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Apotropaia and Phylakteria: Confronting Evil in Ancient Greece is the outcome of the conference held in Athens in June 2021 and hosted by the Swedish Institute at Athens. The belief in the existence of evil forces was part of ancient everyday life and a phenomenon deeply embedded in popular thought of the Greek world. Fear of such malevolent powers generated the need for protection and we find clear traces of these concerns in both textual and archaeological sources. From the beginnings of literature, there is mention of ghosts and other daemonic beings that needed appeasement, and of ways of repulsing evil, such as the use of baskania and antibaskania (apotropaia). Repeatedly, we meet rituals of an apotropaic or prophylactic character conducted as part of everyday and family life, as for example on the occasion of a birth, marriage or death in the oikos (the cleansing of the house and household, libations and sacrifices in honour of oikos ancestors), and other practices that focused on the protection of the community as a whole, i.e. the Pharmakos ritual. Archaeology reveals an abundance of material objects thought to have the power to attract benevolent, and avert evil, forces. Traces of ritual practices necessary to ensure prosperity and avert personal disaster are manifest today in the form of amulets, certain semi-precious stones believed to protect women and children, eye-beads found in large numbers in many archaeological assemblages, possibly various types of terracotta figurines, such as nude female grotesques and various ithyphallic characters, to name a few. In addition, symbols and certain iconographic motifs, such as the phallus, the open hand, the Gorgoneion, images of triple Hekate, and Hermes, have been subject to a number of differing interpretations relative to apotropaic power.

Meanings are realized at the point of reception and this volume intends to offer an in-depth discussion of some of the meanings associated with and raised by the figure of Telamonian Ajax at various, specifically contextualized, and yet somehow connectable ‘points of reception'. Part 1 looks at how, and from where, and with what effects, the epic and tragic figure of Ajax is constructed and re-defined in archaic and classical Greece. Part 2 moves on to Roman Ajax(es), evaluating how he is used in and by Latin literature as a tool for window-references and innovation, and for reflecting on national identity and cultural categories. Part 3 discusses various ways in which the myth of Ajax, especially in its Sophoclean version, has been translated into theatrical, psychological, and philosophical discussions. This is not an attempt to look for Ajax's true nature (an ill-posed question in itself). Nor is it a claim to evaluate Ajax's features as if they could be placed on a straight evolutionary line (they never can be). On the contrary, the volume provides a multiform and interconnected ensemble of relevant patterns, always particularly situated, and constantly changing.

Plato's Timaeus is unique in Greek Antiquity for presenting the creation of the world as the work of a divine demiurge. The maker bestows order on sensible things and imitates the world of the intellect by using the Forms as models. While the creation-myth of the Timaeus seems unparalleled, this book argues that it is not the first of Plato's dialogues to use artistic language to articulate the relationship of the objects of the material world to the world of the intellect. The book adopts an interpretative angle that is sensitive to the visual and art-historical developments of Classical Athens to argue that sculpture, revolutionized by the advent of the lost-wax technique for the production of bronze statues, lies at the heart of Plato's conception of the relation of the human soul and body to the Forms. It shows that, despite the severe criticism of mimēsis in the Republic, Plato's use of artistic language rests on a positive model of mimēsis. Plato was in fact engaged in a constructive dialogue with material culture and he found in the technical processes and the cultural semantics of sculpture and of the art of weaving a valuable way to conceptualise and communicate complex ideas about humans'relation to the Forms.

This book provides the opportunity to explore the variety of meanings, undertones and contextual connotations that currently pertain to the expressions of'virtual (or digital) restoration'and'reconstruction'. The book focuses on the latest applications of virtual restoration and reconstruction in different areas of Cultural Heritage through the presentation and discussion of several case studies. The goal is to provide a broad perspective on the subject. The sample presented in this book has been indeed selected and evaluated referring to different disciplinary fields such as archaeology, architecture, and conservation while encompassing a variety of cultural and chronological contexts.

This thematic volume comprises 30 articles by 44 specialists and is the first collection solely dedicated to the study of Amphoras of the Phoenician-Punic world. The articles take their lead from presentations at a conference held in Ghent in December 2016. It is a welcome update to the terrain covered more than a quarter-century ago by the highly influential monograph of Juan Ramon, Las anforas fenicio-punicas del Mediterraneo Central y Occidental (Col-leccio Instrumenta 2), Barcelona: 1995. The link between trade and the Phoenician and Punic World is so pronounced that these subjects have often been treated synonymously. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that'the Amphora, the key element of the trade in foodstuffs during Antiquity, has been considered the guide fossil for Phoenician and Punic trade'. Geographically, the present contributions cover the space from the Levantine coast to the Atlantic shores of the Iberian Peninsula. Chronologically, they range from the earliest moments of the Phoenician presence in the western Mediterranean during the ninth century BCE until the centuries following the destruction of Carthage and its empire. Thematically, the volume deals with issues of production, typology, distribution, contents, and even socio-economical aspects. As such, it may be considered as a true state of the art on the Amphoras of the Phoenician and Punic World.

Il volume è dedicato da amici e colleghi alla compianta Sara Santoro, che è stata una archeologa di fama ed una studiosa poliedrica, che ha insegnato a Bologna, Parma e Chieti e ha lavorato alacremente in Italia, Francia ed Albania. Il testo presenta una serie di contributi che sono organizzati in sei sezioni, che corrispondono ai principali interessi di Sara e che sono editi dai suoi colleghi presso l'Università G.d'Annunzio di Chieti-Pescara. La prima sezione, Semata, Schemata and Topoi, è a cura di O.Menozzi ed è dedicata a studi iconografici, filologici e di Storia dell'Arte. La seconda parte, a cura di S.Antonelli, è dedicata a contributi e ricerche sull'Adriatico. La terza sezione, che è incentrata su ricerche e studi sul campo, è stata curata da M.Moderato. M.C. Mancini cura la quarta sezione su valorizzazione e progettazione nei Beni Culturali. La quinta sezione, a cura di M.C.Somma, è dedicata ai cosiddetti ‘centri minori'e analizza ruolo e network di tali insediamenti. La sesta sezione è incentrata su metodologie e scienze applicate ai Beni Culturali ed è curata da V.La Salvia.

Upon the arrival of the Greek'colonisers'in Sicily, in the 8th century BC, in addition to the Sicels or Sikeloi of the eastern area and the Sicani or Sicanians of the centre-west, according to historical sources there was a third local population residing in the extreme north-western tip of the island, that of the Elymians or Elymoi, with Segesta and Erice as their major cities. On their origin (whether they came from Italy or, rather, from Anatolia) the traditions are irreconcilable. Their language, documented by a series of very short and mostly fragmentary inscriptions on ceramics and by a few coin inscriptions, has been the subject of intense debate since at least the late decades of the 19th century. This essay (Elymian Inscriptions) dates back to 1977 and has served as a reference text ever since. After over forty years, in this Appendix the author presents updates to the volume's various sections: from those dedicated to epigraphic materials, to the various chapters focusing on the composition of the corpus, on handwriting, on text analysis, and on language reconstruction.

