R.E. Jones

Declines of managed honey bees and beekeepers in Europe

Summary Growing evidence indicates that European managed honey bees are in decline, but information for Europe remains patchy and localized. Here we compile data from 18 European countries to assess trends in the number of honey bee colonies and beekeepers between 1965 and 2005. We found consistent declines in colony numbers in central European countries and some increases in Mediterranean countries. Beekeeper numbers have declined in all of the European countries examined. Our data support the view that honey bees are in decline at least in some regions, which is probably closely linked to the decreasing number of beekeepers. Our data on colony numbers and beekeepers must, however, be interpreted with caution due to different approaches and socioeconomic factors in the various countries, thereby limiting their comparability. We therefore make specific recommendations for standardized methodologies to be adopted at the national and global level to assist in the future monitoring of honey bees.

Technology Transfer at the Periphery of the Mycenaean World: The Cases of Mycenaean Pottery Found in Central Macedonia (Greece) and the Plain of Sybaris (Italy)

The study of technology transfer in pottery production to the periphery of the Mycenaean world has been addressed by considering two different areas, southern Italy and central Macedonia. Technological features such as ceramic paste, decoration and firing have been determined for different ceramic groups established according to provenance criteria. The studies of technology and provenance have been performed following an archaeometric approach, using neutron activation analysis, petrographic analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results have revealed the existence of two different models. On the one hand, southern Italy seems to exhibit a more organized pottery production, which follows a Mycenaean-like technology, while in central Macedonia production is probably more varied, being based in part on the technology of the local tradition.

Byzantine and Allied Pottery: A Contribution by Chemical Analysis to Problems of Origin and Distribution

Analyses are given of the clay composition of kiln waste from some production sites, and of excavated sherds of some distinctive wares, as a contribution to a possible archive aimed at localizing the origins of different classes of pottery found in archaeological contexts, and at clarifying trade patterns.

Scientific Analyses of Minoan Fresco Samples from Knossos

The stratigraphical excavations of the British School at Athens of the Minoan settlement at Knossos on Crete following the Second World War have produced, among much else, many fragmentary remains of wall paintings in datable archaeological contexts of almost every period from Early Minoan I to Late Minoan IIIB ( c. 3000–1200 B.C.). This circumstance therefore presented an excellent opportunity to examine and analyse scientifically fresco samples spanning almost the entire Minoan epoch in the hope that it might be possible to fill in some of the gaps in present knowledge of Minoan wall painting technology. A cursory glance at the published reports of Aegean Bronze Age fresco analyses, especially prior to research since 1974, indicates the ‘gaps’ to be both wide and many: so few samples had been examined from any one site, or from any one period, or from paintings of any serious art-historical significance at all, that the scientific, statistical, and art-historical basis of this field of research seemed very dubiously established. The present study, which has grown from Dr. Mark Camerons preparation of the publication of the new fresco material from these excavations, only became feasible when suitable laboratory facilities presented themselves.

2-D velocity structure of the buried ancient canal of Xerxes: an application of seismic methods in archaeology

Abstract An ancient buried canal whose existence had been disputed even in antiquity has been detected and described by the modern seismic methods of geophysics. Its dimensions concur with those described by the ancient historian, Herodotus. The 2-km long canal is located in the Chalkidiki peninsula in northern Greece, and was constructed some 2500 years ago by the Persian King Xerxes. Beyond the classical processing of the seismic data, inverse seismic modeling was also implemented, giving an improved and more complete picture. The inverse modeling tested the validity of the results of the seismic refraction and reflection seismics and provided 2-D velocity structure profiles. Over much of the isthmus, it was possible to trace the route of the ancient canal by connecting the deepest points of all the sections.

The ‘SOS’ Amphora

I Discuss here some features of the type of storage amphora dubbed ‘SOS’, a large semi-decorated container in use from the later eighth to the first half of the sixth century B.C., and found at a large number of sites around the Mediterranean and beyond. In particular, the evidence of clay analyses carried out at the British School by Richard Jones will be adduced to confirm the Attic origin of the majority of these vases, while other centres of production will be reviewed. I also treat briefly the shape and decoration of the type and the inscriptions which the vases often carry. Other scholars are working on different aspects of the SOS amphora and I have therefore restricted my comments here; similarly, I do not treat at length material which is in course of publication, leaving closer discussion of dating especially to the excavators concerned.

Spectrographic Analyses of Mycenaean Pottery from Ialysos on Rhodes: Results and Implications

AbstractThe changing relations between the important Mycenaean site of Ialysos on Rhodes and the Argolid (in the Greek Peloponnese) during the LH III period (the 15th-12th centuries B.C.) have been studied through the pottery found in the tombs of the cemetery from Ialysos. The results of spectrographic analyses of well characterised and dated pots from Ialysos have made possible a clear distinction between locally produced Rhodian pottery and imports that were primarily from the Argolid. During the LH IIIA2 period the large majority of the cemetery pottery at Ialysos was imported from the Argolid. The same situation pertains in the IIIB period, but there are examples of imported pottery from centres other than the Argolid, such as Crete. In the 12th century B.C. (IIIC), however, the position was completely reversed, and the fine Mycenaean pottery was almost exclusively made on Rhodes.

The sources of Mycenaean gypsum

The sources of gypsum, used as an interior building material in the Bronze Age palaces of Crete, some buildings at Akrotiri in Thera and in the mainland palaces at Mycenae and Tiryns, have been attributed by archaeologists to geological deposits in Crete itself, on mainland Greece, or in the Ionian islands of Zakynthos and Kephallenia. Isotopic analyses of sulphur and strontium have been used to characterize the Greek gypsum deposits and to investigate the provenance of gypsum excavated at Knossos, Hagia Triadha, Akrotiri, Mycenae and Tiryns. These analyses show that central Cretan gypsum deposits of Pliocene age supplied the Minoan palaces, Akrotiri on Thera and the palace at Mycenae. In contrast, Tiryns obtained its gypsum from Triassic gypsum deposits, either on Crete or in the Ionian islands or on mainland Greece.

The advent of archaeoseismology in the Mediterranean

Abstract This paper presents a brief historical overview of the development of archaeoseismology from the observations of Lanciani at ancient sites in Rome, of Kritikos in Athens, Evans at Knossos and Blegen at Troy, to the emergence in the last years of the twentieth century of archaeoseismology as a distinct sub-discipline of palaeoseismology. Some current issues are explored, beginning with major seismic events such as that in AD 365 in the Eastern Mediterranean whose effects were geographically widespread but uneven in their destructive severity; generalizations are hard to come by, and each case has to be examined on its own merits. The need to examine the suitability of building methods and materials in areas of seismic risk is emphasized. Finally, the contribution of seismic events to destruction horizons in two contrasting cases in the prehistoric Aegean is considered: at Mycenaean centres in the Argolid in the 13th–12th centuries BC, and in the Peloponnese at the end of Early Bronze II.

Mycenaean black inlaid metalware in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens: a technical examination

Current technical interest in the nature of the black inlaid decoration on ancient metalware has stimulated an examination of some of the well-known bronze daggers, silver vessels, and other fragments, all with inlaid decoration and dating to the 16–14th centuries BC, from Mycenae, Prosymna, Dendra, Routsi, and Pylos. Results of non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis point to great versatility in working with copper (or bronze)–gold–silver alloys. The black inlaid decoration is usually copper/bronze–gold alloy with small quantities of silver. Four of the objects were also examined by X-ray radiography.