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Evidence of gold processing in the fortified site of Bruszczewo (Poland) is the first testimony of the production of gold artefacts in a domestic Early Bronze Age site of Central Europe. This paper highlights the potential of macrolithic tool ensembles as a key element for the recognition of metallurgical work processes. Moreover, it presents an optimised methodological approach to tackle the application of stone tools in metallurgical production, based on technological characterisation, use-wear analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Finally, the absence of gold sources in Central Europe raises the question about the origin of the metal, constituting an especially striking issue, as gold was a raw material of restricted access. As Bruszczewo was one of the few enclosed Early Bronze Age sites north of the Central European Mountain Range, the patterning of metal processing (including gold) sheds light on the mode of the production of metal artefacts, apparently restricted to central sites of power, which controlled the communication trails. 47 Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

International audience; Abstract. The Tavush Archaeological Project (TAP) was carried out in 2018 and 2019 in the province of Tavush (Northeastern Armenia) by an interdisciplinary Armenian-French team. The goals are to draw the archaeological map of this largely unknown region, to trace the changes in settlement patterns, with special attention to the periods from the Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age and to acquire a better understanding of the landscape of Tavush. This landscape is dominated by dense forest and mountainous topography, which make it especially challenging to survey. We were compelled to develop an ad hoc field methodology, which was based on survey protocols from classic archaeology, which had to be adapted to the specific environmental conditions of the area. Therefore, our project used a hybrid survey method, combining an extensive systematic survey across the region – through examination and study of satellite imagery and topographic maps – with an intensive survey of selected areas in the field. During these first two seasons, we identified 34 “places”, among them 20 sites (places in which both architecture and surface material are found), mainly situated around the Aghstev river, but also in the south-west part of the province, next to the modern villages of Haghartsin and Teghut.

Статья посвящена изучению материалов архива выдающегося археолога М.Е. Фосс, которые имеют как научный, так и личный характер. Эти материалы дают нам представление о личности М.Е. Фосс. Главные ее качества – трудолюбие и организованность, помноженные на умение терпеть и преодолевать трудности, не предаваясь унынию. Они отчетливо прослеживаются по полевым записям, например, касающимся поездке на Летний берег Белого моря с коллегами холодным летом 1926 г., с морозами, северными ветрами, мошкой, дикими зверями и без оружия. Некоторые записи и рисунки, сохранившиеся в архиве, указывают на прекрасное чувство юмора М.Е. Фосс. В переписке с коллегами, местными краеведами и музейщиками она не делала различий, демонстрируя готовность оказать помощь и поддержку, дать добрый совет, будь то зеленый студент или маститый ученый. Она всегда старалась быть в стороне от советской идеологии, как в научной работе, так и в жизни, и всем сердцем любила природу, что очень сильно проявляется в ее лирических заметках, сделанных в ходе многочисленных экспедиций., The archive materials of the notable archaeologist, which have both scientific and private character, give us a possibility to reveal the traits of M.E. Foss’s personality. Her main features were diligence and self-control, multiplied by the ability to overcome difficulties with optimism. We can follow these dignities by her field notes, for example during the extremely difficult search trip to the White Sea shore in 1926 with her colleagues, during the cold northern summer, surrounded by wild animals, without guns. Some notes and drawings witness her perfect sense of humor. Exchanging letters with colleagues, local historians and museum employees, she frequently demonstrated the ability to give kind advice and friendly support, paying no attention to person’s position whether it was a student or an honored academician. She usually tried to stay away from the Soviet ideology restrictions both in her behavior and studies, and loved nature with all her heart, which is evident from her lyric fieldwork footnotes.

Whilst gold is the metal that is most commonly associated with Mycenae -mostly because of Homer's reference to that city, but also because of the fabulous death masks that were uncovered by Schliemann in the shaft graves of Grave circle A, relatively little is known about the role and appreciation of silver in the Mycenaean world. Silver artefacts have been found only sporadically at Mycenaean sites, suggesting that the metal was rare, yet there is good evidence that the Mycenaeans were already mining silver in the Laurion, south of Athens. This article will try to explain this apparent dichotomy, by exploring the role and importance of silver in the Mycenaean world.