The terracotta figurines from Akragas (Agrigento) with their chubby faces, splendid furniture, and rich adornments, depict a prosperous life in the late sixth and early fifth century BCE. The extensive jewellery on the figurines contains strikingly large fibulae appliques fastening pectoral chains with several sorts of pendants. They are modelled after existing items. The form of the jewellery items changed fast, influenced by different peoples and changing fashions, which can be compared with representations of jewellery and fashion on coins of the same period from Syracuse. In contrast, the body of the figurines remained armless and abstract for some time, nor does it express its gender. The block shaped, sloping upper body might have originated with aniconic objects, but suggests here a seated person, covered with a rectangular apron on the front. In contrast, the face is detailed, and often crowned with a specific headgear, the polos. The Archaic smile reveals Greek influence on its features. An archaeological experiment in which figurines and moulds were reproduced revealed their production process. By combining data from the experiment with an analysis of their iconographic features, most of the figurines studied can be shown to have been designed and produced locally. The moulding technique, introduced by newcomers to the city, provided for relatively cheap and rapid production of terracotta figurines. Local clay and marl are found near to the city, and its composition was found to be very suitable, due to its plasticity, fine structure and soft tone on firing. Wooden figurines, the forerunners of the terracotta figurines, were used in the production of the moulds of their terracotta successors. The terracotta figurines developed to become more three-dimensional, so that they were able to stay upright unsupported. Objects and moulds were exchanged with the city of Selinous, resulting in variations of the standard and figurines with finely detailed faces. Designing and dedicating these votive figurines, and possibly also jewellery, to a cult statue might have acted as a unifying element for the perhaps multi-ethnic society of Akragas. By means of these anthropomorphic female figurines, people gave shape to their origin and narratives, using old and new symbols such as the Phoenician crescent and the Greek satyr. Their cultural influences formed a new religious setting, helping to forge a new identity unique to Sicily. The prosperity expressed by these metal adornments, fits Diodorus Siculus'description of Akragas as a rich city.

Picenum and the Ager Gallicus at the Dawn of the Roman Conquest: Landscape Archaeology and Material Culture is a coherent collection of papers presented at an International Workshop held in Ravenna (Italy) on 13-14 May 2019. The event, organized by the Universities of Bologna and Ghent and Arcadria, focussed on the transition between Italic culture and Romanised society in the central Adriatic area – the regions ager Gallicus and Picenum under Roman dominance – from the fourth to the second centuries BCE. By bringing together the experience of international research on this topic, the volume highlights a period that marks a profound transformation in the whole of central Italy by analysing the relationships between the central settlements and their territories and, more generally, by measuring the impact of early Romanization on the territorial structure, social organization and cultural substrata of populations living here. The volume also discusses methodological aspects regarding best practices in fieldwork, landscape investigation and study of material culture, identifying research lines and perspectives for the future deepening of knowledge in this crucial period of central Adriatic archaeology.

Thirty-four studies are devoted to the Ancient Near Eastern scholar Stefano de Martino. In accordance with his own research area studies on Ancient Anatolia and North-Syria as well as on Hittite and Akkadian texts are in the focus of the festschrift. Newly discovered texts and archaeological finds are presented, and new aspects of well-known literary compositions and excavation sites of the region are taken into consideration. Further studies focus on history and geography of the north-western part of the Ancient Near East.

The island of Sicily was a highly contested area throughout much of its history. Among the first to exert strong influence on its political, cultural, infrastructural, and demographic developments were the two major decentralized civilizations of the first millennium BCE: the Phoenicians and the Greeks. While trade and cultural exchange preceded their permanent presence, it was the colonizing movement that brought territorial competition and political power struggles on the island to a new level. The history of six centuries of colonization is replete with accounts of conflict and warfare that include cross-cultural confrontations, as well as interstate hostilities, domestic conflicts, and government violence.This book is not concerned with realities from the battlefield or questions of military strategy and tactics, but rather offers a broad collection of archaeological case studies and historical essays that analyze how political competition, strategic considerations, and violent encounters substantially affected rural and urban environments, the island's heterogeneous communities, and their social practices. These contributions, originating from a workshop in 2018, combine expertise from the fields of archaeology, ancient history, and philology. The focus on a specific time period and the limited geographic area of Greek Sicily allows for the thorough investigation and discussion of various forms of organized societal violence and their consequences on the developments in society and landscape.

Intraprendente scopritore: è così che Lorenzo Fortunati amava definirsi. Egli è noto soprattutto grazie agli scavi che condusse in Roma tra 1857 e 1858 sulla via Latina dove rinvenne, oltre ad una serie di strutture sepolcrali, anche la basilica di Santo Stefano Protomartire. Si trattò di una scoperta formidabile per la storia cristiana, tanto che Papa Pio IX lo onorò con una medaglia d'oro. Il resto delle sue imprese, che interessarono numerose località laziali, è argomento poco noto alla bibliografia archeologica che, salvo sporadiche eccezioni, non ha mai dato giusta considerazione a questo personaggio. La cospicua documentazione archivistica che lo riguarda consente di tracciare la cronistoria delle sue scoperte e di conoscere un uomo dalla vita difficile, alle prese con difficoltà economiche e coinvolto in diatribe con lo Stato Pontificio, con autorità locali e persino con il marchese Giovanni Pietro Campana. Le fotografie d'epoca ed il recupero dei suoi diari di scavo, che fanno emergere una personalità estremamente attenta nel dettagliare i siti ed i reperti indagati, consentono altresì di recuperare contesti archeologici oggi dimenticati sotto strati di cemento. A promising discoverer: that's how Lorenzo Fortunati liked to call himself. He is mainly known due to the excavations he carried out in Rome between 1857 and 1858 on the Via Latina where, in addition to a series of burial structures, he also found the basilica of Santo Stefano Protomartire. The rest of his exploits, which involved numerous localities in Lazio, is little known to the archaeological bibliography which, with sporadic exceptions, has never given due consideration to this character. The conspicuous archival documentation concerning him makes it possible to trace the history of his discoveries and to get to know a man with a difficult life, struggling with economic difficulties and involved in diatribes with the Papal State, with local authorities and even with Marquis Giovanni Pietro Campana. The period photographs and the recovery of his excavation diaries reveal an extremely attentive personality in the details of the sites and finds under investigation and also make it possible to recover archaeological texts now forgotten under layers of concrete.

Solo una indagine accurata di natura artistico-archeologica degli apparati, delle concetrazioni delle simbologie iconografiche presenti nella miriade più disparata di USM delle strutture architettoniche monastiche può portare in termini pressoché scientifici alla corretta individuazione dei significati profondi: di croci patenti o taumate, di calvari stilizzati, di fiori di lys, d'agnus Dei, di triplici cinte, di labirinti, di nodi di Salomone, di sator, di sirene bicaudate, di Baphomet. Apparati omogenei di Usm di decorazione lapidea di'carattere templare', presenti a s. Rabano, a s. Galgano, a s. Salvatore sul Monte Amiata, a sant'Antimo, nella pieve di Corsignani, a s. Pietro a Villore, a s. Giovanni d'Asso, nel duomo di Sovana, a santa Maria in Capita, nella pieve di Confini, a santa Maria Maggiore in Tuscania, nella badia Ardentesca di s. Lorenzo al Lanzo, in santa Maria di Montepiano, in santa Maria Assunta di s. Quirico, in s. Domenico di Trisulti, in s. Domenico di Sora, rivelano senz'altro che furono i Templari a manovrare e finanziare maestranze ad uso della propria e dell'altrui committenza, molte di queste avevano acquisito una grande esperienza soprattutto in Francia e talune furono predilette in modo speciale dai cavalieri del Tempio. Only an accurate investigation of the iconographic apparatuses of the symbols which are present in the myriad of Wall Stratigraphic Units (WSU) of monastic architectural structures, can lead to the correct meanings of patent c of the pantent and taumate crosses, stylized Calvaries, Fleur-de-lis, Agnus Dei, labyrinths, Solomon's Knots, Sator Squares, Baphomet, and so forth. Homogenous stone decorations of WSUs of'Templar character', present at the abbeys of San Galgano, Rabano, San Salvatore di Monte Amiata, s. Salvatore on Mount Amiata, San Domenico di Trisulti, and many other church buildings in Italy, undoubtedly reveal that the Templars were the ones who manoeuvred and financed workers for the use of their own and other patrons, many of them had acquired great experience especially in France and some of them were especially favoured by the Knights of the Temple.

