The vases to be discussed in this paper come from two separate excavations at Knossos: the greater number from two tombs excavated by Sir Arthur Evans in 1907, the rest from one of several tombs which I excavated three years ago. The three tombs in question lie a little less than a mile to the north of the Palace, at the foot of the western slope of the hill known as Zafer Papoura (cf. Fig. 1); they are cut into a low bank, immediately to the right of the footpath as one goes from Makry Teichos to Isopata, and are marked in Fig. 1 by a black bar. A glance at the map will shew that this group of tombs is in the same straight line as the group which was excavated by Hogarth in 1899. Hogarth's tombs are at the foot of a rather higher bank which is obviously part of the same formation. There is, however, a break between the two banks, and as the greater part of it is covered by a vineyard it is impossible to tell precisely how closely the two groups of tombs are connected. But even if there is an empty space between them, it is certain the history of the two groups of tombs is the same.

The years 1289–1313 witnessed particularly prolific minting activities at different southern and central Greek mints on behalf of different polities. The coin issues are of great economic and political relevance, and therefore of interest to modern historians. Our understanding of these is based on traditional sources, either numismatic (types and finds), or historical. This paper aims to investigate the possibilities of adding further details to the picture through archaeometry. Specifically, tournois pennies of the three main mints of the region (Clarentza, Thebes, Naupaktos) excavated at Ancient Corinth were analysed according to two different non-destructive methods, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The resulting relative silver percentages and the fingerprints of the trace elements have supported our attempts to put the different coin types in chronological order and to add detail to the context and intent for each one of these. A vivid picture of monetary production emerges. The different issuing authorities were usually intent on maintaining a decent standard while variously trying to put pressure on rivals or to harmonise their productions with their allies. All the analysed mints were commercial in character, though they were subject to the great political changes affecting Greece in this period, the ambitions of the Angevin dynasty, the various challenges which it faced in Athens, the Peloponnese and the western Mainland, and finally the destructive arrival of the Catalans. In times of need, specifically military, these same mints could therefore rely on further bullion which reached them through internal or external political channels.

It has been and still is widely supposed that some Greek kilns had a stoking tunnel that was divided lengthwise into two parts. The evidence is the representation of a kiln on the Corinthian clay plaque illustrated on Plate 7b. It is of the second quarter of the sixth century B.C. and was found in 1879 in the deposit at Penteskouphia near Corinth. This representation is interpreted usually as a horizontal plan; at one end, misplaced for clarity, is the chimney, which should rightly be on the top, and at the other end is the stoking tunnel, divided down its length by a wall. Recently M. Bimson has protested that the view on the plaque is a vertical section across the chamber of the kiln, and that the support below the floor is a wall that does not extend into the tunnel. That the plaque gives a section is true, but it is a section along the kiln and the support is a pier, probably circular. This was presumably so evident to Furtwängler, who first published the plaque, that he did not argue the interpretation; but it seems that after all argument is needed.

Many of the plaques from Penteskouphia are decorated on both sides and ours is one of them. The side opposite that with the kiln is illustrated on Plate 7a. It shows a man and the hind part of a boar. Since the right edge is broken and it is very rarely that any of these plaques shows an incomplete figure, it can be calculated that we have less than half of the original scene. The same must be true also of the side with the kiln and, since very few of the plaques combine two scenes on one side, there must be a considerable extension of this scene to the left. An examination of the other published plaques with kilns leaves little doubt of what that extension was. The regular view of a kiln is from the side, usually an elevation, but in two instances a partial section (Plate 7c–d). Often there is a workman busy at the stoke-hole or the chimney. In the two sectional views just mentioned faggots can be seen in the stoking tunnel and embers or other small pieces are spilling into the near part of the lower chamber.

This group of tombs lies about 50 metres south-west of the main Knossos–Herakleion road, immediately opposite the new Sanatorium. Here in the autumn of 1953 Mr. David Smollett, then engaged in making the map for the Knossos Survey, noticed some large sherds which had been thrown into a rubbish pit on the edge of a small patch of ground newly ploughed for a vineyard (Plan, Fig. 1, a). The vineyard lay on the top of a slight knoll behind the café on the west side of the road. The knoll had until this time been occupied by a threshing floor, and was pointed out by the local inhabitants as the site of the ‘Tomb of Caiaphas’. But the great Roman concrete-built tomb traditionally known as the ‘Tomb of Caiaphas’, was really, it appears, on the main road some metres away to the north-west (Knossos Survey 23): it was destroyed about 1880 when the road was built.

