Opuscula 4 (2011) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Labraunda 2010. A preliminary report on the Swedish excavations By Lars Karlsson, Jesper Blid & Olivier Henry Abstract The campaign of 2010 continued the work which was initiated last year. The excavations in the fortress on the Tepesar Hill were completed. The fortress consists of a large, early Hekatomnid tower where two black-gloss vessels indicated a dating of the tower to about 380–350 BC. In the two additions to the tower, several wellpreserved vessels dating from the 3rd century BC were uncovered. The latest fragment was a painted piece from a lagynos from around 200 BC, but there were no fragments of Megarian bowls. The test probe of last year in the West Church Complex was extended to a larger trench measuring c. 9 × 12 m. Evidence for three major phases could be established by J. Blid: (1) a Late Classical stoa; (2) the stoa colonnade is rebuilt into a Christian basilica of the 5th century AD; (3) a Middle Byzantine building of possibly 12th–13th-century date. Many marble pieces were retrieved from the marble furniture of the church,…

Opuscula 4 (2011) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. A courtyard gate at Thourioi By Henrik Gerding Abstract In the early seventies Paola Zancani Montuoro suggested that a large paved structure, which had recently been uncovered at the site of Sybaris/Thourioi in southern Italy, was the remains of an ancient neosoikos, or shipshed. This idea quickly gained widespread acceptance and is still often repeated, despite some objections having been raised. In this paper it is argued that the structure, which cannot have been a shipshed, was actually a courtyard gate belonging to the Late Classical or Early Hellenistic city wall of Thourioi. Bibliographical information Henrik Gerding, ‘A courtyard gate at Thourioi’, Opuscula. Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome (OpAthRom) 4, 7–18. Stockholm 2011. ISSN: 2000-0898 ISBN: 978-91-977798-3-8. Softcover, 168 pages. https://doi.org/10.30549/opathrom-04-02

Opuscula 3 (2010) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Pictures and people. Seals, figurines and Peloponnesian imagery By Erika Weiberg Abstract The point of departure for this paper is the publication of two Early Helladic sealing fragments from the coastal settlement of Asine on the north-east Peloponnese in Greece. After an initial description and discussion they are set in the context of sealing custom established on the Greek mainland around 2500 BCE. In the first part of the paper focus is on the apparent qualitative differences between the available seals and the contemporary seal impressions, as well as between different sealing assemblages on northeastern Peloponnese. This geographical emphasis is carried into the second part of the paper which is a review and contextualisation of the representational art of the Aegean Early Bronze Age in general, and northeastern Peloponnese in particular. Seal motifs and figurines are the main media for Early Helladic representational art preserved until today, yet in many ways very dissimilar. These opposites are explored in order to begin to build a better understanding of Peloponnesian representational art, the choices of motifs, and their roles in the…

Opuscula 3 (2010) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Chiusi e il Clusium Group. Un nuovo documento dagli scavi di Orvieto By Fernando Gilotta Abstract This note deals with sherds of a very important “new” Etruscan red-figure cup from Orvieto (Excavations Campo della Fiera, 2006), showing a fragmentary group of Fufluns/Satyr and a winged female goddess. The poorly preserved paintings, close to the “Clusium Group” as far as the central medaillon is concerned, are reminiscent of older “tiberine” vases, such as the Casuccini stamnos and related pottery, and at the same time show intriguing links with later Faliscan and Campanizing red-figure. This combination of stylistic and workshop relationships sheds light on the milieu from which the Clusium Group (possibly) emerged around the middle of the fourth century BC. As for the kylix, a date toward the third quarter of the fourth century BC is suggested. Bibliographical information Fernando Gilotta, ‘Chiusi e il Clusium Group. Un nuovo documento dagli scavi di Orvieto’, Opuscula. Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome (OpAthRom) 3, 179–184. Stockholm 2010. ISSN: 2000-0898. ISBN: 978-91-977798-2-1. Softcover, 224 pages. https://doi.org/10.30549/opathrom-03-08

Opuscula 3 (2010) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Marsyas in the garden? Small-scale sculptures referring to Marsyas in the forum By Julia Habetzeder Abstract While studying a small-scale sculpture in the collections of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, I noticed that it belongs to a previously unrecognized sculpture type. The type depicts a paunchy, bearded satyr who stands with one arm raised. To my knowledge, four replicas exist. By means of stylistic comparison, they can be dated to the late second to early third centuries AD. Due to their scale and rendering they are likely to have been freestanding decorative elements in Roman villas or gardens. The iconography of the satyrs of the type discussed is closely related to that of a group of fountain figures. These fountain figures are believed to refer to a motif well known in Roman times: the Marsyas in the forum. In this article I argue that the satyrs of the type discussed refer as well to this once famous depiction of Marsyas. Bibliographical information Julia Habetzeder, ‘Marsyas in the garden? Small-scale sculptures referring to Marsyas in the forum’, Opuscula. Annual of the…

