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Objeto: Yacimiento arqueológico de El Cerro del Bu
Contexto cultural: Edad de Bronce y Islámico
Ubicación: In situ.
Estado de visibilidad actual: Visible
Dimensiones: 517 m. de altura
Referencias:
En la fotografía (a) recinto inferior islámico, (b) bastión del recinto inferior islámico, (c) bancal o muralla de la Edad de Bronce, (d) estructura defensiva del recinto superior islámico.
El Cerro del Bu se encuentra situado en la orilla izquierda del río Tajo en su confluencia con el arroyo de la Degollada, frente al lado sur de la ciudad de Toledo. Fue declarado Monumento Nacional en 1981 y Bien de Interés Cultural en 1992.
Se ha documentado la ocupación del yacimiento en dos épocas:
•Durante la Edad del Bronce, desde finales del tercer milenio hasta principios del primer milenio a.C., en que los habitantes del cerro del Bu se trasladarían al lugar que hoy ocupa la ciudad de Toledo. Posteriormente a esta ocupación permaneció el cerro del Bu abandonado durante un largo periodo de 2000 años.
•Durante un corto espacio de tiempo en el siglo X, en relación con el asedio a la ciudad de Toledo por parte de Abd al-Rahman III, cuyas tropas estaban agrupadas en Madinat alfath en el cerro de Chalencas. Al rendirse la ciudad el Cerro del Bu perdió importancia estratégica y se abandonó.
Actuaciones arqueológicas en el Cerro del Bu:
•1905: Castaños Montijano plantea intervenir en los dos recintos de piedra visibles en la época, abre dos trincheras en el recinto inferior y excava todo el recinto superior.
•Años 80 del siglo XX: Enrique de Alvaro y Juan Pereira plantean una actuación integral en el cerro. En la campaña 1980-1982 documentan una muralla de piedra en el recinto superior, de dos metros de ancho y que conserva un alzado de cuatro hiladas, y otra en el inferior de un metro ochenta de ancho con un bastión adosado de planta rectangular. En la campaña 1983-1988 se documenta un bancal o muralla que aprovecha un afloramiento rocoso y que podría ser un sistema de aterrazamiento de la Edad de Bronce y se documenta la secuencia estratigráfica del yacimiento. En 1986 y 1987 se documenta la estructura defensiva que rodea toda la parte superior del cerro con, al menos tres habitaciones en su interior. Esta estructura está flanqueada por bastiones rectangulares.
En el Museo de Santa Cruz se encuentran expuestos diversos objetos arqueológicos procedentes del yacimiento (hachas prehistóricas, piedras labradas, una maza de pizarra, huesos fosilizados de cuadrúpedos y aves cuencos, punzones de bronce, dientes de hoz en sílex, piedras de molino, una gran olla o «pithoi», etc.)
ALVARO REGUERA, E. de. y PEREIRA SIESO, J.; “El Cerro del Bú (Toledo)”; Actas del primer Congreso de Arqueologia de la provincia de Toledo, 1990, ISBN 84-87100-04-X , págs. 199-214
CASTAÑOS Y MONTIJANO, M., “El Cerro del Bú y la Comisión de Monumentos de “, Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, Tomo 46 (1905), pp.445-449
www.cervantesvirtual.com/descargaPdf/el-cerro-del-b-y-la-...
FERNÁNDEZ DEL CERRO, J., “Objetos metálicos del Cerro del Bu (Toledo)”. Cuadernos de prehistoria y arqueología, ISSN 0211-1608, Nº 27, 2001, págs. 7-22
dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=820985&or...
FERNÁNDEZ DEL CERRO, J., “Aproximación al conocimiento de la Edad del Bronce en la cuenca media del Tajo. El Cerro del Bú”, Editorial Audema (Auditores de Energía y Medio Ambiente, S.A.), 2014, ISBN: 978-84-942592-2-7
www.academia.edu/7294772/APROXIMACION_AL_CONOCIMIENTO_DE_...
Resolución de 24 de noviembre de 1980, de la Dirección General de Bellas Artes, Archivos y Bibliotecas, por la que se acuerda tener por incoado, por el trámite de urgencia, el expediente de declaración de monumento histórico-artístico y arqueológico, de carácter nacional, a favor de los que se citan.
www.boe.es/boe/dias/1981/01/26/pdfs/A01827-01828.pdf
Decreto 70/1992, de 28/04/1992, , POR EL QUE SE DECLARA BIEN DE INTERES CULTURAL, CON LA CATEGORIA DE ZONA ARQUEOLOGICA, A FAVOR DEL YACIMIENTO ARQUEOLOGICO DEL CERRO DEL BU EN TOLEDO
docm.jccm.es/portaldocm/verDisposicionAntigua.do?ruta=199...
This is the monumental gateway to the 8th cent. BC acropolis at Gordion, Phrygian capital (Fridge-ee-an, home of King Midas and the Gordion knot. "A formidable structure ..., even in its current, truncated state, it's > 19 m.s high, the best preserved citadel gateway from the Iron Age in Asia Minor, and one of the largest surviving pre-classical bldg.s in Anatolia. The outer portal was flanked by twin towers [one of which is in the centre of this shot]. The foundations of what are thought to have been storage rooms stand on either side of the inner portals; the remains of pithoi [stone storage jars], were found in one." (RG)
- "By 1200 BC ... the Hittite domination of Anatolia was at an end. Their place was taken by the Phrygians, [invaders from SE Europe] who occupied Hattusas [at the end of the Bronze Age] and then moved their capital here. ..." (Steele and Berlitz). The archaeological record reveals a wave of destruction in a brief period from 1200-1190 BC of citadel, palace after palace, incl. those at Troy, Hattusas, Mycaenae, Cyprus, etc., and when much of the Mediterranean went up in smoke, incl. the Hittite empire. It's thought that environmental factors played a role.
- According to Homer the Phrygians participated in the Trojan war, in which they were allies with the Trojans who aided them against the 'Amazons'. But the archeological record indicates that they soon occupied both Troy and Hattusas following the fall of the Hittite empire, as well as Gordion, which had already been established but which they would develop into a great city, 4 x the size of Troy, 200 x 300 m.s, rising > 15 m.s above the plain. www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPgZhBagmbk
- "The mound of Gordion itself housed settlements over a period of @ 3,700 yr.s (from @ 2,300 B.C. to 1,200 A.D.). The period of its greatest prominence was in the Iron Age /b/ the 10th and 7th cent.s BC, when Gordion controlled much of central Anatolia as one of the great powers in the Near East.
- "Gordion is one of the most complex and extensive archaeological sites known in Anatolia, with settlement and funerary remains extending over 2 km.s and covering more than 400 ha.s. Today, Gordion appears as a cluster of impressive grassy mounds straddling the valley of the Sakarya River. ... These mounds are the visible remains of a central multi-period citadel, parts of the fortifications of the surrounding Iron Age town and associated Persian siege works, and close to 150 iron Age, Persian, and Hellenistic tumuli or elite burial mounds on the sides of the valley and along the approach roads. Not visible on the ground are the thousands of multi-period buildings and graves that lie buried by overlaying archaeological remains, by river silt, and by soil washed down from the surrounding hills. Because of this covering, many remains are exceedingly well preserved. Although considerable excavation is necessary to access lower levels, Gordion is not encumbered by the presence of a major modern settlement." (Darbyshire and Pizzorno)
- @ 100 burial mounds can be seen on the plain nearby, built for the elite over @ 175 yr.s, from the late 8th - mid 6th cent. BC and the Persian conquest. 25 have been excavated. Typically they have wooden tomb bldg.s at the core (the world's oldest intact wooden bldgs). The largest is 53 m.s high, @ 300 m.s in diameter (and that after over 2,500 yrs of erosion), the 2nd highest tumulus in the ancient world, and the highest built to that time. A 230' tunnel was dug into the mound by archaeologists from the U. of Penn. museum that led to a stone wall and rubble fill surrounding a log-cabin structure, 6 x 7 m.s, almost 4 m.s in height, and inside which the remains of a short male @ 60 yrs. old, either the late 8th cent. King Midas (grave goods date to his reign), aka 'Mita of Muski' in the annals of the Assyrian king Sargon II, or (more likely) his father Gordios who died @ 740 B.C., were found on a 'hollowed-out log coffin' in the corner surrounded by rich grave goods, inlaid wooden furniture, etc., plenty in bronze incl. incised wine bowls; but no gold was found (and this dates from the reign of Midas of 'the Midas touch' fame). @ 696 BC, Gordion was destroyed by Cimmerian tribesmen, and Midas was either killed in battle or, according to another legend (recorded by Strabo), committed suicide. [Update: In 2020, an ancient Luwian inscription from a heretofore unknown kingdom at a large tepe, Türkmen-Karahöyük, on the central plains near Konya, inhabited from 3,500-100 B.C., credits one King Hartapu with the conquest of the nearby kingdom of 'Muska' aka Phrygia.]
- Phrygian culture continued for another 100 years in the region until conquest and occupation by the Lydians in 650 BC, then by the Persians just over a century later, the Greeks, Celts, Attalids, and Romans. I've also read that "the arrival of the Galatians (Gauls) in Asia Minor in 278 BC was the final chapter in the long decline of Gordion, precipitating the flight of the city's population." (RG) Gordion was abandoned by 200 AD. But there was some construction at Gordion in the medieval, Selcuk period, and a presence there until @ 1,400 A.D.
- According to Greek legend an oracle predicted that a man in a wooden wagon would come to rule the Phrygians and end a period of strife, and Gordius or Midas obliged. The wagon was dedicated to and enshrined in a temple of Zeus or Cybele, and another oracle said that whoever could untie the knot of cornel bark that bound the pole to the yoke of the cart would become ruler of all Asia. Alexander passed through in 333 BC on his great march east and 'solved' the 400 yr old puzzle of the Gordion knot by chopping it through with his sword or by pulling out the peg that held it, thus ensuring his destiny.
- "The original settlement at Gordion dates to the Bronze Age and the site was certainly occupied in the Hittite period. The Phrygians probably took up residence during the mid-9th-cent. and @ 100 yr.s later the settlement became the capital of the empire founded by the Phrygian king Gordios. The history of Gordion under the Phrygians mirrors the history of the Phrygian empire itself, a brief flowering followed by destruction and protracted decline. Phrygian prosperity stemmed from the abundant natural resources of the region and the fact that their empire straddled major east-west trade routes. ..."
- "The palace at the heart of the acropolis consisted of 4 megara (large halls with vestibules). In the 2nd of these are the remains of red, white and blue floor mosaics forming geometrical patterns. Charred fragments of wooden furniture inlaid with ivory were found in the rubble [in that megara], suggesting that this could have been the central hall of the palace. The 4th megaron was likely a temple to Cybele. If so, than that's where Alexander the Great cut the Gordion Knot. Behind the palace are the foundations of 8 more large megara, thought to have been the quarters of palace servants." (RG)
- Re the most famous legends concerning King Midas of Gordion.: "A number of Phrygian kings bore the name Midas, and over the centuries a composite mythical figure emerged. The best known legend re King Midas is that of 'the Golden touch'. Midas captured the water daemon Silenus after making him drunk by pouring wine into his spring. In ransom for Silenus, Dionysus granted [Midas' wish that all he touched would turn to gold], but Midas was dismayed to find he had been taken quite literally, and his food and even his own daughter were transformed. He begged Dionysus for release from the curse and was ordered to wash his hands in the River Pactolus. The cure worked, and thereafter the river ran gold." (RG)
- "Another tale tells of how Midas was called upon to judge a musical contest /b/ Apollo and the satyr Marsyas. Midas decided in favour of Marsyas and in revenge Apollo caused him to grow ass's ears (whereas Apollo skinned Marsyas alive). To hide his new ears, Midas wore a special hat, revealing them only to his barber who was sworn to secrecy on pain of death. Desperate to tell someone the king's secret, the barber passed it on to the reeds of the river who ever after whispered "Midas has ass's ears"." (RG)
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxYrPc_oeTE
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPgZhBagmbk
- I hitched to Gordion from Iznik, a 290 km. trip, and headed first past the acropolis to the extensive Gordion museum, which I toured thoroughly (before it closed; the acropolis doesn't close). The most memorable exhibits were portions and sections of mosaic pavements. The largest of these was primitive, to be fair, relative to the average Roman or Byzantine floor mosaics, "a scatter of geometric patterns with no overall plan", but it's been dated to the 9th cent. B.C., and as such is the OLDEST extant floor mosaic found anywhere, as well as the oldest pebble mosaic. (The earliest mosaics found In the Aegean region date from the 5th cent. B.C., hundreds of years later). Measuring @ 10 x 11 m.s and covering the entire floor of a large megaron, the geometric pattern might depict woven textiles for which the city was famous. www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/early-mosaics-at-gordion/ (I'd seen simpler but much older wall mosaics in the Pergamon museum in Berlin from Uruk made with ceramic cones, but not floor mosaics). Some Roman-era mosaics are on display as well, and a Galatian (Celtic) tomb.
- I then toured the 53 m. high tumulus containing the tomb of the legendary King Midas (that I write about above) which was right across from the museum, following the 82 m.-long tunnel to the amazingly well-preserved wood-cabin-like bldg. within, an 8th cent. BC tomb built of planks of pine with an outer covering of juniper logs. I would see the wonderful contents (which I'd seen in National Geographic years earlier) in Ankara a few days later. I explored the citadel itself in the evening (when I took this) and had the whole site to myself. The 'wood-cabin'-esque bldg. is said to be the oldest wooden bldg. in the world, easily.
- It might surprise one to know that Gordion isn't a Unesco site, but it's on Turkey's lengthy tentative list for designation.
- A large contingent of American and Canadian archaeology students were working and living at a 'field school' there, a seasonal dig (led by both the U. of Pennsylvania Museum and the ROM here in Toronto), and in speaking to some of them or to someone (I forget who or how) I was invited to a feast! The students, their mentors, the excavation support staff et al. ate well every day at Gordion, I learned, in a large mess hall. After supper, I returned to the citadel site at dusk (when I took this shot) to explore it on my own as well as I could. I slept that night somewhere near the citadel in my tent, with permission, but vaguely recall that I didn't get as much sleep as I would've liked as at least one loud, obstreperous dog (a kangal?) was barking and howling away near my tent, perturbed by my presence. (At least I think it was at Gordion where I had that experience).
- I met and spoke at length with a most knowledgeable young Scots archeologist named Gareth, who must've been Gareth Darbyshire of the Oriental Institute in Oxford, "Gordion Archivist at the Penn museum", and co-author of this article.: www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/gordion-in-history/ I don't recall how the topic of the Celts came up in our discussion (again, Gareth IS Scottish), but the remains of Central-European Celts, who arrived by invitation as mercenaries before settling there, have been found at 'Galatian Gordion'. At one point in our discussion, Gareth advised in a very matter-of-fact manner that the alleged Celtic migration to the British Isles in the 1st mill. BC is a complete myth, with no evidence to support it. (That was the first time I'd been told that, and about time too.) That myth was propagated by a French historian and theorist in the 19th cent., he said, on the basis of the transfer of technology (the production of Iron weapons and tools) and art-styles from the continent to Britain and Ireland in that period. Since then I've used the analogy of the 'T.V. people' to explain this. ("Thousands of years in the future, archaeologists could claim that '[they] know the T.V. people migrated and spread @ much of the world in the 1950s and 60s as their T.V.s appear in the archaeological record at that time here, and here, and then here. They were preceded by the radio people.'") But today, decades later, most people still believe in this myth. I'm surprised how many history buffs get it wrong in their videos on youtube.: (Watch at the 1:07 min. pt. in this one.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=43v28TU0hiM It's fascinating though and a bit ironic that very recent DNA research has revealed the arrival and the population replacement in England of Neolithic farmers [at least the men, up to 90%!! over only a few centuries] by the 'Bell Beaker' people 1,500-2,000 yr.s earlier in @ 2,400 B.C., pastoralists who descended several millenia earlier from the Indo-European Yamnaya of the steppe north of the Black Sea, and who were taller, better built, and, importantly, brought their metallurgy and iron weapons and swords with them, as well as the horse. But I ask how they many managed to traverse the English channel in such numbers. - ?) I wish I could remember more of what Gareth had to say. He was encyclopedic.
- Galatians, or 'Celts', arrived at Gordion as mercenary soldiers, bringing their wives and children with them. Groups of mercenaries, invited to support one side or another in local squabbles, have taken over large chunks of the civilized world throughout history. Examples include the Mexica, ancestors of the Aztecs, in central Mexico; the Anglo-Saxons in SE Britain; the Magyars in latter day Hungary (or so I've read); and the Norman-Welsh and Norman-English in SE Ireland. In Gordion, these Galatians "put down deep roots, revived Gordion and created an ambitious, thriving society." www.nytimes.com/2001/12/25/science/archaeologists-find-ce...
- The next morning I enjoyed a breakfast with the American/Canadian archaeology students in their mess hall, and then hitched down through Beylikköprü to the E90, east to Polatli and then NE to Ankara.
- One miss en route 15 km NE of Polatli is 'Hacıtuğrul Höyüğü', the remains of an ancient Phrygian city which exceeded Gordion in size (!) with monumental fortifications and other bldg.s.
Wikipedia, disambiguation).
Santorini
Σαντορίνη
Θήρα
Municipality
Santorini montage. Clicking on an image in the picture causes the browser to load the appropriate article, if it exists.
Clockwise from top: Partial panoramic view of Santorini, sunset in the village of Oia, ruins of the Stoa Basilica at Ancient Thera, the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of Ypapanti (it) Cattedrale della Presentazione di Cristo (Fira) at the town of Fira, the Aegean Sea as seen from Oia, and view of Fira from the island of Nea Kameni at the Santorini caldera.
Location of Santorini
Santorini is located in GreeceSantoriniSantorini
Coordinates: 36°24′54″N 25°25′57″E
CountryGreece
Administrative regionSouth Aegean
Regional unitThira
SeatFira
Government
• MayorAnastasios Zorzos[1] (since 2023)
Area
• Municipality
90.69 km2 (35.02 sq mi)
Population (2021)[2]
• Municipality
15,480
• Density170.7/km2 (442.1/sq mi)
• Municipal unit14,393
• Community1,516
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
847 00, 847 02
Area code22860
Vehicle registrationEM
Websitewww.thira.gr/EN Edit this at Wikidata
Santorini,[a] officially Thira[b] or Thera,[c] is a Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 125 mi (201 km) southeast from the mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago formed by the Santorini caldera. It is the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 28 sq mi (73 km2) and a 2021 census population of 15,480. The municipality of Santorini includes the inhabited islands of Santorini and Therasia, and the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi, Anydros, and Christiana. The total land area is 35 sq mi (91 km2).[3] Santorini is part of the Thira regional unit.[4]
Santorini is the most active volcanic centre in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc. The volcanic arc is approximately 300 mi (500 km) long and 12 to 25 mi (19 to 40 km) wide. The region first became volcanically active around 3–4 million years ago,[citation needed] though volcanism on Thera began around 2 million years ago with the extrusion of dacitic lavas from vents around Akrotiri. One of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history struck the island about 3,600 years ago, leaving a large water-filled caldera surrounded by deep volcanic ash deposits.
Names
The name "Santorini" is a contraction of Saint Irene, after an old church in the village of Perissa.[5][6] Of Venetian influence, the island bore the name Santorini since at least the middle of the twelfth century, the first mention being made by the geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi c. 1154;[7]
During antiquity it was known as "Thēra" and before then, according to ancient writers, as "Kallístē" (Καλλίστη, "the most beautiful one"), and — according to a modern tradition — as "Strongýlē" (Στρογγύλη, "the circular one")[8][full citation needed]. The ancient name Thera, for Theras, the leader of the Spartans who colonized and gave his name to the island,[9] was revived in the nineteenth century as the official name of the island and its main city, but the colloquial Santorini is still in popular use.
History
Minoan Akrotiri
Springtime landscape in a Fresco from the Bronze Age, Akrotiri
The "saffron-gatherers"
The island was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history: the Minoan eruption, sometimes called the Thera eruption, which occurred about 3,600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization.[6] The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of metres deep. It has been suggested that the colossal Santorini volcanic eruption is the source of the legend of the lost civilisation of Atlantis.[10] The eruption lasted for weeks and caused massive tsunami waves.[11]
The region first became volcanically active around 3–4 million years ago,[citation needed] though volcanism on Thera began around 2 million years ago with the extrusion of dacitic lavas from vents around Akrotiri.
Excavations starting in 1967 at the Akrotiri site under Spyridon Marinatos have made Thera (not known by this name at the time) the best-known Minoan site outside Crete, homeland of the culture. Only the southern tip of a large town has been uncovered, yet it has revealed complexes of multi-level buildings, streets, and squares with remains of walls standing as high as eight metres, all entombed in the solidified ash of the famous eruption of Thera. The site was not a palace-complex as found in Crete nor was it a conglomeration of merchant warehousing. Its excellent masonry and fine wall-paintings reveal a complex community. A loom-workshop suggests organized textile weaving for export. This Bronze Age civilization thrived between 3000 and 2000 BC, reaching its peak in the period between 2000 and 1630 BC.[12]
Many of the houses in Akrotiri are major structures, some of them three storeys high. Its streets, squares, and walls, sometimes as tall as eight metres, indicated that this was a major town; much is preserved in the layers of ejecta. The houses contain huge ceramic storage jars (pithoi), mills, and pottery, and many stone staircases are still intact. Noted archaeological remains found in Akrotiri are wall paintings or frescoes that have kept their original colour well, as they were preserved under many metres of volcanic ash. Judging from the fine artwork, its people were sophisticated and relatively wealthy. Among more complete frescoes found in one house are two antelopes painted with a confident calligraphic line, a man holding fish strung by their gills, a flotilla of pleasure boats that are accompanied by leaping dolphins, and a scene of women sitting in the shade of light canopies. Fragmentary wall-paintings found at one site are Minoan frescoes that depict "saffron-gatherers" offering crocus-stamens to a seated woman, perhaps a goddess important to the Akrotiri culture. The themes of the Akrotiri frescoes show no relationship to the typical content of the Classical Greek décor of 510 BC to 323 BC that depicts the Greek pantheon deities.
The town also had a highly developed drainage system. Pipes with running water and water closets found at Akrotiri are the oldest such utilities discovered.[13] The pipes run in twin systems, indicating that Therans used both hot and cold water supplies. The origin of the hot water they circulated in the town probably was geothermal, given the volcano's proximity.
The well preserved ruins of the ancient town are often compared to the spectacular ruins at Pompeii in Italy. The canopy covering the ruins collapsed in September 2005, killing one tourist and injuring seven; the site was closed until April 2012 while a new canopy was built.
The oldest signs of human settlement are Late Neolithic (4th millennium BC or earlier), but c. 2000–1650 BC Akrotiri developed into one of the Aegean's major Bronze Age ports, with recovered objects that came not just from Crete, but also from Anatolia, Cyprus, Syria, and Egypt, as well as from the Dodecanese and the Greek mainland.
Dating of the Bronze Age eruption
Further information: Minoan eruption § Eruption dating
Stoa Basilica of ancient Thera
Aerial view of the island of Santorini with detail of Mount Profitis Illas and the ruins of ancient Thera (on the promontory on the left)
The Minoan eruption provides a fixed point for the chronology of the second millennium BC in the Aegean, because evidence of the eruption occurs throughout the region and the site itself contains material culture from outside. The eruption occurred during the "Late Minoan IA" period of Minoan chronology at Crete and the "Late Cycladic I" period in the surrounding islands.
Archaeological evidence, based on an established chronology of Bronze Age Mediterranean cultures, dated the eruption to around 1500 BC.[14] These dates, however, conflict with radiocarbon dating which indicated that the eruption occurred between 1645–1600 BC,[15][16] and tree ring data which yielded a date of 1628 BC.[17] For those, and other reasons, the previous culturally based chronology has generally been questioned.[18]
In The Parting of the Sea: How Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Plagues Shaped the Exodus Story, geologist Barbara J. Sivertsen theorizes a causal link between this eruption and the plagues of the Exodus.[19]
Ancient period
Santorini remained unoccupied throughout the rest of the Bronze Age, during which time the Greeks took over Crete. At Knossos, in a LMIIIA context (14th century BC), seven Linear B texts while calling upon "all the deities" make sure to grant primacy to an elsewhere-unattested entity called qe-ra-si-ja and, once, qe-ra-si-jo. If the endings -ia[s] and -ios represent an ethnic suffix, then this means "The One From Qeras[os]". If the initial consonant were aspirated, then *Qhera- would have become "Thera-" in later Greek. "Therasia" and its ethnikon "Therasios" are both attested in later Greek; and, since -sos was itself a genitive suffix in the Aegean Sprachbund, *Qeras[os] could also shrink to *Qera. If qe-ra-si-ja was an ethnikon first, then in following the entity the Cretans also feared whence it came.[20]
Probably after what is called the Bronze Age collapse, Phoenicians founded a site on Thera. Herodotus reports that they called the island Callista and lived on it for eight generations.[21] In the ninth century BC, Dorians founded the main Hellenic city on Mesa Vouno, 396 m (1,299 ft) above sea level. This group later claimed that they had named the city and the island after their leader, Theras. Today, that city is referred to as Ancient Thera.