The sherds recovered by Mr. Smollett, some of them large and freshly broken from fine Geometric vases, made it seem likely that there was a disturbed tomb of that period in the area. Permission was therefore sought, and readily granted by Dr. N. Platon, Ephor of Antiquities for Crete, to explore the field before it was planted with vines. Trials led to the discovery of three small collapsed chamber tombs, all apparently Iron Age in date, cut in the soft kouskouras rock. The tombs clearly belong to the same complex as tombs L, Π, and TFT which have been published by Brock in Fortetsa (1957). They stood in a row with their entrances facing south towards Knossos. Two isolated burials (Plan, Fig. 1, b, c), extended on their backs with their heads to the west and feet to the east immediately below the surface of the field, may be Roman or later; there was a bent iron nail by the left hand of burial c. The knoll with the tombs lies near the western edge of the big Roman cemetery which covered the region now occupied by the new Sanatorium (Knossos Survey 35).

In the definitive publication of the Sunion site by Stais in ᾿Αρχαιολογικὴ᾿Εφημερίς 1917, 168 ff., and again in τὸ Σούνιον scant reference is made to the remains of docks and shipsheds on the promontory. They are dismissed with a few words in the text, and indicated in the most summary fashion on the plan drawn by Orlandos. This is not altogether surprising in view of the overshadowing interest of the temples and fortifications. It might have been supposed, however, that a full treatment of the walls and defences of the site would include some descriptions of the docks, and some attempt to fit them into the chronology of the fortress.

The prehistoric site of Thermi lies 10 km. north of Mytilene, nearly 2 km. east of the modern village, and about half a kilometre south-east of the hot springs which give the district its name. Before excavation it appeared as a low mound on the coast, part of which had been cut away by the sea. The cliff face rises to 6·20 m. at the highest part of the mound: the relation of virgin soil to the settlement earth is shewn in the sections, Pl. II. Scattered stones, obviously once used for building, extend for 30 m. out to sea: it seems probable that at least 15–20 m. of the city have been lost on this side owing to the gradual erosion of the coast. The extent of the surviving parts can be roughly estimated from the map, Pl. I, though not all the boundaries have yet been discovered.

The name of Gergis appears first in Herodotos, and is applied to a tribe said to be the descendants of the ancient Teukrians; ῾γμέης . . .εἶλε μὲν Αἰολέας πάντας, ὅσοι τὴν ᾿Ιλιάδα νέμονται, εἶλε δὲ Γέργιθας τοὺςὑπολειφθέντας τῶν ἀρχαίων Τευκρῶν (v. 122). Where they dwelt is made clear in vii. 43. After his visit to the temple of Athena at Ilion, Xerxes marches to Abydos, keeping Rhoiteion, Ophryneion and Dardanos on his left, and the Teukrian Gergithes on his right; ἐπορεύετο ἐνθεῦτεν ἐνἀριστερῆι μὲν ἀοέργων ῾Ροίτειον πόλιν καὶ ᾿Οφρύνειον καὶ Δάρδανον, ἤπερδὴ ᾿Αβύδωι ὄμουρός ἐστι, ἐν δεξυῆι δὲ Γέργιθας Τευκπρούς. The Greek colonists, the Aeolians, had occupied with their towns the whole of the coast; the older inhabitants had been driven into the hill-country a short distance inland.

