Classical Archaeology

Review: Björn C. Ewald, Carlos F. Noreňa (ed.), The Emperor and Rome: Space, Representation, and Ritual. Yale Classical Studies 35. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010

by Christopher Dickenson

“Las cupae de Tarraco y Barcino y el conjunto de cupae del Levante Peninsular: tipologías y contextos funerarios

by Isabel Rodà de Llanza

published in 'LAS CVPAE HISPANAS: Origen, difusión, uso, tipología, (Los Bañales, abril 2010)'

Hablar del origen de las cupae, dada la gran problemática que presentan, creemos que es un error de planteamiento... more Hablar del origen de las cupae, dada la gran problemática que presentan, creemos que es un error de planteamiento inicial. Mejor hablar de procesos de formación y de difusión de los tipos ya que distan mucho de ser unitarios. Las diferencias entre los ejemplares de los diversos núcleos y la gran variedad de formas locales lo dejan bien patente.

Los Seviri Augustales de Narona

by Isabel Rodà de Llanza

published in 'Mélanges Emilio Marin, Zbornik Kacic (Acta provinciae ss. Redemptoris ordinis fratrum minorum in Croatia)', XLI-XLIII, Zagreb, 2011, 189-209.

Se recogen aquí las 40 inscripciones alusivas a los seviros procedentes de la colonia de Narona y su territorio.... more Se recogen aquí las 40 inscripciones alusivas a los seviros procedentes de la colonia de Narona y su territorio. Narona fue sin duda una ciudad con una sociedad abierta en la que los libertos jugaban un papel primordial, promocionándose a través del culto inperial con el desempeño del sevirato, en muchas ocasiones asociado al magistrado mercurial, según han venido desarrolándose tradicionalmente las siglas MM con las que se menciona el cargo. Normalmente la secuencia sevir y MM se da en las inscripciones públicas y por lo general el título de sevir no es seguido por la especificación augustal. Muy elocuente resulta la onomástica de los personajes, de claro trasfondo itálico en buena parte de los casos y un ámplio porcentaje de los cognomina latinos.

Ηλειακός υψιπους κάνθαρος Eleiakos hypsipous kantharos

by ANNA ALEXANDROPOULOU

Η ακολουθία του Διονύσου σε λαβές ελληνιστικών αγγείων Escort of Dionysos at the handles of hellenistic vases

by ANNA ALEXANDROPOULOU

Martial Arts and Materiality: a Combat Archaeology Perspective on Aegean Swords of the Fifteenth and Fourteenth Centuries Bc

by Barry Molloy

in World Archaeology

The attic Weights and the Economy of Athens

by Mario Trabucco

to be published in the Proceedings of the 15th Symposium of the Mediterranean Archaeology (Catania 3-5 March 2011)

In the new post-Finley environment for the studies on the Athenian economy in the classical period, this study offers... more In the new post-Finley environment for the studies on the Athenian economy in the classical period, this study offers an updated evaluation of a often misconsidered object class: the Attic weights. The careful consideration of the various (but all of them attic) weight standards, once put in their proper historical and economical context, can offer a new insight in the many fluctuations of the economic conditions of the Athenian state, from the 6th to the 2nd century BC. Moreover the study points out the value of these market weights (in their role of objects performing a function in the market but constituted according to the law) as a contribution to enlight the complex dialectic between the economic and the social aspect of athenian political life, in the frame of a neo-institutionalist perspective.

Why Did Nebuchadnezzar II Destroy Ashkelon in 604 BCE?

by Alexander Fantalkin

Fantalkin, A. 2011. Why Did Nebuchadnezzar II Destroy Ashkelon in Kislev 604 B.C.E.? In: Finkelstein, I. and Na'aman, N. eds. The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin. Winona Lake: 87–111.

PhD Thesis - Contents and Summary

by Christopher Dickenson

If you are interested in obtaining a (digital) copy of my thesis please contact me by sending a message via this site... more If you are interested in obtaining a (digital) copy of my thesis please contact me by sending a message via this site or an email.