In his Argonautica, written in Hellenistic Egypt in the third century BC, Apollonius Rhodius includes an origin and sovereignty myth of Thera being given by Triton in Libya to the Greek Argonaut Euphemus, son of Poseidon, in the form of a clod of dirt. After carrying the dirt next to his heart for several days, Euphemus dreamt that he nursed the dirt with milk from his breast, and that the dirt turned into a beautiful woman with whom he had sex. The woman then told him that she was a daughter of Triton named Calliste, and that when he threw the dirt into the sea it would grow into an island for his descendants to live on. The poem goes on to claim that the island was named Thera after Euphemus' descendant Theras, son of Autesion, the leader of a group of refugee settlers from Lemnos.
The Dorians have left a number of inscriptions incised in stone, in the vicinity of the temple of Apollo, attesting to pederastic relations between the authors and their lovers (eromenoi). These inscriptions, found by Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen, have been thought by some archaeologists to be of a ritual, celebratory nature, because of their large size, careful construction and – in some cases – execution by craftsmen other than the authors. According to Herodotus,[22] following a drought of seven years, Thera sent out colonists who founded a number of cities in northern Africa, including Cyrene. In the fifth century BC, Dorian Thera did not join the Delian League with Athens; and during the Peloponnesian War, Thera sided with Dorian Sparta, against Athens. The Athenians took the island during the war, but lost it again after the Battle of Aegospotami. During the Hellenistic period, the island was a major naval base for Ptolemaic Egypt.
Medieval and Ottoman period
Medieval map of Santorini by Cristoforo Buondelmonti
Skaros Rock, originally the location of medieval fortifications
Presentation of the Theotokos church, Pyrgos village
As with other Greek territories, Thera then was ruled by the Romans. When the Roman Empire was divided, the island passed to the eastern side of the Empire which today is known as the Byzantine Empire.[23] According to George Cedrenus, the volcano erupted again in the summer of 727, the tenth year of the reign of Leo III the Isaurian.[24] He writes: "In the same year, in the summer, a vapour like an oven's fire boiled up for days out of the middle of the islands of Thera and Therasia from the depths of the sea, and the whole place burned like fire, little by little thickening and turning to stone, and the air seemed to be a fiery torch." This terrifying explosion was interpreted as a divine omen against the worship of religious icons[25][26] and gave the emperor Leo III the Isaurian the justification he needed to begin implementing his Iconoclasm policy.
The name "Santorini" first appears c. 1153–1154 in the work of the Muslim geographer al-Idrisi, as "Santurin", from the island's patron saint, Saint Irene of Thessalonica.[27] After the Fourth Crusade, it was occupied by the Duchy of Naxos which held it up to circa 1280 when it was reconquered by Licario (the claims of earlier historians that the island had been held by Jacopo I Barozzi and his son as a fief have been refuted in the second half of the twentieth century);[28][29][30] it was again reconquered from the Byzantines circa 1301 by Iacopo II Barozzi, a member of the Cretan branch of the Venetian Barozzi family, whose descendant held it until it was annexed to Venice in c. 1335 by Niccolo Sanudo after various legal and military conflicts.[31] In 1318–1331 and 1345–1360 it was raided by the Turkish principalities of Menteshe and Aydın, but did not suffer much damage.[27] Because of the Venetians the island became home to a sizable Catholic community and is still the seat of a Catholic bishopric.
Map of Santorini by Olfert Dapper, 1688
From the 15th century on, the suzerainty of the Republic of Venice over the island was recognized in a series of treaties by the Ottoman Empire, but this did not stop Ottoman raids, until it was captured by the Ottoman admiral Piyale Pasha in 1576, as part of a process of annexation of most remaining Latin possessions in the Aegean.[27] It became part of the semi-autonomous domain of the sultan's Jewish favourite, Joseph Nasi. Santorini retained its privileged position in the 17th century, but suffered in turn from Venetian raids during the frequent Ottoman–Venetian wars of the period, even though there were no Muslims on the island.[27]
Santorini was captured briefly by the Russians under Alexey Orlov during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, but returned to Ottoman control after.
Picture of a young girl of Santorini (published 1796)[32]
19th century
Erupting volcano on Santorini in 1866
In 1807, the islanders were forced by the Sublime Porte to send 50 sailors to Mykonos to serve in the Ottoman navy.[33]
In 1810, Santorini with 32 ships possessed the seventh largest of the Greek fleet after Kefallinia (118), Hydra (120), Psara (60), Ithaca (38) Spetsai (60) and Skopelos (35).[34]
During the last years of Ottoman rule, the majority of residents were farmers and seafarers who exported their abundant produce, while the level of education was improving on the island, with the Monastery of Profitis Ilias being one of the most important monastic centres in the Cyclades.[33]
In 1821, the island was home to 13,235 inhabitants, which within a year had risen to 15,428.[35]
Greek War of Independence
As part of its plans to foment a revolt against the Ottoman Empire and gain Greek Independence, Alexandros Ypsilantis, the head of the Filiki Eteria in early 1821, dispatched Dimitrios Themelis from Patmos and Evangelis Matzarakis ( –1824), a sea captain from Kefalonia who had Santorini connections to establish a network of supporters in the Cyclades.[36] As his authority,[clarification needed] Matzarakis had a letter from Ypsilantis (dated 29 December 1820) addressed to the notables of Santorini and the Orthodox metropolitan bishop Zacharias Kyriakos (served 1814–1842). At the time, the population of Santorini was divided between those who supported independence, and (particularly among the Catholics and non-Orthodox) those who were ambivalent or distrustful of a revolt being directed by Hydra and Spetses or were fearful of the sultan's revenge. While the island didn't come out in direct support of the revolt, they did send 100 barrels of wine to the Greek fleet as well in April 1821,[clarify] 71 sailors, a priest and the presbyter Nikolaos Dekazas, to serve on the Spetsiote fleet.[33]
Because of the lack of majority support for direct participation in the revolt, it was necessary for Matzarakis to enlist the aid of Kefalonians living in Santorini to, on 5 May 1821[33] (the feast day of the patron saint of the island), raise the flag of the revolution and then expel the Ottoman officials from the island.[36] The Provisional Administration of Greece organized the Aegean islands into six provinces, one of which was Santorini and appointed Matzarakis its governor in April 1822.[37][38] While he was able to raise a large amount of money (double that collected on Naxos), he was soon found to lack the diplomatic skills needed to convince the islanders who had enjoyed considerable autonomy to now accept direction from a central authority and contribute tax revenue to it. He claimed to his superiors that the islanders needed "political re-education" as they did not understand why they had to pay higher taxes than those levied under the Ottomans in order to support the struggle for independence. The hostility against the taxes caused many of the tax collectors to resign.
Things were also not helped by the governor's authoritarian character, arbitrariness and arrests of prominent islanders losing him the support of Zacharias Kyriakos, who had initially supported Matzarakis. In retaliation Matzarakis accused him of being a "Turkophile" and had the archbishop imprisoned and then exiled him. The abbots of the monasteries, the priests and the prelates, complained to Demetrios Ypsilantis, president of the National Assembly.
Matzarakis soon had to hire bodyguards as the island descended into open revolt against him.[36] Fearful for his life Matzarakis later fled the island,[36] and was dismissed from his governorship by Demetrios Ypsilantis. Mazarakis however later represented Santorini in the National Assembly and following his death was succeeded in that position in November 1824 by Pantoleon Augerino.
Once they heard of massacres of the Greek population of Chios in April 1822, many islanders became fearful of Ottoman reprisals, with two villages stating they were prepared to surrender,[36] though sixteen monks from the Monastery of Profitis Ilias, led by their abbot Gerasimos Mavrommatis declared in writing their support for the revolt.[39] Four commissioners for the Aegean islands (among them, Benjamin of Lesvos and Konstantinos Metaxas) appointed by the Provisional Administration of Greece arrived in July 1822 to investigate the issues on Santorini. The commissioners were uncompromising in their support for Matzarakis. With news from Chios fresh in their minds the island's notables eventually arrested Metaxas, with the intention of handing him over to the Ottomans in order to prove their loyalty. He was rescued by his Ionian guards.
Matters became so heated that Antonios Barbarigos ( –1824) who had been serving in the First National Assembly at Epidaurus since 20 January 1820 was seriously wounded in the head by a knife attack on Santorini in October 1822 during a dispute between the factions. In early 1823, the Second National Assembly at Astros, imposed a contribution of 90,000 grosis on Santorini to fund the fight for independence, while in 1836 they also had to contribute in 1826 to the obligatory loan of 190,000 grosis imposed on the Cyclades.[35] In decree 573 issued by the National Assembly 17 May 1823, Santorini was recognized as one of 15 provinces in the Greek controlled Aegean (nine in the Cyclades and six in the Sporades).[37]
The island became part of the fledgling Greek state under the London Protocol of 3 February 1830, rebelled against the government of Ioannis Kapodistrias in 1831, and became definitively part of the independent Kingdom of Greece in 1832, with the Treaty of Constantinople.[27]
Santorini joined an insurrection that had broken out in Nafplio on 1 February 1862 against the rule of King Otto of Greece. However, the royal authorities was able to quickly restore control and the revolt had been suppressed by 20 March of that year. However, the unrest arose again later in the year which lead to the 23 October 1862 Revolution and the overthrow of King Otto.
World War II
German soldiers on Santorini in 1944
During the Second World War, Santorini was occupied in 1941 by Italian forces and then by the Germans following the Italian armistice in 1943. In 1944, the German garrison on Santorini was raided by a group of British Special Boat Service Commandos, killing most of its men. Five locals were later shot in reprisal, including the mayor.[40][41]
Post-war
In general, the island's economy continued to decline following World War II, with a number of factories closing as a lot of industrial activity relocated to Athens. In an attempt to improve the local economy, the Union of Santorini Cooperatives was established 1947 to process, export and promote the islands agriculture products, in particular its wine. In 1952, they constructed near the village of Monolithos what is today the island's only remaining tomato processing factory. The island's tourism in the early 1950s generally took the form of small numbers of wealthy tourists on yacht cruises though the Aegean. The island's children would present arriving passengers with flowers and bid them happy sailing by lighting small lanterns along the steps from Fira down to the port, offering them a beautiful farewell spectacle. Once such visitor was the actress Olivia de Havilland, who visited the island in September 1955 at the invitation of Petros Nomikos.[42]
In the early 1950s, the shipping magnate Evangelos P. Nomikos and his wife Loula decided to support their birthplace and so asked residents to choose whether they wanted the couple to pay for the construction of either a hotel or a hospital, to which local authorities replied that they would prefer a hotel.
In 1954, Santorini had approximately 12,000 inhabitants and very few visitors. The only modes of transport on the island were a jeep, a small bus and the island's traditional donkeys and mules.
1956 earthquake
At 05:11 local time (CEST, 03:11 UTC) on 9 July 1956, the 1956 Amorgos earthquake (magnitude – depending on the particular study – of 7.5,[43] 7.6,[43] 7.7[44] or 7.8[45]) struck 30 km (19 mi) south of the island of Amorgos, about 50 km (31 mi) from Santorini. It was the largest earthquake of the 20th century in Greece and also had a devastating impact on Santorini.[45][44] It was followed by aftershocks, the most significant being the first occurring at 05:24, 13 minutes after the main shock, which had a 7.2 magnitude.[45] This aftershock which originated close to the island of Anafi is believed to have been responsible for most of the damage and casualties on Santorini.[45] The earthquake was accompanied by a tsunami which, while much higher at other islands, is estimated to have reached 3 metres at Perissa and 2 metres at Vlichada on Santorini.[45]
Immediately following the earthquake, the Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis declared Santorini a state of "large-scale local disaster" and visited the island to inspect the situation on 14 July.[46]
Many countries had offered to send relief efforts, though Greece refused to accept the offer of the United Kingdom to send warships to help from Cyprus where they were involved in the Cyprus Emergency.[46]
As there was no airport, the Greek military made air drops of food, tents and supplies and camps for homeless people were established on the outskirts of Fira.[47]
On Santorini, the earthquakes killed 53 people and injured another 100.[48][46] 35% of the island's houses collapsed and 45% suffered major or minor damage.[46] In total, 529 houses were destroyed, 1,482 were severely damaged and 1,750 lightly damaged.[46] Almost all public buildings were completely destroyed. One of the largest buildings that survived unscathed was the newly built Hotel Atlantis, which allowed it to be used as a temporary hospital and to house public services. The greatest damage was experienced on the Western side along the edge of the caldera, especially at Oia, with parts of the ground collapsing into the sea. The damage from the earthquake reduced most of the population to extreme poverty and caused many to leave the island in search of better opportunities, with most settling in Athens.[46]
2025 earthquakes
Map
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Location of shocks of M>4 for the 2025 Santorini earthquakes (map data)
Santorini experienced a major earthquake swarm in February 2025.[49][50] Hundreds of tremors occurred in the Aegean Sea, to the north-east of the island, some measuring up to magnitude 5. The earthquake sequence began on about 27th January, and intensified after 1 February 2025. As the earthquakes continued, there was a precautionary evacuation of Santorini by sea and by air.[51]
During the weekend of 1 and 2 February, more than 200 undersea tremors were detected. The epicenters were primarily in a growing cluster between the islands of Santorini, Anafi, Amorgos, Ios and the uninhabited islet of Anydros. Many of the earthquakes registered magnitudes above 4.5 on the Moment magnitude scale. The strongest earthquake of the swarm occurred on 10 February, and measured Mw 5.3.[52] At the time of the crisis, experts explained that they considered the earthquakes to be tectonic rather than volcanic in nature, but the pattern and frequency of seismic activity prompted significant concern among scientists and authorities.[53] Seismologist Manolis Skordylis indicated on public radio that a seismic fault line had been activated with potential to cause an earthquake exceeding magnitude 6.0.[54]
Greek authorities implemented several emergency measures, which included the deployment of emergency crews and a 26-member rescue team with a rescue dog to the region.[53] Schools were closed on Santorini, Anafi, Amorgos, and Ios.[55] Access to areas near cliffs was restricted due to increased risk of landslides. In Fira, several gathering points for evacuation were established.[53] Access to shorelines and certain ports, including Santorini's old port, was restricted due to tsunami risk, with residents instructed to move inland.[54]
Greece's Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vasilis Kikilias emphasized the precautionary nature of the response. Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who spoke while in Brussels, called for calm while acknowledging the intensity of the earthquake swarm. Hotels were told to drain their swimming pools to minimize potential earthquake damage to structures.[53] Aegean Airlines doubled its flight frequency between Athens and Santorini for a two-day period to carry out evacuations. Ferry companies increased their service frequency in response to surging demand, resulting in long queues forming at evacuation ports.[54] Around 6,000 residents left the island by ferry beginning on 2 February, while up to 2,700 left by air from 3 to 4 February. The South Aegean Regional Fire Department was placed on general alert.[56] A state of emergency was declared in Santorini by the Greek government on 6 February.[57]
In Turkey, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) and the Mineral Research and Exploration General Directorate (MTA) warned that the earthquakes could lead to volcanic activity around the Kolumbo submarine volcano off Santorini.[58]
The earthquakes began to decline in intensity and number after mid-February, and the seismic crisis ended in late February. The state of emergency was lifted on 3rd March. Later analysis of the observations of earthquakes and ground deformation by scientists pointed to the potential involvement of a deep intrusion of magma in causing the events.[59][60][61]
Tourism
Sinking of Sea Diamond, 2007
The expansion of tourism in recent years has resulted in the growth of the economy and population.[62] Santorini was ranked the world's top island by many magazines and travel sites, including the Travel+Leisure Magazine,[63] the BBC,[64] as well as the US News.[65] An estimated 2 million tourists visit annually.[66] Santorini has been emphasising sustainable development and the promotion of special forms of tourism, the organization of major events such as conferences and sport activities.
The island's pumice quarries have been closed since 1986, in order to preserve the caldera. In 2007, the cruise ship MS Sea Diamond ran aground and sank inside the caldera. As of 2019, Santorini is popular with Asian couples who come to the island to have pre-wedding photos taken against the backdrop of the landscape.[67]
Geography
Main article: Santorini caldera
Detailed map of Santorini and nearby islands
Geological setting
The Cyclades are part of a metamorphic complex that is known as the Cycladic Massif. The complex formed during the Miocene and was folded and metamorphosed during the Alpine orogeny around 60 million years ago. Thera is built upon a small non-volcanic basement that represents the former non-volcanic island, which was approximately 9 by 6 km (5.6 by 3.7 mi). The basement rock is primarily composed of metamorphosed limestone and schist, which date from the Alpine Orogeny. These non-volcanic rocks are exposed at Mikros Profititis Ilias, Mesa Vouno, the Gavrillos ridge, Pyrgos, Monolithos, and the inner side of the caldera wall between Cape Plaka and Athinios.
The metamorphic grade is a blueschist facies, which results from tectonic deformation by the subduction of the African Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate. Subduction occurred between the Oligocene and the Miocene, and the metamorphic grade represents the southernmost extent of the Cycladic blueschist belt.
Volcanism
Volcanism on Santorini is due to the Hellenic subduction zone southwest of Crete. The oceanic crust of the northern margin of the African Plate is being subducted under Greece and the Aegean Sea, which is thinned continental crust. The subduction compels the formation of the Hellenic arc, which includes Santorini and other volcanic centres, such as Methana, Milos, and Kos.[68]
Three-dimensional CGI aerial spinning view of Santorini island
Aerial view of Santorini during sunset
The island is the result of repeated sequences of shield volcano construction followed by caldera collapse.[69] The inner coast around the caldera is a sheer precipice of more than 300 m (980 ft) drop at its highest, and exhibits the various layers of solidified lava on top of each other, and the main towns perched on the crest. The ground then slopes outwards and downwards towards the outer perimeter, and the outer beaches are smooth and shallow. Beach sand colour depends on which geological layer is exposed; there are beaches with sand or pebbles made of solidified lava of various colours: such as the Red Beach, the Black Beach and the White Beach. The water at the darker coloured beaches is significantly warmer because the lava acts as a heat absorber.
The area of Santorini incorporates a group of islands created by volcanoes, spanning across Thera, Thirasia, Aspronisi, Palea, and Nea Kameni.
Fira from Nea Kameni volcanic Island
Santorini has erupted many times, with varying degrees of explosivity. There have been at least twelve large explosive eruptions, of which at least four were caldera-forming.[68] The most famous eruption is the Minoan eruption, detailed below. Eruptive products range from basalt all the way to rhyolite, and the rhyolitic products are associated with the most explosive eruptions.
The earliest eruptions, many of which were submarine, were on the Akrotiri Peninsula, and active between 650,000 and 550,000 years ago.[68] These are geochemically distinct from the later volcanism, as they contain amphiboles.
Over the past 360,000 years there have been two major cycles, each culminating with two caldera-forming eruptions. The cycles end when the magma evolves to a rhyolitic composition, causing the most explosive eruptions. In between the caldera-forming eruptions are a series of sub-cycles. Lava flows and small explosive eruptions build up cones, which are thought to impede the flow of magma to the surface.[68] This allows the formation of large magma chambers, in which the magma can evolve to more silicic compositions. Once this happens, a large explosive eruption destroys the cone. The Kameni islands in the centre of the lagoon are the most recent example of a cone built by this volcano, with much of them hidden beneath the water.
Photo taken from the ISS of the island and caldera in 2008
Minoan eruption
Main article: Minoan eruption
During the Bronze Age, Santorini was the site of the Minoan eruption, one of the largest volcanic eruptions in human history. It was centred on a small island just north of the existing island of Nea Kameni in the centre of the caldera; the caldera itself was formed several hundred thousand years ago by the collapse of the centre of a circular island, caused by the emptying of the magma chamber during an eruption. It has been filled several times by ignimbrite since then, and the process repeated itself, most recently 21,000 years ago. The northern part of the caldera was refilled by the volcano, then collapsed once more during the Minoan eruption. Before the Minoan eruption, the caldera formed a nearly continuous ring with the only entrance between the islet of Aspronisi and Thera; the eruption destroyed the sections of the ring between Aspronisi and Therasia, and between Therasia and Thera, creating two new channels.
On Santorini, a deposit of white tephra thrown from the eruption is up to 60 m (200 ft) thick, overlying the soil marking the ground level before the eruption, and forming a layer divided into three fairly distinct bands indicating different phases of the eruption. Archaeological discoveries in 2006 by a team of international scientists revealed that the Santorini event was much more massive than previously thought; it expelled 61 km3 (15 cu mi) of magma and rock into the Earth's atmosphere, compared to previous estimates of only 39 km3 (9.4 cu mi) in 1991,[53][54] producing an estimated 100 km3 (24 cu mi) of tephra. Only the Mount Tambora volcanic eruption of 1815, the 181 AD eruption of the Taupo Volcano, and possibly Baekdu Mountain's 946 AD eruption have released more material into the atmosphere during the past 5,000 years.
Partial panoramic view of the Santorini caldera, taken from Oia
The Minoan eruption has been considered as possible inspiration for ancient stories including Atlantis and the Exodus. The content of the stories is not supported by current archaeological research, but remain popular in pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology.[citation needed]
Post-Minoan volcanism
Post-Minoan eruptive activity is concentrated on the Kameni islands, in the centre of the lagoon. They have been formed since the Minoan eruption, and the first of them broke the surface of the sea in 197 BC.[68] Nine subaerial eruptions are recorded in the historical record since that time, with the most recent ending in 1950.
In 1707, an undersea volcano breached the sea surface, forming the current centre of activity at Nea Kameni in the centre of the lagoon, and eruptions centred on it continue – the twentieth century saw three such, the last in 1950. Santorini was also struck by a devastating earthquake in 1956. Although the volcano is dormant at the present time, at the current active crater (there are several former craters on Nea Kameni), steam and carbon dioxide are emitted.
Small tremors and reports of strange gaseous odours over the course of 2011 and 2012 prompted satellite radar technological analyses and these revealed the source of the symptoms; the magma chamber under the volcano was swollen by a rush of molten rock by 10 to 20 million cubic metres between January 2011 and April 2012, which also caused parts of the island's surface to rise out of the water by a reported 8 to 14 centimetres.[70] Scientists say that the injection of molten rock was equivalent to 20 years' worth of regular activity.[70]
At the beginning of February 2025, there were hundreds of minor earthquakes up to magnitude 5 near Santorini, mostly in an area around the tiny islet of Anydros, north-east of Santorini. About 9,000 people left the island out of a population of 15,500 in the face of seismic activity that could last weeks. The tremors were attributed to tectonic plate movements rather than volcanic activity.[71]
Climate
According to the National Observatory of Athens Santorini has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh) with Mediterranean (Csa) characteristics, such as the dry summers and the relatively wetter winters. It has an average annual precipitation of around 270 mm (11 in) and an average annual temperature of around 19 °C (66 °F).[72][73]
Climate data for Santorini 183 m a.s.l.
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °C (°F)25.4
(77.7)23.7
(74.7)23.8
(74.8)29.6
(85.3)35.3
(95.5)38.7
(101.7)39.4
(102.9)38.6
(101.5)33.9
(93.0)33.1
(91.6)30.3
(86.5)22.7
(72.9)39.4
(102.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)14.3
(57.7)14.7
(58.5)16.1
(61.0)19.6
(67.3)23.3
(73.9)27.9
(82.2)30.1
(86.2)30.2
(86.4)27.2
(81.0)22.8
(73.0)19.4
(66.9)15.6
(60.1)21.8
(71.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)12.2
(54.0)12.5
(54.5)13.7
(56.7)16.9
(62.4)20.1
(68.2)24.4
(75.9)26.7
(80.1)26.8
(80.2)24.3
(75.7)20.2
(68.4)17.0
(62.6)13.6
(56.5)19.0
(66.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)10.1
(50.2)10.3
(50.5)11.3
(52.3)13.6
(56.5)16.9
(62.4)21.0
(69.8)23.3
(73.9)23.5
(74.3)21.3
(70.3)17.5
(63.5)14.7
(58.5)11.5
(52.7)16.3
(61.2)
Record low °C (°F)1.0
(33.8)−0.4
(31.3)2.1
(35.8)6.8
(44.2)12.8
(55.0)16.2
(61.2)19.6
(67.3)19.2
(66.6)15.1
(59.2)11.3
(52.3)9.1
(48.4)2.0
(35.6)−0.4
(31.3)
Average rainfall mm (inches)52.7
(2.07)40.7
(1.60)44.9
(1.77)12.1
(0.48)8.2
(0.32)3.6
(0.14)0.03
(0.00)2.5
(0.10)3.0
(0.12)15.1
(0.59)33.7
(1.33)54.6
(2.15)271.13
(10.67)
Source: National Observatory of Athens Monthly Bulletins (Jul 2013-Mar 2025)[74][75]
Economy
Santorini's primary industry is tourism, particularly in the summer months. Agriculture also forms part of its economy, and the island sustains a wine industry.[62] The economic life of Santorini before 1960, when the flow of foreign visitors to the island for tourist purposes gradually began, was based on crops and trade.
