Amber has long been recognized as an important indicator of Mycenaean foreign contacts. Though much has been written, no thorough survey of the topic has yet been undertaken. The chief purpose of this article is to present a corpus, as complete as the authors can make it, of the known Mycenaean amber finds, together with those from adjacent areas.

Since the nineteenth century amber objects in Italy and Greece have generally been considered by scholarly opinion to have been imported from the Baltic, and a number of finds, including Schliemann's from the Shaft Graves, were subjected to rudimentary chemical analyses to ‘prove’ this, the criterion being the presence of succinic acid. Navarro in 1925 traced the route the amber was supposed to have taken by charting the distribution of finds in central Europe in the Bronze and Iron Ages.

‘Their land lies towards the open sea—and this is the part which is called Triopion—but begins at the Bybassian Chersonese; and the whole of the Cnidia except for a little bit is surrounded by water, the part facing the north wind being bounded by the Ceramic Gulf, and that on the south by the sea towards Syme and Rhodes. This little bit, then, which is about five stades across, the Cnidians began to dig while Harpagus was conquering Ionia, with the intention of making their land an island. The whole of it was to lie inside; for where the Cnidian land terminates at the mainland, there is the isthmus which they began to dig’ (Hdt. I 174).

The Cnidian peninsula measures 63 km. from base to tip. It consists of two mountain masses joined by an isthmus not much more than 2 km. broad. That on the east is rugged and almost uninhabited; but the greater western massif, though barren and sheer on the north side and at the west tip, has fertile land to offer in the small coastal plains of the south and especially in the valley which traverses the interior from Zeytincik to beyond Yaziköy, with its main outlet below Kumyer and a backdoor at Barkaz. A low ridge runs the length of the isthmus with a gentle slope towards the Gulf of Syme and an easy crossing from Reşadiye to the Ceramic Gulf at Körmen Limani.

This survey (Part II of which will be published shortly in the Annual) includes all Laconia, as far as the ancient borders with Messenia and Arcadia, the Thyreatis, and the islands of Kythera and Antikythera. Most of the results have been established by surface research alone, in 1936–8 and 1956–8. Little was previously known about the distribution of prehistoric sites in Laconia, and few settlements have been excavated.

Much of Laconia is either mountain or hill country. The ranges of Taygetus and Parnon form the bones of the province, while between them the Eurotas flows through the fertile alluvial plains of Sparta and Helos down to the Laconian Gulf. The Spartan plain, the central Eurotas valley, is bounded to the north by broken hill country, to the west by the great mountain wall of Taygetus (Plates 15a and the map, Plate 24), spurs of which also enclose it on the south, and to the east by the great Parnon range. It is one of the most fertile plains in Greece, and must at all times have been able to support a considerable settled population.

For absolute dates down to the early sixth century B.C. students of Hellenic archaeology look to countries further east where reliable chronologies have been established. So far very few useful contexts have been discovered, and all or almost all of them are open at one end or the other. What has not been made clear enough is that occasionally two such open-ended contexts can be bracketed to give a more precise fix.

One pair is the end of Period V at Samaria and grave 102 at Pithecusae (Ischia). The deposit of Period V at Samaria contained a few fragments of Attic Geometric pottery, and most Palestinian experts are confident that by comparison with other sites in their region it was closed little if any later than 750. Grave 102 at Pithecusae, which was used only for the burial of one child, contained three Corinthian pots and a scarab with the cartouche of the Egyptian king Bocchoris, who came to the throne in or very near to 718; this scarab had had some wear and anyhow ought not to be appreciably later in date than the pottery, since it is unlikely that only old pots were chosen to be buried with a child. So from their contexts the interval between the Attic sherds from Samaria and the Corinthian pots of Pithecusae should not be less than thirty years or more probably, if one allows five years for the wear of the Bocchoris scarab, thirty-five years. Now the development of the relevant phases of Attic and Corinthian pottery is known in fair detail, thanks most recently to J. N. Coldstream's Greek Geometric Pottery; and if one accepts his classification, which seems to me convincing, the latest of the Samaria sherds belong to the end of Attic Middle Geometric II and the latest of the Corinthian pots of Pithecusae is of the middle of the Early Protocorinthian phase, that is distinctly earlier than the end of Attic Late Geometric IIb. To judge by the stylistic character of Attic Late Geometric (which succeeds Middle Geometric II) and the sequence of its workshops, the two finds should be separated by not more than sixty years and, if thirty-five of these years are fixed absolutely as 750–715, then—again absolutely—there is a play of only twenty-five years in the archaeological chronology of this period.

