Ὁρίζων,Horizon A Colloquium in the Prehistory of the Cyclades (Cambridge 25-28Μαρτίου 2004) by Neil Brodie, Jenny Doole, Giorgos Gavalas and Colin Renfrew (eds.), ΜcDonald Institute Monographs, Cambridge 2008. (original) (raw)
Related papers
Marthari, M. 2017. Early Cycladic sculptures as archaeological objects
in M. Marthari, C. Renfrew and M. Boyd (eds.), Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context, Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow, pp. 13-21
It was a February afternoon in 2009, in the prehistoric antiquities room of the Archaeological Museum of Naxos, when I first talked with Colin Renfrew about the publication of all the Early Cycladic figurines found in excavations. Our conversation took place among the cases in which the antiquities from Keros, and all the large figurines from Aplomata, Phiondas, and other sites are exhibited. Renfrew, as the excavator of Keros, where a large number of marble figurine fragments and vases have been recently found, wanted to look for comparanda in the excavated material. The author, as the then Ephor of the Ephorate of Antiquities for the Cyclades but also the excavator of Skarkos, wished to see all the excavated material published. Thus we joined forces and after a long collaboration our efforts materialized in the form of a symposium entitled Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context, held at the Athens Archaeological Society on 27–29 May 2014. The results of this symposium are presented here. The current volume aims to publish a very important class of material, partly unknown to scholarship. At the same time, it constitutes a break from the usual way of treating and publishing Early Cycladic sculptures...
Marthari, M. 2017. Figurines in context at the Chalandriani cemetery on Syros
in M. Marthari, C. Renfrew and M. Boyd, Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context, Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow, pp. 297-309
The Chalandriani cemetery is the largest and most extensive EC burial ground known. More than 700 graves of the subterranean corbelled type have been excavated to date. The accompanying artefacts are distinguished by their variety and richness. These include among other impressive pottery, marble vessels, silver and bronze artefacts. Figurines, however, are rare in this cemetery. Only six figurines come from the 540 graves that Tsountas brought to light by excavation in 1898. In addition, two figurines were unearthed in a rescue excavation carried out recently by the writer, which brought to light 28 graves in total. In sum, only 22 figurines, twelve ‘naturalistic’ and ten schematic, came to light in the 727 graves excavated at the Chalandriani cemetery. In contrast, 22 figurines were uncovered in only five graves at the Aplomata cemetery on Naxos. Thirteen figurines, 11 of marble and two of shell, were found in grave 13 at Aplomata. On the other hand, it is only at the cemetery at Chalandriani that pottery, mainly ‘frying-pans’, with representations of boats have been uncovered The evidence shows great differences among the Cycladic communities in the selection of the grave-goods. These selections might reflect the greater accessibility of a community to a special kind of material, for instance, good quality white marble. However, they might also echo the structural peculiarities of each individual community.
The oldest maritime sanctuary? Dating the sanctuary at Keros and the Cycladic Early Bronze Age
Antiquity, 2012
The sanctuary on the island of Keros takes the form of deposits of broken marble vessels and figurines, probably brought severally for deposition from elsewhere in the Cyclades. These acts of devotion have now been accurately dated, thanks to Bayesian analyses of the contemporary stratigraphic sequence on the neighbouring islet of Dhaskalio. The period of use precedes any identified worship of gods in the Aegean and is among the earliest ritual destinations only accessible by sea. The authors offer some preliminary thoughts on the definition of these precocious acts of pilgrimage.
