Aegean Bronze Age Chronology

P. James, I. J. Thorpe, N. Kokkinos, R. Morkot & J. Frankish, Centuries of Darkness: A challenge to the conventional chronology of Old World archaeology (London: Jonathan Cape 1991/New Brunswick, NJ.: Rutgers University Press, 1993). With a Foreword by Colin Renfrew.

Publishers’ Blurb
The Old World has confronted archaeologists with many riddles, perhaps the most tantalising of which is the Dark Age, an economic and cultural recession so devastating it lasted for 400 years from 1200 to 800 BC. Or did it? The dates for the Near East and Mediterranean are derived from the highly regarded chronology of ancient Egypt, but could not that itself have been miscalculated? This is the pioneering theory proposed by Peter James in an intricate piece of scholarly detective work. Deciphering the clues from papyri and pottery, he and his team of experts search layer by layer through the excavated treasures of a vast area from Spain to Iran and from Denmark to Sudan, until they reach Egypt, the root of the labyrinthine riddle. It is here that they unearth 250 years of ‘ghost history’.
    Once these are eliminated, fresh perspective is thrown not only on the reality of the Dark Age, but also on the Trojan War, the foundation of Rome, the origin of the Greek alphabet and the Golden Age of King Solomon. Centuries of Darkness is a masterpiece of archaeological reasoning which will revolutionise our view of the ancient world.

The land of Israel appeared after the conquest of Canaan and according to the Bible, which states that 480 years elapsed between the Exodus and Solomon’s 4th year (1Kings 6:1) when he began to build the temple (around 1000 BCE), this conquest had to occur around 1500 BCE. As the very name "Israel" appears for the first time in the Israel Stele (dated ca. 1200 BCE), archaeologists claim that from 1500 to 1200 BCE, called the "period of the Judges", Canaan was in fact a set of small Canaanite kingdoms vassals of Egypt and, consequently, Israel did not exist at that time! So there is a major contradiction between the biblical account, which would be a myth according to archaeologists, and historical interpretation derived from few archaeological remains.
The chronological examination of that period shows that archaeological interpretations are baseless and are just a modern version of story-telling for adults. There are five datable synchronisms between Egypt and Canaan over the period 1500-1200 BCE: 1) sudden collapse of the Hyksos Dynasties when Pharaoh Seqenre Taa died in c. 1533 BCE after his last meeting with Moses, 2) Jericho and Hazor are burnt by Joshua in c. 1493 BCE then sudden emergence of Shasu "Bedouins" in Canaan, 3) King of Hazor Jabin II and the ruler Sisera died in c. 1347 BCE when the ‘Apiru's war occurred (‘Apiru means "factious"), 4) War of Seti I against Amurru (defeated by Gideon) in c. 1294 BCE, 5) Askelon is taken and "Israel is laid waste" according to the Merenptah stele dated c. 1211 BCE (after Judge Jair's death).

UPS AND DOWNS AT KANESH proposes a revised sequence of Old Assyrian eponyms and establishes a relative and an absolute chronology by way of linking textual evidence, dendrochronology and archaeological stratigraphy. This chronological framework is used to trace broader historical and social developments of political and territorial centralisation in Anatolia, as well as to offer new insights in the social and commercial history of the Old Assyrian trade.
A number of economic and social transformations in Assyrian society over the course of two centuries are identified by way of a statistical and prosopographical analysis. It is shown how the economic system that drove the well-known overland trade of the early Colony Period collapsed in a dramatic fashion after only thirty years (c. 1895-1865 BC), and that a series of changes in administrative organisation were created in immediate response. A primary vehicle in financing the trade – the joint-stock enterprise – was abandoned, and exchange came to be organised by way of venture trade. A distinct community of hybrid Assyrian-Anatolian households grew more prominent as mixed families came to be engaged mainly in local Anatolian trade and agriculture. In turn, a small and wealthy Assyrian elite functioned as permanently settled foreign trading agents, and a distinctive group of itinerant merchants continued to engage in the caravan trade and connect the Anatolian colonies to the mother city of Assur.