This second book of the'Virtual Restoration'series stands as a natural, or philological, continuation of the previous volume'Virtual restoration 1. Paintings and Mosaics'published in 2017. In the first book, in fact, the general issue of virtual restoration applied to pictorial and mosaic surfaces was presented through 38 case studies that dealt with specific problems: from surveying to the representation of surfaces, from degradation mapping to color analysis, from lacunae treatment to virtual reconstruction, up to surface diagnostic analysis and stylistic restoration. This second volume, instead, is the result of a research conducted for several years within the rock-cut church of Lama d'Antico at Fasano (Puglia, Italy) and aims to illustrate all the applications used in the field of virtual pictorial restoration in a single context. This research has allowed not only to reconstruct the frescoes in a virtual environment, through the creation of the first part of the'Virtual Museum of Rock Churches'in the area of Fasano (known as'Lama D'Antico Experience'), but also to review the iconography of the same frescoes by providing, thanks to the possibilities offered today by the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), new interpretations for the study of medieval painting in Puglia.

No serious study of ancient Roman topography and its monuments is undertaken without consulting the work of Rodolfo Lanciani (1845-1929), the archaeologist and scholar of ancient Rome. His Forma Urbis Romae, a large map published in sections between 1893 and 1901, captures all that was then known of the existence of the built world in the city. His multi-volumed Storia degli Scavi (1902-1913) is a formidable reference work, filled with notices of archaeological finds made in Rome from c. 1000 to 1870. Beginning in c. 1871, Lanciani provided innumerable articles and notes for two primary journals published by the Italian state and Rome's municipal government, respectively, Notizie degli Scavi and Bulletino della Commissione archeologica comunale di Roma, on artifacts or buildings being freshly unearthed in Rome. In addition, he wrote English-language books and articles, using the recent discoveries to educate an Anglo-American audience about ancient Roman culture. Although his life has been fully examined by Domenico Palombi in 2006, a rigorous examination of Lanciani's formidable scholarly production has not yet been undertaken. This monograph will do this, positioning some of his fascinations, interpretations, and presentations of ancient Rome within a broad context of historical and cultural events in late 19th- / early 20th-century Rome. It scrutinizes Lanciani's published work with the following in mind: the subtle transformations in the practice of archaeology in Italy, the extreme destruction of ancient Rome during the construction of the modern capital, the variable oversight of the bureaucratic archaeological services in Rome, and the heated political discourse over the ownership and display of cultural patrimony in the new nation. In addition, it takes into account that Lanciani's publications significantly contributed and responded to the interests of a nexus of international scholars, archaeologists, collectors, and museum professionals, including those from the United States.

Sicily has been the fulcrum of the Mediterranean throughout history. The island's central geographical position and its status as ancient Rome's first overseas province make it key to understanding the development of the Roman Empire. Yet Sicily's crucial role in the empire has been largely overlooked by scholars of classical antiquity, apart from a small number of specialists in its archaeology and material culture. Urbanism and Empire in Roman Sicily offers the first comprehensive English-language overview of the history and archaeology of Roman Sicily since R. J. A. Wilson's Sicily under the Roman Empire (1990). Laura Pfuntner traces the development of cities and settlement networks in Sicily in order to understand the island's political, economic, social, and cultural role in Rome's evolving Mediterranean hegemony. She identifies and examines three main processes traceable in the archaeological record of settlement in Roman Sicily: urban disintegration, urban adaptation, and the development of alternatives to urban settlement. By expanding the scope of research on Roman Sicily beyond the bounds of the island itself, through comparative analysis of the settlement landscapes of Greece and southern Italy, and by utilizing exciting evidence from recent excavations and surveys, Pfuntner establishes a new empirical foundation for research on Roman Sicily and demonstrates the necessity of including Sicily in broader historical and archaeological studies of the Roman Empire.

A più di quarant'anni dalla pubblicazione degli Elogia Tarquinensia'con la ricostruzione dello straordinario complesso di testi epigrafici latini, scoperti in frammenti (e non riconosciuti) nel corso degli scavi condotti negli anni'30 nel grandioso tempio dell'Ara della Regina'al centro della città etrusca di Tarquinia, Mario Torelli ritorna su quei testi che hanno rivelato la sequenza genealogica di tre grandi generali tarquiniesi, appartenenti alla nobile famiglia degli Spurinas/Spurinnae, autori di eccezionali imprese militari contro Siracusa a fianco degli Ateniesi nel 415 a.C. e contro Roma nel 358-351 a.C. La rilettura dei Fasti del collegio del LX haruspices, che aveva lì stesso sede, e la recente scoperta della dedica di M. Tarquitius Priscus aruspice dell'imperatore Tiberio e famoso scrittore di testi di aruspicina, hanno reso possibile di riconoscere in Tinia-Giove la divinità titolare del culto e nella sede dei trionfi militari tarquiniesi la funzione del santuario, per moltissimi aspetti simile al Capitolium di Roma. Queste brillanti scoperte si affiancano alla nuova e affascinante rilettura del programma figurativo della Tomba dell'Orco, nella quale l'A. propone con buoni argomenti di riconoscere il sepolcro degli Spurinas. More than forty years after the publication of the Elogia Tarquinensia', a group of unique Latin inscriptions, discovered in fragments in the years 1937-1937 (but not recomposed) in the excavations of the colossal temple, built in the centre of the city of Tarquinia and traditionally called'Ara della Regina', Mario Torelli comes back to these exceptional texts, which revealed the genealogical sequence of three great generals of Tarquinia, belonging to the Spurinas/Spurinnae, the most illustrious local family of the 5th -4th century BCE, who accomplished ecceptional military deeds against Syracuse in 415 BCE and against Rome in 358-351 BCE. A new interpretation of the Fasti of the priestly college of the LX haruspices, that had in the same sanctuary its seat, and the recent discovery of a dedication of M. Tarquitius Priscus, haruspex of the emperor Tiberius and famous author of haruspical books, made possible to identify Tinia-Jupiter as the god of the temple and the sanctuary as the place for the celebration of the Tarquinian military triumphs, for many aspects similar to the Capitoline temple in Rome. These brilliant discoveries are concluded by a new, fascinating interpretation of the figural program of the Orco Tomb, which the Author suggests to have been the sepulchre of the Spurinas family.

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Il volume si compone di due sezioni: la prima, a firma di Luca Di Franco, Giancarlo Di Martino, Carmen D'Anna e Silvio La Paglia, analizza le principali collezioni private di antichità classiche che trovarono luogo sull'isola di Capri tra Ottocento e primo Novecento. La seconda sezione, a cura di Luca Di Franco, Giancarlo Di Martino, Paolo Cimadomo, Carmen D'Anna, Silvio La Paglia, Ludovica Matrullo e Francesca Mermati, è dedicata alla schedatura delle collezioni Cerio e Pagano, attualmente conservate presso il Centro Caprense Ignazio Cerio, e di ciò che rimane della collezione MacKowen presso la Casa Rossa di Anacapri. Il volume, dunque, guarda quello che è comunemente definito'mito di Capri'partendo dalla nuova prospettiva della cultura antiquaria, che sull'isola trova una propria dimensione e dinamiche del tutto peculiari. Luca Di Franco è dottore di ricerca presso l'Università di Napoli Federico II e funzionario archeologo del Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo, curatore della sezione romana del Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Taranto. I suoi interessi di ricerca vertono principalmente sulla scultura e l'architettura di epoca imperiale in Italia. In particolare ha approfondito gli studi riguardanti l'arredo scultoreo delle ville suburbane e i processi produttivi delle botteghe romane, attraverso pubblicazioni e convegni. È autore delle monografie: Capreensia disiecta membra. Augusto a Capri e la villa di Palazzo a Mare, Roma 2015; I rilievi'neoattici'della Campania: produzione e circolazione degli ornamenta marmorei a soggetto mitologico, Roma 2017 e Un museum ritrovato: la collezione settecentesca di antichità di Giovanni Carafa duca di Noja (con Silvio La Paglia), in corso di stampa a cura del Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Giancarlo Di Martino è specialista in archeologia classica. I suoi interessi di ricerca vertono soprattutto sulla ceramologia, di cui ha approfondito tematiche metodologiche, concentrandosi sull'ambito culturale ellenistico e romano in area sud-italica ed egea. È autore di articoli su tale argomento. Ha partecipato a campagne di scavo e catalogazione in Italia e in Turchia.

