This thesis compares the archaeobotanical remains from two Roman-era, Egyptian port sites: Berenike and Myos Hormos. A focus is put on the origin of the discovered materials, particularly in the...Show moreThis thesis compares the archaeobotanical remains from two Roman-era, Egyptian port sites: Berenike and Myos Hormos. A focus is put on the origin of the discovered materials, particularly in the context of the Silk Routes trade network of which these ports were a part. It concludes that Berenike seemingly had a larger focus on trade with Africa than Myos Hormos. Also, while both ports had Indian goods in their record, none seemed to have had a more pronounced focus on that subcontinent, although that was hypothesized beforehand. Furthermore, Berenike shows a decrease in the variety of goods traded after its period of inactivity in the 2nd and 3rd century, especially in regards to Indian goods. However, the variety and amount of local and African goods increased. The concurrent demise of Myos Hormos in this period did not seem to have an effect on the traded goods. Finally, this thesis served as a good example of how comparitive research beyond the level of the individual site could benefit the field of Silk Routes research, and which challenges this approach faces.Show less
In deze bachelor scriptie is een selectie van gietijzeren kanonskogels uit de collectie van het Maritiem Archeologisch Depot van Batavialand onderzocht met het doel de oorzaak vast te stellen voor...Show moreIn deze bachelor scriptie is een selectie van gietijzeren kanonskogels uit de collectie van het Maritiem Archeologisch Depot van Batavialand onderzocht met het doel de oorzaak vast te stellen voor de waargenomen degradatie in deze objecten. De kogels zijn onderzocht doormiddel van visueel onderzoek, het lezen van oude archeologische- en conserverings-documentaties en door vergelijkingen in conditie te trekken tussen de kogels in het verleden en heden, om zo de oorzaak van de degradatie te achterhalen. Uit dit onderzoek is gebleken dat het overgrote deel van de kanonskogels actief aan het corroderen is. Na verder onderzoek naar de eerdere conservering is gebleken dat een deel van de conserveringstechnieken die zijn gebruikt voor de kogels achterhaald en minder effectief zijn in vergelijking met huidige technieken. Een van de voornaamste verouderde technieken die een grote invloed hebben op de huidige conditie van de canonskogels, zijn het ontzouten van het ijzer doormiddel van gloeien tot 800°C, en het aanbrengen van een dikke coating van epoxyhars op het oppervlak van de kanonskogels. Ook is gebleken dat de huidige wijze van opslag in Batavialand ontoereikend is voor de opslag van maritiem archeologisch ijzer. Deze conclusie is getrokken uit onderzoek naar de opstelling, relatieve luchtvochtigheid (RV), temperatuur, licht en verontreinigende stoffen in de opslagruimte. Hiervan was vooral de RV zeer verontrustend omdat deze sterk schommelt: ’s winters tussen de 20-50%, en ’s zomers tussen de 55-85%. Aan de hand van deze onderzoeksuitslagen is geconcludeerd dat de gietijzeren kanonskogels interventie nodig hebben om te voorkomen dat deze verder degraderen en zo archeologische informatie verloren gaat. Tot slot zijn aanbevelingen gegeven voor aanpassingen in het collectiebeheer van Batavialand om deze voortdurende degradering te voorkomen.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
In the Sicilian maritime town of Acitrezza, the tangible cultural and intangible heritage in the Rodolico’s shipyard has been unrecognised over the past years and rarely promoted as part of...Show moreIn the Sicilian maritime town of Acitrezza, the tangible cultural and intangible heritage in the Rodolico’s shipyard has been unrecognised over the past years and rarely promoted as part of cultural or economic-oriented activities of the area. For a long time, approaches to cultural heritage in Acitrezza have only celebrated the Verga’s greatest masterpiece, I Malavoglia, and the local protected marine area, characterised by the presence of the Faraglioni basaltic rocks. The protracted indifference of the local authority toward the shipyard combined with internal family dynamics seems to condemn this genius loci to oblivion. People believe this misrecognition leads to ignoring a sense of local identity made up of “marine carpentry affairs” and centuries-old tangible and intangible heritage practices that might be meaningful to the local community. This thesis employs a collaborative methodology called Participatory Video (PV) to investigate an alternative past for the town of Acitrezza, possibly incorporating the shipyard and shipwrights into a new local heritage policy and strategy. Two different approaches, underpinning two cases studies, characterise this methodology: the postcolonial author approach, which consists of an equal and peer-to-peer relationship between researchers and informants to create videos about tangible and intangible heritage, and the author as “a fly in the soup” approach, which enables informants to create their own personal and community narrative-commentary about private photographs of Acitrezza (and more!). Through the collaborative video-creation process, the thesis demonstrates that the PV methodology can be suitable for collaboration with people when dealing with local issues.Show less