Problem:
Bab edh-Dhra‘ and Numeira have been identified by archaeologists as possible candidates for two of the biblical cities of the plain, but their existence in the Early Bronze Age III is too early to match the biblical narrative (Gen 19) by many chronologies of ancient Canaan.  This study sought to determine if there is sufficient flexibility in the archaeological and biblical chronologies to make the identification of Bab edh-Dhra‘ and Numeira with the cities of the plain a viable interpretation.

Method:
The range of dates possible for both the archaeological data and the biblical narratives was analyzed.  For the archaeological data this involved a study of the absolute dates for contemporary periods in Mesopotamia and Egypt, with particular emphasis on the trends in dating for both areas over the last century or so, as well as a study of radiocarbon dating in the region for this time period.  For the biblical narratives the study consisted of a review of the spectrum of absolute dates that have been suggested for the patriarchs.  The results of these two datasets were then compared for possible overlap.

Results:
Chronologies for both Mesopotamia and Egypt have been steadily lowered over the past century, and it is not clear that the trend is over.  This trend has not been yet fully embraced by mainstream archaeology in Syria/Palestine.  Radiocarbon was found to generally favor higher dates, but the method has problems that render it inconclusive by itself.  The absolute dates possible for the patriarchs span a lengthy period,
the early end of which may overlap the newer low chronologies for Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Conclusions:
Combining the new lower archaeological chronologies and the higher dates for the patriarchs indicates the possibility that Bab edh-Dhra‘ and Numeira could be two of the biblical cities of the plain.  Further investigation into this possible identification is merited.

In this paper we treat changes in weaponry and armament, which occurred in the Aegean and Levantine regions between the late 14th and the early 12th century BC. We aim at reconstructing these changes in a sequence as fine-phased as possible and try to identify the regions in which they originated. As a case study we use a sword of Naue II type found at Ugarit. As it has no clearly stratified context, we try to fix its chronology on one hand by reference to the overall stratigraphy of the site, and on the other by discussing better datable archaeological evidence from the Aegean and Cyprus. Swords of the Naue II group belong to new weapon types introduced to the eastern Mediterranean a few decades before the breakdown of many palace states around 1200 BC. There are different reasons that lead us to believe that these new weapon types arrived together with their users and producers from the central Mediterranean and cannot be seen as a result of goods exchange.

The absolute chronology of the Late Minoan I A period and in particular the date of the Minoan eruption at Santorini is the object of a debate which is ongoing since the 1970’s, and lead many scholars to speak of a "conflict" between archaeological and Radiocarbon dating. This study
presents a collation of all the main arguments for the archaeological chronology in the bibliography, and a reanalysis of the radiocarbon datasets from Akrotiri on Santorini, Tell el Dab'a in Egypt and
other relevant sites for the interlinked chronology. In particular, a critic approach to the accuracy of Bayesian chronology applied so far and a new possible approach to radiocarbon interpretation based on notions from Quantum mathematics are suggested, which, in combination with the new dendrochronological data from Pearson et al 2018, provide new evidence for an eruption date possibly as late as the second half of the XVI century BC. In addition, an open source package to perform the different analyses has been developed and uploaded on-line at the site
http://c14.bpinfo.org

За последние два века исследователями описано и систематизировано немало разнообразных закономерностей социального, политического и экономического развития человеческих обществ. Однако единая картина закономерностей социально-исторической динамики так и не сложилась. Причиной является исключительная разнородность результатов и отсутствие той единой точки отсчета, которая позволяет представить разнородные разработки как сегменты обширной мозаики, обладающей четкой единой структурой. Фактически в распоряжении исследователей имеется масса описаний и теорий―от статистических рядов отдельных параметров до универсалистских концепций эволюции всего человечества, от разнообразных "теорий среднего уровня" до обзоров макрозакономерностей―но они не дают единой закономерной картины социально-исторического развития.
Цель предлагаемой работы―показать не просто единую, но полную картину основных процессов социально-исторического развития во всей ее ошеломляющей целостности. Для этого последовательно реконструируется вся система закономерностей социальной эволюции―от среднесрочных процессов длительностью в несколько лет до вековых циклов локальных цивилизаций. Одни из этих закономерностей давно известны, другие впервые описаны в настоящем исследовании, но все они являются составными частями той удивительной цивилизационной динамики, которая разворачивается на Земле последние 10000 лет. Основная особенность предлагаемой картины―уточнение и сведение в единую систему всех основных ныне известных закономерностей пространственно-временного и качественного развития человеческих обществ―от статистических закономерностей до фундаментальных законов, включающих более простые законы и закономерности на правах частных случаев. ПРИМЕЧАНИЕ. Таблица 2 на стр.16 содержит ошибки, однако они не влияют на выводы, полученные с помощью анализа этой таблицы.