How remarkable changes in ancient Greek pottery reveal the transformation of classical Greek cultureWhy did soldiers stop fighting, athletes stop competing, and lovers stop having graphic sex in classical Greek art? The scenes depicted on Athenian pottery of the mid-fifth century BC are very different from those of the late sixth century. Did Greek potters have a different world to see—or did they come to see the world differently? In this lavishly illustrated and engagingly written book, Robin Osborne argues that these remarkable changes are the best evidence for the shifting nature of classical Greek culture.Osborne examines the thousands of surviving Athenian red-figure pots painted between 520 and 440 BC and describes the changing depictions of soldiers and athletes, drinking parties and religious occasions, sexual relations, and scenes of daily life. He shows that it was not changes in each activity that determined how the world was shown, but changes in values and aesthetics.By demonstrating that changes in artistic style involve choices about what aspects of the world we decide to represent as well as how to represent them, this book rewrites the history of Greek art. By showing that Greeks came to see the world differently over the span of less than a century, it reassesses the history of classical Greece and of Athenian democracy. And by questioning whether art reflects or produces social and political change, it provokes a fresh examination of the role of images in an ever-evolving world.

The seventh volume in the Institute of Classical Archaeology's series on the rural countryside (chora) of Metaponto is a study of the Greek sanctuary at Pantanello. The site is the first Greek rural sanctuary in southern Italy that has been fully excavated and exhaustively documented. Its evidence—a massive array of distinctive structural remains and 30,000-plus artifacts and ecofacts—offers unparalleled insights into the development of extra-urban cults in Magna Graecia from the seventh to the fourth centuries BC and the initiation rites that took place within the cults. Of particular interest are the analyses of the well-preserved botanical and faunal material, which present the fullest record yet of Greek rural sacrificial offerings, crops, and the natural environment of southern Italy and the Greek world. Excavations from 1974 to 2008 revealed three major phases of the sanctuary, ranging from the Archaic to Early Hellenistic periods. The structures include a natural spring as the earliest locus of the cult, an artificial stream (collecting basin) for the spring's outflow, Archaic and fourth-century BC structures for ritual dining and other cult activities, tantalizing evidence of a Late Archaic Doric temple atop the hill, and a farmhouse and tile factory that postdate the sanctuary's destruction. The extensive catalogs of material and special studies provide an invaluable opportunity to study the development of Greek material culture between the seventh and third centuries BC, with particular emphasis on votive pottery and figurative terracotta plaques.

The Maltese islands occupy a distinctive place in the knowledgescape of antiquarianism and archaeology. Exceptional prehistoric monuments and extraordinary remains from later periods - Phoenician, Punic, and Roman - have continued to lure researchers to this tiniest of Mediterranean archipelagos. This collection of twenty-four papers is presented to an outstanding scholar, Anthony Bonanno, by his colleagues, former students, and friends to celebrate his remarkable achievements in the study of ancient Malta. The papers reflect his broad range of interests over a career spanning fifty years that in many respects shaped the direction of archaeology on the islands. They bridge prehistoric and classical studies, and tackle diverse topics that place the archipelago in its Mediterranean context: antiquarianism, palaeo-ecology, contextual studies, art and architecture, artefact studies, technology, economy, and identity. An epilogue written by a number of friends is a reflection of the honorand's passion for travel, discovery and engagement with people from all walks of life.

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Il volume affronta lo studio delle fonti antiche che hanno testimoniato l'uso e l'importanza delle fontane'a sorpresa', piccole fontane da tavolo, o da collocarsi al centro di cortili, invenzioni di età ellenistica, capaci di suscitare meraviglia per l'ingegnosità di meccanismi nascosti che, tramite l'applicazione pratica di princìpi della fisica, permettono spettacolari giochi d'acqua. Attraverso l'analisi delle fonti, si è cercato di dimostrare quanto l'arte dell'ingegnere dell'antica Grecia, nell'impiegare il suo sapere tecnologico, abbia avuto un ruolo fondamentale nella evoluzione degli autòmata idraulici, dalla società ellenistica a quella rinascimentale, anche attraverso la mediazione dell'ingegneria araba, e sia stato imprescindibile per l'elaborazione di metodi e processi innovativi. Adriana de Miranda architetto e storica dell'arte, si è laureata in architettura presso il Politecnico di Milano e specializzata in storia dell'arte medievale e moderna presso l'Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano. Ha conseguito un PhD in arte ed architettura islamica presso la School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) di Londra. La sua ricerca è incentrata sulla storia dell'architettura del Mediterraneo e del paesaggio e sulle tipologie idrauliche di antica tradizione. Per l''Erma'di Bretschneider ha pubblicato Water Architecture in the lands of Syria: the Water-Wheels (2007) e L'hammam nell'Islam occidentale fra l'VIII e il XIV secolo (2010).

La serie è dedicata alla pubblicazione dei materiali e delle strutture scoperte in località Campo della Fiera di Orvieto, ove la moderna critica archeologica situa il Fanum Voltumnae, il santuario federale degli Etruschi. Il sito viene indagato ad iniziare dal 2000, prima in regime di concessione ministeriale all'Università di Macerata, poi all'Università di Perugia, ora all'Associazione Campo della Fiera - Onlus. Le indagini hanno rivelato una continuità di frequentazione a scopo cultuale, dal VI sec. a.C. al XIV secolo. Questo volume inaugura la serie Velzna. Lo scavo di Campo della Fiera dedicata al sito orvietano che campagne di scavo condotte a partire dal 2000 dalla studiosa Simonetta Stopponi hanno individuato quale sede del Fanum Voltumnae, il santuario federale dei popoli etruschi. I buccheri qui presentati, relativi agli anni di scavo 2000-2015, provengono in maggioranza dall'area dei cosiddetti templi A e C affacciati sulla Via Sacra del complesso: si tratta soprattutto di coppe, piattelli e kylikes che compongono un selezionato repertorio vascolare ad uso del locale pubblico di fedeli e addetti al culto. L'analisi diagnostica dei frammenti evidenzia una sostanziale continuità di produzione tra gruppi di impasti nei quali si articola, attraverso differenti gradi di depurazione della pasta e trattamento superficiale, la tradizionale distinzione cromatica tra bucchero nero, bucchero grigio e pasta grigia. Lo studio tipologico delle forme restituisce l'evoluzione della classe ceramica ad Orvieto tra la fine del VI e gli inizi del III secolo a.C., in parallelo con lo sviluppo del santuario. Ne emerge un processo di rarefazione formale che a sua volta esprime una selezione funzionale ed ideologica collegata alle diverse zone del santuario: una valenza dionisiaca e ctonia esprime il corredo pertinente al recinto sacro del tempio A, mentre una ritualità connessa ad un probabile culto matronale è quella documentata presso il tempio C. Significativo in proposito è il caso dei buccheri con segni graffiti, alcuni dei quali riferibili al campo del sacro, identificativi della divinità o del fedele che dedica l'oggetto nel santuario annullandone la circolazione.

