Fusing the Horizons, or Why Context Matters

Whitley, James; Osbourne, Robin

doi:10.1558/jmea.v29i2.32574

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…While archaeological research in Crete is thriving, it is often treated as relatively marginal, andarguablyrather inconsequential to the bigger narratives of Greek history, art, and archaeology. Revising the current paradigm of the study of ancient Greece into one that is more accommodating to regional trajectories is probably the greatest challenge for the archaeology of Greece in the 21st century; the thriving research in Crete can lead the way, as evidenced especially by the emphasis it receives in the recent discourse on the importance of context for Classical archaeology (Osborne 2015;Whitley 2017b;Haggis 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It might also be because Crete is too peculiar for most archaeologists and historians of Greece to engage with and Greek archaeology of the period remains terribly Athenocentric and resists groundbreaking discoveries from alleged peripheries that call for major revisions in the traditional master narratives. Nevertheless, the archaeology of Crete receives greater attention in a recent discourse on the importance of context in Classical archaeology (Osborne 2015;Whitley 2017b;Haggis 2018), which is indicative of the ways in which fieldwork on the island can revolutionize the discipline.…”

Section: Reference Work and Current Debatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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6 Crete: Early Iron Age to Classical

Kotsonas¹

2022

Arch. Rep.

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This review covers recent archaeological work on Early Iron Age to Classical Crete, focusing on research conducted and published in the 2010s. Proceeding from the west to the east part of the island, and encompassing material ranging from the 12th to the mid-fourth century BC, this study finds that, overall, the field is flourishing, despite the challenges created by the international financial crisis and the constraints posed by the global pandemic. In the last decade, the major archaeological projects which focus on Crete for the period under examination continued with their fieldwork and finds research, while new projects were also established. Additionally, as many as eight archaeological museums were opened, reopened, or are about to open. Nevertheless, final publication of large bodies of Cretan material from the period in question remain scarce, a condition which is more severe on the western half of the island. Notwithstanding its floruit, research on Early Iron Age to Classical Crete is often treated as relatively marginal, and – arguably – rather inconsequential to the grand narratives of Greek history, and art and archaeology. This paper traces the roots of this problem and shows that current work on the archaeology of Early Iron Age to Classical Crete has full potential for revolutionizing the largely Athenocentric paradigm which still pervades the study of ancient Greece.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Reference Work and Current Debatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

6 Crete: Early Iron Age to Classical

Kotsonas¹

2022

Arch. Rep.

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Egyptian Archaeology and the Twenty-First Century Museum

Stevenson

2022

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This Element addresses the cultural production of ancient Egypt in the museum as a mixture of multiple pasts and presents that cohere around collections; their artefacts, documentation, storage, research, and display. Its four sections examine how ideas about the past are formed by museum assemblages: how their histories of acquisition and documentation shape interpretation, the range of materials that comprise them, the influence of their geographical framing, and the moments of remaking that might be possible. Throughout, the importance of critical approaches to interpretation is underscored, reasserting the museum as a site of active research and experiment, rather than only exhibitionary product or communicative media. It argues for a multi-directional approach to museum work that seeks to reveal the inter-relations of collection histories and which has implications not just for museum representation and documentation, but also for archaeological practice more broadly.

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Κατεσκαψαν Ιεραπυτνιοι: The Destruction of Political Communities in the Second Century Bc and the Resilience of the Cretan Polis

Whitley

2023

Annu. Br. Sch. Athens

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Recently there has been a revival of interest in both the historical and archaeological dimensions of the destruction of cities. The destruction of the principal settlement of a polis is one thing, the effective eradication of the political community quite another. What did it take to destroy a political community? The historical record is full of references to destructions of one polis by another in late Classical to Hellenistic times in Crete. And though not all of these destructions led to the end of the political community in question, some did, and between the Classical period (where we know of 49 poleis) and the Roman conquest of Metellus (where we know of only 24) the numbers of Cretan poleis were drastically reduced. The destruction of Praisos by Hierapytna between 145 and 140 BC (Strabo 10.4.12) was one such case. This seems to form part of a horizon of destructions (of Dreros, Apollonia and Phaistos) that took place between 200 and 140 BC. Florence Gaignerot-Driessen has demonstrated that there is a clear ritual dimension to this in the case of Dreros, a dimension indicated elsewhere by the use of the verb κατέσκαψαν. Excavations at Praisos have shed light on this question. This paper argues that, while there is no evidence for a widespread destruction by fire, there is clear evidence for the ending of Praisian sanctuaries and the forced abandonment of houses and (most intriguingly) the abandonment of large storage vessels. A particular archaeological ‘signature’ of these abandonments, evident at Dreros, Phaistos and Praisos, is the abandonment of the ‘household pithos’, which in many cases seem to be older than the houses in which they have been found. The paper also argues that these archaeological signatures of what had to be destroyed in order to eradicate a political community in turn shed light on what made this particular form of ‘citizen state’ so resilient.

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Fusing the Horizons, or Why Context Matters

Abstract: Introduction: The Museum and 'the Trench' In a recent article in this journal, Robin Osborne (2015) makes a number of claims about the relative merits of museum versus ield research, particularly ield research conducted through excavation. In so doing he implies that Mediter

Cited by 6 publications

References 21 publications

6 Crete: Early Iron Age to Classical

6 Crete: Early Iron Age to Classical

Egyptian Archaeology and the Twenty-First Century Museum

Κατεσκαψαν Ιεραπυτνιοι: The Destruction of Political Communities in the Second Century Bc and the Resilience of the Cretan Polis

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