A team representing the Cornell Halai and East Lokris Project spent 6 weeks at Theologos between July 3 and August 12. Participants, who participated for various lengths of time, included: John E. Coleman, Director; Lois Berkowitz, Mitrou finds; Lawrence Eisler, Architectural recording; Lia Karimali, Lithics; Leslie B. Kirchler, Site conservation; Margaretha Kramer Hajós, Mitrou finds; Pauline Morin, Architectural recording; Kerill O'Neill, Mitrou finds; Lucie-Catherine Ouimet, Ceramics; Mary Pearsall, Architectural recording; Martin Perron, Neolithic ceramics; Gwen Sealey, Neolithic ceramics; Elaine Sims; Architectural recording; Frances J. Spalding, Computers and database; Wendy Yielding, Animal Bones; Yuki Furuya; Jozsef Hajós; Chris Hoff; Teresa Kao; Daniel Louis McFadden and Christina Papadaki. Joseph Tarabulsy was project Manager. Mary Eliot was unable to be present in 2000, due to the illness of her husband; fortunately, he is now on the mend and she hopes to continue her work on stratigraphy in 2001.
The summer of 2000 was largely taken up with Neolithic remains from the acropolis of Halai. Study focussed on the architectural sequence, ceramics, lithics and animal bones.
The architectural recording team drew the newly discovered walls of the last few years and put the Autocad records in systematic order, checking and organizing the many files to bring them into line with the architectural sequence set out below. Coleman focussed his attention on establishing and interpreting this sequence, based on the excavation records and the actual remains. For convenience, the results are illustrated in this report by means of figures created in Photoshop (Figs. 1, 2). However, the balloon photographs which were used as a basis for these figures can also be imported into Autocad and we will be experimenting further with superimposing traditional stone plans and other information over photographic representations.
Lucie-Catherine Ouimet continued the study of Neolithic pottery with the help of several assistants (see report below). Formal detailed examination of the fabrics and informal examination of local clays and minerals suggest that the Neolithic fabrics cannot easily be untangled into broad categories based on the composition of clays and grits, as we had earlier hoped. The mineral inclusions present a highly complex picture and it is proving difficult to try to establish categories such as Vitelli used at Franchthi Cave. We have therefore decided to continue to use the categories we initially established, which were based in large part on surface characteristics (Coleman et al., 1999, p. 294), at the primary level of characterization for treatment of "large lots" (i.e., the great mass of sherds). Further studies will be carried out on the database of diagnostic pottery. The great bulk of the pottery is compatible with local production, although it may eventually be possible to distinguish local clay sources derived from the erosion of sedimentary rocks (as on the Aetolima peninsula where Halai is located) from those derived from a combination of sedimentary and igneous rocks (as is the case of the alluvial deposits found in Vivos bay a few kilometers to the southwest). Ouimet's work suggests that there is no EN occupation at Halai. Red-on-White ware, for instance, occurs in the earliest levels and the earliest examples seem already to be more developed than the earliest stage at Elateia (Weinberg, S.S. "Excavations at Prehistoric Elateia, 1959," Hesperia 31, 1962, pp. 158-209). Ouimet also reports that the incidence of mica seems gradually to increase from the earlier to the later stages of pottery production at Halai.
Gwen Sealey, an MA candidate in archaeology at Boston University who served as an assistant to Ouimet in 2000, has taken on a study of the Halai Red-on-White ware for her thesis, which she expects to present in the spring of 2001.
Dr. Lia Karimali continued her study of the Neolithic lithics. A report is included below on the results of her work in 1999; her report on the work of 2000 will be submitted to INSTAP in November, 2001. The Halai lithics are especially valuable because our collection methods, especially the saving of tiny pieces from the water sieving process, have provided much more material than is usually available for the production sequence.
Wendy Yielding continued her study of the Neolithic animal bones, which is now nearing completion. She has recently decided to leave the field of archaeology, however, and alternate ways are under consideration for finishing the work. Yielding has expressed her interest in collaborating closely with whoever finishes the field study and perhaps produce a joint publication.
During work at the site a fragment of an important MN terracotta figurine was noticed in the scarp of trench F2 and removed to the project's workrooms/storage facility with permission of the local Ephoreia. The figurine represents a female with a shawl-like garment indicated by applied elongated pellets, open in the front to reveal the breasts and navel (Fig. 3).
We also continued to study Bronze Age and later finds from the islet of Mitrou, collected during our surface survey operations in 1988 and 1989. Further details are given in a separate section below.
