The pottery from the area of the court is fragmented and only a few sherds preserve a large part RIWKHLURULJLQDOSUR¿OH7KLVVKHUGPDWHULDOFRPHVIURPVHFRQGDU\OD\HUV7KHEURZQLVKUHGOD\HU WRWKHHDVWRI:DOOLQ7UHQFKǻĮFRQWDLQHGPDLQO\VPDOOEXWDOVRVRPHODUJHIUDJPHQWV The material covers a wider chronological range, and dates from the pre- and main destruction SKDVHWRWKHWLPHRIWKHFRQVWUXFWLRQDQGXVHRI:DOO6HYHUDOVKHUGV¿WZHOOLQ/+,,,% There are rims of plain vessels like a one-handled deep bowl FS 283 (Fig. 10.29) and probably kylikes (Fig. 10.30–31).53 Painted sherds include a stemmed bowl with monochrome interior (Fig. 10.28).54 The latest fragment, however, seems to come from a bowl FS 295B with round horizontal handles (Fig. 10.27). The vessel, of which one third is preserved, was found in the lower parts of the brownish-red layer to the east of Wall 108. The earliest examples of the type, or a variant RIWKHW\SHWKDWZDVFODVVL¿HGE\&KULVWLDQ3RG]XZHLWDVKLVERZO7\SHQR55 date to LH IIIB2 Late, but it was common in LH IIIC Early.56 It cannot be excluded that it appears in earlier phases

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 173 11.11.2022 09:00:44

53)RUSUR¿OHVVHH:DUGOH¿J/+,,,%0\FHQDHDQG7KRPDV¿J=\JRXULHV

547KRPDV¿J

55 For the shape see Podzuweit 2007, pls. 43.13–14; 44. Podzuweit's bowl type 6 includes bowls with short or medium-tall everted rims that can be linear painted or decorated with various motifs (e.g. lines, horizontal chevrons). %RZOVDVVLJQHGWR)6%PD\KDYHÀDULQJRUVKRUWHYHUWHGULPV0RXQWMR\¿J)UHQFK CD-444). Most vessels cited by Mountjoy and French do not have a pattern-painted rim but there are some examples that probably belong to Podzuweit's bowl Type no. 6 with decoration on the rim (French 2011, CD-337–338, /+,,,&(DUO\\$W7LU\QVERZOV)6%ZLWKKRUL]RQWDOKDQGOHVVHHPWRKDYHVOLJKWO\GL൵HUHQW±WDOOHU±ULPV from the published examples from Mycenae.

566HH0RXQWMR\¿J/+,,,%3RG]XZHLWSO/+,,,&(DUO\)UHQFK&' CD-444 (Room XXXIV, Mycenae); Kardamaki 2009, pl. 29 (Western Staircase/Zone 1, Tiryns). Podzuweit 2007, Beil. 51–52, 58, suggests LH IIIB Developed and LH IIIB Final (early and late LH IIIB2) as the main phase of his bowl type no. 6 with isolated examples in LH IIIB1.

)LJ 7UHQFKǻĮ±SRWWHU\IRXQGHDVWRI:DOOFRXUWSRWWHU\IRXQGZHVWRI:DOO Scale 1:3 (drawings A. Poelstra Traga).

as well. On the other hand, the absence of deep bowls in this layer should be noted (see below). This would make LH IIIB2 Late or LH IIIC Early unlikely as the phase of construction of Wall 108. Based on this evidence, as well as the pottery from the West Stoa, rebuilding activities in the southwestern part of the court may have started soon after the destruction and perhaps in early LH IIIB2.

0RVWRI7UHQFKǻȕUHODWHVWRWKHFRXUW)LJ+HUHWKHÀRRURIWKHFRXUWZDVFRYHUHGE\ a thin layer of gray soil; it contained little material, among which there is the rim of a Zygouries N\OL[ )LJ2QWKHZHVWVLGHRIWKHWUHQFKVWRQH UXEEOHZDVO\LQJGLUHFWO\RQWKHÀRRU Among the stones a plain kylix with shallow bowl (similar to FS 258) (Fig. 9.26)57 and one handle with horizontal splashes (Fig. 9.25) were found; the latter is rather wide for a LH IIIB1 dipper and FRXOGEHODWHUEXWLWLVWRRIUDJPHQWHGWRDOORZDVHFXUHLGHQWL¿FDWLRQ58 Above the gray soil there was a brown-reddish layer that also extended above the stone rubble to the west of the trench; in addition to LH IIIB1 kylikes (Fig. 11.36–37), this layer contained deep bowls FS 284 and plain conical kylikes FS 274 (Fig. 11.38–45, 48) of LH IIIB2/IIIC Early date (see below).59 It is perhaps noteworthy that rims with a slightly pulled lip like these observed on the pots of the West Stoa (Fig. 6.2–3, 8) are missing. The painted conical kylix FS 274, a feature mainly related to LH IIIC

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 174 11.11.2022 09:00:44

576HH:DUGOH¿J/+,,,%0\FHQDH

58,WFRXOGFRPHIURPDGLSSHU)6RUDVSRXWHGERZO)6/+,,,%0RXQWMR\±¿JERZO FS 253 with handle decorated with stripes in the upper part and a band in the lower part). LH IIIB2: Adrimi-Sismani KDQGOHVSUREDEO\IURPGLSSHUV/+,,,&(DUO\0RXQWMR\¿JGLSSHU

59&I:DUGOH¿J/+,,,%0\FHQDH0RXQWMR\¿J/+,,,%0\FHQDH

)LJ 7UHQFKǻȕ±JUD\OD\HURQWRSRIWKHÀRRURIWKHODUJH&RXUW±EURZQLVKUHGOD\HULQWKH court and the South Stoa, spits 4–5; 42–48. brownish-red layer in the court and the South Stoa, spit 3. Scale 1:3 (drawings A. Poelstra Traga).

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 175 11.11.2022 09:00:45

)LJ 7UHQFKǻȕ±UHGOD\HURQWRSRIWKH6RXWK6WRD±JUD\OD\HULQWKHFRXUWDQGWKH6RXWK6WRD spits 3–4; 56–57. spit 1. Scale 1:3 (drawings A. Poelstra Traga).

Early and later contexts, is represented by one example (Fig. 11.47).60 Thus, with the exception of three possible fragments in the destruction debris of the West Stoa (Fig. 8.20–22), we have in this OD\HUWKH¿UVWVXEVWDQWLDOHYLGHQFHLQWKHFRXUWDUHDIRUWKHSUHVHQFHRIWKHGHHSERZO)6WKDW FRPSULVHVQROHVVWKDQRIWKHWRWDOSDLQWHGIHDWXUHVKHUGVRURIWKHWRWDOSDLQWHGULPV Finally, another new feature in this layer is represented by sherds of the handmade and burnished ware.61

A similar sequence with layers containing LH IIIB1 sherds (Fig. 12.49–52) and cut or followed by others with LH IIIB2/IIIC Early material (Fig. 12.53–57) is also observed in Trench

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 176 11.11.2022 09:00:45

605XWWHU)RU/+,,,&(DUO\H[DPSOHVVHH.D]D3DSDJHRUJLRXHWDO¿J±)RUYHU\ UDUH/+,,,%H[DPSOHVRISDLQWHG)6VHH)UHQFK±6WRFNKDPPHU¿J

616HHDOVR.DUGDPDNL±9DVLORJDPYURX\$SDUWIURP7UHQFKǻȕVKHUGVRIWKLVZDUHDUHDOVRSUHVHQWLQRWKHU layers of the court that contain deep bowls and LH IIIB2/IIIC Early material.

ǻȕHDVWSDUWRIWKH6RXWK6WRD:RUWKQRWLQJLQWKHOD\HUZLWKWKHODWHUPDWHULDOLQǻȕLVWKH presence of a Group B deep bowl (Fig. 12.53), a typical LH IIIB2 type in the Argolid.

At the moment, the small size of the investigated area does not provide a clear picture of the extent and nature of the post-destruction activities that took place in the area of the court. In addition, the corpus of the datable material from the destruction horizon is still small. It is, however, SRVVLEOHWRGUDZVRPH¿UVWFRQFOXVLRQV)LUVWWKHLQVLWXSRWWHU\DQGWKHODWHVWVKHUGVIURPWKH destruction debris of the West Stoa suggest LH IIIB Middle as a possible date for the destruction of the palace. Second, the destruction debris was not removed from the area of the West Stoa H[FDYDWHGVRIDUDQGWKHUHLVQRHYLGHQFHIRUDQ\QHZÀRRURQWRSRIWKHGHEULV7KLUGWKHFRQ-VWUXFWLRQRIDQHZZDOO:DOODQGSRVVLEO\WKH¿UVWUHRFFXSDWLRQDFWLYLWLHVPXVWKDYHWDNHQ place soon after the destruction. There is no evidence of deep bowls in the brown-reddish layer HDVWRI:DOO\$QGIRXUWKLQWKȠVHDUHDVZKHUHWKH/+,,,%,,,&(DUO\OD\HUV7UHQFKǻȕ OD\SDUWO\RQWKHÀRRURUYHU\FORVHDERYHWKHÀRRU7UHQFKǻȕWKH/+,,,%GHEULVPXVWKDYH been largely cleared away.

#### **Ceramic Regionalism in LH IIIB at Ayios Vasileios and Beyond**

Increasingly, new material sheds new light on aspects of ceramic regionalism during the 14th and 13th centuries. It is often assumed and convincingly argued that the production of Argive painted pottery is characterized by a constant use of innovative elements and modes of mass production.62 However, the spread of the Argive styles should not always be expected and when/where it does occur, it cannot be viewed as a uniform process. In many settlements, typical Argive products of the 14th and 13thFHQWXU\DSSHDUDVRFFDVLRQDO¿QGVZLWKQRUHDOLPSDFWRQORFDOSURGXFWLRQ\$W Ayios Vasileios decorated drinking sets of Argive style from the late 14th and 13th centuries are rare and a large part of the ceramic assemblages seems to consist mainly of plain and monochrome vases.63

#### The First Part of LH IIIB

The material assigned to the destruction horizon of the palace probably belongs to the end of LH IIIB1 (LH IIIB Middle). Apart from the group of the approximately 30 plain vessels and painted dippers from the West and South Stoas, LH IIIB Middle is so far not represented by other closed contexts at Ayios Vasileios. LH IIIB1 sherds that may date from before (refuse during use) RUWKHWLPHRIWKHGHVWUXFWLRQDUHLGHQWL¿HGLQWKHOD\HUVRQWRSRIWKHÀRRURIWKHFRXUW)LJV 11.34–35, 12.49–52) and in layers with later material (Fig. 11.36–37). Thus, the narrow range RIWKHSDLQWHGVKDSHUHSHUWRLUHSUREDEO\UHÀHFWVWKHUDULW\RIH[FDYDWHGURRPDVVHPEODJHVIURP this phase. The most striking aspect is the rarity of deep bowls FS 284 in the contexts discussed above, represented by only three fragments. One possible sherd belongs to an advanced variant that appears in LH IIIB Middle but is typical for LH IIIB2 (Fig. 8.20). In the Argolid deep bowls exist from the beginning of LH IIIB and they gradually replace the painted kylikes.64 On the other hand, some shapes and pottery types that were newly introduced in LH IIIB1, such as the plain

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 177 11.11.2022 09:00:45

62 See Kilian 1988, 117; Dickinson et al. 1992, 518–519, for discussion.

63 Pattern-painted kylikes FS 256/257 are very rare at Ayios Vasileios (Kardamaki 2017, 105, 114). The same is true for Kontopigado (Kaza-Papageorgiou – Kardamaki 2017, 50–52; Kaza-Papageorgiou – Kardamaki 2018, 30).

645RRP+RXVHZLWKWKH,GROV0\FHQDHSDLQWHGN\OL[DQGGHHSERZOV:DUGOH¿J 5RRP6RXWK+RXVH0\FHQDHSDLQWHGN\OL[DQGGHHSERZOV0RXQWMR\WDE Room 22 is considered to represent a later stage in LH IIIB1and in the system of Schönfeld 1988, 163, tab. 4; 206– 207, this is LH IIIB Middle. For the discussion of LH IIIB Middle see Kardamaki 2009, 386–392. In the LH IIIB 0LGGOHÀRRUGHSRVLWVIURP0\FHQDHWKHSDLQWHGN\OLNHVDUHDEVHQW\$W7LU\QVWKH/+,,,%0LGGOHÀRRUGHSRVLWV also contain painted kylikes.

conical kylix FS 274 and the decorated kylix FS 258, are present and locally produced, but they seem to be rare.65

Turning to other major Laconian sites, LH IIIB1 cannot be isolated successfully from a set-WOHPHQWOHYHODQGDVDFHUDPLFSKDVH0RVWVKDSHVDUHLGHQWL¿HGRQWKHEDVLVRIVW\OLVWLFSDUDOOHOV and were discovered in mixed or later contexts.66 At the Menelaion and at Ayios Stephanos the /+,,,%SKDVHZDVPDLQO\LGHQWL¿HGWKDQNVWRWKHSUHVHQFHRIDIHZGHFRUDWHGGHHSERZOVDQG kylikes.67 Despite the absence of closed LH IIIB1 contexts, it is clear that the typical LH IIIB1 pattern-painted kylikes are rare at both sites. Beyond Laconia, at Nichoria, there are kylikes FS 258 and deep bowls dated to a transitional LH IIIA2/IIIB1 phase, but deep bowls are rarer.68 \$W.RQWRSLJDGRLQ\$WWLFDVRPHFRQWH[WVWKDWPD\GDWHLQWKH¿UVWKDOIRI/+,,,%FRQWDLQPDLQO\ plain and monochrome open vessels, while pattern-painted kylikes are absent and decorated deep bowls are extremely rare.69 In Tsoungiza, on the other hand, both shapes are very well represented, but the site has strong links to the Argolid.70 From the above discussion, it is possible to suggest that in many regions some of the most common LH IIIB1 types of the Argolid were rarely adopted.71 This need not always suggest a restricted occupation or depopulation. At Ayios Vasileios there is evidence that plain and monochrome tableware continue from LH IIIA2 to LH IIIB (Fig. 7) with some new additions like the plain conical kylix and kylikes FS 258.72

#### LH IIIB Late–LH IIIC Early

The next recognizable ceramic phase in the area under discussion is linked to a level which IROORZVWKHGHVWUXFWLRQDQGFRQVWUXFWLRQRI:DOOEXWLVQRWUHODWHGWRDQ\ÀRRUV7KLVODWHVW FHUDPLFSKDVHWKHEHVWHYLGHQFHRIZKLFKFRPHVIURP7UHQFKHVǻȕDQGǻȕLVFKDUDFWHUL]HG E\ VRPH VLJQL¿FDQWFKDQJHV2QH RIWKHVHLVWKHLQWURGXFWLRQ RIWKH GHHS ERZO)6 DVWKH PRVWFRPPRQGULQNLQJHDWLQJYHVVHOLQWKHSDLQWHGWDEOHZDUH\$OVRZRUWKPHQWLRQLQJLVWKH¿UVW appearance of handmade burnished ware. This makes Ayios Vasileios the second site in Laconia after the Menelaion to yield evidence for this ware.73 Fragments of LH IIIB1 painted kylikes con-WLQXHWRDSSHDULQWKLVOHYHODVZHOOEXWWKH\PD\UHSUHVHQWHDUO\VWUD\V74 The three most characteristic LH IIIB2 deep bowl variants of the Argolid, groups A and B and the rosette deep

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 178 11.11.2022 09:00:45

65\$W0\FHQDHWKHSODLQFRQLFDON\OL[LVDOVRDUHODWLYHO\UDUHVKDSH,QWKHGHSRVLWXQGHUWKHÀRRURI5RRP6RXWK House at Mycenae, there are 47 rims of kylix FS 274 out of 930 rims of plain kylikes (Mountjoy 1976, 111, tab. 3). 6HH-XQJ¿JV±IRUVWDWLVWLFWDEOHVRIYDULRXVSODLQW\SHVDPRQJ/+,,,%DQG/+,,,%FRQWH[WVDQGWKH absence of the FS 274 from some contexts at Thebes and Mycenae.

