ISBN: 978-1-4073-0482-3
Description: softcover, 294 pp., 402 pp (30x21cm), b/w and colour plates
Condition: very good
Weight: 1330g.

Dariusz Maliszewski, New Light on the Bronze Age Ceramics from H. Schliemann’s Excavations at Troy, Studies on the Munich and Poznań Collections within the Anatolian-Aegean Cultural Context, BAR International Series 2119, Oxford 2010

The geographical position of Troy at the cross-roads between Anatolia, the Aegean, Black and Marmara Seas, as well as the eastern Balkans, has made it a focal point of cultural, economic and political relations for these regions. One aspect of this huge, multidimensional subject, being investigated for many years, is the collections of artefacts from H. Schliemann's excavations in Troy kept at many museums.

Examination of the archaeological material from older excavations has always been, for various reasons, a challenge for archaeological research, but this is the ground on which old practices and new theories test their limits and find their justification. Unfortunately, in my studies I was not able, first of all for financial reasons, to reach all the Trojan items stored at many museums, mainly in Germany, Turkey and Greece. Also from a logistical point of view this is really a gigantic task - beyond the capabilities of one person. For instance, only Schliemann’s collection at Berlin, even if one takes into consideration the enormous number of artefacts, has been the topic of a well established team research project. This is why the project focused only on the artefacts kept at Munich and Poznań, which had been catalogued on the basis of my own, firsthand examinations. But again due to financial and first of all technical limitations they had not been a subject of specialized analyses. All observations concerning that aspect of both the collections were gained using a magnifying glass. Since the bulk of the studied material is homogeneous and belongs to the Bronze Age, the project focuses mainly on Troy II-VII.


Dr Dariusz Maliszewski is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Archaeology of the Mediterranean Civilisations of the Institute of Prehistory of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland. His main field of research and teaching interests is Aegean Archaeology, in particular Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Cyprus, as well as Bronze Age Troy and its relationship with the neighbouring areas. For many years he has been conducting a field survey in the northwestern part of the "Island of Aphrodite". Results of this fieldwork and artefact studies, including Trojan ones, were published in Anatolian Studies, Meander, Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus and Thetis. In that book the author- analyzing fabrics, wares, typology, chronology and function- shed new light on the unpublished Trojan ceramic artefacts not only within the Anatolian-Aegean cultural context, but also beyond it. The studies carried out contributed, inter alia, to improving the knowledge of precise technique of production of many Trojan pottery forms and extended, on the basis of careful analysis of wares, their chronological distribution within that site. Moreover, examination of the pottery pointed out contacts of Troy with other areas and in this context turned attention to the need for a re-assessment of its imports, which would change prevailing views on them and thus provide new research opportunities, Finally, the undertaken investigations also show prospects concerning reconstruction of the textile production at Troy, as well as the non-utilitarian function of spinning and weaving implements.

This volume presents a catalogue and analysis of those Bronze Age ceramics excavated at Troy by Schliemann which are now housed at Munich and Poznan. The detailed (140 page) discussion proposes typologies and chronologies for the various artefact types (pottery, whorls, loom weights, and pierced pottery disc sherds) as well as remarks on function.


INTRODUCTION [1]
I. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND [3]
    Troy I [4]
    Troy II [10]
    Troy III [19]
    Troy IV [22]
    Troy V [24]
    Troy VI [27]
    Troy VII [34]
    Post-Bronze Age Troy VIII-X [40]
II. AN OVERVIEW OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON THE CERAMICS UNDER CONSIDERATION [49]
    Pottery [49]
    Whorls [61]
    Loom weights [67]
    Pierced pottery disc sherds [68]
III. THE HISTORY AND RECONSTRUCTION OF THE COLLECTIONS [71]
    From Troy to Europe [71]
    The State Collections of Antiquities, Munich [76]
    The Archaeological State Collection, Museum of Pre- and Protohistory, Munich [83]
    The National Museum, Poznań [85]
IV. THE CATALOGUE [95]
    Pottery [96]
    Whorls [128]
    Loom weights [142]
    Pierced pottery disc sherds [143]
V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUDING REMARKS [147]
    Pottery [147]
    Whorls [209]
    Loom weights [253]
    Pierced pottery disc sherds [271]
    Problems and prospects [279]
REFERENCES [283]
ARCHIVES [329]
ABBREVIATIONS [331]
LIST OF TABLES [333]
MAP [335]
DRAWINGS [341]
PHOTOGRAPHS [371]