Different Shades of Grey Minyan: Dissecting an “Iconic” Ceramic Class of Middle Bronze Age, Mainland Greece

The Middle Helladic Grey Minyan ware is usually assigned with archetypical features, including the systematic use of the potter’s wheel. However, because of the significant variation observed, terms such as “True Grey Minyan” and “Imitations of Grey Minyan” were commonly applied in order to emphasise the differences, which, nonetheless were never systematically analysed. The main subject of the present paper is to highlight the differences existing in the potting traditions of Grey Minyan in two nearby regions, namely the Argolid and Attica, which seem to belong to different cultural spheres, given the divergence observed especially in the shape repertoire. The identification of different production and consumption practices is obviously related to different cultural phenomena, as evidenced through (a) the production of similar wheel-fashioned and hand-built Grey Minyan shapes in Attica, and (b) the introduction of foreign potting traditions, namely wheel-fashioned Grey Minyan pots, which are completely alien to the local, handmade ceramics of the Argolid.

Mysteries of Lake Copais: The Drainage – Massive Bronze Age and Hellenistic Hydraulic Engineering Works

Since the draining of Lake Copais in Boeotia in the late 19th century archaeological research has revealed Bronze Age hydraulic engineering works of such a scale as to be unique in Europe. Starting in the Middle Helladic period with dams, dikes and polders, the massive extension of the scheme in the Late Helladic period, with large canals and massive dikes, achieved the complete drainage of the lake; a feat not achieved again, despite Hellenistic attempts, until the 20th century. In this paper we attempt to draw together research in order to tell the history of Lake Copais through the ages.

The Mysteries of Lake Copais and the Island Fortress of Gla

The Bronze Age drainage of Lake Copais, Boeotia, is unique within Europe as the largest and most complex work of engineering of the period. Comprising large dams, polder dykes, canals, massive levees, cuttings and tunnels, it made at least 95km² of drained lake bed available for agricultural production. The first polders were established in the Middle Helladic period with great extensions in the Late Helladic. During the latter period the largest of all the Mycenaean citadels was constructed at Gla which had been a rocky island in the lake prior to the drainage. But exactly what type of settlement it was still remains something of a mystery. This paper draws together the history of research on the citadel of Gla.

Middle Helladic Tombs at Nydri Plain, Lefkas Island. An Archaeological and Paleoanthropological Study

The prehistoric record of Lefkas and the smaller neighboring islands is fairly extensive. The oldest archaeological material dates back to the Middle Palaeolithic period. The Neolithic period is also attested by archaeological finds in five caves. Even though Early (EH) and Middle Helladic (MH) periods have been known since the 1920s due to Dőrpfeld’s excavations, the archaeological data from the Late Bronze Age are scarce. A small Mycenaean tholos tomb has been excavated at Agios Nikitas, while several LH tumuli have been unearthed at the neighboring Meganissi Island.

Evolution of a social dynamic in a changing landscape: the case of Argos (Argolis, Greece) in the Mycenaean period

Argos in the Mycenaean period consists of a real enigma. Compared to its neighbours, amongst others Mycenae, Tiryns and Midea, Argos, after being a flourishing center in the Middle Helladic period, lost of it’s importance until the End of the Mycenaean palatial period, while maintaining a continuous occupation. During the transitional phase (MH III/LH I), and despite the fact that some parts of the argiv settlement continues to grow, as shown in particular by the work undertaken on the fortified acropolis of the Aspis, Argos, will experience a gradual decline as shown in particular through the abandonment of certain residential areas and the relocation of some population groups within and probably beyond its borders. According to one possible scenario, a group of people moved, at the very beginning of MH III, from Argos to Mycenae participating in the spectacular rise of Mycenae from the late MH period and onwards.Through this communication, we will first try to demonstrate, based on the archaeological reality, the status of Argos from the transitional phase (MH III/LH I) and during the LH period within the organization of the Argolis. In a second step, we will try to define the causes that influenced the evolution of this status. We will demonstrate how a series of natural disasters and in particular the eruption of Thera may have influenced the political, economic and social geography of the Argolis to the detriment of Argos. Based on the archaeological discoveries and the Adaptive Cycle (AC) model, we will show how some sites or parts of the Argolis functioned according to a positive/negative system throughout the protohistoric periods.

THE MIDDLE HELLADIC POTTERY OF LEFKANDI PHASES IV–VI: AN INTRODUCTION

This paper presents a more detailed account of the pottery of Phases IV–VI in the Middle Helladic (MH) sequence at Lefkandi: Xeropolis than is available in the preliminary report. It is based essentially on an unfinished draft compiled by Roger Howell (the Howell manuscript). After an introduction on the background, there is discussion of the Howell manuscript, and then an analysis of the stratigraphy of Trench CC, the basis for the phasing of the pre-Mycenaean phases of Lefkandi; brief comments are also provided on those trial trenches that produced relevant material. The pottery of the three phases is then set out in detail, with attention to the relative popularity of wares and the shapes within those wares, and to possible imports, and they are argued to be classifiable as later ‘MH I’ (Phase IV), advanced ‘MH II’ (Phase V), and the early Mycenaean period, quite possibly starting in ‘MH III’ but continuing well into Late Helladic II (Phase VI). A summary sets out some distinctive characteristics of the Lefkandi sequence, as deducible from this material, and some general conclusions.