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The present study examines the death of maidens in classical Athens, combining the study of Attic funerary iconography with research on classical Attic maiden burials, funerary inscriptions, tragic plays, as well as the relevant Attic myths. The iconography of funerary reliefs focuses on the idealized image of the deceased maiden, as well as the powerful bonds of love and kinship that unite her with the members of her family, whereas the iconography of vases emphasizes the premature death of the maiden, the pain of loss and mourning felt by her family, as well as the observance of the indispensable funerary rites concerning her burial and ‘tomb cult'. Particularly interesting is the fact that the ‘traditional'theory according to which the loutrophoros marked the graves of the unmarried dead alone has been proven non valid. The study of classical Attic maiden burials indicates that the prematurely dead maidens were buried as children who didn't live long enough to reach adulthood. The untimely death of maidens in Attic drama and mythology is beneficial to the family or the city. In great contrast to that, the premature death of real - life Athenian maidens was a terrible disaster for the girls'families, as well as the polis itself. Despite this, the iconography of dead maidens in classical Athens is in accordance with the ‘image'of the deceased maidens presented by funerary epigrams, tragedy, and mythology. It has to be noted though, that the same is not true in the case of maiden burials. This Access Archaeology publication presents a special edition of Katia Margariti's doctoral thesis entitled The Death of the Maiden in Classical Athens. The original thesis was submitted to the Department of History, Archaeology, and Social Anthropology (IAKA) of the University of Thessaly in Volos in 2010. Here the original thesis is augmented by an extensive 63 page summary in English accompanied by the original Greek text, catalogue and illustrations. The thesis contains much valuable analysis and catalogue material and this publication has been produced in order that the work should not be overlooked merely for reasons of language.

Twenty-four experts from the fields of Ancient History, Semitic philology, Assyriology, Classical Archaeology, and Classical Philology come together in this volume to explore the role of textiles in ancient religion in Greece, Italy, The Levant and the Near East. Recent scholarship has illustrated how textiles played a large and very important role in the ancient Mediterranean sanctuaries. In Greece, the so-called temple inventories testify to the use of textiles as votive offerings, in particular to female divinities. Furthermore, in several cults, textiles were used to dress the images of different deities. Textiles played an important role in the dress of priests and priestesses, who often wore specific garments designated by particular colours. Clothing regulations in order to enter or participate in certain rituals from several Greek sanctuaries also testify to the importance of dress of ordinary visitors. Textiles were used for the furnishings of the temples, for example in the form of curtains, draperies, wall-hangings, sun-shields, and carpets. This illustrates how the sanctuaries were potential major consumers of textiles; nevertheless, this particular topic has so far not received much attention in modern scholarship. Furthermore, our knowledge of where the textiles consumed in the sanctuaries came from, where they were produced, and by who is extremely limited. Textiles and Cult in the Ancient Mediterranean examines the topics of textile production in sanctuaries, the use of textiles as votive offerings and ritual dress using epigraphy, literary sources, iconography and the archaeological material itself.

This book presents the study of pottery in two medieval contexts, Pisa (a city) and San Genesio (a central rural settlement in the Arno Valley). The research focusses on specific issues observed in the two contexts, like characters of production (type of workshops, technological characteristics and characterization of ceramic bodies), specialization of pottery and circulation of the products; characters of consumption (similarities and differences in the composition of the pottery equipment and their modification); the role of social-economic indicator of some pottery classes to verify how much and when imported products from the Mediterranean were considered luxury items, if some types of local or regional pottery could have the same role, if the consumer wealth could be reflected in the specialization of ceramic forms used on the table and in the kitchen, if the desire to emulate aristocracy could be read even in the use of particular forms or pottery equipment; movement to understand in what way (whether by land or water), by what means and by what logic (market, pay census, barter) the pottery would move. The data from this research helps define a picture of relations between town and countryside in the Arno Valley between Xth and XIVth century.

Esta obra constituye el resultado final de una larga investigación que ha formado parte del proyecto'Tusculum'dirigido durante años por la Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología en Roma (CSIC). En sus páginas se han reunido todas las piezas escultóricas que una vez pertenecieron al área del'ager'tusculano. La primera parte del libro presenta la historia general de los principales hallazgos escultóricos y el recorrido de las piezas por el mundo del coleccionismo; asimismo, en este apartado se analizan los contextos arqueológicos e históricos a los que pertenecieron las piezas originalmente, lo que ha permitido una reflexión sobre la sociedad e ideología del Tuslulano antiguo. La segunda parte del libro constituye el catálogo, compuesto por más de trescientas piezas. Se analizan, en esta parte, los problemas específicos de cada una de las piezas, tanto los de carácter historiográfico, como los derivados de su análisis iconográfico y formal.

Ancient Greek migrants in Sicily produced societies and economies that both paralleled and differed from their homeland. Explanations for these similarities and differences have been hotly debated. On the one hand, some scholars have viewed the ancient Greeks as one in a long line of migrants who were shaped by Sicily and its inhabitants. On the other hand, other scholars have argued that the Greeks acted as the main source of innovation and achievement in the culture of ancient Sicily, a culture that was still removed from that of mainland Greece. Neither of these positions is completely satisfactory. What is lacking in this debate is a basic framework for understanding ancient Sicily's social and economic history. Archaic and Classical Greek Sicily represents the first ever systematic and comprehensive attempt to synthesize the historical and archaeological evidence, and to deploy it to test the various historical models proposed over the past two centuries. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach that combines classical and prehistoric studies, texts and material culture, and a variety of methods and theories to put the history of Greek Sicily on a completely new footing. While Sicily and Greece had conjoined histories from the start, their relationship was not one of periphery and center or of colony and state in any sense, but of an interdependent and mutually enriching diaspora. At the same time, local conditions and peoples, including Phoenician migrants, also shaped the evolution of Sicilian Greek societies and economies. This book reveals and explains the similarities and differences between developments in Greek Sicily and the mainland, and brings greater clarity to the parts played by locals and immigrants in ancient Sicily's impressive achievements.