Archaeological research into the prehistory of Central Macedonia started at the end of the last century with the explorations of Makridis, Schmidt, Träger, Wace and others, who reported on the numerous mound settlements and the surface material to be found on these, or undertook minor excavations. Extensive excavation began fortuitously with the entrenchments of the French and English expeditionary forces who arrived in 1916 to open a new front against the Austrians and Bulgarians and ‘dug in’ in a wide arc from the Vardar (modern Axios) to the Struma (modern Strymon) to the north of Thessaloniki. Enlightened officers, both French and English, encouraged the recovery of antiquities wherever possible, as well as undertaking the topographical study of many of the mounds. The finds were collected together into a temporary museum in the White Tower, and were later reported by Picard, Rey, Gardiner and Casson at the end of the war.

In the course of a survey of the Dema Wall in Attica, an isolated house of classical date was found situated immediately in front of a vulnerable section of the fortification. The question of the relation of this site to the wall and the interest of the building itself as a fifth-century B.C. house type demanded closer examination of it. This article sets out the results of its preliminary cleaning in 1958 and its complete excavation in 1960. For convenience the site is referred to as the Dema house.

This article examines the criteria by which the periegete Pausanias selected the objects he discussed. His interest in manifestations of age in the material of artefacts, in their technique, and in their design is considered as a basis for his distinction between the recent and distant past. The historical and social background to his writings is also considered.

Hourmouziadis' recent analysis of the extensive excavations at Dimini has isolated a series of residential subdivisions or ‘domestic areas’ within the Late Neolithic settlement. Faunal remains from the ‘central court’ and from five surrounding domestic areas suggest a remarkably uniform pattern of animal exploitation. Individual domestic units kept cows, goats, pigs, and especially sheep; sheep and pigs, at least, seem to have been raised principally for meat. The lack of domestic specialization in stock husbandry has implications for understanding both of the ‘neolithic mode of production’ and of the role of specialization in the emergence of the élite which occupied the central court.

This paper explores the full potential of archaeobotanical research in the investigation of issues such as agricultural practices and resource management and mobilisation in shaping the social dynamics of Neolithic and Bronze Age Crete, through a synthesis for the first time of all available archaeobotanical information to date. To this body of data new information is added from six sites: Kephala Petras, Pryniatikos Pyrgos, Aghia Fotia, Knossos Little Palace North, Sissi and Zominthos. A comprehensive methodology is devised using three units of analysis to allow an in-depth study, firstly of the quality of the available dataset and secondly of its content. A total of 80 archaeobotanical records, compiled in one database, are examined in the light of the methods employed for their sampling, recovery and processing. The reliability of the current dataset is assessed, highlighting shortcomings; methodological issues are addressed to improve its quality. These records are then analysed according to their temporal, spatial and contextual distribution across the island. A synthesis of the full resource base, including cereals, legumes, fruits, nuts, condiments and wild species, is conducted, providing a contextualised picture of their availability and use, and identifying lacunae and interpretational potential. On these bases a research agenda is set and future research priorities and new approaches are suggested that place archaeobotany in the core of current archaeological discourse on social models, practices and meanings for prehistoric Crete.

The British School's excavations in collaboration with the Libyan Department of Antiquities at Tocra (ancient Taucheira) have demonstrated that this colony was founded very soon after the traditional date for the foundation of Cyrene itself (631 B.C.). In connexion with the excavations the present writer and Mr. John Hayes, who is publishing the pottery from Tocra, took the opportunity to collect evidence of the earliest Greek finds on other sites in Cyrenaica to see whether earlier foundation dates than those generally proposed were possible for these also.

This article investigates the potential of X-radiography for identifying primary forming techniques of Cretan Bronze Age vessels. X-radiography of 95 EM III through to LM II vessels from Knossos has now demonstrated its suitability for fine, semicoarse and coarse Cretan fabrics. In several cases, it has been possible to rectify erroneous attributions based on visual inspection alone and to provide more specific details of the diversity and development of past forming techniques.