66 See Mountjoy 2008, 337–339, 377, for Ayios Stephanos. Some sherds can be stylistically assigned to LH IIIB or Late LH IIIB and the rarity of LH IIIB deep bowls is stressed. See Catling 2009, vol. 1, 366–367, for discussion RQWKHFRPSDULVRQRIWKHSRWWHU\SKDVHVEHWZHHQWKH\$UJROLGDQGWKH0HQHODLRQDQGWKHGL൶FXOW\LQIROORZLQJWKH Argive criteria at the site.

67 For very few Zygouries-type kylikes (FS 258A) and LH IIIB1 kylikes with circumcurrent decoration (FS 258B) among the later material in the Aetos Stone Mound see Catling 2009, vol. 1, 373–374. For possible LH IIIB1 deep bowls at the Menelaion see Catling 2009, vol. 1, 391.

686KHOPHUGLQH±¿J7KHUHDUH¿YHH[DPSOHVRI=\JRXULHVN\OLNHVH[DPSOHVRI)6DQG six rims of FS 284.

69.D]D3DSDJHRUJLRX±.DUGDPDNL¿J

70 Thomas 2005, 478–483, 488–495.

71 See also Vitale 2018, 154, 158, tab. 8.1, for the rarity of LH IIIB1 contexts at Mitrou.

72 In many regions the monochrome kylix FS 264 appears to continue in LH IIIB1 and LH IIIB2/ IIIC Early (Thomas ¿J±.D]D3DSDJHRUJLRXHWDO¿J±\$GULPL6LVPDQL\$W1LFKRULD LQWKHWUHQFKHVLGHQWL¿HGDV/+,,,\$,,,%N\OLNHVRIWKH/+,,,\$VW\OHDUHIUHTXHQW6KHOPHUGLQH.\ likes of the LH IIIA2 style also continue at Tsoungiza (Thomas 2011, 479).

73&DWOLQJYRO¿J.DUGDPDNL±9DVLORJDPYURX

74 For the use of LH IIIB1-style kylikes in late LH IIIB see Adrimi-Sismani 2014, 480–485 (occasionally with a PRQRFKURPHLQWHULRU\$OVR&DWOLQJYRO±&DWOLQJYRO¿J3(3(VXJgests a late dating in LH IIIB/IIIC Early for some painted kylikes.

bowl, are largely absent or very rare.75 Group A deep bowls and the small rosette deep bowl with WKHGRWWHGULPKDYHQRWEHHQLGHQWL¿HG\HWZKLOHWKHODUJH\*URXS%GHHSERZORPQLSUHVHQWLQ the destruction deposits of Mycenae, Tiryns and Midea is represented by one fragment in Trench ǻȕ)LJDQGDSRVVLEOHVHFRQGRQHIURPWKH:HVW6WRD)LJ76 Another common deep bowl type with pattern-painted decoration and a medium rim band (Group C) which is also frequently attested in the LH IIIB2 destruction horizon of the Argolid77KDVQRWEHHQLGHQWL¿HGLQ the material of Ayios Vasileios studied so far. Some examples are similar (Fig. 11.38, 45), but their exterior rim band is slightly thinner (1.3cm).

The deep bowls from the area of the court at Ayios Vasileios always have a fully coated interior and an exterior rim band that varies from a thin line (Fig. 11.42–43) to a medium band (1.3cm) (Fig. 11.38).78 Some examples have the exterior rim banding of a stemmed bowl (Fig. 12.54).79 In terms of their style, they resemble either some of the features of the so-called transitional /+,,,%±/+,,,&(DUO\7\SHVDQGDVGH¿QHGE\0RXQWMR\80 or deep bowl variants usually assigned to LH IIIC Early, e.g. Group A with monochrome interior.81 Mountjoy's transitional phase usually correlates with the earliest LH IIIC horizon, for example Jeremy Rutter's LH IIIC Phase 1.82 It postdates the destruction of Mycenae and Tiryns but should be contemporary with WKH¿QDOGHVWUXFWLRQRIPDMRUSDODWLDOVLWHVVXFKDV3\ORVDQG7KHEHV \$UFKLYH5RRP83 Other major contexts dated by Mountjoy to her transitional phase come from Ayios Stephanos and the Menelaion in Laconia, and the group of pots from the NE ascent of the Athenian Acropolis. In the Argolid, the transitional phase is represented by the 'Bothros' of Iria.84

7KHTXHVWLRQDULVLQJLVZKHWKHUWKHGHHSERZOVDW\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVUHÀHFWWKHORFDO/+,,,% Late equivalent or, alternatively, whether they suggest a more advanced chronological stage in /+,,,&(DUO\IRUWKH¿QDOSKDVHDQGDEDQGRQPHQWRIWKHVLWH:KLOHHLWKHUVFHQDULRLVGL൶FXOW WRFRQ¿UPDWWKHPRPHQWGXHWRWKHDEVHQFHRIFORVHGGHSRVLWVWKHUHDUHVRPHDVSHFWVWKDWZH need to keep in mind. First, stratigraphically there is no evidence for a hiatus after the destruction of the palace in LH IIIB Middle (Wall 108). Second, recent studies suggest the redating of some contexts from transitional LH IIIB2–LH IIIC Early to LH IIIB2 Late and point out that some of the 'transitional' features tend to appear already in LH IIIB2.85 And third, while all the deep bowls from Ayios Vasileios described above appear in the same stratigraphic units, Group A deep bowls with a monochrome interior and a thin exterior rim band that are more typical for LH IIIC Early tend to appear only in the upper parts of the relevant deposits (Figs. 11.44–45, 12.56). If the latter LPSUHVVLRQLVFRQ¿UPHGLQWKHIXWXUHE\PRUHPDWHULDODQGFORVHGFRQWH[WVLWFRXOGVXJJHVWWKDW at Ayios Vasileios the deep bowls with rim band between 1–1.5cm, stemmed bowl banding and occasional Group B deep bowls still date in late LH IIIB, while the variant with an exterior thin rim line is later and dates to LH IIIC Early 1.

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 179 11.11.2022 09:00:45

75 French 1969; Wardle 1973.

76 See Voigtländer 2003, pl. 123.Si 23, Si 29, Si 31, Si 35–Si 37 for deep bowls of Group B from the Epichosis of Tiryns. After LH IIIB2 the deep bowl B becomes very rare (Kardamaki 2009, 456, tab. 6). In the NE-Lower Town (Phase 1) there is only one fragment (Stockhammer 2008, vol. 2, pl. 19.382).

77 Kardamaki 2009, 453–454, tabs. 1–2, pl. 23.466–475. The Group C deep bowl has an exterior rim band between 1.5 and 2.49cm, linear decoration 16.

78&I&DWOLQJYRO¿J3(3(3(IRUVSLUDOVZLWKDVROLGFHQWHUIURPWKH3URSKLWLV(OLDV Erosion Gully (LH IIIB2/ IIIC Early).

79&I&DWOLQJYRO&DWOLQJYRO¿J\$¿J\$

800RXQWMR\±¿JV±

81 Mountjoy 1986, 150; Popham et al. 2006, 228–229, tab. 2.1. Deep bowl Type A/B according to Ph. Stockhammer in: French – Stockhammer 2009, 208. The Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior in Kardamaki 2009, 453–454, tabs. 1–2, encompasses deep bowls with a rim band between 0 and 1.49cm.

82 Mountjoy 1999, 39, tab. II. See Rutter 1977; Rutter 2003.

83 Mountjoy 1999, 641, 647. But see Andrikou 2006 and Andrikou, this volume, for Thebes.

84 Mountjoy 1997; Mountjoy 1999, 36, dates the destruction of Midea in this phase, but Demakopoulou 2003 recently DUJXHGIRUDGHVWUXFWLRQLQ/+,,,%¿QDO

859LWDOH'HPDNRSRXORX¿J)UHQFK±6WRFNKDPPHU.DUGDPDNLSOV

Regarding the existence of a LH IIIC Early phase at Ayios Vasileios, there are some other features that point in this direction, but these are very scant. One sherd comes from a painted conical kylix FS 274 with monochrome interior (Fig. 11.47),86ZKLOHDQRWKHUVKHUG IURP7UHQFKǻȕ may come from the same shape or a bowl (Fig. 12.55).87 In the Menelaion one painted conical kylix appears in some of the latest levels of the site assigned by Hector Catling to LH IIIC Early.88 The so-called medium band deep bowls or linear painted deep bowls with monochrome interiors are, so far, absent at Ayios Vasileios.89 The painted cup FS 215 is represented by a single sherd (Fig. 12.57) but it has a banded exterior.90 The absence of the medium band type in the southern 3HORSRQQHVHKDVEHHQGLVFXVVHGE\-HUHP\5XWWHUZKRLGHQWL¿HVLWDVDPRUHQRUWKHUQYDULHW\91

The main evidence for the existence of late LH IIIB and/or early LH IIIC at Ayios Vasileios has to be based on the study of the deep bowls. As already mentioned above, one of the most advanced variants is the one with a thin rim band on the exterior (Group A with monochrome interior or Group A/B) (Figs. 11.44–45, 12.56).92 This type is also reported by Mountjoy as rare among the transitional group of deep bowls.93 Although it is considered to be typical for LH IIIC Early, Group A with monochrome interior appears already in LH IIIB1 and LH IIIB Middle, during which phases it was still rare.94 In the second half of LH IIIB it becomes more frequent DQGWKHUHDUHVRPHZHOOVWUDWL¿HGH[DPSOHVIURPWKH\$UJROLG95 According to Podzuweit, at Tiryns the ratio between pattern-painted deep bowls with monochrome interior and Group A deep bowls with monochrome interior is 2:1 respectively during LH IIIB Developed and Final.96 Although this proportion is probably overestimated since similar evidence is lacking in other LH IIIB2 Late contexts of the site, it still shows that the type was in use in the palatial centers of the Argolid prior

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 180 11.11.2022 09:00:45

86 The painted conical kylix FS 274 is also more typical for a later stage of LH IIIC Early, but in some regions it appears already in LH IIIC Early 1 (Rutter 2003). In the Argolid the type seems to be present only after LH IIIC Early 1 (see French 2011, CD-828 [from LH IIIC Early Tower]). For rare LH IIIB examples see French – Stockhammer ¿JZLWKGRWWHGULP'HPDNRSRXORX±'LYDUL9DODNRXPHQWLRQZKROO\RUSDUWO\FRDWHG kylikes FS 274 and FS 267 from LH IIIB2 deposits in Midea. Monochrome conical kylikes rarely exist in LH IIIB2 Late levels at Kontopigado.

87 See French – Taylour 2007, CD-277, for conical bowls FS 242 with linear decoration inside/outside (LH IIIB2). The piece from Ayios Vasileios has unusual decoration.

88&DWOLQJYRO±&DWOLQJYRO¿J\$2µUHRFFXSDWLRQ¶LQ\$HWRV6RXWK6ORSH)RU DSDLQWHGFRQLFDON\OL[IURP\$\LRV6WHSKDQRVVHH0RXQWMR\¿J

89 Mountjoy 1986, 152. Linear painted deep bowls with monochrome interior are found occasionally in LH IIIB2 OD\HUV 'HPDNRSRXORX±'LYDUL9DODNRX¿J\$QGULNRXSOV± Podzuweit 2007, pl. 19.5). In the Menelaion there are some linear painted deep bowls with monochrome interior GDWHGPDLQO\WR/+,,,%DQG/+,,,&(DUO\E\&DWOLQJYRO¿J3'¿J\$2 In Dimini medium band deep bowls are mainly associated with the reoccupation layers, dated in LH IIIC Early (Adrimi-Sismani 2014, 523). For earlier, LH IIIB2 medium band deep bowls see Demakopoulou 2003, 84; Podzuweit 2007, pl. 19.10.

90&I&DWOLQJYRO¿J3(3URSKLWLV(OLDV(URVLRQ\*XOO\GDWHGE\&DWOLQJWR/+,,,%,,,&(DUO\ and LH IIIC Early).

91 See Rutter, this volume. The cup with medium rim band and monochrome interior appears in the Argolid in LH IIIB2 but it is still very rare (Kardamaki 2009, 243–244).

92 This is Podzuweit's pattern-painted deep bowl B with linear decoration 9.2 and 9.2.1 (Podzuweit 2007, 30, 314, %HLOJ GHFRUDWLRQW\SHV±SO±\*URXS\$PRQRFKURPHLQ3RSKDPHWDO¿J 228–229, tab. 2.1. Type A/B: Andrikou 2006, 33; Vitale 2006, 181–182, 190, tab. 2; French – Stockhammer 2009, 209. Kardamaki's 'deep bowl A with monochrome interior' encompasses both thin and medium exterior rim bands (0–1.49cm) (Kardamaki 2009, 453–454, tabs. 1–2). The same is also true for some deep bowls A/B as well (Andrikou 2006, 42, pl. 21.330).

932QO\RQHVKHUGRI7UDQVLWLRQDO7\SHVDQGKDVDWKLQULPEDQG0RXQWMR\¿J

940RXQWMR\¿J6FK|QIHOG¿J¿JGDWHGWR/+ ,,,%(DUO\DQG0LGGOH respectively. According to Stockhammer 2008, vol. 1, 48 n. 255, the deep bowl assigned by Guntram Schönfeld to LH IIIB Early could be LH IIIB Middle. See also Wirghova, this volume.

95\*LHULQJSO±'HPDNRSRXORX¿J3RG]XZHLWSO /+ ,,,%'HYHORSHG Tiryns).

96 Podzuweit 2007, Beil. 5 (Podzuweit's 'Dekor 9.2' applies for deep bowl A with monochrome interior).

to the destruction.97 Regarding its further development in the Argolid, the type becomes common after LH IIIC Early.98

Evidence from other Laconian sites suggest a wide distribution of the Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior. At Ayios Stephanos the relevant layers contain pottery that has been dated to transitional LH IIIB2–LH IIIC Early but mainly to LH IIIC Early.99 At the Menelaion the Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior carries mainly a medium or a thin rim band on the exterior.100 It is, however, important to note that at both Laconian sites Group A deep bowls with monochrome interior appear next to other deep bowl variants and most notably the canonical Group A. The latter is rarer at Ayios Stephanos but relatively well represented at the Menelaion. According to Catling's analysis on selected deposits from the Menelaion, the percentages of \*URXS\$GHHSERZOVDPRQJDOOGHHSERZOW\SHVYDU\IURPWR101 This contrasts strongly with the situation at Ayios Vasileios, where the canonical Group A deep bowl is very rare. In this respect, it is interesting to note that the Menelaion has also yielded evidence for the rare – outside the Argolis – rosette deep bowl, to be precise, a variant of the type that omits the dotted rim.102

Beyond Laconia and the Argolid, excavations at Kontopigado (Attica) brought to light various deposits dating from LH IIIB Late to LH IIIC Early 1. Next to the local variants of the deep bowls,103ZH¿QGWKHFDQRQLFDO\*URXS\$UDUHH[DPSOHVRI\*URXS%DQGDOVR\*URXS\$ZLWKPRQRchrome interior.104 Attested in both LH IIIB as well as LH IIIC Early 1 contexts of Kontopigado is the type with the exterior stemmed bowl rim banding.105 However, the most common deep bowl W\SHLQDOPRVWDOOFRQWH[WVVWXGLHGVRIDULVWKHPRQRFKURPHRQHFRPSULVLQJPRUHWKDQRI the deep bowl rims.106 This probably represents a local development continuing from LH IIIA2,107 and has no parallels at Ayios Vasileios where monochrome deep bowls are extremely rare.108 Moreover, Group A deep bowls with monochrome interior are either absent or extremely rare in LH IIIB deposits of the site.109 In Dimini, the destruction deposits of Megaron B and the abandonment deposit of Megaron A have been dated to LH IIIB2 Late and LH IIIC Early respectively.110

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 181 11.11.2022 09:00:45

97 In the Western Staircase of Tiryns (LH IIIB2 Late) only one rim possibly belongs to this type (Kardamaki 2009, pl. 2.39).

