The article provides a detailed summary of a large deposit, primarily of pottery, from the 1978–82 Stratigraphical Museum Excavations at Knossos. The deposit is assigned to the Middle Minoan III B – Late Minoan I A transition. The material is used as the basis of a re-examination of this difficult stage in the Minoan ceramic sequence and a wide range of deposits, notable among them the seismic destruction level at Akrotiri on Thera, is able to be linked to the Knossos material in order to define the phase more fully. The wide destruction level thus documented may then be set within the historical development of Minoan civilization.

In 1964, in the agora at Sparta, Ch. Christou excavated part of a monumental building which is identified as the Persian Stoa. The most important find was a bronze female portrait statue, Roman in date, which is on display in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (NM 23321). The identification of the statue as Julia Mamaea, suggested by Ch. Christou, is still prevalent, although several scholars see in the Sparta statue iconographical elements that link it with Caracalla's wife Plautilla or with Annia Faustina, Elagabalus' third wife. However, the rendering of the hairstyle provides evidence for the identification of the woman whom the statue depicts as the empress Julia Aquilia Severa, Elagabalus' second and fourth wife. The erection of a statue of Julia Aquilia Severa in the Persian Stoa is most likely connected with the imperial cult of Elagabalus and his empress in Sparta.

Recently discovered pottery from David Hogarth's 1899 excavation in the Psychro Cave is published in this study. The great majority of these vases can, on the basis of their fabric and decoration, be traced to Malia, Knossos and the Lasithi Plain. During the MM I-LM I A period most of the fine ware pottery dedicated at the Psychro came from Malia. The monumental size of the sanctuary and the large number (and the elite character) of the votives indicates that during MM I B-LM I A Psychro was the main extra-urban sanctuary for the polity centred at Malia. During LM I B-III A1/2 virtually all of the decorated vases from Psychro are Knossian. This change suggests that Mycenaean Knossos assumed control of the sanctuary during this time, and that some of these vases are those referred to in the Linear B tablet from Knossos KN. Fp 1 that lists dedications of oil sent to Dictaean Zeus.

This methodological paper uses the measurements of the Early Iron Age Toumba building at Lefkandi to study whether a single design-unit can be detected in the data set. Cosine quantogram analysis is used in the initial analysis of the building dimensions and, in the second phase, the relevance of the obtained results is calculated by using Monte Carlo computer simulations. A statistically significant unit of c. 49 cm can be isolated, but because of the very limited number of precise dimensions, this result should only be accepted with caution. The case study demonstrates how the complex statistical problem of deriving the lengths of possibly used design-units in ancient architecture can be approached; metrological analyses can only gain from employing appropriate quantitative methods.

1. The frontier of Pisidia, where it adjoins Lycaonia, is placed wrongly in my Histor. Geogr. Chs. Q and V. The district was little known, when I wrote: I had traversed it hurriedly in 1882, 1886, and 1890, in each case only on a single hasty route. The excursion of 1882 resulted in placing Anaboura and Neapolis. No name was discovered in the excursions of 1886 and 1890. Prof. Sterrett explored the district very carefully in 1884 and 1885; but the numerous inscriptions, which he found, unluckily did not contain important topographical indications, and he assigned a position much too far north for the city of Pappa-Tiberiopolis. I shared his view on this critical point, with the result that many other towns were drawn away far north of their true situation, because they stood in some relation to Pappa, and when it seemed to lie away in the north, they had to be placed correspondingly. For the same reason, the Pamphylian frontier was drawn too far north.

The excavations of R. H. Lang at the Temple of Apollo in Idalion in 1868 produced the largest number of Cypro-Archaic anthropomorphic bronze statuettes so far known from a single site in Cyprus. These are published here, many for the first time, and set within the context of similar material from the island, the Levant, and the Greek world.

The large pictorial jug published here (Plate 12 a-d) was discovered in 1966 in a plundered Mycenaean chamber tomb at the site Melathria, near the village of Skoura in Laconia. Skoura is close to Sparta, opposite to and east of the Vapheio tholos tomb, on the east side of the river Eurotas.

It is a most unusual Mycenaean vase, remarkable for its pictorial decoration at such an early date. In view of the shape of the vase and its linear decoration, it seems to be one of the earliest pictorial vases yet found on the mainland of Greece.

The jug, which is now exhibited in Sparta Museum (Inv. no. 5533), has been restored from fragments, and large pieces of the belly have been completed with plaster. It can be described as follows: Tall jug with cut-away neck (Plate 12a). Light brown clay, polished yellow-pink surface, lustrous red paint which in places has adhered badly and flaked away.

