The work of excavation on the Palace site at Knossos was re-opened on February 27, 1901, and continued till June 17. Various supplementary operations connected with the shoring up and underpinning of the walls of large halls brought to light on the south-east of the site, the completion of the roofing-in of the Throne Room, and similar works of conservation entailed the continued employment of a large number of workmen till the beginning of July. Throughout the excavations I again secured the valuable services of Dr. Duncan Mackenzie as my assistant in directing the works, and of Mr. D. T. Fyfe, formerly architect of the British School, in preparing architectural plans and drawings.

In this paper the writer examines the largest group of Linear B tablets from Knossos, the great archive of records dealing with sheep. The results of this inquiry provide, it is suggested, a plausible solution to a long-standing problem, the source of the wealth of Knossos in the Late Bronze Age.

The account of the great archive of sheep records from Knossos (Series D) which Ventris and Chadwick present in Documents in Mycenaean Greek remains the most influential treatment of this series taken as a whole, and must provide the starting-point for any further discussion of the texts which it contains. In the course of their account, V.C. consider what the purpose of these records is likely to have been, and rightly reject suggestions that the sheep listed on them are, for instance, hecatombs of sacrificial animals, or merely tokens of exchange, as sheep sometimes were in the ancient Near East.

The charred plant remains from Final Neolithic and Early Bronze Age levels at Mandalo, Macedonia, Greece provide evidence for a broad range of crops and wild plant resources. There is clear evidence for the storage of some of these, in particular emmer, lentils and bitter vetch, but also barley, einkorn, Celtic bean, grass pea and acorns. There is also evidence for the possible storage and use of animal dung fuel, which has not previously been reported for Greece, and for the cultivation of flax dating back to the 5th millennium BC. The diversity of plant resources will have provided a ‘buffering mechanism’ against occasional crop failure, and the relationship of this to the proposed ‘marginal colonization’ of Greece is discussed. On the basis of the species found in animal dung, it is suggested that the arable and pastoral sectors were integrated, with relatively small numbers of animals grazed locally on stubble or fallow fields.

The article relates the results of archaeometric and archaeological investigations of the relationships between some well-known types of Byzantine table wares and pottery manufacture in Thebes and Chalcis, focusing on the period from the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries ad.

We currently accept that several twelfth–thirteenth century types, such as ‘Green and Brown Painted Ware’, ‘Fine Sgraffito Ware’ and ‘Aegean Ware’, form part of a single, main, long-lasting production of Byzantine ceramics, called here main ‘Middle Byzantine Production’ (MBP), which was distributed and diffused in the whole Mediterranean area, and especially in its eastern part. The discovery of kiln furniture and pottery wasters in rescue excavations in Thebes and Chalcis gave the opportunity to define chemical reference groups for the two cities, and to test the hypothesis of a potential origin of the MBP in Central Greece. The results point to Chalcis, then the harbour of wealthy Thebes with a strategic location on maritime trade routes, as the place of manufacture of the MBP. Chalcis, which is now seen as a main pottery production site, is envisaged within its historic context. The persistence of the MBP after the Frankish conquest, without noticeable morphological changes, questions the impact of this conquest on both trade networks and dining habits.

The political fragmentation of the thirteenth century gradually changed the conditions that facilitated the predominance of the MBP, and led to the establishment of a number of regional workshops whose ceramics were mainly destined to cover local markets. While continuing earlier techniques, they introduced new types, prominent among which was the ‘Sgraffito with Concentric Circles’ (previously related to ‘Zeuxippus Ware’). Thebes was one of these new workshops probably appearing from the mid-thirteenth century and continuing at least to the early fourteenth century. Chalcis eventually followed the same course, and its production may have carried on well into the Ottoman period.

