Politics and research agendas have had a major role in shaping the archaeology of Crete. This article focuses on the history of research on Lyktos, one of the most important ancient cities of the island, to explore the impact of academic and non-academic factors on archaeological fieldwork. Relying on wide-ranging archival research and extending from the Renaissance to the early twenty-first century, the analysis covers the fluctuation of international scholarly interest in Lyktos, the often abortive plans for excavations by numerous British, Italian, German and Greek archaeologists, and the ways in which fascination with the ancient city relates to broader political and disciplinary history. I also synthesise the small-scale fieldwork conducted at the site and reconstruct its archaeological landscape from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period, offering several new insights in local topography and material culture. This work challenges the characterisation of Lyktos as a ‘phantom city’ and highlights the significance of the site for the archaeology of Crete.

In the Stratigraphical Museum at Knossos the material preserved from the excavations of Cists 2 to 6 in Magazine XIII consists largely of fragments of unfinished stone vases and waste pieces from the manufacture of stone vases. The material is all gypsum and is what remains of a gypsum vase-maker's workshop. No account of it has previously been given, though one ‘trial piece’ that almost certainly belonged with it was published by Evans because he believed it bore a Linear A inscription (see below). The present article publishes the material and discusses two questions arising from it, namely the additional information the workshop provides in relation to that of other Cretan stone vase workshops, and the relation between the workshop and gypsum stone vases.

Excavations carried out by The Helike Project in the Helike plain on the south-western coast of the Gulf of Corinth, north-west Peloponnese, since 2000, have brought to light the well-preserved remains of a coastal Early Helladic (EH) II–III settlement. The site developed as a densely organised settlement during the EH II period and underwent a major architectural transformation at the beginning of the following EH III. In addition to a reorganisation of the settlement on a rectangular town grid, the outstanding feature among the buildings discovered is that of a monumental Corridor House. The newly organised building plan of the settlement was most probably associated with the rise of a new socio-economic structure at the time, including advanced technological specialisation, and possibly the establishment of administrative control within the town supporting communal interests, together with a new emphasis on the status of the private individual.

Considering EH Helike in its broader geographical context, the site's prosperity marks an exception to the widespread decline attested in the mainland settlements of the time, and links it rather with centres across the Aegean Sea and further east. In addition to similarities at the level of settlement organisation, such overseas links and contacts are conspicuously evidenced at Helike through the presence of an array of exotic, prestigious items and commodities including an outstanding depas cup of Trojan/Anatolian type, ornaments of precious metal from the east or the north and Melian obsidian tools, and by the adoption of ‘international’ fashions of life such as the ‘serve and drink’ culture and ‘potter's marks’. In this paper, we present the range of material evidence from the EH III town of Helike illustrating its various spheres of foreign contact, and discuss possible insights into the social and economic conditions that generated the town's floruit and cosmopolitanism in EH III.

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.

This article investigates the final episodes of a long-lasting potting tradition that developed on Aegina during the Bronze Age. From c. 1400 bc, cooking pottery constituted the only class of that tradition that was still manufactured and exported in quantity. Detailed study of several settlement contexts from sites scattered along the Euboean and up to the Pagasetic Gulf dating to c. 1200 bc shows that pottery imported from Aegina became increasingly less available, whereas similar cooking pots produced in various non-Aeginetan fabrics appear at the same time. Macroscopic analysis of traces related to manufacture of such pots reveals that it followed the typical chaîne opératoire of the Aeginetan tradition, strongly suggesting that their appearance reflects technological transfer and, thus, could not be explained without taking mobility of potters into account. Following a comprehensive presentation of available evidence, we argue that potters trained in the context of the Aeginetan potting tradition produced cooking pottery in several locations along the Euboean Gulf and up to the modern city of Volos. By considering the socio-economic and political context of their activity, as well as the development of Aegina and its pottery production during the later stages of the Late Bronze Age, we are able to shed more light on potters’ motivations to move, as well as on the population and the time scale of this mobility phenomenon. It appears that it had two stages, characterised by itinerant activity followed by permanent relocation, and that it was relatively short-lived, as by c. 1150 bc Aeginetan-tradition potters become invisible in the archaeological record.

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.

