The Swedish Jordan Expedition 2011 and 2012

Opuscula 6 (2013) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. The Swedish Jordan Expedition 2011 and 2012 at Tall Abu al-Kharaz. Preliminary results from the early Iron Age occupation in Area 9 By Peter M. Fischer & Teresa Bürge. With contributions by D. Blattner, M. Alrousan & A. Abu Dalo Abstract Tall Abu al-Kharaz, a twelve hectare-large tell in the central Jordan Valley, was occupied for approximately five millennia. In earlier excavation seasons most of the early Iron Age remains were found to have been disturbed by later settlers. Between 2009 and 2012 excavations revealed an extremely well-preserved city quarter dating from around 1100 BC, which represents an essential part of the settlement history of this city. The stone-built architectural compound consists of 21 rooms, with walls still standing to a height of more than 2 m. The inventories of these rooms, which comprised more than 200 complete vessels and other objects, were remarkably intact. Amongst the finds were imports from Egypt and Phoenicia. There were also finds which are associated with the culture of the Sea Peoples/Philistines, such as several Aegean and Cypriote-style vessels and other objects. The…

On the dating of two early 2nd century coin issues from Kos and the IGCH 1320 hoard
Article , Content / 2013-12-02

Opuscula 6 (2013) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. On the dating of two early 2nd century coin issues from Kos and the IGCH 1320 hoard By Kerstin Höghammar Abstract This paper presents and discusses the dates of two Koan silver issues, drachms with young Herakles/crab and club in incuse, and hemidrachms with Apollo/lyre. A date in the 190s BC is suggested on several grounds. Weights and diameters correspond with those of HI XII and XIII of the 3rd century, suggesting that the issues discussed here followed shortly thereafter. The other Koan silver issues of the 2nd century were minted on a lower weight-standard. The IGCH 1320 hoard contains examples of both issues, and the other Koan issues in it date to the middle and second half of the 3rd century or the 190s/c. 190. Groups of homonyms occur in issues dating to the end of 3rd/early 2nd century. A connection with Kalymnos seems likely for the hemidrachms, and this may suggest a date early in the 190s during the war with king Philip V of Macedonia. Bibliographical information Kerstin Höghammar, ‘On the dating of two early 2nd…

The Makrakomi Archaeological Landscapes Project (MALP)

Opuscula 6 (2013) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. The Makrakomi Archaeological Landscapes Project (MALP). A preliminary report on investigations carried out in 2010–2012 By Maria-Foteini Papakonstantinou, Arto Penttinen, Gregory N. Tsokas, Panagiotis I. Tsourlos, Alexandros Stampolidis, Ilias Fikos, Georgios Tassis, Konstantina Psarogianni, Lambros Stavrogiannis, Anton Bonnier, Monica Nilsson & Henrik Boman Abstract In this article we provide a preliminary report of the work carried out between 2010 and 2012 as part of the Makrakomi Archaeological Landscapes Project (MALP). The programme of research is carried out in co-operation between the Swedish Institute at Athens and the 14th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities at Lamia. The interdisciplinary project started in the summer of 2010, when a pilot survey was conducted in and around the hill of Profitis Elias, in the modern municipality of Makrakomi, where extensive traces of ancient fortifications are still visible. Systematic investigations have been conducted since 2011 as part of a five-year plan of research involving surface survey, geophysical survey and small-scale archaeological excavation as well as geomorphological investigation. The primary aim of MALP is to examine the archaeology and geomorphology of the western Spercheios…

A moving story about exotica
Article , Content / 2013-12-02

Opuscula 6 (2013) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. A moving story about exotica: objects’ long-distance production chains and associated identities at Tiryns, Greece By Ann Brysbaert & Melissa Vetters Abstract Studying materials through a chaîne opératoire approach is common practice in studying craft activities. Whilst unravelling a chain of production can be very rewarding, many issues still arise: can all the steps be captured even when no material evidence is present, i.e. how can we approach production chains in the case of inconsistently or partially preserved material in settlement contexts? How may the steps that we are able to observe be contextualized in order to inform us about interconnected activities? In our research project carried out at Tiryns, Greece, we map certain steps through the production and consumption journey of a series of objects and materials, some of which have been referred to as “exotica”. Our aim was to understand the life histories of those specific items, and with that, those of the people associated with them. In problematizing the etic category of exotica, this paper investigates patterns of movement that transcend the pure material aspect. By…

Textual evidence for Aegean Late Bronze Age ritual processions
Article , Content / 2013-12-02

Opuscula 6 (2013) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. Textual evidence for Aegean Late Bronze Age ritual processions By Jörg Weilhartner Abstract In the Aegean Late Bronze Age there exists rich iconographic evidence for the ritual practice of processions, demonstrating the practice’s importance within Mycenaean official cult. In contrast, due to the nature of the Linear B documents which are the records of the palace administration referring to particular aspects of the palace economy, hardly any explicit textual information about processions in Mycenaean times is available. Among the rare exceptions is the outstanding tablet Tn 316 from Pylos whose lexical items seem to point to a ritual of this kind. Moreover, the term te-o-po-ri-ja/*θεοφóρια (“the carrying of the gods”) is generally understood as the name of a religious festival in which a (terracotta) cult figurine representing a deity was carried in a procession. Some additional textual evidence on processions may be provided by terms ending in -po-ro/-φóρος. Along these lines, this paper argues that the term to-pa-po-ro may denote men whose description reflects activities they have performed in connection with processions. Similarly, it is suggested that the individuals…

