Archaeological Institute

The Iron Age copper smelting site situated near the Cypriot village Agia Varvara is of particular importance among the ancient copper processing places in the Near East because it has revealed spatial as well as technological aspects of copper production in a hitherto rarely-seen depth of detail. Agia Varvara-Almyras: an Iron Age Copper Smelting Site in Cyprus presents the results of a comprehensive post-excavation analysis of the stratigraphy (part I), also of the geology, metallurgical materials (furnaces, tuyeres), finds (pottery, furnace lining, stone tools), as well as a synthesis of the copper smelting technology at Agia Varvara-Almyras (part II).The excavation analysis not only focuses on pyrotechnical information from individual furnaces, but also provides a detailed study of the spatial organisation as well as of the living conditions on the smelting site. An elaborate reconstruction of the features in a 3D model allows the visualisation of formerly-dispersed loci of copper production. Based on this virtual rebuilding of the hillock named Almyras, it becomes clear that archaeometallurgy must be unchained, and the idea of an ‘operational chain’ must be replaced by a more multidimensional research strategy labelled as an ‘operational web’. The present volume aims to stimulate future excavations which pay attention to the reasons behind the exploitation of the riches of the island, as well as to the needs of the markets where the final product was very likely to have been appreciated as a strategic commodity, by power players operating on the island as well as by ordinary people in need of a repair to an everyday commodity which had broken.

In Spina konnte erstmals der Nachweis der griechischen «batterie de cuisine» in einer etruskischen Siedlung und nördlich des Apennins erbracht werden. Die Leitform der griechischen Kochkeramik schlechthin ist die Lopas. Ein flacher Kochtopf mit weiter Mündung, dessen Rand innen mit einer Deckelleiste versehen ist. Die Gefässform entsteht im 5. Jh. v. Chr. Ab klassischer, v. a. aber hellenistischer Zeit findet die Gefässform eine maximale Verbreitung von der Levante bis nach Marseille. Eine Vielzahl neuer Produktionsorte entsteht, aber auch lokale Imitationen in den für die einheimischen Kochtöpfe üblicherweise verwendeten Tonsorten. Zeitgleich mit der neuen Gefässform lässt sich in den antiken Schriftquellen ein entscheidender Einschnitt in den Essgewohnheiten feststellen. Dies wirft Fragen nach einer möglichen Übernahme griechischer kulinarischer Sitten und einer bedingten Akkulturation auf.
Die Untersuchung der Lopades der Zürcher Grabung konnte durch eine auf technischen Merkmalen beruhenden Typologie neue Einblicke in die Herstellung der Lopades und deren Entwicklung liefern. Naturwissenschaftliche Analysen ergänzen das Bild und geben Hinweise zu den damaligen Essensgewohnheiten. In der etruskischen Stadt Spina fällt zudem die nur partiell erfolgte Übernahme des griechischen Kochsets und eine starke Vermischung indigener und fremder Elemente auf. Anhand des Fundmaterials aus einem Zerstörungshorizont soll dies näher betrachtet werden.

The Zurich excavations in Spina [2008-2017] brought to light several settlement phases from the end of the 6th to the end of the 4th century B.C. The present volume is dedicated to the remains of the most recent phase, a house destroyed during a military conflict and its completely preserved inventory of the 4th century B.C. In addition to the evaluation of the architectural remains, the findings are also presented in their entirety, focusing on the so-called utilitarian pottery, which has hardly been considered in research to date. Based on the analysis of the findings, conclusions are drawn about the organisation of the household as well as the consumer behaviour and the social position of the inhabitants. In addition, the function, typological development, method of production, chronological development and origin of the ceramic findings are examined. The investigations in Spina, historically the most important trading centre on the Italian Adriatic coast, have added new data on the material and social network in the Mediterranean to the previously only sparsely documented 4th century B.C. in the Po Valley. Thanks to the excellent preservation conditions and the undisturbed features, the study makes an important contribution to the chronological classification and typological development of Etruscan pottery and the settlement system of this period.

La sigillata africana C proveniente dal porto di Olbia, inquadrabile cronologicamente tra il III e la metà del V secolo d.C., può essere considerata un campione rappresentativo della distribuzione della sigillata africana C nel Mediterraneo, ma non in Sardegna, dove quantità e varietà morfologica sono di entità assai inferiore. La mole di sigillata africana C del porto in rapporto alla penuria di attestazioni dai contesti urbani costituisce un'anomalia che pone molti interrogativi. Esisteva un mercato di consumo di sigillata africana C ad Olbia? A chi era destinato in realtà il vasellame rinvenuto nel porto? Si tratta di un indice di consumo urbano o di vitalità del porto, nonostante la crisi vissuta dalla cittadina e dal suo ceto medio?