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Funder: Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, The Late Bronze Age (1700–900 BC) represents an extremely dynamic period for Mediterranean Europe. Here, we provide a comparative survey of the archaeological record of over half a millennium within the entire northern littoral of the Mediterranean, from Greece to Iberia, incorporating archaeological, archaeometric, and bioarchaeological evidence. The picture that emerges, while certainly fragmented and not displaying a unique trajectory, reveals a number of broad trends in aspects as different as social organization, trade, transcultural phenomena, and human mobility. The contribution of such trends to the processes that caused the end of the Bronze Age is also examined. Taken together, they illustrate how networks of interaction, ranging from the short to the long range, became a defining aspect of the “Middle Sea” during this time, influencing the lives of the communities that inhabited its northern shore. They also highlight the importance of research that crosses modern boundaries for gaining a better understanding of broad comparable dynamics.

This paper discusses the tension between natural science-driven and social science-driven approaches to human migration in late prehistory, focussing especially on the 3rd millennium BC. In order to understand the relevant issues at the core of these tensions, we discuss recent research on prehistoric migrations based on aDNA data and confront it with research that adopts an anthropological and social approach, as well as with research that deals with present migrations by adopting an archaeological approach. Migration models based on genomic research have provoked heated debate among archaeologists. In the conclusions, we propose some possible ways to go further in research on past migrations.

Long-standing archaeological narratives suggest that the 3rd millennium cal BC is a key period in Mediterranean and European prehistory, characterized by the development of extensive interaction networks. In the Balkans for instance, the identification of such interactions relies solely upon typological arguments associated with conflicting local terminologies. Through a combination of 25 new radiocarbon (14C) dates and re-examination of the existing documentation, this paper defines the absolute chronology for groups which were previously only broadly framed into the 3rd millennium BC central Balkans (modern-day Serbia and North Macedonia). These absolute dates allow us to establish with greater clarity the chronological relations between different cultural groups that represent the main cultural units of the central Balkans sequence for the 3rd millennium cal BC: Coţofeni-Kostolac, Bubanj-Hum II, Belotić-Bela Crkva, Armenochori, and Bubanj Hum III. When comparing together the chronologies for material culture, funerary treatment of the body, and funerary architecture, there are no easily discernible patterns. We observe instead a complex mix of traits criss-crossing over a wide area encompassing the Pannonian basin, the central Balkans and the Greek peninsula.

The archaeological site of Sovjan is situated on the edge of the Korce Basin, southeastern Albania. Its remarkably long and well investigated stratigraphic sequence, spanning from the Neolithic till the Iron Age, makes it an important type- and reference-site for the whole region. At different periods of prehistory it was located on the shores of the former Lake Maliq that once filled the Korce Basin, but was definitely drained in the 1940′s. These permanent wetland conditions on the site allowed for a high degree of preservation of organic material, especially wood. Based on the current knowledge, level 8 of Sovjan contains the best-preserved wooden material of all the Early Bronze Age sites in the Balkans. Through the combination of dendrochronology and Bayesian modelling, i.e. wiggle-matching, a floating 269-years long tree-ring chronology was constructed, with an absolute end-date range falling between 2158 and 2142 cal BC (2σ). It was possible to establish that the dwellings and the trackway associated with the last occupation phase of level 8 are contemporaneous. Additionally, with the help of the new dendrochronological data and based on previously published charcoal dates, the absolute chronology of the subsequent level 7 is being narrowed-down to a range from the mid-22nd to mid-20th c. cal BC (2σ). The Early Bronze Age layers of the archaeological site of Sovjan, which are particularly pertinent for the 3rd millennium chronology of the southwestern Balkans, can now be dated with high precision for the first time and hence offer a major chronological reference point in the region.

Donnees scientifiques produites : Site de la Mission archeologique franco-albanaise du bassin de Korce, BCH 119-2 (1995), Chapitre XVII. Sovjan et le lac Maliq en Albanie : Un site protohistorique dans son environnement, Bassin de Korce, Kallamas La Mission archeologique franco-albanaise du bassin de Korce, cofinancee par le ministere des Affaires etrangeres et l’Ecole francaise d’Athenes, a poursuivi en 2016 l’etude du materiel et des donnees des fouilles de Sovjan et de Kallamas, ainsi que ...

