Technological and typological studies of the chipped-stone industries of Palaeolithic Greece have hitherto been founded upon thorough descriptions of the morphological attributes of artefacts. This article departs from this tradition to examine, by means of refitting, the technology that created a group of 1691 lithic artefacts at Upper Palaeolithic Kastritsa. Refitting seeks to reconstruct individual reduction sequences by making connections between artefacts that are the results of successive steps in lithic production, thereby revealing more about the biographies of those artefacts. This approach, although extremely valuable, is not universally applicable because it is time-consuming and works only if the artefacts it examines have been retrieved from undisturbed contexts. Kastritsa's industry, however, lends itself to this sort of analysis thanks to the site's generally good spatial and temporal integrity. Attention is focused on layer 12 (in the western part of the rockshelter), a layer that has, amongst other features, yielded two sets of postholes. This evidence of habitation structures of this sort is unique in the Upper Palaeolithic record of south-east Europe. The analysis shows that this layer contains the greatest percentage of refitting specimens so far recorded at Kastritsa and makes a number of observations concerning the technological decisions taken by the knappers who worked there. It also suggests that specialised knapping and transformation activities probably took place in this part of the camp.

This article presents a stylistic assessment of the pottery from early tests (1900–1905) at Knossos that may be assigned to EM I. There follows a discussion of the problems of ceramic phasing of EM I Knossos and the relative chronology of Central Crete with the South Aegean in EB I. Finally, the social context of ceramic consumption at EM I Knossos and North-Central Crete is explored, and the possible evidence this may provide for ritualised social practice at Knossos and emergent social differentiation and power.

This article examines the Prepalatial and Protopalatial pottery deposits excavated by Evans and Mackenzie in the Room of the Jars of the Royal Pottery Stores at Knossos in 1902 and 1905. These deposits yielded abundant and unusual ceramic finds, illustrating aspects of storage and ceremonial activities in those periods. They also provide good stratigraphic evidence for the EM III, MM I A, and MM I B pottery sequence at Knossos.

A Minoan potter's wheel is published, with the peculiar element of appliqué relief sea-shells. The object was found by chance a few years before World War II near the village of Skhinias, in the Upper Mirabello region of NE Crete, and remained unknown until now. It is the first instance of real decoration on a potter's wheel. It can be dated between MM II and LM I and could have come from Malia.

Following the successful identification of at least two different family groups in Grave Circle B using facial reconstruction (BSA 90 [1995], 107–36), a pilot project was carried out at Manchester to identify, analyse and match 22 DNA samples from burials in the Grave Circle. The first step was to determine whether ancient DNA has survived, as proved to be the case; the next was to use this information to sex the individual by polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). In some cases the results provided information which the excavators had not been able to achieve because of the poor state of the skeletal remains; in one there was an apparent disagreement between the DNA result and the conclusion reached on archaeological and anatomical grounds. The overall results suggest that these methods have considerable potential for kinship studies in Aegean Bronze Age populations.

In the Late Bronze Age settlement of Akrotiri on Thera stone vessels were imported, mainly from Crete, in parallel with local production which was in full swing at this time, as testified by the number and variety of products, especially those of everyday domestic use, that covered fully the needs of a large settlement. One group of stone vessels, which is characterised by the innovative character either of the shape or the combination of type and raw material used, includes products that cannot be attributed to known centres of stone vessel manufacture, such as those of Crete, Egypt and the Syro-Palestinian region. The particular interest of this group lies in the fact that parameters such as the choice of the material, the typology and the flourishing stone industry, lead to a clear correlation of specific vessels with related local activity.

Chemical analysis by ICP at the Fitch Laboratory (British School at Athens) is used to see if the imported LB II pottery at Phylakopi on Melos is Minoan or Mycenaean. The possibility of a Minoan thalassocracy and of Minoan colonies in the Cyclades is reconsidered in the light of this new evidence, trade routes to the Cyclades are examined, the nature of the Mycenaean presence in the Cyclades is briefly discussed and the evidence for a LM I B horizon at Kastri on Kythera reinvestigated.