Agriculture
Sacks with fava Santorinis
In the middle of the 19th century, Santorini had great commercial activity with foreign countries and especially with Russia, where it exported all of its wine production.[76][77] Because of its unique ecology and climate – and especially its volcanic ash soil – Santorini is home to unique and prized produce such as the Santorini cherry tomato. Viticulture, whose history goes back to prehistoric times, could not remain unaffected by the rapid increase in tourism, where there was a gradual decrease.[62] Viticulture is the most important sector of agricultural production in Santorini.
Wine industry
Main article: Santorini (wine)
The island remains the home of a small wine industry, based on the indigenous Assyrtiko grape variety, with auxiliary cultivations of Aegean white varieties such as Athiri and Aidani and the red varieties such as Mavrotragano and Mandilaria. The vines are extremely old and resistant to phylloxera (attributed by local winemakers to the well-drained volcanic soil and its chemistry), so the vines needed no replacement during the great phylloxera epidemic of the late 19th century. In their adaptation to their habitat, such vines are planted far apart, as their principal source of moisture is dew, and they often are trained in the shape of low-spiralling baskets, with the grapes hanging inside to protect them from the winds.[78]
The viticultural pride of the island is the sweet and strong Vinsanto (Italian: "holy wine"), a dessert wine made from the best sun-dried Assyrtiko, Athiri, and Aidani grapes, and undergoing long barrel aging (up to twenty or twenty-five years for the top cuvées). It matures to a sweet, dark, amber-orange unctuous dessert wine that has achieved worldwide fame, possessing the standard Assyrtiko aromas of citrus and minerals, layered with overtones of nuts, raisins, figs, honey, and tea.
Houses built on the edge of the caldera
View of Imerovigli, example of Cycladic architecture
White wines from the island are extremely dry with a strong citrus scent and mineral and iodide salt aromas contributed by the ashy volcanic soil, whereas barrel aging gives to some of the white wines a slight frankincense aroma, much like Vinsanto. It is not easy to be a winegrower in Santorini; the hot and dry conditions give the soil a very low productivity. The yield per hectare is only 10 to 20% of the yields that are common in France or California. The island's wines are standardised and protected by the "Vinsanto" and "Santorini" OPAP designations of origin.[79]
Brewing
A brewery, the Santorini Brewing Company, began operating out of Santorini in 2011, based in the island's wine region.[80]
Governance
The present municipality of Thera (officially: "Thira", Greek: Δήμος Θήρας),[81][82] which covers all settlements on the islands of Santorini and Therasia, was formed at the 2011 local government reform, by the merger of the former Oia and Thera municipalities.[4]
Oia is now called a Κοινότητα (community), within the municipality of Thera, and it consists of the local subdivisions (Greek: τοπικό διαμέρισμα) of Therasia and Oia.
The municipality of Thera includes an additional 12 local subdivisions on Santorini island: Akrotiri, Emporio, Episkopis Gonia, Exo Gonia, Imerovigli, Karterados, Megalohori, Mesaria, Pyrgos Kallistis, Thera (the seat of the municipality), Vothon, and Vourvoulos.[83]
Satellite image of Santorini caldera. The large island to the east is Thera, with Aspronisi and Therasia making up the rest of the caldera ring, clockwise. In the centre is the larger Nea Kameni and the smaller Palea Kameni.
Towns and villages
Akrotiri
Ammoudi
Athinios
Emporio
Finika
Fira
Firostefani
Imerovigli
Kamari
Karterados
Messaria
Monolithos
Oia
Perissa
Pyrgos Kallistis
Vothonas
Vourvoulos
Attractions
Architecture
The traditional architecture of Santorini is similar to that of the other Cyclades, with low-lying cubical houses, made of local stone and whitewashed or limewashed with various volcanic ashes used as colours. These colours, in recent years, tend to replace white in the colour of house façades, according to the traditional architecture of the island as it was developed until the great earthquake of 1956. The unique characteristic is the common use of the hypóskapha: extensions of houses dug sideways or downwards into the surrounding pumice. These rooms are prized because of the high insulation provided by the air-filled pumice, and are used as living quarters of unique coolness in the summer and warmth in the winter. These are premium storage space for produce, especially for wine cellaring: the Kánava wineries of Santorini.
When strong earthquakes struck the island in 1956, half the buildings were completely destroyed and a large number suffered repairable damage. The underground dwellings along the ridge overlooking the caldera, where the instability of the soil was responsible for the great extent of the damage, needed to be evacuated. Most of the population of Santorini had to emigrate to Piraeus and Athens.[84]
Firostefani village
Fortifications
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Cyclades were under threat from pirates who plundered the harvests, enslaved men and women and sold them in the slave markets. The small bays of the island were also ideal as hideouts. In response the islanders built their settlements at the highest, most inaccessible points, and very close to, or on top of, each other; while their external walls, devoid of openings, formed a protective perimeter around the village. In addition the following additional types of fortifications were built throughout the island to protect the island's inhabitants.
Casteli (castles), also written as kasteli, were large fortified permanent settlements. There were five on the island, Agios Nikolaos (at Oia), Akrotiri, Emborio, Pyrgos, and Skaros. At the entrance to every casteli was a church dedicated to Agia (St.) Theodosia, the Protector-Saint of castles.
Goulas (from the Turkish word kule which means 'tower'[85]) were multi-storey, rectangular, and the highest tower of most kastelli. There were four goulas on the island. They were used both as an observatory and as a place of refuge for the islanders. They had thick walls, parapets, an iron gate, murder holes, and embrasures.
Viglio were small coastal watchtowers, which were permanently garrisoned, from where a watch was maintained and an alarm raised when a pirate ship was sighted.
Infrastructure
Electricity
Electricity for both Santorini and Therasia is principally supplied from the Thira Autonomous Power Station which is located at Monolithos in the eastern part of Santorini. Owned by Public Power Corporation (PPC) it has generators powered by diesel engines and gas turbines. The two islands have a total installed capacity of 75.09 MW of thermal generation and 0.25 MW of renewable generation.[86] There is a programme underway at a cost of €124 million as part of the Cyclades Interconnection Project to connect the island via a submarine cable to Naxos and hence by extension to the mainland system by 2023.[87]
A fire at the power station in Monolithos on 13 August 2018 put it out of service, resulting in a total loss of electricity supply across the two islands. Within four days electricity had been restored to all but 10% of the islands' consumers. Vessels were dispatched to carry two power generators to assist in supporting the restoration of the electricity supply.[88][89]
Electricity is distributed around the island by The Hellenic Electricity Distribution System Operator (HEDNO S.A. or DEDDIE S.A.) which is a 100% owned subsidiary of PPC. A cable connects the Thirasia and Santorini electrical distribution systems.
Transportation
The central bus station is in Fira, the capital of the island, where buses depart very frequently. They cover routes to almost all places around the island and to most tourist spots.
Apart from its connection with other Cyclades islands, Santorini is also connected by ferry with Piraeus on a daily basis all year long, with up to 5 direct crossings during summer.
Airport
Santorini airport viewed from ancient Thera
See also: Santorini (Thira) International Airport
Santorini is one of the few Cyclades Islands with a major airport, which lies about 6 km (4 mi) southeast of downtown Thera. The main asphalt runway (16L-34R) is 2,125 m (6,972 ft) in length, and the parallel taxiway was built to runway specification (16R-34L). It can accommodate Boeing 757, Boeing 737, Airbus A320 series, Avro RJ, Fokker 70, and ATR 72 aircraft. Scheduled airlines include the new Olympic Air, Aegean Airlines, Ryanair, and Sky Express, with flights chartered from other airlines during the summer, and with transport to and from the air terminal available through buses, taxis, hotel car-pickups, and hire cars.
Land
Bus services link Fira to most parts of the island.[90]
Ports
Ferry and cruise ship in the caldera 2013
Santorini has two ports: Athinios (Ferry Port) and Skala (Old Port).[91][92] Cruise ships anchor off Skala and passengers are transferred by local boatmen to shore at Skala where Fira is accessed by cable car, on foot or by donkeys and mules. The use of donkeys for tourist transportation has attracted significant criticism from animal rights organisations for animal abuse and neglect, including failure to provide the donkeys with sufficient water or rest.[93] Tour boats depart from Skala for Nea Kameni and other Santorini destinations.[91][92]
Water and sewerage
As the island lies in a rain shadow between the mountains of Crete and the Peloponnese water seems to have been scarce at least from post-eruption times.[94] This, combined with the small size of the island, the lack of rivers, and the nature of the soil, which is largely composed of volcanic ash, as well as the high summer temperatures meant that there was very little surface water.[95] With only one spring (Zoodochos Pigi – the Life-giving Spring) this encouraged the practice of diverting any rain that fell on roofs and courtyards to elaborate underground cisterns, supplemented in the 20th century with water imported from other areas of Greece. Owing to the lack of water islanders developed non-irrigated crops such as vines and olives that could survive on only the scant moisture provided by the common early-morning fog condensing on the ground as dew.
Many cisterns ceased to be used following the 1956 earthquake. As tourism increased, the existing rainwater harvesting methods proved incapable of supplying the increased demand. As a result, it has become necessary to construct desalination plants which now provide running but non-potable water to most residents. This has led to many of the historic cisterns falling into disrepair.[96]
The first desalination plant was built at Oia following a donation in 1992 by the Oia-born businessman Aristeidis Alafouzos. By 2003 the plant had expanded to house three desalination units (of which two had been donated by Alafouzos).[97] As of 2020 the plant has six desalination units with a total capacity of 2,800 m3 (99,000 cu ft) per day.[98]
In addition to Oia there are currently desalination plants at Aghia Paraskevi, located on the southwest side of the airport with a capacity of 5,000 m3 (180,000 cu ft) per day which supplies Kamari, Vothonas, Messaria, Exo Gonia, Mesa Gonia, Agia Paraskevi, and Monolithos;[99] Fira with a capacity of 1,200 m3 (42,000 cu ft) per day;[98] Akrotiri (also known as the Cape) which has two units with a total capacity of 650 m3 (23,000 cu ft) per day;[98] Exo Gialos which has two units with a total capacity of 2,000 m3 (71,000 cu ft) per day which supplies Fira, Imerovigli, Karteradou, Pyrgos, Megalochori and Vourvoulou; and Therasia which has two TEMAK units with a total capacity of 350 m3 (12,000 cu ft) per day.[98]
There are also a number of small autonomous drinking water production units with a capacity of 6 m3 (210 cu ft) per day located at Kamari, Emporio, Messaria and Thirasia Island.[98]
The provision of water supply and sewage treatment and disposal on both Santorini and Therasia Islands is undertaken by the municipally owned DEYA Thiras. It was founded in May 2011, after the merging of the Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Company of Thera (DEYA Thera) and the Community Water Supply and Sewerage Company of Oia (K .Ε.Υ.Α. Οίας). Known as DEYATH it is responsible for the planning, construction, management, operation and maintenance of the water supply system (desalination plants and pumping wells), irrigation, drainage, and the wastewater collection networks and treatment plants for the islands of Thira (Santorini) and Therasia. The Loulas and Evangelos Nomikos Foundation has funded a number of projects aimed at improving the water supply and sewage systems on the islands.
Objeto: Yacimiento arqueológico de El Cerro del Bu
Contexto cultural: Edad de Bronce y Islámico
Ubicación: In situ.
Estado de visibilidad actual: Visible
Dimensiones: 517 m. de altura
Referencias:
En la fotografía 1: (a) recinto inferior islámico, (b) bastión del recinto inferior islámico, (c) bancal o muralla de la Edad de Bronce, (d) estructura defensiva del recinto superior islámico.
El Cerro de El Bu se encuentra situado en la orilla izquierda del río Tajo en su confluencia con el arroyo de la Degollada, frente al lado sur de la ciudad de Toledo. Fue declarado Monumento Nacional en 1981 y Bien de Interés Cultural en 1992.
Se ha documentado la ocupación del yacimiento en dos épocas:
• Durante la Edad del Bronce, desde finales del tercer milenio hasta principios del primer milenio a.C., en que los habitantes del cerro del Bu se trasladarían al lugar que hoy ocupa la ciudad de Toledo. Posteriormente a esta ocupación permaneció el cerro del Bu abandonado durante un largo periodo de 2000 años.
• Durante un corto espacio de tiempo en el siglo X, en relación con el asedio a la ciudad de Toledo por parte de Abd al-Rahman III, cuyas tropas estaban agrupadas en Madinat alfath en el cerro de Chalencas. Al rendirse la ciudad el Cerro del Bu perdió importancia estratégica y se abandonó.
Actuaciones arqueológicas en el Cerro del Bu:
• 1905: Castaños Montijano plantea intervenir en los dos recintos de piedra visibles en la época, abre dos trincheras en el recinto inferior y excava todo el recinto superior.
• Años 80 del siglo XX: Enrique de Alvaro y Juan Pereira plantean una actuación integral en el cerro. En la campaña 1980-1982 documentan una muralla de piedra en el recinto superior, de dos metros de ancho y que conserva un alzado de cuatro hiladas, y otra en el inferior de un metro ochenta de ancho con un bastión adosado de planta rectangular. En la campaña 1983-1988 se documenta un bancal o muralla que aprovecha un afloramiento rocoso y que podría ser un sistema de aterrazamiento de la Edad de Bronce y se documenta la secuencia estratigráfica del yacimiento. En 1986 y 1987 se documenta la estructura defensiva que rodea toda la parte superior del cerro con, al menos tres habitaciones en su interior. Esta estructura está flanqueada por bastiones rectangulares.
En el Museo de Santa Cruz se encuentran expuestos diversos objetos arqueológicos procedentes del yacimiento (hachas prehistóricas, piedras labradas, una maza de pizarra, huesos fosilizados de cuadrúpedos y aves cuencos, punzones de bronce, dientes de hoz en sílex, piedras de molino, una gran olla o «pithoi», etc.)
ALVARO REGUERA, E. de. y PEREIRA SIESO, J.; “El Cerro del Bú (Toledo)”; Actas del primer Congreso de Arqueologia de la provincia de Toledo, 1990, ISBN 84-87100-04-X , págs. 199-214
CASTAÑOS Y MONTIJANO, M., “El Cerro del Bú y la Comisión de Monumentos de “, Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, Tomo 46 (1905), pp.445-449
www.cervantesvirtual.com/descargaPdf/el-cerro-del-b-y-la-...
FERNÁNDEZ DEL CERRO, J., “Objetos metálicos del Cerro del Bu (Toledo)”. Cuadernos de prehistoria y arqueología, ISSN 0211-1608, Nº 27, 2001, págs. 7-22
dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=820985&or...
FERNÁNDEZ DEL CERRO, J., “Aproximación al conocimiento de la Edad del Bronce en la cuenca media del Tajo. El Cerro del Bú”, Editorial Audema (Auditores de Energía y Medio Ambiente, S.A.), 2014, ISBN: 978-84-942592-2-7
www.academia.edu/7294772/APROXIMACION_AL_CONOCIMIENTO_DE_...
Resolución de 24 de noviembre de 1980, de la Dirección General de Bellas Artes, Archivos y Bibliotecas, por la que se acuerda tener por incoado, por el trámite de urgencia, el expediente de declaración de monumento histórico-artístico y arqueológico, de carácter nacional, a favor de los que se citan.
www.boe.es/boe/dias/1981/01/26/pdfs/A01827-01828.pdf
Decreto 70/1992, de 28/04/1992, , POR EL QUE SE DECLARA BIEN DE INTERES CULTURAL, CON LA CATEGORIA DE ZONA ARQUEOLOGICA, A FAVOR DEL YACIMIENTO ARQUEOLOGICO DEL CERRO DEL BU EN TOLEDO
docm.jccm.es/portaldocm/verDisposicionAntigua.do?ruta=199...
Storage jars, also known as pithoi (singular: pithos) at the Knossos Palace, Knossos (Κνωσός), Heraklion (Ηράκλειο), Crete (Κρήτη), Greece - October 2022
Turners Hill, West Sussex. Established in 1985, Pot & Pithoi supply pottery from Crete and are supplier to HRH Prince of Wales. Great place to visit - and a very nice cafe!
Exif_JPEG_PICTURE alte römische Vorratsgefäße in Ostia antica, die in den Boden in einem Sandbett eingelassen waren. Mit 8 m Teleskopstabstativ aufgenommen. Info bei Wikipedia:
Dolia haben meist einen bauchigen Gefäßkörper ohne oder mit einem gering ausgeprägten Hals. Die Mündung ist in der Regel weit, um eine einfache Entnahme des Inhalts zu ermöglichen. Die Randform springt nach innen vor und ist meist horizontal gestaltet. Die Abdeckung erfolgte mit großen Deckeln aus Holz oder Ton. Der Boden besitzt eine ebene Standfläche. Aufgrund ihrer Größe wurden Dolia häufig in Aufbautechnik mit einzelnen, übereinandergelegten Strängen geformt, da die Gefäße für Töpferscheiben meist zu groß waren. Auf dem Rand oder dem Deckel finden sich vereinzelt Ritzungen oder Graffiti mit Inhalts- oder Gewichtsangabe. Das Fassungsvermögen dieser tönernen Fässer konnte bis zu 2500 Litern betragen. Hergestellt wurden sie besonders im westlichen Mittelmeerraum. Kleinere Produktionsstätten existierten aber auch in den germanischen Provinzen. Dort löste das Dolium die Pithoi ab. Im Gegensatz zu den Amphoren dienten die Dolia weniger dem Transport als der Lagerung. Besonders wurden sie zur Lagerung und Gärung von Wein verwendet. Aus diesem Grund sind sie oft an der Innenseite mit Pech ausgestrichen. Dolia werden häufig in den Lagerräumen (cella vinariae) oder im Hof großer Villenanlagen gefunden. Ebenfalls häufig sind sie im Lagerbereich großer Überseehäfen wie in Ostia und Marseille(Massilia). Zur besseren Kühlung wurden sie üblicherweise in den Boden eingegraben. (WIKIPEDIA: Dolia)
Knossos or Cnossos (/ˈnɒsɒs/; also Knossus or Cnossus /ˈnɒsəs/; Greek: Κνωσός or Κνωσσός, pronounced [knoˈsos]), is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and is considered Europe's oldest city.[4]
The name Knossos survives from ancient Greek references to the major city of Crete. The identification of Knossos with the Bronze Age site is supported by tradition and by the Roman coins that were scattered over the fields surrounding the pre-excavation site, then a large mound named Kephala Hill, elevation 85 m (279 ft) from current sea level. Many of them were inscribed with Knosion or Knos on the obverse and an image of a Minotaur or Labyrinth on the reverse, both symbols deriving from the myth of King Minos, supposed to have reigned from Knossos.[5] The coins came from the Roman settlement of Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnossus, a Roman colony placed just to the north of, and politically including, Kephala. The Romans believed they had colonized Knossos.[6] After excavation, the discovery of the Linear B tablets, and the decipherment of Linear B by Michael Ventris, the identification was confirmed by the reference to an administrative center, ko-no-so, Mycenaean Greek Knosos in Linear B, undoubtedly the palace complex. The palace was built over a Neolithic town. During the Bronze Age, the town surrounded the hill on which the palace was built. (source: Wikipedia)
Knossos or Cnossos (/ˈnɒsɒs/; also Knossus or Cnossus /ˈnɒsəs/; Greek: Κνωσός or Κνωσσός, pronounced [knoˈsos]), is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and is considered Europe's oldest city.[4]
The name Knossos survives from ancient Greek references to the major city of Crete. The identification of Knossos with the Bronze Age site is supported by tradition and by the Roman coins that were scattered over the fields surrounding the pre-excavation site, then a large mound named Kephala Hill, elevation 85 m (279 ft) from current sea level. Many of them were inscribed with Knosion or Knos on the obverse and an image of a Minotaur or Labyrinth on the reverse, both symbols deriving from the myth of King Minos, supposed to have reigned from Knossos.[5] The coins came from the Roman settlement of Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnossus, a Roman colony placed just to the north of, and politically including, Kephala. The Romans believed they had colonized Knossos.[6] After excavation, the discovery of the Linear B tablets, and the decipherment of Linear B by Michael Ventris, the identification was confirmed by the reference to an administrative center, ko-no-so, Mycenaean Greek Knosos in Linear B, undoubtedly the palace complex. The palace was built over a Neolithic town. During the Bronze Age, the town surrounded the hill on which the palace was built. (source: Wikipedia)
Late Archaic period, 2nd half 6th c. BCE
From San Giuliano (see on Pleiades), Chiusa Cima-Valle necropolis, Tomb of the Obelisk/Tomba dell'Obelisco
In the collection of and photographed on display in the Museo Archeologico delle Necropoli Rupestri, Barbarano Romano (VT), Italy
Another multiple exposure of two shots, the first of the pithoi, then overlaid with the sun dried plant. Definitely a little taste of Crete!!
Objeto: Yacimiento arqueológico de El Cerro del Bu
Contexto cultural: Edad de Bronce y Islámico
Ubicación: In situ.
Estado de visibilidad actual: Visible
Dimensiones: 517 m. de altura
Referencias:
En la fotografía (a) recinto inferior islámico, (b) bastión del recinto inferior islámico, (c) bancal o muralla de la Edad de Bronce, (d) estructura defensiva del recinto superior islámico.
El Cerro del Bu se encuentra situado en la orilla izquierda del río Tajo en su confluencia con el arroyo de la Degollada, frente al lado sur de la ciudad de Toledo. Fue declarado Monumento Nacional en 1981 y Bien de Interés Cultural en 1992.
Se ha documentado la ocupación del yacimiento en dos épocas:
•Durante la Edad del Bronce, desde finales del tercer milenio hasta principios del primer milenio a.C., en que los habitantes del cerro del Bu se trasladarían al lugar que hoy ocupa la ciudad de Toledo. Posteriormente a esta ocupación permaneció el cerro del Bu abandonado durante un largo periodo de 2000 años.
•Durante un corto espacio de tiempo en el siglo X, en relación con el asedio a la ciudad de Toledo por parte de Abd al-Rahman III, cuyas tropas estaban agrupadas en Madinat alfath en el cerro de Chalencas. Al rendirse la ciudad el Cerro del Bu perdió importancia estratégica y se abandonó.
Actuaciones arqueológicas en el Cerro del Bu:
•1905: Castaños Montijano plantea intervenir en los dos recintos de piedra visibles en la época, abre dos trincheras en el recinto inferior y excava todo el recinto superior.
•Años 80 del siglo XX: Enrique de Alvaro y Juan Pereira plantean una actuación integral en el cerro. En la campaña 1980-1982 documentan una muralla de piedra en el recinto superior, de dos metros de ancho y que conserva un alzado de cuatro hiladas, y otra en el inferior de un metro ochenta de ancho con un bastión adosado de planta rectangular. En la campaña 1983-1988 se documenta un bancal o muralla que aprovecha un afloramiento rocoso y que podría ser un sistema de aterrazamiento de la Edad de Bronce y se documenta la secuencia estratigráfica del yacimiento. En 1986 y 1987 se documenta la estructura defensiva que rodea toda la parte superior del cerro con, al menos tres habitaciones en su interior. Esta estructura está flanqueada por bastiones rectangulares.
En el Museo de Santa Cruz se encuentran expuestos diversos objetos arqueológicos procedentes del yacimiento (hachas prehistóricas, piedras labradas, una maza de pizarra, huesos fosilizados de cuadrúpedos y aves cuencos, punzones de bronce, dientes de hoz en sílex, piedras de molino, una gran olla o «pithoi», etc.)
ALVARO REGUERA, E. de. y PEREIRA SIESO, J.; “El Cerro del Bú (Toledo)”; Actas del primer Congreso de Arqueologia de la provincia de Toledo, 1990, ISBN 84-87100-04-X , págs. 199-214
CASTAÑOS Y MONTIJANO, M., “El Cerro del Bú y la Comisión de Monumentos de “, Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, Tomo 46 (1905), pp.445-449
www.cervantesvirtual.com/descargaPdf/el-cerro-del-b-y-la-...
FERNÁNDEZ DEL CERRO, J., “Objetos metálicos del Cerro del Bu (Toledo)”. Cuadernos de prehistoria y arqueología, ISSN 0211-1608, Nº 27, 2001, págs. 7-22
dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=820985&or...
FERNÁNDEZ DEL CERRO, J., “Aproximación al conocimiento de la Edad del Bronce en la cuenca media del Tajo. El Cerro del Bú”, Editorial Audema (Auditores de Energía y Medio Ambiente, S.A.), 2014, ISBN: 978-84-942592-2-7
www.academia.edu/7294772/APROXIMACION_AL_CONOCIMIENTO_DE_...
Resolución de 24 de noviembre de 1980, de la Dirección General de Bellas Artes, Archivos y Bibliotecas, por la que se acuerda tener por incoado, por el trámite de urgencia, el expediente de declaración de monumento histórico-artístico y arqueológico, de carácter nacional, a favor de los que se citan.
www.boe.es/boe/dias/1981/01/26/pdfs/A01827-01828.pdf
Decreto 70/1992, de 28/04/1992, , POR EL QUE SE DECLARA BIEN DE INTERES CULTURAL, CON LA CATEGORIA DE ZONA ARQUEOLOGICA, A FAVOR DEL YACIMIENTO ARQUEOLOGICO DEL CERRO DEL BU EN TOLEDO
docm.jccm.es/portaldocm/verDisposicionAntigua.do?ruta=199...