Il presente volume è compreso in una serie di attività scientifiche conclusive che rientrano in una delle principali e fondamentali azioni previste dal progetto T.He.T.A (Technological tools for the promotion of the Transadriatic Archaeological Heritage), finanziato nell'ambito dell'European Territorial Cooperation Programme Greece-Italy 2007-2013, del quale il CNR-IAC è il Leader Partner. La scelta di un tema talmente affascinante, quale il lusso delle aristocrazie peucezie, nasce dalla volontà di approfondire questo importante aspetto delle genti indigene che hanno occupato la Puglia centrale per quasi un millennio, indagando alcuni fenomeni sociologici e culturali legati alle manifestazioni del'lusso'e della ricchezza. Per questo motivo, sono stati spesso presi in considerazione alcuni tra i contesti più significativi provenienti dai centri più importanti dell'area, cercando di metterne in risalto gli elementi e gli'atteggiamenti'comuni nell'uso e nel possesso dei beni di lusso e di prestigio, con particolare riguardo ai manufatti greci, e i rapporti con l'opposta sponda adriatica e con le isole greche dello Ionio (Corfù tra tutte). Infine, nell'analisi della documentazione funeraria, una particolare attenzione è stata prestata alle informazioni inerenti l'identità sociale dei proprietari delle tombe e ai diversi rituali funerari di cui questi individui sono stati oggetto. Andrea Celestino Montanaro (1970), si è laureato in Lettere Classiche nel 1996 presso l'Università degli Studi di Bari, dove nel 2000 ha ottenuto anche la Specializzazione in Archeologia Classica. Nel 2007 ha conseguito il titolo di Dottore di Ricerca in Scienze Archeologiche presso l'Università degli Studi di Napoli'Federico II', mentre negli anni 2011-2012 ha usufruito di una borsa di ricerca Post-Dottorato, presso l'Università degli Studi di Bari. Attualmente è ricercatore in Archeologia Classica presso il Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IAC-Bari) dove svolge attività di coordinamento e ricerca nell'ambito di progetti europei e nazionali. Fra i suoi studi si ricordano alcuni saggi e articoli preliminari sulle necropoli di Ruvo di Puglia (2004-2009), quali Gli ori di Ruvo di Puglia tra Greci ed Etruschi (Bari 2006) e soprattutto Ruvo di Puglia e il suo territorio. Le necropoli, opera vincitrice della XIII edizione del premio L'Erma per l'archeologia (Roma 2007). Tra le monografie, si menzionano, inoltre, anche Una principessa daunia del VII secolo a.C. La tomba principesca di Cupola-Beccarini (Foggia 2010) e Ambre figurate. Amuleti e ornamenti dalla Puglia preromana (Roma 2012), oltre a numerosi articoli su materiali e corredi funerari della Puglia preromana che mostrano uno stretto rapporto con l'area tirrenica etrusca.

What could be more evident than the concepts of oblique, horizontal or vertical? In the modern world, these concepts form the basis of our thought system, both from a mathematical and artistic point of view. Everything would suggest that these principles were known to the Greek civilization. However, the study of the surviving texts casts a different light on the matter. Homer did not know the concept of oblique - no word could translate it into the language of his time. Even later, the Greeks had five adjectives approximately meaning oblique: λοξός, πλάγιος, λέχριος, σκολιός and δόχμιος. Each discipline (cosmology, optic, geography, art, etc.) had its own way of looking at these five words. Paradoxically, what the written language had not yet synthesized was abundant in imagery. Even more surprising, the oblique in images, which we consider as a sign of movement in our own iconographic language, is found to signify both movement and rest. Two monuments of Greek art draw attention to this new paradox: the frieze of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and the Mourning Athena. In each of them, the oblique line is present, and carries two distinct meanings. These two forms of language, written and figurative, bring a different and complementary perspective on the ancient Greeks'apprehension (or lack thereof) of the concept of oblique.

This book is about a single Minoan seal shape, the cushion seal - a rectangular stone with biconvex faces -- so called because its profile resembles a cushion. This shape is specific to Minoan culture. The first securely-dated cushions appear in Middle Minoan IIB but its floruit is Middle Minoan III-Late Minoan IA, after which it essentially dies out. While, in its early days, the materials, style, and motifs were similar to those of other seal shapes, it later developed a recognizable, perhaps semi-independent style and iconography of its own. Some of the finest examples of Minoan glyptic art appear on cushions. Who crafted them? Had they any special meaning? Why did the shape so abruptly disppear? This book is the first to examine all aspects of cushion seals and to compare them with other contemporary forms of glyptic art. It aims to cast new light on style and form at the transition from the Protopalatial to early Neopalatial period on Crete. Giulia Dioniso, MA in Archaeology, holds a degree in Conservation and Restoration from the Institute of Art and Restoration'Palazzo Spinelli', and is presently studying for her PhD in the Science and Technology of Cultural Heritage at the University of Florence. She is a member of the Italian Archaeological Mission of Erimi- Laonin tou Porakou (Cyprus) and in charge of the Restoration Laboratory. Anna Margherita Jasink is Professor of Aegean Civilizations at the University of Florence. Her research interests are focussed on historical and philological problems of the Aegean and Near Eastern worlds. Her many publications include Cilicia, Dall'età di Kizzuwatna alla conquista macedone (with Paolo Desideri), Gli stati neo.ittiti, Analisi delle fonti scritte e sintesi storica, and Cretan Hieroglyphic Seals: a new classification of symbols and ornamental|filling motifs. She is chief editor of the Periploi series of Aegean and Cypriot studies, and directs two web portals: an interactive museum on Italian Aegean and Cypriot collections (musint.sns.it) and the Aegean Laboratory (dbas.sciant.unifi.it). Judith Weingarten, M. Litt. (Oxford), is author of numerous articles and monographs on Minoan-Mycenaean glyptic art, its implications for social, economic, and political relationships, and cultural interactions between the Aegean and East Mediterranean and Egypt. Books include The Zakro Master and His Place in Prehistory, and The Transformation of Egyptian Taweret into the Minoan Genius. Her non-archaeological passion is Palmyra and the Roman East (Zenobia: The Rebel Queen, and Sign of Taurus). She blogs at Zenobia: Empress of the East, and regularly reviews for the Times Higher Education.

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Il volume è diviso in tre sezioni che rispecchiano lo svolgimento della giornata di studi tenutasi nel 2010 a Varese in occasione della presentazione del volume'Alle origini di Varese e del suo territorio'. Nella prima sezione sono comprese le introduzioni che tracciano un quadro generale delle problematiche archeologiche affrontate nel volume, mentre la seconda sezione, dedicata ai progetti archeologici in corso delinea l'attività coordinata degli enti che, a vario titolo, esercitano sul territorio la loro competenza nel campo della tutela, della valorizzazione e della gestione dei beni culturali. La terza sezione ospita un cospicuo numero di interventi che affrontano problematiche generali storico-archeologiche legate ai rapporti tra le varie popolazioni di epoca pre-protostorica sui due versanti delle Alpi, alla diffusione della scrittura leponzia e al suo riconoscimento come mezzo primario di comunicazione, fino all'organizzazione territoriale durante l'epoca romana. Una serie di interventi è mirata alla presentazione dei risultati di indagini più o meno recenti eseguite su contesti inediti di abitato e di necropoli dell'età del Bronzo e del Ferro fino alla romanizzazione delineando un quadro ricco e articolato di un compresorio particolarmente importante per la fase pre-protostorica quale quello della Lombardia occidentale. Il volume è accompagnato da un ricco apparato iconografico completo di planimetrie e illustrazioni di reperti che forniscono un valido supporto nella comprensione dei fenomeni culturali affrontati nei diversi saggi. Barbara Grassi, etruscologa, ha pubblicato studi e ricerche sulla Campania preromana e su contesti abruzzesi, con particolare riferimento alla produzione vascolare bronzea. Funzionario del Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, lavora presso la Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Lombardia, dove è incaricata della tutela della Provincia di Varese e dirige il laboratorio di restauro nonché studio dei il Centro del Trattamento del Legno Bagnato. Attualmente si occupa dello contesti pre-protostorici della Cultura di Golasecca e delle problematiche legate al restauro e alla musealizzazione delle piroghe monossili. Maddalena Pizzo Dottore di ricerca e specialista in archeologia del mondo greco occidentale, è stata funzionario coordinatore del Sistema Museale Archeologico (SiMArch) della Provincia di Varese. Autrice e curatrice di monografie e articoli a carattere scientifico, ha un'esperienza pluriennale nell'organizzazione e nello svolgimento di attività di studio e ricerca, nella progettazione e direzione di scavi ed interventi sui beni culturali, nel restauro del patrimonio e nella cura delle collezioni museali. Particolarmente significativi in quest'ultimo settore gli approfondimenti in materia di sviluppo di modalità attuative e di strategie per la corretta applicazione delle disposizioni normative, di promozione, programmazione e gestione di servizi culturali e di messa in rete dei musei.