This paper examines Late Bronze Age chipped ceramic and stone discs known most commonly as stoppers. Stoppers are distinguished from other classes of archaeological finds, including pierced discs and lids. Although it has long been known that stoppers could play a role in sealing ceramic vessels, recent scholarship has preferred to see them as multifunctional. For this article, 158 stoppers and 100 spout apertures from transport stirrup jar spouts found in secure Late Bronze Age III contexts have been studied. The results demonstrate a strong correlation in the apertures of transport stirrup jar spouts and the maximum diameter of stoppers that points to a meaningful relationship between the two. As the primary transport container of the Late Bronze Age, transport stirrup jars required careful sealing in order to allow their contents to transit without spilling or spoiling. There were many possible sealing configurations, however, and indeed this paper demonstrates some support for independent Mycenaean and Minoan traditions. A comparison with sealing traditions throughout the eastern Mediterranean reveals that the stopper method of sealing endured or reoccurred for thousands of years for the storage and transport of a specific commodity – wine. I conclude with the case study of stopper distributions at ancient Eleon, Boeotia, in order to show that a contextualised study of stoppers and stoppering activities in domestic structures has much to contribute to the study of social processes and domestic consumption practices.

A re-examination of the EH II architecture at Zygouries and other sites suggests that the traditional model of rectangular houses with two or three rooms may be inappropriate in many instances, and that in fact domestic architecture of the period, while showing greater diversity of form than has hitherto been supposed, may instead have been based on larger and more complex structures.

In the small collection of Greek vases in Reading University there is a pyxis, complete with lid, and also an odd lid from a similar pyxis (Pl. 6, 1 and 3), with floral decoration of the kind that prevailed in Boeotia in the latter part of the fifth century. The painting is done with care, and both vase and lid have an elegance that contrasts with the rusticity of most vases with this sort of decoration.

In shape and size the Reading vase corresponds with the well-known pyxis formerly in the Branteghem collection (Froehner Coll. Van Branteghem no. 211 PL. 46). The height of the Reading pyxis is 0·205 m., of the Branteghem pyxis 0·21 m. Its lid is flat, with an upward curve at the rim, the knob pagoda-like with six tiers, the foot in three sections, unpainted and ribbed horizontally.

A catalogue of pottery, all or most of it from the 1911 excavations of the British School at Phylakopi, set out by shape and motif, is accompanied by a summary collation of evidence for dating and provenance across the Cyclades. Investigation of the material provides some new information about the character of the Phylakopi pottery and the contexts in which it was found. The material prompts observations on a number of questions in the area of Cycladic prehistoric ceramics, prominent among which is the transition from E to MC Some suggestions are offered as to topics which require investigation. The study should be seen as a continuation of work by the same writer which appeared in BSA 69 (1974).

Ένας κατάλογος αγγείων και οστράκων, όλα ή τα περισσότερα από αυτά από τις ανασκαφές της Βρεταννικής Σχολής στη Φυλακωπή κατά το 1911, οργανωμένος κατά σχήματα και μοτίβα, συνοδεύεται από μία σύντομη επισκόπηση των ενδείξεων που υπάρχουν από τα νησιά των Κυκλάδων γενικά σχετικά με τη χρονολόγηση και την προέλευσή τους. Από τη μελέτη του υλικού προκύπτουν ορισμένα νέα στοιχεία για το χαρακτήρα της ντόπιας κεραμεικής της Φυλακωπής και τις ανασκαφικές της συνάφειες. Το άρθρο συμπεριλαμβάνει παρατηρήσεις πάνω σε διάφορα θέματα που αφορούν στην προϊστορική κεραμεική των Κυκλάδων – το πιό σημαντικό από τα οποία αναφέρεται στο θέμα της μετάβασης από την Πρωτοκυκλαδική στη Μεσοκυκλαδική περίοδο. Επιπλέον, διατυπώνονται προτάσεις για θέμαια που χρήζουν περαιτέρω έρευνας. Ｈ παρούσα μελέτη θα πρέπει να θεωρηθεί ως συνέχεια της δημοσίευσης του συγγραφέα στο BSA 69 (1974).

In this paper we present the unpublished finds from the survey of Ayios Nikolaos Mylon. The site is located on one of the foothills of Mount Ochi, on a strategic defensive position overlooking the Bay of Karystos. The site, although unexcavated, is important for establishing the chronological sequence of events in southern Euboean prehistory, as it is the only locality in the area that has produced evidence for habitation which can be dated to the Middle Bronze Age. In the paper we analyse the material and offer some tentative interpretations not only of the archaeological evidence but also of the place of Ayios Nikolaos Mylon in the wider prehistoric world of the Aegean.