Backfilling also continued at the center and the southeastern end of the Halai acropolis in accordance with our conservation plan, approved by the Archaeological Service in 1994. The work was supervised by Leslie B. Kirchler (instead of Janis Mitchell as in our application to INSTAP) and she presented a description of her activities to the University of Sheffield as a thesis for the MA in Archaeological Conservation in Sept. 2000.
Work in Ithaca has continued on our computer programs under the oversight of Frances Spalding, including the databases and the web page. The web page, which was unavailable for a month or so this fall while we upgraded to a more powerful server, is now online. Spalding provided the following paragraphs concerning her activities during the grant period:
"I spent the major part of the summer at Halai working on cleaning up the database. Because the field number is stored as 6 separate fields, it is not possible to make it a primary key, and so people can enter duplicate field numbers into the database. This resulted in confusion about how to number objects extracted from large lots (such as a piece of bone found in a large lot of pottery). After talking to the specialists, we came up with a solid numbering system; however, there are still duplicates from previous years. These objects have to be renumbered, both in the database and on the objects themselves. I started the process this summer. I also helped with the new shelving system, and entered the new locations into the database.
"Back in Ithaca, I am still working on removing duplicates from the database. It is not possible to actually renumber the objects themselves, so I am compiling a list of objects that need to be renumbered. The list can be sorted by location, so it will only take a short time to complete this next summer. When this is finished, I am going to start working on incorporating the specialists' databases (diagnostic pottery, chipped stone, and animal bone) into the main database by linking the field numbers. This may also take a bit of reorganizing since some of the specialists have used slightly modified numbering systems.
"After spending the summer at Halai, I have refocused my efforts to concentrate more on the database instead of the web page. However, I still hope to be able to work on reorganizing the slides on the web page into a more hierarchical structure involving thumbnails and descriptive captions that will be easier to search and navigate.
Shortly after the submission of the INSTAP request for 2000 our second preliminary report was published in Hesperia:
J.E. Coleman, Patricia S. Wren and Kathleen
M. Quinn, with Appendices by Kerill O'Neill, Wendy Yielding and Julie Near),
"Halai: The 1992-1994 Field Seasons," Hesperia 68 (1999), pp. 285-341
(in this report Coleman et al., 1999).
HALAI
VOLUNTEERS FOR PEACE
During June, before study began, we
hosted two two-week sessions of workers recruited through the Volunteers
For Peace Program (see http://www.vfp.org). These workers cleaned the Halai
acropolis of weeds and helped carry out conservation measures. The participants
were as follows. First session: Arianna Alfreds, Fred Bachhuber, Sylvia
Biss, Carolyn R. Darrup, Emily Goldman, Alyna Jacobs, Elizabeth Ogburn,
Adina Schneid. Second session: Mathilde Bret, J. Ben Dangl, Chris Hamilton,
Alyna Jacobs, Teresa Kao, Jeremy Sasselli, Adina Schneid, Susan Warcup
THE NEOLITHIC ARCHITECTURAL AND CULTURAL
SEQUENCE AT HALAI (J. Coleman)
Study continued on the architectural
and stratigraphic record in Area F. Ouimet's detailed examination of the
pottery from the earliest levels now suggests that the settlement at Halai
was founded in the Middle Neolithic period and not the Early Neolithic,
as we has suggested earlier (Coleman, "Excavations at Halai, 1990-1991,"
Hesperia
61, 1992, 273; Coleman et al., 1999, 289,
294, 296-297). The architectural remains datable to the Middle Neolithic
period can now be assigned to two phases and at least six different buildings
of rectangular or sub-rectangular plan (Fig.
1). Similar but more fragmentary buildings of the first stage of the
Late Neolithic period (Fig.
2) suggest that the architectural tradition continued with little change.
No architectural remains have been found in association with the earliest deposits in Area F. The earliest structures yet identified are Buildings I, II, Wall BJ and an oven that lies beneath the eastern part of the later Building IV (shown in green in Fig. 1). Blds. I, II and the oven can be dated to an "earlier MN" phase at the site because they lie beneath remains of a series of buildings datable to later stages of the MN phase (Blds. III-VI); Wall BJ is at a similar stratigraphical level. The surviving remains of these early walls are carefully built of stones and appear to have belonged to substantial structures. The upper parts of the walls, like those of all stages of the MN period at Halai, would have been of mudbrick, to judge by deposits of reddish earth found in association with them and with the fairly rapid rise of ground level over time. Without further excavation and removal of later remains, little more can be said about these structures except that Bld. I was evidently modified by the addition of an interior wall or paved area (shown in green outline in Fig. 1) at a late stage in its use. Wall BJ evidently belonged to a structure that lay toward the northeast, outside the excavated area, since no trace of a floor or use deposit was found on its southwest side.