The coarse-ware stirrup-jars presented here come from two buildings at Mycenae excavated by Alan Wace from 1950 to 1952: the House of the Wine Merchant (HWM), and the House of the Oil Merchant (HOM). Over fifty examples were found in the HWM, and twenty-seven (plus three semi-fine ones) in the HOM, and as such they comprise the largest surviving deposits of the type apart from that of the Kadmeion at Thebes (where Keramopoullos found at least 120).

Although coarse stirrup-jars have received an increasing amount of attention in the last quarter-century, nearly all of the work has focused on those bearing painted Linear B inscriptions; results of philological studies, and of scientific analyses of the clay fabric, have provided fresh evidence for the debate concerning the political and economic relations between Post-Palatial Crete and the Greek mainland. With one possible exception, none of the jars from the two Mycenae deposits is inscribed, but the evidence indicates that, as is the case with inscribed jars, many were manufactured on Crete. Many of the jars fall into distinct typological groups, with parallels from other findspots at Mycenae, and other Aegean sites. The deposits are fairly well dated, and illustrate the diversity of coarse-ware stirrup-jars in use at Mycenae in the late fourteenth to the middle of the thirteenth century B.C.

Several fragments of 4th-century BC Athenian decree-inscriptions are discussed. Joins are made between IG ii2. 13a and 68 and Hesperia, 40, no. 3; IG ii2. 257 and 300; 242 and 373; 407 and SEG 32. 94; IG ii2. 309 and 552; 530 and 590. Attributed to the same stele, but not joining, are IG ii2. 139 and 289; 277 and 428; 540a and SEG 24. 117; IG ii2. 540b and Hesperia, 21, no. 17; IG ii2. 286 and 625; 414a and 403; 398a (+ 438) and 612; 484 and 558; 489 and 532; 495 and 709; 405 and Hesperia, 4, no. 32. Other decrees discussed, mainly in light of the work of A.S. Henry on the formulae of Athenian decrees, are IG ii2. 44; 81; 121; 129; 147; 154; 155; 156; 285+ 414d; 321; 335; 364; 406; 416; 1001; and SEG 21. 362 and 25. 85.

My drawing (Fig. 1) shows a tentative restoration of tomb S 201 at Cyrene, and Fig. 2 its plan. In Cassels's catalogue of the Cyrene tombs, which recognizes its importance, it is described simply as a built rectangular tomb and marked as such on his map. My investigations suggest that it is rather more complicated, and belongs to a specialized class of tomb of considerable architectural interest.

The present condition of the tomb can be seen in Plate 44, a. Part of the walling is still upright, but most of the superstructure has collapsed, encumbering the ruins. This, together with the very short time at my disposal, made it impossible to carry out a complete investigation, which would require clearing the tomb and arranging the various fallen blocks accessibly. Nevertheless the tomb is important enough to deserve a study based on the information available, even though, inevitably, some of the details will have to remain conjectural.

The tomb comprises a rectangular forecourt excavated into the rock, which here forms a virtually level ground surface, and a rock-cut chamber opening off its north-west side. This is the normal practice at Cyrene when rock-cut tombs are constructed on the level parts of the plateau. I could not take full measurements of the court; its width is a little under 12 metres, other details being obscured by fallen masonry and silt.

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 British excavations at Mycenae were resumed in 1955 with research grants from the American Philosophical Society and Bollingen Foundation and contributions from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, the British Academy, and the Seager Fund of the British School at Athens under whose aegis the excavations were conducted.

Work began on August 6th and ceased on September 7th. The next two days were spent in studying and photographing the objects found and in conveying them to the Nauplia Museum. There they were deposited in the room which Dr. Papademetriou has kindly placed at our disposal. We have taken the opportunity of equipping the room with wooden shelving to accommodate the vases and the other objects found and to store the wooden trays containing the boxes with the smaller finds.

This paper publishes the results of excavations of the Kephala Tholos tomb and its immediate vicinity, north of the palace of Knossos, carried out by R. W. Hutchinson in 1938–9. It presents the ceramic and osteological data from the excavations and an architectural study of the tomb structure. The analysis addresses the contentious issue of the dating of the construction of the Tholos, arguing for an LM II date on the basis of the material evidence. It also discusses the equally interesting subsequent history of reuse of the tomb, during phases of LM III and as late as the Protogeometric period, and sets this within the broader context of changing burial practices at Knossos. It considers especially possible motivations for periodic reuse of the Kephala site in terms of strategic appeals to the past, within different political and cultural contexts, from LM II onwards.