Santorini (Greek: Σαντορίνη, romanized: Santoríni, pronounced [sa(n)doˈrini]), officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα, romanized: Thíra, Greek pronunciation: [ˈθira]) and Classical Greek Thera (English pronunciation /ˈθɪərə/), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the largest island of a small circular archipelago, which bears the same name and is the remnant of a caldera. It is the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 km2 (28 sq mi) and a 2011 census population of 15,550. The municipality of Santorini includes the inhabited islands of Santorini and Therasia, as well as the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi and Christiana. The total land area is 90.623 km2 (34.990 sq mi).[2] Santorini is part of the Thira regional unit.[3]
Santorini / Thira
Σαντορίνη / Θήρα
Municipality
Santorini montage. Clicking on an image in the picture causes the browser to load the appropriate article, if it exists.
Clockwise from top: Partial panoramic view of Santorini, sunset in the village of Oia, ruins of the Stoa Basilica at Ancient Thera, the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of Ypapanti [it] at the town of Fira, the Aegean Sea as seen from Oia, and view of Fira from the island of Nea Kameni at the Santorini caldera.
Santorini / Thira is located in GreeceSantorini / ThiraSantorini / Thira
Location within the region
Coordinates: 36°24′54″N 25°25′57″E
Country
Greece
Administrative region
South Aegean
Regional unit
Thira
Government
• Mayor
Antonis Sigalas
Area
• Municipality
90.69 km2 (35.02 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
• Municipality
15,550
• Density
170/km2 (440/sq mi)
• Municipal unit
14,005
• Community
1,857
Time zone
UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
847 00, 847 02
Area code(s)
22860
Vehicle registration
EM
Website
The island was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history: the Minoan eruption (sometimes called the Thera eruption), which occurred about 3,600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization.[4] The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of metres deep.
It is the most active volcanic centre in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, though what remains today is chiefly a water-filled caldera. The volcanic arc is approximately 500 km (300 mi) long and 20 to 40 km (12 to 25 mi) wide. The region first became volcanically active around 3–4 million years ago,[citation needed] though volcanism on Thera began around 2 million years ago with the extrusion of dacitic lavas from vents around Akrotiri. Wikipedia. Santorini was named by the Latin Empire in the thirteenth century, and is a reference to Saint Irene, from the name of the old church in the village of Perissa – the name Santorini is a contraction of the name Santa Irini.[5][4] Before then, it was known as Kallístē (Καλλίστη, "the most beautiful one"), Strongýlē (Στρογγύλη, "the circular one"),[6] or Thēra. The name Thera was revived in the nineteenth century as the official name of the island and its main city, but the colloquial name Santorini is still in popular use. Thera is the ancient name and it was called like this because of Theras, the leader of the Spartans who colonized it, and gave his name to the island.[7] Wikipedia Excavations starting in 1967 at the Akrotiri site under the late Professor Spyridon Marinatos have made Thera the best-known Minoan site outside Crete, homeland of the culture. The island was not known as Thera at this time. Only the southern tip of a large town has been uncovered, yet it has revealed complexes of multi-level buildings, streets, and squares with remains of walls standing as high as eight metres, all entombed in the solidified ash of the famous eruption of Thera. The site was not a palace-complex as found in Crete nor was it a conglomeration of merchant warehousing. Its excellent masonry and fine wall-paintings reveal a complex community. A loom-workshop suggests organized textile weaving for export. This Bronze Age civilization thrived between 3000 and 2000 BC, reaching its peak in the period between 2000 and 1630 BC.[8]
Many of the houses in Akrotiri are major structures, some of them three storeys high. Its streets, squares, and walls were preserved in the layers of ejecta, sometimes as tall as eight metres, indicating this was a major town. In many houses stone staircases are still intact, and they contain huge ceramic storage jars (pithoi), mills, and pottery. Noted archaeological remains found in Akrotiri are wall paintings or frescoes that have kept their original colour well, as they were preserved under many metres of volcanic ash. Judging from the fine artwork, its citizens were sophisticated and relatively wealthy people. Among more complete frescoes found in one house are two antelopes painted with a confident calligraphic line, a man holding fish strung by their gills, a flotilla of pleasure boats that are accompanied by leaping dolphins, and a scene of women sitting in the shade of light canopies. Fragmentary wall-paintings found at one site are Minoan frescoes that depict "Saffron-gatherers" offering crocus-stamens to a seated woman, perhaps a goddess important to the Akrotiri culture. The themes of the Akrotiri frescoes show no relationship to the typical content of the Classical Greek décor of 510 BC to 323 BC that depict the Greek pantheon deities.
The town also had a highly developed drainage system. Pipes with running water and water closets found at Akrotiri are the oldest such utilities discovered.[9] The pipes run in twin systems, indicating that Therans used both hot and cold water supplies. The origin of the hot water they circulated in the town probably was geothermic, given the volcano's proximity.
The well preserved ruins of the ancient town are often compared to the spectacular ruins at Pompeii in Italy. The canopy covering the ruins collapsed in an accident in September 2005, killing one tourist and injuring seven more. The site was closed for almost seven years while a new canopy was built. The site was re-opened in April 2012.
The oldest signs of human settlement are Late Neolithic (4th millennium BC or earlier), but c. 2000–1650 BC Akrotiri developed into one of the Aegean's major Bronze Age ports, with recovered objects that came not just from Crete, but also from Anatolia, Cyprus, Syria, and Egypt, as well as from the Dodecanese and the Greek mainland. Wikipedia. The Minoan eruption provides a fixed point for the chronology of the second millennium BC in the Aegean, because evidence of the eruption occurs throughout the region and the site itself contains material culture from outside. The eruption occurred during the "Late Minoan IA" period of Minoan chronology at Crete and the "Late Cycladic I" period in the surrounding islands.
Archaeological evidence, based on the established chronology of Bronze Age Mediterranean cultures, dates the eruption to around 1500 BC.[10] These dates, however, conflict with radiocarbon dating which indicates that the eruption occurred at about 1645–1600 BC.[11] For those, and other reasons, the date of the eruption is disputed.
Ancient period
edit
Picture of a young girl of Santorini, Cultural Center Megaro Gyzi, Fira
Skaros Rock, originally the location of medieval fortifications
The Byzantine Church of Panagia Episkopi
Pyrgos Kallistis village
Presentation of the Theotokos church, Pyrgos village
Santorini remained unoccupied throughout the rest of the Bronze Age, during which time the Greeks took over Crete. At Knossos, in a LMIIIA context (14th century BC), seven Linear B texts while calling upon "all the deities" make sure to grant primacy to an elsewhere-unattested entity called qe-ra-si-ja and, once, qe-ra-si-jo. If the endings -ia[s] and -ios represent an ethnic suffix, then this means "The One From Qeras[os]". If the initial consonant were aspirated, then *Qhera- would have become "Thera-" in later Greek. "Therasia" and its ethnikon "Therasios" are both attested in later Greek; and, since -sos was itself a genitive suffix in the Aegean Sprachbund, *Qeras[os] could also shrink to *Qera. If qe-ra-si-ja was an ethnikon first, then in following the entity the Cretans also feared whence it came.[12]
Probably after what is called the Bronze Age collapse, Phoenicians founded a site on Thera. Herodotus reports that they called the island Callista and lived on it for eight generations.[13] In the ninth century BC, Dorians founded the main Hellenic city on Mesa Vouno, 396 m (1,299 ft) above sea level. This group later claimed that they had named the city and the island after their leader, Theras. Today, that city is referred to as Ancient Thera.
In his Argonautica, written in Hellenistic Egypt in the third century BC, Apollonius Rhodius includes an origin and sovereignty myth of Thera being given by Triton in Libya to the Greek Argonaut Euphemus, son of Poseidon, in the form of a clod of dirt. After carrying the dirt next to his heart for several days, Euphemus dreamt that he nursed the dirt with milk from his breast, and that the dirt turned into a beautiful woman with whom he had sex. The woman then told him that she was a daughter of Triton named Calliste, and that when he threw the dirt into the sea it would grow into an island for his descendants to live on. The poem goes on to claim that the island was named Thera after Euphemus' descendant Theras, son of Autesion, the leader of a group of refugee settlers from Lemnos.
The Dorians have left a number of inscriptions incised in stone, in the vicinity of the temple of Apollo, attesting to pederastic relations between the authors and their lovers (eromenoi). These inscriptions, found by Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen, have been thought by some archaeologists to be of a ritual, celebratory nature, because of their large size, careful construction and – in some cases – execution by craftsmen other than the authors. According to Herodotus,[14] following a drought of seven years, Thera sent out colonists who founded a number of cities in northern Africa, including Cyrene. In the fifth century BC, Dorian Thera did not join the Delian League with Athens; and during the Peloponnesian War, Thera sided with Dorian Sparta, against Athens. The Athenians took the island during the war, but lost it again after the Battle of Aegospotami. During the Hellenistic period, the island was a major naval base for Ptolemaic Egypt.
Medieval and Ottoman period
edit
Medieval map of Santorini by Cristoforo Buondelmonti
As with other Greek territories, Thera then was ruled by the Romans. When the Roman Empire was divided, the island passed to the eastern side of the Empire which today is known as the Byzantine Empire.[15] According to George Cedrenus, the volcano erupted again in the summer of 727, the tenth year of the reign of Leo III the Isaurian.[16] He writes: "In the same year, in the summer, a vapour like an oven's fire boiled up for days out of the middle of the islands of Thera and Therasia from the depths of the sea, and the whole place burned like fire, little by little thickening and turning to stone, and the air seemed to be a fiery torch." This terrifying explosion was interpreted as a divine omen against the worship of religious icons[17][18] and gave the Emperor Leo III the Isaurian the justification he needed to begin implementing his Iconoclasm policy.
The name "Santorini" first appears c. 1153-1154 in the work of the Muslim geographer al-Idrisi, as "Santurin", from the island's patron saint, Saint Irene.[19] After the Fourth Crusade, it was occupied by the Duchy of Naxos which held it up to circa 1280 when it was reconquered by Licario (the claims of earlier historians that the island had been held by Jacopo I Barozzi and his son as a fief have been refuted in the second half of the twentieth century);[20][21][22] it was again reconquered from the Byzantines circa 1301 by Iacopo II Barozzi, a member of the Cretan branch of the Venetian Barozzi family, whose descendant held it until it was annexed in c. 1335 by Niccolo Sanudo after various legal and military conflicts.[23] In 1318–1331 and 1345–1360 it was raided by the Turkish principalities of Menteshe and Aydın, but did not suffer much damage.[19] Because of the Venetians the island became home to a sizable Catholic community and is still the seat of a Catholic bishopric.
From the 15th century on, the suzerainty of the Republic of Venice over the island was recognized in a series of treaties by the Ottoman Empire, but this did not stop Ottoman raids, until it was captured by the Ottoman admiral Piyale Pasha in 1576, as part of a process of annexation of most remaining Latin possessions in the Aegean.[19] It became part of the semi-autonomous domain of the Sultan's Jewish favourite, Joseph Nasi. Santorini retained its privileged position in the 17th century, but suffered in turn from Venetian raids during the frequent Ottoman–Venetian wars of the period, even though there were no Muslims on the island.[19]
Santorini was captured briefly by the Russians under Alexey Orlov during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, but returned to Ottoman control after.
19th century
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In 1807, the islanders were forced by the Sublime Porte to send 50 sailors to Mykonos to serve in the Ottoman navy.[24]
In 1810, Santorini with 32 ships possessed the seventh largest of the Greek fleet after Kefallinia (118), Hydra (120), Psara (60), Ithaca (38) Spetsai (60) and Skopelos (35).[25]
During the last years of Ottoman rule, the majority of residents were farmers and seafarers who exported their abundant produce, while the level of education was improving on the island, with the Monastery of Profitis Ilias being one of the most important monastic centres in the Cyclades.[24]
In 1821 the island was home to 13,235 inhabitants, which within a year had risen to 15,428.[26]
Greek War of Independence
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As part of its plans to foment a revolt against the Ottoman Empire and gain Greek Independence, Alexandros Ypsilantis, the head of the Filiki Eteria in early 1821, dispatched Dimitrios Themelis from Patmos and Evangelis Matzarakis (–1824), a sea captain from Kefalonia who had Santorini connections to establish a network of supporter in the Cyclades.[27] As his authority,[clarification needed] Matzarakis had a letter from Ypsilantis (dated 29 December 1820) addressed to the notables of Santorini and the Orthodox metropolitan bishop Zacharias Kyriakos (served 1814–1842). At the time, the population of Santorini was divided between those who supported independence, and (particularly among the Catholics and non-Orthodox) those who were ambivalent or distrustful of a revolt being directed by Hydra and Spetses or were fearful of the Sultan's revenge. While the island didn't come out in direct support of the revolt, they did send 100 barrels of wine to the Greek fleet as well in April 1821,[clarify] 71 sailors, a priest and the presbyter Nikolaos Dekazas, to serve on the Spetsiote fleet.[24]
Because of the lack of majority support for direct participation in the revolt, it was necessary for Matzarakis to enlist the aid of Kefalonians living in Santorini to, on 5 May 1821[24] (the feast day of the patron saint of the island), raise the flag of the revolution and then expel the Ottoman officials from the island.[27] The Provisional Administration of Greece organized the Aegean islands into six provinces, one of which was Santorini and appointed Matzarakis its governor in April 1822.[28][29] While he was able to raise a large amount of money (double that collected on Naxos), he was soon found to lack the diplomatic skills needed to convince the islanders who had enjoyed considerable autonomy to now accept direction from a central authority and contribute tax revenue to it. He claimed to his superiors that the islanders needed "political re-education" as they did not understand why they had to pay higher taxes than those levied under the Ottomans in order to support the struggle for independence. The hostility against the taxes caused many of the tax collectors to resign.
Things were also not helped by the governor's authoritarian character, arbitrariness and arrests of prominent islanders losing him the support of Zacharias Kyriakos, who had initially supported Matzarakis. In retaliation Matzarakis accused him of being a "Turkophile" and had the archbishop imprisoned and then exiled him. The abbots of the monasteries, the priests and the prelates, complained to Demetrios Ypsilantis, president of the National Assembly.
Matzarakis soon had to hire bodyguards as the island descended into open revolt against him.[27] Fearful for his life Matzarakis later fled the island,[27] and was dismissed from his governorship by Demetrios Ypsilantis. Mazarakis however later represented Santorini in the National Assembly and following his death was succeeded in that position in November 1824 by Pantoleon Augerino.
Once they heard of massacres of the Greek population of Chios in April 1822, many islanders became fearful of Ottoman reprisals, with two villages stating they were prepared to surrender,[27] though sixteen monks from the Monastery of Profitis Ilias, led by their abbot Gerasimos Mavrommatis declared in writing their support for the revolt.[30] Four commissioners for the Aegean islands (among them, Benjamin of Lesvos and Konstantinos Metaxas) appointed by the Provisional Administration of Greece arrived in July 1822 to investigate the issues on Santorini. The commissioners were uncompromising in their support for Matzarakis. With news from Chios fresh in their minds the island's notables eventually arrested Metaxas, with the intention of handing him over to the Ottomans in order to prove their loyalty. He was rescued by his Ionian guards.
Matters became so heated that Antonios Barbarigos (- 1824) who had been serving in the First National Assembly at Epidaurus since 20 January 1820 was seriously wounded in the head by a knife attack on Santorini in October 1822 during a dispute between the factions. In early 1823, the Second National Assembly at Astros, imposed a contribution of 90,000 grosis on Santorini to fund the fight for independence, while in 1836 they also had to contribute in 1826 to the obligatory loan of 190,000 grosis imposed on the Cyclades.[26]
In decree 573 issued by the National Assembly 17 May 1823 Santorini was recognized as one of 15 provinces in the Greek controlled Aegean (nine in the Cyclades and six in the Sporades).[28]
The island became part of the fledgling Greek state under the London Protocol of 3 February 1830, rebelled against the government of Ioannis Kapodistrias in 1831, and became definitively part of the independent Kingdom of Greece in 1832, with the Treaty of Constantinople.[19]
Santorini joined an insurrection that had broken out in Nafplio on 1 February 1862 against the rule of King Otto of Greece. However, the royal authorities was able to quickly restore control and the revolt had been suppressed by 20 March of that year. However, the unrest arose again later in the year which lead to the 23 October 1862 Revolution and the overthrow of King Otto.
World War II
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During the Second World War, Santorini was occupied in 1941 by Italian forces and then by the Germans following the Italian armistice in 1943. In 1944, the German garrison on Santorini was raided by a group of British Special Boat Service Commandos, killing most of its men. Five locals were later shot in reprisal, including the mayor.[31][32]
Post-war
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In general the island's economy continued to decline following World War II with a number of factories closing as a lot of industrial activity relocated after to Athens. In an attempt to improve the local economy the Union of Santorini Cooperatives was established 1947 to process, export and promote the islands agriculture products, in particular its wine. In 1952 they constructed near the village of Monolithos what is today the island's only remaining tomato processing factory. The island's tourism in the early 1950s generally took the form of small numbers of wealthy tourists on yacht cruises though the Aegean. The island's children would present arriving passengers with flowers and bid them happy sailing by lighting small lanterns along the steps from Fira down to the port, offering them a beautiful farewell spectacle. Once such visitor was the actress Olivia de Havilland who visited the island in September 1955 at the invitation of Petros Nomikos.[33]
In the early 1950s the shipping magnate Evangelos P. Nomikos and his wife Loula decided to support their birthplace and so asked residents to choose whether they wanted the couple to pay for the construction of either a hotel or a hospital, to which local authorities replied that they would prefer a hotel. As a result, in 1952, the Nomikos' commissioned the architect Venetsanos to undertake the design and paid for the construction of the Hotel Atlantis, which was at the time the most glamorous hotel in the Cyclades.[34]
In 1954, Santorini had approximately 12,000 inhabitants and very few visitors. The only modes of transport on the island were a jeep, a small bus and the island's traditional donkeys and mules.
1956 earthquake
edit
At 3:11am on 9 July 1956 an earthquake with a magnitude (depending on the particular study) of 7.5,[35] 7.6,[35] 7.7[36] or 7.8[37] struck 30 km south of the island of Amorgos. It was the largest earthquake of the 20th century in Greece and had a devastating impact on Santorini.[37][36] It was followed by aftershocks, the most significant being the first occurring at 03:24, 13 minutes after the main shock, which had a 7.2 magnitude.[37] This aftershock which originated close to the island of Anafi is believed to have been responsible for most of the damage and casualties on Santorini.[37] The earthquake was accompanied by a tsunami which while much higher at other islands is estimated to have reached 3 metres at Perissa and 2 metres at Vlichada on Santorini.[37]
Immediately following the earthquake the Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis declared Santorini a state of "large-scale local disaster" and visited the island to inspect the situation on 14 July.[38]
Many countries have offered to send relief efforts, though Greece refused to accept the offer of the United Kingdom to send warships to help from Cyprus where they were involved in the Cyprus Emergency.[38]
As there was no airport the Greek military made air drops of food, tents and supplies, while camps for the homeless were established on the outskirts of Fira.[39]
On Santorini the earthquakes killed 53 people and injured another 100.[40][38] On Santorini 35% of the houses collapsed and 45% suffered major or minor damage.[38] In total, 529 houses were destroyed, 1,482 were severely damaged and 1,750 lightly damaged.[38] Almost all public buildings were completely destroyed. One of the largest buildings that survived unscathed was the newly built Hotel Atlantis, which allowed it to be used as a temporary hospital and to house public services. The greatest damage was experienced on the Western side along the edge of the caldera, especially at Oia, with parts of the ground collapsing into the sea. The damage from the earthquake reduced most of the population to extreme poverty and caused many to leave the island in search of better opportunities with most settling in Athens.[38]
Tourism
edit
Sinking of Sea Diamond, 2007
The expansion of tourism in recent years has resulted in the growth of the economy and population. Santorini was ranked the world's top island by many magazines and travel sites, including the Travel+Leisure Magazine,[41] the BBC,[42] as well as the US News.[43] An estimated 2 million tourists visit annually.[44] In recent years, Santorini has been emphasising sustainable development and the promotion of special forms of tourism, the organization of major events such as conferences and sport activities.
The island's pumice quarries have been closed since 1986, in order to preserve the caldera. In 2007, the cruise ship MS Sea Diamond ran aground and sank inside the caldera. As of 2019, Santorini is a particular draw for Asian couples who come to Santorini to have pre-wedding photos taken against the backdrop of the island's landscape.[45] Wikipedia
Objeto: Yacimiento arqueológico de El Cerro del Bu
Contexto cultural: Edad de Bronce y Islámico
Ubicación: In situ.
Estado de visibilidad actual: Visible
Dimensiones: 517 m. de altura
Referencias:
En la fotografía (a) recinto inferior islámico, (b) bastión del recinto inferior islámico, (c) bancal o muralla de la Edad de Bronce, (d) estructura defensiva del recinto superior islámico.
El Cerro del Bu se encuentra situado en la orilla izquierda del río Tajo en su confluencia con el arroyo de la Degollada, frente al lado sur de la ciudad de Toledo. Fue declarado Monumento Nacional en 1981 y Bien de Interés Cultural en 1992.
Se ha documentado la ocupación del yacimiento en dos épocas:
•Durante la Edad del Bronce, desde finales del tercer milenio hasta principios del primer milenio a.C., en que los habitantes del cerro del Bu se trasladarían al lugar que hoy ocupa la ciudad de Toledo. Posteriormente a esta ocupación permaneció el cerro del Bu abandonado durante un largo periodo de 2000 años.
•Durante un corto espacio de tiempo en el siglo X, en relación con el asedio a la ciudad de Toledo por parte de Abd al-Rahman III, cuyas tropas estaban agrupadas en Madinat alfath en el cerro de Chalencas. Al rendirse la ciudad el Cerro del Bu perdió importancia estratégica y se abandonó.
Actuaciones arqueológicas en el Cerro del Bu:
•1905: Castaños Montijano plantea intervenir en los dos recintos de piedra visibles en la época, abre dos trincheras en el recinto inferior y excava todo el recinto superior.
•Años 80 del siglo XX: Enrique de Alvaro y Juan Pereira plantean una actuación integral en el cerro. En la campaña 1980-1982 documentan una muralla de piedra en el recinto superior, de dos metros de ancho y que conserva un alzado de cuatro hiladas, y otra en el inferior de un metro ochenta de ancho con un bastión adosado de planta rectangular. En la campaña 1983-1988 se documenta un bancal o muralla que aprovecha un afloramiento rocoso y que podría ser un sistema de aterrazamiento de la Edad de Bronce y se documenta la secuencia estratigráfica del yacimiento. En 1986 y 1987 se documenta la estructura defensiva que rodea toda la parte superior del cerro con, al menos tres habitaciones en su interior. Esta estructura está flanqueada por bastiones rectangulares.
En el Museo de Santa Cruz se encuentran expuestos diversos objetos arqueológicos procedentes del yacimiento (hachas prehistóricas, piedras labradas, una maza de pizarra, huesos fosilizados de cuadrúpedos y aves cuencos, punzones de bronce, dientes de hoz en sílex, piedras de molino, una gran olla o «pithoi», etc.)
ALVARO REGUERA, E. de. y PEREIRA SIESO, J.; “El Cerro del Bú (Toledo)”; Actas del primer Congreso de Arqueologia de la provincia de Toledo, 1990, ISBN 84-87100-04-X , págs. 199-214
CASTAÑOS Y MONTIJANO, M., “El Cerro del Bú y la Comisión de Monumentos de “, Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, Tomo 46 (1905), pp.445-449
www.cervantesvirtual.com/descargaPdf/el-cerro-del-b-y-la-...
FERNÁNDEZ DEL CERRO, J., “Objetos metálicos del Cerro del Bu (Toledo)”. Cuadernos de prehistoria y arqueología, ISSN 0211-1608, Nº 27, 2001, págs. 7-22
dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=820985&or...
FERNÁNDEZ DEL CERRO, J., “Aproximación al conocimiento de la Edad del Bronce en la cuenca media del Tajo. El Cerro del Bú”, Editorial Audema (Auditores de Energía y Medio Ambiente, S.A.), 2014, ISBN: 978-84-942592-2-7
www.academia.edu/7294772/APROXIMACION_AL_CONOCIMIENTO_DE_...
Resolución de 24 de noviembre de 1980, de la Dirección General de Bellas Artes, Archivos y Bibliotecas, por la que se acuerda tener por incoado, por el trámite de urgencia, el expediente de declaración de monumento histórico-artístico y arqueológico, de carácter nacional, a favor de los que se citan.
www.boe.es/boe/dias/1981/01/26/pdfs/A01827-01828.pdf
Decreto 70/1992, de 28/04/1992, , POR EL QUE SE DECLARA BIEN DE INTERES CULTURAL, CON LA CATEGORIA DE ZONA ARQUEOLOGICA, A FAVOR DEL YACIMIENTO ARQUEOLOGICO DEL CERRO DEL BU EN TOLEDO
docm.jccm.es/portaldocm/verDisposicionAntigua.do?ruta=199...