The space to the east of Bld. I (and its successor, Bld. V) was evidently an unroofed courtyard throughout the Neolithic period at Halai. In the earlier MN it was partly bounded on its northeast side by Wall BJ. Within this space were many superimposed strata with platforms, ovens, open hearths and shallow pits. These can be closely dated by ten radiocarbon samples that yielded useful results (Coleman et al., 1999, table 1, determinations from trench F2c).
The best preserved MN remains, those of Blds. III-VI, may be assigned to a "later MN" phase. All four lie wholly or in part within an area first excavated in 1931 by Virginia Grace under the general supervision of Hetty Goldman. Grace's notebook survives at Bryn Mawr College and the area was clearly visible when our expedition began its work in the 1980s (see Coleman, 1992, pl. 69, b and fig. 5, "1931 trenches"). Where we were able to start afresh in undisturbed Neolithic levels to the east of the area excavated by Virginia Grace (our trenches F10 and F11; Coleman et al., 1999, fig. 3), we were largely denied access to the MN levels by the existence of significant LN remains (Fig. 2), which we deemed too important to remove. The northern wall of Bld. IV lies in large part beneath the southern side of the Archaic temple and also could not be examined. As a result of these restrictions, only a few deposits within and around the buildings were available to be examined by the Cornell expedition and our reconstruction of architectural phases is here based on deductions from the architecture itself, together with chronological indications from radiocarbon determinations.
The later MN buildings, Blds. III-VI, were likely to have been in contemporaneous use for at least part of their time-span, Bld. III was probably built earlier than the others, to judge by the fact that its walls rest at a considerably lower level that those of the other later MN buildings, and its use may have overlapped chronologically with that of Bld. I, which we have assigned to the earlier MN. Such an overlap is strongly suggested by the similar levels at which the bottoms of the walls of Bld. III and Bld. I rest and by the near contemporaneity of radiocarbon samples taken in 1996 from near the bottom of the walls at the NW corner of Bld. I and from beneath and near the bottom of the southern wall of Bld. III. The dating of these samples suggest an outside range for Blds. I and III of ca. 5900-5700 B.C. There was originally a doorway at the east side of Bld. III, which may have led to a narrow alley between Bld. III and Bld. I. This doorway was subsequently closed by a neatly built section of wall resting at a level ca. 0.20 m. above the original floor level in Bld. III. The blocking of this doorway probably signals the construction of Bld. V over the remains of Bld. I and the disuse of the earlier alley. That Bld. III remained in use for a relatively long period of time is suggested by its many superimposed floor deposits, which were examined both by Virginia Grace and our expedition. A pair of buttress-like structures linked by a narrow wall was also built against the inside of the west wall of Bld. III at a late stage of its use (shown in outline in Fig. 1).
The other three buildings assigned to later MN, Blds. IV-VI, are larger and more complex that Bld. III. Bld. VI was probably subdivided into three rooms and the others had at least one internal dividing wall or buttress. These buildings were probably in contemporary use for at least part of their history, since they seem to respect one another's space; each has a wall that abuts the adjacent wall of the neighboring building. Enough survives of Bld. VI to show that it was entered from the west, although it may also have had a subsidiary entrance in its south wall, which we were unable to examine in detail. Its plan is somewhat reminiscent of the MN buildings at Sesklo often termed "megara," although its eastern rooms, if we have correctly restored them in Figure 1, are not matched at Sesklo. Bld. V may have been entered from the east, to judge by the lack of any visible break in its west wall. The location of a doorway at its east side cannot be confirmed, however, since the central stretch of its eastern wall was inaccessible to us because of the superimposed LN remains. The wall or buttress extending southward from its north wall may have corresponded to a similar wall projecting from its south wall, in which case Bld. V would have been subdivided into two rooms. The arrangements at the south side are uncertain, however, since it was exactly at this point that Virginia Grace recorded a Byzantine intrusion in her notebook that had destroyed the evidence for Neolithic structures. Bld. IV was probably subdivided into two rooms, assuming that the short spur wall extending northward from its south side corresponded to a similar wall extending southward from its north side. The entrance to Bld. IV may have been from the west, since enough of its east wall is preserved to suggest that it was not pierced by a doorway and a doorway on the long northern side seems unlikely.
A stretch of wall abutting the north wall of Bld. VI and extending northward between Blds. III and V cannot be easily separated from the west wall of Bld. V. Perhaps it represents a modification of Bld. V and was intended to prevent its west wall from collapsing toward the west, Other less well preserved or fragmentary MN constructions cannot as yet be fitted into a broader reconstruction.