Στο άρθρο αυτό εξετάζονται οι δυνατότητες της ραδιογραφίας ακτίνων-Χ στην αναγνώριση βασικών τεχνικών κατασκευής των κρητικών αγγείων της Εποχής του Χαλκού. Η ακτινογράφηση ενενήντα πέντε IIM III έως και YM II αγγείων από την Κνωσό, χρονολογούμενων από την IIM III έως την YM II, απέδειξε την καταλληλότητά της τεχνικής αυτής για την εξέταση της κρητικής λεπτής, ημιχονδροειδούς και χονδροειδούς κεραμικής. Σε αρκετές περιπτώσεις, κατέστη δυνατόν να διορθωθούν εσφαλμένα συμπεράσματα, που είχαν βασιστεί αποκλειστικά σε οπτική παρατήρηση, και να διευκρινιστούν καλύτερα συγκρεκριμενες περισσότερο οι ακριβείς λεπτομέρειες ως προς την ποικιλία και την εξέλιξη των παλαιών τεχνικών κατασκευής.

Figured gravestones commemorating female professionals constitute a distinct group among Attic memorials of the Classical period. Gravestones of this group honour the dead women by emphasizing their occupations and professional accomplishments, concentrating on the professional rather than the familial or social persona of the dead in order to preserve their memory in posterity. Despite their relative infrequence, such memorials shed light on the place of women in Athenian society and may serve as an additional source of evidence for the perception of the female role at the time. Deviating from the set modes of female funerary commemoration and the typical emphasis on domestic scenes, which sustains the contemporary ideal of secluded Athenian women, the memorials under consideration register a ‘public persona’ for the women they honour, making us aware of the complexities of the role of women in ancient Greek society.

The Crusader castle (now called ‘Saranda Kolones’) on the ancient site of Paphos was built and occupied c. AD 1192–1222. It overlies and partly truncates a series of ancient features (tombs, cisterns, wells, church remains, etc.). The layers associated with these, excavated at various times between 1957 and 1985, contain rich deposits spanning a period from the 4th century BC to the 8th/9th centuries AD.

Some 410 pottery items from the pre-Castle phases are presented here, mostly in a series of 16 selected deposits arranged in chronological order. These range from early tomb-groups to stratified well fills and an important destruction deposit of c. AD 650. The final ancient occupation (8th–9th centuries) is marked by the appearance of some lead-glazed wares and some imports from the Umayyad orbit.

Individual items of interest from other layers are appended. Some Hellenistic and Roman imports from Phoenicia and elsewhere are here documented in Cyprus for the first time. The later (Medieval) pottery from the site is reserved for publication in the main report on the castle (forthcoming).

Evidence of Palaeolithic occupation in Epirus discovered in 1962 by the late E. S. Higgs is re-analysed, especially that from Asprochaliko and Kastritsa. The paper also presents the results of the first season's excavations at the rock-shelter of Klithi, which throws light on problems connected with the interpretation of the earlier excavation and the different functions of the two sites. The new excavations demonstrate that Klithi contains a rich Palaeolithic deposit, perhaps dating within the period 20,000 to 12,000 years ago.

All the axes are of Cretan materials. The majority, fifty-nine out of seventy-one, are of altered basic igneous rock consisting of various minerals, usually with much chlorite and serpentine. Group A is called serpentine as this mineral is predominant. In appearance the axes are blue/grey/black mottled, sometimes with brown mottling also. Group B is called greenstone since the minerals epidote and chlorite are present in large quantities and the specimens have a distinct greyish-green appearance. Group C is again altered basic rock, including chlorite and serpentine, though neither predominates.

There are a number of outcrops of chlorite and serpentine among the limestones of Crete, especially in the northern and southern foothills of the Mt. Ida massif.

Two axes appear to be of haematite, which occurs in Crete, two of limestone and one of schist. The materials of seven others are not certain, though several are probably of altered basic rock (see The Catalogue).