Objeto: Yacimiento arqueológico de El Cerro del Bu
Contexto cultural: Edad de Bronce y Islámico
Ubicación: In situ.
Estado de visibilidad actual: Visible
Dimensiones: 517 m. de altura
Referencias:
En la fotografía (a) recinto inferior islámico, (b) bastión del recinto inferior islámico, (c) bancal o muralla de la Edad de Bronce, (d) estructura defensiva del recinto superior islámico.
El Cerro del Bu se encuentra situado en la orilla izquierda del río Tajo en su confluencia con el arroyo de la Degollada, frente al lado sur de la ciudad de Toledo. Fue declarado Monumento Nacional en 1981 y Bien de Interés Cultural en 1992.
Se ha documentado la ocupación del yacimiento en dos épocas:
•Durante la Edad del Bronce, desde finales del tercer milenio hasta principios del primer milenio a.C., en que los habitantes del cerro del Bu se trasladarían al lugar que hoy ocupa la ciudad de Toledo. Posteriormente a esta ocupación permaneció el cerro del Bu abandonado durante un largo periodo de 2000 años.
•Durante un corto espacio de tiempo en el siglo X, en relación con el asedio a la ciudad de Toledo por parte de Abd al-Rahman III, cuyas tropas estaban agrupadas en Madinat alfath en el cerro de Chalencas. Al rendirse la ciudad el Cerro del Bu perdió importancia estratégica y se abandonó.
Actuaciones arqueológicas en el Cerro del Bu:
•1905: Castaños Montijano plantea intervenir en los dos recintos de piedra visibles en la época, abre dos trincheras en el recinto inferior y excava todo el recinto superior.
•Años 80 del siglo XX: Enrique de Alvaro y Juan Pereira plantean una actuación integral en el cerro. En la campaña 1980-1982 documentan una muralla de piedra en el recinto superior, de dos metros de ancho y que conserva un alzado de cuatro hiladas, y otra en el inferior de un metro ochenta de ancho con un bastión adosado de planta rectangular. En la campaña 1983-1988 se documenta un bancal o muralla que aprovecha un afloramiento rocoso y que podría ser un sistema de aterrazamiento de la Edad de Bronce y se documenta la secuencia estratigráfica del yacimiento. En 1986 y 1987 se documenta la estructura defensiva que rodea toda la parte superior del cerro con, al menos tres habitaciones en su interior. Esta estructura está flanqueada por bastiones rectangulares.
En el Museo de Santa Cruz se encuentran expuestos diversos objetos arqueológicos procedentes del yacimiento (hachas prehistóricas, piedras labradas, una maza de pizarra, huesos fosilizados de cuadrúpedos y aves cuencos, punzones de bronce, dientes de hoz en sílex, piedras de molino, una gran olla o «pithoi», etc.)
ALVARO REGUERA, E. de. y PEREIRA SIESO, J.; “El Cerro del Bú (Toledo)”; Actas del primer Congreso de Arqueologia de la provincia de Toledo, 1990, ISBN 84-87100-04-X , págs. 199-214
CASTAÑOS Y MONTIJANO, M., “El Cerro del Bú y la Comisión de Monumentos de “, Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, Tomo 46 (1905), pp.445-449
www.cervantesvirtual.com/descargaPdf/el-cerro-del-b-y-la-...
FERNÁNDEZ DEL CERRO, J., “Objetos metálicos del Cerro del Bu (Toledo)”. Cuadernos de prehistoria y arqueología, ISSN 0211-1608, Nº 27, 2001, págs. 7-22
dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=820985&or...
FERNÁNDEZ DEL CERRO, J., “Aproximación al conocimiento de la Edad del Bronce en la cuenca media del Tajo. El Cerro del Bú”, Editorial Audema (Auditores de Energía y Medio Ambiente, S.A.), 2014, ISBN: 978-84-942592-2-7
www.academia.edu/7294772/APROXIMACION_AL_CONOCIMIENTO_DE_...
Resolución de 24 de noviembre de 1980, de la Dirección General de Bellas Artes, Archivos y Bibliotecas, por la que se acuerda tener por incoado, por el trámite de urgencia, el expediente de declaración de monumento histórico-artístico y arqueológico, de carácter nacional, a favor de los que se citan.
www.boe.es/boe/dias/1981/01/26/pdfs/A01827-01828.pdf
Decreto 70/1992, de 28/04/1992, , POR EL QUE SE DECLARA BIEN DE INTERES CULTURAL, CON LA CATEGORIA DE ZONA ARQUEOLOGICA, A FAVOR DEL YACIMIENTO ARQUEOLOGICO DEL CERRO DEL BU EN TOLEDO
docm.jccm.es/portaldocm/verDisposicionAntigua.do?ruta=199...
www.aphrodisias.org/en/aphrodisias-2
Aphrodisias, once the capital of the province of Lydia, was located 38 km south of Nazilli and near the village of Geyre of region of the Karacasu. Like ancient times, as now, Aphrodisias attractive marble structure, the rich plants, almond, pomegranate and poplar trees in the middle of Dadaloz valley appeared. The city’s wealth became visible from cultural and political significance of the size and grandeur of the building. Aphrodisias’ name comes from Aprodite, the goddess of the beauty, love, nature and abundance, and it was one of the most famous temples. But this was not the real name. According to historian Stephanos it was found by Lelegianlar and it was known as Lelgonopolis first. Later, the name of the city was transformed into megalopolis and then again after Nino Assria king Ninos. The city’s history withstands to the Bronze Age and there is clear evidence related to the Chalcolithic culture from 3.000 years ago. Aphrodisias’ name began to be used in the Hellenistic period after 3000 in BC. Starting to spread the Christianity by Byzantine and adoption of Christianity as a religion gradually caused a major change in the status of the city. The worship center has reduced the importance of Aphrodite. Aphrodite and Aphrodisias finally were deleted from all paper. Efforts provided to be replaced to a Crusaders City, the name of Stauropolis. But the public chose to use Caria. Geyre, the name of the modern village, has occupied the same place. Probably, the old form of Caria turned after the Turkish invasion of the ancient Carian state. They were probably said Goyra to Caria, indeed it turned to ‘g’ and ‘a’ turned to ‘e’.
Aphrodisias was important city in his own like other Roman and Byzantine cities. Aphrodisias was surrounded with fertile soil grow all kinds of nutrients and was the first city of the era. In addition it had the sleek wall and cotton industries, advanced commercial, political, religious and cultural institutions, great art and painting tradition, philosophy and world-famous school of sculpture and large-bodied and energetic ring. The city’s weakening accelerated an unexpected incident in the 7th century. The Heraclius (610-641) kingdom was marked by Arab invasion from the east, religious conflicts, political and economic pressures and outbreaks of disease which caused great losses, but the last shot was an earthquake which devastated the whole place. Damages in buildings caused by the earthquake in Aphrodisias have been visible. Some pompous buildings were damaged and still not repaired. There is little known about the history of the city after the 7th century. The source of the information limited to the names of some bishops and religious documents. Archaeological findings show that small signs of life from the 11th century line with them. The raids of Seljuk to Anatolia were the last of the remaining settlement after major earthquakes. The whole region had to Aydin and Mentese principalities. Productive resources of the region in 15th and 16th centuries had caused new residential the Aphrodisias Geyre was occupied by peasants.
When you approach to the Aphrodisias from ruins, the City Defense Walls and City Plan Karasu, you can see the city’s walls with reinforcing pillars firstly. The old city was built on a region, leaning over the southwest. It is assumed that the construction of the wall was started because of the Gothic invasion in 260 years. However, the walls of the today were dated with 4th century of the AD or later from. There is no this kind of work, but it could be a wall between around agora and the theater. After the overthrow of the walls f the earthquake in the 7th century, an observation tower was built to the city’s highest place. This is one of the first two residential areas. One of the two excavations area which included the ruins of the prehistoric was built this hill, where the observation tower was built in the 7th century, other place occupied by the temple of Aphdodite. The Ancient Acropolis was settled on a hill and it gave an image from 24 meters in height. The shows indicate that there was a location, which related to prehistoric Bronze Age and Iron Age and was consisted of different layers. The walls were made of stone resembling Mudbrick megaton house walls and architectural structures found here. Also, it was known as pithoi and wheat and was quite small as well as large pottery jar that held the other provisions were also found. There were stone tools, owl statues of idols and images, fat women, and different weight measuring instrument. In the excavation area known as Molasses Mound at the east of the Acropolis, it had been found potteries and Klia statuettes of the end of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic era and in the beginning of the Bronze Age. The area surrounding the agora had improved a lot the end of the Hellenistic era. Nevertheless, there is no certain result whether it is really a city plan. Neither Aphrodite nor Sebastian fit a regular city plan.
Tijdens de tweede paleizen-periode (ca. 1700-1450 v.C.) werden de paleizen
van Knossos, Mallia en Phaistos herbouwd bovenop de oude paleizen en zelfs
uitgebreid. Er kwamen nieuwe paleizen in Kato Zakros (op de uiterste oostkust)
en in Hagia Triada (3 km ten westen van Phaistos). Al deze paleizen, versierd
met schitterende fresco's, bevatten naast talrijke woonvertrekken ook
werkplaatsen, een archief, een theater in open lucht, grote opslagplaatsen voor
olie of graan in reusachtige pithoi of voorraadkruiken tot 2 m hoog. In Knossos
bv. was er plaats voor 75.000 liter olie.
Phaistos, also transliterated as Phaestos, Festos and Phaestus is an ancient city on the island of Crete. It was inhabited from about 4000 BC. A palace, dating from the Middle Bronze Age, was destroyed by an earthquake during the Late Bronze Age. Knossos along with other Minoan sites was destroyed at that time. The palace was rebuilt toward the end of the Late Bronze Age. Phaistos was first excavated by Italian archaeologists Federico Halbherr and Luigi Pernier. Further excavations in 1950-1971 were conducted by Doro Levi.
The Old Palace was built in the Protopalatial Period, then rebuilt twice due to extensive earthquake damage. When the palace was destroyed by earthquake, the re-builders constructed a New Palace atop the old. Several artifacts with Linear A inscriptions were excavated at this site. The name of the site also appears in partially deciphered Linear A texts, and is probably similar to Mycenaean 'PA-I-TO' as written in Linear B. Several kouloura structures (subsurface pits) have been found at Phaistos. Pottery has been recovered at Phaistos from in the Middle and Late Minoan periods, including polychrome items and embossing in imitation of metal work. Bronze Age works from Phaistos include bridge spouted bowls, eggshell cups, tall jars and large pithoi. In 1908, Pernier found the Phaistos disc there. This artifact is a clay disk, dated to between 1950 BC and 1400 BC and impressed with a unique sophisticated hieroglyphic script.
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Spacer w ruinach Fajstos na Krecie :)
Fajstos - starozytne miasto na krecie. Było zamieszkane od III tysiąclecia p.n.e. Pierwszy pałac, wzniesiony w Fajstos między 2000 a 1900 p.n.e., został zniszczony około 1700 p.n.e. Następny, zawierający pewne elementy poprzedniego, był znacznie większy. Na terenie Fajstos zachowały się ślady późniejszego osadnictwa datowane na koniec epoki brązu. Dorowie założyli w Fajstos miasto-państwo (prawdopodobnie w VIII w. p.n.e.), które rywalizowało z Gortyną i w II w. p.n.e. zostało pobite przez sąsiada. Wykopaliska prowadzone w latach 1901-1909 oraz po 1945 odsłoniły ruiny pałacu kultury minojskiej. Zabudowania zajmowały obszar około 8,3 tys. m². Z uwagi na ukształtowanie terenu, otaczały go tylko z trzech stron. Wejście umieszczone było po zachodniej stronie, z boku elewacji. Prowadziło przez monumentalne schody i podwójny portyk na dziedziniec. Ściany sal reprezentacyjnych zdobiły freski. Resztki zachowanych schodów świadczą o istnieniu wyższych kondygnacji. W starożytności Fajstos było ośrodkiem handlowym i rzemieślniczym. Prowadzono tam wytop miedzi, produkowano brąz oraz handlowano nim. W pobliskiej alei handlowej w ruinach kramów znajdują się tablice ze znakami pisma różnego od pisma linearnego A i pisma linearnego B. Wśród ruin znaleziono wiele zabytków m.in. ceramikę w stylu Kamares oraz słynny dysk z Fajstos.
Phaistos is a Bronze Age Minoan settlement on a ridge above the fertile Messara Plain. The ruins of the Palace of Phaistos once formed the second largest Minoan palace in Crete after Knossos, with an area of 8,400 m². Agia Triada only about two kilometers west was another, smaller Minoan palace complex. Both palaces were connected by a road.
According to legend, the city of Phaistos was founded by King Minos. The first ruler of Phaistos is said to have been Minos` brother Rhadamanthys. According to Homer, the city took part in the Trojan War.
With the flourishing of Minoan culture (1900–1700 BC), the first palace was built between 1900 and 1850 BC. It was damaged several times by earthquakes and fire, most recently destroyed in the great earthquake of around 1700 BC. The attempts at reconstruction in the 17th century BC failed. It was not until around 1600 BC that a new palace was begun, but it was never completed. At the same time, the palace of Agia Triada was built, which was more lavishly furnished. It is therefore assumed that Agia Triada was the new ruler's palace, while Phaistos was the cult and economic center.
The "New Palace Period" ended around 1430 BC with the conquest by the Mycenaean Greeks from 1450 to 1425 BC. The destruction of Phaistos by fire around 1450 BC, as well as the demise of other palace complexes on Crete, occurred during this period, a connection with the war can be assumed. The palace of Phaistos was not rebuilt, however, the settlement continued to exist throughout the post-Minoan, Geometric, and Classical periods. The administrative center was likely relocated to Agia Triada, where a ruler's megaron and a marketplace were built.
From around 1200 BC, the Mycenaean culture on Crete also gradually declined. From around 1000 BC, Crete was settled by the Dorians. With the end of the Geometric and the beginning of the Archaic periods around 750 BC, Phaistos, like other Greek cities, developed into an important polis. As early as the Geometric Age (900–750 BC), living quarters stood above the western courtyard of the former Minoan palace, and excavations have shown that this existed in the Archaic period (750–500 BC) and the subsequent Classical period (500–336 BC). In the 7th century BC, new streets and temples were built. The polis of Phaistos dominated the Gulf of Messara. In the Classical and the subsequent Hellenistic period (336–146 BC), Phaistos was the seat of a Cretan league of cities. Around 180 BC, however, Phaistos was subjugated by Gortyn, which became part of the Roman Empire in 67 BC. The city-states were dissolved by the Roman administration, and Phaistos continued to exist only as a settlement in the shadow of Gortyn.
Magazine with storage containers - pithoi
"The magazine gets its name from the pithoi (the large storage jars) found here, with relief disk and rope decoration, a characteristic of the beginning of the New Palace period." Next door is the "Corridor of the Bays," where three small openings were used for storage. Many vases and religious artifacts were found here."
- Text shamelessly stolen from one of the local information signs
"The magazine gets its name from the pithoi (the large storage jars) found here, with relief disk and rope decoration, a characteristic of the beginning of the New Palace period." Next door is the "Corridor of the Bays," where three small openings were used for storage. Many vases and religious artifacts were found here."
- Text shamelessly stolen from one of the local information signs
Ancient Greek Pithoi Mannerists designs.
.
Ancient Greek pottery designs on a huge ancient Greek vase, it has the shape of a Pithoi intended for huge amounts of storage. The designs are completely appropriate in the humor that we see more in the Asterix comic books. Clear attention has been paid to the design, which has been artfully rendered in a funny form. These drawings are really great fun.
The designs on the Greek Pithoi shaped vases are called Mannerists (Greek vase painting), often depict scenes from well known Greek stories about their gods and goddesses, heroes, battles and even athletes. Many also included animals like horses, sea creatures like dolphins, or even mythological monsters.
Photo May 2011, Parc Astérix (April 30, 1989) after 22 years in time.
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Photo - Richard Poppelaars.
© About Pixels Photography: #AboutPixels / #Mannerists #vase #Pithoi #art at #AntiqueGreece #ThemePark #ParcAsterix in #Plailly #France
Details
Parc Asterix
Parc Astérix (Est. 1989) - a theme amusement park based on the comic book series "Asterix" by Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny. France's best-selling comic abroad with more than 370 million copies sold worldwide in 111 languages.
Info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parc_Astérix.
Published at - Flickr
"The magazine gets its name from the pithoi (the large storage jars) found here, with relief disk and rope decoration, a characteristic of the beginning of the New Palace period." Next door is the "Corridor of the Bays," where three small openings were used for storage. Many vases and religious artifacts were found here."
- Text shamelessly stolen from one of the local information signs
This house is built on two levels against the city walls on the seashore, suggesting the walls were no longer in use and in ruins. On the upper level is a courtyard with a peristyle paved with a pebble mosaic which is the only example of its type in Sicily. It resembles a panelled carpet with a complex geometric border and with the panels containing depictions of hunting wild animals (a lion attacking a bull, a bird of prey, a deer). Its format dates it from similar ones in mainland Greece and its colonies to the 3rd century BC. The peristyle has residential rooms around it.
On the lower level in the southwestern part of the house are 6 service rooms with three large pithoi (food storage vessels).
"The magazine gets its name from the pithoi (the large storage jars) found here, with relief disk and rope decoration, a characteristic of the beginning of the New Palace period." Next door is the "Corridor of the Bays," where three small openings were used for storage. Many vases and religious artifacts were found here."
- Text shamelessly stolen from one of the local information signs
The most representative residential building in Stobi is located in the center of the town, between the streets of Via Principalis Inferior and Via Principalis Superior. The name was applied by the assumption that the emperor Theodosius I was accommodated here during his visit of Stobi in 388 AD.
The palace is divided in two parts which are not linked by common entrances. The south part is called House of Parthenius because of a seal inscription reading “Of Parthenius”. Having in mind that the Palace is not excavated completely and probably the so – called “Prison” also belonged to the complex, more appropriate name for the building is Theodosian Palace.
The north part is the more attractive area of the palace. The rooms with mosaic floors are arranged around the open court surrounded by columns (peristyle). The floor of the court and the corridors around it, also have mosaic floors. At the eastern end of the peristyle there is a pool fenced with pink marble parapet blocks. Above the pool there are niches and marble bases once decorated with sculptures. The famous bronze satyrs from Stobi are exhibited in the National Museum in Belgrade, as well as the bronze sculptures of Apollo, Aphrodite and Lar and the marble head of Serapis. These artifacts were discovered inside the pool as a result of destruction. It is interesting to point out that some of them, such as the satyrs, were made during the Hellenistic period (2nd century BC) and the palace was built in the 4th century AD.
There is also a peristyle in the south part of the palace. Around this small court there are a few rooms. Two of them have mosaic floors and one of them served as a storage room judging by the ten discovered pithoi.
To the southeast of the palace, two vaulted chambers were discovered. Because of the human remains they are called “Prison”. Some of the older scholars consider these facilities to be a cellar and thus a segment of the economic part of the palace.
The palace was destroyed during the 5th century AD after what the walls were incorporated in the poor houses, built on top of the ruins in the 6th century.
The most representative residential building in Stobi is located in the center of the town, between the streets of Via Principalis Inferior and Via Principalis Superior. The name was applied by the assumption that the emperor Theodosius I was accommodated here during his visit of Stobi in 388 AD.
The palace is divided in two parts which are not linked by common entrances. The south part is called House of Parthenius because of a seal inscription reading “Of Parthenius”. Having in mind that the Palace is not excavated completely and probably the so – called “Prison” also belonged to the complex, more appropriate name for the building is Theodosian Palace.
The north part is the more attractive area of the palace. The rooms with mosaic floors are arranged around the open court surrounded by columns (peristyle). The floor of the court and the corridors around it, also have mosaic floors. At the eastern end of the peristyle there is a pool fenced with pink marble parapet blocks. Above the pool there are niches and marble bases once decorated with sculptures. The famous bronze satyrs from Stobi are exhibited in the National Museum in Belgrade, as well as the bronze sculptures of Apollo, Aphrodite and Lar and the marble head of Serapis. These artifacts were discovered inside the pool as a result of destruction. It is interesting to point out that some of them, such as the satyrs, were made during the Hellenistic period (2nd century BC) and the palace was built in the 4th century AD.
There is also a peristyle in the south part of the palace. Around this small court there are a few rooms. Two of them have mosaic floors and one of them served as a storage room judging by the ten discovered pithoi.
To the southeast of the palace, two vaulted chambers were discovered. Because of the human remains they are called “Prison”. Some of the older scholars consider these facilities to be a cellar and thus a segment of the economic part of the palace.
The palace was destroyed during the 5th century AD after what the walls were incorporated in the poor houses, built on top of the ruins in the 6th century.
The most representative residential building in Stobi is located in the center of the town, between the streets of Via Principalis Inferior and Via Principalis Superior. The name was applied by the assumption that the emperor Theodosius I was accommodated here during his visit of Stobi in 388 AD.
The palace is divided in two parts which are not linked by common entrances. The south part is called House of Parthenius because of a seal inscription reading “Of Parthenius”. Having in mind that the Palace is not excavated completely and probably the so – called “Prison” also belonged to the complex, more appropriate name for the building is Theodosian Palace.
The north part is the more attractive area of the palace. The rooms with mosaic floors are arranged around the open court surrounded by columns (peristyle). The floor of the court and the corridors around it, also have mosaic floors. At the eastern end of the peristyle there is a pool fenced with pink marble parapet blocks. Above the pool there are niches and marble bases once decorated with sculptures. The famous bronze satyrs from Stobi are exhibited in the National Museum in Belgrade, as well as the bronze sculptures of Apollo, Aphrodite and Lar and the marble head of Serapis. These artifacts were discovered inside the pool as a result of destruction. It is interesting to point out that some of them, such as the satyrs, were made during the Hellenistic period (2nd century BC) and the palace was built in the 4th century AD.
There is also a peristyle in the south part of the palace. Around this small court there are a few rooms. Two of them have mosaic floors and one of them served as a storage room judging by the ten discovered pithoi.
To the southeast of the palace, two vaulted chambers were discovered. Because of the human remains they are called “Prison”. Some of the older scholars consider these facilities to be a cellar and thus a segment of the economic part of the palace.
The palace was destroyed during the 5th century AD after what the walls were incorporated in the poor houses, built on top of the ruins in the 6th century.
Knossos war ein antiker Ort auf Kreta, etwa fünf Kilometer südlich von Iraklio. Bekannt ist es vor allem durch den Palast von Knossos, der neben den Palästen von Malia, Phaistos und Kato Zakros der größte minoische Palast auf Kreta ist und von Griechenland mit dem Europäischen Kulturerbe-Siegel ausgezeichnet wurde. Knossos blieb auch nach Zerstörung des Palastes bis in die byzantinische Zeit besiedelt.
Der jüngste Palast von Knossos entstand als Gebäudeensemble von bis zu fünf Stockwerken mit einer umbauten Fläche von 21.000 m² auf einer lichten Fläche von 2,2 ha. 800 Räume sind nachweisbar, doch dürfte der Palast insgesamt bis zu 1300 besessen haben. Der Palast war zu keinem Zeitpunkt befestigt. Er ist, wie alle Palastanlagen der Minoer, um einen rechteckigen Zentralhof von 53 × 28 m errichtet. Aus vier Richtungen kommen verwinkelte, vergleichsweise schmale Gänge, reich dekorierte Korridore, bemalte Säle, aufwendig gestaltete Treppenhäuser und säulenumstandene Galerien auf diesen Hof zu. Die Anlage war Verwaltungszentrum und enthielt zahlreiche Werkstätten.
Diese Räume und Korridore sind in einer verwirrenden Anordnung aneinandergefügt. Es gibt Türen und Durchgänge, Treppen und Rampen. Einige Räume sind durch Polythyra verbunden, Innenwände, die als Reihen deckenhoher, doppelflügeliger Türen zwischen Pfeilern ausgeführt waren. Waren sie geschlossen, waren die Räume abgetrennt, wurde eine Tür geöffnet, ergab sich ein Durchgang, wurden alle Türen geöffnet, waren die Räume verbunden. Es gab auch Werkstätten und Magazine, bis zu 400 teilweise mannshohe Pithoi voll Wein, Olivenöl, Getreide oder Honig mit einem Fassungsvermögen von etwa 78.000 Litern.
Das Herzstück des Palastes ist der sogenannte Thronsaal, der aufgrund eines dort gefundenen Alabasterthrons so genannt wurde. An den Seitenwänden des Vorraums sind steinerne Bänke aufgestellt. Eine kostbare Porphyrschale steht im Zentrum des Vorraums. Sie diente wahrscheinlich rituellen Waschungen. Andere Interpretationen deuten dies als Aquarium.