in M. Marthari, C. Renfrew and M. Boyd, Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context, Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow, pp. 119-164., 2017
Skarkos is an important Bronze Age Cycladic site situated on a low hill at the head of the natural harbour of the island of Ios. What is particularly important at Skarkos is the large early EBA II settlement, i.e. the Skarkos II settlement. This is uniquely well-preserved for a Cycladic domestic site of this period. The buildings are two-storeyed and most still stand to the height of the upper storey. The abundant moveable finds of Skarkos II are also remarkably well preserved. The figurines hold a special place among the moveable finds. A total of 52 figurines, 33 of which are complete, with eleven heads and eight bodies, have been recovered from Skarkos. Indeed, with few exceptions, they were found in situ inside the buildings and the open spaces of Skarkos II. It should be stressed that this is the first time a notable number of figurines has been found in an Early Cycladic settlement and indeed one that flourished during the heyday of the Early Cycladic world. From this perspective, this is a find of major importance. Only two of the 52 figurines found so far at the Skarkos settlement are folded-arm figurines of the Chalandriani variety. The remaining 50 figurines are schematic. Forty-nine of these are of the Apeiranthos type. The evidence shows that Skarkos was an important marble-working centre. A great variety of complete marble objects was unearthed, comprising circular slabs used as lids for clay storage jars, various implements, a wide variety of coarse and fine vessels (handless bowls, horizontal lug bowls, and footed bowls), and the figurines. More than 30 unfinished fine marble vessels have been revealed, indicating that these were made in the settlement or at some places very close to it. As for the figurines, it should be noted that two of them are unfinished. This indicates that the carving of the figurines, or at least of the small schematic ones, took place in the settlement. The Building of the Figurines is one of the places where figurines and other artefacts were carved. The finds and their contexts leave no doubt that activities related to marble working took place in this building. It is the first time we have such a combination of evidence from an Early Cycladic site that leads us to assume the processing of marble in a specific space.
in N.C. Stampolidis, Cycladic Society 5000 years ago. Athens: Museum of Cycladic Art – Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, pp. 136-137, 144, 148, 152-153, 154, 157, 180-181, 183 and 191-192., 2016
C. Renfrew, M. Marthari and M. Boyd 2016. The curse of looting: the scourge of Cycladic archaeology.
in N.C. Stampolidis, Cycladic Society 5000 Years Ago, Athens: Museum of Cycladic Art – Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, p.p. 117-123
Context is paramount. It is only when scientifically conducted excavations recover archaeological materials in their stratigraphic context that valid inferences can be made about the circumstances in which they were buried, about their chronology and about their function. Unfortunately, however, most of the marble Early Cycladic figurines and vessels, and many other Early Cycladic atrefacts, now kept or exhibited in the world’s museums apart from the state museums of Greece (as well as nearly all those in private collections) are the product of clandestine excavations. Their findspots are unknown. The circumstances of their discovery are lost: in what circumstances they were found, with what materials they were associated at the time of their discovery are not recorded. Consequently they can add little to our knowledge and understanding of the distant Cycladic past. The looting of Cycladic antiquities represents a tragic loss of knowledge. The looting of the Early Cycladic cemeteries and the subsequent sale of their grave goods, marble figurines in particular, is an aspect of illicit activity which has had a continuous presence in the Cyclades since at least the late 18th century. The need of the great museums in Western Europe to form their collections resulted in the quest for art treasures in Greece. Along with the remains of the classical Greek world other antiquities, including Cycladic marble figurines, although sometimes described as ‘barbarian’ or ‘ugly’, were most welcome. Early Cycladic sculpture was not greatly esteemed until the early twentieth century. Then, however, the modernist movements, as represented by such sculptors as Picasso, Braque, Brancusi, and Giacometti, created a new aesthetic, in which the striking simplicity of Cycladic sculpture came to be greatly appreciated. From that time these sculptures were no longer regarded as mere curiosities, but as works of art, and began to be priced accordingly. It has, indeed, been argued by Colin Renfrew that all Early Cycladic sculptures of unknown origin, and therefore lacking secure context, which have emerged on the market after the early 20th century, more specifically after the year 1914, should be regarded as of doubtful authenticity. Since that time it is clear that numerous replicas have been produced with the intention to deceive. Ιt was in Paris in the year 1970 that the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property was adopted. Although it was not ratified at once by all the participating nations, it has now been very widely ratified and accepted and establishes a number of fundamental principles. The world’s major museums, guided by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), have now gradually adopted ethical acquisition policies, but some still do not enforce them with rigour. One might have hoped that in the light of the apparent reform in museum ethics, this perspective would be communicated to private collectors, and that demand for unprovenanced Early Cycladic sculpture on the open market would recede. However such is not the case. Auction houses widely considered respectable continue to offer for sale Cycladic antiquities which certainly have no collecting history extending back as far as 1970. The implication must certainly be that these are illicit antiquities, illegally excavated. When the public sale of illicit antiquities continues in auction houses in London and New York it is clear that the battle against looting is not yet won. Nevertheless, if museums and private collectors would refrain from acquiring any Early Cycladic material which has come to light since 1970, the year of the UNESCO Convention, ongoing looting might be diminished.