98 Podzuweit 2007, Beil. 5. In the Western Staircase of Tiryns the percentage of the deep bowl A with monochrome in-WHULRUDPRQJGHHSERZOULPVLQ=RQH/+,,,%/DWHDQG=RQH/+,,,&(DUO\LVDQGUHVSHFWLYHO\ For the type in the lowest LH IIIC levels of Phase 1 in the NE-Lower Town of Tiryns (LH IIIC Early 1–IIIC Early 2) see Stockhammer 2008, vol. 2, pls. 15.293; 16.301, 306; 17.322; 18.348, 351. In the LH IIIC Early 1 houses of Mycenae deep bowls A with monochrome interior are missing, but this may be accidental since the type appears in WKHWHUUDFH¿OOEHORZWKHKRXVHV)UHQFK&'\*UDSK

990RXQWMR\¿J±±±WKHPDMRULW\ZLWKQRRUYHU\WKLQ H[WHULRUULPEDQG0HGLXPH[WHULRUULPEDQGVRURWKHUOLQHDUGHFRUDWLRQRFFXUDVZHOO0RXQWMR\¿J 6.39.3697). Several transitional-type deep bowls come from the same deposits that date in LH IIIC Early (Mountjoy ¿J¿J±0RXQWMR\

100&DWOLQJYRO6HHIRUH[DPSOH&DWOLQJYRO¿J3(±3('HHSERZOVZLWKQR exterior rim band occur mainly at the Aetos Stone Mound but are rarer than other linear decoration.

101 Catling 2009, vol. 1, 388. In some deposits such as in the NE Wash levels they are more frequent.

102&DWOLQJYRO¿J\$±\$

103.DUGDPDNL±.D]D3DSDJHRUJLRX¿J¿J

104.D]D3DSDJHRUJLRXHWDO¿J±.D]D3DSDJHRUJLRX±.DUGDPDNL¿J)RUGHHS ERZOV\$ZLWKDPRQRFKURPHLQWHULRUIURP7KRULNRVVHH0RXQWMR\¿J±

105.DUGDPDNL±.D]D3DSDJHRUJLRX¿J¿J1HLWKHUGHPRQVWUDWLQJWKHW\SLFDOÀDULQJSUR¿OH

106.D]D3DSDJHRUJLRXHWDO¿JWDE.DUGDPDNL±.D]D3DSDJHRUJLRX¿J

107.D]D3DSDJHRUJLRX±.DUGDPDNL¿J¿J±/DUJHGHHSERZOVVLPLODUWRWKHW\SH usually called truncated stemmed bowl.

108 At the Menelaion monochrome deep bowls are present, but their exact number is not given. Cf. Catling 2009, YROQ&DWOLQJYRO¿J3(

109 Kardamaki – Kaza-Papageorgiou 2018, 118–120.

110\$GULPL6LVPDQL%XWVHH9LWDOHHWDOWKLVYROXPH7KHPDLQGL൵HUHQFHEHWZHHQWKH/+,,,%DQG LH IIIC Early assemblages in Dimini is the presence of handmade burnished and Gray Ware in the contexts of the latter phase.

The Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior is perhaps the most common variant, while VHYHUDOH[DPSOHVKDYHÀDULQJRUHYHQEHOOVKDSHGSUR¿OHV111 and reserved bases on the interior.112 Furthermore, the Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior is represented in the destruction deposits of Thebes but is clearly rarer than Group A deep bowls.113 This type also occurs in LH IIIB2 Late contexts of Mitrou.114 At Nichoria Group A deep bowls with a monochrome interior were found in the latest Mycenaean deposits of the site that date to LH IIIB2.115

In summary, Group A deep bowls with a monochrome interior do appear in LH IIIB1. In LH IIIB2 they become more frequent, based on the evidence from Tiryns, Mycenae and Midea, but at these sites they never outnumber the canonical Group A deep bowls. Some other regions, on the other hand, show a stronger preference for Group A deep bowls with a monochrome interior (Laconia, Thessaly). Ultimately, however, the available stratigraphy does not allow a conclusive decision on whether the frequent use of Group A deep bowls with a monochrome interior in some regions beyond the Argolid correlates with LH IIIB2 or late LH IIIB2 or whether it suggests occupation in LH IIIC Early.116

#### **ȉKH'HVWUXFWLRQRI\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVLQWKH:LGHU&RQWH[W**

The goal of the present paper was to establish the chronology of the destruction of the palace and the Linear B archive. Based on the present evidence this event most probably took place towards the end of LH IIIB1. In ceramic terms this is most comparable to LH IIIB Middle in the Argol-LGDSKDVHWKDWDFFRUGLQJWRWKHFKURQRORJLFDOV\VWHPRI7LU\QVVWLOOEHORQJVWRWKH¿UVWSDUWRI LH IIIB117 while at Mycenae it bridges LH IIIB1 with LH IIIB2.118 Moreover, the interpretation of the stratigraphy represents a crucial aspect. Although there is evidence suggesting that the destruction was followed immediately by reoccupation, the character of the site in late LH IIIB is still poorly understood due to the small size of the excavated area. Additional evidence comes from the North Cemetery119 and Building A to the northeast of the court120 but the overall picture remains patchy.

This chronological assessment suggests that the palace of Ayios Vasileios was burnt down VRPHGHFDGHVEHIRUHWKH¿QDOGHVWUXFWLRQVRIWKHODWHth–early 12th century BCE. While the latter GHVWUXFWLRQKRUL]RQLVZHOOGH¿QHGDOWKRXJKLWLVFRQVLGHUHGWRKDYHH[WHQGHGRYHURQHRUWZRGHcades,121HDUOLHU/+,,,%HYHQWVDUHPRUHGL൶FXOWWRXQGHUVWDQGGXHWRVXEVHTXHQWRYHUEXLOGLQJ 6WLOOWKHUHVHHPVWREHVX൶FLHQWHYLGHQFHWRVXJJHVWWKDWWKHGHVWUXFWLRQRI\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVGRHV not represent an isolated phenomenon.

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 182 11.11.2022 09:00:45

111 Adrimi-Sismani 2014, 464. There are also canonical Group A deep bowls, Group A variants and probably rosette deep bowls (Adrimi-Sismani 2014, 431, 465). Most bell-shaped deep bowls are illustrated from the reoccupation level of Megaron A (Adrimi-Sismani 2014, 508–509).

112 For the discussion of the reserved circle on the interior of vessels see Kardamaki 2009, 228 n. 444. The feature is DOUHDG\DSSOLHGLQ/+,,,\$0RXQWMR\¿J\$\LRV6WHSKDQRV

113 Andrikou 2006, 29, tab. 5; 31, pl. 13.217.

1149LWDOH¿JJ

1156KHOPHUGLQH¿J33\$W1LFKRULD/+ ,,,%LVSUHFHGHGE\/+ ,,,\$,,,% 6KHOPHUGLQH 1992, 503).

116,Q'LPLQLWKHÀRRUVRIWKHPHJDUDDUHEXLOWRQWRSRI/+,,,\$EXLOGLQJDQGGHVWUXFWLRQUHPDLQV\$GULPL6LVPDQL 2014, 129–130). At Ayios Stephanos and the Menelaion there is no clear LH IIIB2 level. Catling 2009, vol. 1, 252, comments that it is doubtful whether deep bowls with monochrome interiors can be used as a chronological indicator in Laconia. But see Hachtmann – Voutsaki, this volume, for a deposit dated exclusively in LH IIIC Early.

117 Podzuweit 2007, Beil. 80.

118 French – Taylour 2007.

119 See Hachtmann – Voutsaki, this volume.

120 Vasilogamvrou 2018, 142–147.

121 J. B. Rutter in: Deger-Jalkotzy – Zavadil 2003, 255.

In the Argolid there is evidence for a destruction followed by rebuilding during a phase in which LH IIIB2 styles were not fully established – the so-called LH IIIB Middle horizon. At Tiryns the walls of some rooms in the Lower Citadel collapsed.122 At Mycenae destruction horizons are documented both inside and outside the Citadel, i.e. in the Cult Centre and the Ivory Houses.123 It is not clear whether the enlargement of the wall happened before or directly after a presumed LH IIIB Middle earthquake but it seems that some rooms or buildings of the Cult Area ceased to be used during LH IIIB2.124 Regarding the area of the palace, there seems to be some GDPDJHDVVLJQHGWRDQHDUWKTXDNHIROORZHGE\¿UH125 Further to the north, the so-called 'Potter's 6KRS¶DW=\JRXULHVZDVGHVWUR\HGE\DQLQWHQVLYH¿UHGXULQJZKLFKVRPHSRWVZHUHEXUQWDQG deformed, giving the impression of kiln wasters – a feature also clearly observed at Ayios Vasileios. This destruction was dated by Patrick Thomas late in LH IIIB1.126 At Thebes, middle LH IIIB GHVWUXFWLRQLVVXSSRUWHGE\VHYHUDO¿QGV2QHUHOHYDQWFRQWH[WLVUHSUHVHQWHGE\WKHMHZHOU\ZRUNshop at 29 Pindar St. that is dated to the middle of the 13th century.127 This event was, however, neither widespread nor did it mean the end of the palatial system that continued up to the end of the 13th century,128 although Eleni Andrikou convincingly comments that the LH IIIB Middle debris could have been removed during subsequent rebuilding.

)LQDOO\LQRWKHU/DFRQLDQVLWHVEH\RQG\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVWKHHYLGHQFHUHJDUGLQJWKH¿UVWSDUW of LH IIIB is still scarce. While pottery of the LH IIIB1 style is, for example, present, neither at the Menelaion nor at Ayios Stephanos is there any level exclusively assigned to this subphase. At Ayios Stephanos LH IIIB1 is considered to be a phase of very restricted occupation – if the site was not even completely deserted.129 At the Menelaion, remodeling in the walls of Mansion 2 was assigned to LH IIIB (Mansion 3). Moreover, Catling excavated a burnt deposit in Mansion 2 that he dated to LH IIIB.130 By combining evidence from the so-called pottery dump in the surrounding area of Mansion 2/3 that was convincingly connected with the occupation in the plateau, Cat-OLQJVXJJHVWHGWKDWWKHDEDQGRQPHQWRIWKHEXLOGLQJPXVWKDYHWDNHQSODFHLQ¿QDO/+,,,%,WLV interesting to note the absence of advanced deep bowl types from the pottery dump and the wash deposits around the mansions – contrary to other areas close to the Menelaion hills – that could support a destruction in the 13th century for Mansion 2/3, although a more precise dating within /+,,,%LVGL൶FXOWWRVXJJHVW131

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 183 11.11.2022 09:00:46

122.LOLDQ¿J'DPP0HLQKDUGW.ODXV.LOLDQFRUUHODWHGWKLVGHVWUXFWLRQDW7LU\QVZLWKWKH destruction of the House of the Oil Merchant at Mycenae.

123 Wardle 2015, 591, dates the event at the end of LH IIIB1.

124 For an outline of development in the Citadel House Area see French – Taylour 2007, 4, tab. 1; 10–12. For the Ivory Houses see French 1967, 150, 182–183. Both the so-called Citadel House Area Phase VII Destruction and the destruction of the Ivory Houses are placed in LH IIIB Middle.

125)UHQFK±)RUH[DPSOHWKH3LOODU%DVHPHQWZDVFRQVWUXFWHGLQ/+,,,\$DQGXQGHUWKH¿QDOÀRRU RI/+,,,%WKHUHZDVDQRWKHUÀRRUGHVWUR\HGE\¿UH

126 Blegen 1928, 37; Thomas 1992, 277–283, 338, 508–509. The date of construction of Building B in LH IIIB1 seems to be secure.

127 Demakopoulou 1974, 170–171; Demakopoulou 1987, 433.

128 See Andrikou 2006, 58. The dating of the destruction of Building B in the Kordatzis property in Oedipus St. in the later part of LH IIIB1 is convincingly questioned by Andrikou 2006, 57, who considers it to be LH IIIB2. On the other hand, the pottery from close to the ivory hoard seems to be rather LH IIIB1 (see Symeonoglou 1973, pls. 57–58).

1297KHUHLVVRPHHYLGHQFHIRUWKH¿UHGHVWUXFWLRQRIRQHEXLOGLQJWKDWZDVGDWHGWR/+,,,&(DUO\7KHVNXOOVRIIRXU DGXOWVZHUHGHSRVLWHGLQDSLWDQGWKH¿QGZDVUHODWHGWRDKRVWLOHDWWDFNDQGHYLGHQFHIRUDPDVVDFUH-DQNR 605).

130&DWOLQJYRO±&DWOLQJYRO¿J;±;;

1310RVWZHOOSUHVHUYHG GHHS ERZOV EHORQJWR\*URXS\$ &DWOLQJ YRO ¿J :1 ¿J :6¿J3'±3'¿J3'7KHUHDUHIHZULPVIURPGHHSERZOVZLWKPRQRFKURPH LQWHULRUVDQGPHGLXPULPEDQGVRQWKHH[WHULRU&DWOLQJYRO¿J:(±:(7KHUHLVRQH OLQHDUSDLQWHGGHHSERZOZLWKWKHH[WHULRUULPEDQGLQJRIDVWHPPHGERZO&DWOLQJYRO¿J3' 49).

#### **Discussion and Conclusions**

7KHSUHVHQWHYLGHQFHVXJJHVWVWKDWWKH¿UHGHVWUXFWLRQRIWKHSDODFHDW\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVWRRNSODFH in LH IIIB Middle. This event was followed by a reoccupation that may have lasted throughout WKHODWHUSDUWVRI/+,,,%DQGFRQWLQXHGWRWKHHDUO\SDUWRI/+,,,&(DUO\1ROD\HULVLGHQWL¿HG that can be exclusively assigned to LH IIIB2 in terms of the Argive sequence. The post-destruction rebuilding in the area of the court seems to have been hasty, but in other areas of the palace there is evidence for a more substantial occupation.132 The pottery from Ayios Vasileios shows local preferences, a tendency that is mainly expressed by the group of pattern-painted vessels. Most characteristic in this respect is the apparent late adoption of the deep bowl that occurred in a substantial way after the destruction and much later than in the Argolid. But regional preferences are also observed within Laconia, with the Menelaion showing a greater variety in the decoration of deep bowls.133

On a wider scale, Ayios Vasileios may provide some new evidence related to the history and development of the Mycenaean palaces. One of the crucial questions raised by our study is wheth-HUGHVWUXFWLRQHYHQWVZLWKDVXSUDUHJLRQDOLPSDFWWRRNSODFHDWOHDVWRQHPRUHWLPHEHIRUHWKH¿QDO collapse of the palatial system at the end of LH IIIB2 and LH IIIC Early 1 and if so, whether such events are in any way interconnected.134 Although the archaeological remains from the other major Laconian sites do not allow a detailed reconstruction of the LH IIIB occupation, the correlation between the destruction of Ayios Vasileios and the LH IIIB Middle destructions at Mycenae and 7LU\QVVHHPVSRVVLEOH'HVWUXFWLRQVFRQQHFWHGZLWKWKH¿UVWSDUWRI/+,,,%DUHNQRZQIURPHOVHwhere (see above). In Thebes, the jewelry workshop in Pindar and Oedipus Sts. and another house in Pelops St. on the southeastern and eastern part of Kadmeia Hill respectively show evidence for ¿UHGHVWUXFWLRQDQGKDYHEHHQGDWHGWRWKHHQGRI/+,,,%135 Regarding the House of Kadmos, the possibility cannot be ruled out that it was destroyed during a later part of LH IIIB1, but this issue is still not resolved.136 In a recently published paper Salvatore Vitale suggests a change in the political landscape of Boiotia and east Locris, with Thebes taking over control in Mitrou after a possible destruction at Glas and Orchomenos in early LH IIIB2.137 Although the exact dating RIWKHGHVWUXFWLRQRI2UFKRPHQRVLVGL൶FXOWWRVXSSRUWRQWKHEDVLVRIWKHSXEOLVKHGPDWHULDODQ earlier destruction of Glas than for Thebes seems likely and strengthens the hypothesis that the mid-13th century was a time of unrest in many regions of Mycenaean Greece.138

+RZHYHUZKDWGL൵HUHQWLDWHV\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVIURPWKHRWKHUSDODFHVWKDWSUREDEO\H[SHULHQFHG some kind of violent interruption in LH IIIB Middle is its later development. Not only was the monumental West Stoa not repaired, suggesting the abandonment of a whole sector but – at least so far – there is no evidence for the existence of written tablets at the site during the later parts of the 13th century. This could not contrast more with the situation at Mycenae and Tiryns. It is well known and has been clearly demonstrated that LH IIIB Middle represents a turning point in

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 184 11.11.2022 09:00:46

1326HH9DVLORJDPYURXIRUWKHDOWDUDQGWKHJURXSRIWKHEXOO¿JXUHVIRXQGRQDVXUIDFHFUHDWHGRQOHYHOOHGDUHDV of Building A.