The materials agree with those of other stone axes from Crete, for serpentiniferous basic rock and greenstone examples have been picked up in various parts of the island. Greenstone and haematite were the predominant materials of the Late Neolithic axes from Magasá near Palaikastro.

The representations of ships on Geometric vases, especially on Attic funerary vases of the Dipylon class, frequently earn a passing and often misleading mention in articles on ship-construction or on the relation between heroic saga and scenes on monuments of the Geometric period. The authorities most frequently quoted on the Geometric ship are now out-of-date in that they were able to treat only a fraction of the material now available; although there is still much valuable matter to be found in them, especially in the articles of Pernice, Assmann, and Torr. The original publication of many of the documents, especially those discovered in the first (1871) Dipylon dig, was extremely haphazard; some fragments were published twice over in different forms.

The ruins of Old Paphos are now occupied by the village of Kouklia, some 10 miles to the south-south-east of (New) Paphos which lies below Ktima in western Cyprus. Since Old Paphos capital of an ancient city-kingdom, was alike the ecumenical centre of Aphrodite-worship and the ἰερόν of New Paphos, capital of Cyprus for the Ptolemies seemingly from the outset of the second century B.C., its Hellenistic inscriptions are relatively abundant. These I first examined in 1936. I have since then repeatedly revisited the site, to add to the unpublished and to rediscover others long lost. Finally, from 1950 to 1955 excavations were conducted in the area of the Aphrodite temple and in the outskirts of Kouklia, to make a notable enlargement of the total. Here into a handlist of the known inscriptions I incorporate the formal publication of the new material and, wherever this may call for fuller treatment, a greater emphasis on the old.

It will be seen from the preceding classification of the documents that there is numerically remarkable disproportion between their classes. Whereas the hard local limestones used for the statue-bases could be employed repeatedly as building material, the dice have been heavily weighted against the survival of the fine, white marbles: two lime-kilns which in 1888 were still squatting on the temple site explain the rarity of these.

Minoan peak sanctuaries share certain topographic features. They are usually situated on or close to the summits of prominent mountains throughout Crete. Each peak sanctuary is closely associated with the surrounding settlement area, the relevant mountain being chosen for its domination of the local landscape. It is notable that the shrine sites are not always on the actual highest point of the massif, but on what appears to be the highest, most visible point from the valley below. Equally striking is the view from the sanctuary: it seems to have been important to be able to see the local settlements from the shrine itself. Significant too are the numbers of other peak sanctuaries visible from each site; perhaps this network united the country via a common peak sanctuary festival night (given the evidence for bonfires).

Accepting the close association between peak sanctuaries and settlements, it is argued that the apparent decline of those sanctuaries after LM I is a decline of numbers, not of cult importance. Evidence for this is quoted from the Iouktas shrine. Further, it is suggested that the ‘Mountain Mother’ sealing from Knossos was produced as a piece of religious propaganda to justify a change of rule there.

Together with politics, economics and religion, war is one of the fundamental factors that can shape a society and group identities. In the prehistoric world, the sources for the study of war are disparate and their interpretation can be inconsistent and problematic. In the case of Crete in the Bronze Age, a systematic analysis of the evidence will be undertaken for the first time in this paper, and this opportunity is used to critically evaluate the most effective ways of employing the widely agreed sets of physical correlates for ancient war in the archaeological record. A further objective in exploring the diachronic roles of war in these societies is to move the discussion from a niche field to a more integrated, and systematic, social analysis. The existence and character of a warrior identity is examined, and it is proposed that it often constituted a conspicuous element of male identity. The varying scales and time spans through which war can influence a society are discussed, and a broad framework for understanding war in social process, practices and events is proposed.

This report describes and discusses the archaeological sites explored by the writers in an intensive survey of the lower catchment of the river valley which reaches from just south-west of Pigaidakhia to the mouth of the Ayiofarango just west of Kaloi Limenes (Fig. 1). This area was chosen because it was known to be of considerable archaeological importance, yet in recent years it had been subjected more to the depredations of tomb-robbers than to the exploration of archaeologists. In addition, there was the possibility that a road would be cut through the valley from the Mesara to Kaloi Limenes. A survey in advance of such work would enable sites of archaeological importance to be recorded and either investigated or safeguarded before any construction work took place.