Opuscula 3 (2010) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Water, well-being and social complexity in Insula V 1. A Pompeian city block revisited By Anne-Marie Leander Touati Abstract Swedish archaeologists have been working in Pompeii since 2000. Our fieldwork has consisted mainly of the study of standing walls and cleared floor levels in a city block unearthed in the 19th century and of the production of a comprehensive documentation, presented in an open access publication: www.pompejiprojektet.se/insula.php. The perspective of the present paper is the insula as a whole. Its main study objects are features of recurrent nature that in varying form and frequency are found in many of the separate houses and other units that constitute this insula: for example, the divergent materials used for the rubble masonry in the first phase of urbanisation, structures used for water management such as water supply and drains, possible earthquake damage and resulting repairs, preferences for where kitchens and sanitary installations are placed, markers indicating property borders and dependencies such as pavement curbing, courses of water inlets and drains, shops communicating with the houses through rear doorways, and the existence and…

Opuscula 3 (2010) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Labraunda 2009. A preliminary report on the Swedish excavations with contributions by Jesper Blid and Olivier Henry By Lars Karlsson Abstract The 2009 campaign in Labraunda accomplished three goals: the termination of the excavations in the Byzantine fort on the Acropolis and in the Late Roman Tetraconch and the complete excavation of the impressive marble chamber tomb along the Sacred Way. In the Acropolis Fortress, evidence was found to support the military character of the Byzantine establishment: the rooms along the fortification wall were paved and had a rectangular shape, suggesting defensive rooms. In these rooms sling stones were found. Structures dating from the Hekatomnid period were further investigated this year, and a well cut into the gneiss bedrock was excavated. In the Tetraconch, the north apse was excavated down to bedrock and a coin from Constantius II (348–357/8) suggests an ante quem dating for this unique and sophisticated structure. The geophysical investigations indicated that a church is located on the terrace below the Tetraconch and a first sondage was conducted here. The large marble chamber tomb was completely…

Opuscula 3 (2010) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Un inedito lastrone a scala da Tarquinia presso l’Antiquiarum di Monte Romano By Maria Gabriella Scapaticci Abstract This is the publication of an as yet unpublished recently acquired large stepped slab dating from the orientalising period. It was delivered to the Antiquarium of Monte Romano (Vt) by the local resident who found it. The find comes from the “Ancarano” area of Tarquinia which is near the border of the Monte Romano district. The piece is of the stepped slab class, typical of seventh century BC production from Tarquinia. The slab completes a similar one which was also from Tarquinia but is conserved in the Archaeological Museum of Florence and was purchased from Mr Milani in Tarquinia at the end of the nineteenth century. Through photocomposition and integrated graphic restoration we propose a reading which links the two finds. Hence the decoration of an important funerary monument has emerged, most likely belonging to an Etruscan prince who recounts his hunting exploits, which are symbolic of elevated social status. Bibliographical information Maria Gabriella Scapaticci, ‘Un inedito lastrone a scala da Tarquinia…

Opuscula 3 (2010) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. The bronze headbands of prehistoric Lofkënd and their Aegean and Balkan connections By John K. Papadopoulos Abstract This paper begins with an overview of the bronze headbands from the prehistoric (Late Bronze to Early Iron Age) burial tumulus of Lofkënd in Albania, which were found among the richest tombs of the cemetery, all of them of young females or children. It is argued that these individuals represent a class of the special dead, those who have not attained a critical rite de passage: marriage. In their funerary attire these individuals go to the grave as brides, married to death. The significance of the Lofkënd headbands is reviewed, as is their shape and decoration, but it is their context that contributes to a better understanding of Aegean examples, including the many bronze, gold, and silver headbands found in tombs from the Early Bronze Age through the Early Iron Age, as well as those dedicated as votive offerings in sanctuaries. In addition to discussing the evidence for headbands in the Aegean and much of southeast Europe, this paper also attempts to…

Opuscula 3 (2010) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Excavations in Midea 2008–2009 By Katie Demakopoulou, Nicoletta Divari-Valakou, Maria Lowe Fri, Madeleine Miller, Monica Nilsson & Ann-Louise Schallin Abstract Excavations in Midea continued in 2008 and 2009 as a Greek-Swedish programme under the direction of Dr Katie Demakopoulou in collaboration with Dr Ann-Louise Schallin. On the lower west terrace of the Acropolis excavation continued in Trench C in order to conclude the investigation of the syrinx discovered in 2007. A small trench was opened in the interior of Room I to examine the deposit below its floor. Furthermore, the cleaning of a large area outside the north section of the citadel wall brought to light a large part of a massive terrace wall. Investigations were made in three adjacent locations in the area east of the East Gate: in the baulk between Trenches 3 and 9, in Trench 9S and in Trench 12. As a result of these excavations new walls were discovered, which add to our previous knowledge of the layout of the series of rooms in this area, abutting the fortification wall. The finds include fragments…