Archaeolgy of Boeotia

During the Hellenistic period, Boeotia was one of the most important anthemion-stele producing centers in Greece. Due to the antiluxury decree of Demetrios of Phaleron (317-307 B.C.) in Athens, many Athenian artists immigrated to nearby Boeotia, where they continued the attic anthemion-stele tradition.
In the Middle Hellenistic period, while workshops in central, southern (Thebes, Thespiae) and east Boeotia (Tanagra) continued the traditional baroque style, artisans of Chaironeia in northwestern Boeotia differed. Once students of the Thespian baroque masters, the Chaironean craftsmen created a naïv version of the baroque tradition using local, thick grained gray-blue marble. This new naïv style eventually spread throughout Phocis and Doris.

Στον δεύτερο τόμο της σειράς Αρχαιολογία εξετάζεται η Εύβοια και η Στερεά Ελλάδα, η ευρεία γεωγραφική ζώνη που εκτείνεται από τις δυτικές ακτές του Αιγαίου έως τα παράλια του Ιονίου Πελάγους. Στην ιστορική και αρχαιολογική αυτή περιήγηση η Εύβοια και ο νότιος ελλαδικός κορμός –Αττική, Βοιωτία, Φθιώτιδα, Ευρυτανία, Φωκίδα, Αιτωλία και Ακαρνανία– παρουσιάζονται από την προϊστορική περίοδο έως το τέλος του αρχαίου κόσμου. Τριάντα πέντε έλληνες και ξένοι αρχαιολόγοι αναλαμβάνουν το ταξίδι του αναγνώστη στην ιστορία και τα μνημεία, δίνοντας επιστημονική πληροφορία για κάθε περιοχή. Στο βιβλίο συνυπάρχουν σημεία αναφοράς του αρχαίου κόσμου με περιοχές και μνημεία που μόλις πρόσφατα άρχισαν να συγκεντρώνουν το αρχαιολογικό ενδιαφέρον. Πλούσια εικονογράφηση χώρων και ευρημάτων και εύχρηστοι χάρτες συμπληρώνουν την έκδοση.

The second volume in the Archaeology series examines Euboea and Central Greece, the wide geographical region spreading from the western shores of the Aegean to the coasts of the Ionian Sea. In this historical and archaeological journey, Euboea and the southern part of mainland Greece—Attica, Boeotia, Phthiotis, Eurytania, Phokis, Aetolia and Akarnania—are presented from the prehistoric era to the end of the ancient world. Thirty-five Greek and foreign archaeologists introduce the reader to the history and the monuments, with concise authoritative texts for each area.

From 1994 to 1998, the 9th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities undertook a rescue excavation of the ancient cemetery at Akraiphia alongside the Athens-Lamia National Road. Excavators unearthed 698 burials (499 inhumations and 199 cremations) and established that the cemetery was used continuously from the late Geometric until the Late Roman period.
15 of the 134 burials dated from post Classical to Roman times contained coins (11,2%); 26 of the total 29 bronze coins recovered were Ancient Greek and the remaining 3 were of Roman date. The most common Ancient Greek coins belong to the Boiotian mint with 18 coins (69%), while the Lokrian examples are the second most prominent with 3 coins (11,5%). A single coin (3,9%) is represented from each of the following types: Macedonia (Philipp V), Krannon (Thessalian Histiaiotis), Histiaia (Euboia), Athens and Phlious. The 3 Greek Imperial coins were issued respectively as follows: in Corinth during the reign of Antoninus Pius, in Laconian Las of the reign of Caesar Geta and in Kleonai in the Argolid during the reign of Plautilla.
The «death-coin» appeared in burials from the Akraiphia cemetery dating from the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 3rd century BC making them contemporaneous with the cemeteries at Haliartos, Halai (Lokris), and Oropos (West Attica). With the exception of a single hoard of 3 coins (Grave 10) the rule was a single death-coin in each grave. The low frequency of its appearance is not surprising, since archaeological evidence has shown that the rite was not widespread in Classical and Hellenistic times and certainly did not appear consistently in the Greek world, being restricted to specific groups of people. The presence of coins in graves, usually connected with the belief that the dead had to pay for their journey to the underworld –»Charon’s obol»–, seems to be at last a very simple interpretation.