The later MN buildings are directly overlain in places by walls and deposits datable by the associated pottery to the LN period. Several LN buildings were constructed to the south of the large and still puzzling Wall BL (shown in yellow in Fig. 2). One of these, Bld. VII, was located above the eastern end of Bld. VI. Although only its eastern side is preserved, we can probably reconstruct a two-room structure with entrance to the south. A stretch of wall with a somewhat different alignment to the north of Bld. VII (Wall BV) is probably part of the northeast wall of a building extending westward. The LN remains to the northeast and east of these two buildings (Wall T, etc.) were evidently separated from them by a street or alley. They are difficult to fit into a coherent reconstruction and they probably represent structures that underwent considerable modification during the course of time. At the north side was an unroofed space with an oven adjacent to the wall at its southwest side.
Several LN structures were also excavated to the north of Wall BL. Wall DK, at the very north edge of our trenches and passing into the north scarp, was evidently the south wall of a building the bulk of which lay further north. Wall CT, at the east side of our trenches, comprises a line of stones on edge, resting on a broader foundation. It is unlikely to have been the wall of a substantial building. The small structure to the SW of Wall DK is also less substantial than most of the Neolithic architectural remains at Halai, although its purpose is unclear.
Work in 1998 and 1999 on Wall BL, the large conglomeration of stones to the south of Wall CT, showed that it had a clear face at the bottom along at least the western part of its north side (represented by the edge of the yellow area in Fig. 2) and that stones gradually overlapped this face (see 1999 report to INSTAP). Hence in its upper levels it has something of the character of a stone heap. Since BL passes beyond the scarps of our excavated area to east and west, we can have no idea how far it may have extended. Its purpose is still uncertain, although several possibilities are under discussion.
The LN period at Halai lasted only a
couple of hundred years. Study of both the architectural and ceramic evidence
in 2000 suggests that there was no significant cultural or chronological
break between the MN and LN levels. No reason for the subsequent abandonment
of the site for thousands of years has yet become apparent beyond that
advanced earlier: the rise of sea level and consequent loss of arable land
(Coleman et al., 1999, 295).
STUDY OF HALAI NEOLITHIC POTTERY, 2000
(L.-C. Ouimet)
The study of Neolithic pottery from Halai illustrates a significant lacuna in the already existing studies of prehistoric pottery in Greece. Neolithic pottery has been systematically investigated in Thessaly(1) and in the Peloponnese.(2) A study of this type is still absent for Central Greece.
Our study has technological and a chronological objectives. On a more specific basis, a closer examination of the nature and characteristics of the fabric of Neolithic pottery of Halai will shed light on our understanding of the Central Greek Neolithic cultural sequence.
Technologically we are studying the nature and the processing of the local clays, the possible use of imported clays or the addition of specific tempering and the changes over a period of time. Chronogically, we are investigating a scheme of characteristics to see to what extent it may be retraceable in the composition of the fabrics, thus perhaps corresponding to a broader pattern of phasing of the Neolithic pottery of Halai. This scheme may also be compared with the development elsewhere in Greece.
In order to attain our research goals, we have until now utilized two approaches. We continue to employ a field-sorting system based on the surface characteristics, established by Susan Allen in 1996.(3) This categorization is not intended to reflect the wares but to give us an idea of the types found in specific EU sequences and to facilitate a further examination of chosen characteristic wares. This classification provides the data for the classifications used for large lots.
To date, we have closely examined the lots coming from EUs of F2, F4, F10 and F101 in order to establish which characteristics will be the most valuable in attaining our objectives. For the technical aspects of the fabrics, we have mainly used macroscopic observation with well established aspects.(4)
In previous years, we have also utilized other methods of analysis for technological enquiries:
chemical characterization of wares,
including neutron activation analysis (NAA)(5),
hydrochloric acid testing for calcareous fabrics (HCl)(6);
mineralogical characterization of wares by petrographic examination (PE)(7);
local resource analysis(8), including locating
and mapping of clay sources, description of clays available, experimental
pot-building and firing utilizing unaltered local clays and chemical analysis
of local clays utilizing NAA.
Summary of work for 2000
During the season 2000, work proceeded on sorting the Neolithic pottery excavated during the previous seasons. Initial sorting of the backlog of ceramic material of 1996-1998 was completed this season.
On a more technological basis, the work
proceeded from different angles. Macroscopic observation of the diagnostic
sherds taken out for their significant characteristics. These sample correspond
to the EUs which provide the chroronological sequence essential for the
phasing of Halai. The pottery from F2, F4, F10 and F101 are the most important
on the site for stratigraphy and dating. All the pottery of these excavation
units associated with C14 dating has been also described.
