In keeping with the new format of Archaeological Reports, this contribution takes a thematic approach. It seeks to draw wider attention to some of the diverse new primary research that has taken place since 2000 on Minoan (here glossed as Proto- and Neopalatial) extra-urban sanctuaries. For many years, discussion of these sites has largely involved synthesis. No example of a Minoan extra-urban sanctuary has ever progressed all the way from systematic excavation to full publication. Some of the best reported examples, such as the Psychro Cave (Watrous 1996) or the peak sanctuary of Petsophas (Rutkowski 1991), were excavated at the beginning of the 20th century. Until the period covered by this review, there were only one or two cases where sites excavated more recently had benefited from extended preliminary publications. This has meant that synthetic treatments have been highly dependent, in the majority of cases, on extremely brief notices of excavations or on scholars' impressions from simply visiting sites. The last 15 years have witnessed a marked change of pace. New sites have been discovered and excavated, extensive studies of old material have been produced and, most importantly, the first comprehensive studies of some of the assemblages of objects from these sites have come into the public domain. As a result, this is an opportune time to highlight a dynamically evolving field of research.

This contribution offers a brief survey of funerary archaeology undertaken in the central and southern Aegean over the course of the last 25 years. Major construction projects and salvage and systematic excavations have brought to light some 1,700 new Late Bronze Age tombs (i.e. 27% of the extant corpus). Despite these discoveries, however, very few tombs have received a final publication and few of these projects are context driven. New data are and will continue to be desirable – but it is the quality of the recording of these data, our research questions and the careful application of new methodologies, during and after excavation, that will open up new interpretative avenues and debates. With the number of secure archaeological contexts dwindling fast, not least because of the constant threat of looting, developing new approaches (for example understanding site formation and episodes of use) is crucial if we are to recover as much as possible and advance our knowledge of the multivalent roles played by burials within ancient societies.

This paper explores important new evidence from recent and ongoing landscape and excavation projects carried out in Thessaly that revolutionizes our understanding of the Neolithic in the region. Moving from wider landscapes to individual archaeological sites, the paper focuses on complexity and diversity in the spatio-temporal manifestation and internal structure of Neolithic settlements, and highlights the potential of the current direction of research to illuminate the lifeways of the Neolithic people of Thessaly.

This article reviews a decade of publications and rescue excavations on the islands of Aegina, Poros and Salamis, and on the island-like Methana peninsula. Considerable amounts of new data have come to light that demonstrate how, from prehistory through to more recent times, the islands of the Saronic Gulf have been plugged in to networks with one another, with their neighbouring mainlands and with the wider Aegean. Moreover, a not insignificant number of publications has recently become available that synthesize many years of archaeological discoveries into cultural histories, telling the stories of each island and of the whole archipelago.

This paper discusses material culture in western Thessaly from the eight to the fifth century BC. The focus of the paper is on the recently investigated settlement at Philia, where a number of apsidal buildings have been unearthed, dating to the sixth and fifth centuries BC; their layout and organization reveal central planning. Comparison of the architecture and contents of the Philia houses to those from other Thessalian sites reveals the existence of shared traditions in the region, in terms of both the architecture (apsidal buildings) and pottery (grey wares), with a long history from the ninth to the fifth century BC.

The very positive reception granted to last year's inaugural ‘Newsround’, and the clear demand for an authoritative annual brief of current work in Greece, has ensured its return as a regular feature. As last year, this section is not intended to be exhaustive, but is designed to draw attention to those discoveries which do not appear elsewhere within Archaeological Reports but which nevertheless deserve to be highlighted in a manner which complements those more specialized contributions within the current volume and that content available digitally through AGOnline/Chronique des fouilles en ligne (www.chronique.efa.gr). Again, the very varied nature of this material has meant that, for the most part, it has proved preferable to organize this section chronologically (Palaeolithic through to Early Modern), rather than thematically.