The current study employs insights and methods from the field of landscape archaeology, which is relatively underutilized in Byzantine studies, to illuminate the changes. Through the study of surface ceramics and surviving architecture in the surroundings of ancient Tanagra in the modern prefecture of Boeotia (νομός Βοιωτίας) in central Greece, an attempt is made to appreciate settled space and trace the evolution of Byzantine settlement systems, beginning with the late antique town of Tanagra itself, and spreading out into its rural hinterland. This paper provides a model of investigation and historical change that can be applied more broadly in other Greek contexts. This paper begins with an introduction to the field of landscape archaeology and its employment in Byzantine studies, followed by an account of the physical landscapes of Boeotia and of the microregion in question. Taking into account past and current use of the terms “town” and “rural periphery,” now popular in medieval Western and Byzantine studies, the remainder of this study shows how this transformation of settled space was shaped from late antiquity to the thirteenth century.

Introduction - 1. Geometric and subgeometric Boeotian terracottas - 2. Boeotian terracottas in the 7th century B.C. - 4. Boeotian terracotta production at the turn of the 7th-6th centuries - 4. The Boeotian primitive style in the 6th century B.C. - 5. Primitive terracottas of the archaic period outside Boeotia - 6. Boeotian coroplastic primitives and terracottas of other centers - 7. Late archaic Boeotian terracotta sculpture - Conclusion - Abbreviations - List of illustrations - Plates.

The paper shows the hystorical and archaeological analysis of the landscape and urban evolution of Tespies, an ancient polis of Boeotia (Central Greece), from the Aegean Bronze Age to the Late Byzantine Age; it shows so the evolution of the chora of Tespies.

TWO ROMAN IMPERIAL "PALMETTE" FUNERARY STELAI
The two funerary “palmette” stelai (nos. 17, 16) published here are from ancient Tanagra. They are housed in the recently-renovated Museum of Schematari in the village of this name.
Stele no. 17 is of a gray Boeotian “marble”. It is surmounted by a wide palmette crowning element with relief decoration (a nine-petaled palmette at the center, and three-petaled half-palmettes at the corners). On the front of the body of the stele there is a carved petal-shaped niche, supported on its sides by pilasters with capitals (a part of the left side is preserved). Within the niche is a relief depiction of a frontal female head, broken off at the base of the neck. On the basis of stylistic criteria, the scene in the niche may be dated to the late Tra- janic-early Hadrianic period. The similar finishing of stele and crowing element argues in favour of their hav- ing been done at the same time. However, a series of individual features (part of the stem on the left side (facing the monument) of the crowning element, saddle-shaped cross-section of the crowning element, the stele’s construction material) raise the serious possibility that this stele is the product of a reworked earlier Hellenistic palmette stele from which traces of its existing decoration have been completely erased, and the present result is an original work of the Roman Imperial age.
Stele no. 16 is of a white, probably Pentelic marble, and it too has a palmette crowning element. On its main body inside the vaulted niche, whose apse is supported on either side by pillars with capitals, a scene with three frontal figures (their faces deliberately cut off) has been carved. The stele is the product of a re- worked earlier palmette funerary stele of the Hellenistic age, from whose crowning element only a part of the palmette remained. The niche was created during the Roman Imperial age; the three relief figures were carved inside it, as were the inscriptions on the pediment of its crowning element, the vaulted epistyle of its niche, and its plinth. There is a discussion of problems concerning: a) the sex of the two adult figures in the scene; b) the inscriptions, which do not correspond to the figures they accompany; c) the profession of the right- hand figure in light of the attribute he holds, and d) the stele’s date.

Η Βοιωτία ξεκινά την έκδοση κοινού νομίσματος προς το τέλος του δεύτερου μισού του 6ου αι. π.Χ., με σύμβολο τη βοιωτική ασπίδα. Περί τα μέσα του 5ου αι. π.Χ. πολλές βοιωτικές πόλεις κόβουν ήδη το δικό τους νόμισμα. Όμως η κυριαρχία της Θήβας στο Κοινό των Βοιωτών στο β'μισό του 5ου αι. π.Χ. σήμανε την υιοθέτηση του θηβαϊκού νομίσματος ως κοινού βοιωτικού νομίσματος.