Donnees scientifiques produites :Site de la Mission archeologique franco-albanaise du bassin de KorceBCH 119-2 (1995)Chapitre XVII. Sovjan et le lac Maliq en Albanie : Un site protohistorique dans son environnementBassin de Korce, Kallamas Les campagnes de 2017 et 2018 ont ete consacrees en priorite a la poursuite de l’etude des donnees des fouilles de Sovjan (1993-2006) et de Kallamas (2008-2011), ainsi que du programme PALM (Prospection Archeologique du Lac Maliq, 2007-2013), en vue de leur...

2500-2000 BC: connectivity phenomena between the Balkans, Greece, Southern Italy, Eastern Sicily, the Aeolian Islands and Malta - Recent research projects have provided new data to tackle the issue of long range cultural contacts and movements of small human groups across the Central Mediterranean during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. This complex phenomenon, whose epicentre was probably the Dalmatian culture of Cetina, implies intertwined processes of interactions between various regions. Unlike the previous periods, when evidence of cross-cultural contacts mostly consists of similarities in the material culture between regions, in the period under scrutiny it is possible to recognise both close parallels in pottery production and the circulation of imports/ imitations of artefacts made of bone/antler, stone and metal. The paper offers a brief reconsideration of the available data from the western Balkans, western Greece and from various contexts in southern Italy, Sicily and the small adjacent islands that were involved in these long-range interactions. A critical evaluation of the incidence of allogenous artefacts in the various contexts is also provided. The impact of the Bell Beaker phenomenon in the area under scrutiny is also discussed. This was in fact marginal, though Bell Beaker-type elements did actually co-exist with western Balkan-type ones in some of the examined regions. Finally, the chronological aspect of the 'Cetina phenomenon' is discussed: two sub-phases in these processes of interactions are argued to be discernible, which helps a more detailed understanding of the socio-ideological mechanisms at play on the local scale.

Studies on the “uses of the past” have steadily and consistently advanced over the past twenty years. Following the seminal studies by Hobsbawm and Ranger and Benedict Anderson on the role of narratives of the past in constructing (national) identities, and thanks the always more widespread practice of reception studies, the attention for cultural memory and lieux de mémoire, and following, many publications have investigated the role of nearer and further time layers in defining and determining structures of identity and senses of belonging across the world. Didactics of history has also contributed a great deal to this field of studies, also thanks to the always more refined methodologies of school book analysis. Classical Antiquity has obviously not been neglected, and multiple studies have been dedicated to its role in the development and reinforcement of modern identities. Yet, not only some areas of the world have remained less considered than others, but most attention has been dedicated to national identities, nationalistic discourses, and their activation through historical narratives. This special issues of thersites wants to contribute further to research on the role of Classical Antiquity within modern identities, asking scholars to focus especially on areas that have been less strongly represented in scholarship until now., Preface Leonidas in Stalingrad I film peplum e la fine del mito fascista della romanità Alatri in the Sky with Diamonds Die Tabula Traiana und Drăgans Decebalus: symbolische Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Serbien und Rumänien an der Donau Funerary Masks and the Geopolitical Use of Classical Archaeology in Nationalist Disputes Margarites Demitsas (1830–1902) und die Anfänge der griechischen Erforschung der Inschriftenkunde Makedoniens in ihrem Verhältnis zur makedonischen Frage The Origins and Evolution of Ancient Spartan Identity in the Mani Peninsula, Greece Rezension von Eva Marlene Hausteiner: Greater than Rome. Neubestimmungen britischer Imperialität 1870–1914 Reseña de A. Duplá Ansuategui, E. Dell’ Elicine & J. Pérez Mostazo (eds.), Antigüedad clásica y naciones modernas en el Viejo y el Nuevo Mundo Review of Donna Zuckerberg: Not All Dead White Men. Classics and Misogyny in the Digital Age Review of Hans Lamers and Bettina Reitz-Joosse, The Codex Fori Mussolini Review of Helen Roche & Kyriakos Demetriou: Brill’s Companion to the Classics, Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany Review of Stephen L. Dyson: Archaeology, Ideology, and Urbanism in Rome from the Grand Tour to Berlusconi Review of Kenneth Royce Moore (ed.): Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Alexander the Great Recensione di Thorsten Fögen, Richard Warren (Eds.): Graeco-Roman Antiquity and the Idea of Nationalism in the 19 th Century: Case Studies