133 Deep bowls without a solidly painted interior (Group A) are much better attested at the Menelaion than at Ayios Vasileios.

134 At Ayios Vasileios there are several deposits that date to LH IIIA2 and may come from the cleaning of rooms after a destruction (Kardamaki 2017). Also, Building A was destroyed in LH IIIA (Vasilogamvrou 2018).

135 Andrikou 2006, 58.

136 The destruction of the House of Kadmos falls in early LH IIIB1 but a later dating is also stated as a possibility (Dakouri-Hild 2001). The destruction deposit contains plain angular cups FS 222 like the ones in the West Stoa of Ayios Vasileios and a conical kylix FS 274 (cf. Raison 1968). The conical kylix FS 274 is absent in the Terraces below the Ivory Houses that, according to Schönfeld 1988, 163, tab. 4; 185, date to LH IIIB Early and the beginning of LH IIIB Middle (Terrace under the House of the Oil Merchant). In Tsoungiza Deposit EU, which dates to LH IIIB1 Early, the plain conical kylix is very rare (Thomas 2005, 512).

137 Vitale 2018, 155.

138 See Shelmerdine, this volume, for Iklaina and its incorporation into the Pylian state.

the history of the Mycenaean palaces of the Argolid. After a destruction which was put down to an earthquake and in some cases to a human act139 the palaces were rebuilt and refurbished following a program that exceeded everything else known before.140 LH IIIB2 was also a period of cautiousness. There are several indications for the latter. Magazines with transport commodities like the House of the Oil Merchant must have been transferred into the secured and controlled environment of the citadel, as argued by Joseph Maran.141 Moreover, the new Cyclopean walls represented the latest word in defensive architecture in the Aegean. Besides their high symbolic value, their rebuilding and expansion must have also been directed by careful planning of defensive strategies.142

\$¿QDOSRLQWPD\EHRIUHOHYDQFHKHUH,QWKHODWHUSDUWRIWKHth century, Tiryns was involved in a wide exchange network, as demonstrated by the large numbers of ceramic containers from Crete and various parts of the eastern Mediterranean discovered at the site.143 LH IIIB2 also coincides with the increase of Kytheran imports at Tiryns such as stirrup jars and pithoi.144 In fact, after Crete, Kythera is the second most common area of provenance for the LH IIIB2 stirrup jars recovered at Tiryns. While it needs to be stressed that the less extensive LH IIIB1 material record from Tiryns due to later rebuilding does not allow secure conclusions for the frequency of Kyther-DQVWLUUXSMDUVGXULQJWKH¿UVWKDOIRIWKHth century at the site, at Mycenae at least it is possible to say that Kytheran stirrup jars are absent from the magazines of the Oil Merchant.145 Kythera as a region was strongly connected to Laconia from LH I onwards. This is not only suggested because of the geographic proximity between the two regions but is obvious from various aspects of material culture. Kytheran pottery was frequently imported to the Menelaion and Ayios Vasileios from LH IIB onwards, including not only large transport containers but also common wares such as cooking tripods and utensils.146 Based on the presence of Kytheran pithoi at Kommos and Pylos, Rutter argued that the former must have played an important role in the movement of goods between Crete and Pylos and more precisely of oil that would have been very important for the perfume industry of the palace.147 In this respect, it is interesting to note that the range of LH IIIB2 Kytheran containers from Tiryns encompasses a larger variety of shapes, i.e. large stirrup jars and not only pithoi. Thus, it is not inconceivable that after the destruction of Ayios Vasileios, Tiryns and the Argolid gained more access to this part of the Aegean that would have been an important connection to Crete.

The overview given above raises more questions than it provides answers. Our present impression is that Ayios Vasileios did not resume its function after LH IIIB Middle, although the palatial system of administration was still fully operating as we know from Pylos and Thebes. If this is WUXHWKHGHVWUXFWLRQRI\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVFRXOGUHÀHFWDFULVLVWKDWZRXOGWDNHDPRUHJHQHUDODQG radical form approximately two generations later.148

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 185 11.11.2022 09:00:46

139 For the House of the Oil Merchant see Wace 1951, 255–256, who ascribes the destruction of the building to looting DQGYLROHQW¿UHWKDWFDXVHGVRPHRIWKHYDVHVWREHFRPHYLWUL¿HG\$FFRUGLQJWR\$ODQ:DFHWKHVWLUUXSMDUVZHUH deliberately unstoppered and overturned so that their contents could be used as fuel.

140 Maran 2015. Regarding Mycenae see Wardle 2015. It is not clear whether the construction of the Lion Gate and the enlargement of the west wall at Mycenae took place before or after the LH IIIB Middle destructions.

1416HH0DUDQIRUWKH\$UJROLG7KLVK\SRWKHVLVLVFRQ¿UPHGE\WKHODUJHQXPEHURI&UHWDQDQGRWKHUIRUHLJQ containers discovered in the LH IIIB2 dumps of the Tirynthian palace (Kardamaki et al. 2016).

142 Iakovidis 1973; Maran 2010, 247–250.

143 Kilian 1988; Maran 2005.

144 Kardamaki et al. 2016, 150, 157. See Wirghová, this volume for the presence of Kytheran wares also in LH IIIB Early and Middle contexts of the Lower Citadel.

145 Haskell et al. 2011, tab. 27 nos. MYC 17–MYC 31, MYC 39, MYC 72–MYC 74, MYC 89–MYC 99, MYC 103.

146 Kardamaki 2017.

147 Rutter 2005, 40.

148:LWKUHJDUGWRWKH¿QDO/+,,,%WKHWKHRU\RIQDWXUDOHYHQWVDVWKHPDLQFDWDO\VWDQGµSULPHPRYHU¶IRUWKHFROODSVH of the palaces seems to be largely compromised by recent research (Maran 2010, 255–257; Jung 2016; Jung 2017; Hinzen et al. 2018; Maran, this volume.

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## **The Ayios Vasileios North Cemetery in the Palatial Period**

*Vasco Hachtmann*1 *– Sofia Voutsaki* 2

**Abstract:**,QWHQ\HDUVRI¿HOGZRUNDWWKHQHZO\GLVFRYHUHGVLWHRI\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVQHDU;LURNDPELSOHQW\RIHYLGHQFH has been collected to identify this site as the political center of Laconia during the Mycenaean Palatial period. We are, however, still at the very beginning of understanding the process and implications of its rise, operation, and fall. One precondition to do so is to get the archaeological record in chronological order. Secondly, it is our belief that any report RQWKHVLJQL¿FDQFHRI\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVUHTXLUHVDV\QRSVLVRIDOODYDLODEOHHYLGHQFH,QWKLVSDSHUZHZRXOGWKHUHIRUHOLNH WRFRQWULEXWHWRWKLVV\QRSVLVE\EULHÀ\SUHVHQWLQJDOOFXUUHQWO\DYDLODEOHHYLGHQFHIURPWKH(DUO\0\FHQDHDQFHPHWHU\ in the north of the Ayios Vasileios Hill concerning the Palatial and early Post-palatial period. The margins of the North Cemetery yielded evidence of later use of the area in the form of architectural remains and ceramic deposits that may help to synchronize phases of construction and destruction at Ayios Vasileios. In our attempt to approach the political and cultural development in central Laconia between the 15th and the 12th century BC, we also include in our discussion VLJQL¿FDQWDVSHFWVRIWKHFHUDPLFVHTXHQFHDQGVHWWOHPHQWGHYHORSPHQWDWWKH0HQHODLRQWKHEHVWUHVHDUFKHGVLWHLQ the region.

**Keywords:** Ayios Vasileios, North Cemetery, pottery, chronology, Menelaion, political development, Mycenaean Laconia

#### **Introduction**

7KHPRUHZHNQRZDERXWDVLWHWKHPRUHFRQ¿GHQWZHDUHLQWKHUHFRQVWUXFWLRQRILWVKLVWRU\7KLV is particularly important in the case of Ayios Vasileios, the recently discovered palatial center in Laconia, whose history seems to diverge from that of other palatial sites.3 In this paper we use the evidence from the North Cemetery area at Ayios Vasileios4 to contribute to the reconstruction of the site's history from the time the palace was operating until its destruction and the aftermath, i.e. in the Late Helladic III period. Although the main period of the cemetery is the LH I–II period, DVDWWHVWHGE\ERWKWKHFHUDPLFR൵HULQJVDQGWKHUDGLRFDUERQDQDO\VLVRIWKHKXPDQUHPDLQV5 the 1RUWK&HPHWHU\DUHDGRHVR൵HUHYLGHQFHIRUWKHODWHUSKDVHV7RVWDUWZLWKWKHODUJHUEXLOWWRPE

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 193 11.11.2022 09:00:46

1 Institute for Prehistory, Protohistory and Near Eastern Archaeology, University of Heidelberg, Germany; e-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
2 Groningen Institute of Archaeology, The Netherlands; e-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
3 Vasilogamvrou 2013; Vasilogamvrou 2014; Vasilogamvrou 2015a; Vasilogamvrou 2015b; Kardamaki 2017. At Ayios Vasileios numerous baked Linear B tablets were embedded in burnt and collapsed building material found in VLWXLQWKHDUHDRIWKH:HVW6WRD9DVLORJDPYURXE7KLVOD\HUDQGRWKHUH[WHQVLYHWUDFHVRI¿UHGHVWUXF-WLRQDUHGDWHGRQWKHEDVLVRIFHUDPLF¿QGVDURXQGWKHPLGGOHRI/+,,,%.DUGDPDNLSHUKDSVDFRXSOH RIGHFDGHVHDUOLHUWKDQWKH¿QDOGHVWUXFWLRQVRIWKHSDODFHVLQWKH\$UJROLGDQGDW3\ORV

4 The North Cemetery at Ayios Vasileios is situated at the northernmost point of the hill where the Mycenaean palace was built. See Voutsaki et al. 2021. The excavation of the North Cemetery is part of the Ayios Vasileios Excavation Project, carried out under the auspices of the Archaeological Society in Athens and the general direction of Ad-DPDQWLD9DVLORJDPYURX6R¿D9RXWVDNL8QLYHUVLW\RI\*URQLQJHQKDVEHHQUHVSRQVLEOHIRUWKHH[FDYDWLRQVVLQFH ZLWKWKHDVVLVWDQFHRIDQLQWHUQDWLRQDOWHDPRIVSHFLDOLVWV7KHH[FDYDWLRQKDVEHHQ¿QDQFHGE\WKH\*URQLQJHQ ,QVWLWXWHRI\$UFKDHRORJ\ZKLOHWKHVFLHQWL¿FDQDO\VHVKDYHEHHQFRYHUHGE\DJHQHURXVJUDQWIURPWKH\$PPRGR Foundation, The Netherlands. The study of the pottery has been carried out thanks to a post-doctoral fellowship from the Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP), while the Mediterranean Archaeological Trust (MAT) has contributed to the study of both the pottery and the human remains.

5 Erdil et al. forthcoming.

(Grave 21), which contained approximately 27 burials, may have remained in use until LH IIIA1. In addition, in the later phases the cemetery was used, albeit only occasionally, for the burial of infants. Finally, the abundance of deposits with pottery dated within LH IIIA and LH IIIC Early at the margins of the cemetery indicates certain activities in this area though the graves were never overbuilt or disturbed.

While the nature of these activities is still a matter of further investigation, we may provide here a picture of higher chronological resolution and evaluate the intensity of use of the North Cemetery area during the Palatial period phase by phase. The emphasis in this paper is thus on the types and groups of pottery relevant for a chronological sequence. Regarding the still limited available evidence from Ayios Vasileios, from both the palace and the North Cemetery area, it is advisable to refer back to the sequence presented by Hector Catling for the Menelaion. After all, WKH0HQHODLRQR൵HUVWKHODUJHVWFRUSXVRISXEOLVKHG/DWH%URQ]H\$JHSRWWHU\LQFHQWUDO/DFRQLD Moreover, Catling has observed that the ceramic sequence at the Menelaion seems much closer to the Argolid than, for example, to the palace on Epano Englianos at Pylos,6 a comment which is of considerable importance considering the fact that the Argolid is the leading reference for the typology of Late Helladic pottery.

Our investigation elucidates some general problems of ceramic studies in central Laconia but also provides an opportunity to synchronize occupational events at Ayios Vasileios with those at the Menelaion – an exercise which may help us understand shifts in the political landscape in Laconia and developments in the Mycenaean Palatial and early Post-palatial period in general.

### **Conditions for the Study of the Late Helladic Pottery**

When attempting to reconstruct the sequence of a new Late Helladic site outside the Argolid, RQHLPPHGLDWHO\HQFRXQWHUVWKHSUREOHPWKDWVRPHRIWKHFKURQRORJLFDOO\PRVWVLJQL¿FDQWYHVVHO W\SHV IRU FHUWDLQ SKDVHV DUH QRWRULRXVO\ UDUH DQG GL൶FXOW WR GHWHFW DPRQJ ZRUQ DQG HQFUXVWed sherd material such as that from the North Cemetery at Ayios Vasileios. Diagnostic items of this kind include all vessel types decorated with a single motif without horizontal banding such as Ephyraean-style vessels (LH IIB), Zygouries kylikes (LH IIIB1) and rosette deep bowls /+,,,%QRQHRIWKHVHW\SHVKDYH\HWEHHQLGHQWL¿HGDWWKH1RUWK&HPHWHU\EXWWKH\DUHDOVR extremely rare among the better preserved material in the nearby palace area. In our attempt to reconstruct the relative chronological sequence at Ayios Vasileios we have to rely at the moment largely on the study of plain, linear and monochrome decorated types of pottery. There are, however, pottery-related hints that might provide an expedient.7 A detailed rim typology developed for the Ayios Vasileios project8 occasionally referred to in this paper may help in understanding the local ceramic development and provide useful supplemental chronological information. In addition, radiocarbon dates have now been obtained from the human skeletons which can be FRPSDUHGWRWKHUHODWLYHGDWHVREWDLQHGIURPFHUDPLF¿QGV9

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 194 11.11.2022 09:00:46

6 Catling 2009, vol. 1, 366.

7 As can be derived from occasional notes, Catling observed for the Menelaion a morphological development of rim shapes of open vessels similar to that at Ayios Vasileios. Concerning the material from the South Erosion Deposit on the North Hill (NS), which is predominately of LH II date, Catling notes that 'nearly all the everted rims are ERWKYHU\ORQJDQGYHU\VOLP¶&DWOLQJYRO&DWOLQJYRO¿J16±16ZKLOH his distinction between monochrome goblets from LH II and from LH IIIA1 is based on his observation that the typical goblet of the later phase 'has a rather fatter, still everted, rim which in some cases verges on wedge-shaped' (Catling 2009, vol. 1, 354). Among the most obvious changes between LH IIIA and LH IIIB, Catling mentions the 'disappearance of the lip, whether distinguished by eversion, or some kind of modelling' (Catling 2009, vol. 1, 404). For Ayios Vasileios see Kardamaki 2017, 81.