In 1995, during the construction works of parallel roads alongside the Athens–Lamia National Highway (Fig. 2), below the modern village of Akraiphnion (103rd km), the 9th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities unearthed part of a Roman villa rustica with preserved dimensions 18,10×16,10 m., and orientation N.-S. (Figs. 3, 4). At least six quadrilateral rooms came to light. The southern part of the building was covered up by the National Road; due to this fact the research could not de continued towards this direction. The villa, which was founded in the Early Roman period, is situated in the narrow plain stretching below the southern slopes of the acropolis of ancient Acraiphia, ca. 700 m. away from the ancient city. Its location on the east side of the Copaïs basin (formerly a lake) is combined with the exploitation of water in the area. Inside Room III, the single room paved with a treading floor, a stone press with a collection vat were found in situ (Figs. 6, 8). This archaeological evidence proves that during a later phase, i.e. in the Middle Roman period, a wine press functioned there. A crushing stone (orbis) (Figs. 9a,b) from a rotary olive crusher (trapetum), found in the next Room IV, though not in its original place, testifies to an oil press installation either in the same or in another area. Room II was identified as the storage room by the lower part of a dolium found in situ (Fig. 10); it was mended in antiquity with lead repairs. The great number of coins dispersed in the building (Fig. 15) –unusual for a domestic house– leads us to the hypothesis that some kind of trade related to wine production and sale took place in this complex.

The Boiotian villae rusticae of Roman times are distributed in four broad regions: in northwestern Boiotia (Chaironeia), along the northeastern and south-southwestern coasts of the Copaϊs (Akraiphia, Aliartos), in central (Thebes, Thespies) and southeastern Boiotia (Tanagra). They are all, without exception, situated close to astea. They are built near or upon the main roads; some along the banks of rivers or near the shores of lakes. They are small poor residences, built with stone rubble and mud–sometimes with spolia in second use. Installations combined with rustic economy, i.e. wine (Chaironeia, Akraiphia, Thebes, Tanagra) and oil presses (Tanagra), have come to light in some of them, as well as storerooms for the storage of various products in pithoi (dolia). Open air vats and baths are also related to villae, which have not yet been located. Industrial installations of a large scale (ceramic kilns), associated with trade activity, have been discovered in Akraiphia and on the eastern Boiotian coasts close to the South Euboian Gulf (Dilesi, Aulis). The villae founded in Early Roman times still existed during the Middle Roman period. In the Chaironeia region this rustic model was discontinued after the Herulian invasion in Greece (268 AD.), while in the Copaϊs region (Akraiphia, Aliartos) it is abandoned with the Visigothic invasion of Alaricus a century later (395-396 AD). On the contrary, in the Thespies and Tanagra regions the villa rustica flourished during the Late Roman period (late 4th – early 7th c. AD).

“Landscaping the area surrounding the Church of Aghios Georgios in Akraefnio”

The church of Aghios Georgios in Akraefnio (12th A.D.) is probably the main church (Katholikon) of a monastery, as indicated by the numerous building remains in the surrounding area:  two bell towers, the architectural remains of two elongated-plan buildings (one of them probably the Trapeza of the monastery), an ancient retaining wall, two underground barrel-vaulted cells with arcosolia, pieces of mosaic and stone flooring, a barrel-vaulted tomb etc. A minimal landscape was designed, based on two axes, consisting of soft materials (stabilized soil, natural aggregates) and mediterranean plants, all of them being totally removable elements.

Το Κοινό των Βοιωτών υπήρξε το παλαιότερο πρότυπο ομοσπονδιακής οργάνωσης στον ελληνικό χώρο. Το γενικό σχήμα του ομοσπονδιακού αυτού κράτους ήταν διμερές στη δομή του: στην κορυφή ήταν η κεντρική κυβέρνηση που απαρτιζόταν από τους αντιπροσώπους των πόλεων και στη βάση βρίσκονταν οι πόλεις. Υπήρχαν ειδικά αξιώματα και θεσμοί που λειτουργούσαν εντός του Κοινού. Διακρίνονται τρεις περίοδοι λειτουργίας του Βοιωτικού Κοινού: το πρώτο Κοινό διήρκεσε από το 446 έως την Ειρήνη του Βασιλέως το 387/386 π.Χ., το δεύτερο από το 379 έως το 338 π.Χ. και το τρίτο από το 338 έως το 171 π.Χ. Μετά τη ρωμαϊκή κατάκτηση το Κοινό διαλύθηκε και ανασυστάθηκε, με θρησκευτικό, κυρίως, χαρακτήρα.

