Urbanism in the Aegean Bronze Age (Sheffield Studies in Aegean Archaeology)

192 Pages·2001·14.46 MB·English

by  Keith Branigan

SHEFFIELD STUDIES IN AEGEAN ARCHAEOLOGY
Urbanism in the
Aegean Bronze Age
SHEFFIELD STUDIES IN AEGEAN ARCHAEOLOGY
ADVISORY EDITORIAL PANEL
Dr Stelios ANDREOU, University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Prof Susan ALCOCK, University of Michigan, USA
Dr John BENNET, University of Oxford, England
Professor Keith BRANIGAN, University of Sheffield, England
Dr William CAVANAGH, University of Nottingham, England
Professor Jack DAVIS, University of Cincinnati, USA
Dr Peter DAY, University of Sheffield, England
Dr Charles FREDERICK, University of Sheffield, England
Dr Paul HALSTEAD, University of Sheffield, England
SHEFFIELD STUDIES IN
AEGEAN ARCHAEOLOGY
Urbanism in
the
Aegean Bronze Age
edited by
Keith Bmnigan
Copyright © 2001 Sheffield Academic Press
A Continuum imprint
Published by
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Typeset by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
Printed on acid-free paper in Great Britain by
Bookcraft Ltd, Midsomer Norton, Bath
ISBN 1-84127-341-4
Contents
Abbreviations vi
Preface Keith Braniganv vii
List of Contributors x
Settlement Nucleation
1. CHRISTOPHER MEE
Nucleation and Dispersal in Neolithic and Early Helladic Laconia 1
Urbanism in Minoan Crete
2. TODD WHITELAW
From Sites to Communities: Defining the Human Dimensions of Minoan Urbanism 15
3. KEITH BRANIGAN
Aspects of Minoan Urbanism 38
4. JAN DRIESSEN
History and Hierarchy. Preliminary Observations on the Settlement Pattern in 51
Minoan Crete
5. TIM CUNNINGHAM
Variations on a Theme: Divergence in Settlement Patterns and Spatial Organization 72
in the Far East of Crete during the Proto- and Neopalatial Periods
6. ILSE SCHOEP
Managing the Hinterland: The Rural Concerns of Urban Administration 87
Urbanism in Mycenaean Greece
7. ANASTASIA DAKOURI-HILD
Plotting Fragments: A Preliminary Assessment of the Middle Helladic Settlement 103
in Boeotian Thebes
8. WILLIAM CAVANAGH
Empty Space? Courts and Squares in Mycenaean Towns 119
9. JOHN BENNET AND CYNTHIA SHELMERDINE
Not the Palace of Nestor: The Development of the 'Lower Town' and Other 135
Non-Palatial Settlements in LBA Messenia
10. JOHN CHERRY AND JACK DAVIS
'Under the Sceptre of Agamemnon': The View from the Hinterlands of Mycenae 141
11. STELIOS ANDREOU
Exploring the Patterns of Power in the Bronze Age Settlements of Northern Greece 160
Appendices
1. TODD WHITELAW
The Floor Area of 207 Minoan Houses 174
2. WILLIAM CAVANAGH
Recent References to Bronze Age Roads in the Aegean 180
Abbreviations
AAA Athens Annals of Archaeology
ADelt Arkhaiologiko Deltion
AE Arkhaiologiki Efimeris
AEMTh To Arkhaiologiko Ergo sti Makedonia kai Thraki
A]A American Journal of Archaeology
AM Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung
AR Archaeological Reports
ASA Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene
BAM Beitrage zur Ur- und Friihgeschichtlichen Archdologie des Mittelmeer-Kulturraumes
BAR British Archaeological Reports
BCH Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenicjue
BICS Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies of the University of London
BSA Annual of the British School at Athens
CAJ Cambridge Archaeological Journal
CMS Corpus der minoischen und mykenischen Siegeln
CP Classical Philology
CQ Classical Quarterly
Ergon To Ergon tis Arkhaiologikis Etairias
G&R Greece and Rome
JAS Journal of Archaeological Science
JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies
JMA Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology
Kr Chron Kritika Chronika
OJA Oxford Journal of Archaeology
PAE Praktika tis en Athinais Arkhaiologikis Etairias
PBA Proceedings of the British Academy
PCPS Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society
SIMA Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology
SMEA Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici
Preface
Keith Branigan
The papers found in this volume were first personality. These are, after all, what makes a
presented at the fifth Round Table on Aegean town different to a village, and urban differ-
Archaeology, held at Sheffield in January ent to rural. They underpin the definition of a
2000. They were subsequently re-written, in town which I offered the Round Table, and
the light of the intensive discussion and which I unashamedly admit is taken from the
debate which they generated, for publication combined words of Louis Wirth (in 1938) and
in this volume. Two contributors to the Round Bruce Trigger (in 1972): 'a relatively large,
Table were unable, for various reasons, to con- dense and permanent settlement of socially
tribute a chapter to the book, but they con- heterogeneous individuals, which performs
tributed fully to the discussions which specialist functions, of a non-agricultural
informed the papers published here. We type, in relationship to a broader hinterland'.
would like to acknowledge the contributions Whilst that definition can be seen to
of Cyprian Broodbank and Vance Watrous, as embrace a number of both Minoan and
well as the full part played by our principal Mycenaean nucleated settlements, most
discussant, Anthony Snodgrass. Aegean prehistorians have long recognised
Our Round Table was about urbanism, and that Minoan towns were in some respects
so is this volume; it is not concerned with quite different to those of contemporary
urbanisation. That is, we focus not on the mainland Greece. This was something that
process but rather on its end-product. This is was brought out by our discussions, and
partly because we did not want the discus- indeed the differences were seen to be per-
sion to drift from urbanisation to state-forma- haps more wide-ranging than we had previ-
