported to Switzerland and
the Danube-Carpatian region. In phase LH I the Mycenaean
Greeks probably managed to connect to this communication
and exchange system. The contact-zone between Central Europe
and the eastern Mediterranean was most likely the Caput
Adriae.