In the Late Bronze Age settlement of Akrotiri on Thera stone vessels were imported, mainly from Crete, in parallel with local production which was in full swing at this time, as testified by the number and variety of products, especially those of everyday domestic use, that covered fully the needs of a large settlement. One group of stone vessels, which is characterised by the innovative character either of the shape or the combination of type and raw material used, includes products that cannot be attributed to known centres of stone vessel manufacture, such as those of Crete, Egypt and the Syro-Palestinian region. The particular interest of this group lies in the fact that parameters such as the choice of the material, the typology and the flourishing stone industry, lead to a clear correlation of specific vessels with related local activity.

The following notes were made by us on a short journey in Pamphylia during March 1911.It had been our intention on reaching Adalia about the middle of the month to go at once into Lycia, but the lateness of the season made the higher ground impossible, and it seemed better to spend a short time in examining the country in the immediate neighbourhood of Adalia, much of which was still imperfectly known (Fig. 1).

The best description of the Pamphylian plain is that given by Lanckoronski. From the Kestros to the Melas stretches a low-lying, swampy plain, traversed by three great rivers which come down from the Pisidian highlands, feverish in summer, and during the winter months impossible for wheeled traffic. To the west of the Kestros rises a rocky plateau of travertine some hundred feet above sea-level, on which stands the town of Adalia (Attaleia) on cliffs above the sea, which diminish towards the west. To the north of Adalia rises a third level, which viewed from the south, resembles a high raised beach, running roughly parallel with the present coast as far as the village of Barsak. To the east of that point the hills turn in a north-easterly direction and sink gradually down towards the Kestros. The western part of the plateau is crossed by two main roads, leading respectively to Istanoz and Buldur.

In a note on the Argive festival of the Hybristika I mentioned the diviners of Skythia as examples of that strange phenomenon familiar among many savage peoples, the magician who dresses as a woman. As the θήλεα νοῦσος has been somewhat of a crux to Herodotean scholars, I may perhaps be allowed to develop the point a little more at length.

It has usually been suggested that the θήλεα νοῦσος must be explained either as a vice, or as a bodily disease, or as a mental affliction. None of these theories, however, accounts for all the features of the evidence which we possess, and can only be tortured into conformity by the Procrustean ingenuity of the scholar. Those, for example, who explain the θήλεα νοῦσος as a vice, have further to show why those who are afflicted with it form a definite class, why they are connected especially with Askalon, and why they are magicians.

The story of the Rhodian knight Dieudonné de Gozon and the slaying of the great dragon of Malpasso is, largely owing to Schiller's adoption of the theme in a ballad, one of the best-known legends of its type. It is one of several instances in which an historical personage figures as the hero of this quite mythical adventure.

Dieudonné de Gozon, a member of the Provençal langue, was the third Grand Master of the Knights of S. John at Rhodes, ruling from 1346 to 1353. He is represented as a simple knight at the time of his great adventure. As might be expected, no contemporary or nearly contemporary authority mentions the dragon-fight of de Gozon. But so early as Mandeville and Schiltberger we find anonymous Rhodian knights figuring as the heroes of current folk-tales of the chivalric type.

Two vessels reconstructed from fragments found at Semibratny in the Kuban are discussed, a pyxis with the base fitted into the walls, and a stemmed dish in profile closely related to the stemmed kantharos.

During the sinking of some trial pits by the iron bridge over the Eurotas a hoard of silver coins was found. They were contained in a plain vase of red ware, the mouth of which was closed by a clay stopper, and were discovered at a depth of ·50m. below the level of the present surface. The coins have now been transferred from the Sparta Museum to the National Coin Collection at Athens. They are all silver tetradrachms of Attic-Euboic weight, except of course the Ptolemaic coins, which were struck on the Phoenician standard. The weights are those of the coins before they were cleaned. They have probably lost a little in weight during the cleaning process, but I have not thought it necessary to re-weigh them. The Athenian coins I have not described in detail, as the type is so common. My hearty thanks are due to Dr. Svoronos for his help and advice.

The pieces of fresco here described come from the so-called ‘Ramp House,’ the excavation of which was begun by Schliemann in 1876, and finished by ourselves in 1921. It lies south-east of the Grave Circle, immediately west of the Little Ramp, and east of the House of the Warrior Vase. In date it belongs to the Third Late Helladic period. Of the frescoes, many came from the ‘Megaron,’ where they were found below a floor level in a deposit dating from Late Helladic II. or earlier times; the details of the stratification will be given in a later section. Some fine fragments came from the narrow passage between the ‘Megaron’ and the Little Ramp, where they were found at approximately the same level and in a deposit of the same date and character; indeed, one or two pieces of pottery found there join pieces from the ‘Megaron.’The deposit seems to have extended to the north of the Ramp House, for it was found immediately outside the north wall, and also at the foot of the Little Ramp: both places produced fresco. That such variety and quantity of fresco should have decorated any of the buildings that preceded the Ramp House on this site seems improbable.