Memory and identity in LC I/LM IA Thera as reflected in settlement patterns
and ceramic production

The settlement patterns and ceramic production in LC I/ LM IA Thera are two subjects about which new evidence has emerged during the past twenty years. As a result, we are now in a better position to approach the topic of memory and identity of Theran society in the final phase before the eruption of the volcano.
Recent surface surveys added more sites to the already known complex settlement pattern of LC I pre-eruption Thera including individual farms and rural settlements. Among the new sites is Raos, in the South Caldera, where a sophisticated building complex with frescoes was revealed. This brings Thera even closer to Crete than the rest of the Cyclades. On the other hand, most of the LC I sites dispersed in the island’s countryside were founded on earlier sites dating back to the Early Cycladic period, which shows a strong tradition and memory in the occupation processes.
The excavations at both Akrotiri and Raos in the 2000s and 2010s increased the ceramic material from the Volcanic Destruction Level by hundreds of complete vases and thousands of sherds. A look at the pottery of the Volcanic Destruction Level based on all the material that has been found to date, old and new, is able to shed plenty of light on the modes and dynamics of both penetration of Minoan elements into Thera and transmission of the Cycladic past
In addition to the imports from Crete a good many Minoan shapes, entirely unknown in the Cyclades, were produced locally, meeting the new requirements formed by the embracing of a Minoan way of life. The process of Minoan features penetrating Thera on the cultural and social level is considerably more complex than the penetration of Knossian features, for example, into other Minoan sites. From the moment a Minoan feature penetrated Theran pottery its course was independent of the course it followed in Crete where it originated. The autonomy of the Theran workshops is more noticeable with the creation by the Theran potters of a number of types drawn from the combination of some features of two different Minoan shapes. These improvisations show better than anything else that the Theran artists were not tied to a past that was not their own, such as the Minoan. They had no hesitation whatsoever in redesigning its products.
A great many local pottery shapes, however, the main examples being the beaked jugs and nippled ewers, are found in the framework of the tradition that developed in the Cyclades during the EC and MC periods. Both plastic form and painted decoration express the continuation of the sense of sparseness and the disarming simplicity of Cycladic art in great respect. It is also of special importance that the predominant ritual libation sets, judging by their greater numbers, are the local traditional libation sets, the nipple-jug and the cylindrical rhyton.
In conclusion the evidence shows cultural and social transformation in LC I pre-eruption Τhera, which brings it closer than ever to Crete and Knossos without being very far away from its deeply rooted local traditions and memories in site occupation on the one hand and art, religion and cult practices on the other that reflect the deepest foundations of every society.

Epitome of the Codex Petropolitanus, transcription by Friedrich Graefe with a comment of Gottfried Hermann, epitomical translation of Nonnos Dionysiaca, Vol. 1, Leipzig 1819 and Vol. 2, Leipzig 1826. Done by Eckhard Siemer.