The village of Molyvdoskepastos stands on the north-eastern slopes of Mount Nemerçka (Merope) on the present Greek–Albanian frontier, above the valley where the Voiussa river is joined by the tributary of Sarandaporos, in the district of Pogoniani. The 19th-century travellers in Epirus and Albania seem to have passed it by as unworthy of their attentions, although the Rev. Thomas Smart Hughes (writing in 1820) remarks not only on the number of its churches ‘which appear to have been ruined and deserted for some centuries’, but also on the unparalleled incivility of its inhabitants. The character and hospitality of the villagers, despite their recent privations, appears to have improved in proportion to the steady deterioration of their homes and their ancient monuments.

The village was formerly called Dipalitsa, but its present name is derived from the monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin, situated in the valley below close by a small tributary of the Voiussa river, and it was through the influence of this monastery that the village attained its importance as the seat of the archbishopric of Pogoniani. The foundation of the monastery and the establishment of the archbishopric are associated with the name of the Emperor Constantine IV Pogonatos (A.D. 668–85), and the tradition is borne out by documentary evidence which may or may not have been invented to supplement the deficiencies of the historians. The name Pogoniani, if a Slav derivation be discounted, is easily linked with the title Pogonatos: and it is supposed that the Emperor stayed in the district when returning by an overland route to Constantinople after his defeat of the usurper Mizizios in Sicily in 668.

A re-examination of three marble sculpture fragments from Miletos and their dating provides the catalyst for a revised approach to the source of the Severe Style both in chronological and geographical terms. A number of evidential threads are assembled to demonstrate the likelihood that the Severe Style has its origins in an earlier artistic milieu than usually assumed, i.e. before 494 bc, with Ionian workshops playing an equal if not leading role to Attic ones in its creation. It is argued that the Severe Style should not be considered an Athenian artistic response to the trauma of the Persian Wars, produced in a thunderbolt of inspiration around 480 bc. Instead the mechanisms of innovation for classical art should be sought elsewhere, with the shift from Archaic and Classical styles better conceived as a slower process with no epochal thresholds and the Severe Style's association with Athens a result of the city's subsequent successful cultural propaganda.

Though big and fertile, the island of Paros is still an empty landscape for the Neolithic, since alone the only so far known site of Kastro at Paroikia, and the neighbouring islet of Saliagos are inadequate to give an overall view of the cultural and economic distribution of the Neolithic populations on the island and their site networks within it. Also, even in the EBA, the few so far located settlements compared to the known cemeteries prevent us from penetrating into the subsistence strategies of the EC people and their organization of everyday life. In this respect the location of Neolithic and EBA habitation deposits at two sites in the bay of Naousa, Koukounaries and Sklavouna, is a significant opportunity for prehistoric research. This paper is a preliminary synthesis based on data from the old (1974–91) excavations and the systematic study started recently. Particularly in regard to Koukounaries, the paper attempts to study the organization and distribution of the pre-Mycenaean populations on the hill per chronological phase, giving emphasis on two main issues: first, on the duration of the latestNeolithic phase and the possibility that a Neolithic-to-EBA transition exists at the site, and secondly on the presence of a significant stone building compound of the EC II at the NE fringe of the hilltop.

This paper offers a new comprehensive catalogue and discussion of Late Helladic III chariot kraters, and explores what they reveal about horse–human relations in Greece and Cyprus in the Late Bronze Age. The nearly 400 known examples of chariot kraters were produced in mainland Greece and exported to Cyprus and the Levant. Although the vessels were surely adapted to local contexts, the motif of horses and chariot was part of the ‘international’ spirit of the Late Bronze Age and was meaningful throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Following a discussion of the chronological and geographical distribution of the kraters, alongside notes regarding changes in shape, we examine each of the elements of the characteristic horses-and-chariot motif in depth. This close analysis, supplemented by evidence from faunal remains, Linear B and other visual media, and combined with modern equine knowledge, allows us to understand some of the complexities of horse–human relations in ancient Greece and Cyprus. Through this, we see a co-becoming and mutual training of horse and human in the endeavour to become a successful chariot team; we can also recognise elements of ancient acknowledgement of equine agency and personhood. Horses and humans acted and reacted to each other, thereby living and learning together. The images on the chariot kraters reflect both ancient observation and knowledge of horses and caballine behaviour and artistic conventions and developments. Finally, horses were expensive animals to breed, keep and train (with accompanying expensive gear), and direct physical contact would have been for the fortunate few. The chariot kraters allowed a broader segment of the population to engage with horses and chariots, albeit indirectly.