Preliminary observations:
1) The examination of the earliest material
indicates that there is nothing in the samples excavated that may correspond
to the earliest stages of the Elateia sequence, and we have no material
comparable to what is found in the Early Neolithic sequences in Thessaly(9).
2) In the general groupings, the recurrence
of the deep hemispherical bowls with no base is noteworthy. The variation
in the profile seems significant enough to correlate a comparison with
fabric characteristics.
3) The distinction between calcareaous
and non-calcareous wares seems not to be a valid distinction criteria for
the Halai assemblage. After cross-checking certain fragments analysed by
HCL testing earlier by Allen, it appears that certain sherds from the same
vase react differently to the contact of hydrochloric acid.
4) The fabric
Four basic type of visible inclusions have been observed.
a. Quartz
b. Calcite
c. Schist or Phyllite
d. Mica (Muscovite or Biotite)
It would be possible to suggest the use of certain of these inclusion as added tempering, But many of the clays available locally contain already a fair amount one or all of these inclusions. In EUs datable to LN by radiocarbon samples, fragments presenting mica seem more frequent(10).
The examination of the details of the fabrics and the scientific tests so far conducted (Kendall, Allen, C14) suggest that the fabric composition does not divide into clear catergories of fabric and style- like those described by Vitelli in Franchti.
Therefore, I suggest that we base our groups not on an aspect of fabric but on a scheme comprising the surface treatment, the shape and the evolution of the composition of the fabric.
For the 2001 season, the central objective
will be to complete the recording of the diagnostic pottery. These records
will provide the basis for an analysis of the presence/concentration of
temperings/inclusions and for correlations between the techniques of manufacture
of the various wares with the composition of the fabric itself.
References cited:
Björk, C. 1995. Early Pottery
in Greece: a Technological and Functional Analysis of the Evidence from
Neolithic Achilleon, Thessaly. Sweden.
Bülle, H. 1907. Orchomenos I.
Die älteren Ansiedlungeschischten. Munich.
Caskey, J.L. and E,G. Caskey 1960. "The
Earliest Settlements at Eutresis," Hesperia 29: 126-171.
Vitelli, K.D. 1993. Franchthi Neolithic
Pottery, Volume I. Classification and Ceramics Phases 1 and 2. Excavations
at Franchthi Cave, fascicule 8. Bloomington.
Vitelli, K.D. 1999. Franchthi Neolithic
Pottery, Volume II. The Later Neolithic Ceramic Phases 3 to 5. Excavations
at Franchthi Cave, fascicule 10. Bloomington.
Weinberg, S. 1962. "Excavations at Prehistoric
Elateia," Hesperia 31: 158-209.
NEOLITHIC LITHICS (Dr. Lia Karimali)
Dr. Karmali's reports are submitted
on a different schedule from INSTAP funding requests. The following excerpts
are from her report on work completed in 1999. Excerpts from her forthcoming
report on her work in 2000 will be submitted to INSTAP in November, 2001.
The Lithic Industry (Tables 1
and 2)
The chipped stone industry studied during
the 1999 season is represented by a total of 1315 specimens of obsidian
and flint. This number includes all specimens recovered during excavation
and only a selected sample of specimens recovered during flotation (i.e.,
only specimens of interest were labelled and recorded. Chips and other
flake specimens from flotation were excluded). The material originated
from trenches: F9, F10, F11, and F101 (c) and trench F2 (a & c). Those
specimens derived from the F9-F101 trenches of 1992 (c) were then compared
to specimens recovered from the same trenches during the 1996 season (g).
Moreover, specimens from trench F10 were studied according to their stratigraphic
sequence (i.e., MN and LN strata).
TABLE 1
| Lithic Specimens & Recovery contexts |
| HALAI 1990, 1992, 1996 |
| Obs chert Obs chert |
| F9 (c&g) | 282 | 46 | |
| F10 (c&g) | 788 | 92 | |
| F11 (c&g) | 45 | 3 | |
| F2 (a &c) | 774 | 35 | |
| F101 (c&g) | 312 | 116 | |
| 2201 | 292 |
| Note: Sums include numbered specimens only |
Raw Material Representation (TABLE
2)
Obsidian of different texture (black
glossy, black grained, ?greenish?
grained) is highly represented in the assemblage, reaching a percentage
of 92,01% (N=1210 specimens). Flint and chert represent only a small component
of the assemblage (N=105, 6,9%). Flint varieties include exogenous and
local material (i.e., chalcedony, honey flint, chert of lower quality etc).