In his article in BSA 93 (1998) 199–219, Eric Cline comments on the recent discoveries at the site of Tell el-Dabca, where palatial quarters of the late Hyksos Period and the early 18th Dynasty have been discovered. For Aegean scholars the most spectacular finds from these excavations were numerous fragments of wall paintings which were identified as Minoan by experts working at the excavations and visiting colleagues. Cline particularly criticises the change of dating given to the paintings which were attributed by the excavators originally to the Hyksos period (1992) and afterwards to the Early 18th Dynasty (1995). Doubts have also been expressed about the validity of the new date and the identification of the paintings as Minoan or Aegean. This response tries to show: (1) the context of the paintings in the 18th Dynasty palace quarters in the light of recent research, (2) why a dating to the Hyksos period was originally considered, (3) why the paintings should be identified as Minoan and (4) that Cline failed to make himself knowledgeable enough about the archaeology of the site of Tell el-Dabca to give a serious opinion on the excavations and material.

Seven bun type, one slab type, and 44 oxhide type Late Bronze Age ingots found in the Aegean region, Crete and Mainland Greece have been analysed for their chemical content (twelve elements) by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results show that the ingots contain variable amounts of oxygen as copper(I) oxide. The oxhide ingots are made of purer copper, the bun type are of relatively pure copper and bronze, while the slab type is bronze. The oxhide ingots from Crete may have a different origin from those found in the Aegean and in Mainland Greece because they have a different chemical composition. The metallographic examination of twenty ingots, three of bun and seventeen of oxhide type, revealed that they have been cast in open moulds, followed by slow cooling. Microanalyses of inclusions in fifteen ingots revealed the presence of copper(I) sulphide, copper(I) oxide, copper-iron and copper-iron-sulphur and their origin is discussed. Hardness measurements on fourteen ingots of various types revealed that they are somewhat harder for a cast object than control alloys and likely explanations are given.

This paper presents the results of the chemical analyses by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) of a selection of vases from the recent excavations of Mycenaean tombs at Pylona, Rhodes. The data are used to support and confirm the stylistic attributions of the vases as either local Rhodian products or mainland imports. It is suggested that the majority of the imports are from the Argolid, but that at least one other origin is likely as well. Two distinct compositional groups of ‘local’ pottery are also identified. Comparison is made with the data from the analyses of pottery from Ialysos and the veracity of the conclusions drawn from the earlier optical emission data is confirmed.

It has been argued that a foot of c. 0.30 m was used in the design of the Early Iron Age building at Lefkandi. However, deriving the foot-unit length from the preserved measurements is not statistically valid; in this case, proportional analysis is more likely to advance understanding of the building design rather than foot-standard studies. Attempts to determine the building function using direct analogical reasoning are problematic because of the exceptional character of the Toumba building. Based on the archaeological evidence of ritualised collective gatherings, however, a transformation in the communal meaning of the monument is proposed.

Presented in this article are two inscriptions, one that had been lost for sixty years and the other newly discovered. The rediscovered stone has been drastically altered since it was first recorded and is republished with special attention given to its possible restoration and date. The new inscription is published here for the first time. The first inscription is almost certainly a dedication, while the second records a numerical value, for which possible explanations are suggested. A cult of Zeus Milichios is attested in the region and its possible association with both inscriptions is explored.

Among over 1800 boxes of Sir Arthur Evans's finds now stored in the Stratigraphical Museum at Knossos, at least 150 contain Greek pottery from Subminoan to Classical. A systematic study of this material, in relation to its recorded find spots, throws new light on the eastern part of the early Greek town, bordering the site of the Minoan Palace. Above the Palace itself, fresh evidence is produced, and fresh interpretation offered, for the Greek sanctuary described by Evans. In its immediate surroundings, there are signs of busy domestic and industrial life in the early Greek town above the South-West Houses, the West Court, the Theatral Area, and the Pillared Hall outside the North Entrance to the Palace. Greek occupation is also noted above the House of Frescoes, the Little Palace and the Royal Villa. A wider aim of this article is to trace the limits of the early Greek town of Knossos, both of its original Early Iron Age nucleus surviving from Late Minoan times, and of its spacious extension towards the north in the late eighth and seventh centuries BC.