The Agora as Political Centre in the Roman Period

by Christopher Dickenson

in "The Agora in the Mediterannean from Homeric to Roman times. Proceedings of an international conference held on Kos. 14-17 April 2011"  A. Giannikouri (ed)

Review of: Verdan, Samuel -Theurillat, Thierry - Kenzelmann Pfyffer, Anne (ed.): Early Iron Age Pottery: A Quantitative Approach. Proceedings of the International Round Table organized by the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece (Athens 2008)

by Lieve Donnellan

Work Notes on Etruscan Mirrors & Murals II

by Mel Copeland

This is a PDF file from our website covering Etruscan Mirrors and Murals, with images compiled from the Etruscan Phrases website http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html.

In contrast to offerings from the British Museum and University of Bologna, where their analyses, following Pallottino, are generally speculation based on guesswork relating to short funerary inscriptions, the Etruscan Phrases work is supported by a strong grammar and vocabulary based on all texts, small and large. Thus, to clear the mystery of the Etruscan language alleged by such esteemed institutions, it is imperative that the Etruscan Phrases GlossaryA.xls be audited. We mention this since the only prospect of clearing up the Etruscan Mystery is through a verifiable audit of the Etruscan Grammar recorded in Etruscan Phrases. The British Museum, University of Bologna and other "Pallottino School" works have not produced a vocabulary or grammar that can be audited, since their theory is that the Etruscan language is unlike any other known to man, not Indo-European. Etruscan Phrases claims that the Etruscan Language is similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian, an Indo-European language. It offers a grammar, declension patterns and regular, measurable shifts between Etruscan and these languages; ergo the work can be easily audited.

Most important to the work are the Etruscan mirrors and murals that contain known Classical stories and the names of the principle characters in the stories. The star of the mirrors is Helen of Troy who was the young daughter of King Tyndareüs of Sparta and abducted by the equally beautiful son of King Priam of Troy, thereby causing the Trojan War. While the entire story has captured the hearts and imaginations of generations since that event (Troy was destroyed ~1180 B.C.) we can presume through Etruscan mirrors that the event was part of their history – and they had a somewhat different recollection of it than the Greek version passed down to us.

Because the story is familiar and linking the genesis of Greek heroes and gods, containing their names and actions, we have comparative texts to use in analyzing the Etruscan language, its shifts from Greek and Latin to Etruscan. For instance the heroes of the story follow a regular shift, of dropping vowels and final consonants, etc. Heracles (L. Hercules) is Hercle (almost like the French, Hercule). Helen’s name declines: Helenai and Helenei, leading us to the declension of other nouns. Her father was Zeus who transformed into a swan and raped the goddess Nemesis THALNA (retribution) who had transformed into a goose. She laid an egg or two eggs, one of which was Helen which was found by shepherds near Sparta and taken to Tyndareüs and Leda to bring up. From the egg came Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world.

The most beautiful man at the time was Alexander, spelled ELCHSENTRE and he abducted Helen from her husband Menelaus, MENLE, the brother of King Agamemnon: ACHMEMNVN. His wife Clytemnestra is CLVTHVMVSTHA who murdered her husband in the bath upon returning from the Trojan War, and their son, Orestes (VRSTE) killed her and her lover in revenge. Athena (L. Minerva) is MENRFA; Hera (L. Juno) is VNI, her consort is Zeus (L. Jupiter) Etr. TINIA. Thetis is THETIS and THETHIS, she was a dangerous shape-changer and compelled by the gods to wed her husband Peleus, PELE; they produced the Greek hero of the Trojan War, Achilles who the Etruscans call ACHLE. The mother of Helen, Leda, is LATFA and her brothers, Castor and Polydeukes (Pollux) are CASTVR and PVLTVCEI. Their father Tyndareüs is TVNTLE. Aphrodite (Etr. TVRAN) was a cause of the Trojan War when she was judged by Alexander as “The Fairest” as written on an apple thrown into the wedding of Thetis and Peleus by Eris (Etr. ERIS). Aphrodite’s son was Eros (Etr. ERVS) – appearing in many texts. Another popular figure in Etruscan mirrors is Hermes (L. Mercury) TVRMS.

