The Archaeology of Tomb A1K1 of Orthi Petra in Eleutherna: The Early Iron Age Pottery

Description

The excavation of the site of Eleutherna in west central Crete was undertaken in 1908 and renewed in 1985. Kotsonas's volume presents the analysis of ceramics found in and around one chamber tomb (A1K1) in the necropolis of Orthi Petra in Eleutherna, which was excavated between 1992 and 1996. The volume in question is one of four publications that concern the Early Iron Age chamber tomb A1K1, two of which have been published.1Despite its title, this volume accomplishes far more than merely providing a classification of the 400 vessels found in association with tomb A1K1, which represent the largest published cache of pottery from a single context during this period on the island of Crete (900 -700 B.C.). Kotsonas has produced a ceramic analysis that contends with Early Iron Age Cretan chronologies and systems of inter- and intra-regional communication and circulation, among other topics, and therefore is an invaluable resource for scholars concerned with any aspect of Early Iron Age Crete. Kotsonas provides a thorough analysis of the ceramics that includes modes of production, formal classification, consumption and identification of provenance through petrographic analysis. The volume consists of a foreword by the editor and director of the excavations of the necropolis of Orthi Petra, Nicholas Stampolidis, an introductory chapter, two chapters that deal with the study of ceramics in Early Iron Crete in general (Chapters 2 and 3), two core chapters that focus on the analysis of ceramics from tomb A1K1 in particular (Chapters 4 and 5), a chapter that handles imports in tomb A1K1 and the circulation of ceramic styles in Early Iron Age Crete (Chapter 6), a chapter on ceramic consumption (Chapter 7), a short conclusion (Chapter 8) and an appendix, co-written by Kotsonas and Eleni Nodarou, which details the petrographic project of the necropolis.Kotsonas begins by establishing the primary objectives of his work: to produce a chronological and typological framework, to examine the funereal cycle and to evaluate the nature and role of imports for the pottery of Early Iron Age Eleutherna. Kotsonas asserts his intention to keep the ceramics of Eleutherna firmly contextualized within the pan-Cretan corpus and to compare his conclusions about Eleuthernian material culture and society with that of the larger Greek world in the Early Iron Age. Finally, the author outlines his methodology, which is informed by post-processual archaeology, in that it emphasizes the dynamic relationship between ceramics and people, and takes a holistic view that ranges from locating raw materials to studying the mechanics of consumption in a funereal context.