The recently published ‘Stele from the Harbour’ of Thasos provides important new evidence for the topography of the ancient city. Some streets and other topographical features are named or described. There are many problems, however, in locating these features on the ground. These problems are fully discussed and some new solutions are proposed. At the same time, the new evidence bears on several difficult and unresolved topographical questions, which have long engaged the attention of students of Thasos. These questions are, therefore, reconsidered here. Finally, the important evidence for the topography of the city, which is found in the Hippocratean Epidemics, is fully set out for the first time, and discussed in relation to the archaeological evidence.

In the past it has often been assumed that, although rental of real estate in Classical Greece was relatively common, sales of such property were not. This article challenges that assumption by looking in detail at a small group of inscriptions from Olynthos in the Chalkidiki, which date to the first half of the fourth century and record transactions involving houses in the city. By analysing these documents in conjunction with their archaeological contexts, it becomes evident that there was a systematic set of criteria by which such properties were valued, and that a premium was placed upon larger houses and those located close to the agora, at the centre of the social and political life of the city. This adds a new dimension to the emerging picture of the increasing use of the house as a symbol of personal prestige during the fourth century. The limited evidence available from Athens and the Attic deme centres suggests that Attic town houses had a comparable range of values and that a similar shared concept of value may therefore have been operating. It thus seems that in the case of town houses, at least, sufficient properties were changing hands for potential purchasers to have a shared concept of their value, and this may indicate that families moved between different areas of a settlement, or between different settlements.

This article deals with the inscriptional and literary evidence for the ethne of Epirus and Upper Macedonia. It is argued that the term ethnos was used not of a rural settlement but of both nomadic and settled groups of persons, each of which believed itself to be of common racial descent. Both areas were exceptionally well suited in terrain and in climate to the practice of transhumant pastoralism by small nomadic or semi-nomadic ‘companies’.

Eleutherna was founded in a naturally fortified location flanked by two rivers. There are two known bridges at Eleutherna. One spans the eastern river, while the second is located below the point at which the two rivers join and is preserved nearly in its entirety. The bridges formed corbelled triangular arches and were built with large limestone blocks in dry masonry, roughly aligned in straight courses. The smaller bridge led to the centre of the ancient city and was probably the earlier of the two. The fact that it was not built on bedrock and its relative age may have contributed to its collapse. The corbel arch of the smaller bridge is steeper than the corbel arch of the larger and is comparable to arches used in the late Classical period. This suggests a more advanced technology for the larger bridge, since flatter arches entail a higher risk. The larger bridge was damaged by a storm in 1883. It was probably the same storm that caused the collapse of the smaller bridge, although this may have been deliberately destroyed. The smaller bridge seems to have been built during the late Classical period and the larger one during Hellenistic times when a major construction project took place at Eleutherna.

As part of a wider investigation of landscape change in the late Classical and Hellenistic Peloponnese, this paper reviews the written and archaeological evidence for the Lakedaimonian Perioikoi and the extent of Spartan-dominated territory. While the north-western perioikic poleis were lost mainly in or soon after 369 BC, some survived under Megalopolitan control. The Thyreatis was probably Spartan until 338, but there is no evidence that the southern Parnon coast was removed until the late third or early second century. Of Spartan core territory, Sellasia was lost finally in 222, Geronthrai then or later, but other poleis probably remained Spartan. Those of the Malea and Tainaron peninsulas were probably lost mainly in 195 BC. The resulting catalogue of settlements forming part of the Lakedaimonian state at different dates lays the foundation for further historical studies.

The decoration of Hellenistic houses can be understood in terms of hierarchies, which marked out the relative importance of the rooms and spaces in the house. In mosaics, the hierarchy is related to the materials used and the complexity of the design; wall painting is capable of expressing more subtle distinctions, through a combination of colours, motifs, decorative friezes, and architectural features in stucco relief. Surviving houses from Delos, Morgantina and Monte Iato are analysed in detail to explain how their decoration might have worked, and from these examples some conclusions are drawn about changes in the use of domestic space in the late Hellenistic period.