TABLE 2
| Lithic Specimens & Recovery contexts |
| HALAI 1992 ( c) |
| Obs chert Obs chert |
| F9 | 136 | 7 | |
| F10 | 124 | 10 | |
| F11 | 28 | 1 | |
| F2 | 774 | 35 | |
| F101 | 148 | 52 | |
| 1210 | 105 |
| Note: Sums include numbered specimens only |
Comparisons And Dating
Intersite comparisons of the MN lithic industry of Halai with industries from other Aegean sites allow a better understanding of intersite differences in raw material selection, exploitation and use all over the Aegean. So far, comparisons can be made with the material from the MN strata of Franchthi (Perles 1990b), Lerna II (Kozlowski, Kaczanowska and Pawlikowski 1996) and Achilleio (Elster 1989).
Comparisons with MN strata of other sites of Thessaly on the other hand are hindered by the rather general character of the publications of the lithics found in them. The sites with which comparisons can be attempted are Sesklo, Prodromos and Ag. Petros.
To begin with, in terms of raw material and specifically obsidian procurement, a striking similarity is noticed between Halai and MN Franchthi. Perles notes an increasing representation of blades over flakes and cortical flakes in the MN proper (Neolithique moyen F/A) and thus, concludes that cores arrived at the site in a less advanced stage of preparation and were subsequently prepared and worked on the site. In contrast, fully prepared cores were brought to Lerna II, as well as to the Neolithic sites of Achilleion, Sesklo and Prodromos. The variability in obsidian procurement observed between sites of the southern and central Aegean confirms the assumption that distance (in klm) is not a key factor monitoring the stage in which obsidian enters a site.
Obsidian core preparation techniques observed at Halai are slightly different from those noted in Franchthi. Perles notes that core preparation comprises cresting techniques and that cores had one anterieure and two posterieure crested blades.As noted, at Halai, cresting was not employed in a systematic manner, as cores were also prepared by using the natural/cortical ridge of the core as a guide. Yet, cresting was employed in smaller cores which had at least one crested blade on the front and one on the back. On the other hand, cresting was not employed in Lerna II, but was present in Ag. Petros, where Theochares discovered a core crested blades and rejuvenation flakes in spatial association (Moundrea 1981).
To continue with core rejuvenation, the strategies employed at Halai (core platform and core body rejuvenation) are similar to those observed at Franchthi. At Lerna, however, lithic analysts observed that ?knappers achieved a narrow and symmetrical flaking surface by rejuvenation of lateral crests? (Kozlowski, Kaczanowska and Pawlikowski 1996:336).
In terms of raw material representation, at Halai, as at Franchthi, numerous local materials were used for producing expedient flake and blade/flake products, to be subsequently used as tools (perforators, sickle elements, retouched tools etc). In contrast, at Lerna local material was not worked and comprises only a small component (2.0%). In Thessaly on the other hand, the flint-obsidian ratio follows the local tradition. That is, sites of western Thessaly (Prodromos, Achilleio) use chocolate flint of the Pindus mountains for blade production, whereas sites of eastern Thessaly (Ag. Petros, Sesklo) employ obsidian at a higher degree. As noted elsewhere (Karimali 1996), such differences in material exploitation in Thessaly are monitored by the dynamics of the local topography.
What is common to all sites is that chalcedony and honey-flint was imported in the form of prepared blades. Honey flint probably originated in NW Bulgaria, from where completed blades were then distributed to the Aegean.
Lastly, splintering is a widespread
technique in both Lerna and Franchthi, but to a less degree in Thessaly.
The presence of a few geometric specimens on the other hand, manufactured
on well-made narrow pressure blades of obsidian and chalcedony at Halai,
may indicate an earlier dating of those Neolithic strata from which they
come from. Geometrics manufactured on blades were also recovered from the
EN, EN/MN and MN levels of Franchthi (Perles 1990a &1990b), from the
Aceramic Neolithic strata of Sesklo (Theochares 1964)), Argissa (Perles
1986:484), and the EN strata of Nea Nikomedia and Knossos (Rodden 1962:276).
Bibliography
Elster, E.
1989 ?The Chipped Stone Industry?, in M. Gimbutas, S. Winn, & D. Shimabuku (eds), Achilleion. A Neolithic Settlement in Thessaly, Greece, 6400-5600 BC., UCLA, Los Angeles, 273-300.
1990 ?Prehistoric
Tools in Thessaly: Achilleion, Makrochori 2 and Platia Magoula Zarkou?,
paper presented at the Conference La Thessalie. Quinze annees de recherche
1975-1990. Bilans et Perspectives. Lyon, 17-22 April 1990.
Karimali E.
1996 ?Distribution
and Mediation in Neolithic Contexts?,
paper presented in the 6th workshop of the Swedish Institute entitled ?Trade
and Production in Premonetary Greece?,
held in Athens, 16-17 November 1996.
