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Copyright of Classica: Revista Brasileira de Estudos Clássicos is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Estudos Classicos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper discusses aspects of cooking pottery technology and operation through observations made in a series of experiments, utilizing the results of archaeological ceramic analysis in Neolithic northern Greece. The first stage of experiments focused on the experimental manufacture of three types of cooking pots, following the Neolithic techniques, from raw material processing to firing. In the second stage the pots were used in cooking performances, using structures, fuel and contents identified in the archaeological record. The qualitative data generated allow for testing a series of archaeological assumptions on ceramic technology, particularly vessel building and firing, along with the effects of cooking on pots. Moreover, experimental cooking provided insight to the relations between the different participant parts, highlighting the pivotal relation of cooking pots to fuel and different cooking modes. This pilot study aspires to endorse ceramicists to refine protocols for future experiments and analyses on cooking technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses aspects of cooking pottery technology and operation through observations made in a series of experiments, utilizing the results of archaeological ceramic analysis in Neolithic northern Greece. The first stage of experiments focused on the experimental manufacture of three types of cooking pots, following the Neolithic techniques, from raw material processing to firing. In the second stage the pots were used in cooking performances, using structures, fuel and contents identified in the archaeological record. The qualitative data generated allow for testing a series of archaeological assumptions on ceramic technology, particularly vessel building and firing, along with the effects of cooking on pots. Moreover, experimental cooking provided insight to the relations between the different participant parts, highlighting the pivotal relation of cooking pots to fuel and different cooking modes. This pilot study aspires to endorse ceramicists to refine protocols for future experiments and analyses on cooking technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Documenta Praehistorica is the property of Documenta Praehistorica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper deals with the results of the third consecutive season of excavations in the Late Helladic site of Kastrouli, southern Phokis, during summer 2018. Excavations resumed and concluded in the Building 1, which dates in the LH IIIC Early. Research has been conducted as well in three more buildings (2a, 2b, 3), and in the looted chamber Tomb B. A survey in the plane of Miteles identified drainage works of later dates, which however may represent improvements and adaptation of works conceived already in the Mycenaean times. Finally, some considerations are advanced on the labour investment for the Kastrouli fortifications and its implications for its population calculation, and a brief overview of the results achieved thus far by the entire project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The calcareous skeletal remains of various microscopic organisms such as foraminifera and ostracods are a striking feature of thin sections of many archaeological ceramics from the Aegean Bronze Age. While the presence of these calcareous microfossils in pottery has been noted for some time, attempts to utilize them to further the aims of ceramic compositional analysis have been few in number. In the following paper, we take a first detailed look at the occurrence and utility of calcareous microfossils in archaeological ceramics. By presenting selected case studies from the Bronze Age of Crete, we demonstrate the potential of calcareous microfossils, especially the extremely small ‘nannofossils’ and the highly contextual geological information that they contain, in terms of the characterization and grouping of ceramics, the determination of their provenance and the reconstruction of ancient technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnoarchaeological studies of pottery primarily focus on the ethnographic present, often disregarding the role of history in the production of material culture. This paper integrates information from historical sources and ethnographic interviews to better understand stylistic ceramic change. Beginning in the 1920s, undecorated pots largely replaced decorated pottery in the region of Evros, Greece. I argue that historically informed ethnoarchaeology provides the key to documenting and understanding the concomitant changes in the social context of pottery production and consumption and the distribution of material culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the preliminary results of the excavations of 2017 season at the Mycenaean site of Kastrouli, Phokis. It attempts as well a preliminary interpretation of the data obtained during the 2016 season, now based on the first results of the still ongoing archaeometric research. During the second season of excavation a circular feature in the eastern side of the fortification wall has been investigated, and a second gate with its access ramp has been located, in addition to the gate already known on the western side. On the E-SE side of the fortified area some walls and foundations visible on the surface led to the excavation of the Building 1, which has been destroyed by fire. Further, a very long wall belonging to a large building (Building 2), or possibly to a complex of buildings, has been cleaned and