This paper aims to study the literature surrounding Cypriot Chalcolithic cruciform anthropomorphic figurines and their gendered identity. Within academia, we see issues arising from gendering of...Show moreThis paper aims to study the literature surrounding Cypriot Chalcolithic cruciform anthropomorphic figurines and their gendered identity. Within academia, we see issues arising from gendering of ancient bodies with modern views – creating cross-wired hypotheses on gender manifestation in prehistoric art. Concentrating on the Chalcolithic cruciform figurines, words patterns and trends will be analysed to gain a better understanding of how gendering ancient identities with modern biases is chronicled within a range of selected literature from the 1930s to the current day.Show less
During the Chalcolithic period (ca. 4000 – 2400 BCE) Cyprus was home to several highly distinctive styles of anthropomorphic figurines. These figurines were produced using clay and different types...Show moreDuring the Chalcolithic period (ca. 4000 – 2400 BCE) Cyprus was home to several highly distinctive styles of anthropomorphic figurines. These figurines were produced using clay and different types of stone. Picrolite, was the most common type of stone used for figurines. The figurines feature carved or painted figurative elements which are thought to represent concepts such as dress, hairdo, jewelry, tattoos, and body paint. There is no way to study the dress, hairdo, tattoos, and body paint worn by the Chalcolithic inhabitants of Cyprus directly. As such, these concepts can be studied within the confines of figurine studies, not necessarily in relation with the dress of the Chalcolithic population of Cyprus. In order to analyze the relationship between carved and painted figurative elements on picrolite and ceramic figurines and Chalcolithic bodies and their dress, jewelry, tattoos, or face and body painting, the following research question was established: “Do painted and carved elements on pottery and picrolite figurines from Chalcolithic Cyprus represent dress, hairdo, jewelry, tattoos, and body paint?” To answer this question, a database was established, using Winkelmann’s (2020) extensive catalog of Cypriot figurines, as well as the catalog of the Souskiou Project (Peltenburg et al., 2019). All painted and carved figurative elements, as well as their locations on the figurines were entered in the database. The figurative elements were analyzed and compared using charts and tables and results were compared with previous works on the topic. This thesis illustrates that certain figurative elements, such as hair and decoration on the neck, occur on both ceramic and picrolite figurines. However, their occurrence rates may differ between ceramic and picrolite. Most figurative elements occur in standard locations on the body, suggesting these elements represent concepts in relation to this location (e.g., tassels, clothing, and body paint). While many suggest ceramic and picrolite figurines represent the same concept, figurative elements rarely overlap between the two materials. Certain figurative elements appear to correspond to body adornments known from the archaeological record, while some painted figurative elements resemble common RW ware motifs, suggesting a purely decorative function. It is very likely that painted and carved figurative elements represent dress, hairdo, jewelry, tattoos, and body paint.Show less
The Chalcolithic on Cyprus (ca. 3900-2400 BCE) is an important period for the research of key developments taking place on the island, such as social differentiation, craft specialisation and long...Show moreThe Chalcolithic on Cyprus (ca. 3900-2400 BCE) is an important period for the research of key developments taking place on the island, such as social differentiation, craft specialisation and long-distance trade. With extensive excavations at the sites of Lemba-Lakkous, Kissonerga-Mosphilia and Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, the Chalcolithic is generally well investigated (see Peltenburg, 1985; 1998; 2003). The poorly investigated transition between the Middle (ca. 3400-2900 BCE) and the Late Chalcolithic (ca. 2800-2400 BCE), on the other hand, still leaves a research gap. The currently ongoing excavations at the site of Chlorakas-Palloures revealed remains of both the Middle and Late Chalcolithic and, therefore, have great potential to close this