The Kalaureia Excavation Project

Opuscula 14 is published with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. The Kalaureia Excavation Project. A preliminary report of the work carried out in Area L between 2015 and 2018 By Anton Bonnier (Uppsala University, Sweden), Therese Emanuelsson-Paulson (Stockholm University, Sweden), Dimitra Mylona (INSTAP Study Center for East Crete, Greece) & Arto Penttinen (Swedish Institute at Athens, Greece) Abstract The report presents a summary and preliminary discussion on the work carried out by the Swedish Institute at ancient Kalaureia between 2015 and 2018 in Area L. The excavations were focused on this area with the hopes of gaining a better understanding of the settlement which was situated south of the Sanctuary of Poseidon in antiquity. The excavations show that a large building was constructed probably around the middle of the 4th century BC in the western part of Area L. The full outline and functional use of the building has not yet been fully established but the building seems to have been in use in several subsequent phases. The excavated remains further suggest that dining activities were carried out in the southern part of the building….

Religion and family politics in Hellenistic Kalaureia

All content of Opuscula 13 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. Religion and family politics in Hellenistic Kalaureia. Three new inscriptions from the sanctuary of Poseidon By Nikolaos Papazarkadas (University of California, Berkeley, USA) & Jenny Wallensten (Swedish Institute at Athens, Greece) Abstract This article presents three unpublished Hellenistic inscriptions from the sanctuary of Poseidon in Kalaureia (modern Poros): two found during archaeological excavations on the site and one recorded in a letter that was once part of Ioannis Kapodistrias’ official correspondence. All three inscriptions were dedicatory and carved on bases supporting portrait statues. Interestingly, they were offered to Poseidon by members of a single family already known from other documents in the Kalaureian epigraphic corpus. Remarkably, eight out of the 18 inscriptions discovered in Kalaureia make repeated references to men and women of this very family, which appears to have materially dominated Poseidon’s temenos and its environs during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC through the careful placement of portraits of its members. Most of these statues were conspicuously placed by the entrance to the sanctuary, though at least one of them…

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….

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…