8 Kardamaki 2017, 80–83; Kardamaki – Hachtmann forthcoming.

97KHKXPDQDQGDQLPDOERQHVDUHVWLOOEHLQJVWXGLHGE\,RDQQD0RXWD¿DQG<RXULYDQGHQ+XUN

Fig. 1 Plan of Ayios Vasileios North Cemetery with locations of deposits (drawing I. Koulogeorgiou, digitization G. Nobles with additions by V. Hachtmann).

,Q WKH IROORZLQJ VHFWLRQV FKURQRORJLFDOO\ VLJQL¿FDQW FHUDPLF IHDWXUHV DQG WKH FRQWH[WV LQ ZKLFKWKH\ZHUHIRXQGDUHGLVFXVVHGEULHÀ\SKDVHE\SKDVHUHJDUGLQJWKHTXHVWLRQRIZKDWWKH\ can tell us about the history of the North Cemetery area.

#### **LH IIIA1 to LH IIIA2 Early**

The ceramic evidence from the graves in the North Cemetery at Ayios Vasileios suggests that the main phase of use for burials ended in LH IIB or LH IIIA1.10 The latest burial activities took SODFHLQWKHODUJHVWEXLOWWRPE\*UDYHZLWKRYHUEXULHGLQGLYLGXDOV)LJ%HIRUHWKH¿UVW VNHOHWRQVDSSHDUHGODUJHVWRQHVZHUHIRXQGRYHUODLQE\D¿OORIVRLOLQWKHXSSHUPRVWOD\HUVRI the grave. On top of the layer of soil, concentrations of larger vessel fragments, small stones and bones – possibly both animal and human – were documented in the position in which they were found (Fig. 2). Among the 17 fragments from this 'Surface under Layer 3', one upper part of a goblet with tall everted rim, monochrome interior and plain exterior except for a thin rim band is WKHPRVWVLJQL¿FDQW)LJ11 Based a) on the presence and the typo-chronology of this fragment

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 195 11.11.2022 09:00:48

10 Voutsaki et al. 2021.

117KLVYHVVHOW\SHRFFXUVLQ/+,,,\$DW7VRXQJL]DDQG3DWULFN7KRPDV¿J±QRWHGWKDWWKHWKLQ exterior rim band may be a characteristic feature of this phase; however, the rims on the Tsoungiza goblets are all of a shorter type than the piece from Grave 21. We would like to follow Kardamaki (2017, 93), who has suggested on WKHEDVLVRIVWUDWL¿HGHYLGHQFHLQWKHSDODFHDUHDRI\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVWKDWWKLVYHVVHOW\SHZLWKWKLQH[WHULRUULPEDQG begins already in LH IIIA1 and that this feature perhaps does not yet appear in LH IIB. Consequently, in respect RIWKHWDOOHYHUWHGULPWKHJREOHWIURPWKHXSSHUPRVW¿OORI\*UDYHVKRXOGEHGDWHGLQ/+,,,\$6LPLODUYHVVHOV from the Menelaion are discussed among the LH IIB pottery (Catling 2009, vol. 1, 345–346, and e.g. Catling 2009, YRO¿J6767

)LJ 'LVFRYHU\RI\*UDYH6TXDUH2ȕ7UHQFK6XUIDFHXQGHU/D\HU (drawing A. Balitsari, digitization V. Hachtmann).

)LJ µ9HVVHO¶RQWRSRI\*UDYH6TXDUH2ȕ7UHQFK6XUIDFHXQGHU/D\HU Scale 1:3 (drawing V. Hachtmann).

DQGERQWKHWRWDODEVHQFHRIODWHUFHUDPLFIHDWXUHVZHPD\GDWHWKHXSSHUPRVW¿OORI\*UDYH above the stones to the LH IIIA1 subphase.12 This date signals the end of the main use of the North Cemetery, although the area remained respected and was occasionally used for infant burials.

The North Cemetery area yielded plenty of evidence from the period after its main use as a burial ground. A large deposit with fragmented pottery was found east of Grave 21 (Fig. 1). The 'Deposit East of Grave 21' contained pottery from LH II to IIIA1; however, the youngest component may have crossed over into the next phase. There are possible monochrome kylikes and possible stemmed bowls, both types which are introduced in LH IIIA2 Early (Fig. 4.1–3).13

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 196 11.11.2022 09:00:49

12%\XVLQJGLJLWDOUHFRUGLQJDQGUHFRQVWUXFWLRQPHWKRGVGH5DD൵HWDOFRQYLQFLQJO\VXJJHVWHGWKDWWKHVWRQHV found within Grave 21 originated from a cairn above wooden beams and tumbled into the grave when the beams collapsed. This may have happened just before or during the LH IIIA1 period, when the cavity formed after the FROODSVHRIWKHURRIZDV¿OOHGZLWKVRLOFRQWDLQLQJSRWWHU\DQGERQHVWDNHQIURPWKHFORVHUYLFLQLW\

13 Shelmerdine 1992, 495–497; Vitale 2011, 334; Kardamaki 2017, 78–79, 114. See also a recently presented LH IIIA1 closed context at Kontopigado/Athens without monochrome kylikes and stemmed bowls (Kaza-Papageorgiou – Kardamaki 2018). But see Thomas 2011, 198–201 n. 50.

Fig. 4 Examples of pottery from pure deposits. 1–3. 'Deposit East of Grave 21' (LH IIIA1–IIIA2 Early); 4–6. Square O12, Trench 5 West, Layer 3 (LH IIIA2 Early); 7–9. Square O12, Trench 5 West, Layer 4 (LH IIIA1). Scale 1:3 (drawings V. Hachtmann).

Moreover, some lips of open shapes are short and everted, typical for LH IIIA2; however, there is no pattern-painted pottery from this phase. Due to the absence of pattern-decorated kylikes FS 256 and 257 there is no reason to believe that this deposit reaches beyond an initial stage of the LH IIIA2 subphase.14 Two deposits in the palace area of similar ambivalence between LH IIIA1

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 197 11.11.2022 09:00:49

14 Shelmerdine 1992, 495–497; Vitale 2011, 334.

and LH IIIA2 Early were studied by Eleftheria Kardamaki.15 One of them comes from the con-VWUXFWLRQ¿OOXQGHUWKHÀRRURIWKH:HVW6WRDDQGZRXOGDFWXDOO\GDWHWKHODUJHWHUUDFHXSRQZKLFK the monumental stoas and the court of the palace were built. Considering that some of the pottery LQWKHFRQVWUXFWLRQ¿OORIWKH0DQVLRQDWWKH0HQHODLRQPLJKWGDWHWR/+,,,\$16 although the bulk of the material is of LH IIIA1 date, the construction of Mansion 2 and of important monumental features at Ayios Vasileios such as the court and the West Stoa may be more or less contemporary.

While the 'Deposit East of Grave 21' appears to be a mix of pottery from LH II to IIIA2 Early, a clearer sequence of LH IIIA1 and LH IIIA2 Early, termed 'Sequence in Square O12, Trench 5 West', was found west of the cemetery in two layers superimposed upon each other (Fig. 1).17\$OWKRXJKWKHGLYLVLRQRIWKHVHWZROD\HUVZDVDUWL¿FLDODQGHYLGHQFHLVRQFHPRUH limited by the small amount of sherd material, the upper layer (Layer 3) contained shapes missing in the lower layer (Layer 4), in particular fragments of monochrome kylikes and of one stemmed bowl (Fig. 4.4–6). Layer 4 instead contained exclusively goblets with tall to medium-tall everted rims and one fragment of a pattern-decorated LH IIIA1 kylix with shallow bowl (Fig. 4.7–9).

In summary, intensive and large-scale building activities took place on the top of the hill around the transition from LH IIIA1 to LH IIIA2 as part of the construction, or perhaps the expansion or monumentalization of the palatial main complex. This is attested on the basis of pottery GHSRVLWVEHORZDQGDERYHWKHODUJH&RXUWDQGWKHPDWHULDOLQVLGHWHUUDFH¿OOV18 The 'Deposit East of Grave 21' may indicate that certain rearrangements of space also took place around the same time in the cemetery area. By then, the construction of tombs and the deposition of burials within them had certainly stopped. With the exception of occasional infant burials, the cemetery may have functioned as a memorial from then on.

### **LH IIIA2**

In two areas in the North Cemetery area, vases were found in situ in non-funerary contexts: fur-WKHUHDVWRIWKHµ'HSRVLW(DVWRI\*UDYH¶LQ6TXDUH2DQGVRXWKRIWKHFHPHWHU\LQ6TXDUHȄ (Fig. 1). Segments of walls were encountered in both areas; however, the in situ vases and possi-EOHÀRRUVFRXOGQRWEHUHODWHGWRWKHVHZDOOVZLWKFHUWDLQW\(DVWRIWKHFHPHWHU\LQ6TXDUH2 a large part of a cooking tripod was found that was reassembled from more than 30 sherds (Fig. 5.1). One of the two units that contributed most sherds to this vessel19 also contained, amongst other things, one fragment of a monochrome stemmed bowl with short everted rim (Fig. 5.2). 2QO\PWRWKHHDVWDQRWKHULQVLWXYDVHZDVIRXQGDVPDOOMXJRI¿QHSODLQ0\FHQDHDQIDEULF the rim of which was missing (Fig. 5.3). Although the stratigraphic relationship between these two vessels is unclear due to disturbances in this area during the Byzantine period, it seems possible that both belong to one single horizon that overlay the 'Deposit East of Grave 21' and that can be dated to the full LH IIIA2 subphase. In any case, it is worth noting that there were no indicators in this area for the LH IIIB and IIIC Early phases. The tripod cooking pot indicates domestic activities in direct proximity to the cemetery and the use of this area may imply an expansion of the settlement in this phase.

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 198 11.11.2022 09:00:49

15.DUGDPDNLWDEµKLJKHVWSHEEOHVXUIDFHµ)ORRU¶¶DQGµFRQVWUXFWLRQ¿OOEHORZ:HVW6WRD¶

16 Kardamaki 2017, 77 n. 18, 113–114.

17 Kardamaki et al. in press.

18 Kardamaki 2017, 111.

19 Find Groups 2334 and 2358. After mending, Unit 2334 contained 141 fragments of utilitarian pottery and Unit 2358 FRQWDLQHGIUDJPHQWV8QLWZDVFRQWDPLQDWHGZLWKHLJKWIUDJPHQWVRI%\]DQWLQHWLOH:LWKLWVÀDWEDVHDQG WKHVVKDSHGULPSUR¿OHWKLVFRRNLQJWULSRGKDVDJRRGSDUDOOHOLQ5RRP7UHQFK,ĮLQWKHSDODFHDUHDGDWHGWR /+,,,\$/DWHEDVHGRQLWVFRQWH[W.DUGDPDNL¿J6HHDOVR.DUGDPDNL±WDE

Fig. 5 In situ vases in Square O15. Scale 1:3 (drawings V. Hachtmann).

,Q6TXDUHȄVRXWKRIWKHFHPHWHU\)LJPDQ\SHEEOHVZKLFKSRVVLEO\UHSUHVHQWWKHUH-PDLQVRIDSHEEOHÀRRUZHUHHQFRXQWHUHGRQO\FFPEHORZWKHPRGHUQVXUIDFH\$PRQJRWKHU sherds and animal bones, this layer yielded one large fragment of a monochrome basin (Fig. 6.1) and many sherds that were reassembled as one almost complete carinated kylix with the handle PLVVLQJ)LJ7KHULPRIWKLVN\OL[LVUDWKHUÀDULQJDQGTXLWHGLVVLPLODUWRHYHU\RWKHUFDULQDWed kylix rim from the 'Deposit East of Grave 21' or from the 'Sequence in Square O12, Trench 5 West' mentioned above. It resembles a later type found in quantity in the so-called 'Fresco Dump' LQ6TXDUHǻZHVWRIWKHODUJH&RXUWGDWLQJWR/+,,,\$/DWH20 According to our current state

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 199 11.11.2022 09:00:51

20.DUGDPDNL¿J±

)LJ ,QVLWXYDVHVLQ6TXDUHȄ7UHQFK6FDOHGUDZLQJV9+DFKWPDQQ

of knowledge, the 'Fresco Dump' can be connected with a possible refurbishment or rebuilding activity prior to the main destruction of the palace.21 Whether the in situ vases in the North Cemetery area represent one single horizon and, if they do, whether they were contemporary with WKHµ)UHVFR'XPS¶RUWKHODWHUGLVDVWURXVFRQÀDJUDWLRQRIWKHSDODFHFDQQRW\HWEHGHFLGHG

#### **LH IIIB**

A less well-attested period for Ayios Vasileios is LH IIIB, although evidence is pointing towards the destruction of the palace somewhere in the middle of this period.22 In the palace area painted pottery of LH IIIB1 style is rare.23 However, in the area of the court and in the West Stoa there is subtle evidence for this phase embedded in a red layer that seems to derive from the collapsed XSSHUÀRRUDIWHUWKH¿UH24 In the North Cemetery area this phase is even more elusive. Fragments of pattern-decorated kylikes are uncertain and deep bowls of canonical25 Type A (without mono-FKURPHLQWHULRUDUHUDUH2QHIUDJPHQWRID\*URXS\$GHHSERZOZLWKWUDFHVRIDÀRZHUGHFRUDWLRQ found in a LH IIIC Early context is among the very few pattern-decorated pieces from the North &HPHWHU\DUHDWKDWFDQEHVDIHO\GDWHGWR/+ ,,,% )LJ2QO\RQHVLQJOH¿QGJURXSLQWKH ZHVWRIWKHFHPHWHU\ZLWKRXWDQ\UHODWLRQWRZDOOVRUÀRRUV)LQG\*URXS26 (Fig. 1), delivered a couple of fragments from plain kylikes and shallow angular bowls with characteristics of WKLVSKDVH7KHULPVRIWKHVHYDVHVDUHOLSOHVVURXQGHGRUVOLJKWO\ÀDULQJ)LJ±3DUDOOHOV in safe LH IIIB1 contexts can be found e.g. at Mycenae and at Tsoungiza.27 A date in LH IIIA2

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 200 11.11.2022 09:00:51

21 Kardamaki 2017, 114.

22 See Vasilogamvrou et al., this volume.

23 Kardamaki 2017, 114.

24 Kardamaki 2017, 111. See also Vasilogamvrou et al., this volume.

25 'Canonical' is here referring to interior rim bands; the emphasis is on the contrast with vessels with a monochrome interior.

26 Find Group 2205 contained 147 fragments of utilitarian pottery after mending. These include also Early Mycenaean and some EH II sherds. Three historical sherds and one fragment of a Byzantine roof tile can be interpreted as intrusive into Find Group 2205.

270\FHQDHIRUWKHURXQGHGN\OLNHVVHH0RXQWMR\¿J)RUSODLQRSHQVKDSHVLQJHQHUDOVHH:DUGOH ±¿JV±7VRXQJL]D7KRPDV¿J±¿J±

Fig. 7 Fragment of a Group A deep bowl (Post-palatial deposit). Scale 1:3 (drawing V. Hachtmann).

Fig. 8 Fragments from Find Group 2205. Scale 1:3 (drawings V. Hachtmann).

Late, however, cannot be entirely ruled out for this group of fragments.28 In any case, it is important to note that fragments of deep bowls were totally absent in Find Group 2205, although this shape was extraordinarily well represented in a Post-palatial deposit 35m further east (see below). This may suggest that the plain kylikes in Find Group 2205 predate the phase when deep bowls came into use at Ayios Vasileios. The plain kylikes in Find Group 2205 may be placed between LH IIIA2 Late and the earlier part of LH IIIB. It may even be suggested that they date just before or around the time of the palace destruction. The relatively large size of the fragments may imply that they were broken not too far away from the place they were found.29 Pottery signaling the LH IIIB2 phase, in particular the Group B deep bowl and the rosette deep bowl,30 has not yet been found among the material from the North Cemetery.