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.

Continuing the lines laid down in 1906, the campaign of 1907 was confined entirely to the site of Sparta itself. Our thanks must again be expressed to the Hellenic Government and the Ephor-General of Antiquities for their continuous support. This year we have especially to mention the enlargement of the Sparta Museum. The number of our finds had made this necessary, as the two rooms and entrance-hall of the old Museum were quite full when our work began. Two rooms have now been added to the right and left of the old building, doubling its original capacity. These rooms we have found most useful for purposes of study, and for arranging and repairing the finds, and we are especially grateful for the speed with which this improvement has been carried out.

The fragment which I publish here by the kind permission of Dr. J. Papademetriou lies in the courtyard of the Piraeus Museum. Of its origins nothing can be said. It does not appear in the Museum inventory, and all that can be affirmed for certain is that it was already in the Museum in January 1937, when Mr. J. G. Griffith made a squeeze which is now in the Ashmolean Museum. This squeeze besides its chronological value is also helpful, in that it shows rather more than can now be read on the stone.

Fragment of Pentelic marble with left-hand edge and original rough-picked back preserved. Height: 0·352 m.; width: 0·349 m.; thickness: 0·152 m. Uninscribed left margin of 0·026 m. Uninscribed space below last line of at least 0·110 m. Cut with two chisels of 10 mm. and 6 mm., the smaller being employed for the cross-bars of epsilon, alpha, and the aspirate, the horizontal and right vertical of pi, and all three strokes of upsilon and sigma. Horizontal chequer: 0·0137 m.; vertical chequer: 0·0194 m. (Plate 51a).

John Covel, afterwards Master of Christ's College, Cambridge, visited Athos from Lemnos on his way from Constantinople to England in the spring of 1677. His letter of recommendation from Nointel (which he hoped might be of use if he fell amongst French ‘privateers’) and his circular letter to the monasteries from Manolaki Petrovitzes are preserved in his correspondence.

The Athos notes are bound partly in the Folio MS. (Add. 22, 912) and partly in the Quarto (Add. 22, 914). They are very hastily written and ill arranged. I have therefore taken considerable liberties with the text, revising punctuation, resolving contractions, and (for the convenience of the reader) often transcribing words written wholly or partly in the Greek character; such words are indicated by italics.

Debla is the name of a long east-west ridge forming one of the first foothills of the White Mountains of western Crete, above the great plain west of Khania (Plate 48a). The ridge attains a height of 542 m. and the Minoan settlement lies on the summit area (Figs. 1–2, Plate 48b).

The site was first investigated in 1968 by Messrs. E. Vardhinoyannis and J. Tsiphetakis during excavations of the Hellenistic and Roman town on the Kastellos, a hill north of and well below the Debla ridge. In 1968 the site was also explored by Professor P. Faure, who published a description and illustrations. P. Warren, Mrs. Warren, and Mr. Tsiphetakis subsequently made a visit on 19 May 1970.

In January 1959, when a trench was being dug in order to lay a water pipe in connection with the building of an orphanage (Κέντρον βρεφῶν “Ἤ Μητέρα”) on the south edge of Ayios Ioannis between Knossos and Herakleion a sinking of the ground suggested the presence of a collapsed tomb chamber. As the site lay within the Knossos area, Dr. St. Alexiou, Ephor of Antiquities for Crete, kindly invited the School to make trials there during the course of their excavations at Knossos in the summer of 1959.

The tomb which these trials revealed proved to be Minoan, and assignable to the L.M. II period, to judge from the remains of a couple of clay vases, a stemmed goblet (A.1) and an alabastron (A.2), which had evidently belonged with the original burial or burials. The deep-cut dromos, narrow with distinctly inward leaning sides, was of a type which it is often suggested may be of Mycenaean origin. But this is disputable, and the tomb at Ayios Ioannis appears to be as early as, if not earlier than, any of the tombs with this type of dromos on the Greek mainland. At Mycenae itself tombs with dromoi like this are not attested before L.H. III. On the other hand both at Mycenae and at Knossos there are tombs with shorter dromoi whose sides lean inwards, and some of these tombs may be earlier in date. Tomb 529 at Mycenae, with a short dromos whose sides lean markedly inwards, is assignable to L.H. I–II.