The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2018

All content of Opuscula 12 (2019) is available with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2018: Excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke (The Söderberg Expedition). Preliminary results, with contributions by J. Tracz and D. Kofel By Peter M. Fischer (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) & Teresa Bürge (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria) Abstract During the ninth field season at the Late Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke, excavations in City Quarter 1 (CQ1) continued and brought to light industrial and domestic structures belonging to three phases of occupation (Strata 3–1) dating to the 13th and 12th centuries BC (LC IIC–IIIA). Finds of more than half a ton of copper slag together with remains of furnaces and tuyères indicate intensive urban copper production. There is also evidence of textile production in CQ1. A magnetometer survey of roughly 23 ha resulted in the discovery of another large city quarter (CQ4) between CQ1 and Area A (the cemetery) with regularly arranged stone-built compounds of imposing dimensions intersected by streets. Several massive walls are faced with ashlar slabs which distinguishes this quarter from the industrial and…

Plants in the sanctuary

All content of Opuscula 12 (2019) is available with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. Plants in the sanctuary. Charred seeds from Areas C and D at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros By Anaya Sarpaki (Independent scholar, Greece) Abstract Excavations at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaueria in the years 2003–2005 produced a small but quite interesting assemblage of charred seeds and fruits. Their analysis adds to a small existing body of such evidence and sheds light on several issues including aspects of the physical environment in the past, the agricultural economy in the area of the sanctuary, the role of plants in cult, and also the preparation and eating of plant foods and the possible alternative uses of them. The charred seeds that are presented here are part of a larger body of bioarchaeological remains that illuminate daily life in the sanctuary. Bibliographical information Anaya Sarpaki, ’Plants in the sanctuary. Charred seeds from Areas C and D at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros’, Opuscula. Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome (OpAthRom) 12, Stockholm 2019, 271–286. ISSN: 2000-0898. ISBN:…

Trees and shrubs in the sanctuary

All content of Opuscula 12 (2019) is available with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. Trees and shrubs in the sanctuary. Wood charcoal analysis at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros By Maria Ntinou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece) Abstract Wood charcoal analysis at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros aims to provide information on the vegetation of the area and its management and on the range of plants used in the activities taking place at the sanctuary. During the excavations of 2003–2005 in Areas D and C, systematic samples from fills and features from all the excavated strata were recovered and water flotation was used for the separation of wood charcoal from the sediment. Wood charcoal was found in two pits dated to the Early Iron Age, near the supposed altar of the Archaic period (Feature 05), in a deposit of the Hellenistic period (the “dining deposit”), in floor deposits (Early Iron Age and Late Classical/Early Hellenistic periods), and fills of different chrono-cultural periods (Archaic–Early Roman). All the taxa identified in the wood charcoal assemblages are thermophilous Mediterranean elements, most of them evergreen…

Marine and terrestrial molluscs in the sanctuary

All content of Opuscula 12 (2019) is available with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. Marine and terrestrial molluscs in the sanctuary. The molluscan remains from the 2003–2004 excavations in the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia By George E. Syrides (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece) Abstract This paper presents the hand-collected molluscan remains that were recovered from the excavations in Areas C and D of the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros, in the years 2003–2004. The paper aims at the presentation of the finds and at using the molluscan biological and ethological traits to provide insights into the possible capture methods and use. Land snails are also summarily presented. Bibliographical information George E. Syrides, ’Marine and terrestrial molluscs in the sanctuary. The molluscan remains from the 2003–2004 excavations in the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia’, Opuscula. Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome (OpAthRom) 12, Stockholm 2019, 241–254. ISSN: 2000-0898. ISBN: 978-91-977799-1-3. https://doi.org/10.30549/opathrom-12-07 Bioarchaeological remains from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia The section on the bioarchaeological remains from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, published in the OpAthRom 12, includes seven articles:…

Snakes and other microfaunal remains from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia

All content of Opuscula 12 (2019) is available with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. Snakes and other microfaunal remains from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia By Petros Lymberakis (Natural History Museum of Crete, Greece) & Giorgos Iliopoulos (University of Patras, Greece) Abstract The microfaunal remains recovered at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia (Poros island, Greece) are abundant and varied. They belong to a number of different animal taxa, including snakes, frogs, lizards, and some micromammals. They have been found in several locations but the largest concentration originates in a closed Late Hellenistic/Early Roman deposit within a cistern (Feature 03). The snakes in this assemblage are numerous, belonging to terrestrial and aquatic species, and to both venomous and non-venomous varieties. Bones of some of them along with certain frog bones show traces of burning, which may suggest some type of manipulation before the deposition. The microfaunal remains from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia also strongly suggest that these types of animal were involved in ritual activities—dead or alive. Bibliographical information Petros Lymberakis & Giorgos Iliopoulos, ’Snakes and other microfaunal remains from the Sanctuary…