This is a report on the excavations undertaken in 2007 at the site of Praisos in eastern Crete. Three trenches were opened just next to the so-called Andreion or Almond Tree House on the NW slopes of the First Acropolis, excavated by R.C. Bosanquet in 1901. The upper layers of two of these trenches (A-200 and A-300) consisted of re-deposited material of Classical and Hellenistic date, which we infer came from Bosanquet's dump. Material from these upper layers comprised tile, pottery (including numerous examples of Cretan necked cups), loomweights and terracotta plaques with a distinct masculine iconography. Excavation also reached lower Late-Classical–Hellenistic floor levels, on which a number of pithoi survived in situ. Some of these pithoi are considerably older than the floor level, a terminus post quem for which is provided by a bronze coin. The abandonment of these houses must be dated to the final phases of Praisos' occupation, before 146 bc. There is however nothing to suggest that the city itself was subject to a fire destruction. Rather, the city seems to have undergone a forced abandonment followed by deliberate demolition.

This article provides a short report on a survey of the region to the east of the ancient city of Butrint, in south-west Albania. Centred on the modern villages of Mursi and Xarra, the field survey provides information on over 80 sites (including standing monuments). Previous surveys close to Butrint have brought to light the impact of Roman Imperial colonisation on its hinterland. This new survey confirms that the density of Imperial Roman sites extends well to the east of Butrint. As in the previous surveys, pre-Roman and post-Roman sites are remarkably scarce. As a result, taking the results of the Butrint Foundation's archaeological excavations in Butrint to show the urban history of the place from the Bronze Age to the Ottoman period, the authors challenge the central theme of urban continuity and impact upon Mediterranean landscapes posited by Horden and Purcell, in The Corrupting Sea (2000). Instead, the hinterland of Butrint, on the evidence of this and previous field surveys, appears to have had intense engagement with the town in the Early Roman period following the creation of the Roman colony. Significant engagement with Butrint continued in Late Antiquity, but subsequently in the Byzantine period, as before the creation of the colony, the relationship between the town and its hinterland was limited and has left a modest impact upon the archaeological record.

The building at Toumba, Lefkandi, stands unique in its time and place. The remains of this monument are significant in terms of size and elaboration, and also on account of the way it has been reconstructed and interpreted as the ancestor of the Greek peripteral temple. The primary concern of this article is the structural evaluation of the architectural remains. In part due to the scant nature of the archaeological evidence behind the widely accepted reconstruction, the latter can be seen to have several structural shortcomings. In reassessing the structure several factors are considered, including the state of technology at the time of construction, the characteristics of the building materials employed, and the way they respond to the strains of load and the forces of nature. The process of reconciling such factors with the documented remnants of the building directs us towards a different reconstruction. It thus emerges that the building at Toumba is an implausible ancestor of Greek peripteroi, and an alternative solution without the iconic pre-peristasis is proposed here.

The Cyclopean Terrace Building lies to the north-west of the Lion Gate on the northern end of the Panagia Ridge and faces almost due west across the valley of the Kephissos and modern main road from Corinth to Argos. It lies just below the 200 m. contour line, and one terrace below the houses excavated in 1950–51 by Dr. Papadimitriou and Mr. Petsas to the east at the same end of the ridge. The area contains a complex of buildings, both successive and contemporary, and in view of the discovery of structures both to the south-west and, by the Greek Archaeological Service, to the north-east it is likely that this whole slope was covered by a portion of the outer town of Mycenae. This report will deal only with the structure to which the name Cyclopean Terrace Building was originally given, the so-called‘North Megaron’, supported by the heavy main terrace wall.

The excavation of this structure was begun in 1923. The main terrace wall was cleared and two L.H. IIIC burials discovered in the top of the fill in the south room. In 1950 it was decided to attempt to clear this building entirely in an endeavour to find out its date and purpose. The clearing was not, however, substantially completed until the close of the 1953 excavation season, and this report presents the available evidence for the date as determined by the pottery found beneath the building; the purpose is still a matter for study, though various tentative conclusions can be put forward.

This article examines Schliemann's own description of his journey through Greece and the Troad in 1868. It begins in Corfu and Kephalonia, and moves on quickly to Ithaca. The article examines Schliemann's concern with Homer in relation to his activities on these islands, as well as relating a Homeric narrative for his journey to concerns in his personal life, and picking out details emphasizing his increasing interest in archaeology. The scene moves on to Athens and Schliemann's view of modern Greece, then to the Peloponnese and his reaction to Mycenae, Tiryns and other Argolid sites. Part two concerns Schliemann's time in the Troad. It deals with the Homeric question and the location of Troy in scholarship up to 1868; an outline of Schliemann's itinerary in the Troad; Schliemann's search for Troy, including excavations at Bunarbashi; and the question of his acquaintance with Hissarlik. The views put forward differ significantly from those previously expressed in regard to the question of Hissarlik. The article concludes with two appendices, one offering extracts from Schliemann's Ithaca diary, the other extracts from his Troad diary.