The Text of the Epitome is provided with a comment, given in the footnotes.
It contains 43 illustrations, 1 portrait, 4 maps, a literary register, a record of persons and a second one recording the things like rivers and towns, mentioned in the Dionysien of Nonnos. At least it shows a selection of important Transcriptors and Translaters of antiquity greek works, which flourished during the time of the Renaissance, mainly between 1412 to 1527.
The Volume has 220 pages, plus the appendix mentioned even above. The content is structured in a chronological view and tooks epigraphical reports of the Hittite into consideration.
The subject is to explain about dechiffre the "Ainigmata" in the Dionysien of Nonnos of Panopolis. Concerning the Ainigmata in the Dionysien is meant the riddle refering the names of the acting persons.
Metamorphoses in the way of ainigmata are inherent the Epos of the Dionysiaka. The ainigmata by themselfs are defined by the cadmeian Sphinx in Palaiphatos work about The truth of greek myths, chapter 4, Peri tes Kadmeías Sphingós.
Here are a few examples : Kadmos is often shown as the King of Theben and thats the real name of him as a historical person. But at other situations this Kadmos stands for Bellerophon.
Another enigma is Pentheus. This Pentheus stands for the historical person Lykos of Athen, as shown in Euripides, The raging Herakles. The task of the ancient audience was to solve these riddles in order to understand. Because there were only a very few tradited in the context of the archaic matters about 1193 - 1185 BC the Dionysien are dealing with, the audience got it successful and so they got informed about the deeds of Bellerophon, Typhon, Amphilochus, Mopsos of Titaron and Lykos of Athen in a very interesting way. 

Eckhard Siemer,
Goslar-Hahnenklee
Liknon vom Stau Verlag

ISBN  978-3-98 13693-4-2

The proposed Early Cycladic III "gap" was identified through careful correlations in the late Early Bronze II ceramic records of the mainland and the Cyclades. The absence of Cretan material was noteworthy when viewed against the rich Early Minoan (EM) I-II record, revealing that large amounts of material in the Kampos and Keros-Syros styles was reaching the island via Cycladic colonies or trade. This article considers the wealth of new finds on Crete, which are helping scholars trace these developments from EM I to EM III. Studies have drawn attention to the role of a small number of gateway communities on the north coast of Crete in the transmission of Cycladic raw materials and products in the EM I-II periods. Significant changes in EM II suggest that this dynamic relationship was transformed as Cretan groups began to take a more active role in developing off-island networks to the east and west. The second half of the article highlights recent efforts in north-central and eastern Crete to define regional ceramic production in EM III and to consider major developments in the late Prepalatial urban and political landscape that appear to have played a role in the emergence of the first palaces on the island.* In 1983 and 1984, Rutter challenged the relative chronology of the Cyclades in the Early Bronze Age, suggesting that the Early Bronze (EB) III period in the Aegean witnessed a dramatic decline in interregional exchange between earlier and later floruits of international exchange.

This paper examines the representations of the objects brought by the Aegean emissaries depicted in the foreigners’ procession scene in the tomb of Senenmut (TT 71). Through comparison of the depicted objects with the ones found in the Aegean it is argued that not only is it possible to find close analogies for single objects but also for the whole assemblage. The assemblage depicted in the tomb of Senenmut is found in elite burials of the Late Bronze Age I Aegean, and it can be interpreted as a diplomatic gift. The very fact that the same assemblage is found both in the Aegean princely burials and depicted in Senenmut’s tomb, as a gift to the Egyptian king, is of great importance for the discussion on historicity behind this scene. The paper also discusses the transformation of the Aegean gift assemblage after its arrival in Egypt.

This article is embedded in a series of articles under the general heading "The Bronze Age catastrophe and modern controversy: dating the Santorini eruption". The articles are invited contributions of a dendrochronological investigation by P. Cherubini et al. with comment articles by W.L. Friedrich et al. who found an olive branch in Thera, covered by Tephra. Friedrich et al. claim that the branch belonged to a tree which died during the eruption. The branch was dated by a series of 14C dates of samples taken out of a section of the branch. The result favours a date of the eruption in the late 17th century BCE while Cherubini et al. favour a date between 1525-1490 BCE. Bruins and Van der Plicht  support the date proposed by Friedrich et al. as it is in keeping with other 14C dates around the eruption. Bietak and Kuniholm point out in their comment articles also that, as Cherubini et al. have argued, that evergreen Mediterranean trees do not develop tree rings. Therefore the wiggle match with the INTCAL curves is highly problematic. Problematic is also that the olive branch lacks the bark edge which alone testifies the end of the tree's lifespan. on has to eagerly await the 14C dates and the dendrochrnological assessment of a second larger olive branch, found by Friedrich et al. nearby. These dates were not yet published since the discovery 9 years ago. The discussion is therefore still open.