In the latter part of the fifth century BC, regional red-figure productions were established outside Attica in regional Greece and in the western Mediterranean, propelled by the impact of the art of Attic vase painting. This collection of papers addresses key issues posed by these production centres. Why did they emerge? To what degree was their inception prompted by the emigration of Attic craftsmen in the context of the weakened Attic pottery market at the onset of the Peloponnesian War? How did Attic vase painting influence already existing traditions, and what was selected, adopted or adapted at the receiving end? Who was using red-figure in mainland Greece and Italy, and what were its particular functions in the local cultures? These and more questions are addressed here with the presentation not only of syntheses, but also primary publication of much newly discovered material. Regional production centres covered include those of Euboea, Boeotia, Corinth, Laconia, Macedonia, Ambracia, Lucania, Apulia, Sicily, Locri and Etruria.

Che cosa significa dedicare un volume a un elemento come l'oro, cioè a un metallo, nelle sue valenze culturali e simboliche e scegliere, come campo d'indagine, anziché un contesto circoscritto, un ambito ampio, interculturale, come il mondo antico mediterraneo? Si tratta di una questione di metodo non banale, che può essere affrontata su diversi piani, ma in modo particolarmente appropriato dal punto di vista della storia delle religioni, come dimostrano il carattere e l'impianto ad ampio raggio di questo libro. Non è un caso che l'idea sia nata dall'osservazione di oggetti aurei particolari, le lamine d'oro orfiche, trovate in tombe della Grecia e della Magna Grecia, e dalla constatazione che, in questi reperti, l'oro,'segno'materiale di prestigio, faccia da supporto ai grammata,'segni'immateriali, formule salvifiche incise sull'oggetto. La forza simbolica dell'oro, documentata dai testi, dai ritrovamenti archeologici e dall'iconografia, oscilla tra mondo degli dèi e mondo degli uomini. L'oro assume valenze ora positive ora negative a seconda delle epoche e dei diversi e molteplici ambiti d'uso. S'adatta, con codice diverso, a figure maschili e femminili, dèi e dee, sovrani e regine. Il possesso e l'esibizione di oro e di oggetti preziosi è, ancor oggi, espressione di uno status symbol a livello individuale e collettivo. Nel mito, come nella realtà, l'oro ha sempre un carattere di eccezionalità, ai limiti tra la conoscenza e l'immaginazione, tale da renderlo, per usare un'espressione di Claude Lévi-Strauss, bon à penser. Marisa Tortorelli Ghidini ha insegnato Religioni del mondo classico e Storia delle Religioni nell'Università di Napoli Federico II. La sua attività di ricerca si è rivolta soprattutto, nellàmbito delle religioni del mondo classico, ad argomenti di ampio interesse (utopia, pitagorismo, figure del femminile nella Grecia antica). Negli ultimi anni i suoi studi si sono concentrati sui testi orfici e sulle problematiche dell'orfismo. Tra i suoi lavori più recenti si segnalano: Figli della Terra e del Cielo stellato. Testi orfici con traduzione e commento (D'Auria, 2006); Religiosità e culti misterici. Le lamine d'oro orfiche, in Atene e l'Occidente. I grandi temi (Scuola archeologica italiana d'Atene, 2007); Sìmbolos y simbolismo en las làminas de oro òrficas, in Orfeo y la tradiciòn orfica: un reencuentro (Akal, 2008); Dionysos versus Orpheus?, in Redefining Dionysos (De Gruyter, 2013). Dirige la collana'Religioni e Storia'(D'Auria editore, Napoli).

After thirty seasons of field work on the Palatine Hill, the author felt it was time to put the results in book form. It is an archaeological, architectural, geological, and historical study of the development of the Palatine from Prehistoric Times to 476 C.E. An Epilogue covers events to 2007. The Palatine is important due to the fact that this is where the City of Rome had its beginnings. It was also the seat of the Imperial Government from 27 B.C.E. until 330 C.E. Even after Constantine had shifted the capital to Byzantium, it retained its mystical importance. Chapter One deals with previous work on the Palatine. The Second Chapter shows the geological evolution of the hill. Chapters Three through Seven deals with construction on the hill. The Epilogue briefly deals with excavations in the 21st Century. A Bibliography is attached at the end. Short Vita C. Wade Meade served in the Korean War with the First Marine Division. He received his PhD from The University of Texas at Austin and then taught Roman Archaeology and Roman History at Louisiana Tech University. While there Meade participated in the Tech-Rome Program from 1970 through 2000. After thirty-nine years he retired from Tech and moved to Tyler, TX, where he taught for four and one-half years at UT Tyler.

Persiste oggi la diffusa convinzione delle origini cinesi del circo moderno e contemporaneo, evidentemente dovuta alla sommaria circolazione delle conoscenze sulle antiche fonti materiali e scritte relative al numero, alla varietà e al valore delle performances prima orientali, egizie e cretesi, poi greche e romane, documentabili a riguardo del percorso seguito nel tempo dalla pratica circense e dal cosiddetto spettacolo di piazza o di strada. In questo libro è stata riversata - operando una selezione funzionale allo scopo perseguito dall'autore - la documentazione soprattutto iconografica, ma anche letteraria ed epigrafica, inerente a danzatori acrobatici, equilibristi e giocolieri, burattinai, trampolisti e funamboli, prestigiatori e fachiri, domatori e addestratori di animali, incantatori di serpenti, che si esibirono, tra pubblico e privato, nel contesto delle antiche civiltà semitica e ittita, egizia e degli Hyksos, cretese ed ellenica, etrusca, magnogreca e siceliota, romana. Tale documentazione - accresciutasi in maniera sensibile sul piano archeologico e figurativo da quando Waldemar Deonna pubblicò il suo celebre Symbolisme de l'acrobatie antique (1953) - è da considerarsi imprescindibile per ogni tentativo volto a tracciare verosimili ricostruzioni di un fenomeno tanto esteso e articolato come quello delle antiche performances spettacolari che non rientravano nei rigidi confini dell'attività drammatica. Essa si presenta, inoltre e soprattutto, di straordinaria portata per una più attenta riflessione sul rilevante contributo che la società greca e romana offrì - come in rapporto al teatro - agli sviluppi di tali pratiche nelle epoche ad essa successive, fino ai nostri giorni. Luigi Todisco è Professore Ordinario di Archeologia Classica e insegna Archeologia e storia dell'arte greca e romana nell'Università di Bari. Con l'Erma'di Bretschneider ha pubblicato Il Pittore di Arpi, Mito e società nella Daunia del tardo IV secolo a. C. (2008) e, insieme a Margherita Catucci, il fascicolo 73 del Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum Italia, Matera, Museo Nazionale Domenico Ridola. Collezione Rizzon, I, (2007). Ha curato, inoltre, il lavoro monumentale su La ceramica a figure rosse della Magna Grecia e della Sicilia, I-III (2012).

The series: Topoi. Berlin Studies of the Ancient World brings together contributions from all fields of classical studies, from pre- and early history and classical archeology to ancient philosophy, theory of science and theology. Monographs and volumes which present the research results of the Excellence Cluster Topoi form a major focus of the series. Additional topics are currently being planned. The Excellence Cluster Topoi examines the formation and transformation of space and knowledge in ancient civilizations. Topoi is the joint responsibility of the Freie Universität Berlin and the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Partner institutions are the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the German Archeological Institute, the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. Furthermore Topoi is interlinked with several university institutes as well as other institutions. For further information see www.topoi.org. Selected titles from the series Topoi. Berlin Studies of the Ancient World will be freely accessible in digital form on the Internet at the date of print publication. The series regards itself as a pilot project on how to combine open access with the support of professional publishers in the publication of current research. See press release June 23rd, 2009.