Apollo (APLV) and Artemis are represented frequently in the texts. Ajax Telemonos EIFAS TELMVNVS committed suicide after Achilles was killed, because he did not deserve Achilles’ armor. Apollo (APLV) and his sister the virgin huntress Artemis (ARTVMES) were highly active in the Trojan War. The Etruscans introduce a new character like Artemis called MEAN who crowns Alexander, awarding him the hand of Helen, though we understand from the Greek version that it was Aphrodite (Etr. TVRAN) that awarded Alexander the hand of Helen in the Judgment of Paris. MEAN appears to be a goddess of the hunt like Artemis from Lydia, recalling the old name of Lydia, Maionia (Μαιονία). This is just a tease, for the mirrors and murals carry amazing details never before known to modern man. The images, names and texts associated with the mirrors and murals set the baseline for understanding Etruscan Grammar and the words recorded in Etruscan Phrases GlossaryA.pdf. (The most current version available at http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html.

We should hope, therefore, that there will be many linguists / scholars who will jump at the chance to clear up the Etruscan Mystery and rewrite the histories so clearly overshadowed by the Pallottino School theories, to help even the museums containing Etruscan artifacts explain a bit more about the items in their displays.

Etruscan GlossaryA.pdf an index to about 2,500 Etruscan words that are similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian. Declension patterns follow those in Latin. The 2,500 words equal the repeated words in 6,000 words of the major extant texts. The texts have been frozen in time, covering ~700-400 B.C., representing a lens to understanding the early formation of Indo-European languages, particularly the early Italic-Latin-Celtic languages, such as Italian, French & Romanian / Dacian. (By 45 BC. the language was a dead language - no one understood or could write Etruscan)

This GlossaryA works together with Indo-European Table 1 which refutes theories by the Pallottino school of thought that the Etruscan language is not Indo-European and an isolate, unlike any other language. It is very close to Latin and, curiously, Romanian, Italian and French. The Latin suffix, "us" shifts to "o" as in Italian (Titus vs Tito); first person conjugation patterns are similar to French and Romanian. This GlossaryA provides a quick look at the grammatical structure of the Etruscan language, how closely it coincides with Latin. A more detailed Declension Table can be seen on the Etruscan Phrases website. These PDF documents facilitate independent confirmation of the words in GlossaryA.xls , the Grammar and Declension Table. All words can be examined from actual images of texts on the Etruscan Phrases website. Over 150 texts, with about 6,000 words can be examined at Etruscan Phrases.

The Etruscans surfaced in Italy about 1,000 B.C., reputed to have arrived from Lydia / Phrygia. The Phrygians originated near Macedonia in Thrace, according to Herodotus. One may therefore inquire whether the ancient Thracians (Dacians, Gettae, modern Romanians), spoke a language common to the Phrygians, at the time of the Trojan War and after (~1180 B.C.). The Thracians, Phrygians and Lydians (also dead languages) were allies of the Trojans, according to the Iliad. Etruscan Phrases finds a common vocabulary among Latin, Italian, French, Romanian, Etruscan and Phrygian. While French, Spanish, Italian and Romanian are considered Romance languages, showing a similar Latin heritage, Etruscan is not, of course, a Romance language, as it preceded Latin, at least in the written form (giving Rome its alphabet).

Resolution of the Etruscan Mystery may be likened to Michael Ventris' decipherment of Linear B and Jean-François Champollion's decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics using the Rosetta Stone - written in Egyptian hieroglypics, Demotic and Greek. The decipherment of Etruscan is a bit more challenging, since we have no multilingual Rosetta Stone, but we do have enough vocabulary and grammar to establish that Etruscan is similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian. (Certainly far more vocabulary and a more extensive grammar is provided in Etruscan Phrases than that used by Ventris to claim translation of Linear B as an old form of Greek)

The mirrors with the Devotional Plates may be an easy entry into an audit, for those who are hesitant to examine the larger texts, such as the Zagreb Mummy (Script Z).

Exempla römischen Wohnluxus’: zu einigen löwenköpfigen Tischfüßen in der Antikengalerie Gustavs III. in Stockholm

by Joern Lang

published in: Opuscula Romana 31–32, 2006–2007, 167–188.