Kozlowski J., M. Kaczanowska and M. Pawlikowski
1996 ?Chipped-stone industries from Neolithic levels at Lerna?, Hesperia
65.3:295-372.
Moundrea-Agrafioti A.
1981 La Thessalie du Sud-Est au Neolithique: Outillage Lithique et Osseux. Ph.D. These, Universite de Paris X, Paris.
Perles, C.
1988 ?New ways with an old prolem. Chipped stone assemblages as an index of cultural discontinuity?, in Problems in Greek Prehistory, ed. E.B. French and K.A. Wardle, Bristol, pp. 477-487.
1990a Les Industries Lithiques Tailles de Franchthi (Argolide, Greece) II: Les
Industries du Mesolithique et du Neolithique Initial. Bloomington.
1990b ?L?
Outillage de Pierre Taillee Neolithique en Grece: Approvisionnement et
Exploitation des Matieres Premieres?,
Bulletin
de Correspondence Hellenique, CXIV, I, Etudes.
Rodden, R.
1962 ?Excavations
at the early Neolithic site at Nea Nikomedia, Greek Macedonia?,
Proceedings
of the Prehistoric Society, XXVIII:276.
Theochares, D.R.
1964 ?Compte Rendu des fouilles de Sesklo?, BCH LXXXVIII:781
MITROU
STUDY OF FINDS FROM MITROU IN 2000 (Margaretha Kramer-Hajós)
Mitrou is an islet near the southernmost part of the bay of Atalanti, about 1.5 k. north of the town of Tragana, near the western edge of the CHELP survey area (Coleman, "Excavations at Halai, 1990-1991," Hesperia 61, fig. 1). Initial work shows that Mitrou was extensively settled throughout the Bronze Age and that occupation continued into the Early Iron Age, after which there has been almost no human activity. The site has never been excavated and it is devoid of modern buildings. Ancient deposits up to 4 m. deep are clearly visible at the eastern and western sides of the islet, where erosion from the sea has produced vertical scarps. The scarps extend for stretches of 50 m. or more and walls and tombs are visible in them here and there. Sea level was several meters lower in antiquity than at present and the site was probably originally a promontory. The ancient inhabitants would have obtained fresh water from springs, which are frequent in the vicinity.
In the summers of 1988 and 1989, CHELP teams collected surface artifacts under controlled conditions, conducted trial magnetometer surveys, took a series of photographs from a tethered balloon and documented the site in as great detail as possible. Examination of the eastern and western scarps showed that beneath the Mycenaean levels were two to four meters of Middle Helladic and Early Helladic deposits. In addition, eight looted cist tombs almost certainly of Middle Helladic date were recorded at the western side and others are visible at the eastern side. For images of the site itself, sherds, and small finds, see the CHELP webpage at http://halai.arts.cornell.edu/wwwroot/chelp/archive/archive.htm under category R (Mitrou).
Mitrou was probably the biggest and most important center in East Lokris for much, if not all, of the Bronze Age. Although the site's ancient name is uncertain - the present name is a corruption of the common modern name Dimitri - it is possible that it was the Mycenaean capital of Lokris, the town named Opoeis in the Homeric poems and the home of the mythical hero Aias. Mitrou probably also served as a major port for Mycenaean Orchomenos, about 20 km. to the southwest and accessible either by a pass which crosses the mountains near the modern Kolaka, or through Atalanti and the Exargos-Hyampolis area.
The full-time Mitrou team last season consisted of two persons, Margaretha Kramer-Hajós, responsible for overall supervision and for study of the pottery and Kerill O'Neill, responsible for study of small finds. Lois Berkowitz assisted with the pottery for two weeks and Yuki Furuya contributed illustrations of many of the small finds. Christopher TenWolde, who had hoped to join our team, was unable to be present due to personal difficulties. Our aims in 2000 were as follows:
1) Make a catalogue of the pottery selected in 1989. This selection comprises diagnostic and artistically noteworthy sherds from the Early Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period.
2) Make a catalogue of all the small finds found on Mitrou during the 1988 and 1989 surveys and, on occasion, in later seasons.
