proceedings of 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology, Cologne/Bonn, 22/26/ May, 2018, 2023
Il deposito votivo di un santuario di Demetra1-parzialmente recuperato, a Catania, negli anni Cin... more Il deposito votivo di un santuario di Demetra1-parzialmente recuperato, a Catania, negli anni Cinquanta dello scorso secolo²-ha restituito una gran quantità di terrecotte figurate e un vasto e ricco campionario delle ceramiche circolanti nel Mediterraneo durante il VI secolo a. C. (a fine scavo si contavano ben 1.200 cassette). Una monografia è stata dedicata alle kotylai corinzie e una alla ceramica greco-orientale.3 Le altre forme e classi ceramiche, compresa quella laconica, e le terrecotte figurate sono in corso di studio o di pubblicazione da parte di vari studiosi. Sono stati finora individuati i frammenti di undici vasi potori laconici figurati e di uno di imitazione. Questi verranno pubblicati in dettaglio in un volume di studi in memoria di Giovanni Rizza (Sicilia Antiqua 2019) curato da Ernesto De Miro: in questa sede, per ragioni di spazio, faremo solo alcune precisazioni e osservazioni preliminari. I frammenti figurati appartengono a kylikes e, uno soltanto di essi, KC 4783, a un krateriskos (fig. 1). Quasi tutti tali frammenti, sebbene inediti, sono stati inseriti in vari repertori, a volte con imprecisioni di vario tipo. Per evitare confusioni, ambiguità e il perpetuarsi di errori nelle citazioni bibliografiche, vanno corrette, innanzitutto, tali imprecisioni. La coppa di tipo Droop KC 4716,4 ad esempio, a medaglione interno figurato, è stata erroneamente considerata a vernice nera.5 Il piede frammentario KC 4713 non presenta, al contrario, alcun medaglione interamente occupato da un motivo floreale,6 ma bensì una piccola rosetta, che faceva da riempitivo ad una scena figurata di cui non si conserva alcun particolare. I frammenti del krateriskos KC 4783 (fig. 1), attribuito al Pittore dei Pesci di Taranto pur in assenza di immagini edite o di descrizioni dettagliate, sono citati con un numero d'inventario errato.7 Non ci sono frammenti di kylikes, inoltre, raffiguranti Eracle e Cerbero8 né Eracle e l'Idra di Lerna.9 I frammenti di due kylikes con "le teste di serpenti aggrovigliate con corpi umani", così descritti nella presentazione preliminare dei materiali,10 appartengono, in realtà alla kylix del Pittore della Caccia KC 4710 raffigurante solamente Cerbero11 (fig. 2) e alla kylix KC 4709 verosimilmente raffigurante Eracle in lotta con il leone nemeo (fig. 3). Il frammento di kylix KC 47081² (fig. 4), inoltre, sulla base di un'immagine in realtà mai pubblicata, è stato assegnato ad un seguace del Pittore di Arkesilas, probabilmente un imitatore.13 Ad un esame autoptico, sembra di riconoscere, invece, i tratti distintivi proprio del Pittore di Arkesilas: le incisioni con cui sono resi ginocchia, mano, pettorale, orecchio e altri dettagli del comasta più integralmente conservato, infatti, non sono altro che la versione affrettata degli stessi particolari anatomici nel Prometeo della nota coppa dei Musei Vaticani.14 Né le figure sono disposte a raggiera, come i demoni alati visibili sulla coppa di Sparta LV cat. n. 204 portata a confronto, ma su un piano orizzontale. Si nota, infine, un'esecuzione veloce e sicura e non tremolante e incerta.
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Papers by Giacomo Biondi
about m 500 away, is one of the most important funerary contexts in Iron Age Crete. Discovered in 1969 and excavated from that
year until 1978, the necropolis has remained essentially unpublished, except for a few articles and two extensive general reports by
its discoverer, Giovanni Rizza. A few years ago, a project for the study and publication of the necropolis was launched, involving
a group of scholars with different specializations. The aim of this article is to give a preliminary report on the results obtained
during these years of work, a general overview of the different phases, and some in-depth studies related to those areas in which
the work of documentation and study is now at an advanced stage. Among these, it seemed appropriate to devote ample space to
some of the results of the archaeozoological analyses, in view of the fact that the necropolis of Siderospilia is the context that has
so far yielded the greatest number of horse and dog burials. Finally, the ARCHIAS project for the creation and implementation
of a digital archive for the preservation and management of all the paper, drawing and photographic material relating to the necropolis,
which forms the basis of the study and publication project, is presented.