tion or the emergence of civilisation. ously realised.
Important and interesting as they are, these
topics have been the centre of much debate in
Aegean prehistory over the past thirty years, Minoan Urbanism
and they will be so again. The nature and
character of Bronze Age towns, however, has Todd Whitelaw rightly says that to under-
seen much less discussion, particularly at a stand Minoan urbanism we must first
generalised level. Papers on prehistoric attempt to establish its scale in human terms,
Aegean towns have largely focussed on their which means getting to grips with the diffi-
architecture, and particularly their elite or cult topic of population estimates. He pre-
public architecture, and are often restricted to sents probably the most carefully argued and
a single town or even a single building. The thoughtful paper yet published on this topic
purpose of the Round Table was to direct (and an appendix provides some of the raw
attention and thought not only to urban set- data for others to use in further research).
tlements as a whole but to their social and Keith Branigan compares urban and rural
economic roles, their demographic signifi- populations and concludes that urbanism
cance, and ultimately to their character or was a way of life for a very significant part of
viii Urbanism in the Aegean Bronze Age
the Minoan population, and that it was struc- domestic housing is a feature of this early
tured in a three-tier hierarchy. Jan Driessen, town, and that changing social structures
whilst accepting a similar hierarchical struc- may be reflected in the development of the
ture, uses the evidence provided by more town through the Middle Helladic. One of
than twenty regional surveys to argue that the most obvious points of difference
both settlement history and hierarchy varies between Minoan and Mycenaean towns, the
from region to region. Tim Cunningham size of public spaces and courts, is taken up
takes the arguement a stage further, with a and explored from the Mycenaean viewpoint
detailed examination of urban settlements by William Cavanagh. Open spaces and
and their hinterlands in east Crete. He identi- courtyards in Mycenean towns have their
fies local variability both in centre-periphery own distinctive character and functions.
relations, and in the spatial organisation of They have little to do with public meeting
towns. The same theme of temporal and places, but much to do with public ceremo-
regional variability is taken up by Use Schoep nial processions and progress. The ceremo-
in her discussion of the urban-hinterland nial roads which lead from the courts, lead
relationship as revealed in the archival evi- also beyond the urban centres to their rural
dence. She suggests that in Protopalatial hinterlands. John Cherry and Jack Davis
Crete administrative documents are restrict- explore the settlement of those hinterlands in
ed to urban centres and 'public' buildings, an attempt to understand better what sus-
whilst in the Neopalatial they are more tained the central places. Their case study of
widely distributed in town and country and the Nemea valley reveals only a handful of
appear in private as well as 'public' contexts. other potential towns in the region of
Her case studies suggest that urban-rural Mycenae, forming a second tier in the urban
relationships may have been managed in dif- hierarchy. Below this there appear to be only
ferent ways for different purposes in different villages, hamlets and farmsteads. John
times and places. Bennett and Cynthia Shelmerdine, examining
Overall, the papers on Minoan urbanism the case of Pylos and its nearest neighbours,
suggest that towns were a very significant are able to outline the growth of the nucle-
part of Minoan life, demographically and ated settlements, and by relating the archaeo-
socially as well as economically, but that the logical to the textual data, to suggest the way
ways in which the urban-rural dialogue was in which relationships between first and sec-
articulated varied considerably from region ond rank centres may have developed.
to region, as well as from Protopalatial to Stelios Andreou examines a very different
Neopalatial. region, in central Macedonia, where small-
scale societies endured for millennia. In the
Late Bronze Age a small number of signifi-
Mycenaean Urbanism cant nucleated settlements with features like
perimeter walls, spatial organization, and
The early stages of mainland urbanism have acquisition of long-distance trade objects,
received little attention and Anastasia were clearly the focus for social activity and
Dakouri-Hild's paper on Middle Helladic the exercise of power. This is the sort of com-
Thebes is therefore a particularly welcome plexity we might associate with towns but
contribution. She demonstrates that variabil- should that term be applied to these
ity in both the density and architecture of Macedonian mounds?
Preface ix
Certainly, as we noted earlier, size is not sarily prepare the way for it. But to explore
everything when it comes to defining urban- how and why towns develop is not only a
ism, the provision of social and economic long and difficult task, it is also a different
services and amenities are essential features one to that which the fifth Round Table set
of towns. It is appropriate therefore that the itself.
volume begins with Christopher Mee's dis-
cussion of nucleation and dispersal in
Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Laconia. He Acknowledgment
demonstrates that the growth of nucleated
settlements alone neither announces the We are pleased to acknowledge the financial
arrival of urbanism nor does it always neces- support of INSTAP for this Round Table.