Ancient history Books

Book SynopsisThis edited book describes the multi-disciplinary research conducted by the Körös Regional Archaeological Project in southeastern Hungary from 2000-2007. Centred around two Early Copper Age Tiszapolgár culture villages in the Körös Region of the Great Hungarian Plain, Vészto-Bikeri and Körösladány-Bikeri, the research incorporated excavation, surface collection, geophysical survey and soil chemistry to investigate settlement layout and organization. The transition from the Neolithic period to the Copper Age in the northern Balkans and the Carpathian Basin was marked by significant changes in material culture, settlement layout and organization, and mortuary practices that indicate fundamental social transformations in the middle of the fifth millennium BC. Prior research into the Late Neolithic of the region focused almost exclusively on fortified 'tell' settlements. The Early Copper Age, by contrast, was known primarily from cemeteries such as the type site of Tiszapolgár-Basatanya. The Project’s results yielded the first extensive, systematically collected datasets from Early Copper Age settlements on the Great Hungarian Plain. The two adjacent villages at Bikeri, located only 70 m apart, were similar in size, and both were protected with fortifications. Relative and absolute dates demonstrate that they were occupied sequentially during the Early Copper Age, from ca. 4600-4200 cal B.C. The excavated assemblages from the sites are strikingly similar, suggesting that both were occupied by the same community. This process of settlement relocation after only a few generations breaks from the longer-lasting settlement pattern that are typical of the Late Neolithic.

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Book SynopsisAncient Methone is situated in the northern Aegean in Greece, in the historical province of Macedonia; from the late eighth century B.C. it was a colony of the ancient Greek polis of Eretria (on the island of Euboia). Excavations carried out at the site since 2003 by the Greek Ministry of Culture have uncovered remains from the Late Neolithic period through the fourth-century B.C. destruction by Philip II of Macedon. These discoveries extend the history of the city by nearly three thousand years, into Greek prehistory. This 2-volume work presents results of the project in selected artifacts, burials and structures representing the chief phases of the city, in chronological order. An introduction covers historical sources, excavations from 2003 to 2013, and the unique location of Methone. Part I details the prehistoric settlement at Methone, from the fourth millennium to 1000 B.C., and the Bronze Age burials. Part II focuses on the copious artifacts and ecofacts from the Early Iron Age "Hypogeion" shaft. Part III presents artifacts and architecture from the Archaic and Classical periods, through the final days of the siege of the city in 354 B.C. The significance of this work lies in its interdisciplinary methods, combining stylistic analysis of artifacts and source-critical philology with natural history, bioarchaeology, materials analysis, and geochemistry. It reveals the long-term history of a site crucial to the economic and political history of Classical Greece and the north Aegean.Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Ancient Methone Archaeological Project. John K. Papadopoulos and Sarah P. Morris (with contributions by Antonis Kotsonas) Chapter 1 Excavations at Methone (2003-2013). Matthaios Bessios, Athena Athanassiadou, and Konstantinos Noulas Chapter 2 Methone in Ancient Sources. Yannis Z. Tzifopoulos Chapter 3 At the Water's Edge. Samantha L. Martin-McAuliffe PART I. METHONE BEFORE ERETRIA: THE LATE NEOLITHIC THROUGH EARLY IRON AGE SETTLEMENT Chapter 4 The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Settlement and Pottery. Marianna Nikolaidou Chapter 5 The Middle and Late Bronze Age Pottery. Trevor Van Damme Chapter 6 The Late Bronze Age Cemetery. Sarah P. Morris, Sevi Triantaphyllou, and Vaso Papathanasiou (With Contributions by John K. Papadopoulos, Vanessa Muros, Brian Damiata, and John Southon) Chapter 7 The Early Iron Age Settlement and Pottery: An Overview. John K. Papadopoulos PART II. TRADE, INDUSTRY, AND LIFEWAYS IN EARLY IRON AGE METHONE: THE HYPOGEION Chapter 8 The Excavation of the Hypogeion. Matthaios Bessios Chapter 9 Catalogue of Select Pottery from the Hypogeion. Matthaios Bessios Chapter 10 Lifeways and Foodways in Iron Age Methone: A Perishable Material Culture Approach. Alexandra Livarda, Rena Veropoulidou, Anastasia Vasileiadou, and Llorenç Picornell-Gelabert Chapter 11 Inscriptions, Graffiti/Dipinti, and (Trade)Marks at Methone (ca. 700 B.C.). Yannis Z. Tzifopoulos Chapter 12 Why was Methone Colonized? Transport Amphoras and Greek Colonization between History and Archaeology. Antonis Kotsonas Chapter 13 Metallurgical Activity at Methone: The Evidence of the Stone Artifacts from the Hypogeion. Ioannis Manos and Ioannis Vlastaridis Chapter 14 Metallurgical Ceramics from the Hypogeion. Samuel Verdan Chapter 15 Metal Finds from the Hypogeion. John K. Papadopoulos Chapter 16 Clay Textile Tools from Methone: Spindlewhorls and Loomweights from the Hypogeion. Sarah P. Morris Chapter 17 Cut Sherd Disks from the Hypogeion. John K. Papadopoulos PART III. METHONE IN THE ARCHAIC AND CLASSICAL PERIODS Chapter 18 Building A on the East Hill of Ancient Methone. Samantha L. Martin-McAuliffe Chapter 19 a) Pottery Workshops of Ancient Methone. Matthaios Bessios b) Archaic Pottery from the Acropolis (West Hill) of Ancient Methone. Matthaios Bessios and Konstantinos Noulas Chapter 20 The Role of Methone in the Macedonian Timber Trade. Angelos Boufalis Chapter 21 Trade in the Archaic North Aegean: Transport Amphoras from the West Hill of Methone. Alexandra Kasseri Chapter 22 The East Greek Fine Pottery. John K. Papadopoulos Chapter 23 a) Selected Attic Black-Figure and Red-Figure Pottery from Methone. Seth Pevnick b) An Attic Red-Figure Cup by the Bonn Painter from Methone. Maria Tolia-Christakou Chapter 24 Terracotta Lamps. John K. Papadopoulos Chapter 25 Early Glass in Methone. Despina Ignatiadou (With a Contribution by Elissavet Dotsika, Petros Karalis, and Antonio Longinelli) Chapter 26 Metal Objects in Archaic and Classical Methone: Acropolis and its East Slope, the Agora, and the South Harbor Area. John K. Papadopoulos Chapter 27 Jewelry Molds from Methone from the Stamatios Tsakos Collection in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. Styliana Galiniki Chapter 28 The Lead Sling-Bullets from Methone: Warfare (Un)inscribed. Angelos Boufalis, Androniki Oikonomaki, and Yannis Z. Tzifopoulos Chapter 29 The Ancient Agora of Methone: Pottery from the Destruction Layer. Athena Athanassiadou

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