gap. This research involves analysing the ceramic assemblage of trench BU13 at Chlorakas-Palloures by investigating how this assemblage changes from the Middle to Late Chalcolithic. This leads to the following research question: How does the pottery assemblage of Chlorakas-Palloures change over time from the Middle to Late Chalcolithic and how does this improve our understanding of this transition? The analysis is conducted on the basis of four categories: ware, shape, fabric and surface and the results will be displayed using seriation diagrams. For this, a diagnostic selection was made consisting of 116 sherds, which was studied during the summer of 2021. This selection is placed alongside the stratigraphy of trench BU13 to create a chronological overview of the ceramic material. In this thesis, I show that the use of seriation to create a chronological overview of how pottery changes over time is a success. The ceramic assemblage of case study BU13 changes as expected. Moving from the Middle to the Late Chalcolithic, earlier wares get replaced by later ones and pottery becomes harder and more refined in texture. However, this research also importantly reveals an anomaly in the trench. Material belonging to one of the earliest units of BU13 actually matches the characteristics of that of Late Chalcolithic pottery, while Middle Chalcolithic pottery would be expected. It indicates that the trench needs to be investigated further and current interpretations perhaps need to be re-evaluated. This not only merits the ongoing excavations at Chlorakas-Palloures but the method can also be applied to other trenches and sites on the island to improve the knowledge of Cypriot Prehistory.Show less
This paper provides a preliminary critical review of current academia as it regards contact between the Roman Empire and Han imperial China, during roughly the 3rd century B.C.E. until the 3rd...Show moreThis paper provides a preliminary critical review of current academia as it regards contact between the Roman Empire and Han imperial China, during roughly the 3rd century B.C.E. until the 3rd century C.E., with the purpose of re-evaluating currently accepted facts on the basis of archaeological case studies. Archaeological case studies on the topics of Roman glass, coins, and cloth found in or en route to Han China were examined against a background of ancient written sources and modern academic writing on the topic of the ancient Silk Road network and contact between the Roman Empire and Han China. The results show Roman glass items found together with locally produced glass from coastal sites in southeast China and the Xinjiang area. Quite a few metal pendants imitating Roman coins were found in sites along the coasts of Thailand and Vietnam, particularly the Isthmus of Khra. A genuine Roman coin used as a pendant in a similar fashion was also found in Pangkung Paruk on the island of Bali. Cloth from Xiongnu tombs displaying both Hellenic and Han Chinese style elements was also found in the Xinjiang area. These finds shed light on the nature of interaction between the Roman Empire and Han China, and the objects that made the entire journey in all likelihood more often than people did. Most importantly, they contribute to the larger framework of exchange and interaction along the Silk Road network, and fill in some blanks in an often-neglected region of this topic. The need for further (re-)examination of such finds is evident.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
open access
2021-09-25T00:00:00Z
The status and political organization of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1100 BC) is a controversial topic. On the one hand the king of Alashiya ‘Cyprus’ is mentioned as an equal to the...Show moreThe status and political organization of Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1100 BC) is a controversial topic. On the one hand the king of Alashiya ‘Cyprus’ is mentioned as an equal to the Egyptian King in the Amarna Letters. Various texts from Egypt, Hatti and Ugarit reveal the increasing activity of the island in the trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean area and its dominant role as a copper supplier. On the other hand, the archaeological data inside the island display a society with simple socio-economic structures. The few signs of economic intensification, surplus manipulation and craft specialization are not enough to prove the “supremacy” of a certain elite or even a king. The current study aims to investigate these data, identify the urban and administrative centers of Late Bronze Age Alashiya and to reconstruct the networks within the island and the Eastern periphery. The results of this survey will reveal possible hierarchy among the urban sites and attempt to clarify the political organization of Late Bronze Age Cyprus. Did the 'King of Alashiya' truly exist?Show less
