Papers by George Koutsouflakis
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Nov 11, 2019
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
In the medieval Eastern Mediterranean, shipwreck finds point out a remarkable pottery production,... more In the medieval Eastern Mediterranean, shipwreck finds point out a remarkable pottery production, which constitutes most of the known cargoes of table wares. These wares are also found in sites all around the Mediterranean in 12th and 13th century CE contexts, and may be seen in museums all around the world. Their origin was still the subject of much speculation, as it corresponds to a main hub in trade networks. We show here that it can be identified to Chalcis, the harbour of wealthy Byzantine Thebes, and later on an important Venetian port of call in the Aegean under the name of Negroponte. Our results are based on the comparison of the chemical composition of samples from the Kavalliani shipwreck, which carried a cargo of these wares and sunk while leaving the Chalcis area, to the reference group of Chalcis.
Die Deutsche Bibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografi e.
26 2017 BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS INA Directors and Officers gathered in Monte Carlo, Monaco to ce... more 26 2017 BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS INA Directors and Officers gathered in Monte Carlo, Monaco to celebrate another successful year 30 BOOK REVIEW: H.L. HUNLEY RECOVERY OPERATIONS 32 RETROSPECTIVE 34 2017 INA DONORS FOUNDERS
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018
In the medieval Eastern Mediterranean, shipwreck finds point out a remarkable pottery production,... more In the medieval Eastern Mediterranean, shipwreck finds point out a remarkable pottery production, which constitutes most of the known cargoes of table wares. These wares are also found in sites all around the Mediterranean in 12th and 13th century CE contexts, and may be seen in museums all around the world. Their origin was still the subject of much speculation, as it corresponds to a main hub in trade networks. We show here that it can be identified to Chalcis, the harbour of wealthy Byzantine Thebes, and later on an important Venetian port of call in the Aegean under the name of Negroponte. Our results are based on the comparison of the chemical composition of samples from the Kavalliani shipwreck, which carried a cargo of these wares and sunk while leaving the Chalcis area, to the reference group of Chalcis.
Κατά το έτος 2010 συνεχίστηκε από την Εφορεία Εναλίων Αρχαιοτήτων σε συνεργασία με το Ινστιτούτο ... more Κατά το έτος 2010 συνεχίστηκε από την Εφορεία Εναλίων Αρχαιοτήτων σε συνεργασία με το Ινστιτούτο Εναλίων Αρχαιολογικών Ερευνών η υποβρύχια επιφανειακή έρευνα σε επιλεγμένες θέσεις του Νότιου Ευβοϊκού, με το ερευνητικό πεδίο να επικεντρώνεται στη θαλάσσια περιοχή του νησιωτικού συμπλέγματος των Πεταλιών, καθώς και σε ναυάγιο των ύστερων ελληνιστικών χρόνων στη νήσο Στύρα. Το νησιωτικό σύμπλεγμα των Πεταλιών, παραμένει σε μεγάλο βαθμό αχαρτογράφητο αρχαιολογικά, το ίδιο δε ισχύει και για το θαλάσσιο χώρο που το περιβάλλει, ο οποίος ουδέποτε έως σήμερα έχει διερευνηθεί 1 . Κατά την περίοδο 18-30/6/2010 ερευνήθηκαν εκτενείς θαλάσσιες περιοχές του συμπλέγματος και εντοπίστηκαν τέσσερα αρχαία ναυάγια, στις νήσους Μακρονήσι και Φούντι.
Conferences by George Koutsouflakis
Previous studies have highlighted the existence of intense trading activities between the Levant ... more Previous studies have highlighted the existence of intense trading activities between the Levant and the Aegean throughout the Classical and Hellenistic periods. However, the available material evidence concerning these commercial connections is still quite limited and most of the academic literature is based on written sources and epigraphic finds. Our contribution aims to provide a new set of archaeological data and, on that basis, to review the current hypotheses on the post-Archaic Levant-Aegean interactions. In fact, several documents allow sketching an innovative picture regarding the economic and trading networks that developed linking the Levantine coast, some Aegean islands and mainland Greece. Epigraphic data illustrate the presence of "Phoenician" communities who lived (and died) in various Greek cities. Additionally, several unpublished finds from key underwater contexts and an exceptional Levantine and Punic amphorae assemblage found in the southeastern Aegean (off the coast of Levitha Island) provide fresh data on the consumption of Phoenician wine in the Classical and Hellenistic Aegean. By confronting these historical sources, a connection between these commercial relations with specific historical circumstances is proposed, and also the most likely design of the main maritime routes is explored. The paper examines the continuity of the connectivity and mobility of people and goods from the 5 th to the 3 rd centuries B. C. In any case, the evidence studied in this paper can be considered just as the tip of the iceberg of a quite larger amount of similar unpublished finds that still need to be studied and integrated within the conventional historical narrative.
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Papers by George Koutsouflakis
Conferences by George Koutsouflakis
If during a more or less recent past most studies were mainly focused on data collected at the sites of consumption (and thus on the indestructible ceramic), centered on the type and histories of each production (fine table ware, lamps, kitchenware and coarse ware), recent studies have been, on one hand, directed towards a review of the known types and towards a more thoughtful analysis of the contexts of discovery, perfecting the production framework and anchoring to a trustworthy time frame certain types and classes in circulation; on the other hand they have focused on the production centers in order to get a better geographic characterization of those same types and classes, applying a wealth of suitable methodologies, surveys of large tracts of land, surveys and excavations of old and new workshops, laboratory analysis. The results draw a scenery in which a great variety of productive facies and distribution models reflect the complexity of the cultural, social and economic contexts, both micro- and macro-regional, both at the provincial and inter-provincial levels. This session aims to describe these lines of research, focusing on the organization of production and commerce in the region, their similarities and differences, and on a list of questions still unsolved, the solution of which will call for a further revision of published data, and for brand new information.
Nowadays, several documents allow us to draw a new picture regarding the economic and trade networks between these two areas. Epigraphic data, firstly, illustrate the presence of “Phoenician” agents who lived (and died) in Greece – more precisely in Athens and Delos – and were involved in maritime trade activities. Moreover, recent archaeological research provides new traces of those activities. The discovery of various amphorae in underwater contexts in the port of Piraeus, a key site in the route from Delos, can be linked to an exceptional assemblage of amphorae of Levantine and Punic provenance in the southeastern Aegean (unpublished shipwreck found off the coast of Levitha Island).
By confronting these distinct sources of documentation, we are able to highlight the possible conditions and modalities of some of these exchange networks between the Levant and the central and southern Aegean area. Beyond the imports of raw materials, well documented by the textual sources but sometimes hard to identify archaeologically, new documentation suggests the existence of a wine trade supply from the Levant. We can also assess the long continuity of this business, including finds dating from 5th to the 3rd c. BC. The evidence studied in this paper can be considered just as the tip of the iceberg of a quite larger amount of amphorae and other unpublished finds that for sure supports the existence of a relevant connection between the Levantine ports and some of the main Aegean markets, between the Peloponnesian War and the arrival of Rome.