SINCLAIR HOOD (1917–2021)

Sinclair Hood (1917–2021) was one of the two leading archaeologists of Minoan Crete of the second generation after Sir Arthur Evans, the other being Nikolaos Platon (1909–92). He spent much of his life researching the history of Knossos, including a major programme of excavations during his Directorship of the British School at Athens (1954–62) to test Evans’ chronological system for Knossos and Crete in the Bronze Age. He also directed excavations at prehistoric Emporio in Chios, and was versed in the archaeology of Central Europe and the Near East, as well as every aspect of Aegean prehistory, on which he wrote profusely. In Greece he revolutionised methods for British archaeologists and trained many students who later became project directors. His monumental study The Masons’ Marks of Minoan Knossos crowned his career. It was published in 2020, when he was 103.

PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY OF CERAMIC OIL LAMPS IN HELLENISTIC AND EARLY ROMAN NEA PAPHOS, CYPRUS: INTEGRATED TYPOLOGICAL, CHRONOLOGICAL AND PROVENANCE STUDIES

This paper presents the results of a multipronged approach to the study of the Hellenistic and Early Roman ceramic oil lamps excavated at the Agora of Nea Paphos in Cyprus. The assemblage was studied macroscopically, and selected samples were analysed through WD-XRF spectroscopy and thin section petrography, combined with refiring tests. The integrated results revealed that local production changed through time in terms of lamp shapes, manufacturing techniques and clay recipes, while imported lamps originated from a range of sources. The transformations seen in the local production correlate with changes in the origin of imported lamp supply and the impact of other centres on the local lamp manufacture. These patterns in production and supply could be most likely associated with political transformations and urban development.

THE FOUNDERS OF WESTERN PONTIC CITIES

The Greek cities of the western coast of the Black Sea knew both foundation myths and the phenomenon of the second foundation, associated with the rebuilding of civic life after the invasion of Burebista, the king of the Getae and Dacian tribes from 82 bce to 44 bce. In most foundation stories the ktistes is either a god (in the case of the city of Dionysopolis) or a hero (in the cases of the cities of Kallatis, Tomis and Anchialos), and the stories date mostly to the Antonine age. The story of Tomos of Tomis stands out owing to its wide acceptance among the local elite, while that of Melsas of Mesambria may have never gained official acceptance: it was created in the late Hellenistic age, probably reviving a Thracian tale of Melsas, perhaps a hero, known from early-third century bce coins. The Melsas story is a prime example of cultural transfers from the native population to Greek-majority Mesambria in the Hellenistic and early Roman ages.

THE LATE HELLENISTIC WINE PRESS EXCAVATIONS FROM KNOSSOS: THE EARLY IRON AGE, HELLENISTIC AND EARLY ROMAN CONTEXTS

The remains of an exceptionally well-preserved Hellenistic wine press were uncovered during a rescue excavation at Knossos in 1977. The architecture, stratigraphy and faunal remains from this campaign were published in BSA 89 (1994) by J. Carington Smith (the excavator) and S. Wall. The artefact assemblages from this excavation, however, have remained unstudied and unpublished until now. The current article presents the artefact assemblages from the wine press excavation and considers them within their urban context at Knossos. The key findings from this excavation relate to the Late Hellenistic wine press and its associated material, which enables us to consider both the ancient winemaking process at Knossos and the economic topography of the city in the decades around the Roman conquest of the island in 67 bc. In addition to the Late Hellenistic phase, material of Minoan, Early Iron Age–Early Archaic, earlier Hellenistic and Early Roman dates is also presented and discussed.

IMAGINING CRETAN SCRIPTS: THE INFLUENCE OF VISUAL MOTIFS ON THE CREATION OF SCRIPT-SIGNS IN BRONZE AGE CRETE

What's in a sign? What is there to be ‘seen’ in a sign? This paper sets out to explore the sources and processes of sign creation in the scripts of the Bronze Age Aegean, namely Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A, in use on Crete from c. 1900–1600 bce (Middle Minoan IB/II–Middle Minoan III) and c. 1800–1450 bce (Middle Minoan IIA–Late Minoan IB) respectively. Linear B, developed out of Linear A to write Greek (c. 1450–1190 bce), will also be touched upon where relevant. By investigating contemporary iconographic production and putting forward a methodological framework for the analysis and interpretation of visual motifs, a theory will be tentatively proposed for understanding the process(es) of selection of sign shapes, their incorporation into a script as script-signs and their transmission from one script onto a graphically related one. The underlying research questions leading this enquiry are the following: how did ‘images’ find their way into script(s) to become ‘signs’ in the Aegean context? Are we able to reconstruct such a process to shed light on the origin of script-signs?

THE HELLENISTIC TOPOGRAPHY OF NEA KRANE, KEPHALLONIA

This paper approaches the Hellenistic topography of the polis of Krane (Kephallonia), for the first time incorporating data from aerial imagery from the Allied aerial photographs of the British School at Athens, predating the earthquakes of 1953 and subsequent afforestation. The study presents a synthesis of the traces relating to the incomplete orthogonal development of the city, named by Klavs Randsborg ‘Nea Krane’. The reconstructed area of the planned city is almost doubled, rising from 19.8 ha to 36.96 ha, and thus shedding new light on the scale of a majestic project which now counts 90 blocks, with a ratio of 1:3. The incomplete development is read in the framework of the settlement history of the polis of Krane, and of the development of urbanism in the region, to ascertain if the project could be ascribed to a failed synoecism or an external imposition.

THE PROCURATOR CAMPANIAE AND THE ‘LANDS OF CAPUA’ ON CRETE

This paper presents a new edition of a boundary stone between Capua (on Crete) and Knossos. I identify the post of Publius Messius Campanus as procurator Campaniae rather than procurator Caesaris. The appearance of the procurator Campaniae on Crete is linked to a dispute between the colony of Capua and a private citizen called Plotius Plebeius. This new reading has several important historical consequences: first, it is the earliest attestation of a procurator Campaniae (and the first outside Italy); second, it offers a new interpretation of the juridical category of Knossian lands as part of the ager vectigalis of the Italian colony of Capua in the form of a praefectura Campana or Capuensis; third, it proposes a reinterpretation of the process of arbitration between a public entity (Capua) and a private owner.

THE KAUSIA BOY FIGURINES FROM DEMETRIAS: A REASSESSMENT

Demetrias has yielded the largest number of terracotta figurines of a popular iconographic type of the Hellenistic period: the ‘kausia boy’, shown standing, dressed in the chiton, chlamys, kausia and krepides. The rediscovery of the material from A.S. Arvanitopoulos’ excavations at Demetrias in the early twentieth century has provided an opportunity to reassess the significance of this iconographic type in the city and in the wider Hellenistic world. Combining and comparing the material from Arvanitopoulos’ excavations with that from other excavations in the city by the German Archaeological Institute and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Magnesia, it is now clear that the kausia boy figurines from Demetrias were discovered in various contexts, including sanctuaries, graves and the foundations of the royal palace (Anaktoron); the largest number was found in the sanctuary of Pasikrata. It has been possible to identify more than ten technical types, confirming the importance of these figures in the coroplastic production of the city. This paper also discusses the iconographic types of the ‘shepherds’, kausia-wearing boys holding the syrinx and the lagobolon, as well as the animal-carrying boys, since they too are wearing the same attire, and are mechanically related to the simple kausia boy types. The study of Demetrias’ specimens, combined with the study of the distribution of these iconographic types in the Hellenistic world and the relevant iconographic, literary and epigraphic evidence enable its reinterpretation.