The marble fragment Inv. BE 132 of the Archaeological Museum of Thebes comes from Thebes itself. It is a fragment from the lower part of a grave stele together with its left side, preserving part of the left shin of a male figure wearing a long himation (figs 1-3). Comparisons with parallels especially from Athens, where the theme first appeared before spreading to Ionia and the Cyclades, permit a valid reconstruction of the male figure in himation (fig. 7). This is the first known one-figure stele in Boeotia representing a man in a long himation, since on the slightly earlier Thespian stele of Gathon and Aristokrates (fig. 4) the man in a long himation is depicted in the background. The fragment under discussion should be dated to the end of the 6th or the very beginnings of the 5th century BC. Its high quality suggests an Athenian artist.

Κείμενα 7 ΜΝΗΜΗ ΗΟΥΣ ΖΕΡΒΟΥΔΑΚΗ Όταν κάποτε συζητούσαμε για το μέλλον αυτών των Συναντήσεων, εκεί στα Χανιά, και σκεφτόμασταν για τη μορφή που μπορούσαν να πάρουν, κυρίως τη νομική, γύρισε τότε και μου είπε: «γιατί, για να μαλώνουμε ποιος θα γίνει διευθυντής;». Η κουβέντα αυτή χαρακτηρίζει την Ηώ. Δούλεψε πολύ για την υπόθεση αυτή. Ήταν ο γραμματέας, ο βοηθός και ό,τι άλλο χρειαζόταν. Έβαζε σε τάξη πολλά πράγματα και τελείωνε πολλά. Συγχρόνως όμως κατέθετε συνεχώς την κριτική άποψή της για το θέμα, έτσι ώστε να μας κρατά σε μια σταθερή επιστημονική γραμμή, αλλά και ορθούς. Ποτέ δεν ζήτησε για τον εαυτό της ένα οποιοδήποτε πλεονέκτημα -ίσως μόνο εκείνο της μη προβολής. Ποτέ δεν επέβαλε την άποψή της, όμως αυτή ήταν συνήθως η ορθή. Ρωτούσε, άκουγε και υιοθετούσε αυτό που υπηρετούσε την υπόθεσή μας. Ενδιαφερόταν για την τεχνολογία των πήλινων αγγείων και τη χρήση τους και χαιρόταν με τα μικρά πράγματα, τα παιχνίδια. Παρακολουθούσε με προσοχή το θέμα των εργαστηρίων και των τεχνιτών. Έτσι διαμορφώθηκε για το θέμα της ελληνιστικής κεραμικής μια επιστημονική, δημοκρατική και έγκυρη σκέψη. Αγαπούσε τους τεχνίτες και τους τεχνικούς. Ο στόχος της προστασίας και της ανάδειξης των πραγμάτων των μνημείων προέκυπτε από την πλούσια γνώση της επιστήμης. Ενεργούσε με γνώση αλλά και με απέραντη, όμως κρυμμένη, αγάπη για όλους και όλα. Είμαστε πλούσιοι που τη γνωρίσαμε και τη ζήσαμε, είμαστε φτωχότεροι που πια δεν είναι σήμερα εδώ μαζί μας να μας επιβραβεύσει με το μικρό χαμόγελο της ικανοποίησης για όσα προσπαθούμε. ΣΤΕΛΛΑ ΔΡΟΥΓΟΥ 8 IN MEMORIAM

Η έρευνα βασίζεται σε επιτόπιες παρατηρήσεις που είχα την ευκαιρία να κάνω κατά τις πυκνές επισκέψεις μου στην περιοχή τον τελευταίο χρόνο. Αρχικά κατέγραψα όλες τις ιστορικές βιβλιογραφικές αναφορές πάνω στο θέμα των πύργων της Βοιωτίας και κατανόησα τα συμπεράσματα που είχαν εξάγει οι διάφοροι προγενέστεροι ερευνητές. Εν συνεχεία έγινε η αρχιτεκτονική αποτύπωση 9 πύργων που σύμφωνα με τις πηγές και τη βιβλιογραφία παρουσίαζαν μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον κυρίως λόγω της σχετικά καλής σωζόμενης κατάστασης σε σχέση με τους υπολοίπους.

