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.

The remarkably high numbers of silver items (traded goods and coins) found around the Mediterranean during the Hellenistic period, compared to the earlier periods, is inextricably bound with the increase in the amounts of silver extracted and with the wider recognition and acceptance of this metal in the Hellenistic world. Not least, the fact that silver, through its dual role as money and as a commercial commodity, binds use value with exchange value in Hellenistic societies, challenges one to explore the economic behaviour of this metal within the broader economic picture.

The present article offers a multidisciplinary approach to the role of silver in Hellenistic economies along these lines. Through the study of literary, epigraphical and archaeological evidence, it embarks on a survey of the ways in which mining, the function of metal workshops, trade and population movements, wars regulated or influenced the spread of silver commodities around the Mediterranean. The construction of a theoretical model regarding the economic behaviour of silver enables us to identify broadly the mechanisms of (re)distribution of silver items in Hellenistic micro- and macroeconomics.

I. The Site.—The late Dr. Dümmler was struck, on his visit to Melos, by the difference between the pre-Mycenæan tombs at Phylakopi and those that he had just seen opened in Amorgos. Still another, a third variety, had been reported from Syros. Not that the discrepancy disturbed his view of the pre-Mycenæan question. What the want of uniformity proved, to his mind, was merely that uniformity was not to have been expected.

It is, however, becoming more and more evident that at one period one particular type of entombment, the Amorgan type, prevailed all over the Cyclades. Pappadopoulo's account of the Syran graves is not to be taken any more seriously than his account of their contents.

After the close of the excavation season of the British School at Melos last year, I availed myself of the opportunity afforded by a prolonged stay to explore the island. The sites of Komia, Palæochori, and Hagia Kyriaki had been previously visited by me in company with Mr. Charles Clark, architect to the British School, but as the former visits had been limited to one day I revisited the sites mentioned more at leisure afterwards. In order to become more familiar with the people and the districts I stayed several days at or near each of the sites, sleeping usually in the threshing-floors near the farm-houses.

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).

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.

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.

This article examines the earliest attestations of writing on Crete at the beginning of the second millennium bce, the so-called ‘Archanes formula’. The aim is to reassess its origin, purpose, significance and ‘reading’ through a multi-step analysis taking in details of palaeography, correlations with iconographic seal motifs, and material culture. Key issues are considered, namely the extent to which is it comparable with the Linear A ‘libation formula’ a-sa-sa-ra-me, or, conversely, whether it should be singled out as a separate writing tradition. To address these questions, the ‘Archanes formula’ is brought under close scrutiny, vis-à-vis the graphic repertoires of Cretan Hieroglyphic and, in parallel, Linear A. Our conclusions point towards a strong connection with the Cretan Hieroglyphic milieu, in terms of sign shapes and direct links to seal imagery. In this light, the earliest writing in the Aegean is revisited not so much as a script in itself, nor as a prequel to Linear A religious sequences, but as a direct manifestation of the iconic glyptic practices of the Hieroglyphic tradition.

Recently there has been a revival of interest in both the historical and archaeological dimensions of the destruction of cities. The destruction of the principal settlement of a polis is one thing, the effective eradication of the political community quite another. What did it take to destroy a political community? The historical record is full of references to destructions of one polis by another in late Classical to Hellenistic times in Crete. And though not all of these destructions led to the end of the political community in question, some did, and between the Classical period (where we know of 49 poleis) and the Roman conquest of Metellus (where we know of only 24) the numbers of Cretan poleis were drastically reduced. The destruction of Praisos by Hierapytna between 145 and 140 BC (Strabo 10.4.12) was one such case. This seems to form part of a horizon of destructions (of Dreros, Apollonia and Phaistos) that took place between 200 and 140 BC. Florence Gaignerot-Driessen has demonstrated that there is a clear ritual dimension to this in the case of Dreros, a dimension indicated elsewhere by the use of the verb κατέσκαψαν. Excavations at Praisos have shed light on this question. This paper argues that, while there is no evidence for a widespread destruction by fire, there is clear evidence for the ending of Praisian sanctuaries and the forced abandonment of houses and (most intriguingly) the abandonment of large storage vessels. A particular archaeological ‘signature’ of these abandonments, evident at Dreros, Phaistos and Praisos, is the abandonment of the ‘household pithos’, which in many cases seem to be older than the houses in which they have been found. The paper also argues that these archaeological signatures of what had to be destroyed in order to eradicate a political community in turn shed light on what made this particular form of ‘citizen state’ so resilient.