ανασκάφηκε από τον Doro Levi το 1924, αφορά στον οικισμό που παραδοσιακά ταυτιζόταν με την αρχαία πόλη
των Αρκάδων, και ήταν η πρώτη ως ένα βαθμό που ανακαλύφθηκε στην Κρήτη. Η περιπετειώδης πορεία της ανα-
σκαφής και της δημοσίευσης και η απουσία επόμενων προγραμματισμένων ερευνών στον χώρο αφήνουν πολλά
σκοτεινά σημεία και μερικές φορές έχουν οδηγήσει σε παραπλανητική ερμηνεία των ανασκαφικών δεδομένων.
Πολυάριθμα αντικείμενα, αλλά προερχόμενα από ταραχώδεις λαθρανασκαφές που έγιναν στον λόφο τη δεκαετία
του 1960, δεν βοηθούν στη διευκρίνιση της ιστορίας του αρχαίου οικισμού.
Η αναθεώρηση του εξοπλισμού των επιμέρους τάφων και των διαθέσιμων ανασκαφικών δεδομένων, χάρη
και στη μεγαλύτερη γνώση των υλικών σχεδόν εκατό χρόνια μετά την ανασκαφή, προσφέρει νέα στοιχεία για την
αποσαφήνιση ενός πιο αντικειμενικού τοπογραφικού πλαισίου διαχρονικά. Ένα από τα πιο ενδιαφέροντα στοιχεία
είναι η ελάχιστα τεκμηριωμένη σε άλλα μέρη του νησιού, παρουσία ταφών που χρονολογούνται μετά το 630 π.Χ.
και στην αρχαϊκή περίοδο. Αναδύεται λοιπόν, η εικόνα ενός οικισμού της πρώιμης Εποχής του Σιδήρου που ήταν σε
επαφή κυρίως με τις σύγχρονές του «πόλεις» στην κεντρική Κρήτη. Η προνομιούχα θέση του στη διασταύρωση
των κατευθύνσεων Ανατολής-Δύσης και Βορρά-Νότου ευνόησε τις σχέσεις με τον έξω κόσμο και την κυκλοφορία
ανθρώπων, αγαθών και ιδεών.
The tombs of the Protogeometric phase (970-840 BC) were concentrated on a rocky rise in the north-eastern quadrant of the necropolis. The place-name Siderospilia (Iron cave) may be linked to the discovery, in the past, of one or more tombs containing a large amount of iron objects, above all weapons (e.g. Tomb J). The presence of several (at least 20) tombs of horses and dogs not associated with human remains, dating since the Protogeometric period, is the main feature of the Siderospilia cemetery. This evidence validates the hypothesis of a Cretan origin of the mortuary practices - in particular the killing of horses and dogs - described by Homer in connection with the funeral of Patroclus. The reflection of Cretan burial customs in such an important event of the Iliad is a first, important, indication of the projection of Crete towards the "outside world".
Ceramics and metal objects testify to specific connections with the Greek continent, with Cyprus and with Egypt. The products imported from these areas are often prestige goods that only the wealthy local elites could afford. The social need to exhibit these products in the context of expensive mortuary practices can be considered the driving force of the interconnections with the "outside world". The central position of the anonymous settlement, on the route connecting the northern and southern coasts of central Crete, made easier such contacts.
Given these premises, the settlement on the Patela hill had to play a non-secondary role as a receiver and processor of cultural impulses coming from the "outside world". This will be visually evident, in the next Protogeometric B phase, thanks to the rich non-native decorative repertoire that will merge in the local pottery.
conducted in response to the threat of earthworks from the widening of the main road linking
Crete’s northern and southern coasts. The data shed new light on a previously unknown
region in an important area of the island and invite consideration on ancient communication
lines. These field investigations add some new areas of Minoan pottery scatters and a new
burial site to the previously known sites. A large Minoan settlement was also discovered on
a wide rocky plateau (Aghiosthomiani Patela) opposite the well-known Iron Age polis situated
on a similar plateau (the Priniani Patela). In the first area, archaeological evidence dating both
to the First and to the Second Palace periods fills the gap between Knossos and Phaistos with
regard to large Minoan settlements. Furthermore, some areas with Early Iron Age evidence
bear witness to the stretch of an ancient route linking the Mesara area and the anonymous
city on the Priniani Patela with Mount Ida.
The tomb furnishings of the known Knossian cemeteries provide the reference frame for the ceramic sequence in central Crete until ca. 630 BC, when all of them were suddenly abandoned. After this year, which is the final term for the Knossian Late Orientalizing, finds are very rare. In addition, the evidence of the period at the turn of the 7th and the 6th centuries is scarce elsewhere in Crete. The Iron Age necropolis on the steep western slope of the Prophitis Ilias ridge in central Crete (nearby the modern village of Aphrati Pediadas) is an exception. The cemetery consists of a sort of “urn field”, with more than 160 individual secondary cremation burials in the open field, and of six built tombs containing both inhumations and cremation urns. Inverted clay basins covered some of the cremation urns buried in the open field. The presence of Corinthian imports, and of local vases under Corinthian influence related to the individual burials, is the circumstance that provides a reliable chronological base for dating the grave goods of the latest individual tombs in a period between 630/615 and 550 BC. On this basis, we can throw some light on this “Last” Orientalizing phase by sketching out the features of the ceramic production in a central Crete site and partially fill the chronological gap between the end of the 7th and the 6th centuries BC.