documented on the southern terrace of the fortified area. Finally, two large holes dug by looters, one close to the Western gate and the other close to the Tomb A, have been examined and refilled with soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceramic roofing tiles were first invented during the Early Bronze Age (or Early Helladic [EH] period, ca. 3100-2000 BCE) and have been identified at 22 sites in mainland Greece. In this paper, I present a newly discovered assemblage of EH tiles from the site of Mitrou (East Lokris) and offer the first detailed, comparative analysis of EH tile production. I demonstrate that there was a shared tradition for the appropriate form and dimensions of tiles in mainland Greece. This uniformity, however, belies heterogeneity in production among sites and through time. The reconstructed chaîne opératoire of Mitrou's tiles, for instance, has affinities with the tiles of Zygouries (Corinthia) and Kolonna (Aegina), but not of the later House of the Tiles at Lerna and most tiles from Tiryns in the Argolid. With these results, I reveal a distinct network of interaction in mainland Greece in which construction knowledge was disseminated and maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents new evidence for the Neolithic habitation on Ithaca, consisting of ceramic and stone finds, recognised among material from the University of Ioannina excavations at the site of Agios Athanasios-School of Homer in the northwest part of Ithaca, Greece. The new Neolithic site is considered within the wider cultural context of the Ionian Islands, in the late 5th/4th millennium BC. Our current knowledge suggests a permanent Neolithic occupation at the site, as opposed to seasonal occupation or to a special purpose occupation. The Neolithic people at the School of Homer may have been part of a dynamic network of Late/Final Neolithic installations in Western Greece, engaging themselves in inter-regional communal connections along the routes of the most ancient seafaring in the Ionian Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As important vessels in domestic and cultic food preparation in ancient Greece, ceramic mortaria are closely intertwined with the development of culinary customs and their social setting. Examples found at Corinth show a variety of forms, particularly in the Classical period. This study presents an analysis of the morphological changes of the Corinthian examples from the Archaic through Hellenistic periods. The end of the 6th and the first half of the 5th century b.c. see the greatest developments, such as the introduction of spout, handles, and gritted interiors. The functions of mortaria are also discussed in detail, with interpretation based on the artifacts themselves, textual references, and iconographic and contextual evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several conference papers related to archaeology in Western Crete, Greece are presented. Y. Sakellaraskis reports on the ongoing excavations at the room 15 and 19 of the central building of the M settlement where pieces of quartz, vessels, and manganese oxide are discovered. A survey on the discovery of pre-Neo remains in the limestone caves near the freshwater estuaries in Crete is also reported by T. Strasser and colleagues where 1,764 stone artifacts are generated.

Keywords: ceramics; furnace, kiln or oven; ethnoarchaeology; education; Country; Greece EN ceramics furnace, kiln or oven ethnoarchaeology education Country Greece This article presents an experimental archaeology project that aimed to reproduce the Hellenistic Greek pottery production process. The perforated floor, or eschara in Greek, is an essential feature of the updraft kiln and it separates the firing chamber from the combustion chamber, prevents the pots from direct contact with the flames and allows less heat to reach the firing chamber (Hasaki, 2002). Stage 6: Stacking the kiln and building the dome We stacked the kiln following the ethnographic evidence from different regions in Spain (González, 1989; Castellote Herrero, 2006; García Alén, 2008) and our own experience with Neolithic and Bronze Age pit firing as well as the gas kiln. [Extracted from the article]

In this article, we reconsider manufacturing techniques of Protogeometric ceramic production in central Greece. Contrary to the established notion that wheel-throwing was the exclusive technique used to produce Protogeometric fine-ware pottery, we argue that at least part of this ceramic category was not wheel-thrown but wheel-coiled. Informed by a macroscopic study of surface and breakage features, as well as the results of our experimental project, we present the evidence for Protogeometric wheel-coiling based on three assemblages from the sites of Mitrou, Halos, and Lefkandi. The potential significance of our findings for understanding ceramic production in Early Iron Age Greece is pointed out and possible directions for further research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Bronze Age in Crete, agriculture, pottery production, metallurgy, textiles, architectural feats, trade, and other specializations flourished. Throughout habitation on Crete, pottery production was an area of craftsmanship and practicality from the end of the Neolithic to Mycenean and Iron Age. This experiment, however, relates to the Late Minoan I period in the geographical region of Mochlos. The Artisan's Quarter is a building that contains various rooms that have been tied to craftsmanship and workshops. Once connected by a land bridge to the ancient site of Mochlos, this particular building would have been the place of vast amounts of pottery production. Activities would have ranged from the clay preparation to forming the