Η αρχαία Ακραιφία (ή Ακραίφνιον ή Ακραίφνια ή Ακραίφια) ήταν χτισμένη στην ανατολική όχθη της Κωπαΐδας και στα βορειοδυτικά της λίμνης Υλίκης. Με έκταση 47 τ.χλμ. και περίμετρο 34,6 χλμ. η Ακραιφία συγκαταλέγεται μεταξύ των μικρών πόλεων της Βοιωτίας, εντός της χώρας των οποίων δεν υπήρχαν δευτερεύοντες οικισμοί (κώμες). Ωστόσο, υπήρξε από τα πρώτα μέλη της ένωσης των βοιωτικών πόλεων υπό την ηγεσία της Θήβας. Συμμετείχε διαδοχικά και στα τρία βοιωτικά Kοινά, όμως με την έλευση των Ρωμαίων τήρησε φιλορωμαϊκή στάση και δέχθηκε προνόμια γι’ αυτό.

The article examines the monuments of Thebes mentioned by Pausanias and related to the story of Seven against Thebes. It is claimed that these monuments were a part of the local educational practice, which reflected the Theban mythical history and fostered patriotism. Most of the monuments were located near the gates of the Kadmeia (at a distance of up to 260 m) and formed a close circle of monuments. In some cases, the monuments formed a far circle (at a distance of 300 to 500–960 m from the gates). The first of the monuments considered is the monument associated with Amphiaraos. Regarding the place where the earth swallowed Amphiaraos, there exist two traditions, namely the “Theban” and the “Tanagrian” ones. It is hypothesized that the “Tanagrian” tradition was adapted by the residents of Oropos and, thus, reflected in Euripides’ tragedy The Phoenician Women. The educational topography of Pausanias shows that the “Theban” version is consistent with the text of Aischylos’ tragedy Seven against Thebes, while the “Tanagrian” version is consistent with the text of The Phoenician Women by Euripides. The location of the tombs of Melanippos and Tydeus near the Proitides gates also corresponds to the tradition captured by Aischylos, which presumably reflects the local, or “Theban”, version of the myth. Through Pausanias’ educational topography, the connection of the figure of Kapaneus with the Elektrai Gates and the walls of Thebes is
emphasized, which is confirmed by the evidence of material culture. As a possible grave of Oidipous’ children, the largest of the chamber tombs on the hill of Megalo Kastelli is considered. A large number of monuments associated with the story of Seven against Thebes symbolized military valour and glorified Thebes in their victory over the
Argives. Some of the monuments possess ambiguous symbolism, among which are the tomb of Menoikeus and the place of the duel between the sons of Oidipous. The article is equipped with a map reconstructing the probable location of the monuments, including various versions of their localization, as well as illustrations with the images on the objects of material culture associated with the War of the Seven.

Οι αρχαίες Σίφαι τις οποίες ο Παυσανίας (9.32.4) αποκαλεί Τίφα και συνδέει με τον ήρωα Τίφυ, τον κυβερνήτη της μυθικής Αργούς, έχουν ταυτισθεί με τα αρχιτεκτονικά κατάλοιπα, κυρίως οχυρωματικού χαρακτήρα, νοτίως της σημερινής Αλυκής στον κόλπο της Δόμβραινας.