In the past 30 years archaeological field survey has become central to the practice of Classical Archaeology. During this time, approaches have developed from the systematic collection of artefacts to include the routine deployment of various geophysical and remote sensing techniques. The ability of archaeologists to reveal the topography of buried urban sites without excavation has now been demonstrated through a wide range of projects across the ancient world. Archaeological Survey and the City reviews the results of such projects and in particular discusses the ways in which the subject might develop in the future, with an emphasis on the integration of different strands of evidence and issues of archaeological interpretation rather than on the technicalities of particular methodologies. Several themes emerge from the fourteen papers. The first is the increasing number of large-area surveys providing data at a sufficient scale to make a significant contribution to our understanding of classical cities both in the Mediterranean and beyond (eg Baelo Claudia, Caistor-by-Norwich, Xanten, Ammaia). The second theme is the generation of new types of data through the application of specific techniques to address particular questions pertaining to urban life, for instance in identifying particular industrial processes such as metal-working (eg Munigua, Wroxeter) or the increasing success in isolating cemeteries (eg Silchester). The techniques involved in identifying these phenomena complement the use of geochemical survey to characterise particular soil properties related to animal husbandry, cultivation or the creation of domestic waste deposits (eg Faleri Veteres), an area which has considerable future potential. A third theme lies in the application and integration of multiple techniques to provide new dimensions to the information available. The data from a number of survey projects have demonstrated that a single survey technique will rarely, if ever, reveal all of the potential information so there is a significant benefit to be derived from applying multiple survey-strategies to the questions being asked of a site. These themes emphasise the dynamism of research in this area, which continues to revolutionise the study of ancient cities.

What happened when Athenian pottery reached other cultural contexts and was absorbed into indigenous communities around or outside Greece? How did the various contexts influence the adaption of Athenian iconography and does the setting add to an understanding of how Athenian iconographic themes were altered or absorbes as they entered into new cultural contexts? To highlight these interpretative challenges the National Museum of Denmark in 2009 stages the colloquium'Red-figure Pottery in its Ancient Setting'and invited a group of specialists to present cases from within their areas of research which would serve to enhance our understanding of the great range of the character and value of red-figure pottery and its imagery whether in local Greek, a colonial Greek, en Etruscan or any other indigenous community. The various cases presented in these proceedings of the colloquium clearly demonstrate that this approach to the study of Greek pottery and its imagery has much to offer.

In this study Dr Smith investigates the use of political personifications in the visual arts of Athens in the Classical period (480-323 BCE). Whether on objects that served primarily private roles (e.g. decorated vases) or public roles (e.g. cult statues and document stelai), these personifications represented aspects of the state of Athens—its people, government, and events—as well as the virtues (e.g. Nemesis, Peitho or Persuasion, and Eirene or Peace) that underpinned it. Athenians used the same figural language to represent other places and their peoples. This is the only study that uses personifications as a lens through which to view the intellectual and political climate of Athens in the Classical period.

Recent archaeological work has shown that South Italy was densely occupied at least from the Late Bronze Age, with a marked process of the development of proto-urban centres, accompanied by important technological transformations. The archaeological exploration of indigenous South Italy is a relatively recent phenomenon, thanks to the bias towards the study of Greek colonies. Therefore an assessment of processes taking place in Italic Iron Age communities is well overdue. Communicating Identity explores the many and much varied identities of the Italic peoples of the Iron Age, and how specific objects, places and ideas might have been involved in generating, mediating and communicating these identities. The term identity here covers both the personal identities of the individuals as well and the identities of groups on various levels (political, social, gender, ethnic or religious). A wide range of evidence is discussed including funerary iconography, grave offerings, pottery, vase-painting, coins, spindles and distaffs and the excavation of settlements. The methodologies used here have wider implications. The situation in the northern Black Sea region in particular has often been compared to that of southern Italy and several of the contributions compare and contrast the archaeological evidence of the two regions.

Grazie ad un corpus di documenti inediti dell'IsIAO che qui si recensisce e presenta per la prima volta come Documentazione della Regia Soprintendenza (DRS), di straordinario interesse storico prima che archeologico o del restauro, il testo offre una nuova visione d'assieme delle opere di conservazione alle vestigia classiche in Libia, compiute dagli italiani per oltre trent'anni, dalla prima missione di Federico Halbherr del 1910 sino alla direzione di Giacomo Caputo nel 1943. La collocazione di questi scavi e restauri, rispetto alle moderne ottiche teoretiche del restauro architettonico, è ancora tutta da analizzare ed un primo campione di esse viene qui riletto in via preliminare attraverso una riespressione-attualizzazione dei temi. Se le opere suddette sono il frutto di un indirizzo scientifico e di un intervento politico, come è stato detto, nessuno poteva esserne meglio al corrente di Rodolfo Micacchi, capo dell'Ufficio Scuole e Servizi Archeologici, l'estensore della DRS, in un periodo in cui, scavo e restauro andavano di pari passo e parlare di restauro archeologico voleva dire trattare di archeologia. In tale caso, la documentazione dei risultati ottenuti e delle fasi del lavoro, dell'una e dell'altra disciplina, dovrebbe recare traccia di ogni lavoro eseguito di scavo e restauro. Quanto resta della documentazione alle immagini dei restauri italiani in Libia e quanto alle parole ed alle testimonianze scritte? L'integrazione delle informazioni mancanti nella documentazione dei restauri si è operata, nel presente lavoro, grazie alle numerose immagini fotografiche che la DRS offre, in gran parte inedite.

Quest'ultima opera di Francesca R. Serra Ridgway (1936-2008), curata da Lisa C. Pieraccini, é dedicata alla classe dell'impasto stampigliato ceretano. L'interesse della compianta autrice per questa categoria, un tempo ritenuta poco pregiata in quanto realizzata in materiale modesto, nacque oltre quarant'anni fa all'Universitá'La Sapienza'di Roma sotto la guida di Massimo Pallottino. Insieme con quella della Pieraccini sui bracieri (Around the Hearth: Caeretan cylinder-stamped braziers), pubblicata da L'Erma nel 2003, questa monografia sui pithoi integra e completa lo studio sull'impasto stampigliato ceretano. Questo studio offre all'attenzione degli studiosi un'importante e originale classe di prodotti arcaici (c.625 a c.520/510 a.C.) tipicamente ed esclusivamente ceretani, e la possibilità di apprezzare l'eccezionale grado di originalità degli artigiani etruschi. Si tratta di un autentico passo avanti nello studio della materia, che presenta nuovi e inaspettati argomenti degni di ulteriore indagine da parte degli etruscologi. Studiosi e amanti del settore troveranno finalmente il piacere e la soddisfazione di scoprire i nuovi filoni di studio che emergono.

The volume is the first in nearly a decade to focus a wide range of scholarship on one of the most compelling periods in the antiquity of the Mediterranean and Near East. It presents new interpretive approaches to the problems of the Bronze Age to Iron Age transformation, as well as re-assessments of a wide range of high profile sites and evidence ranging from the Ugaritic archives, Hazor, the Medinet Habu reliefs, Tiryns and Troy. Implications for a changing climate are also explored in the volume. The end of the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean and Near East is a huge challenge requiring a diverse, global, flexible and open minded strategy for its interpretation - it is too vast and complex for any one scholar or interpretive approach. The scope of this volume is great, but not overwhelming, as the papers are organized coherently into themes considering climate, exchange and interregional dynamics, iconography and perception, the built environment - cemeteries, citadels, and landscapes, and social implications for the production and consumption of pottery. Thus, Forces of Transformation is broad enough to address many of the major concerns of the end of the Bronze Age, and also to encapsulate the current position of scholarship as it relates to this problem.

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