The present paper is focusing attention on the Early Bronze Age rings of type Leukas and aims to study their origin, spatial and chronological distribution. The period under discussion is the Early Bronze Age – time of intensive circulation of goods, ideas and fashion all over the Aegean and the Eastern Medditerranean. Special attention is given to the distribution, the context and the function of the ornaments, type Leukas. Indeed, new find spots from the Balkans and the Carpathian Basin are added to the distribution map of Leukas-type rings. The relevant archaeological materials give us a new opportunity to examine the fashion and the directions of influences in Early Bronze Age jewellery production. The research demonstrates the idea for a Balkan origin for the Leukas-type rings and reflects some new accents of the relations between the Aegean, the Balkans and the Carpathian Basin.

The local painted ceramic traditions of the Middle Helladic period (ca. 2050-1675 BCE) in central Greece are very poorly understood due to the lack of archaeological material from secure contexts connected to well-defined stratigraphy. The newly excavated site of Mitrou in East Lokris provides the first opportunity to examine this pottery from a diachronic perspective spanning the entirety of the period. From this material it is clear that two separate local painted traditions with very different chronologies existed during the MH period at Mitrou. The distinction between locally produced “Dull” and “Matt” Painted pottery is an important observation that has the potential to impact our understanding of social and technological development in central Greece. This article therefore aims to fully describe both categories of pottery and to define their chronological distributions in order to assist identification of this material by other ceramicists working in central Greece and to encourage further discussion about its significance.

Over the past 100 years Troia has become a key prehistoric
reference site. However, whereas there has
always been a steady interest in all aspects of the
Early Bronze Age of the site, the material from the
second millennium has remained largely unstudied.
Research has concentrated only on the Mycenaean
painted pottery and 95 % of the other material evidence
has largely been omitted. Therefore, the focus
of this article will be on Middle and Late Bronze Age
Trojan chronology and its wider implications. The
new phasing of Early and Middle Troia VI will first
be described after which the overall dating of
Troia VI will be discussed.

This paper proposes a revision of the Late Bronze Age ceramic sequence from the eastern Aegean island of Chios. More specifically, it puts forth a new stratigraphic and typological assessment of the Late Bronze Age ceramic material from Areas D, E, and F at the settlement of Emporio. As the 2nd millennium BC deposits originally seemed to have been of disturbed and mixed nature, the pottery from these deposits was dated by its excavator only typologically, not having been assigned to any well -defined periods. However, due to the preservation of relatively precise documentation from the excavations, it is now possible to reconstruct the original stratigraphic contexts, which, upon closer inspection, seem to be far less disturbed than expected. As a result, three Late Bronze Age occupation periods at Emporio have been identified, corresponding roughly to the Early Mycenaean, Palatial Mycenaean, and Post -palatial Mycenaean periods on the Greek mainland, equivalent to Troy VI and VII on the Anatolian coast. This is paper thus presents this new periodisation and suggests up -to -date chronological correlations for the previously identified strata.

From 2006 to 2012 new investigations were conducted on the steep hill of Kastri on Syros, under the auspices of the Archaeological Society at Athens and the direction of the author. These included further excavation, aerial photography and surveying of the building remains. This is the third series of investigations, after the earlier ones carried out by C. Tsountas in 1899 and Ε.-M. Bossert in 1962.
With the new excavations a more accurate picture of the fortifications, the plan and the extent of the settlement has been gained. It is now clear that the fortification system at Kastri was based on three walls, rather than two as thought before 2006. They are the bulwark and the main fortification wall with the horseshoe-shaped bastions in the north, on the hillside, and an arc-shaped internal fortification wall to the north, on the hilltop. This third fortification wall and the building space surrounded by it, both unknown until 2006, were a kind of citadel for the prehistoric settlement at Kastri. Τhe pottery of the entire settlement includes diagnostic shapes of the “Kastri group”.