Christopher Mee

A Rough and Rocky Place: The Landscape and Settlement History of the Methana Peninsula, Greece

The uncompromising nature of the landscape of the Methana Peninsula in Greece, and its overall isolation, have been dominating factors in the peninsulas history. This is a report of major fieldwork undertaken following a brief reconnaissance in the summer of 1981. A more detailed exploratory study was made a year later, and it soon became obvious that the settlement history of the peninsula was more complex than it had been thought to be, when a number of unrecorded sites were discovered. It also became clear that most previous reports had discussed known sites solely or primarily in terms of their architectural remains, and that the peninsulas settlement history would not be comprehensible without systematic study. A survey strategy was developed and a full field-survey season on Methana was undertaken with two teams in 1984, followed by further seasons in each of the next three years.

Aegean Trade and Settlement in Anatolia in the Second Millennium B.C.

The evidence of Minoan and Mycenaean trade with and settlement in Anatolia has never been comprehensively studied. Bittel (1967:5–23), Buchholz (1974:365–8), Cook and Blackman (1959–60:39–50, 1964–5:44–55, 1970–1:39–53), D. French (1969:73–4), Hiller (1975:406–11), Hope Simpson and Lazenby (1973:174–9), Lloyd and Mellaart (1955:81–3), Mellaart (1968:187–90) and Stubbings (1951:22–4 and 88–9) have discussed some of the sites involved but not in depth. Obviously it is only by considering the evidence as a whole that a definitive assessment is possible, so that a further study is not superfluous. Problems arising from the decipherment of the Bogazkoy/Hattusas archives are not considered but I would hope that this study might nevertheless assist those concerned with the political geography of Anatolia in the second millennium.

Excavations at Kouphovouno, Laconia: results from the 2001 and 2002 seasons

A final report is presented here on the excavation of four Areas at the prehistoric site of Kouphovouno, Sparta, Lakonia. Areas A and D were excavated as trials in 2001 and lie outside the land purchased by the BSA for the main campaigns, so they could not be excavated further, whilst Areas E and F had extensive deposits of historic date and were not further explored as being outside the remit of the main Kouphovouno Project. The excavations have yielded important Neolithic and Early Helladic II deposits, plus Bronze Age burials and later Roman remains. After summarising the aims of the Project and mentioning earlier work at the site, the report gives an account of the stratigraphy and finds and includes specialist reports on the human and animal bones, the ceramics, the chipped and ground stone and other finds. Also discussed is the relationship between the surface remains reported in BSA 99 and the excavated material.

'Sparta before Sparta': report on the intensive survey at Kouphovouno 1999-2000

This is the final report on the intensive survey at Kouphovouno, the prehistoric settlement just south of Sparta, in 1999–2000. As well as a total collection of the artefacts on the surface, there was a magnetometer survey of the site and a programme of environmental studies, for which a series of cores was taken. The site was first occupied in the 6th millennium and covered 4–5 ha in the Middle, Late/Final Neolithic and Early Helladic periods. Occupation continued in the Middle and Late Helladic periods and there is also evidence of Classical-Hellenistic and Roman activity. As well as pottery, the artefacts included chipped and polished stone tools. An analytical programme has investigated the source of the raw materials used for the latter.

Greek archaeology : a thematic approach

Introduction. 1. Settlement and Settlements. 2. The Architecture of Power. 3. Residential Space. 4. The Countryside. 5. Technology and Production. 6. Trade and Colonisation. 7. Warfare. 8. Death and Burial. 9. Religion. Bibliography.