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THE LATE HELLENISTIC WINE PRESS EXCAVATIONS FROM KNOSSOS: THE EARLY IRON AGE, HELLENISTIC AND EARLY ROMAN CONTEXTS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2021

Conor P. Trainor Open the ORCID record for Conor P. Trainor [Opens in a new window]
Conor P. Trainor*
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University of Warwick
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c.trainor@warwick.ac.uk
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Abstract

The remains of an exceptionally well-preserved Hellenistic wine press were uncovered during a rescue excavation at Knossos in 1977. The architecture, stratigraphy and faunal remains from this campaign were published in BSA 89 (1994) by J. Carington Smith (the excavator) and S. Wall. The artefact assemblages from this excavation, however, have remained unstudied and unpublished until now. The current article presents the artefact assemblages from the wine press excavation and considers them within their urban context at Knossos. The key findings from this excavation relate to the Late Hellenistic wine press and its associated material, which enables us to consider both the ancient winemaking process at Knossos and the economic topography of the city in the decades around the Roman conquest of the island in 67 bc. In addition to the Late Hellenistic phase, material of Minoan, Early Iron Age–Early Archaic, earlier Hellenistic and Early Roman dates is also presented and discussed.

Ανασκαφή του Ύστερου Ελληνιστικού Ληνού στην Κνωσό: Τα αρχαιολογικά συνευρήματα της πρώιμης εποχής του σιδήρου, της ελληνιστικής και της πρώιμης ρωμαϊκής περιόδου

Κατά τη διάρκεια σωστικής ανασκαφής στην Κνωσό το 1977 αποκαλύφθηκαν τα υπολείμματα ενός εξαιρετικά καλοδιατηρημένου Ελληνιστικού ληνού. Τα αρχιτεκτονικά ευρύματα, η στρωματογραφία και τα ζωικά κατάλοιπα της προκείμενης ανασκαφικής περιόδου δημοσιεύτηκαν στο BSA 89 (1994) από την ανασκαφέα J. Carington Smith και την S. Wall. Ωστόσο, τα τέχνεργα από αυτήν την ανασκαφή δεν είχαν μελετηθεί και δημοσιευθεί μέχρι τώρα. Το παρόν άρθρο παρουσιάζει τα τέχνεργα της ανασκαφής του ληνού και τα εξετάζει εντός του αστικού τους περιβάλλοντος στην Κνωσό. Τα κύρια ευρύματα αυτής της ανασκαφής σχετίζονται με το ληνό της Ύστερης Ελληνιστικής Περιόδου και το σχετιζόμενο με αυτόν υλικό, τα οποία μας παρέχουν τη δυνατότητα να εξετάσουμε τόσο την αρχαία διαδικασία οινοποίησης στην Κνωσό, όσο και την οικονομική τοπογραφία της πόλης στις δεκατίες γύρω από τη ρωμαϊκή κατάκτηση του νησιού το 67 πΧ. Πέραν της Ύστερης Ελληνιστικής φάσης, παρουσιάζεται και συζητείται υλικό της Μινωικής, της Πρώιμης Εποχής του Σιδήρου-Πρώιμης Αρχαϊκής, καθώς και προγενέστερων Ελληνιστικών και Πρώιμων Ρωμαϊών φάσεων.

Type
Articles
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 116 , December 2021 , pp. 235 - 290
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Council, British School at Athens

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