From the southern Balkans to the region of Middle Donau, so-called ‘Thracian’ pottery is dominant during the historical period. Its co-existence with wheel-made pottery also has a long history in Aegean Thrace. In the city of Mesembria-Zone, barrel-shaped urns and one-handled cups represent the ‘classical period’ of this tradition. Until now, there was no example of a site in northern Greece with pottery exclusively of this type. This ‘missing link’ has been discovered during excavations at Agios Ioannis in south-cast Thasos. The pottery from the site is completely handmade and can be attributed to a Later Iron Age phase.

The absence of interest in this pottery tradition was due to difficulties concerning its identification and dating, but also to the fact that archaeologists were more interested in the definition of the nature of Greek colonies and the clarification of the relationships between settlers and natives. The survival of ‘Thracian’ pottery has been explained up to now through the idea of identifying an artefact type as an indicative element of the ‘culture’ of its producers. In fact, the intra-communal distribution of this pottery does not reveal any special differentiation, and does not appear to be related to only one group of the population, different in terms of race or economic strength. Here, we propose an additional interpretative tool, the ideological significance of this type of pottery for the people of south-east Europe.

The significance behind the imagery of the padded dancer, or komast, traditionally has been connected to early drama, Dionysos, or ritual practices. Most Archaic Corinthian vases that include these figures portray them dancing, and a percentage of those dancers also illustrate a deformity of the foot. This article attempts to contextualise the clubfooted padded dancer within its political, cultural and geographic boundaries by offering an explanation for the end of production of these figures in Corinth. The lame padded dancer may have been a localised symbol offering political commentary on historical traditions of lameness within the tyrannical family of Corinth. Its production and discontinuation may be connected to the rise and fall of this family.

Questions were raised in the past regarding the use of Mycenaean tiles as ‘roof tiles’ on the basis of the small numbers of them recovered in excavations and their overall scarcity in Mycenaean domestic contexts. The investigation of the Theodorou plot in 2008 in the southern part of the Kadmeia hill at Thebes yielded the single and, so far, largest known assemblage per square metre of Mycenaean tiles from a well-documented excavation. This material allows, for the first time convincingly, to identify the existence of a Mycenaean tiled roof. This paper presents the results of our work on the Theodorou tiles, placing emphasis on their construction, form and modes of production, offering the most systematic study of Mycenaean tiles to date. It also revisits contexts of discovery of similar material from excavations across Thebes. Popular as tiles might have been in Boeotia, and despite their spatially widespread attestation, their use in Aegean Late Bronze Age architecture appears, on the whole, irregular with central Greece and the north-east Peloponnese being the regions with the most sites known to have yielded such objects. Mycenaean roof tiles date mostly from the mid- and late fourteenth century bc to the twelfth century bc. A study of their construction, form, production and contexts suggests that their role, apart from adding extra insulation, might have been one of signposting certain buildings in the landscape. We also present the idea that Mycenaean tile-making was guided by a particular conventional knowledge which was largely influenced by ceramic-related technologies (pottery- and drain-making). While production of roof tiles might have been palace-instigated to begin with, it does not appear to have been strictly controlled. This approach to Mycenaean tile-making may also help explain their uneven (in terms of intensity of use) yet widespread distribution.

Hoards of metalwork are a common feature of the Bronze Age cultures of Europe and some of them have received a detailed treatment in recent years. Such hoards are relatively rare in the Aegean Early Bronze Age however, and in publishing the Kythnos hoard Dr. Renfrew could only point to three other hoards of third millennium date from the Aegean. Two of these indeed are still unpublished, so that the publication of the complete hoard from Kythnos is an invaluable addition to our previous knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to four groups of metal objects which the writer believes to represent metal hoards of this period, and to discuss the composition and nature of these and the four hoards which Renfrew described.