Isles of Refuge in the Early Byzantine Period

1970 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinclair Hood

Some years ago in an article offered in honour of my friend, Dr. Jírí Neustupný, I described three settlements on small off-shore islands round the coasts of South Greece, where some of the native population appear to have taken refuge during the period of the Slav invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries A.D. (Fig. 1). In August 1969, when I was in Galaxidhi on the west side of the bay of Itea, Mrs. Lois Ventris told me about a group of islets there with traces of similar occupation. These island refuge settlements of the period of the Slav invasions are of some interest in themselves, and they open the door to what might be a fruitful line of inquiry as regards the problem of the Slav occupation of South Greece.There are seven islets in all in the bay of Itea, and of these I was able to visit the three nearest to Galaxidhi, namely (1) Panayia, (2) Ayios Yeoryios, and (3) Apsifia (Figs. 2, 3). These three islands all had traces of habitation in the late Roman or early Byzantine period, including pottery assignable to the sixth or early seventh centuries A.D.: notably, fragments of amphorae with straight and wavy grooved decoration (Plate 14d, 4–6), and rims of dishes of fine red (Late Roman B) ware imported from North Africa. These rims (nos. 6–8, 12) belong to dishes of a type (Ant. 802) found in the Late Phase of the Late Roman period at Antioch, lasting from about the middle of the sixth century A.D. into the seventh. I recovered one or two fragments of clay lamps from (1) Panayia (Plate 14d, 1–2), but saw none on the other two islands which I visited. Some of the Roman pottery from (1) Panayia and (2) Ayios Yeoryios appears to date from a time before the Slav invasions. There are also traces of medieval or later occupation here.

2006 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
pp. 427-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brikena Shkodra

What seems to be the case is that Durrës during the late Roman period was incorporated in the network of Byzantine state-controlled supply which operated throughout the east and west Mediterranean, suggesting that the city was more open to the east than to the west in late Antiquity. By contrast, the supply of Tunisian fine ware and amphorae is smaller then the imports from the eastern Mediterranean. However, the persistence presence of Tunisian wares throughout late Vandal and Byzantine period argues for sustained interaction between east and west within the Byzantine world. The presence of local production in the 6th century contexts merits further analysis.


Starinar ◽  
2005 ◽  
pp. 133-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vujadin Ivanisevic ◽  
Perica Spehar

In this article, we presented the archaeological finds from Cecan and Gornji Streoc - hill-forts on Mount Cicevica in the immediate vicinity of Vucitrn (Kosovo). We studied the archaeological material from the Roman, Late Roman and, in particular from the Early Byzantine period. A large number of archaeological objects and especially iron tools found on the Cecan and Gornji Streoc fortresses indicate a well-developed level of production in the crafts and iron manufacturer. We emphasize the importance of these fortresses in Late Roman times and we highlight the fortification of the interior regions of Illyricum. This suggests that Dardania had a considerable population in the Late Roman period as is confirmed by the many fortresses constructed throughout the entire region, often on almost inaccessible terrain.


1938 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Corder ◽  
I. A. Richmond

