Mediterranean

Abstract

This paper examines animal identification in art, an aspect that needs to be addressed in any discussion of ancient animal imagery. Although the identification result can significantly influence the interpretation of iconography, a systematic approach has rarely been adopted and controversial depictions have often left researchers perplexed and unsure about how to decide between different suggestions. Therefore, a sound methodological model which integrates data from the disciplines of archaeology, zoology, and anthropology in a truly interdisciplinary endeavour is needed.

This paper presents a contextual analysis of Hellenistic mouldmade relief bowls from Thessaly, Greece, which is part of my doctoral research. My thesis examines Hellenistic relief pottery from Thessaly, which comprises of over 700 specimens from various contexts and sites across the region and to this day, has not received a systematic study. I treat relief bowls as a widely shared commonality across the Hellenistic world and at the same time I am tracing the Thessalian particularities within it.

This paper presents an archaeological survey of the island of Polyaigos, undertaken in 2022 by the Small Cycladic Islands Project (SCIP). Since 2019 SCIP has surveyed 45 uninhabited islands in the Aegean, most of which are well under 1 square kilometer in size. In order to address research questions concerning the relationship between island size and intensity of use, it was important also to include larger islands in the study. At 18 square kilometers in size, Polyaigos is the largest uninhabited island in the Aegean.