Iconographie: Posidonios d’Apamée, Parménide d’Élée, Platon, Plotin

by Joern Lang

published in: R. Goulet (Hrsg.), Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques V. de Paccius à Rutilius Rufus (2011) 160 f.; 841–845; 1068–1070; 1499–1501.

Rezension zu: Götz Lahusen, Römische Bildnisse. Auftraggeber, Funktionen, Standorte

by Joern Lang

published in: Bonner Jahrbücher 209, 2009, 383–388.

Otto Brendel (1901-1973)

by Katharina Lorenz

In: BRANDS, G. and MAISCHBERGER, M., eds., Lebensbilder I: Klassische Archäologen und der Nationalsozialismus Verlag Marie Leidorf. 193-206.

Pyrrhus of Epirus: Statesman or Soldier? An analysis of Pyrrhus’ political and military traits during the Hellenistic Era

by Jonathan Recaldin

Final BA dissertation draft before print

The context of the study was to explore the nature of leadership in the early-middle Hellenistic era with a specific... more The context of the study was to explore the nature of leadership in the early-middle Hellenistic era with a specific view on the rule of King Pyrrhus of Epirus and how he fitted in to aspect of political and military leadership during that era. My research question was:

Pyrrhus of Epirus: Statesman or Soldier? An analysis of Pyrrhus’ political and military traits during the Hellenistic Era.

To explore this question, I explored both sides of the question, and decided that to analyse his political strengths, I would concentrate on diplomacy and economy, while the military side required me to analyse his generalship and his military campaigns. I approached the subject by researching both ancient and modern sources, using the modern sources to criticise the ancient sources to try and create new argument and questions surrounding the subject. In the end, it wasn’t a hugely significant study, my progress mainly hampered by the lack of modern material in which to keep the subject up to date. I think I came up with one new view in the debate, but most of the work hasn’t veered significantly from what has already been said.

Una colonna tortile da Leptis Magna. Costruzione e prassi

by Francesca Trapani

in M. Khanoussi, P. Ruggeri, C. Vismara (edd.), L'Africa Romana XV. Ai confini dell'Impero: contatti, scambi, conflitti, Atti del XV convegno di Studio, Tozeur (11-15 dicembre 2002), Roma 2004, 933-943

Martin Beckmann, "Survey And Excavation at Nysa on the Meander, 2009: The Gymnasium Portico and Palaestra "

by Mouseion (Journal)

Published in Mouseion 9.2 (2009), pp. 125-142. Actually published in 2011.

In July and August of 2009 a team from the University of Western Ontario undertook a five-week season of survey and... more In July and August of 2009 a team from the University of Western Ontario undertook a five-week season of survey and excavation work at Nysa on the Meander. The team’s efforts were focused on the gymnasium. Ground-penetrating radar was used to survey the area of the gymnasium; this revealed not only the course of the portico and a number of rooms bordering it, but also three large and unexpected structures in the area of the palaestra itself. Excavation then focused on identifying these unexpected structures. One proved to be an extremely large and deep cistern pre-dating the construction of the second century ad gymnasium. The other two structures were contemporary to the gymnasium and consisted of two 90 m-long elevated water channels, possibly decorative in function, running parallel to the porticoes on either side of the palaestra. Finally, two inscribed marble pedestals were discovered, one of which names a prominent citizen of Nysa, probably Titus Aelius Alkibiades, who is known to have lived in the city during the reign of Antoninus Pius. These results constitute a significant advance in our knowledge of the physical form and chronology of the gymnasium at Nysa.

David W. Rupp, "The Fieldwork of the Canadian Institute in Greece, 2008"

by Mouseion (Journal)

Published in Mouseion 9.2 (2009), pp. 109-124. Actually published in 2011.

For the seventh consecutive year, the Director has benefited from the opportunity to present a condensed version of... more For the seventh consecutive year, the Director has benefited from the opportunity to present a condensed version of the Institute’s annual Open Meeting report so that the archaeological fieldwork conducted under the Institute’s auspices in 2008 can be made available especially for Canadian readers.1 The Institute’s research activities (fig. 1) included excavations (Argilos and Ayia Sotira), pedestrian survey (Eastern Boeotia), and study seasons (Antikythera and Karystos, Euboea).