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 201 11.11.2022 09:00:52

286KHOPHUGLQH¿J3±31LFKRULD/+,,,\$0LGGOH±/DWH

29 The group of fragments in Find Group 2205 may also be related to one of the infant burials dated according to radiocarbon date in LH IIIB.

30 Mountjoy 1999, 36.

Fig. 9 Fragments of Group A deep bowls with monochrome interior from the 'Post-palatial deposit'. Scale 1:3 (drawings V. Hachtmann).

#### **LH IIIC Early**

7KHQH[WSRWWHU\SKDVHLGHQWL¿HGDWWKH1RUWK&HPHWHU\KDVEHHQDWWULEXWHGWRWKH/+,,,&(DUO\ phase and probably dates in its early part (LH IIIC Early 1)31 since characteristic types of ad-YDQFHG/+,,,&(DUO\KDYHQRW\HWEHHQLGHQWL¿HGDWWKLVVWDJH32 LH IIIC Early is characterized at Ayios Vasileios by deep bowls with a thin to medium-wide exterior rim band, monochrome interior, and a wide range of motifs, of which the antithetic spiral is the most frequent (Fig. 9.1–5). In the palace area material dated to LH IIIB2/IIIC Early is so far only known from secondary deposits.33 In the cemetery area one large dump of fragmented LH IIIC Early pottery, the so-called µ3RVWSDODWLDO'HSRVLW¶)LJZDVIRXQGQRUWKHDVWRIWKHJUDYHVLQ6TXDUHȆLQFRQQHFWLRQ with a wall. Whether this wall was built during LH IIIC Early or earlier, while the palace was VWLOOLQWDFWLVQRW\HWFOHDUDQGDGH¿QLWHDQVZHUKDVWRDZDLWIXUWKHUVWUDWLJUDSKLFDQDO\VHV(LWKHU way, the 'Post-palatial Deposit' clearly indicates certain activity in the cemetery area during the LH IIIC Early phase.

#### **The Menelaion Sequence**

At this point we may recall the situation at the well-researched Menelaion. LH IIIA2 at the Menelaion was described by Catling as a 'period of uncertainty'.34 This phase is mainly represented in wash levels and in only one of them, the 'Prophitis Elias South Wash Level' (PES), does LH IIIA2 seem to be the dominant component.35 The reason for the assumed scarcity of LH IIIA2 deposits

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 202 11.11.2022 09:00:52

31 French 2011; Kardamaki 2015, 88–93.

32 For example, painted conical kylikes FS 274. For LH IIIC Early 1 contexts in the Argolid see French 2011 and Kardamaki 2015. We cannot exclude that the material we call here LH IIIC Early also includes pottery attributable to Mountjoy's transitional LH IIIB2/IIIC Early phase (Mountjoy 1995; Mountjoy 1997; Mountjoy 1999). The study is VWLOOLQSURFHVVDQGDGH¿QLWHDQVZHUUHJDUGLQJWKLVSKDVHPXVWEHGHOD\HGXQWLOWKH¿QDODQDO\VLV:HQHHGWRSRLQW out that the fragmentary state and poor preservation of the material at the Ayios Vasileios North Cemetery hampers WKHLGHQWL¿FDWLRQRIDSKDVHZKLFKKDVEHHQGH¿QHGODUJHO\RQWKHEDVLVRIFRPSOHWHYDVHV\$WWKH0HQHODLRQWKH WUDQVLWLRQDO/+,,,%,,,&(DUO\SKDVHKDVEHHQSRVLWLYHO\LGHQWL¿HGE\0RXQWMR\WKURXJKZHOOSUHVHUYHGYHVVHOV

33 Kardamaki 2017, 114.

34 Catling 2009, vol. 1, 461.

35 Catling 2009, vol. 1, 359.

may partly be due to the rarity of pattern-decorated pottery from this phase in mixed sherd material.36

Although few architectural remains can be assigned with certainty to the LH IIIB phase, extensive wash levels were found with corresponding pottery indicating an occupation throughout this phase at almost all excavated locations of the site.37 An early phase within LH IIIB is clearly signaled by decorated kylikes FS 258A (Zygouries kylix) and FS 258B. The best evidence for these types of kylikes was found concentrated in the 'Aetos Stone Mound' although the number of sherds belonging to these types is small.38 Evidence for the most common open shape during LH IIIB, the deep bowl FS 284 of canonical Type A, is widespread over the site.39 By contrast, the Group B deep bowl with exterior rim band around 3cm wide, characteristic for the LH IIIB2 subphase in the Argolid, is virtually absent at the Menelaion. Two well-preserved rosette deep bowls from the Aetos Stone Mound may also postdate the LH IIIB2 subphase.40 The most common type of deep bowl at the Menelaion is the Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior so common in the 'Post-palatial Deposit' in the Ayios Vasileios North Cemetery mentioned above. At the Menelaion, this type of deep bowl was especially frequent in the 'Prophitis Elias, Erosion Gully' (PE) and in the 'Aetos Stone Mound' (A), two large deposits with mixed material assigned by Catling to LH IIIB and LH IIIC Early.41 By contrast, in the wash levels around the slopes of the Mansion (WN, WE, WS and PD) that have been connected with the occupation of Mansions 2 and 3, the Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior is conspicuously rare, while the canonical one is relatively well attested there.42 This could be interpreted as showing that the Mansion had fallen out of use before the Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior became popular. While in the Argolid the Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior is traditionally regarded as an element of LH IIIC,43 Catling assumes that this type was commonplace already in LH IIIB

38&DWOLQJYRO¿J\$\$\$±\$\$±\$

40&DWOLQJYRO&DWOLQJYRO¿J\$±\$)RUURVHWWHGHHSERZOVLQWKHWUDQVLWLRQDO LH IIIB2/IIIC Early and LH IIIC Early periods see Mountjoy 1997, 116.

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 203 11.11.2022 09:00:52

36:KLOHSDWWHUQGHFRUDWHGSRWWHU\ZDVUDUHLQWKHZDVKOHYHOVQRUWKDQGHDVWRIWKH0DQVLRQRIWKHGHFRUDWHG SRWWHU\ZDVPRQRFKURPHSDLQWHG&DWOLQJYRODVLJQL¿FDQWSDUWRIZKLFKPD\DFWXDOO\FRPHIURP the LH IIIA2 occupation (Catling 2009, vol. 1, 80). In fact, LH IIIA2 pattern-decorated pottery was found in the Mansion area during the old excavations by Richard Dawkins (Dawkins 1910, 8–9, pl. 1).

37 Catling 2009, vol. 1, 461. On the Menelaion Hill rebuilding/repair activities referred to as 'Mansion 3' are believed to date to LH IIIB. North Hill and Aetos Hill were occupied as well.

39&DWOLQJYRO±&DWOLQJYRO¿J:6¿J3'¿J1& ¿J1:¿J3(¿J\$\$±\$\$¿J\$2\$2¿J\$ 65–A 69, A 78.

43 Catling 2009, vol. 1, 387.

at the Menelaion.44 Recently the Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior has also been securely attested in the Argolid already for LH IIIB, but the canonical type without monochrome interior was still predominant in LH IIIB2 destruction layers.45 The motifs on deep bowls with and without monochrome interiors are similar: paneled compositions and continuous patterns occur, but on the latter the antithetic spiral motif is particularly frequent.

At this point, a note on the Menelaion sequence concerns the transitional LH IIIB2/IIIC Early phase of Penelope Mountjoy. According to Mountjoy, the Menelaion was among the sites that yielded evidence for this phase.46 In the Argolid this transitional phase was used to describe the period immediately after the destruction of the palaces at Mycenae and Tiryns when ceramic features of LH IIIB2 and LH IIIC Early were in use together with certain features unique to this tran-VLWLRQDOSKDVHDVGH¿QHGE\0RXQWMR\477KHGH¿QLWLRQRIWKLVSKDVHKRZHYHUZDVUHFHLYHGZLWK VNHSWLFLVP-HUHP\5XWWHUV\QFKURQL]HGLWZLWKKLV/+,,,&3KDVHGH¿QHGIRU.RUDNRX48 and Salvatore Vitale attributed the features and contexts of the transitional phase to either LH IIIB2 Late or LH IIIC Phase 1.49

There is, however, also secure evidence at the Menelaion suggesting that the site was occupied beyond LH IIIC Early 1. This evidence includes e.g. one type of decorated conical kylix with inward-curving upper body FS 274 and carinated cups FS 240.50 In fact, some of the material from the 'Prophitis Elias, Erosion Gully' and the 'Aetos Stone Mound', including plenty of Group A deep bowls with monochrome interior, may also date to the more advanced LH IIIC Early. In any case, a stratigraphic sequence that would allow us to distinguish between LH IIIB Late, LH IIIC (DUO\DQGPRUHDGYDQFHG/+,,,&(DUO\KDVQRW\HWEHHQLGHQWL¿HGDWWKH0HQHODLRQDQGWKH same is true for the Ayios Vasileios North Cemetery.

#### **Summary of Pottery Evidence from Ayios Vasileios and the Menelaion**

Stylistically, the LH III sequences at Ayios Vasileios and the Menelaion are closely comparable. The rims of open shapes follow the same development observed elsewhere in southern Greece IURPWDOO DQG PHGLXPWDOO HYHUWHGLQ /+ ,,,\$WR VKRUW HYHUWHG VKRUW ÀDULQJ DQG URXQGHGLQ LH IIIA2. In this period goblets and kylikes occur together. Monochrome pottery is extremely common compared to patterned ware. Pattern-decorated kylikes FS 256, characteristic of /+ ,,,\$DUHGL൶FXOWWRLGHQWLI\DPRQJWKH IUDJPHQWHGPDWHULDO IURPWKH1RUWK&HPHWHU\DW Ayios Vasileios. They are attested in the palace area and also at the Menelaion, but in the former they are rare.51

Concerning the LH IIIB period, evidence is getting thin at the Ayios Vasileios North Cemetery. Mycenaean decorated pottery of this phase is virtually absent there. Only one small group of fragments from plain vases may be attributed to LH IIIA2 Late or the earlier part of LH IIIB DQGQRWKLQJZDVIRXQGWKDWQHFHVVDULO\GDWHVWR/+,,,%DVGH¿QHGLQWKH\$UJROLG,QWKHSDODFH area, the canonical Group A deep bowl is extremely rare in the area of the court and the West

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 204 11.11.2022 09:00:52

44 Catling 2009, vol. 1, 459. Catling 2009, vol. 1, 367, refers to Nichoria, where deep bowls with a monochrome interior have been assigned to LH IIIB2, although, according to Mountjoy 1997, 124, this material may also belong in WKHWUDQVLWLRQDO/+,,,%,,,&(DUO\SKDVH)RU1LFKRULDVHH6KHOPHUGLQH¿J

456HHHJ'HPDNRSRXORX¿J±.DUGDPDNLWDE:LUJKRYiWKLVYROXPH

46 Mountjoy 1997, 123; Mountjoy 1999, 36–38.

47 Mountjoy 1997, 111–112, 116–117. See also Mountjoy 1995, 196, and Mountjoy 1999, 36–38. See, however, Kardamaki 2015, 86; Wirghová, this volume.

48 Rutter 2003.

49 Vitale 2006.

50&DWOLQJYRO¿J3(±FDULQDWHGFXS)6¿J\$2¿J\$ (conical kylix with inwards-curving rim).

51\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVSDODFHDUHD.DUGDPDNL¿J±0HQHODLRQ&DWOLQJYRO± DQGHJ&DWOLQJYRO¿J:(±:(

Stoa, and only two examples of the Group B deep bowl have been found there so far.52 Catling wrote about the 'Pottery Dump' (PD) at the northwestern corner of the Mansion that 'the predominant character of the pottery contents is of LH IIIB2 type'.53 There are, indeed, a couple of Group A deep bowls in the Mansion wash deposits supporting occupation during LH IIIB; KRZHYHUWKHLGHQWL¿FDWLRQRIWKH/+,,,%SKDVHDJDLQLQFRPSDULVRQWRZKDWZHNQRZFLUFXlated in the Argolid at that time, is not really convincing for the entire Menelaion ridge. In fact, Mansion 2 (or rather Mansion 3) may have fallen out of use before the end of the LH IIIB phase. Although too little is known to discuss the reasons for the abandonment of the Mansion, the GLVFRYHU\RISDWFKHVRIEXUQLQJLQFRQQHFWLRQZLWKDÀRRUGHSRVLWWKDWZDVGDWHGE\&DWOLQJWR /+,,,%PD\VXJJHVWDGHVWUXFWLRQE\¿UH54 In the southernmost sector of the Menelaion ridge, in particular on the Prophitis Elias ridge and on the Aetos Hill, occupation continued, however, well into LH IIIC Early. This phase is also well attested again at Ayios Vasileios in the form of the Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior that is often decorated with antithetic spirals, like those from the Menelaion.

#### **Conclusions**

\$IWHU KDYLQJ H[DPLQHG VLJQL¿FDQW FHUDPLF GHSRVLWV IURPWKH\$\LRV9DVLOHLRV 1RUWK&HPHWHU\ and compared them both with deposits from the palace area and the nearly continuous ceramic sequence at the Menelaion, we may approach a synchronization of construction and destruction phases at the two sites. Around the LH IIIA1–IIIA2 Early transition, major building activities took place at Ayios Vasileios. A large terrace was built to support new monumental extensions of the palace.55\$WWKH0HQHODLRQVRPHFHUDPLFHYLGHQFHLQWKHFRQVWUXFWLRQ¿OORI0DQVLRQ suggests that it was built around the same time.56 The two settlements were probably in operation during the LH IIIA2 phase, although evidence is still limited. A few in situ vases in the North Cemetery may be remnants from this period. Otherwise, broken pottery and other debris may have been cleaned up and dumped in appropriate places.

If we compare the situations at the Menelaion and Ayios Vasileios for the following LH IIIB period, as far as they are known to us, we note that the ceramic sequence at the Menelaion is less incomplete than at Ayios Vasileios thanks to the abundance of the canonical Group A deep bowl. Both sites, however, have in common the absence of the most characteristic types of deep bowls for LH IIIB2 in the Argolid: the Group B deep bowl and the rosette deep bowl. Is this due to a VHWWOHPHQWKLDWXVLQFHQWUDO/DFRQLDRUWRDGL൵HUHQWVW\OLVWLFGHYHORSPHQWRIWKHSRWWHU\GLYHUJLQJ from the Argolid? This examination has shown that the question of 'occupational gap or regional diversity of ceramic style'57 cannot be answered from the perspective of the Ayios Vasileios North Cemetery alone. In the palace area, subtle evidence of an earlier phase in LH IIIB exists that ZRXOGSODFHWKHGHVWUXFWLYH¿UHVRPHZKHUHLQWKHPLGGOHRIWKLVSKDVH58 But where is the second half of LH IIIB? One ceramic-related solution to shorten the gap in LH IIIB, or make it disappear, is to believe, with Catling, that the Group A deep bowl with monochrome interior, found in large quantities at both sites, the Menelaion and Ayios Vasileios, was already regularly in use in Laconia in LH IIIB. Consequently, since this vessel type seems to appear only after the destruction of the palace at Ayios Vasileios and the abandonment, or perhaps destruction, of the Mansion at the

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 205 11.11.2022 09:00:53

52 See Vasilogamvrou et al., this volume, also for another possible deep bowl B fragment from the destruction deposit of the West Stoa.