The use of inverted clay basins to cover some of the individual burials is the most outstanding feature at Aphrati-Arkades and is particularly in vogue during the last phase of the necropolis. This custom has implied historical speculation, since has been attributed to Oriental refugees buried at Aphrati. A re-examination of the problem suggests directions for further research.
Il lavoro, pur non essendo il risultato di una ricerca sistematica, dà tuttavia idea delle dinamiche di popolamento di un’area collinare posta lungo la via che collega la costa settentrionale di Creta a quella meridionale.
The ceramics of Siderospilia continue, in parallel with the Knossos’ ones, the legacy of the TM IIIC and, at the same time, independently from the Knossos area, re-elaborate decorative motives and suggestions coming from the outside, especially from Cyprus. Among the imports, the showiest one is a rare Attic Late Protogeometric krater (1000-900 BC), which is the only one so far found in in a necropolis of Crete and the southernmost exported specimen in the Aegean Sea. The recipients of this and of other, valuable, imported metal products had to be the members of wealthy local aristocracies. Finally, it seems that the anonymous site on the Patela hill, thanks also to its privileged position on the route connecting the northern and the southern coasts of the island, attracted goods and ideas from various parts of the Mediterranean basin and that its role as mediator of stimuli coming from the outside was not secondary.
about m 500 away, is one of the most important funerary contexts in Iron Age Crete. Discovered in 1969 and excavated from that
year until 1978, the necropolis has remained essentially unpublished, except for a few articles and two extensive general reports by
its discoverer, Giovanni Rizza. A few years ago, a project for the study and publication of the necropolis was launched, involving
a group of scholars with different specializations. The aim of this article is to give a preliminary report on the results obtained
during these years of work, a general overview of the different phases, and some in-depth studies related to those areas in which
the work of documentation and study is now at an advanced stage. Among these, it seemed appropriate to devote ample space to
some of the results of the archaeozoological analyses, in view of the fact that the necropolis of Siderospilia is the context that has
so far yielded the greatest number of horse and dog burials. Finally, the ARCHIAS project for the creation and implementation
of a digital archive for the preservation and management of all the paper, drawing and photographic material relating to the necropolis,
which forms the basis of the study and publication project, is presented.
ανασκάφηκε από τον Doro Levi το 1924, αφορά στον οικισμό που παραδοσιακά ταυτιζόταν με την αρχαία πόλη
των Αρκάδων, και ήταν η πρώτη ως ένα βαθμό που ανακαλύφθηκε στην Κρήτη. Η περιπετειώδης πορεία της ανα-
σκαφής και της δημοσίευσης και η απουσία επόμενων προγραμματισμένων ερευνών στον χώρο αφήνουν πολλά
σκοτεινά σημεία και μερικές φορές έχουν οδηγήσει σε παραπλανητική ερμηνεία των ανασκαφικών δεδομένων.
Πολυάριθμα αντικείμενα, αλλά προερχόμενα από ταραχώδεις λαθρανασκαφές που έγιναν στον λόφο τη δεκαετία
του 1960, δεν βοηθούν στη διευκρίνιση της ιστορίας του αρχαίου οικισμού.
Η αναθεώρηση του εξοπλισμού των επιμέρους τάφων και των διαθέσιμων ανασκαφικών δεδομένων, χάρη
και στη μεγαλύτερη γνώση των υλικών σχεδόν εκατό χρόνια μετά την ανασκαφή, προσφέρει νέα στοιχεία για την
αποσαφήνιση ενός πιο αντικειμενικού τοπογραφικού πλαισίου διαχρονικά. Ένα από τα πιο ενδιαφέροντα στοιχεία
είναι η ελάχιστα τεκμηριωμένη σε άλλα μέρη του νησιού, παρουσία ταφών που χρονολογούνται μετά το 630 π.Χ.
και στην αρχαϊκή περίοδο. Αναδύεται λοιπόν, η εικόνα ενός οικισμού της πρώιμης Εποχής του Σιδήρου που ήταν σε
επαφή κυρίως με τις σύγχρονές του «πόλεις» στην κεντρική Κρήτη. Η προνομιούχα θέση του στη διασταύρωση
των κατευθύνσεων Ανατολής-Δύσης και Βορρά-Νότου ευνόησε τις σχέσεις με τον έξω κόσμο και την κυκλοφορία
ανθρώπων, αγαθών και ιδεών.