Am nordwestlichen Rand der Palastanlage befindet sich eine im rechten Winkel aufeinanderstoßende Treppenanlage, wie sie auch in Phaistos zu finden ist. Sie schließt einen von Westen herankommenden Prozessionsweg ab und wird als Theater für etwa 500 Menschen gedeutet.
Knossos was an ancient place on Crete, about five kilometres south of Iraklio. It is best known for the palace of Knossos, which is the largest Minoan palace in Crete, along with the palaces of Malia, Phaistos and Kato Zakros, and has been awarded the European Heritage Seal by Greece. Knossos remained inhabited until the Byzantine period, even after the palace was destroyed.
The youngest palace of Knossos was built as a building ensemble of up to five floors with a converted area of 21,000 m² on a clear area of 2.2 hectares. 800 rooms can be proven, but the palace probably had a total of up to 1300 rooms. At no time was the palace fortified. Like all palace complexes of the Minoans, it is built around a rectangular central courtyard measuring 53 × 28 m. This courtyard is accessed from four directions by winding, comparatively narrow corridors, richly decorated corridors, painted halls, elaborately designed staircases and galleries surrounded by columns. The complex was an administrative centre and contained numerous workshops.
These rooms and corridors are joined together in a confusing arrangement. There are doors and passageways, stairways and ramps. Some rooms are connected by polythyra, interior walls that were constructed as rows of floor-to-ceiling double doors between pillars. If they were closed, the rooms were separated, a door was opened, if there was a passage, if all doors were opened, the rooms were connected. There were also workshops and warehouses, up to 400 pithoi, some as tall as a man, full of wine, olive oil, grain or honey, with a capacity of about 78,000 litres.
The heart of the palace is the so-called throne room, which was so called because of an alabaster throne found there. On the side walls of the vestibule there are stone benches. A precious porphyry bowl stands in the centre of the vestibule. It was probably used for ritual ablutions. Other interpretations interpret it as an aquarium.
At the north-western edge of the palace complex there is a staircase which meets at a right angle, as it is also found in Phaistos. It completes a processional route approaching from the west and is interpreted as a theatre for about 500 people.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Here I've been invited into the family home of a friendly, ample matriarch, dressed in her Kurdish style of dress. (I took a portrait shot but it's out of focus). I was given a tour of the home in which there was a large carpet loom in another room. I'd just arrived here in this small Kurdish village, home to the famous 'Qareh Kelīsā' or 'Black church', aka the Monastery of St. Thaddeus, a large, ancient Armenian church which the LP described as the most significant Christian monument in the country, and which is said to be the 2nd-most important Armenian church anywhere after Etchmiadzin cathedral in Armenia. (See below).
- I had plans to visit and tour 'Qareh Kelīsā' when I arrived in Shut (or Showt, pron. Shoot) in transit late the day before. (If I'd known better, I would've taken that twisty road south from Maku to the photogenic Chapel of Dzordzor above its green lake, continued south to the village of Emāmqolī Kandī-ye ‘Olyā, and hiked the 6 or 7 clicks further south to Ghara kelise for an epic trip.) Shut had a population of < 20,000 in 2000. According to notes I wrote on the back of a photo 20 yr.s ago, I tried to continue on through Shut and south by thumb late that first day "but a policeman and a friend of his wouldn't let me. Something about ferocious dogs roaming the countryside (probably bunk). [Kangals? I don't think it was 'bunk' today.]" I recall he took pains to warn me about packs of dogs, but the next morning as I was about to set out. He suggested I pitch my tent on the sidewalk right before the station, which would be a first for me in my travels. I persuaded him to allow me to set up on the grass on the grounds of the station. I had a cup of tea with him early the next morning before heading SW down the Chaldran-Shut road. I hitched @ 30 clicks SW to a T-junction with another dirt road and hiked and hitched up that for 3-4 clicks to Qareh Kelīsā.
www.google.com/maps/@39.1766061,44.6805512,24090m/data=!3...
- The village was exotic, with adobe houses of a style I'd see in New Mexico 8 yr.s later, with the ends of logs that form the roof protruding at the top (as seen at Acoma and at famous Taos Pueblo in the photo in the link [but not piled up of course]. www.flickr.com/photos/97924400@N00/4288829018/in/datepost... The similarity is kind of remarkable.) Round cow-dung patties were pasted against the outer walls of many of the houses and other bldg.s to dry in the sun (later to be used as fuel), and were then piled up and preserved in bee-hive-esque stacks.
- Kurdish women are the most colourfully and elaborately dressed in the middle east, and even the little girls were dressed up in this village. (I'll scan a photo.) Long-haired goats had free rein here and were colourful too. Everyone was kind and friendly. There was one other tourist there, who I saw from a distance (1 of only a handful that I'd see over the next 3 to 4 weeks), and I had the old church all to myself.
ST. THADDEUS MONASTERY: "According to the tradition of the Armenian Apostolic Church, St. Thaddeus, aka St. Jude [aka Tatavoos], evangelized the region of Armenia and Persia. He and the apostle Bartholomew traveled through Armenia in 45 A.D. to preach to and convert the locals, and established many secret Christian communities.
- "Moses of Khorenatsi, an Armenian historian writing in the 5th cent., wrote that Thaddeus converted King Abgar V [he of the Mandylion fame] of Edessa [latter day Urfa in SE Turkey, a cradle of Christianity. Abgar was referred to as "king of the Arabs" by Tacitus; the Abgarids were Arabs per scholarly consensus]. Following Abgar's death, the Armenian kingdom was split into two. His son Ananun crowned himself in Edessa while his nephew Sanatruk ruled in Armenia. @ 66 A.D., Ananun gave the order to kill Thaddeus in Edessa. The king's daughter Sandokht, who had converted to Christianity, was martyred together with Thaddeus. Her tomb is said to be located near the monastery" (see below). The LP (2012) reports that Thaddeus' 3000 converts were massacred as well, according to legend. Thaddeus is revered today as an apostle of the Armenian Church.
- Abgar is the legendary king who allegedly wrote to Jesus to ask if he would come to Edessa and cure him of a disease. Jesus dictated a letter in response to say I'm busy now and I'm preparing for a premature death and to be resurrected, etc., but it's to your credit that you believe I can help, so after I'm gone I'll send someone who will. According to one account, this letter was sent back with a painting of Jesus made by Abgar's envoy Hannan with "choice paints", and according to another, much more popular, account, Jesus pressed his face into a cloth upon which the image of his face was replicated, and that (the Mandylion, the first Christian icon) was sent to Abgar. Following the crucifixion, Thaddeus aka Jude the apostle sent Addai (one of the 70 or 72 in Luke 10: 1-12) to Abgar to cure him, and then Abgar converted. (The Mandylion wasn't impressive enough in itself.)
- In the Catholic Church, Thaddeus is the patron saint of desperate cases and hopeless or lost causes. (How can he help with lost causes, unless they're not really lost causes?) The basis for this association is fun.: It's "said to stem from the belief that few Christians invoked him for misplaced fear of praying to Christ's betrayer, Judas Iscariot, as a result of the similarity in their names. The ignored Jude thus supposedly became quite eager to assist anyone who sought his help, to the point of interceding in the most dire of circumstances." (Wikipedia) :D
- Legend has it that a church dedicated to Thaddeus was first built on the present site at Qareh Kelīsā, also the site of his tomb, in AD 66, with another source placing the foundation in 239 by St. Gregory the Illuminator. Another tradition claims that Thaddeus built a monastery at the site for his followers who buried him there upon his death. The exact date of construction is unknown. (Wikipedia) This tradition is the basis for the great significance of this church to Armenians, for whom it's the 2nd-most important Armenian church anywhere after Etchmiadzin.
- But according to a Wikipedia site devoted to 'Jude the Apostle', he "suffered martyrdom @ 65 A.D. in Beirut, according to tradition, together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. The axe [or club] he is often shown holding in pictures represents the manner of his execution. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an 'Acts of Simon and Jude' that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the saints. According to one account, Jude's body was brought from Beirut to Rome and placed in a crypt in St. Peter's Basilica which is visited by many devotees. His bones are in the left transept of St. Peter's Basilica under the main altar of St. Joseph, in one tomb with the remains of the apostle Simon the Zealot, and were moved there Dec. 27, 1665. ... [For what it's worth] a plain ossuary marked with the inscription "Judas Thaddaeus" (Ιουδας Θαδδαιου) was found in Kefar Barukh, Jezreel Valley, and the site was dated by lamps and other pottery to no later than the early 2nd cent." (Wikipedia)
- The following contradicts the foregoing.: "According to legend, Thaddeus and his brethren preached throughout Palestine following the Ascension of Jesus. He moved on to Libya, then to Syria and Mesopotamia, and then found his way to Armenia, perhaps in the company of Simon the Zealot, the Apostle Bartholomew or both, where he spent his final years until his martyrdom in @ 65 AD. There is no way to verify this tradition, even through the use of questionable Apocryphal or even Gnostic documents. Nonetheless the belief is very strong that Thaddeus did evangelize in Armenia, and that he died there; and of the lesser-known Apostles, the tradition of Thaddeus’ tomb is possibly the most plausible. The largest question as to the authenticity of the holy site is whether it was the tomb of Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the 70 Disciples of Jesus, who traveled into the east with the Apostle Thomas, rather than that of Thaddeus the Apostle. Either way, it is the resting place of an important figure in the early history of the church." thecompletepilgrim.com/monastery-st-thaddeus/
- The monastery was badly damaged in the Mongol invasion in 1230 and again in 1242. "When Hulagu Khan was residing in Azarbaijan, Khaje Nassireddin Toosi embarked on its reconstruction." (Horizon) Little remains of the original structure as it was extensively rebuilt by Bishop Zachary in 1329 following an earthquake in 1319 (according to an inscription by the altar) which caused the deaths of 75 monks. But some elements that surround the altar apse and the dome date from the 10th cent. (I've also read from the 7th). Thaddeus is said to be interred to the right of the altar.
- Repaired in 1691 with black tuff stone, much of the present structure dates from 1811 when the Qajar prince Abbas Mirza sponsored renovations and repairs in beige-white ashlar sandstone. Simeon, the Father Superior, added a large narthex-like western extension which replicates the design of Etchmiadzin cathedral, mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
- The church is large, well-preserved, and adorned with blind arches, etc., with 2 polygonal drums (one with alternating bands of black and beige stone) under polygonal domes. Much impressive, delicate sculpture, with images of angels, saints, kings, mythical animals, elaborate crosses or khachkars, foliate and geometric designs, etc. in relief, decorates the exterior walls. I haven't found any details as to the reliefs online (where's the 'Virtual Ani' site when you need it?), but according to Bradt, "a lively narrow frieze running @ the bldg. depicts scenes from [the Persian epic] the Shahnameh [!?] amongst which are musket-bearing hunters taking shots at wild animals." I'll scan some photos. The interior is dim and austere with soot-covered walls. A fortified wall surrounds the church and its now-abandoned monastic bldgs. (a refectory, kitchens, flour mill, stores and dorms.) See the church from the 2:45 min. pt. in this Press TV clip.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVkN7VH2R28 and from the 19:30 to the 26:30 min. pt. in this.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjjgVreqhM8
- It was included in a collective Unesco site designation in 2008 ('Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran') together with the Monastery of Saint Stepanos on the Azerbaijani border and the Chapel of Dzordzor, all 3 in the same province. According to Unesco, this monastery dates to the 7th cent. and is an example "of outstanding universal value of Armenian architectural and decorative traditions and bear[s] testimony to important interchanges with the other regional cultures, in particular the Byzantine, Orthodox and Persian, situated on the SE fringe of the main zone of the Armenian cultural space. [An elaborate muqarnas vault unfolds over a fountain and a basin in a niche in one of my photos, and images of cypress trees appear in some of the reliefs.] ... As places of pilgrimage, [they] are living witnesses of Armenian religious traditions through the centuries. ... They bear testimony to a large and refined panorama of architectural and decorative content associated with Armenian culture, in interaction with other regional cultures." (Unesco) whc.unesco.org/en/list/1262
- This region in the far NW of Iran was "once heavily populated by Armenian Christians. It was from here that Shah Abbas I took 10s of 1000s of Armenians to Esfahan in the 17th cent. to exploit their expertise in silk trading with European and Russian merchants, and it was to this region that many 19th cent. European and American missionaries came, hoping to introduce such Monophysite Christians into the Baptist, Methodist or other Protestant churches. In 1946-'47 most local Armenians were 'repatriated' into Soviet Armenia." (Bradt) No Armenians live anywhere closer than across the Armenian border to the north or than in the city of Ourumiyeh aka Urmiah to the south as far as I know, but gather from far and wide to visit on the date of the Feast of St. Thaddeus in July. Mass baptisms of children are held there at that time. Again, Armenians consider this to be the oldest church in the world. The Pilgrimage of St. Thaddeus was added by UNESCO to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2020.
- I hiked up to and toured the domed, visibly ancient Chapel of St. Zachary or Zakariya, built with field stones at a height above the monastery. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zakariya_church-West_Azer...
. "An ancient chapel 2 km.s NW of the church is said to have been the place where the martyr, Sandokh [the king's daughter], was martyred" and buried. The small, simple, rectangular bldg., built with a mix of dressed stone and field stones, has a pitched roof, and is believed to be as old as Qara Kelisa. I don't recall it.
- I hitched in my first few days in Iran before I learned how incredibly cheap bus travel was everywhere there. The hitching wasn't the best, at least not on the hwy. I was never asked for payment once in Turkey (whereas it's standard in Romania), but at least one man expected payment and insisted after I'd left his vehicle. I tried to explain that I was hitching as I couldn't afford to pay, he remained insistent, I got annoyed (I forget how much he expected to be paid), and he laughed at me. (Iranians will laugh at you if you get annoyed about something, which is effective, depending on the situation.) But why would anyone hitch long-distance in Iran when a bus ticket for a 7 hr. trip was less than 1 $ Cdn. (in 2000), the cheapest anywhere?
- From Qareh Kelīsā I headed back to the Chaldran-Shut road and NE along it to Shut (I think), and then took the 32 south to my destination, Qarahziyaaddin or Qarah Zia od Din, a distance of @ 150 - 200 clicks. I might've followed the much more direct unpaved Chaldoran rd. SE to that city, but that's unlikely with the lack of anglophones @ to make the suggestion. That city's close to the remains of a famous Urartian fortress at an archaeological site named Bastam (not to be confused with the more famous 'City of Mystics', a town in NE Iran renowned for its Il-Khanate monuments).
BASTAM - Early the next morning I headed over to the hill (6 clicks from town according to the LP) which I was led to believe was the site of the famous Urartian fortress, "likely the most important of the many Urartian archaeological sites yet found in Iran." (LP) There was a low stone wall or 2 or 3 on the ridge at the top, and at least the remains of a wall which extended from the top or near it down to the base of the hill or close to it (part of which can be seen in a photo that I'll scan), and some terracing if I recall, but the ruins were so insubstantial that I wasn't sure if I was at the right spot. (I wrote on the back of a photo 20 yr.s ago that I found them to be "underwhelming". "I couldn't make out where the 'hall' was, nor the 2 large gateways [described in the L.P.]. And it was hot.") I think I've found on Google maps where I stood to take a photo from a height, @ 500 m.s NW and beyond the main part of the site, but I wonder if it's been cleaned up a fair bit since 2000, with more revelation for tourism. (That can happen.: www.flickr.com/photos/97924400@N00/50092152768/in/photoli... ) commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bastam05.jpg At least I had a good view of an exotic desert landscape to the north from a height.
- The Bastam citadel dates from the 7th cent. B.C. "The hill fortress obstructs passage /b/ the narrow valley of the Āqčāy and the plain of Qara Żīāʾ-al--Dīn through which the river flows in its lower course. The plain has been intensively cultivated by means of irrigation canals ever since the Urartian period. A road from Tushpa (Van) led to Rusa-i Uru.Tur [Bastam] and thence to the eastern parts of the Urartian realm. ... The Urartians first used the site as a staging post on the road and built a castle, 165 x 35 m.s, in the 9th-8th century B.C. This was demolished when the citadel was built in the 7th century B.C. and became the site of the south gate."
- "Rusa-i Uru.Tur (Rusaδs town) [Bastam] was founded by Rusa II (685-45 B.C.), likely soon after his accession. An inscribed stone, found at Mākū in 1910 by Count Kanitz and now in the Bāstān museum in Tehran, gives a number of Urartian place names and royal names and mentions the foundation of a temple of the god Haldi. Toward the end of Rusa II’s reign Rusa-i Uru.Tur was plundered and destroyed by fire. The site was partly reoccupied and built over in the Median-Achaemenian period, in the Parthian-Sasanian period, and again in the 3rd-7th/9th-13th cent. when an Armenian fortress and village were superimposed; after the Mongol invasion it was abandoned permanently." (Encyclopaedia Iranica)
- The fortress includes a 'nucleus' with: "A. A lower citadel, 380 x 110 m.s, containing a south gate, stables, troops' quarters, a house (for their commander?), kitchens, etc., for the garrison, all built on the site of the earlier staging post. B. The mid-level citadel, 200 x 130 m.s, containing the square, tower-shaped temple of Haldi (14 x 14 m.s) with terraces preced-ing it, reception halls, storerooms in which numerous large storage jars (pithoi), some 2.06 m.s high and 1.3 m.s wide, were found, and a meat locker (15 x 4.50 m.s), in which were found @ 600,000 bones of animals and 1,240 clay seals used to keep account of meat stocks. C. The upper citadel, 90 x 50-75 m.s, containing the governor’s residence, which at times was probably also a royal residence, the town having been a dependency of Urartu and a last refuge for its kings in times of danger." (There's more re outworks and ruins surrounding the citadel in this encyclopaedia entry online. iranicaonline.org/articles/bestam-2 )
- Here's a vlog filmed at the site, which is more substantial than I remember. A Kangal with its ears cut happens along at the 5:37 min. pt.: youtu.be/IkPSLIXfNjM?si=6Y7gMciv0gd30y-r
- From 'Urartu in Iran.: "... Rusa II (ca. 685-45 B.C.), successor to Argishti II, founded additional fortresses to consolidate Urartian power, such as Rusahinili (Van-Toprakkale), Kefkalesi near Adilcevaz in eastern Turkey, Rusa-i-URU.TUR (Bastam), and Teişebai URU (Karmir Blur, Armenia). These defended the country from the Cimmerians and Scythians to the north. Eventually these equestrian tribes would defeat Rusa II in the mid-7th cent. B.C. Urartu vanished @ 590 B.C. Its territory became a part of Media and finally of the Achaemenid Empire (the satrapy Armina) according to the inscription of Darius I (r. 522-486 B.C.) at Bisotun."
- iranicaonline.org/articles/urartu-in-iran
- www.biainili-urartu.de/Iran/Bastam/Bastam.htm
- "The Behistun [Bisotun] Inscription, a trilingual cuneiform text on Behistun rock, provides evidence that the ancient Persian term “Armina” (Armenia) is identical to the Assyrian “Urartu.” In the Babylonian text of the inscription, the country is called “Urashtu,” while in Persian, it is referred to as “Armina.” The Assyrians named the region “Urartu” (“Arartu”), the Persians called it “Armina,” and the Hittites named it “Hayasa"." allinnet.info/antiquities/once-again-about-the-false-term...
- While the British excavated the capital of Tushpa at Van, the Germans excavated Urartian sites in Iran, and many of the Urartian artifacts that I saw in the Pergamon museum 8 1/2 mos. earlier were found in Iran. One that made an impression was this from Toprakkale in Turkey.: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statuette_of_man_from_Top...
,_Turkey._Urartian,_8th-7th_century_BCE._Pergamon_Museum,_Berlin,_Germany.jpg){kind=link}
- 'Sargon [Neo-Assyria] v. Rusa [Urartu]': www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAw_uSF9qoY (This famous battle ensued @ 40 yr.s before Rusa II began construction of this citadel.)
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=gADe3Xe7wr4
- Urartu precedes Armenia, and so it was fitting that I should tour Iran's greatest Urartian site the day after touring the 2nd most venerable of Armenian churches, and at the end of a journey through ancient Armenia. I missed so much of what was on offer, but had a full day at Ani, took in the churches at Bana (or Banak), Kars, Khtzkonk and now at Qareh Kelīsā.
- Somewhere in the first few days of my travels in Iran, I had to go to some bureaucratic place (the bank in Bazargan at the border I think). The person behind the counter who assisted me was a woman in her chador who was forthright and confident, normal really, but who seemed bold and almost weird. I realized that my impression reflected my experience with women in Turkey over the prior 2 mos. as much as anything else. I'd become accustomed to how (relatively) quiet and demure or withdrawn Turkish women seemed to be (to me), notwithstanding that they don't have to wear the chador (they often cover their hair anyhow, esp. in the east), something I wasn't fully aware of until I dealt with this woman at the counter. She looked me straight in the eye and spoke as loudly as I did (or almost, lol). Iranian women have a reputation in the west for being subdued or oppressed, but that's certainly not the impression I had in Iran. I found them to be friendly and bold, in a good way. They'd ask me questions and share opinions. (I also found Iranian men to be more direct, etc. than Turkish men.) They're required to wear a chador or something to cover their hair, which of course I don't agree with, and their dress-code made Iran seem surreal at times. (Even the men seemed to be very conformist in their outfits, with long-sleeved shirts and dark pants. ALL Kurdish men sport moustaches.) But the dress-code seemed to be at odds with their demeanor. (Of course it's very much the opposite in neighboring Afghanistan, particularly with the Pashtuns. I saw Afghan women gathered in their colourful burkhas in Timergara, Pakistan [en route in '97], all facing me from a distance, and could tell they were all staring at the exotic foreigner but would never say a word. I'd get them in trouble if I tried to talk to any of them. [Cdn. Press article.: 'Taliban official says women lose value if their faces are visible to men in public.' www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/taliban-official-says-women-... ])
- What I experienced at that counter that day is what you might refer to as 'a culture shock'. I've experienced 'culture shock' several times and it's always revealing. The 'shock' can involve an encounter with something that seems quite strange or foreign that you didn't expect, or something familiar that suddenly seems strange for the first time. Some examples: 1. The way Torontonians dress downtown was a surprise on my return from East Asia in '89. I'd become accustomed to so many people, particularly the elderly, wearing Mao-style tunics and trousers, the moreso in Western China, nothing flashy at any rate, not even in Malaysia. A walk through Rosedale, where so many outfits seemed garish, was like watching a movie in colour for the first time. 2. My first day in Karachi in '97 was an assault on the senses. I crossed a bridge over a solid, river-length hill of trash (where was the river?), with goats walking on it. The smell! 3. My first morning in Delhi in 2011 was similar. (See my photos.) A young man was sleeping at near waist-height on a narrow lane-divider in the middle of the road. If he'd moved in his sleep, he would've fallen into traffic. ?! (My camera battery needed charging just then.) 4. I was surprisingly relaxed my first day in Romania in April, 2000, I think b/c everyone else seemed to be. (I'd entered from Hungary.) 5. On my return to Toronto in the fall of '99, having lived in B.C. for 2 yr.s, driving into the city I was shocked by all the brick bldg.s everywhere, and made with such small bricks too. There are many examples, but those come to mind first.
- Something exotic in Iran to get used to (but not really) over the 3 months, was the bill-board propaganda in the cities, with images of a benevolent Ayatollah Khamanei or a serious Khomeini, with the smiling faces of at least a few young soldiers martyred in the Iraq war, and with rays of light or clouds or birds, or banners, etc. I'll scan a couple. (I'll come back to this space and list some specifics as I go through my photos.)
- On one in Hamadan: some storks fly from a beach above crashing surf towards a luminous pavilion on clouds in the sky, each carrying a long red ribbon or sash in its beak with Arabic writing on it.
- I hitched I think, or I might've taken a bus, 2 1/2 hr.s, 171 km.s, from Qarahziyaaddin or Qarah Zia od Din SE down the 32 to legendary Tabriz (Tah-breeze), the first large city that I'd tour in Iran, and left West Azerbayjan prov. to enter East Azerbayjan prov. (See the photo of the old man in the hat).
- Misses en route include the Masjed-e-Jame in Marand, "established in Seljuq times and rebuilt in the 14th cent." with its "splendid plaster mihrab", and the city itself, which the 32 passes through, long claimed to be the burial place of Noah's wife. 'Marand' is said to mean 'the mother lies here'. I suspect she's buried in the Bazaar mosque as travital.com claims it "was known as the burying place of Jesus’s wife" which must be a typo, and that it had once been a church. It's also claimed by the Armenians that Noah's immediate descendants settled at Marand.
- The vast Yaam Caravanserai, an Il-khanate structure "built @ 1330" (Bradt) and renovated and reused in the Safavid period, is now a boutique hotel. It's 1 1/2 km.s SE of Yam right on the 32. The lobby would've been worth a visit. (Conversion of old caravanserais to fancy hotels is a trend in Turkey that's catching on in Iran.)