This paper explores the relationship between mundane domestic and more formal meals in recent rural Greece, as a prelude to a diachronic examination of the range of commensal behavior through the Neolithic and Bronze Age of the same region. Analysis of recent practices highlights the role of a hierarchy of low- to high-value foods. While Neolithic commensality beyond the household emphasizes equality and collective cohesion, formal commensality takes a strikingly and increasingly diacritical form through the Bronze Age. It is argued that Bronze Age diacritical commensality was part of a broader strategy of elite ‘choreography’ of social life. A hierarchy of foods, which linked diacritical behavior, labor mobilization and risk buffering, may have played a critical role in driving this trajectory of change.

This paper addresses the stimulus and process(es) of cultural change on the Cycladic island of Melos in the Aegean sea, which sees successive phases of foreign influence and particularly intense Mycenaean interaction during the Late Bronze Age.1 First, the previous arguments are discussed and reviewed, before the use of interpretative models is rejected. It is argued that interpretative models ascribe uniform behaviour across varying cultures and periods, which does not consider the historical and regional contexts of culture change. Secondly, it is argued that a more contextual approach is required, which asserts the prominent role of Minoan Crete in the transformation of society at Phylakopi. Thirdly, the validity of the process of“Mycenaeanisation” is challenged and it is posited that there was significant negotiation with Mycenaean influence at Phylakopi, as well as a host of other localities in the Aegean.

The Author describes a megalthic artifact andrelations with neighboring structures of archaeological andarchaeoastronomical interest. Hypotheses on functional destination of the findings are treated.