vessels by hand or wheel to the decoration choices to the firing, and then finally to the exportation. For this experiment, the construction of the kiln was based on the research of two kilns of differing sizes and characteristics in this area, combined with other Late Minoan sites on Crete, to understand firing techniques and building aspects. Chalinomouri was another place of specialization. It was a small habitation that seemed to concentrate on agriculture. The pottery collected from this site varies in date and function, which is similar to that of the Artisan's Quarter. As seen in the excavations at Mochlos, the scored basins were discovered fragmented within various rooms of different activities, suggesting their fabrication and possible function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late Antique coarse cooking wares and painted fine wares found at Herdonia (second half of the fourth century to mid-fifth century ad) and Canusium (late sixth century to early seventh century ad) have been chemically and mineralogically characterized. A total of 74 samples (40 of coarse ware and 34 of fine painted ware) was investigated through optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, neutron activation analysis and X-ray fluorescence. A new statistical method, namely the classification tree methodology, was used for the treatment of geochemical data. The characterization of the Herdonia and Canusium assemblages was combined with a review of earlier results obtained for San Giusto and Posta Crusta, in order to get an insight on Late Antique ceramic trades in northern Apulia. It appears possible to reconstruct a production pattern organized at multiple production sites, both rural and urban, that exploited similar raw material deposits, specialized in certain productions, and commercialized products at different geographical scales. Imports from outside northern Apulia may be identified for coarse wares. A likely area of production is difficult to establish; however, the northern Adriatic coast and the area of Greece may be suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using ceramic evidence from Bronze Age Akrotiri on Thera, the authors explore the idea that regional cultural interactions of a “colonialist” character can take place without the occurrence of colonization per se. They assess the types and frequency of Cretan Middle Minoan IIIA imports from selected deposits at the site, the nature of local imitations of Cretan pottery, and the adoption of a characteristically Cretan technology, the potter's wheel. By comparing processes of material, stylistic, and technological transfer, the authors seek to characterize Crete's influence off-island and the responses of neighboring island communities, concluding that Cretan material culture is more a cause than an effect of Minoanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author reconsiders the transition from Late Helladic IIIB to Late Helladic IIIC on the Greek mainland and proposes an alternative ceramic phasing based on quantitative changes in chronologically sensitive indicators. The later part of LH IIIB (traditional LH IIIB2) is divided into LH IIIB2 Early and LH IIIB2 Late. These phases are followed by an initial stage of LH IIIC, preferably termed “LH IIIC Phase 1,” as suggested by Rutter in 1977, rather than “Transitional LH IIIB2–LH IIIC Early,” as recently proposed by Mountjoy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavations at Kommos, southern Crete, yielded large amounts of pottery of the Iron Age from levels of slight chronological significance. In this article the author deals with such material, expanding the ceramic aspects of deposition, largely adumbrated in previous publications concerned with stratigraphically significant material from the site. The sum of these publications should therefore constitute an adequate record of the Iron Age pottery from Kommos. The present article also includes pieces of individual interest, whether fully explicable or not, for the scrutiny of a wider public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of reference groups comprises an important procedure in chemical provenance studies of archaeological pottery. Material from ancient kilns is thought to be especially suitable for reference groups, as it comprises a definite unit of past production. Pottery from the Late Minoan IA kiln excavated at Kommos, Crete was analysed in order to produce a reference group in this important area of Minoan ceramic production. The samples were characterized by a combination of techniques providing information on the chemistry, mineralogy and microstructure of the ceramic body. Initially, the study was unable to establish, in a straightforward manner, a chemical reference group. Different ceramic pastes and a range of selective alterations and contaminations, affected by variable firing temperatures and burial environment, were shown to be responsible for the compositional variability. Procedures are described to compensate for such alterations and the perturbations in the data that they produce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author presents an analysis of "Louvre G372," by Penelope Painter in Akropolis. He stresses that Side B signifies the presentation of Athena's sacred olive tree in 479 BC following the burning of the temple of Athena Polias and Pandroseion by the Persians. These two figures that show the architects' tools suggest the participation of the architects in the reconstruction and redevelopment of Athena Polias and Pandroseion. On the other hand, Side A connotes the superhuman assistance provided, or to be provided, by Athena and Gugas to the architects. An overview of Painter's work is described.