53 Catling 2009, vol. 1, 132.

54&DWOLQJYRO±&DWOLQJYRO¿J;±;;

55 Kardamaki 2017, 111.

56 Kardamaki 2017, 77 n. 18, 113–114.

57 This was the title of the paper presented at a workshop in memory of Christopher Mee (Kardamaki et al. in press).

58 See Vasilogamvrou et al., this volume.

Menelaion, both events could be placed somewhere in the middle of the LH IIIB phase. Moreover, it seems possible that these events may have taken place within a very short span of time, or even were exactly contemporary. At the beginning of LH IIIB, the use of traditional shapes such as the decorated kylix may have continued, while in the Argolid, the deep bowl FS 284 was already the most common shape on the dinner table.59 The fact that the canonical Group A deep ERZOLV VRPHZKDW EHWWHU UHSUHVHQWHG DWWKH0HQHODLRQWKDQ DW\$\LRV9DVLOHLRVPD\ UHÀHFWWKH current state of research and may change with continuing excavation. In this respect, we may consider the perhaps surprising but nevertheless plausible suggestion that the construction and destruction of both the palace of Ayios Vasileios and of Mansion 2/3 at the Menelaion were more or less synchronous,60 though the limited evidence from both sites recommends some caution. This assumption would, however, support the view that Ayios Vasileios and the Menelaion belonged to the same political entity.

In any case, there is clear evidence at Ayios Vasileios of a major destruction from which the palace may have never fully recovered, and there are hints that this destruction, according to the latest results, took place at the end of LH IIIB1.61 This destruction may not have caused DFRPSOHWHKLDWXVEXWQHYHUWKHOHVVDVLJQL¿FDQWUHGXFWLRQLQRFFXSDWLRQIRUDSSUR[LPDWHO\ years that might explain the scarceness of deposits from this phase. During this time the cemetery area may have largely fallen into disuse, while other parts of the hill may still have been inhabited. Thereafter, the edges of the cemetery area were used again in LH IIIC Early – albeit only for a short time.

#### **Bibliography**

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H. W. Catling, Sparta: Menelaion I. The Bronze Age 1–2, The British School at Athens Suppl. 45 (London 2009).

Dawkins 1910

R. M. Dawkins, Laconia. I. Excavations at Sparta, 1910. § 2. The Mycenaean city near the Menelaion, The Annual of the British School at Athens 16/1909/1910, 1910, 4–11.

Deger-Jalkotzy – Zavadil 2003

S. Deger-Jalkotzy – M. Zavadil (eds.), LH III C Chronology and Synchronisms. Proceedings of the International Workshop Held at the Austrian Academy of Sciences at Vienna, May 7th and 8th9HU|൵HQWOLFKXQJHQGHU0\NHQLVFKHQ Kommission 20 (Vienna 2003).

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K. Demakopoulou, The pottery from the destruction layers in Midea: Late Helladic III B2 Late or Transitional Late Helladic III B2 Late/Late Helladic III C Early?, in: Deger-Jalkotzy – Zavadil 2003, 77–92.

GH5DD൵HWDO

<GH5DD൵±69RXWVDNL±79HUODDQ±\*1REOHV'HVWUXFWLRQFRQVWUXFWLRQUHFRQVWUXFWLRQWKHDUFKLWHFWXUHRIWKH built tomb of the North Cemetery at Ayios Vasileios, Laconia, in: C. Wiersma – M. Tsouli (eds.), Middle and Late Helladic Laconia. Competing Principalities? (Leiden 2022) 229–241.

Erdil et al. forthcoming

P. Erdil – M. Dee – S. Voutsaki – V. Hachtmann, The history of the North Cemetery at Ayios Vasileios: absolute and relative chronology, forthcoming.

French 2011

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Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 206 11.11.2022 09:00:53

59 For similar observations at Nichoria in relation with a transitional LH IIIA2/IIIB1 phase see Shelmerdine 1992, 503–504.

60 Compare Kardamaki 2017, 112.

61 Kardamaki 2017, 111; see also Vasilogamvrou et al., this volume.

#### The Ayios Vasileios North Cemetery in the Palatial Period 207

#### Kardamaki 2015

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E. Kardamaki – V. Hachtmann – A. Vasilogamvrou – N. Karadimas – S. Voutsaki, Regional diversities or occupational gap? Pottery styles during the late 14th and the 13th centuries BCE at Ayios Vasileios, in: D. Smith – W. Cavanagh – J. Bennet – A. Papadopoulos (eds.), The Wider Island of Pelops. Studies in Aegean Prehistoric Pottery in Memory of Prof. Chris Mee (in press).

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#### Mountjoy 1995

P. A. Mountjoy, Thorikos mine no. 3: the Mycenaean pottery, The Annual of the British School at Athens 90, 1995, 195–227.

#### Mountjoy 1997

P. A. Mountjoy, The destruction of the palace at Pylos reconsidered, The Annual of the British School at Athens 92, 1997, 109–137.

#### Mountjoy 1999

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C. W. Shelmerdine, The Mycenaean pottery from the settlement. Part III: Late Helladic IIIA2–IIIB2 pottery, in: W. A. McDonald – N. C. Wilkie (eds.), Excavations at Nichoria in Southwest Greece 2. The Bronze Age Occupation (Minneapolis 1992) 495–517, 537–547.

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P. M. Thomas, A deposit of Late Helladic IIIA2 pottery from Tsoungiza, Hesperia 80, 2011, 171–228.

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\$ǺĮıȚȜȠȖȐȝȕȡȠȣǹȞĮıțĮijȒ ıIJȠȞDZȖȚȠǺĮıȓȜİȚȠȁĮțȦȞȓĮȢȆȡĮțIJȚțȐ IJȘȢ İȞǹșȒȞĮȚȢǹȡȤĮȚȠȜȠȖȚțȒȢǼIJĮȚȡİȓĮȢ 165/2010, 2013, 65–80.

#### Vasilogamvrou 2014

\$ǺĮıȚȜȠȖȐȝȕȡȠȣǹȞĮıțĮijȒ ıIJȠȞDZȖȚȠǺĮıȓȜİȚȠȁĮțȦȞȓĮȢȆȡĮțIJȚțȐ IJȘȢ İȞǹșȒȞĮȚȢǹȡȤĮȚȠȜȠȖȚțȒȢǼIJĮȚȡİȓĮȢ 166/2011, 2014, 59–68.

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\$ǺĮıȚȜȠȖȐȝȕȡȠȣǹȞĮıțĮijȒ ıIJȠȞDZȖȚȠǺĮıȓȜİȚȠȁĮțȦȞȓĮȢȆȡĮțIJȚțȐ IJȘȢ İȞǹșȒȞĮȚȢǹȡȤĮȚȠȜȠȖȚțȒȢǼIJĮȚȡİȓĮȢ 167/2012, 2015, 63–76.

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69RXWVDNL±9+DFKWPDQQ±,0RXWD¿6SDFHSODFHDQGVRFLDOVWUXFWXUHLQWKH1RUWK&HPHWHU\\$\LRV9DVLOLRVLQ B. Eder – M. Zavadil (eds), (Social) Place and Space in Early Mycenaean Greece. International Discussions in Mycenaean Archaeology, October 5–8, 2016, in Athens, Mykenische Studien 35 (Vienna 2021) 323–340.

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Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 208 11.11.2022 09:00:53

## **LM IIIB Ceramic Regionalism and Chronological Correlations with LH IIIB–C Phases on the Greek Mainland**

#### *Jeremy B. Rutter* 1

**Abstract:** Over the past quarter-century, the published evidence for variability in the nature and extent of ceramic regionalism within LM II–IIIB Crete (c. 1450–1180 BC) has increased dramatically. Assessing the implications of that evidence, however, has been hampered by the continuing failure of pottery specialists to agree upon criteria IRUGH¿QLQJFHUDPLFSKDVHVWKDWDSSO\WKURXJKRXWWKHLVODQGDVZHOODVE\WKHODFNRIHVWDEOLVKHGPHWULFVZKHUHE\ varying degrees of ceramic uniformity or regionalism can be determined. By reviewing some results of a recent de-WHUPLQHGH൵RUWRQWKHSDUWRIVSHFLDOLVWVWRH[SORUHLQFUHPHQWDOFHUDPLFFKDQJHDVZHOODVUHJLRQDOLVPGXULQJWKHth century in particular, the suggestion is made that the appearance of dark-surfaced Handmade and Burnished Ware +0%:DJUHHGWREHRIVRXWK,WDOLDQDQFHVWU\DQGLWVLPLWDWLRQLQORFDOSDOH¿ULQJ¿QHIDEULFVRQ&UHWHDVZHOO as on the southern and central Greek mainland can be used to correlate the ceramically based relative chronologies of these two Aegean regions. The short-lived LH IIIB2 Final through earliest IIIC destruction horizon of mainland palatial centers occurred during the phase termed LM IIIB2 (or LM IIIB Late) on Crete. Thus, mainland refugees from those destructions can be expected to be recognizable on Crete before LM IIIC begins. Indeed, their arrival may KDYHSOD\HGDVLJQL¿FDQWUROHLQWKHGUDPDWLFFKDQJHVLQVHWWOHPHQWSDWWHUQWKDWDUHREVHUYDEOHWKURXJKRXWPXFKRI Crete during the later LM IIIB period.

**Keywords:** ceramic regionalism, Chania, Dimini, Handmade Burnished Ware, Late Minoan III

#### **Introduction**

Two major international conferences in the early 1990s hosted respectively by the French School and the Danish Institute in Athens, a third such gathering in 2003 in the same city hosted by the Italian Archaeological School and, most recently, a fourth organized and hosted by the AEGIS research group at the Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) late in 2013 have, in combination, had an enormous impact on our current understanding of Minoan Crete from the mid-15th to the early 12th centuries BC. Building upon Athanasia Kanta's pioneering 1980 monograph, the published proceedings of these conferences, and particularly those of the three most recent, have put special emphasis on the ceramically determined relative chronology of these 250–275 years, on the history and nature of ceramic regionalism during this era, and on the variability within it of connections between Crete and the Greek mainland.2 Another PDMRUVRXUFHRILPSRUWDQWFRQWULEXWLRQVFRQVLVWVRIWKHQXPHURXVVLWHVSHFL¿F¿QDOUHSRUWVRQ ceramic sequences from a host of both settlements and cemeteries that have vastly increased the quantities of data at our disposal.3 7KHPRVWYDOXDEOHFRQWULEXWLRQRIDOORQWKHVSHFL¿FLVVXHRI regional variability within Crete from the collapse of Neopalatial culture to the end of the 13th century, however, is the detailed, synthetic analysis of the central and western portions of the island published by Charlotte Langohr in 2009.4

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 209 11.11.2022 09:00:53

1 Department of Classics, Dartmouth College, USA; e-mail<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
2 Kanta 1980; Driessen – Farnoux 1997; Hallager – Hallager 1997; D'Agata et al. 2005; Langohr 2017a.

3 For listings of most of those published since 1980 see the bibliographies in Nezeri 2013, 267–318; Langohr 2017b, 29–35.

4 Langohr 2009, esp. 175–239.

#### 210 J. B. Rutter

#### **LM II–IIIB Ceramic Regionalism**

What can we say about the ups and downs of ceramic regionalism within Crete from c. 1450 to 1180 BC? Any response to this question should begin by acknowledging that the diversity of µH[SHUWRSLQLRQV¶RQWKLVVXEMHFWFRQVWLWXWHVDVFKRODUO\PLQH¿HOGWKHFKRRVLQJRIDVSHFL¿FSDWK through which is necessarily a personal, and at times inevitably subjective, endeavor. What follows should therefore be understood as merely one person's opinion rather than an indication of any widely held consensus.

The nature of ceramic regionalism during this 270-year-long era, one that encompasses what are on Crete a so-called Monopalatial period of some 75–110 years' duration,5 a Final Palatial period that may have lasted up to a century longer, and then the beginning of an even lengthier Post-palatial period, is certainly not a constant. That is, the degree to which individual regions GL൵HUIURPHDFKRWKHULQWKHLUSURGXFWLRQDQGFRQVXPSWLRQRIFHUDPLFFRQWDLQHUVLVQRWWKHVDPH WKURXJKRXWQRUDUHWKHUHJLRQVLQTXHVWLRQWKHPVHOYHVDOZD\VWREHGH¿QHGLQWKHVDPHZD\)RU example, ceramic regionalism during LM II is almost impossible to discuss at present due to a ODFNRIVX൶FLHQWGDWDIURPPXFKRIWKHLVODQG%\FRQWUDVWWKHLPPHGLDWHO\IROORZLQJ/0,,,\$ phase witnesses a remarkable degree of uniformity, at least in the principal table wares, across much of the center and west of the island, while the far east (beyond the Bay of Mirabello) is TXLWHGL൵HUHQW\$VWLPHJRHVRQGXULQJ/0,,,\$DQG,,,%URXJKO\FRHYDOZLWKWKH0\FHQDHDQ palatial era), regional products and preferences in the center and west of Crete seem to become progressively more distinct all the way down to quite late in the LM IIIB phase, at which point a comparatively brief era of relatively uniform ceramic assemblages characterizing much of Crete has been claimed to exist in the terminal LM IIIB and early LM IIIC phases.6

Of course, such simple statements about changes in the nature of ceramic regionalism through time presuppose the existence of some objective methodology whereby various degrees of ce-UDPLFGL൵HUHQFHFDQEHDVVHVVHGRUPHDVXUHG/LNHZLVHWKH\UHTXLUHJHQHUDODJUHHPHQWRQKRZ to draw the temporal boundaries of ceramic phasing during the periods in question. Consultation of the contributions to pan-Cretan conferences on ceramic phasing during such cultural stages as WKHWHUPLQDO1HRSDODWLDOSKDVHZHFDOO/0,%RUWKH¿QDOOLWHUDWHSKDVHZHFDOO/0,,,%(DUO\RU LM IIIB1 shows all too clearly that agreement on ceramic subphasing is often problematic.7 Even WKHGLVWLQFWLRQVEHWZHHQPDMRUSKDVHVVXFKDV/0,,,\$DQG/0,,,%PD\YDU\VLJQL¿FDQWO\IURP specialist to specialist.8 \$VXVXDOLQRXU¿HOG,ZRXOGDUJXHWKDWWKHEHVWUHVSRQVHWRVXFKGLVsension is simply to be as explicit as possible about one's criteria for whatever spatial, temporal, typological, functional, or methodological distinctions one is proposing to make.

\$ODUJHQXPEHURIGL൵HUHQWIHDWXUHVLQYROYLQJHLWKHUVKDSHRUGHFRUDWLRQRUDFRPELQDWLRQ RIWKHWZR KDYH EHHQH[SORUHGDQG VRPHWLPHV XWLOL]HGLQDQDWWHPSWWR GH¿QHFKURQRORJLFDO horizons within the LM IIIA2–B ceramic continuum on Crete.9 As far as shape morphology goes, the focus has understandably been on the most common open shapes, that is, deep rim-handled cups, deep bowls, kylikes, footed one-handled cups, and various forms of small handleless bowls LQFOXGLQJWKHXELTXLWRXVµFRQLFDOFXS¶7KHERG\DQGULPSUR¿OHVRISDWWHUQGHFRUDWHGFXSVDQG deep bowls and the handle placement on the latter shape have attracted a good deal of comment,

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 210 11.11.2022 09:00:53

5 The duration of this period in absolute years depends principally on when the major LM IIIA2 Early destruction of Knossos is to be dated, either comparatively early (c. 1375/1370) or as much as a full generation later (c. WKHODWHUGDWHEHLQJEDVHGRQWKHLGHQWL¿FDWLRQRIDUHIHUHQFHWRD6HGIHVWLYDORQDVFDUDERIWKH(J\Stian pharaoh Amenophis III recovered from Sellopoulo Tomb 4 at Knossos (Wiener 2018).

6 Brogan et al. 2002; Kanta 2003; Smith 2004; Smith 2005; Warren 2005; Langohr 2009, 200–204, 209–217, 220– 221, 230–233; Smith 2010.