- The Church of St. John at Sohrol, @ 15 clicks NE of the 32, tall with a tower-like steeple and picturesque on the summit of a hill, was rebuilt in brick in 1840 by one Samson Makintsev (Sam Khan; a member of the Bogatyr Battalion [formed during the 19th-cent. Russo-Iranian wars with deserters from the Russian army]) on the foundations of a 5th or 6th cent. Armenian church. The colourful, historically influential Makintsev is buried under the altar. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_Makintsev en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sohrol#/media/File:Holy_SURP_Hovhan... youtu.be/6pmli1xLO3U
- I would've liked to have visited Ourumiyeh (aka Urmia), the ancient city on the shrinking salt lake of the same name south of Ghara Kelise, as I'd read that an interesting collection of Christian communities is to be found there with membership in rare and ancient denominations, incl. Nestorian ('The Church of the East'), Chaldean ('Eastern Catholics', formerly Nestorians), Assyrian or Syriac (predominant in SE Turkey) [likely 'Nestorian', see the update below], and of course Armenian. I hadn't met Nestorian, Assyian or Chaldean Christians before, and I don't recall ever meeting a Nestorian to this day [again, see the update], but the region around Ourumiyeh is where they and their impressively ancient churches can be found. Many of the Assyrian or Syriac churches (at least), in villages surrounding the city, tend to be small, boxy and unassuming, made with fieldstones, and are visibly ancient. Here's a video with photos.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8TbhS90UII (I saw much that was Assyrian/Syriac in Mardin, Midyat and at 2 ancient monasteries in SE Turkey in 2012, and I know a Chicagoan cop who's Syriac from Syria.) Maar-Sargiz (7th cent.!) for one, on Ser/Sir mtn. 12 clicks west of the city, would be worth a detour. According to legend, the famous Church of St. Mary in the city (Assyrian Orthodox) was founded by St. Thomas over the tomb of one of the 3 'Wise men' who invented Christmas presents, and which the locals claim is the world's oldest extant church. It "contains 4 antique tombstones, incl. that of the alleged magus, but his mummified body was apparently ‘kidnapped’ by Soviet troops during WWII and taken to Kyiv." (LP) However, "according to Iranian tradition" and Marco Polo, all 3 Magi hailed and set out for Bethlehem from, and are buried in the ruins at, 'Saba', latter day Saveh, @ 100 clicks south of Tehran in Markazi prov. www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/sunday-vibes/2019/12/549933/myst... " [T]hey lie buried in 3 sepulchres of great size and beauty. Above each is a square bldg. with a domed roof of very fine workmanship. The one is just beside the other. Their bodies are still whole, and they have hair and beards. One was named Beltasar, the second Gaspar, and the third Melchior.” (Marco Polo)
- I haven't found any Nestorian churches online, yet. [See the update below.] I've also read that Nestorians are referred to as Assyrians as well. (? That must be so as most of the churches and Christian congregants in the area seem to be referred to as Assyrian. But Syriacs are 'Assyrians'. And Syriacs aren't Nestorians. I'm confused.)
- Update Feb. 2024: I read a list in 2000 of the denominations in and @ Ourumiyeh, and Assyrian and Nestorian were included individually. I don't recall the other reason(s) why I thought the Syriac church of the Tur Abdin in SE Turkey wasn't 'The (Nestorian) Church of the East', assuming I had any, but the confident and informative vlogger in the video in the next link maintains that "today's Assyrian Church of the East is one of the groups that claims to be a continuation of the Church of the East" (what are the other 'groups'?), that 'the Church of the East' is "today found in ancient Assyria, incl. parts of Iraq, Iran and Turkey", and that it makes use of the Syriac language AND follows Nestorian doctrine. Mystery solved?
- The Il-Khanate-era Jame mosque (built over the remains of a Sassanian fire-temple) has what could be a more impressive mihrab (1277) than any I've seen anywhere else. See it at the 41 min. pt. in this vlog.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxYYiuCVE-k
- In that same last video, the vlogger walks past a large, interesting Chaldean (Catholic) church at the 57:07 min. pt. (I've only seen one Chaldean church in Mardin, and an impressive, new one in Etobicoke.)
- Here's a hard-working man in a shop in Ouroumiyeh's bazaar who's too busy and focused to care about appearances and what people think. (I relate, whether or not I should.) youtu.be/Jeo0oJVLqaw?si=HKyxUYX40z1sIFwj
- There's an interesting, ancient, ruined synagogue in the city, which still has 3 hanging chandeliers, or at least it does in this photo.: archive.diarna.org/site/detail/public/2820/ www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-arrests-thieves-digging-se... "The Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Urmia ... was spoken by Jews in Urmia and the surrounding area from Salmas to Solduz and into what is now Yüksekova, Hakkâri and Başkale, Van Province in eastern Turkey. Most speakers now live in Israel. ... Fewer than 5000 are known to speak Urmi Jewish Neo-Aramaic, and most are older adults in their 60s who speak Hebrew as well. The language faces extinction in the next few decades." (Wikipedia)
- And @ 60 clicks or so NW of Ourumiyeh as the crow flies and a hike from the village of Gowdal is an incredible pile, Barduk castle (Safavid) and environs, < 10 clicks north of the Turkish border, as dramatic as anything in Tao-Kljareti, a place I'd love to explore. The region of Turkey just across that stretch of the border is remote and magical, and it stands to reason that the Iranian side would be equally so. But, again, the word magic has its origins in Iran.: www.youtube.com/shorts/a0fwunBYi3I See?
Terracotta unglazed pithos with relief geometric decoration. Orientalizing, East Greek, Kamiros, Rhodes, 700 BC - 650 BC. British Museum, London, England. Copyright 2017, James A. Glazier. The poor lighting, awkward angles and highly reflective and dirty glass at the British Museum make seeing anything, let alone photographing it a challenge. Ironic that many Italian museums now have much better display conditions than the British Museum. Pithoi were used for food stroage and as coffins.
The most representative residential building in Stobi is located in the center of the town, between the streets of Via Principalis Inferior and Via Principalis Superior. The name was applied by the assumption that the emperor Theodosius I was accommodated here during his visit of Stobi in 388 AD.
The palace is divided in two parts which are not linked by common entrances. The south part is called House of Parthenius because of a seal inscription reading “Of Parthenius”. Having in mind that the Palace is not excavated completely and probably the so – called “Prison” also belonged to the complex, more appropriate name for the building is Theodosian Palace.
The north part is the more attractive area of the palace. The rooms with mosaic floors are arranged around the open court surrounded by columns (peristyle). The floor of the court and the corridors around it, also have mosaic floors. At the eastern end of the peristyle there is a pool fenced with pink marble parapet blocks. Above the pool there are niches and marble bases once decorated with sculptures. The famous bronze satyrs from Stobi are exhibited in the National Museum in Belgrade, as well as the bronze sculptures of Apollo, Aphrodite and Lar and the marble head of Serapis. These artifacts were discovered inside the pool as a result of destruction. It is interesting to point out that some of them, such as the satyrs, were made during the Hellenistic period (2nd century BC) and the palace was built in the 4th century AD.
There is also a peristyle in the south part of the palace. Around this small court there are a few rooms. Two of them have mosaic floors and one of them served as a storage room judging by the ten discovered pithoi.
To the southeast of the palace, two vaulted chambers were discovered. Because of the human remains they are called “Prison”. Some of the older scholars consider these facilities to be a cellar and thus a segment of the economic part of the palace.
The palace was destroyed during the 5th century AD after what the walls were incorporated in the poor houses, built on top of the ruins in the 6th century.
Modern use for ancient relics. This is right outside the Castle of St. Peter/Museum of Underwater Archeology (hence the large pithoi and other artifacts -- and the tired tourists).
In the relief at the left (in the background), a procession of 12 figures stride in tall, conical helmets, short tunics and boots with upturned toes in the ancient Hittite shrine of Yazilikaya (Yazih-lih-kie-yah). This might portray a "mighty festival ... when all the gods gathered at the house of the weather-god [to] eat, drink, and be satisfied and pronounce the life of the king and queen ... of heaven and earth." (Cottrell) I've also read that these are gods of the sky who represent 12 lunar months, and that they're 12 gods of the underworld, representing 12 hours. At the right are depicted the god of the moon (left, see the crescent) and 'the Sun god of Heaven' (right). From the reign of Tudḫaliya III, the 'Sun god of Heaven' was the protector of the Hittite king, indicated by a winged solar disc on royal seals, and was the god of the kingdom par excellence. From the reign of Suppiluliuma I (and likely earlier), he played an important role as the foremost god to whom oaths were taken in interstate treaties. www.wikiwand.com/en/Sun_god_of_Heaven
- 'Cosmic symbolism at Hittite Yazilikaya': www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpe0-xO0OqY
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWvwy2zeFa8
- More re Yazilikaya below.
- I don't recall where I stayed in Boğazkale (nor in most places that year), nor whether I camped out somewhere, but I arrived by thumb in the late afternoon or early evening and was hungry. I approached a man on the street outside his home (I might have asked him for directions first?) and offered him 5$, @ what I'd pay in a restaurant, if I could join his family as their guest for supper. I was imposing at a minimum, if I wasn't being rude too. People in the Middle East are hospitable as a rule and so my request wasn't denied. I sat on the floor with the man and his wife and his family around a large assortment of bowls of food, and very little was said /b/ them during the meal while of course there was the language barrier for me. I was VERY impressed with the abundance of fresh and delicious food in what looked to me to be a feast. This wasn't a special occasion and I'd arrived just before it was served, so I assumed they ate like that every day, and I thought "Wow!".
- I don't recall the Boğazkale museum with its "small collection of artifacts, primarily cuneiform tablets and pottery," from the Hattuşaş site (Hattoo-shash), but I bought a guidebook to the site and a locally-produced booklet, 'The Hittites', by archaeologist Tahsin Özgüç, and it's likely I bought them at the museum.
- I headed over to and explored the vast site of Hattuşaş for a full day, guidebook in hand, the great, sprawling late-bronze-age capital of the Hittite empire at its height /b/ 1,600 and 1,200 B.C. when it was one of the 3 great superpowers on earth together with Babylon and Egypt's New Kingdom, and when the Hittites under Muwatalli II famously clashed with Ramesses II at the Battle of Kadesh on the Orontes in latter-day Syria in @ 1274 B.C. That was "the earliest pitched battle in recorded history for which details of tactics and formations are known; it's believed to have been the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving /b/ 5,000 and 6,000 chariots in total; and as a result of the discovery of multiple Kadesh inscriptions and the Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, it's the best documented battle in ancient history." (Wikipedia) In Egyptian temple reliefs the Hittites are referred to as the "abominable Kheta".
- "Enclosed by 7-km.-long walls, Hattuşaş was by the standards of the time an immense city. The site was originally occupied by the Hatti, who established a settlement there @ 2,500 B.C. The Hittites moved in following their conquest of central Anatolia, making it their capital from @ 1375 BC in the period when their empire reached its greatest extent. The arrival of 'the Sea Peoples' had put an end to Hittite dominance of the region by 1,200 B.C.; Hattuşaş was destroyed and the Phrygians then built a large city on the site. It occupies a steeply sloping expanse dotted with rocky outcrops. Of the many bldg.s once scattered over a wide area only limestone foundation blocks survive. The walls of timber frames supporting clay bricks vanished long ago." (RG)
- "The 14th or 13th cent. B.C. Büyük Mabet or 'Great Temple', one of 70 (!) that once stood on this site, is "the largest and best-preserved Hittite temple in existence". Dedicated to the storm god Teshuba and the sun goddess Hebut, it consists of a central temple bldg. surrounded by @ 78 storage rooms [!] laid out in an irregular plan. Today the temple site comprises little more than an expanse of stone foundations." Touring the complex involved a fair bit of leg-work and hopping over and @ the ruins. I saw some 'pithoi', very large. earthenware, storage jars in situ (returned to the site following restoration), and a famous, large, squarish, smooth, green stone of serpentinite or nephrite, said to hail from Egypt but its provenance is a mystery, and which was in situ as well, as mysterious and as precious as it is. It's known as the 'wish-stone' and was likely a cult object. (I'll scan a photo. According to the RG it's said to have been "a wedding present from Ramesses II". ?) The worship of stones was common in even the most advanced of ancient societies.
- A walkway paved with slabs had been "a clearly defined processional way" on which "the king and queen, in their roles as high priest and priestess, led processions on holy days." The temple proper "consisted of 12 small chambers @ a central courtyard," incl. rooms that once housed cult statues of Teshuba and Hebut. (RG)
- The 14th or 13th-cent.-B.C. Büyük Kale or 'Great Fortress', a fortified palace, consisted of 3 courtyards in tiers. "The middle and lower courtyards are thought to have been given over to servants and aides of the royals, while the upper courtyard was the palace proper. ... The terraces are supported by sheer retaining walls made of vast limestone blocks. A flight of steps leads to what had been the SE gate of the palace. German scholar Hugo Winckler discovered an invaluable palace archive with > 10,000 cuneiform tablets (!!) on the site of a bldg. by that gate in 1906, incl. chronicles of conquests by Hittite kings, legal documents, a code of law, correspondence with foreign rulers, religious literature with hymns and rituals, and a copy in Hittite of the famous Treaty of Kadesh (see above), ratified by Ramesses II and Hattusilis III in @ 1270 B.C., the earliest surviving treaty /b/ 2 nations (!). Many of the tablets were in the yet-undeciphered language then known as Arzawa (Hittite in fact), and some were in Akkadian. (According to the BBC doc. in the 4th link below, 5 libraries with 30,000 tablets were discovered at Hattuşaş!) It was a cerebral site with relatively insubstantial ruins but with good views.
- The Yenicekale, a ruined fortress atop a steep hill on-site, was a "considerable engineering achievement" built on an artificial platform. It's perched just below the iconic Aslanlikapi, the 'Lion gate', flanked by 2 roaring, stone lions, convincing copies of the originals in the museum in Ankara. It "marks the beginning of the surviving section of dry-stone [and cyclopean] city walls which run along the top of a massive sloping embankment 10 m.s in height and surfaced with irregular limestone slabs. Rectangular towers were placed along it" and the foundations of some are still in evidence. (RG)
- At the Yerkapi, the 'Earth gate' or Sphynx gate, "2 huge sphynxes once guarded its inner portal but which now live in museums in Istanbul and Berlin". (I think I saw the one in the Pergamon museum, but didn't see the other.) A 70-m.-long tunnel leads from that gate to a point o/s the city, built using the corbel arch technique. It's mysterious, it might have been ceremonial or defensive, but it's not the oldest arched construction anywhere (a claim made in a plaque on-site in 2,000).
- The Kralkapi or 'King's Gate' was named for the relief of "the regal-looking figure" in profile, wearing a conical hat, on a pillar of the inner gateway (a copy, the original's in the museum in Ankara), but which in fact represents the god Teshuba.
- I recall two large alcoves under arches, 'Chambers 1 and 2', the 2nd with a frieze of a full-bodied image of the sun-god in relief in mid-stride (typical of Hittite refiefs) on the inner wall facing the entrance @ 5-15 m.s in, an image of Suppiluliuma I or II, and hieroglyphs in the 'Luwian' style on the inner walls. The 'chamber' was reconstructed (as recently as 1988) by archaeologists with blocks used in later period constructions.
The best theories have it that this alcove was an entrance to a supernatural world beyond, through, or represented by the wall with the frieze. The inscription recounts that king's successful military campaigns in Western Anatolia, but refers in the last line to the construction of 'a divine earth-road'. www.hittitemonuments.com/bogazkoy/BOGAZKOY_21.htm
- There were commanding views from the rocky heights at the site over the vast, yellow steppe, with herds of goats at some of the highest points.
- Here's as good a 10 min. summary of Hittite history as any I've found online.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sttutf4P_BY But we're spoilt for choice on youtube.: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFoU2QMfKBQ
- This next is a marvelous and very informative animated overview of the ancient city. (Youtube's history videos improve daily.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgH4CxQrgRc
- www.documentarytube.com/videos/the-dark-lords-of-hattusha
- The Hittites, depicted generally as "stocky, hardy, hook-hosed men in conical hats, thick woolen robes and mountaineers' boots", can come off as relatively likable on the spectrum of imperial types in the ancient world (again, relatively), at least until they began to deify their rulers (like everyone else in those days) in the reign of Tudhaliyas I. Leonard Cottrell (who I quote in the following paragraphs) describes them as "a rugged, independent people - energetic, determined, probably coarse and rough, a people strengthened by hardship and adversity, adventurous and brave, not afraid to march down from their mountain strongholds to challenge the older, more sophisticated peoples of Mesopotamia and Egypt." One could say as much about the rampaging 13th cent. Mongols, but while they "were certainly clever strategists, and, toughened by their life in the mtn.s, doughty fighters, there is no evidence that their conquests were accompanied by the refined cruelties that the Assyrians inflicted on their defeated foes. A conquered city was given humane treatment; its people were spared, provided due tribute was paid. If a city resisted it was looted, burned, and its inhabitants enslaved; but it's apparent that they weren't mutilated or tortured. They appear to have had a rough but genuine humanity which is reflected in some of their laws which have been found. Many of these are essentially the practical, down-to-earth laws of a peasant people. ... [For example:] "If anyone borrows and yokes an ox, a horse, a mule, or an ass and it dies, or a wolf devours it, or it goes astray, he shall pay in full value; but if he say 'by the hand of a god it died', then he shall take the oath."" (Cottrell)
- Hittite kings present as straight-forward and informal In their edicts and pronouncements and when quoted. My favourite quote from any ancient cuneiform or hieroglyphic text or tablet is Hittite, in a letter from the king (Hattusilis I?) to his officers. The context is that a battering ram broke in a siege (and he complains that "they constantly bring me evil tidings!").: "May the weather god carry you away in a flood! Be not Idle! [etc.]."
The following is a copy and paste from Leonard Cottrell's "Lost Worlds" (well-written but quite dated).: "The Hittites spoke an Indo-European language akin to Sanskrit, Greek and most European tongues. [They spoke both Hittite and Luwian, 2 of the oldest Indo-European languages we know of, although they borrowed many words from Hattian. They admired the Hattians, their predecessors.] They entered Anatolia early in the 2nd mill. B.C., possibly in the same migratory movement that brought the Mycenaeans or Achaeans into Greece, Like the Mycenaeans, the ancestors of the Hittites found a Bronze Age people living in the land which they had invaded. The Hittites acquired the name of the conquered territory - Hatti. ... Conquest and unification were a slow process. ["Initially the Hittites set up a number of city-states. These were drawn together during the mid-18th cent. under King Anitta [who] transferred his capital from the city of Kushara (possibly Alişar) to Neşha (Kultepe), and destroyed Hattuşaş, cursing any king who might attempt to rebuild there. A century or so later his successor Labarnas returned to Hattuşaş and did just that. {RG}]. Hittite records state that "at first the land was small, but wherever [Labarnas] marched to battle he subdued the lands of his enemies with might. He destroyed the lands and made them powerless, and he made the seas his frontiers." ["The Hittites came to regard Labarna and his wife Tawannanna as founders of the Hittite kingdom." {RG}]
- "The successor to Labarnas was Hattusilis I, in whose reign the Hittites began to move southward, beyond the Taurus, into Syria and to the SE, no doubt attracted by the riches of the older civilizations long established in Mesopotamia. Hatusilis I had an obstreporous grandson, Mursilis I, who conquered Babylon in @ 1,600 B.C., just @ the time the 17th dynasty pharaohs were liberating Egypt from the rule of the Hyksos. In the 15th cent. B.C., the Hittites came into conflict with the Hurrians, who had occupied an area bordering the northern Euphrates. It was at this time that the warrior pharaoh Tuthmosis III was leading his conquering armies into northern Syria; it was he, and not the Hittite king, who would crush the Hurrians and take the pressure off the Hittite frontier. Indeed, the Hittites may have been valued allies of the Egyptians at that point, and if so, this would have been the first contact /b/ the established imperial power of ancient Egypt and the newly emergent nation of the mountain dwelling people.
- "When an Indo-European ruling caste known as the Mitanni later established sway over the Hurrians, they entered into friendly relations with the pharaohs Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten). Egypt was in a non-militant phase and for a time the Mitanni were the most potent power in western Asia. Once again the Mitanni-ruled Hurrians gave great trouble to the Hittites, detaching their vassal states and threatening Hatti itself. The Hittites apparently suffered assault from various directions. One of their later chronicles, which seems to refer to this period, states that "... the Hatti lands were sacked from beyond their borders. The enemy from Kaska came and sacked the Hatti lands and made Nenassa his frontier. From beyond the Lower Land came the enemy from Arzawa, and he too sacked the Hatti lands and made ... [a new] frontier."
- "Two Hittite kings of this period, Hattusilis II and Tudhaliyas III, struggled against the formidable power of the Mitanni, but with little success. It was one of Tudhaliyas' successors, the great Suppiluliumas, who turned the tide. Suppiluliumas [was] ... a fighter, cunning strategist, wise in the ways of war and diplomacy. However, ... the Egypt to which he was opposed was peacefully concerned with its own affairs. The heretic Akhenaten was a pacifist and a dreamer, preoccupied with his religious reforms; he apparently disregarded the threats to his border lands.
- "After first suffering defeat at the hands of the Mittanian king, Tushratta, Suppiluliumas devised a new and daring plan. Crossing the Euphrates near Malatya, and traversing wild and dangerous country peopled by hostile tribes, he took the Mitanni in the rear. He recovered his lost provinces and sacked the Mitannian capital. Evidently shaken by this unexpected attack the king of Mitanni avoided battle. Suppiluliumas had disposed of his ancient enemy. Once again the Hittite armies began to roll southward and found themselves near the frontiers of Egyptian influence. It is possible that at this stage Suppiluliumas would have been content to establish his boundary on the Orontes, in Syria, and withdraw. But one of Egypt's vassals, the king of Kadesh, came out and offered battle. His armies were destroyed in the terrifying charge of the Hittite chariotry, and Suppiluliumas, carried forward by the impetus of his advance, pressed on into the Levant. The Hittites had come far from their mtn. homeland, and from that rich coastal strip /b/ the Lebanese mtn.s and the Great Green Sea, the Mediterranean, they turned their gaze south toward the gates of Egypt. The date of the Hittite advance was @ 1,370 B.C. The rough highlanders from beyond the Taurus, with their chariots and horses and their powerful leader, encamped in Lebanon, while the petty kings of Syria, former vassals of Egypt, came to the tent of Suppiluliumas bearing tribute. And only a few 100 miles to the south lay the greatest power on earth, with a civilization stretching back more than 1,500 yr.s. ...
- "After another 30 yr.s of arduous campaigning, during which he had battled the Assyrians and consolidated his hold on Syria, the Hittite king, now an old man, was encamped near Carchemish on the upper Euphrates. After an 8-day siege that great fortress surrendered, and the army was resting after its victory. Then a messenger arrived from Egypt bearing a letter. When his secretary read the message to him the old king could not at first believe it, for it purported to be from the queen of Egypt [Ankhesenamun! almost certainly]. "My husband [Tutankhamun!!] has died [at 18]," she wrote, "and I have no son, but of you it is said that you have many sons. If you would send me one of your sons, he could become my husband. I will on no account take one of my subjects and make him my husband. I am very much afraid." This letter was found by Winckler among the archives at Hattuşaş. Unfortunately there were no copies of the king's replies to this and further letters from the queen, which had evidently caused her some annoyance. He seems to have been skeptical as to her overtures. Her next letter reads: "Why do you say 'They are deceiving me?' If I had a son, would I write to a foreigner to publish my distress and that of my country? You have insulted me in speaking thus. ... My husband is dead and I have no son. I will never take one of my subjects and marry him. I have written to no one but you. Everyone says you have many sons; give me one of them that he may become my husband."
- " ... According to Egyptian custom the next pharaoh could only legitimize his succession by marrying the royal heiress. Surrounded by intriguing, power-hungry courtiers and politicians, such as Ay, who had been Akhenaten's chief minister, the queen looked @ desperately for an escape. Hence her statement, "I will never take one of my subjects and marry him." (Ay was already an elderly man, which may speak to the girl's desperation.) While her husband's body soaked for the customary 100 days in its natron bath, before embalming and burial, she tried to bring off a coup to defeat the intriguers who hoped to ride to power through marriage to the pharaoh's heiress. She was probably not more than 16 when she wrote those letters. ... But Suppiluliumas, when he moved, moved too late. The end of the story is tragic. When one of his sons was at last sent to Egypt, he never reached Thebes. It's possible that he was murdered by one of Ay's agents. And Ay, a man depicted on the wall of Tutankhamun's burial chamber making due offerings to the ka of the dead pharaoh, would himself become a god-king.
