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This article offers a very brief report on the 2015 survey campaign around Halos that formed the conclusion of the revisit programme previously presented in this journal, followed by a somewhat longer preliminary presentation of the 2016 excavation season at Magoula Plataniotiki, which is also a continuation of previous work at the site reported in this journal. As in the past, the fieldwork was done by the universities of Groningen and Amsterdam and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Magnesia; in 2016, a delegation from the University of Alberta participated in the excavation as well. The survey season confirmed and refined results of the 2011-2013 campaigns. While the 2016 excavation season partly continued trenches opened in 2013, it also covered parts of the site that had not been explored yet. Three new trenches were laid out in areas where aerial photographs and geophysical research done in 2015 suggested the presence of features that could clarify the planning and chronology of the site. One of the new trenches explored the western edge of the site, which seems to be bordered by a pebble-paved street. This could not be dated yet. Another new trench indicates that the north-eastern part of the site, where geophysical research and aerial photographs show structures that do not follow the general orientation of streets and buildings further west, was abandoned in the Hellenistic period, while most other trenches indicate continuing habitation and other use. However, foundations of a large and possibly monumental structure encountered in an extension of one of the existing trenches indicate that even when shrinking, the Hellenistic settlement still contained impressive buildings. The intensive Classical and Hellenistic use of the site visible in all excavated areas does not seem have had a follow up, but in most trenches remains of later activities, apparently mainly related to reuse of materials, have been encountered.

This article presents the goals and preliminary results of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 field survey campaigns in the area of ancient Halos, by the University of Amsterdam and the 13th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, in cooperation with Reinder Reinders of Groningen University. The 2011-2013 campaigns are a follow-up of survey work done from 1990-2002, and intended to evaluate, validate and supplement the earlier results in preparation for a final publication of the Halos surveys. The new work included revisiting all previously discovered sites, a series of methodological tests and intensive full coverage of one larger area, contrasting with the more extensive methods in the original project. While the initial overall results of the 2011-2013 campaigns seem to confirm the general validity of the methods and results of the earlier work, they also offer some new information on general find distribution, the chronology and extension of sites and the settlement pattern of the area. In particular, a series of small fortified hilltop sites is now better understood. Besides this, useful insights into the possibilities and effects of various (aspects of) survey methods have been obtained. A final noteworthy result is that the archaeological record seems quite stable: disappearance or destruction of sites or dramatic changes in find patterns seem rare.

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This article summarizes the work undertaken by an international team at the ancient sites of Koroneia, Hyettos, Thespiai, Askra, Haliartos and Tanagra and in their countrysides, during the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons. The problems with defining urban infrastructure and boundaries at Koroneia are tied to the eventual virtual reality reconstruction of the ancient city at its Hellenistic peak, while geomorphic research has been measuring the effect of settlement on the local landscape around the town. Work at ancient Askra, Haliartos and Thespiai has been carried out in connection with publication of older survey programmes, while continuing geophysical tests outside of the walls of Tanagra city are ongoing to discover the limits of the pre-Roman and much larger town plan.

This paper comes as a response to the publication of "Digital Data in Archaeology: The Database," by Harrison Eiteljorg, II, in the CSA Newsletter, XXV, 2; September, 2012. In this paper we present the database developed by the research group "New Perspectives on Ancient Pottery" (NPAP), of the University of Amsterdam, in 2007-2012. In presenting our project database, including its aims and user experiences, we want to tackle some of the questions posed by Mr. Eiteljorg.

The Helleno-Dutch surveys conducted in the plains of Almyros and Sourpi, around ancient Halos, since 1990, have revealed a large number of archaeological sites of all periods. These include small rural sites, presumably farmsteads, of the Classical and/or Hellenistic period of the kind also found in other surveys in Greece, for example in Laconia, Methana and Boeotia (where I have worked on sites from around Tanagra). In the paper I try to show that the pottery assemblages of Halos and Tanagra seem closely comparable to the more general Greek pattern, and indeed strongly suggest they are inhabited farmsteads. Interestingly, a detailed look starting from the author’s work at Halos and Tanagra indicates that the ceramic assemblages found in such sites show a high degree of uniformity, suggesting that farm life in different areas of Greece may have been quite similar.

The 2009 campaign of the Zakynthos Archaeology Project took place in the area of Lithakia and Keri in the south-west of the island. The landscape in this area is characterized by the Lake of Keri. The lake constitutes a good natural harbour and possesses natural sources of pitch, which, according to historical sources, have been used to repair ships. In addition, the area has many sources of fresh water. These favourable circumstances have contributed to a long history of occupation as was made clear by the archaeological survey. Traces of occupation from the Palaeolithic to the Roman period were attested. An important site was discovered at Lithakia-Kamaroti, where a concentration of Mycenaean-Archaic artifacts was found in association with wall remains at the surface.

It is a common assumption in Greek pottery studies that purchasers often selected pots because of the images they show. Although clear individual examples exist, it has never been possible to prove this assumption on a more general level. It is, indeed, impossible to prove it, as long as we have no reliable overall picture of the distribution of pots showing specific images over the Mediterranean. In the meantime, however, the compact but not too small dataset provided by Herman Brijder’s catalogues of Siana cups, may offer some relevant preliminary evidence. By taking painters, provenances, find contexts, and iconography of cups as main relevant factors in their distribution, and by looking at the connections between those factors, I will try to show what the relevance of iconography may have been to those who purchased and used Siana cups in various areas of the Greek world, and beyond.

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