7 Hallager – Hallager 1997 (LM III); Brogan – Hallager 2011 (LM IB).

8 Hallager 2011a, 377–379.

9 For overviews of and commentary on these features from various points of view see the papers in Hallager – Hallager 1997 and Langohr 2017a; see also Rutter 2006a, 517–518, 586–589, 610–630; Langohr 2009, 209–212, 219–227.

yet in my opinion have failed to yield any very useful chronological criteria. Similarly, the banding at the rim and below the decorated zone on patterned cups and bowls have repeatedly been targets of those seeking to generate rules for how to distinguish between LM IIIA2 and LM IIIB pieces. But the number of exceptions to any attempt to apply such rules strictly makes them essentially useless for discerning anything but very broad trends in decorative preferences.

2IJUHDWHUYDOXHIRUGDWLQJSXUSRVHVDOWKRXJKVWLOOLQFDSDEOHRIEHLQJXVHGDVSUR¿WDEO\DVVR PDQ\/+,,,GDWLQJFULWHULDFDQEHDUHWKHIRRWSUR¿OHVRIRQHKDQGOHGIRRWHGFXSVDOVRNQRZQ as champagne cups,10 or the appearance of octopus decoration on Minoan transport stirrup jars,11 both useful as criteria for distinguishing LM IIIB from LM IIIA2. An even more dependable clue WRGL൵HUHQWLDWLQJ/0,,,%IURP/0,,,\$LVWKHDGRSWLRQRQ0LQRDQYHVVHOVIURPPDQ\GL൵HU-HQWSDUWVRI&UHWHRIHLWKHULQGLYLGXDOSDWWHUQVRUVSHFL¿FGHFRUDWLYHV\QWD[HVFKDUDFWHULVWLFRI LH IIIB. Some of these become quite popular at individual Minoan sites, to such an extent that they are occasionally cited as evidence for the actual presence of Mycenaean mainlanders at the Minoan sites in question. A recently published example of such vessels and this kind of interpretation is a set of three high-stemmed kylikes from the pottery-manufacturing center of Gouves situated between Knossos and Malia and practically on the northern coast.12 These have been LGHQWL¿HGDVWKHORFDOSURGXFWVRIDVLQJOHSRWWHUZKRPWKHH[FDYDWRUVXJJHVWVZDVDQLPPLJUDQW from the Peloponnese, possibly from the area around Zygouries. Certainly, the decorative syntax of the Gouves kylikes is closely related to Mycenaean LH IIIB1 kylikes, except for the very sparse banding on the stems, and their solid rather than pierced stems are just as certainly more at home on the mainland than on LM IIIB Crete. Clay analyses, possibly supporting even if not proving their local manufacture at Gouves, would enhance the excavator's case that these drinking vessels are the works of a migrant mainland potter who came to Gouves at some point during the 13th century to work there. But whether or not their maker was a mainland potter, the early LH IIIB style of these kylikes furnishes only a *terminus post quem* for their date. Precisely *when* within LM IIIB such Minoan adaptations of Mycenaean patterns began or became truly popular LVGL൶FXOWWRVD\JLYHQWKHSUHVHQWVWDWHRISXEOLFDWLRQRIZHOOVWUDWL¿HG/0,,,%FRQWH[WVRQWKH island. As a consequence, the usages of adopted Mycenaean patterns such as paneled patterns (FM 75) or antithetic spiral compositions (FM 50) are not presently as useful as they may become if subjected to more detailed study.13

Careful analyses of the impact of Mycenaean as well as regional Minoan decorative motifs on the output of particular Minoan 'workshops' have been undertaken in the case of the so-called Local Kydonian Workshop,14 and also in the cases of the LM IIIA–B pottery from Mochlos15 and

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 211 11.11.2022 09:00:53

10 Hallager 1997a, 30; Hallager 1997b, 408 (shape A6); Hallager 2011a, 378.

11 Hatzaki 2017, 67, tab. 3.3.

12&KDW]L9DOOLDQRX±¿J

13 More detailed analyses of these imitations of Mycenaean decorative motifs form part of a 2013 PhD thesis by Katrin Bernhardt at the University of Vienna recently published in monograph form (Bernhardt 2021). But if an analytical program of research of this kind is to be undertaken (e.g. Bernhardt 2016 for a sample methodology), LWZLOOREYLRXVO\EHLPSRUWDQWWREHVXUHWKDWWKHSDWWHUQVRUVKDSHIHDWXUHVLGHQWL¿HGDVLPLWDWLRQVRI0\FHQDHDQ /+,,,%GDWHKDYHEHHQDFFXUDWHO\LGHQWL¿HGDVVXFK0XOWLSOHVWHPSDWWHUQV)0QHHGQRWEHRI0\FHQDHDQ origin or LM IIIA2–B date, since loosely comparable patterns on Crete exist already as early as LM IB in the form RIPXOWLSOHTXLUNVHJ5XWWHUDQR;¿J;QR;1¿J;1WKDW could have evolved on Crete into a pattern close to the mainland version of multiple stem cited by Bernhardt as an H[DPSOHRI/0,,,%&UHWDQERUURZLQJ:DWURXVQR¿JSO %HUQKDUGW¿J\$Q intermediate LM IIIB pattern that shows clearly enough how this evolution might have occurred without the need to LQYRNHDQ\0\FHQDHDQLQÀXHQFHDSSHDUVRQDSDLURIGHHSULPKDQGOHGFXSVDOVRIURP.RPPRV:DWURXV QR¿JSO±QRSO)RUWKH0\FHQDHDQLPSDFWRQ0LQRDQFHUDPLFSURGXFWLRQGXULQJ the LM IIIA–B periods, see now Bernhardt 2021, 113–253.

14 Hallager – Hallager 2000, 171–172, 203–205; Hallager – Hallager 2003, 261, 298–299; Hallager 2011a, 375–376, ¿J +DOODJHU¿J+DOODJHUE±+DOODJHU±+DOODJHU±¿J

15 Smith 2010.

the contemporary local products from the Armenoi-Rethymno region of west-central Crete.16 But sites within the orbit of Knossos in north- and south-central Crete like Archanes, Ayia Triada, and .RPPRVDUHPRUHGL൶FXOWWRH[DPLQHLQWKLVZD\QRWOHDVWEHFDXVHWKHVHWKUHHVLWHVLQSDUWLFXODU KDYH\LHOGHGSULQFLSDOO\VHWWOHPHQW¿QGVUDWKHUWKDQIXQHUDU\DVVHPEODJHVDQGVRWKHLUSRWWHU\LV decidedly more fragmentary.17 Moreover, the actual production locales at LM III sites, marked by pottery kilns and associated workshop facilities, have been found only rarely, notably at Gouves and much further west at Chamalevri.18 Fotini Nezeri has nevertheless suggested plausible criteria IRUWKHLGHQWL¿FDWLRQRIDWOHDVWHLJKW/0 ,,,\$±% µZRUNVKRSWUDGLWLRQV¶DQGKDVSURSRVHGWKH H[LVWHQFHRIDQDGGLWLRQDO¿YHORFDORUUHJLRQDOWUDGLWLRQVWKHODWWHUPRUHWHQWDWLYHO\GXHWRWKHIDU scantier bodies of relevant evidence for these. In this endeavor, she is following in the footsteps RI.DQWDZKRLQZDVDUJXDEO\WKH¿UVWWRPDNHDV\VWHPDWLFH൵RUWWRLGHQWLI\ORFDOFHUDPLF traditions within LM III Crete.19

How are we to agree on ceramic phasing and subphasing when we all recognize that regional identities are becoming progressively more disparate with time after the end of LM IIIA1 or very early in the LM IIIA2 phase? The answer is surely that we must depend on the existence of LQWHUUHJLRQDOH[FKDQJHVRIFHUDPLFVZLWKLQ&UHWHDVZHOODVRQWKHLPSRUWDWLRQRIWLPHVSHFL¿F SRWWHU\W\SHVIURPRXWVLGHWKHLVODQGWRFRUUHODWHWKHYDULRXVVLWHVSHFL¿FFHUDPLFFKURQRORJLHV with each other. The good news is that there is plenty of intra-island ceramic exchange during the 14th and 13thFHQWXULHVDVZHOODVFRQVLGHUDEOHWUD൶FLQSRWWHU\ERWKWRDQGIURPFXOWXUH]RQHV outside of Minoan Crete. The bad news is that we have yet to quantify and otherwise evaluate VXFKH[FKDQJHVLQVX൶FLHQWGHWDLOWRDOORZWKHPWRDVVLVWXVPXFKLQ¿UPLQJXSRXUGH¿QLWLRQV of both phases and regional identities.20 We also have relied – as has also been the tradition on the Greek mainland – overwhelmingly on decorated table wares and failed until very recently to pay VX൶FLHQWDWWHQWLRQWRVWRUDJHDQGWUDQVSRUWYHVVHOVRUWRFRRNLQJSRWWHU\7KHEHVWNQRZQH[DP-SOHVRILQWUDLVODQGFHUDPLFH[FKDQJHDUH¿QHGHFRUDWHGSRWWHU\SURGXFHGLQ&KDQLDWKHRXWSXW of the already cited Local Kydonia Workshop), Knossos,21 and Palaikastro,22 as well as large and for the most part coarse transport stirrup jars,23ZKLOHWKHPRVWZLGHO\SXEOLVKHGR൵LVODQGLPSRUWV DUH0\FHQDHDQDQG&\SULRW¿QHZDUHVDOWKRXJKDIDLUDPRXQWRIDWWHQWLRQKDVDOVREHHQSDLGWR transport vessels such as Canaanite and Egyptian amphorae and Cypriot pithoi.24

Why is the issue of ceramic regionalism on Crete relevant to the issue of 'Synchronizing the Destructions of the Mycenaean Palaces'? One answer to this question involves the interpretation of such regionalism and thus its potential implications, regardless of where it may appear. On Crete, as already noted, there is a fairly sudden change in the nature of ceramic regionalism at the end of LM IIIA1 or early in LM IIIA2. There appears to be universal agreement among specialists that the subsequent increase in the degree of regionalism in central and western Crete is a direct

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 212 11.11.2022 09:00:53

16 Nezeri 2013, 57–63, 161–185.

17 For an overview of the relationships between the major excavated sites in the western Mesara (Ayia Triada, Kommos, and Phaistos) in Neopalatial and Post-palatial times see Shaw 2006, esp. 866–875, tab. 5.1. For the frequency of Knossian ceramic imports to Kommos relative to those from any other Cretan production centers see Watrous 1992, 149–154; Rutter 2017a, 174–175, 195–196, 218–230. For Ayia Triada, Kommos, and Phaistos in LM IIIB see Borgna 2017; D'Agata 2017; Rutter 2017b.

18 &KDW]L9DOOLDQRX\*RXYHV/0,,,%\$QGUHDGDNL9OD]DNL±3DSDGRSRXORX¿JV±&KDPDlevri, LM IIIC Early).

19 Kanta 1980, 288–293.

20 For a recent overview of the correlation of Minoan and Mycenaean ceramic phasing during the LM/LH IIIA–B periods, see Bernhardt 2021, 22–24, 319–325, 327–329.

21 Watrous 1992, 150–152; Hallager – Hallager 2003, 246–248; Hallager 2011a, 360–363; Rutter 2017a, 218–230.

22:DWURXV +DOODJHU ±+DOODJHU 6PLWK ±¿J 5XWWHU D ± Hallager 2011a, 363–364; Rutter 2017a, 419, s.v. 'imported pottery: East Cretan'.

23 Day et al. 2011; Haskell et al. 2011; Kardamaki et al. 2016; Pratt 2016; Knapp – Demesticha 2017.

24 Watrous 1992, 153–169; Rutter 2006b; Karageorghis et al. 2014; Rutter 2014a; Rutter 2014b; Bernhardt 2016; Demesticha – Knapp 2016; Knapp – Demesticha 2017; Bernhardt 2021.

UHVXOWRIWKHPDMRUGHVWUXFWLRQE\¿UHRIWKHSDODFHDW.QRVVRVDWWKDWWLPHWKHRQO\LGHQWL¿DEOH palatial center on the island and the location of its only literate palatial administration.25

Three avenues of inquiry immediately suggest themselves. First, is there any indication on WKH\*UHHNPDLQODQGRIDQLPPHGLDWHULSSOHH൵HFWVWHPPLQJIURPWKH.QRVVLDQSDODWLDOGHVWUXFtion just cited, and if so, how extensive might it be? For example, how does the demise of the LH IIIA predecessor of the last palace at Pylos in Messenia line up chronologically with Mervyn Popham's LM IIIA2 Early date for the Knossian palace's principal Late Bronze Age destruction horizon?26 Second, how comparable is the onset of ceramic regionalism as a cultural phenomenon on Crete after this Knossian destruction to what has repeatedly been observed since Vincent R. d'A. Desborough's 1964 publication of *The Last Mycenaeans and Their Successors*, namely that *Mycenaean* pottery assemblages beginning not quite three centuries later become stylistically less homogeneous as time goes on during the mainland's Post-palatial era.27 Addressing such a question presupposes a belief in what one might call *comparative regionalism* and would once again clearly require a careful consideration of methodology. But in addition, it draws attention to the problem of an excessive specialization and compartmentalization that has for some time now plagued Aegean prehistoric research. Simply put, how many ceramic specialists working on either Crete or the Greek mainland feel equally comfortable in both areas and thus would be prepared to undertake such a comparative analysis of the history of ceramic regionalism in the DIWHUPDWKRISDODWLDOFROODSVHDWWZRGL൵HUHQWWLPHVLQWKHVHWZRDUHDV"\$UHWKHUHRWKHUFXOWXUH zones in the Aegean that might supply useful comparative data in addressing this question? For example, what might be observable in the Cyclades or in the Dodecanese with respect to ceramic regionalism in the aftermath of either the LM IIIA2 Early destruction of Knossos or the LH IIIB2 Final to earliest LH IIIC palatial destructions on the Greek mainland?28 And third, is the claim that LM IIIB Late and earliest LM IIIC pottery on Crete exhibits a return to greater ceramic uniformity29 sustainable or not? If so, how should this reversal in the phenomenon of regionalization be interpreted, and how should the beginning of this tendency toward greater ceramic uniformity on Crete be dated in mainland Greek terms?

I would like to conclude this highly personal overview of LM III ceramic phasing and contem-SRUDU\UHJLRQDOLVPE\GUDZLQJDWWHQWLRQWRDIXQGDPHQWDOGL൵HUHQFHLQGHWHUPLQLQJWKHUHODWLYH ceramic date of 14th and 13th century Minoan as opposed to Mycenaean excavation contexts. For the past 45 years, thanks principally to the well-known works of Arne Furumark, Elizabeth )UHQFKDQG3HQHORSH0RXQWMR\,KDYHKDGQRVLJQL¿FDQWGL൶FXOW\LQDVVLJQLQJDUHODWLYHGDWHWR WKHSRWWHU\IURPWKHPDLQODQGFRQWH[WVWKDW,KDYHVRUWHGWKURXJKDWDUDQJHRIHLJKWGL൵HUHQWVLWHV both major and minor. Well-established criteria for the determination of such dates have been in existence since I began such work in 1972, and although those have become progressively more UH¿QHGRYHUWKHHQVXLQJGHFDGHVWKHRULJLQDOFULWHULDDUHVWLOOH[WUHPHO\UHOLDEOH%\FRQWUDVWFRQ- ¿GHQWO\HVWDEOLVKLQJUHODWLYHGDWHVIRU0LQRDQFRQWH[WVKDVRIWHQEHHQPRUHSUREOHPDWLFIRUWKH simple reason that ceramic regionalism on Crete seems to have been more pervasive throughout

Jung\_Kardamaki.indb 213 11.11.2022 09:00:53

25 Hence the term Monopalatial for the period from the collapse of the Polypalatial era of Neopalatial Crete at the end RI/0,%F%&WRWKHGHVWUXFWLRQE\¿UHRIWKHORQHUHPDLQLQJSDODFHDW.QRVVRVHDUO\LQ/0,,,\$HLWKHU as early as c. 1375 BC or as late as c. 1340 BC). A minority view that the palace at Knossos continued to function as a major administrative center until an advanced stage of LM IIIB has recently been restated by Hallager – Hallager 2015.