In this study we present new absolute dates for the Early Eneolithic in Serbia. Four of them confirm the recently obtained dates from that period (Bubanj-Hum I culture) but two samples (from Mokranjske stene and Bubanj) provide somewhat later dates for this period, although their stratigraphic context makes their interpretation difficult. Pottery from those sites, besides the typical examples, also shows particular stylistic and typological characteristics that resemble Galatin or Sălcuţa IV cultures, so one can presume that the Bubanj-Hum I culture in Serbia may have lasted longer than what is generally assumed. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177020: Cultural Identity, Integrating Factors, Technological Processes and the Role of the Central Balkans in the Development of European Prehistory and Grant no: 47025: Ethnogenesis of the Serbs during the Middle Ages (until c. 1250): a comparative analysis of the historic-cultural heritage, genetic material and artefacts of material culture from the aspect of analytical chemistry]

On the 23rd of August 2015 Daesh blew up the 2,000-year-old Baal-Shamin temple in the world-famous Greco-Roman site of Palmyra. This event triggered a profound emotional reaction in society at large, and the ruins soon became an iconic symbol of world heritage in danger. The appalling images of the ruins of Baal Shamin reinforced the perception, especially among western observers, that protecting cultural and natural heritage is yet another duty in the fight against terrorism. A similar international outcry occurred in 2001, when the Buddhas of Bamiyan fell to Taliban dynamite in Afghanistan, and when Iraqi museums and sites were ransacked and looted providing two of the most recent and vivid examples of destroyed heritage in the so-called War on Terror which was launched by the U.S. government after 9/11. Following the destruction at Baal-Shamin, UNESCO declared that the deliberate destruction of Syria's cultural heritage was a war crime, and put into motion several projects and actions aimed at preserving endangered Syrian archaeological heritage. At the same time, alongside income gained from the sale of drug and weapons, the trafficking of antiquities from Syria and Iraq worldwide provided a major source of revenue for Daesh.

The fifth volume of Ex Novo has the pleasure to host Flaminia Bartolini as guest editor for the special issue titled Heritage in the Making. Dealing with Legacies of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. This collection of peer-reviewed papers stems in part from the successful workshop held at McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge in December 2018 under the aegis of the DAAD-Cambridge Hub. The event gathered several international heritage experts and professionals from both Germany and Italy to explore the complexities of handling Heritage related to Fascism and National Socialism.

By adopting historical and sociological approaches to archaeology, this paper focuses on the development of archaeology in Albania and Yugoslavia and their relation first to fascism and then to communism and socialist regimes. Identity issues based on archaeological discourse in former Yugoslavia and Albania are often perceived and regarded by western scholarship as extreme distortions and abuses of archaeological practice to promote nationalism. By providing a comparative and diachronic perspective, this paper aims to demonstrate that the way in which a society relates to its past is a complex phenomenon, and that political uses of archaeology in the western Balkans cannot be associated entirely with socialist regimes and communist ideologies. It is argued that different uses of archaeology are the product of a complex interaction between the development of archaeological discipline and historical, social and cultural trajectories.