The course of the Scamander is divided into three well marked sections—valley basins divided by defiles. Beginning from the mouth we have first the Plain of Troy, of which nothing need be said here; enough has been written about it already. It is bounded on the south by the Bally Dagh and south of this again by the Kara Dagh. Into the bay between these two runs on the east a spur of the Kayaly Dagh. These hills descend in steep slopes to the river banks, and form a gorge of limestone cliffs some four miles long, nearly as far as Sarimsak Köprü (Garlic Bridge). The path from the north mounts the slopes of the Bally Dagh to a height of over 500 feet, then descends to the river where in the middle of the gorge there lies a small secluded plain—a spot of idyllic charm—and again rises to a height of over 600 feet in order to cross the southern barrier of the Kara Dagh and reach the high road from the Dardanelles to Ezine close to Sarimsak Köprü.

The two white lekythoi illustrated in Plate 40 a–b and Figs. 1–2 were found together in a basement of the National Museum in Athens. The provenience is unknown. They are restored, and have necks, mouths, and handles belonging to other lekythoi. The height of the ancient parts is 0·33 m. The outlines of the drawing are a mixture of matt red and brown; the added colours are mauve, green, and light brown. No vent-hole is visible in either of them.

The subject of the composition on no. 19272 (Plate 40 a and Fig. 1) is a visit to the grave. There is a grave stele in the middle, projecting on to the shoulder of the vase; it rests on a step and has three shafts, one rising from the other. The lowest shaft is the broadest, the middle one the highest. The two lower shafts are crowned by a plinth. From each plinth two tiers of acanthus leaves rise, in outline, or painted mauve, green, or light brown. These enrich the stele, diminish the excessive elevation, and add balance. From the lowest leaves of the upper acanthus group two woollen sashes hang, the left-hand one green, the other mauve. A third sash, green, hangs from the upper border band to left of the stele. Behind the stele, a trapeza, resting on a couple of steps, gives more stability to the general aspect of the monument.

Of the considerable epigraphic harvest gathered by W. Kubitschek and W. Reichel in Geyre (Aphrodisias) in 1893, during their stay of sixteen days, only a few inscriptions were published in the Anzeiger der kaiserl. Akademie der Wissensch. zu Wien 1893, 100–3. Some of the inscriptions recorded in Kubitschek and Reichel's notebooks were published independently by Th. Reinach from Gaudin's squeezes, in REG xix (1906), 79–150, 205–98. Reinach's nos. 13, 17, 127, 7, 70, 77, 50, 146 bis, 32, and 62 (all published as new) are respectively nos. 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14 of Kubitschek and Reichel's article cited above.

Dr. Kunze's splendid presentation alone makes possible the study of Cretan shields, many of which he put together with his own hands. Even where I differ from his conclusions I have to start from the premises he laid down from his careful and scholarly analysis, and his magnificent illustrations.

Dr. Kunze dated the beginning of the Cretan shields by the date of certain gold bands (op. cit. pp. 247, 266) found with Attic vases, from the end of the ninth to the beginning of the seventh century B.C. He has subsequently lowered the date of at least some other Attic vases by some fifty years, and he has told me that he is now disposed to date the shields also later than he did.

Dr. Kunze was naturally looking for an early date, since Johansen had affirmed the dependence of Protocorinthian vase-painting on Crete, particularly on Cretan metal-work, in which he was firmly supported by Payne.