This article is a preliminary report on the first (1998) season of the Kythera Survey, an intensive fiels survey concentrating on the central-eastern part of the island. This survey forms part of a wider projecr, whose aim is to explore the long-term insular dynamics of Kythera as a stepping stone, filter, and island with its own identy. Another central aim of this project, expanding on excavations at Kastri and the peak sancturary of Agios Georgios, is to shed new light on minoanisation as a spatial phenomenon in the island's landscape. In 1998 c. 13 sq. km were investigated, revealing 26 archaelogical sites. The peak periods of settlement in the surveyed area are the Early Bronze Age. Second Palace Period, Classical-Roman periods, and the last few centuries before the present. Poorly represented, or absent, are sites of later Neolithic, First Palace Period, Third Palace Period, Post-Palatial to Archaic, and Late Roman to Medieval date. Early Bronze Age sites are of Early Helladic character, whilst the Second Palace Period sites follow the minoanised culture of Kastri; together with a few finds of early minoanising material on Early Helladic sites, and the absence of evidence for the First Palace Period, these results provide new perspectives on the process of minoanisation on Kythera.

Since the early nineteenth century, scholars have wondered whether certain accretions on the surface of the Parthenon sculptures, ranging in colour from yellow to brown, may represent evidence of ancient paint. The tendency has been to reject this notion, and today most classical archaeologists would accept the suggestion that this apparent staining of the marble is caused by the oxidation of iron particles coming from within the marble itself. While not rejecting this as the probable explanation for some of the brown areas, this article will argue that others can be understood only in terms of an artificially applied surface. Possible explanations as to the date and function of this material will be discussed in the light of both archaeological observation and scientific analysis. Firstly, however, a summary will be given of the important contributions made to our understanding of this problem by earlier commentators.

The base of the peninsula, from the Karaova to Halicarnassus and the Karadağ, is of limestone and singularly devoid of water. It rises to heights of five and six hundred metres in the Kaplan Daği (Mt. Lide) and Karadağ, with steep slopes on the north side and little valleys opening southwards. The western part of the peninsula is said to be of volcanic formation with fundamental gneiss; the hills here are fearfully denuded and sometimes fantastically gnarled, but there are pockets of fertile land in the central valleys and a number of distinct little coastal plains. The peninsula from Halicarnassus westward belongs to the Aegean world and is capable of supporting a normal Aegean economy. The present population of the kaza of Bodrum, which extends on the east beyond Mumcular, is 24,000, of whom about 11,000 live in Bodrum itself on the site of the ancient Halicarnassus.

The sketch map Fig. 1 is based on the Turkish 1: 200,000 survey, but with some modifications. The field exploration which forms the basis of this article occupied about six weeks. We were throughout guided by the map and description of the peninsula published by Paton and Myres after their joint exploration sixty years ago, which laid secure foundations for the study of the geography of Western Caria and the antiquities of the Lelegian country; no subsequent work in this region can compare with theirs in thoroughness or acuteness of observation. We have at points been able to supplement or correct their descriptions, and in places we have judged differently of the evidence on the ground (particularly the chronological testimonies offered by the ancient potsherds), but always with a sense of our own fallibility in work of such a sort where the majority of observations are in fact unverified assumptions.

The paper considers who has the right in the Athenian state to act authoritatively both in the name of, and in matters of, religion. It discusses the role of priests, the demos, magistrates, oracles, chresmologoi/manteis, exegetai, epimeletai, epistatai, and hieropoioi. A descriptive catalogue is included of the priesthoods, arranged according to cult; this includes a summary acount of the sanctuaries, evidence for the appointments, status, festivals, origins of the cult, and of the emoluments and honours involved, together with the identity of holders of these offices, where known. This is followed by an account of the magistrates, religious experts, and assistants. It is concluded that the ultimate authority lay outside the purview of the Athenian state, with the god himself, normally Apollo but less frequently Zeus, to whom personal enquiry had to be made by official delegation of the Athenian state to his oracular shrine, though this does not mean the shrine had the right of intervention; the oracle could sanction but could not propose. Religious authority in Athens was the monopoly neither of the citizen body as a whole nor any particular group of individuals within it, but a discrete prerogative shared out among a number of corporations comprising amateurs as well as experts, clergy as well as laity.