The tombs of the Protogeometric phase (970-840 BC) were concentrated on a rocky rise in the north-eastern quadrant of the necropolis. The place-name Siderospilia (Iron cave) may be linked to the discovery, in the past, of one or more tombs containing a large amount of iron objects, above all weapons (e.g. Tomb J). The presence of several (at least 20) tombs of horses and dogs not associated with human remains, dating since the Protogeometric period, is the main feature of the Siderospilia cemetery. This evidence validates the hypothesis of a Cretan origin of the mortuary practices - in particular the killing of horses and dogs - described by Homer in connection with the funeral of Patroclus. The reflection of Cretan burial customs in such an important event of the Iliad is a first, important, indication of the projection of Crete towards the "outside world".
Ceramics and metal objects testify to specific connections with the Greek continent, with Cyprus and with Egypt. The products imported from these areas are often prestige goods that only the wealthy local elites could afford. The social need to exhibit these products in the context of expensive mortuary practices can be considered the driving force of the interconnections with the "outside world". The central position of the anonymous settlement, on the route connecting the northern and southern coasts of central Crete, made easier such contacts.
Given these premises, the settlement on the Patela hill had to play a non-secondary role as a receiver and processor of cultural impulses coming from the "outside world". This will be visually evident, in the next Protogeometric B phase, thanks to the rich non-native decorative repertoire that will merge in the local pottery.
conducted in response to the threat of earthworks from the widening of the main road linking
Crete’s northern and southern coasts. The data shed new light on a previously unknown
region in an important area of the island and invite consideration on ancient communication
lines. These field investigations add some new areas of Minoan pottery scatters and a new
burial site to the previously known sites. A large Minoan settlement was also discovered on
a wide rocky plateau (Aghiosthomiani Patela) opposite the well-known Iron Age polis situated
on a similar plateau (the Priniani Patela). In the first area, archaeological evidence dating both
to the First and to the Second Palace periods fills the gap between Knossos and Phaistos with
regard to large Minoan settlements. Furthermore, some areas with Early Iron Age evidence
bear witness to the stretch of an ancient route linking the Mesara area and the anonymous
city on the Priniani Patela with Mount Ida.
The tomb furnishings of the known Knossian cemeteries provide the reference frame for the ceramic sequence in central Crete until ca. 630 BC, when all of them were suddenly abandoned. After this year, which is the final term for the Knossian Late Orientalizing, finds are very rare. In addition, the evidence of the period at the turn of the 7th and the 6th centuries is scarce elsewhere in Crete. The Iron Age necropolis on the steep western slope of the Prophitis Ilias ridge in central Crete (nearby the modern village of Aphrati Pediadas) is an exception. The cemetery consists of a sort of “urn field”, with more than 160 individual secondary cremation burials in the open field, and of six built tombs containing both inhumations and cremation urns. Inverted clay basins covered some of the cremation urns buried in the open field. The presence of Corinthian imports, and of local vases under Corinthian influence related to the individual burials, is the circumstance that provides a reliable chronological base for dating the grave goods of the latest individual tombs in a period between 630/615 and 550 BC. On this basis, we can throw some light on this “Last” Orientalizing phase by sketching out the features of the ceramic production in a central Crete site and partially fill the chronological gap between the end of the 7th and the 6th centuries BC.
The use of inverted clay basins to cover some of the individual burials is the most outstanding feature at Aphrati-Arkades and is particularly in vogue during the last phase of the necropolis. This custom has implied historical speculation, since has been attributed to Oriental refugees buried at Aphrati. A re-examination of the problem suggests directions for further research.
Il lavoro, pur non essendo il risultato di una ricerca sistematica, dà tuttavia idea delle dinamiche di popolamento di un’area collinare posta lungo la via che collega la costa settentrionale di Creta a quella meridionale.
The ceramics of Siderospilia continue, in parallel with the Knossos’ ones, the legacy of the TM IIIC and, at the same time, independently from the Knossos area, re-elaborate decorative motives and suggestions coming from the outside, especially from Cyprus. Among the imports, the showiest one is a rare Attic Late Protogeometric krater (1000-900 BC), which is the only one so far found in in a necropolis of Crete and the southernmost exported specimen in the Aegean Sea. The recipients of this and of other, valuable, imported metal products had to be the members of wealthy local aristocracies. Finally, it seems that the anonymous site on the Patela hill, thanks also to its privileged position on the route connecting the northern and the southern coasts of the island, attracted goods and ideas from various parts of the Mediterranean basin and that its role as mediator of stimuli coming from the outside was not secondary.
Il risultato è un manuale non convenzionale che offre spunti originali e concreti agli archeologi del futuro in cerca di reali possibilità di occupazione. Una sorta di bottega artigiana dove apprendere i segreti del mestiere, o meglio dei mestieri, che un’archeologia nuova, pragmatica e ancorata nel presente può ispirare.