Schatzfund römischer Zeit von Theben (Böotien)

Der in 1975 in Theben aufgefundene Schatzfund, enthält 25 Münzen aus der römischen Kaiserzeit: 24 Sesterze und 1 Dupondius, die sich von Titus (79-81) bis Faustina I (139-141) spannen. Die letzten Münzen des Schatzfundes sind die posthumen Prägungen von Faustina I, die den Zeitpunkt der Deponierung des Schatzfundes auf 144 A.D. oder bald danach festlegen.
Das Auffinden eines solchen “Schatzes” in Böotien läßt sich aus dem persönlichen Interesse der Kaiser Hadrian und Antoninus Pius an den böotischen Sachen –inschriftlich bestätigt– erklären. Die Präsenz der einzigen Münze aus zypriotischer Prägestätte, aus Trajans Regierungszeit, kann dadurch erläutert werden, dass der Besitzer des Schatzfundes eine zypriotische Phase in seiner kaiserlichen administrativen Laufbahn aufwies.
Die Niederlegung des Schatzfundes könnte vielleicht mit den Wirren von 157 A.D. in der Provinz Achaia in Zusammenhang stehen.

It is now generally accepted that the cult of the Theos Tauros at Thespiai is linked with the Roman senatorial family of the Statilii Tauri – and particularly with their most prominent member, T. Statilius Taurus (cos. suff. 37, ord. II 26) –, who were active in the Boiotian city in the late first century BCE-early first century CE, as illustrated in an eclectic epigraphic dossier.
Two honorific inscriptions recently published in Paul Roesch’s Les Inscrip- tions de Thespies shed new light on the dossier, for they reveal, if the readings are correct, the existence of an as yet unknown member of the Statilii Tauri. As well as investigating this new avenue and its consequences for the longevity of relations between the Roman family and the Boiotian city, this study reassesses the cult of the Theos Tauros at Thespiai, along with its place in the wider context of cults for Romans in the Greek world. It also explores various aspects of the dynamics of Roman relations in Greece in the post-Actium era, notably through the complex networks between the Statilii Tauri and members of a local Boiotian elite.

This article is devoted to the work of the famous Russian researcher of Greece, Mikhail Semyonovich Koutorga (1809-1886), who made a scientific journey to Greece in 1860-1861 and in 1874 published some of the results in the volume work “Plataiai: an Excerpt from a Journey to Greece” in the “Russkiy Vestnik” journal. This work is little known in Russia and, probably, practically unknown abroad. It presents not only the results of juxtaposing the terrain with the course of the battle of Plataiai in 479 BC, but also a wealth of factual material on the topography of the Plataiai region, as well as on the etymology of a number of geographical names. This work indicates that regarding Boiotia, the Russian science of the 1860s-70s took into account the latest research, and Koutorga himself outlined a number of areas for further research on Plataiai. We have made an attempt to compare the information received by Koutorga during his stay in Boiotia with the current state of research of Plataiai.

The Chaironeia/2001 coin hoard, exhibited today in the Numismatic Collection of the Chaironeia Archaeological Museum, was found during a rescue excavation of a Roman farmhouse (villa rustica), 500 m. outside of modern Chaironeia. This hoard consists of 10 antoniniani issued either during the joined reign of Valerianus I - Gallienus (AD 253-260) or the sole reign of Gallienus (AD 260-268).
The date of the latest coin, issued from 266 to the middle of 267 or to the beginning of AD 268, establishes either the date of hoard’s concealment or the date of farmhouse’s abandonment. The short space between the earliest and the latest coin of the hoard, 10-11 years, the almost good condition of the coins, and their small number suggests that the house’s owner concealed the money lest he suffer some danger, so that he could regain his money safely at a later date. 
Prompted by this small find an overview of the emergency hoards concealed in mainland Greece during the reign of Gallienus (AD 253-268) has been undertaken, so that conclusions concerning their geographical distribution, the quality, and the quantity of hoards can be deduced.
When looking for reasons why a farmer would feel the need to hide his money, one possible explanation comes from the literary evidence. In Historia Augusta, Vita Gallieni 13,8, the Herulians are going through Boeotia and sacking villages and farms. Their course, in combination with the findspots of the emergency hoards and the scattered information collected from the partly preserved Itinerarium Antonini 325/6, of Diocletianus era, and Tabula Peutingeriana map, of the second half of the 4th century AD, helps strengthen the argument that Boeotians had reason to hide their money until it was safe to go back to their homes.
Finally, it is likely that the Herulian going through Boeotia is more than possible, since the German intruders eventually fled northwards to Epirus and Macedonia. The Chaironeia/2001 hoard constitutes one of a lost link in a chain of emergency hiding places deposited during the reign of Gallienus. To the unproved indication of Herulian presence in Lebadeia could be added now the more secure proof of Chaironeia, which is based on the heavier numismatic evidence. The fact that the Herulian troops were persecuted by the Roman legions could be a good reason for the absence of well-founded destruction remains throughout Boeotia.