The development in the Classical period of washeries where the crude ores were processed for smelting marked a big step forward in Athenian silver production, since they made it possible to exploit the hitherto unusable poorest argentiferous deposits. The discovery and excavation of the washeries and ergasteria have illuminated the technological advance from the pre-Classical two-phase to the Classical three-phase system. The earliest washeries were located perforce close to natural water sources, but when these became inadequate for the growing needs of the industry, ergasteria were built which, in addition to a washery, had a cistern to collect recyclable rainwater, and could thus be located close to the ore sources. Small communities in which the personnel lived and died grew up around them.

From the 1997 excavations at a Lavrion silver-mine ore washery, Agrileza Compound B, datable to the fourth century BC, came a fragmentary black gloss ram head rhyton of the so-called von Mercklin Class. The rhyton from Agrileza is at present the only known example of this group with a well-defined archaeological context, and is therefore taken as the basis for a review of the regional and chronological attributions of von Mercklin rhyta in several European museums. A discussion of the relationship of these rhyta to the much more common and better known Attic red-figure animal-head vases sketches the background against which the rare occurrence of pouring vessels with animal foreparts in the repertoire of mainland Greek potters has to be seen.

The date of the final destruction of Late Bronze Age Miletos is examined in the light of new evidence from Ugarit, which has allowed the date of the destruction at that site to be more accurately assessed. A comparison of the pottery in the destruction layer at Miletos with that in the destruction layer at Ugarit suggests that Miletos might have been destroyed at an earlier date than usually thought.

After a brief account of the life and personality of R.M. Dawkins (Director of the British School at Athens, 1906–1914), based partly on unpublished material, the author summarizes Dawkins's career as an archaeologist, philologist, and folklorist. There follows a critical account of his work on the Greek dialects of Cappadocia and of other regions in central Asia Minor; Dawkins's magnum opus, Modern Greek in Asia Minor (1916) was the most thorough study ever made of this topic. Mention is made of Dawkins's contribution to the study of Pontic, which he was prevented by events from exploring thoroughly in situ. Apart from his work on individual dialects, his reputation as a dialectologist rests on his accumulation of evidence in support of his hypothesis that there is a fundamental east-west division in the Modern Greek dialects. The limitations of Dawkins's accumulative method are alluded to; he described a corpus rather than formulating rules for the generation of utterances. His contribution to the collection and classification of Greek folk tales – his second most important achievement – is also assessed. Finally mention is made of developments in Modern Greek studies since Dawkins's time.

The form of these vases is precise. The uniform alternation of dark and light in the decoration (which is enhanced by the use of the chequer-pattern on at least one of each pair of bowls) is punctuated at intervals by panels; in them isolated motives appear, their dark silhouettes compelling attention in fields comparatively free of filling ornament (cf. Fig. 2, lid).

It seems appropriate to contribute to this volume an unpublished fragment from Sparta of a list of victorious σφαιρεῖς of which Professor Wace kindly gave me a squeeze many years ago, and to append to it some miscellaneous notes on the lists of this class published in IG V. 1, 674–688. Some of these notes have already appeared in print, in earlier volumes of the Annual, but it may be helpful to collect and slightly amplify them here, using the prosopographical evidence now available for establishing a more exact date for some of the lists. It seems also a suitable occasion to examine briefly a new interpretation of these lists suggested in a recent work on Sparta.

It may well be that in the idea of Herodotus and his contemporaries, that the gods of Greece came originally from Egypt, there lies a consciousness of a fact, and that there was latent in the Greek mind a vague idea that their civilization had, far back in the mists of time, come into contact with that of Egypt, and even that some of its characteristics were of Egyptian origin. Leaving out of account the question of the possible African origin of ‘Mycenaean’ culture, and so ultimately of much of the civilization which we know as ‘Greek,’ we can now say with certainty that we know that Greek culture had, a thousand years before Herodotus, been brought into contact with the already three thousand year old civilization of Egypt, and that this contact was a comparatively close one, and one which cannot fail to have resulted in a perceptible modification of the less-developed and younger culture. We now know that this contact was closest in the sixteenth and fifteenth centuries B.C., when the kings of the XVIIIth Dynasty reigned over Egypt.