The British School's work in the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia at Sparta was in its day generally hailed as a classic example of carefully observed stratigraphic excavation in Greece. Equally general has been the reluctance of scholars to accept the dates which were proposed by the excavators for their finds on the basis of their observations on stratigraphy and pottery contexts. In this the excavators were at fault in their choice of absolute dates for the main periods; and, equally, critics have been at fault in failing to adjust their dating. Kunze pointed out the major inconsistencies and the results of accepting some of the excavators' dates in his review of Artemis Orthia (published in 1929 by the Hellenic Society) in Gnomon ix (1933) 1–14. In their answer to another review the excavators gave an excellent account of their method and of the use and abuse of stratigraphy (JHS 1 (1930) 329–36). By reconsidering the absolute dates they proposed I think it is possible to recover much of the value of the observations they made about the stratigraphy and the relative chronology of the finds, and to make some new suggestions about the history of the site and dating of some Laconian objects.

The main feature in the stratigraphy of the sanctuary was a blanket of sand which covered the whole area, and which, according to the excavators, sealed deposits earlier than about 600 B.C. Beneath the sand there was a succession of deposits down to virgin soil, which clearly represented a gradual, although by no means even, accumulation of earth and discarded votives. The only significant physical difference in levels which could be observed was offered by the presence of a pebble pavement which was associated with remains of the earliest altar on the site. This pavement, preserved only in small patches, was embedded in the main ‘Geometric’ level, as it was defined by the excavators. This contained much burnt material. The pavement was assigned to the ninth century.

The stratigraphical excavations of the British School at Athens of the Minoan settlement at Knossos on Crete following the Second World War have produced, among much else, many fragmentary remains of wall paintings in datable archaeological contexts of almost every period from Early Minoan I to Late Minoan IIIB (c. 3000–1200 B.C.). This circumstance therefore presented an excellent opportunity to examine and analyse scientifically fresco samples spanning almost the entire Minoan epoch in the hope that it might be possible to fill in some of the gaps in present knowledge of Minoan wall painting technology. A cursory glance at the published reports of Aegean Bronze Age fresco analyses, especially prior to research since 1974, indicates the ‘gaps’ to be both wide and many: so few samples had been examined from any one site, or from any one period, or from paintings of any serious art-historical significance at all, that the scientific, statistical, and art-historical basis of this field of research seemed very dubiously established. The present study, which has grown from Dr. Mark Cameron's preparation of the publication of the new fresco material from these excavations, only became feasible when suitable laboratory facilities presented themselves.

Mycenaean figurines have been known for as long as Mycenaean pottery itself, for they were found both by Biliotti on Rhodes and by Schliemann at Mycenae. It was, however, Schliemann's (1878, 10 ff.) imaginative interpretation of female and bovine figures alike as representations of ox-eyed Hera that ensured their conspicuous place in the history of Mycenaean culture and religion. Not only did he illustrate a considerable number in his works, but he also preserved with great care all fragments found. Indeed, even today there are some five hundred figurines from his excavations in the National Museum at Athens, and others have gone as gifts to the museums of Europe. These finds, with those of the Greek excavations at Nauplia, supplied a happy hunting ground for early scholars of prehistoric religion such as Mayer (1892) and Reichel (1897).

Lead isotope and neutron activation analyses of second millennium BC copper ingots are described. Examples from Cyprus, from the Mathiati hoard, and from Skouriotissa are consistent, and show similarities with Late Cypriot bronze artefacts from Hala Sultan Teke and Ayios Dhimitrios. Analysis of the Hagia Triada ingots shows that these Cretan examples were not imports from Cyprus. The possibility that they used Cretan ores is discussed and rejected. It is tentatively suggested they may be of Anatolian origin. It is clear that the Late Bronze Age metal trade was organized on a more complex basis than was previously assumed to be the case.

The 1963 excavation at Palaikastro-Kastri in eastern Crete produced about 150 marine shells. The species preserved are listed in Table 1, and their date and context in Table 2. Significant shells from the collection are compared with other Minoan examples in Part I. The shell evidence for purple-dye production at Palaikastro is studied along with the other evidence from the Bronze Age Mediterranean in Part II.

The present article follows on one published some years ago in the Annual, which dealt with the administrative problems connected with the so-called silver mines of south-east Attica and with their relation to other economic activity particularly in the fourth century B.C. This second discussion, based on a number of visits to the mining area, is an attempt to relate what can be seen on the ground to the literary and epigraphical sources, and to previous writing on the subject; to draw some historical and economic conclusions if this seems possible; at the least to point out problems.