In this essay I provide the editio princeps of two inscriptions found in recent rescue excavations at Thebes. Both texts are poetic, and they are further connected by means of an unusual epigraphic experiment, as the reader will soon discover. They represent however two different genres, and although qualitative judgment should be resisted, text no. II is potentially one of the most important Greek inscriptions to have been discovered in recent years.

Programme of the conference Boiotia and the Outside World taking place at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) on 7, 8 and 9 June 2017. Please register by the end of May (free registration, but compulsory).

Traditionally Boiotian studies focus on the region itself and the Boiotian Confederacy, and for the first time both a research project and a conference aim to explore the relations Boiotia entertained with various foreign entities. The conference is meant as an interdisciplinary enterprise, with papers pertaining to themes in History, Epigraphy and Archaeology, covering a period between the Bronze Age and the Late Roman period.
Topics include, among others, relations with neighbouring regions, borders, religion and sanctuaries, mythology, influence on local production of artefacts, as well as political and economic relations. One of the main appeals of the conference is that several papers focus on current and unpublished research, since the majority of delegates are involved in or lead major surveys, excavations, and epigraphic projects. 

Speakers include Prof. Vassilis Aravantinos, Prof. Margherita Bonanno Aravantinos, Dr. Emma Aston, Prof. Hans Beck, Dr. Philip Bes, Prof. John Bintliff, Dr Bryan Burns, Dr Alexandra Charami, Dr Sylvian Fachard, Dr Samuel Gartland, Paul Grigsby, Dr Yannis Kalliontzis, Prof. Denis Knoepfler, Prof. Christel Müller, Dr Isabelle Pernin, Prof. Albert Schachter, Dr Sebastian Scharff, and Roy van Wijk​.

In Boiotia only Tanagra has so far produced a series of epitaphs erected by associations for their deceased members. Thanks to a new autopsy of the stones an association without any parallel in the Greek world has come to light, an association of mageiroi. The dossier of the enigmatic Aristiastai is also re-assessed and a new interpretation is offered: they could be a group of soldiers or former soldiers honouring Aristeia, the personification of an award of merit bestowed upon them. Finally, this series of epitaphs is placed in a regional context involving the island of Euboia. Indeed, the closest parallels for such epigraphic practice by associations in Central Greece originate from Chalcis and Eretria, illustrating once more the strong links between Tanagra and its Euboian neighbours, as well as the federative role played by the Euboian gulf.

La découverte en 1990, sur la colline d’Isoma (l’antique Mont Thourion), près de Chéronée, d’une base de trophée interprétée à raison comme une dédicace de deux soldats chéronéens, et non comme un monument érigé par Sylla, a fait mettre en doute le témoignage de Plutarque sur les trophées élevés par l’'imperator' à la suite de sa victoire sur les troupes pontiques en 86 av. J.-C. ('Sulla', 19, 9-10). Cet article propose une nouvelle lecture de ce passage concordant avec les vestiges archéologiques et l’indication fournie par Pausanias (IX, 40, 7) : Sylla a bien érigé deux trophées dans la plaine, et les deux soldats de Chéronée en élevèrent un troisième, plus modeste, sur la colline où ils avaient accompli leur acte de bravoure.

The Monastery of Hosios Loukas is situated at an altitude of 430 m (38°23′43.12′′N, 22°44′48.22′′E) in the western foothills of Mount Helikon, near the village of Steiri, Boeotia, Greece. It is one of the most important monuments of Middle Byzantine art and architecture and has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Information varies concerning the construction date of the magnificent church to house the Hosios Loukas relics. Moreover, little is known about the time when the rest of the monastic complex was built. This paper aims to shed light on these chronological questions. For this purpose, 15 wood samples, originating from the outermost rings of the wooden timber preserved from the initial scaffolding of the church and its four supporting buttresses and another two from the wooden gate of the monastery, were radiocarbon (14C) dated using the conventional gas-counting technique. Our results show that the church was built in the beginning of the 11th century. The fo...