During the second post-war period (1945-1960s), the Italian Communist party was a hub of intellec­tuals, and as such influenced the development of Italian archaeology as well. Marxist ideology indeed was perceived as means to enfranchise the discipline from the old academia. Focusing on of the so-called “Roman school” of archaeology, this paper analyzes the influence of communist and Marxist ideologies on the discipline’s development. In particular we will present two prominent and charismatic archaeologists Renato Peroni and Andrea Carandini. It is argued that while the Marxist research trajectories were characterized by an initial innovative and driving force that revolutionized Italian archaeology, the collapse of the Italian Communist Party and the resulting downfall of its intellectual tradition determined the exhaustion of the discipline’s innovative potential.

An introduction to Ex Novo.

The fourth volume of Ex Novo has the pleasure to host Heleen van Londen, Marjo Schlaman, and Andrea Travaglia as guest editors of the special issue titled The Natural and The Cultural. Integrating Approaches in Landscape Heritage Management. This timely collection of peer-reviewed papers and short essays seek to bridge the longstanding gap between natural and cultural heritage when it comes to landscape management. To this end, the editors foster a combined approach to both domains by promoting stronger internal cooperation and the systematic engagement of new forms of integrated heritage with the external world.

Archaeology plays a fundamental role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The practice of archaeology in Israel is embedded in the national identity construction discourse and has severe repercussions on domestic politics. From archaeological remains it is demanded to give proof of precedence and legitimate claims over land. The relation between nationalism and archaeology is a topic that became increasingly popular in scholarly works of the past 20 years. The full UNESCO membership of Palestine is projecting the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in a globalized dimension, but at the same time the heritage of humanity’s politics reinforces the nation-states concept and could pave the way to new political scenarios.

Gori Maja, Krapf Tobias. The Bronze and Iron Age Pottery from Sovjan. In: Iliria, vol. 39, 2015. pp. 91-135.

Lera Petrika, Touchais Gilles, Oberweiler Cécile, Chabrol Antoine, Gardeisen Armelle, Christidou Rozalia, Gori Maja, Krapf Tobias, Thomas Nathalie. Bassin de Korçë, Kallamas. In: Bulletin de correspondance hellénique. Volume 136-137, livraison 2, 2012. pp. 881-907.

Les campagnes de 2014 et 2015 ont ete consacrees, pour l’essentiel, a l’etude des donnees des trois principales operations de terrain menees a bien par la Mission archeologique franco-albanaise du bassin de Korce depuis sa creation, a savoir les fouilles de Sovjan (1993‑2006), celles de Kallamas (2008‑2011) et la prospection dans la partie Nord du bassin de Korce (programme PALM, 2007‑2013). C’est dans le cadre de l’elaboration des resultats de ce dernier programme que s’inscrivent les seuls ...

International audience; The use of the term "culture" in Balkan prehistory, from the creation of the discipline until today, has followed generally the theoretical principles of the culture-historical approach, which was the dominant trend in the humanities during the second part of the 19th and much of the 20th century. This chapter discusses the examples from the area of the Balkan Chalcolithic, showing why "cultures" are inefficient and even misleading as chronological tools, and proposes some alternative means of assessing historical realities. To understand the exact meaning of the coexistence of "Karanovo V" and "Karanovo VI" vessels inside the same buildings at Dikili Tash, people should take a closer look at their technology, their provenances and their functions, and compare them with the results from the study of pottery technology, provenance and function at other sites. The overall validity of the concept is supported neither by the history of later periods, nor by ethnography, ancient or modern.

International audience; The use of the term "culture" in Balkan prehistory, from the creation of the discipline until today, has followed generally the theoretical principles of the culture-historical approach, which was the dominant trend in the humanities during the second part of the 19th and much of the 20th century. This chapter discusses the examples from the area of the Balkan Chalcolithic, showing why "cultures" are inefficient and even misleading as chronological tools, and proposes some alternative means of assessing historical realities. To understand the exact meaning of the coexistence of "Karanovo V" and "Karanovo VI" vessels inside the same buildings at Dikili Tash, people should take a closer look at their technology, their provenances and their functions, and compare them with the results from the study of pottery technology, provenance and function at other sites. The overall validity of the concept is supported neither by the history of later periods, nor by ethnography, ancient or modern.