3) Identify any problems with the existing maps and produce a final map to be used for publication. Of the entire amount of ca. 600 selected sherds, about half were recorded, measured, photographed and analyzed in terms of typology and chronology this season. Information was recorded on datasheets and has since been transferred to electronic format. A ceramic database was set up and a framework for interlinking this with other Mitrou databases was thought out. The sherds which were processed were mainly Mycenaean, although the EH, MH, SubMycenaean, and PG eras were also represented. Pieces dated to EH are many handmade fragments with lug handles. Among the MH sherds are some outstanding pieces of Grey Minyan Ware, as well as what appear to be imitations of Grey and Yellow Minyan Ware. Several large sherds of fine Grey Minyan come from the immediate vicinity of MH cist tombs, which suggests they might have been deposited as grave goods. Matt Painted ware is represented by fewer sherds. The Mycenaean sherds are of exceptional artistic quality. LH I is represented by a few bichrome sherds reminiscent of Shaft Grave Ware. The amount of sherds increases with LH II and culminates in abundant quantities of LH III. Typical, well represented shapes are especially the stirrup jar - both in a large and fairly crudely made version and in the small fine version - and kylixes, generally with whorl-shells. The whorl-shell is by far the most popular motif; other motifs are flowers, octopi and argonauts. A few LH IIIC crater fragments show pictorial designs, possibly of ships. In SubMycenaean the number of sherds decreases. In PG there is abundance again, with a good number of diagnostic skyphoi with pendant semicircles. Hereafter the amount of sherds drops dramatically, indicating that the site is essentially uninhabited after the beginning of the Iron Age. The continuity from Mycenaean to Early Iron Age corresponds with patterns at, e.g. Lefkandi (M.R. Popham and L.H. Sackett (eds.), Lefkandi I: The Iron Age. Plates, London 1979, ix) and nearby Kalapodi and Elateia, although it differs from the latter two sites in the slight decline of LH IIIC Middle and later material (S. Deger-Jalkotzi, "Aspekte politischer und sozialer Organisation in mykenischer Zeit," in: D. Musti e.a. (eds.), La transizione del miceneo all' alto arcaismo. Dal palazzo alla città. Atti del Convegno Internazionale Roma, 14-19 marzo 1988, Rome 1991, 60, n. 48.) and from Kalapodi in its lack of continuity to the Archaic period (A. Mazarakis Ainian, From Rulers' Dwellings to Temples. Architecture, Religion and Society in Early Iron Age Greece (1100-700 B.C.) (SIMA 121), Jonsered 1997, 137ff.).
The small finds catalogue (242 items) is close to completion. Objects were recorded, measured and analyzed in terms of their typology and chronology. All were either drawn or photographed. A computer database was created of all the information recorded so far. The catalogue was divided into ten databases of different material or type, e.g. lithics, metal, figurines, etc. Only the lithics database requires further work. Obsidian samples were also collected from Melos, and comparison with obsidian from Mitrou allowed analysis of cortical material in the Mitrou assemblage.
Two maps of the islet exist that were created by former CHELP participants. The first was used to lay out the tracts and the grid system of the surface survey, the second has the datum points indicated. The outlines of the two maps show some differences. By comparing the maps with aerial photographs we identified the errors in each map. During the academic year of 2000 - 2001 we plan to create an accurate map in AutoCAD, based on a combination of the existing maps and aerial photographs obtained earlier from Greek government sources, for use in future publications.
2. 2See Vitelli, 1993 and 1999.
3. 3Based on groupings wich broadly correpond to those traditionnally used in classification schemes elsewhere in Central Greece ( Bülle 1907; Caskey and Caskey 1960; Weinberg 1947, 1962). We have chosen to combine in one goup the burnished wares, since there seems to be only a varaition in the firing and not in the surface treatment or the technic itself. The groupings have been designed as follow: Burnished (BB and RB);Plain Monochrome (PM or PL);Pattern Burnished (PB);Red on White (RW); Matte Painted (MP);Black Burnish with White Paint (BB White Paint);Halai Urfinis type ware.
4. 4Paste ; Core; Incl. Size/texture; Incl.geometry; HCL Reaction; Inclusions ;% Inclu.;Pores;Moh's; surface enhacement; surface color; Trad. Ware name; decoration.
5. 5NAA studies have been performed by O'Donnell (1994) and Kendall (1995) at Cornell University. Kendall's work is part of a Senior Honors Thesis, and also includes NAA of clays collected locally from the immediate region of the site.
6. 6An analysis of sherds was conducted in 1997 by Allen to determine whether calcareous and non-calcareous wares as utilized by Vitelli at Franchthi (1992) are valid categories for the Halai assemblage. In 2000, Gwen Sealey conducted a similar analysis for specifically the Red on White wares as part of her Master Thesis, Boston University.
7. 7As a preliminary study by O'Donnell (1994) at Cornell.
8. 8Study undertaken mainly by Kendall (1995) in his Honour Thesis, Cornell University with the help of Victoria Buckm site geologist for the corresponding seasons.
9. 9Confirmed by Agathe Reingruber of the University of Heidelberg, Germany, currently working on the EN material of the German excavations in the Museum of Larissa, Greece.