The Bronze Age is the period of emergence of palatial civilizations in the eastern Mediterranean and especially in Crete, at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. This development led to the rise of luxury craftsmanship, including the production of stone vessels. The Bronze Age is also characterised by the development of contacts and exchanges between the different regions of the eastern Mediterranean.In order to identify the techniques employed by the ancient craftsmen, we developed a multidisciplinary method of analysis, combining data from archaeology, ethnography, tribology and experimental archaeology. This approach is also based on an observation at different scales of the manufacturing traces still preserved on the surface of the objects. Macroscopic studies were first performed in the field, with the naked eye and at low magnification using a binocular. Next, a microscopic analysis of the surface was carried out at the Laboratory of Tribology and Systems Dynamics of the École Centrale de Lyon. We thus obtained three-dimensional images, topographic measurements of the surfaces, wear traces were then quantified using specific characterisation parameters (wavelet method). Finally, in order to identify the technical marks observed on the archaeological material, the latter was compared with a corpus of tool traces created experimentally. We analysed a corpus of 305 Minoan stone vases, made between the Early Bronze Age II to Late Bronze Age III. It was completed by the study of more than thirty Egyptian and Levantine vases attributed to the Middle and Late Bronze Age (royal tomb of Qatna in Syria). In this study were also included stone and metal tools linked to the production of stone vessels, unfinished vases, waste materials, but also figurines and pearls in stone. We first established the state of knowledge regarding these industries in the eastern Mediterranean, from the Neolithic period to the end of Bronze Age (Chapter 1). The method developed (described in Chapter 2) was applied to the study of the Minoan corpus of sites that revealed the possible presence of lapidary workshops, such as Malia (Quarter Mu and les abords nord-est du palais), Mochlos (craftsman’s quarter), Kommos and Pseira (Chapter 3). This work allowed us to revaluate the previous identifications of Minoan workshops, but also to reassess the organisation of the workshops production, the notion of technical specialisation and the socio-economic status of the craftspeople (Chapter 4).Thus, thanks to experimental work in the field and in the laboratory, associated with an observation of the archaeological material at different scales, we were able to identify part of the know-how used by the Cretan craftsmen for the manufacture of stone vessels. A technical koine emerged for the different Minoan productions studied, as well as a standardisation of the common production, showing different drilling sequences depending on the shape to be made. It also appeared that the adoption of certain external processes (tubular drilling), were introduced through contacts with foreign craftsmen, certainly Egyptians. If these new techniques were selected and then adopted, the Minoan craftsmen quickly integrated them into local sequences of manufacture for the creation of their own morphological repertoire of vessels. Furthermore, Minoans also spread local techniques to other Aegean centres (the Greek mainland and the Cyclades) during the 2nd millennium BC.; L’Âge du Bronze est la période d’émergence des civilisations palatiales en Méditerranée orientale et notamment en Crète, à la fin du 3ème millénaire av. J.-C. Ce développement conduit à l’essor des activités artisanales de luxe parmi lesquelles la production de vases en pierre. L’Âge du Bronze est également caractérisé par le développement des contacts et échanges entre les différentes régions de Méditerranée orientale.Afin de reconstituer les techniques une méthode interdisciplinaire, associant les données issues des recherches archéologiques, ethnographiques, tribologique et d’archéologie expérimentale. Cette approche est également basée sur une observation à différentes échelles des traces de fabrication conservées à la surface des objets. Les études macroscopiques, réalisées sur le terrain, ont été effectuées à l’œil nu et à la loupe binoculaire, à faible grossissement. Ces observations sur la répartition et la densité des traces techniques ont permis de reconstituer le geste technique. D’autre part, l’observation de la superposition des stigmates a permis la restitution des différentes étapes de mise en forme. L’observation macroscopique des surfaces a été complétée par leur analyse microscopique. Nous avons ainsi obtenu des images tridimensionnelles des traces grâce à de mesures topographiques réalisées au Laboratoire de Tribologie et de Dynamique des Systèmes de l’École Centrale de Lyon. Puis l’usure des surfaces a été quantifiée, grâce à des paramètres spécifiques de caractérisation (méthode des ondelettes). Enfin, afin d’interpréter les stigmates techniques observés sur le matériel archéologique, une confrontation avec un référentiel expérimental de reconstitution des anciennes techniques a été réalisée. Un corpus de 305 vases de pierre minoens, dont la période fabrication allait du Bronze Ancien II au Bronze Récent III, a été analysé. Il a été complété par l’étude de plus d’une trentaine de vases du Bronze Moyen et Récent égyptiens et levantins (tombe royale de Qatna en Syrie). Ont également été inclus dans cette étude des outils en pierre et en métal mis en lien avec la production de vases de pierre, des vases en cours de fabrication, des déchets de fabrication, mais aussi, des figurines et des perles. Nous avons dans un premier temps dressé un état des connaissances sur ces industries en Méditerranée orientale, depuis le Néolithique jusqu’à la fin de l’Âge du Bronze (Chapitre 1). La méthode élaborée (décrite dans le Chapitre 2) a été appliquée sur le mobilier minoen de sites ayant livré des traces d’ateliers lapidaires, comme Malia (Quartier Mu et les abords nord-est du palais), Mochlos (Quartier d’artisans), Kommos et Pseira (Chapitre 3). Ce travail m’a permis de reconsidérer les identifications d’ateliers crétois, mais aussi de réévaluer l’organisation de la production, la notion de spécialisation technique et le statut socio-économique des artisans (Chapitre 4). Ainsi, grâce à un travail expérimental de terrain et en laboratoire, associé à une observation du mobilier archéologique à différentes échelles, nous avons pu restituer une partie des savoir-faire employés par les artisans crétois pour la fabrication de la vaisselle de pierre. Une koinè technique se dégage pour les différentes productions minoennes étudiées, ainsi qu’une standardisation de la production commune faisant apparaître des chaînes opératoires de forage différentes selon la forme souhaitée. Il est également apparu que l’adoption de certains procédés étrangers (forage tubulaire ou méthode d’évidement), ont été introduits à travers des contacts avec des artisans étrangers, certainement égyptiens. Si ces techniques nouvelles ont été sélectionnées puis adoptées, les artisans les ont rapidement intégrées à des chaînes opératoires locales, au profit de leur propre répertoire morphologique. Par ailleurs, la Crète a propagé des techniques locales vers d’autres centres égéens (le contient grec et les Cyclades) durant le 2ème millénaire.