The mining region has been almost completely neglected by the excavator. A recent exception to this, a very carefully carried out Greco-Belgian excavation at Thorikos, which still continues, is an encouragement to look again at this ancient industrial activity.

The excavations at Thorikos, a site already well known for its theatre and Mycenaean tombs, are proceeding at several points on or near the Velatouri Hill. The following are the important discoveries from the standpoint of mining activity.

Excavations in Greece over the last fifty years have produced considerable remains of animals from prehistoric sites. This paper discusses which species were exploited by man, and at what periods, the way in which each species was managed and the role of animal husbandry in the overall economy.

Types of pulse cultivated for human consumption in present-day Thera (and adjacent islands) and archaeobotanical material from Akrotiri are identified. It is suggested that they are both the same variety, not identified elsewhere as used for human consumption, suggesting it is particularly suited to the local environment.

In 1967 N. C. Flemming of the Institute of Oceanography discovered a submerged settlement, probably of the Bronze Age, off the south coast of Laconia opposite Elaphonisos Island. The following year the Cambridge Underwater Exploration Group formed an expedition to investigate the site. The main aims of the expedition were:

1. To survey the visible remains of the site in order to produce the plan of a prehistoric town on a larger scale than is possible on land, where the time and cost of excavation are normally prohibitive.

2. To investigate sea- and land-level changes in the area, in particular by seeking traces of old shore-lines or of harbour-works.

3. To experiment with methods of planning extensive remains underwater, and especially with photography from a balloon.

The manner in which Minoan potters first employed the pottery wheel has become a matter of some debate. A growing body of work has taken a sceptical approach to the transition from hand-building to wheel-throwing techniques in a number of contexts, finding that the idea of a technological transition of this nature is not supported by the ceramic evidence. Although a small number of publications have addressed this topic as it relates to Minoan Crete, in light of the evidence from contemporary areas around the Mediterranean and Near East it has become necessary to establish firmly what types of techniques and methods were being used as potters first employed this tool. In order to assess the types of primary forming techniques used by potters during the periods between Middle Minoan IB (when the wheel was first regularly used) and Late Minoan IA (by which time vessels of all sizes were regularly formed with some type of rotation), an experimental type set was produced. Analysis was conducted by correlating the macroscopic features produced with specific forming methods, and then comparing those features against material from Knossos, Palaikastro and Myrtos–Pyrgos. The results of that comparison challenge the established notion that potters had developed wheel-throwing skills during these early periods. Instead, a more complex picture emerges which reveals a process of gradual acquisition of combination techniques (wheel and coils). The pattern of uptake indicates a level of cohesion across the potting community of central and eastern Crete, irrespective of the geographical distance between the three sites studied.

Sellopoulo is a small village, on the east bank of the river Kairetos, less than 2 kilometres north of Knossos. The fields immediately bordering the stream are fairly flat but the land soon rises in a series of step-like hills. Here surface soil is thin and the rock immediately underlying it is mostly the local kouskouras, a soft limestone easily cut. The geology of the region is, then, very suitable for chamber tombs. Indeed, the extensive Zafer Papoura cemetery, excavated by Evans, is on the west slope above the river, almost exactly opposite the tombs we shall be considering.

Hogarth was the first to excavate at Sellopoulo. In 1900, in low-lying ground on the southwest edge of the village, he found what he describes as a ‘tholus tomb built of small stones’ in which were ‘three rudely painted chest urns standing side by side, all rifled in antiquity’. This tomb can no longer be seen.

Amber has long been recognized as an important indicator of Mycenaean foreign contacts. Though much has been written, no thorough survey of the topic has yet been undertaken. The chief purpose of this article is to present a corpus, as complete as the authors can make it, of the known Mycenaean amber finds, together with those from adjacent areas.

Since the nineteenth century amber objects in Italy and Greece have generally been considered by scholarly opinion to have been imported from the Baltic, and a number of finds, including Schliemann's from the Shaft Graves, were subjected to rudimentary chemical analyses to ‘prove’ this, the criterion being the presence of succinic acid. Navarro in 1925 traced the route the amber was supposed to have taken by charting the distribution of finds in central Europe in the Bronze and Iron Ages.