The Roman Ermine Street, having crossed the Humber on the way to York from Lincoln, leaves Brough Haven on its west side, and the little town of Petuaria to the east. For the first half-mile northwards from the Haven its course is not certainly known: then, followed by the modern road, it runs northwards through South Cave towards Market Weighton. In the area thus traversed by the Roman road burials of the Roman age have already been noted in sufficient quantity to suggest an extensive cemetery. The interment which is the subject of the present note was found on 10th October 1936, when men laying pipes at right angles to the modern road, in the carriage-drive of Mr. J. G. Southam, having cut through some 4 ft. of blown sand, came upon a mass of mixed Roman pottery, dating from the late first to the fourth century A.D. Bones of pig, dog, sheep, and ox were also represented. Presently, at a depth of about 5 ft., something attracted closer attention. A layer of thin limestone slabs was found, covering two human skeletons, one lying a few feet from the west margin of the modern road, the other parallel with the road and some 8 ft. from its edge. The objects described below were found with the second skeleton, and the first to be discovered was submitted by Mr. Southam to Mr. T. Sheppard, F.S.A.Scot., Director of the Hull Museums, who visited the site with his staff. All that can be recorded of the circumstances of the discovery is contained in the observations then made, under difficult conditions. ‘Slabs of hard limestone’, it was reported, ‘taken from a local quarry of millepore oolite and forming the original Roman road, were distinctly visible beneath the present roadway—one of the few points where the precise site of the old road has been located. On the side of this… a burial-place has been constructed. What it was like originally it is difficult to say, beyond that a layer of thin … slabs of limestone occurred over the skeletons. This had probably been kept in place or supported by some structure of wood, as several large iron nails, some bent at right angles, were among the bones.’ If this were all that could be said about the burials, they would hardly merit a place in these pages. The chief interest of the record would be its apparent identification of the exact course of the Roman road at a point where this had hitherto been uncertain. Three objects associated with the second skeleton are, however, of exceptional interest.


2021 ◽  
pp. 574-592
Author(s):  
Antje Bosselmann-Ruickbie

This chapter surveys jewelry and enamels. Byzantine jewelry has survived in small numbers. Early Byzantine rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings were made with gold, gemstones, and pearls, often in the opus interrasile openwork technique. From the tenth century, enamels could also adorn (imperial) gold jewelry. Inscribed and engraved rings were common in the Middle and Late Byzantine period. Bronze pieces attest to everyday jewelry. Increased exchange with other areas, especially the West, is noticeable in post-Crusader times.


1950 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 261-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Cook ◽  
R. V. Nicholls

The village of Kalývia Sokhás lies against the base of one of the massive foothills in which Taygetus falls to the plain three or four miles to the south of Sparta (Plate 26, 1). It is bounded by two rivers which flow down in deep clefts from the mountain shelf. The hillside above rises steeply to a summit which is girt with cliffs on all but the west side and cannot be much less than four thousand feet above sea level; this von Prott believed to be the peak of Taleton. Its summit is crowned by the ruins of a mediaeval castle which was undoubtedly built as a stronghold to overlook the Spartan plain; the only dateable object found there, a sherd of elaborate incised ware, indicates occupation at the time when the Byzantines were in possession of Mystra. The location of the other sites mentioned by Pausanias in this region remains obscure, but fortunately that of the Spartan Eleusinion has not been in doubt since von Prott discovered a cache of inscriptions at the ruined church of H. Sophia in the village of Kalývia Sokhás. In 1910 Dawkins dug trenches at the foot of the slope immediately above the village and recovered a fragment of a stele relating to the cult of the goddesses and pieces of inscribed tiles from the sanctuary. The abundance of water in the southern ravine led von Prott to conclude that the old town of Bryseai with its cult of Dionysus also lay at Kalývia Sokhás; but no traces of urban settlement have come to light at the village, and the name rather suggests copious springs such as issue from the mountain foot at Kefalári a mile to the north where ancient blocks are to be seen in the fields.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 4983
Author(s):  
Zhaohui Chi ◽  
Andrew Klein

On 26 September 2019, a massive iceberg broke off the west side of the Amery Ice Shelf (AIS) in East Antarctica. Since 1973, the AIS calving front has steadily advanced at a rate of 1.0 km yr−1. However, the advancement rate of the central portion of the AIS increased dramatically during 2012–2015, which indicates a velocity increase prior to the calving event. Eight calving front locations from 1973 to 2018 were mapped to investigate the advancement rate of AIS over the entire observational period. Additionally, the propagation of rift A was observed unstable from 2012 to 2015. The westward propagation rate of rift A1 increased to 3.7 km yr−1 from 2015 to 2017, which was considerably faster than the other rifts near the AIS calving front. The increased advancement rate and the increasing propagation magnitude of at least one active rift appear to be precursors of this large calving event.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document