Animals in the sanctuary. Bird bones and eggshell

All content of Opuscula 12 (2019) is available with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. Animals in the sanctuary. Bird bones and eggshell By Dale Serjeantson (University of Southampton, United Kingdom) Abstract Excavations at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia and the application of a systematic soil sampling and water flotation programme led to the collection of a moderate amount for bird bones and eggshell fragments. Their dating in the first millennium BC and their association with cult renders them a significant addition to the extant bird remains record in Greece. In this paper the bird and egg remains are presented in detail by chronological phase and by feature, they are compared with other contemporary assemblages of bird remains, and some commentary is offered on their significance. Bibliographical information Dale Serjeantson, ’Animals in the sanctuary. Bird bones and eggshell’, Opuscula. Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome (OpAthRom) 12, Stockholm 2019, 223–231. ISSN: 2000-0898. ISBN: 978-91-977799-1-3. https://doi.org/10.30549/opathrom-12-05 Bioarchaeological remains from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia The section on the bioarchaeological remains from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, published in the OpAthRom 12,…

Animals in the sanctuary. Mammal and fish bones from Areas D and C at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia

All content of Opuscula 12 (2019) is available with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. Animals in the sanctuary. Mammal and fish bones from Areas D and C at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia. With an appendix by Adam Boethius By Dimitra Mylona (INSTAP Study Center for East Crete, Greece) Abstract During the excavations at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia an extensive archaeo-environmental programme was implemented, resulting in the collection and analysis of a wide range of animal remains. This paper presents the mammal and fish remains in detail and offers interpretations which take into account the archaeology of the site, other types of finds, as well as the discourse on animals in cult. The material is examined in terms of chronological phases and of particular features within them in an attempt, common in all types of analysis within the Kalaureia Excavation Program, to link the material remains to human actions, placing emphasis on the materiality of cult. The degree of analysis and interpretation detail varies among different occupational phases of the sanctuary, because of the greatly uneven preservation and quantity of animal remains….

Physical environment and daily life in the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros

All content of Opuscula 12 (2019) is available with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. Physical environment and daily life in the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros. The bioarchaeological remains By Arto Penttinen (Swedish Institute at Athens, Greece) & Dimitra Mylona (INSTAP Study Center for East Crete, Greece) Abstract The section below contains reports on bioarchaeological remains recovered in the excavations in Areas D and C in the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia, Poros, between 2003 and 2005. The excavations were directed by the late Berit Wells within a research project named Physical Environment and Daily Life in the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia (Poros). The main objective of the project was to study what changed and what remained constant over time in the everyday life and in both the built and physical environment in an important sanctuary of the ancient Greeks. The bioarchaeological remains, of a crucial importance for this type of study, were collected both by means of traditional archaeological excavation and by processing extensively collected soil samples. This text aims to providing the theoretical and archaeological background for the analyses that follow….

Bioarchaeological field analysis of human remains from the mass graves at Phaleron, Greece

All content of Opuscula 12 (2019) is available with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. Bioarchaeological field analysis of human remains from the mass graves at Phaleron, Greece. With an introduction by Stella Chryssoulaki and an appendix by Anna Linderholm, Anna Kjellström, Vendela Kempe Lagerholm, and Maja Krzewińska By Anne Ingvarsson (Gustavianum. Uppsala University Museum, Sweden) & Ylva Bäckström (Lund University, Sweden) Abstract In 2016, archaeological excavations undertaken by the Ephorate of Antiquities of West Attica, Piraeus and Islands 3.8 km south-west of Athens, Greece, revealed mass burials of 79 skeletons in three rows. The burials are dated to the 7th century BC. The anthropological field documentation was undertaken by The Swedish Institute of Athens, and followed established bioarchaeological protocols regarding taphonomic processes, age, sex, injuries, and pathological changes. The descriptions and interpretations should be regarded as preliminary field observations. A majority of the individuals were young adult or juvenile males, most of them without signs of active disease and with a generally good oral health status, but with corroded iron shackles around their wrists. Cause of death could not be determined although extensive and likely…

The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2017

Opuscula 11 (2018) is available for purchase at Amazon.com, Adlibris, Bokus and bokorder.se. Distributed by eddy.se ab. The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2017: Excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke (The Söderberg Expedition). Preliminary results By Peter M. Fischer (University of Gothenburg) & Teresa Bürge (Austrian Academy of Sciences). With contributions by Magda Ausiayevich, Bebelyn Placiente Robedizo, Victor Barrera Alarcón, Laerke Recht & Dominika Kofel. Abstract During the eighth field season at the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke, excavations in City Quarter 1 (CQ1) exposed massive industrial and domestic structures belonging to three phases of occupation (Strata 3–1) dating to the 13th and 12th centuries BC (LC IIC–IIIA). Georadar survey, penetrating to a maximum depth of approximately 1 m, guided the excavation of walls of Strata 1–2, both of which were destroyed by conflagration. Excavations 1.5–2 m below the surface and also below the maximum penetration depth of the radar revealed a heretofore buried phase of occupation with substantial architectural units. For the first time, massive Stratum 3 structures with a markedly different building technique were exposed. Copper smelting installations, much ash and slag, and storage facilities also belong to this phase of occupation. Additional excavations guided by results from…