Archaic pottery and terracottas from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia

Opuscula 6 (2013) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. Archaic pottery and terracottas from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia By Alexandra Alexandridou Abstract The excavation season of 2009 in the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia brought to light a deposit of Archaic pottery and associated metal and other objects in conjunction with a long terrace wall (Wall 49) southeast of the Temple of Poseidon. The deposit in question is the largest accumulation of Archaic material recovered from the entire sanctuary thus far. The fine-decorated, black-glazed and coarse pottery together with the terracotta figurines are discussed in detail in this article.  Furthermore, the results of the quantitative analysis of the pottery are presented. The study of the deposit provides an overview of the ceramic vessels and other terracotta objects originally dedicated to the deity or used in the sanctuary during the Archaic period. Moreover, based on the chronology of its deposition, it seems possible to incorporate it into a narrative of the development of the sanctuary over time. The significance of the deposit as a whole will be more fully discussed in the forthcoming final publication of the…

The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2012

Opuscula 6 (2013) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2012. Excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke. Preliminary results By Peter M. Fischer & Teresa Bürge. With contributions by I. Trinks, B. Stolle, K. Heiß, J.A.I. van der Does & D.M. Blattner Abstract The third season of excavation at Hala Sultan Tekke added knowledge to the project, the main objective of which is the investigation and determination of the complete occupational sequence of the pre-12th century BC levels. New walled and open spaces from Strata 1 and 2 were exposed in Area 6. Another pictorial krater with birds was excavated. The terminology for the much discussed Cypriote-produced White Painted Wheel-made ware has been revised and a new terminology is suggested, i.e. “White Painted Wheel-made Geometric Style (WPGS)” and “White Painted Wheel-made Pictorial Style (WPPS)”, of which the latter includes the Creature Krater from 2010 and the Bird Krater from this season. The hypothesis that a tsunami destroyed parts of the city in the 14th or 13th century BC is discussed. An additional radar survey of some 1.3 hectares revealed substantial structures, i.e. new city quarters,…

Fragments with horses and wolf’s teeth
Article , Content / 2013-12-02

Opuscula 6 (2013) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. Fragments with horses and wolf’s teeth. Black impasto and its association with periods and buildings in the monumental area at Acquarossa By Margareta Strandberg Olofsson Abstract A number of vessels in Black impasto, also known as “Impasto buccheroide”, are presented here. The decoration shows a combination of relief, incision and excision. Typical of this specific kind of Black impasto are excised zoomorphic figures, predominantly horses, and rows of excised wedges or “wolf’s teeth”. The find contexts are accounted for and the conclusion is that Black impasto is present in all building periods in the monumental area at Acquarossa. The decorative elements are combined in a way that forms variants which can be placed in a chronological sequence, earlier ones with horses and wolf’s teeth and later ones without zoomorphic figures but still with wolf’s teeth, executed slightly differently and combined with grooves and pit lines. The geographical spread of this particular kind of Black impasto seems to be fairly limited and the production may have been rather local. The chronological span is the last part of the 7th century…

The agency of Greek and Roman statues
Article , Content / 2013-12-02

Opuscula 6 (2013) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. The agency of Greek and Roman statues. From Homer to Constantine By Jan N. Bremmer Abstract In the Archaic period the Greeks did not yet conceptualize the difference between a divinity and its statue. Therefore, stories that stressed the agency of statues separate from their divinities must have seemed less strange at that time than when the statues had become independent, so to speak, from their gods or goddesses. The latter started to happen in the transitional period to the Classical era when the well-known triad of divinities—heroes—mortals came into being, and philosophers began to criticize the worship of statues. All these changes together led to a development in which the agency of statues increasingly became noteworthy. After the 5th century BC we keep hearing about the agency of statues but we can also notice a growing critique of the worship of statues by different philosophical schools. In both Greece and Rome divine statues manifested themselves in particular during moments of crisis or of a decisive political character. In the Greek East the belief in the agency of statues…

The Swedish Jordan Expedition 2009 and 2010

Opuscula 5 (2012) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. The Swedish Jordan Expedition 2009 and 2010 at Tall Abu al-Kharaz. Preliminary results from the Early Iron Age occupation in Area 9. With appendices by T. Bürge, and A. Gustafsson & J. Azzopardi By Peter M. Fischer Abstract Tall Abu al-Kharaz, in the central Jordan Valley, was occupied during approximately five millennia. A walled town, which had a dominant position in the Jordan Valley, existed already in the Early Bronze Age IB, viz. before 3050 BC. Walled settlements also flourished at the end of the Middle Bronze Age (around 1600 BC), during the Late Bronze Age (roughly 1500–1200 BC) and throughout the entire Iron Age (roughly 1200–600 BC). It is most likely that Tell Abu al-Kharaz is identical with Jabesh Gilead: this city is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament. During earlier seasons most of the Early Iron Age remains were found to have been disturbed by later settlers. It is, therefore, essential for the documentation of the settlement history of this city, that the expedition of 2009 unearthed an extremely well-preserved city quarter dating to the 12/11th century…