- "When Suppiluliumas died the Hittite empire, which stretched from Anatolia to southern Syria, was the dominant power in western Asia and the chief rival of Egypt. Eventually, of course, the 2 would clash. It was in 1,300 B.C. at Kadesh, on the Orontes, that the great battle took place. Here the chariotry of Ramesses II met that of the Hittites [ruled at that time by Muwatalli III]; Egypt claimed success, but it was only Ramesses' bravery and energy that enabled the Egyptians to escape a crushing defeat. Yet, in customary pharaonic custom, omnipotent as they traditionally made themselves appear, he caused to be carved those colossal temple reliefs of the battle that no visitor to Thebes [Karnak] can escape and that proclaimed his total victory. More wall space was devoted to this battle than to any other in the history of Egypt. Later, however, Ramesses would sign a mutual defense treaty with a succeeding Hittite king, Hattusilis III, copies of which were preserved both at Karnak and at Boghazkoy. Ramesses would even marry a Hittite princess and was delighted with his bride." (He describes meeting her as a "marvelous and fortunate affair.")
- "The adversaries of the Hittites were not confined to their southern neighbours in Syria and those at the borders of the land of Hatti. There were fresh disturbances in Asia Minor as well. Amongst the tablets found at Hattuşaş were some letters referring to a certain man named Attarissiyas who had evidently been troubling the Hittites; he had driven one of the king's vassals from his kingdom in western Anatolia. From this correspondence it appears that the Hittite king treated the king of Akaiwasha, over whom he had no jurisdiction, as an equal. There is a reference to a city in Asia Minor referred to in Hittite as Millawanda, a city outside the control of the Hittite monarch but under the indirect control of the king of Akaiwasha. The correspondence also refers to a principality named Zippasla, which had been given to the displaced vassal. ... The name by which Homer referred to the Mycenaean Greeks was the Achaeans, [which might be similar to] Akaiwasha, and we know that the name of the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, the Atridae, was Atreus, which, it has been suggested, is comparable to Attarissiyas. Millawanda might have been the ancient Greek colony of Miletus, on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor. ... " Michael Wood of the BBC, rather than this writer, takes pains in his brilliant documentary re Troy to set out the links /b/ the Hittites and that city, which appears to have been a Hittite vassal, and the discovery of a reference to a man with the alias Paris.:
(To be continued.)
- "The arrival of the [mysterious] 'Sea Peoples' in Anatolia ushered in a period of instability which would lead to the destruction of Hattuşaş in @ 1,200 B.C., @ the time of the fall of Troy. ... Hittite culture survived in some small successor kingdoms in SE Anatolia and northern Syria, most notably @ Carchemish (Kargamiş), Malatya and Karatepe. These neo-Hittites are mentioned in the Old Testament in association with Abraham and David and their culture would endure until @ 700 B.C. when it was destroyed by the Assyians." (RG)
- Hattuşaş is a Unesco site, and since 2000 several crenellated defensive walls have been erected at the site in a partial 'reconstruction' on the basis of models found at the site.
- I trekked or hitched 2 or 3 clicks NE of the site of Hattuşaş (the next morning?) to the cult site of Yazilikaya ('Inscribed Rock' in Turkish), a Hittite rock sanctuary and the largest known Hittite monument incl. a temple-like bldg., and 2 natural enclosures with cliffs covered in friezes (such as those in this photo). The sanctuary [may have been] the site of open-air rituals held before the Hittite pantheon celebrating the arrival of the New Year each spring. The cliffs surrounding each of 2 natural enclosures ('Chambers A and B') were covered with the richest and most impressive samples of Hittite relief art, featuring 83 images in total of gods, goddesses and of the great king Tudhaliya IV (c. 1237 – 1209 BCE), 66 in Chamber A and 17 in B. The site was used as a ritual centre no later than the 16th cent. B.C., although the said friezes likely date from the late 13th cent. B.C., the reign of Tudhaliya IV and of Suppiluliuma II, "not long before the Hittite Empire began its steep and mysterious decline." Access to the enclosures was controlled with gateway structures, of which only foundations survive.
- The smaller "'Chamber B' is accessible via a narrow passage with winged demons in the reliefs on the cliffs on either side. It may have been used as a memorial chapel or mausoleum for Tudhaliya, IV dedicated by his son Suppiluliuma II in the late 13th cent. B.C. Its reliefs are fewer but much better preserved than those in Chamber A. (I'll scan a good photo of a relief of King Thuthaliya IV [c. 1237–1209 B.C.] in profile.) A procession of gods of the underworld is depicted on the wall immediately to the right of the entrance. On the opposite wall is a representation of Nergal, God of the Sword and the Underworld, [represented as a man wearing a conical hat and looking to his right, with lion heads in profile at his shoulders, holding 2 outstretched, upside-down, unhappy-looking lions by their tails, each shown in profile on either side of his body, and with what looks to be the blade of an upright dagger where his legs should be,] and a cartouche with the name of Tudhaliya IV." This same king is shown in the embrace of the god Sharruma. www.worldhistory.org/article/1359/five-key-historical-sit...
- "Mountain gods are [depicted] with scaled skirts which symbolize mountains. On the right wall [of Chamber A] a procession of female deities is seen wearing crowns and long skirts. The goddess of love and war, Shaushka (the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar/Inanna) is shown in the male procession [opposite] with 2 female attendants. The processions lead to a central scene of the supreme couple of the pantheon: the storm-god Teshub and the sun-goddess Hebat. Teshub stands on the shoulders of two mountain gods whilst Hebat stands on a panther [or a big cat at any rate]. Their son Sharruma, daughter Alanzu and a granddaughter stand behind Hebat" above a double-headed eagle. (Wikipedia)
- "The Hittite practise of incorporating other cultures' gods into their pantheon is in evidence at Yazilikaya. The Mesopotamian god of wisdom, Ea (Enki) is shown in the male procession and the god Teshub was a Hurrian god who was syncretized with the Hittite storm-god. Hebat's original consort became her son Sharruma, and she was later syncretized with the Hattic Sun goddess of Arinna. It is believed that Puduhepa, the daughter of a Hurrian priestess and the wife of the Hittite king Hattusili III, also played a role in the increasing Hurrian influence on the Hittite religion." (Wikipedia)
- "A 2021 study concluded that the sanctuary depicted the cosmos including its three levels: earth, sky, and underworld; in addition to the cyclical processes: day/night, lunar phases, and summer/winter, which served as a luni-solar calendar. However, the supreme deities in Chamber A, referred to the northern stars, while Chamber B represented the netherworld." (Wikipedia)
- From Yazilikaya I walked @ 2 clicks back to Boğazkale, hitched north @ 15 km.s to the D190, possibly up to 4 km.s west on the D190 (depending on which rd. I'd taken north) to the Alacahöyük Yolu, and @ 10 clicks north up that road to the town of Höyük and the ancient Hittite site of Alacahöyük. (See the description for the next photo).
Knossos war ein antiker Ort auf Kreta, etwa fünf Kilometer südlich von Iraklio. Bekannt ist es vor allem durch den Palast von Knossos, der neben den Palästen von Malia, Phaistos und Kato Zakros der größte minoische Palast auf Kreta ist und von Griechenland mit dem Europäischen Kulturerbe-Siegel ausgezeichnet wurde. Knossos blieb auch nach Zerstörung des Palastes bis in die byzantinische Zeit besiedelt.
Der jüngste Palast von Knossos entstand als Gebäudeensemble von bis zu fünf Stockwerken mit einer umbauten Fläche von 21.000 m² auf einer lichten Fläche von 2,2 ha. 800 Räume sind nachweisbar, doch dürfte der Palast insgesamt bis zu 1300 besessen haben. Der Palast war zu keinem Zeitpunkt befestigt. Er ist, wie alle Palastanlagen der Minoer, um einen rechteckigen Zentralhof von 53 × 28 m errichtet. Aus vier Richtungen kommen verwinkelte, vergleichsweise schmale Gänge, reich dekorierte Korridore, bemalte Säle, aufwendig gestaltete Treppenhäuser und säulenumstandene Galerien auf diesen Hof zu. Die Anlage war Verwaltungszentrum und enthielt zahlreiche Werkstätten.
Diese Räume und Korridore sind in einer verwirrenden Anordnung aneinandergefügt. Es gibt Türen und Durchgänge, Treppen und Rampen. Einige Räume sind durch Polythyra verbunden, Innenwände, die als Reihen deckenhoher, doppelflügeliger Türen zwischen Pfeilern ausgeführt waren. Waren sie geschlossen, waren die Räume abgetrennt, wurde eine Tür geöffnet, ergab sich ein Durchgang, wurden alle Türen geöffnet, waren die Räume verbunden. Es gab auch Werkstätten und Magazine, bis zu 400 teilweise mannshohe Pithoi voll Wein, Olivenöl, Getreide oder Honig mit einem Fassungsvermögen von etwa 78.000 Litern.
Das Herzstück des Palastes ist der sogenannte Thronsaal, der aufgrund eines dort gefundenen Alabasterthrons so genannt wurde. An den Seitenwänden des Vorraums sind steinerne Bänke aufgestellt. Eine kostbare Porphyrschale steht im Zentrum des Vorraums. Sie diente wahrscheinlich rituellen Waschungen. Andere Interpretationen deuten dies als Aquarium.
Am nordwestlichen Rand der Palastanlage befindet sich eine im rechten Winkel aufeinanderstoßende Treppenanlage, wie sie auch in Phaistos zu finden ist. Sie schließt einen von Westen herankommenden Prozessionsweg ab und wird als Theater für etwa 500 Menschen gedeutet.
Knossos was an ancient place on Crete, about five kilometres south of Iraklio. It is best known for the palace of Knossos, which is the largest Minoan palace in Crete, along with the palaces of Malia, Phaistos and Kato Zakros, and has been awarded the European Heritage Seal by Greece. Knossos remained inhabited until the Byzantine period, even after the palace was destroyed.
The youngest palace of Knossos was built as a building ensemble of up to five floors with a converted area of 21,000 m² on a clear area of 2.2 hectares. 800 rooms can be proven, but the palace probably had a total of up to 1300 rooms. At no time was the palace fortified. Like all palace complexes of the Minoans, it is built around a rectangular central courtyard measuring 53 × 28 m. This courtyard is accessed from four directions by winding, comparatively narrow corridors, richly decorated corridors, painted halls, elaborately designed staircases and galleries surrounded by columns. The complex was an administrative centre and contained numerous workshops.
These rooms and corridors are joined together in a confusing arrangement. There are doors and passageways, stairways and ramps. Some rooms are connected by polythyra, interior walls that were constructed as rows of floor-to-ceiling double doors between pillars. If they were closed, the rooms were separated, a door was opened, if there was a passage, if all doors were opened, the rooms were connected. There were also workshops and warehouses, up to 400 pithoi, some as tall as a man, full of wine, olive oil, grain or honey, with a capacity of about 78,000 litres.
The heart of the palace is the so-called throne room, which was so called because of an alabaster throne found there. On the side walls of the vestibule there are stone benches. A precious porphyry bowl stands in the centre of the vestibule. It was probably used for ritual ablutions. Other interpretations interpret it as an aquarium.
At the north-western edge of the palace complex there is a staircase which meets at a right angle, as it is also found in Phaistos. It completes a processional route approaching from the west and is interpreted as a theatre for about 500 people.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From aphrodisias.org:
The most important issue for Prof. Dr. Erim, who decided to stay the theater at the beginning of 1960, was homes of the Geyre village located on the theater. First, residents of the old houses moved to new houses in the village of New Geyre. The excavation was begun in 1966. The lower part of the two-part bench (lower cavea) and the ground floor of the stage building were seized intact. The result of the excavation, many statues, reliefs and valuable works of art, relating to the age of the prehistory and history, and taken under protection by the theater, were found. Also, many statues were found in the building stage.
The mound, located at the south of city and at 24 meters high, was used as a lookout after the 7th century. In the ditches, excavated along the western slope of the hill, pithoi, and brick walls many home appliances and idols were recovered. Delfts and two idols, found in studies of the Molasses Hill, were dated to late Neolithic, late Chalcolithic and the early Bronze Age. The city’s theater was made in the second half of the first century of the BC by carving on the eastern slopes of the acropolis. Before excavation work, acropolis excavations lined with old Geyre houses, was started with support of the National Geographic Society. Looking at the current situation, it can be said that the theater was repaired and changed during the Byzantine period in 2nd century.
Zoilas, changed the fate of the ancient city of Aphrodisias, was made the theater. It can be understood from the inscription on the stage structure, which was built in the first century of the BC. According to the inscription, this complex was a gift of Julia Zoilos to the goddess Aphrodite and to the citizens. In addition, based on this article, it can be said that the theater was finished before 27 years from BC. Carving the eastern part of the mound, given Acropolis Hill name, made the theater. The upper part of the section, consisted of two rows of seats, was removed while the castle was building in the Byzantine era. The stage building is Anatolia’s oldest three-storey stage building. The Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles were located. The statue of Apollo and Melpomene, exhibited in the museum, were found here. Moreover to this, boxers and the bust statue of Aphrodite was uncovered in the excavation.
The semicircular orchestra section in the middle of the Aphrodisias Theater, the emperor Marcus Avrelius time (161-180), was deepened by removing the bottom rung of the bench and was used as the arena by turning to the Konis.
It was also made several structural changes to adapt to the gladiator battles in the 2nd century of the A.D. Building sites were expanded and was combined with “cavea”, a room that was grown wild animals, and was added several corridors. The stage building was severely damaged in the earthquake in the 4. Century and was restored. With the 7th century’s earthquake, following the collapse of the upper part of the Caveau and packing of a section, the Byzantine citizens completed to the orchestra and site buildings and they made their home on top. They turned the hill to the castle by framing walls and towers. The most interesting end intriguing finding, discovered during excavations, is Zoilos relief. He, played an effective role to establish good relations between Aphrodisias and Rome and was exempt from tax in the city, is a slave of the Octavian. Some parts of the theater are given by Zoilos as a gift to the Aphrodite and the citizens of Aphrodisias. The first century, the year of the first made the theater, was stated in the article dedicated to building on the scene. In the proscenium inscription, Zoilos describes as ” a man freed by the Holy Julius’s son (Octavian)”. By making variations of the theater in the 2nd century of the AD, it was also provided to use for different demonstrations.
The Aphrodisias Theater changed by seeing some repairs in the 2nd century AD period. In addition, the stage building damaged largely with the earthquake 4th century of the AD and it completely destroyed by a powerful earthquake in 7th century of the AD. The upper ave, completely destroyed by earthquake, was corrected and houses were made in here. This hill was converted into a fortress with turning around the walls and towers and it was used as a theater dump.
There were vaulted and medium-sized 6 dressing rooms or warehouses in the stage building. At this stage building, a well preserved and 5 meters in height and 15 meters in length, there are Hellenes inscriptions. Two-boxer statue, the Demos statue, Melpomene and Nike statues, exhibited in the museum, was found in the front of the scene. The northern wall of the stage building was named as the archive. The inscription on this wall contains important correspondence related to the ancient city of the Aphrodisias. These are privileges, given to the city by emperors and special senate decisions. For instance, an article cites that a gold statue of Eros, a gift from Caesar, was stolen and taken to the temple of Artemis at Ephesus and then it was withdrawal. After the Christianization of the city, names of Aphrodite and Aphrodisias were engraved from these articles.
Knossos war ein antiker Ort auf Kreta, etwa fünf Kilometer südlich von Iraklio. Bekannt ist es vor allem durch den Palast von Knossos, der neben den Palästen von Malia, Phaistos und Kato Zakros der größte minoische Palast auf Kreta ist und von Griechenland mit dem Europäischen Kulturerbe-Siegel ausgezeichnet wurde. Knossos blieb auch nach Zerstörung des Palastes bis in die byzantinische Zeit besiedelt.
Der jüngste Palast von Knossos entstand als Gebäudeensemble von bis zu fünf Stockwerken mit einer umbauten Fläche von 21.000 m² auf einer lichten Fläche von 2,2 ha. 800 Räume sind nachweisbar, doch dürfte der Palast insgesamt bis zu 1300 besessen haben. Der Palast war zu keinem Zeitpunkt befestigt. Er ist, wie alle Palastanlagen der Minoer, um einen rechteckigen Zentralhof von 53 × 28 m errichtet. Aus vier Richtungen kommen verwinkelte, vergleichsweise schmale Gänge, reich dekorierte Korridore, bemalte Säle, aufwendig gestaltete Treppenhäuser und säulenumstandene Galerien auf diesen Hof zu. Die Anlage war Verwaltungszentrum und enthielt zahlreiche Werkstätten.
Diese Räume und Korridore sind in einer verwirrenden Anordnung aneinandergefügt. Es gibt Türen und Durchgänge, Treppen und Rampen. Einige Räume sind durch Polythyra verbunden, Innenwände, die als Reihen deckenhoher, doppelflügeliger Türen zwischen Pfeilern ausgeführt waren. Waren sie geschlossen, waren die Räume abgetrennt, wurde eine Tür geöffnet, ergab sich ein Durchgang, wurden alle Türen geöffnet, waren die Räume verbunden. Es gab auch Werkstätten und Magazine, bis zu 400 teilweise mannshohe Pithoi voll Wein, Olivenöl, Getreide oder Honig mit einem Fassungsvermögen von etwa 78.000 Litern.
Das Herzstück des Palastes ist der sogenannte Thronsaal, der aufgrund eines dort gefundenen Alabasterthrons so genannt wurde. An den Seitenwänden des Vorraums sind steinerne Bänke aufgestellt. Eine kostbare Porphyrschale steht im Zentrum des Vorraums. Sie diente wahrscheinlich rituellen Waschungen. Andere Interpretationen deuten dies als Aquarium.
Am nordwestlichen Rand der Palastanlage befindet sich eine im rechten Winkel aufeinanderstoßende Treppenanlage, wie sie auch in Phaistos zu finden ist. Sie schließt einen von Westen herankommenden Prozessionsweg ab und wird als Theater für etwa 500 Menschen gedeutet.
Knossos was an ancient place on Crete, about five kilometres south of Iraklio. It is best known for the palace of Knossos, which is the largest Minoan palace in Crete, along with the palaces of Malia, Phaistos and Kato Zakros, and has been awarded the European Heritage Seal by Greece. Knossos remained inhabited until the Byzantine period, even after the palace was destroyed.
The youngest palace of Knossos was built as a building ensemble of up to five floors with a converted area of 21,000 m² on a clear area of 2.2 hectares. 800 rooms can be proven, but the palace probably had a total of up to 1300 rooms. At no time was the palace fortified. Like all palace complexes of the Minoans, it is built around a rectangular central courtyard measuring 53 × 28 m. This courtyard is accessed from four directions by winding, comparatively narrow corridors, richly decorated corridors, painted halls, elaborately designed staircases and galleries surrounded by columns. The complex was an administrative centre and contained numerous workshops.
These rooms and corridors are joined together in a confusing arrangement. There are doors and passageways, stairways and ramps. Some rooms are connected by polythyra, interior walls that were constructed as rows of floor-to-ceiling double doors between pillars. If they were closed, the rooms were separated, a door was opened, if there was a passage, if all doors were opened, the rooms were connected. There were also workshops and warehouses, up to 400 pithoi, some as tall as a man, full of wine, olive oil, grain or honey, with a capacity of about 78,000 litres.
The heart of the palace is the so-called throne room, which was so called because of an alabaster throne found there. On the side walls of the vestibule there are stone benches. A precious porphyry bowl stands in the centre of the vestibule. It was probably used for ritual ablutions. Other interpretations interpret it as an aquarium.
At the north-western edge of the palace complex there is a staircase which meets at a right angle, as it is also found in Phaistos. It completes a processional route approaching from the west and is interpreted as a theatre for about 500 people.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Knossos, a Minoan palace, occupied between about 1900 and 1200BC. The Minoan civilisation was comprehensively destroyed in around 1500-1450BC, probably as a result of tsunamis generated by the volcanic explosion of the island of Thera, although elements survived in some places on Crete for another couple of hundred years until over-run by the Myceneans, from mainland Greece. The palace site of Knossos was discovered in about 1880, then bought and excavated by the British archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans, from 1900. The built structures currently on the site were all reconstructed by Evans. These are pithoi, large storage jars.
This elegant vessel has a rounded body topped with a narrow pouring spout and a closed stem connected to two painted handles. The decoration that encircles the vessel from its foot to the cover of its false spout consists of thick and thin concentric bands, a line with semicircles near the shoulder, and a floral motif in the topmost section, with flowers framing the pouring spout and opposite the handles, This example was found in Room 32 in the Palace of Nestor, with other decorated stirrup jars, a group of three-handled amphorae (see, for example, cat. 98, and Shelmerdine, p. 161, fig. 63), and at least a dozen smaller-than-average storage pithoi, which were likely used to store olive oil, perhaps a specific, refined type. With its narrow spout, the vessel's shape would allow more control when pouring the valuable oil or dabbing it on.
Mycenaean, about 1180 BCE, terracotta with pigments. From Pylos, Palace of Nestor, Room 32.
H. 16.2 cm (6 3/8 in.)
Chora Archaeological Museum (CM 1219)
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On display at the Getty Villa Museum in Pacific Palisades, California, for the exhibition 'The Kingdom of Pylos'.
Knossos, a Minoan palace, occupied between about 1900 and 1200BC. The Minoan civilisation was comprehensively destroyed in around 1500-1450BC, probably as a result of tsunamis generated by the volcanic explosion of the island of Thera, although elements survived in some places on Crete for another couple of hundred years until over-run by the Myceneans, from mainland Greece. The palace site of Knossos was discovered in about 1880, then bought and excavated by the British archaeologist, Sir Arthur Evans, from 1900. The built structures currently on the site were all reconstructed by Evans. These are pithoi, large storage jars.
From aphrodisias.org:
The most important issue for Prof. Dr. Erim, who decided to stay the theater at the beginning of 1960, was homes of the Geyre village located on the theater. First, residents of the old houses moved to new houses in the village of New Geyre. The excavation was begun in 1966. The lower part of the two-part bench (lower cavea) and the ground floor of the stage building were seized intact. The result of the excavation, many statues, reliefs and valuable works of art, relating to the age of the prehistory and history, and taken under protection by the theater, were found. Also, many statues were found in the building stage.
The mound, located at the south of city and at 24 meters high, was used as a lookout after the 7th century. In the ditches, excavated along the western slope of the hill, pithoi, and brick walls many home appliances and idols were recovered. Delfts and two idols, found in studies of the Molasses Hill, were dated to late Neolithic, late Chalcolithic and the early Bronze Age. The city’s theater was made in the second half of the first century of the BC by carving on the eastern slopes of the acropolis. Before excavation work, acropolis excavations lined with old Geyre houses, was started with support of the National Geographic Society. Looking at the current situation, it can be said that the theater was repaired and changed during the Byzantine period in 2nd century.
Zoilas, changed the fate of the ancient city of Aphrodisias, was made the theater. It can be understood from the inscription on the stage structure, which was built in the first century of the BC. According to the inscription, this complex was a gift of Julia Zoilos to the goddess Aphrodite and to the citizens. In addition, based on this article, it can be said that the theater was finished before 27 years from BC. Carving the eastern part of the mound, given Acropolis Hill name, made the theater. The upper part of the section, consisted of two rows of seats, was removed while the castle was building in the Byzantine era. The stage building is Anatolia’s oldest three-storey stage building. The Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles were located. The statue of Apollo and Melpomene, exhibited in the museum, were found here. Moreover to this, boxers and the bust statue of Aphrodite was uncovered in the excavation.
The semicircular orchestra section in the middle of the Aphrodisias Theater, the emperor Marcus Avrelius time (161-180), was deepened by removing the bottom rung of the bench and was used as the arena by turning to the Konis.
It was also made several structural changes to adapt to the gladiator battles in the 2nd century of the A.D. Building sites were expanded and was combined with “cavea”, a room that was grown wild animals, and was added several corridors. The stage building was severely damaged in the earthquake in the 4. Century and was restored. With the 7th century’s earthquake, following the collapse of the upper part of the Caveau and packing of a section, the Byzantine citizens completed to the orchestra and site buildings and they made their home on top. They turned the hill to the castle by framing walls and towers. The most interesting end intriguing finding, discovered during excavations, is Zoilos relief. He, played an effective role to establish good relations between Aphrodisias and Rome and was exempt from tax in the city, is a slave of the Octavian. Some parts of the theater are given by Zoilos as a gift to the Aphrodite and the citizens of Aphrodisias. The first century, the year of the first made the theater, was stated in the article dedicated to building on the scene. In the proscenium inscription, Zoilos describes as ” a man freed by the Holy Julius’s son (Octavian)”. By making variations of the theater in the 2nd century of the AD, it was also provided to use for different demonstrations.
The Aphrodisias Theater changed by seeing some repairs in the 2nd century AD period. In addition, the stage building damaged largely with the earthquake 4th century of the AD and it completely destroyed by a powerful earthquake in 7th century of the AD. The upper ave, completely destroyed by earthquake, was corrected and houses were made in here. This hill was converted into a fortress with turning around the walls and towers and it was used as a theater dump.
There were vaulted and medium-sized 6 dressing rooms or warehouses in the stage building. At this stage building, a well preserved and 5 meters in height and 15 meters in length, there are Hellenes inscriptions. Two-boxer statue, the Demos statue, Melpomene and Nike statues, exhibited in the museum, was found in the front of the scene. The northern wall of the stage building was named as the archive. The inscription on this wall contains important correspondence related to the ancient city of the Aphrodisias. These are privileges, given to the city by emperors and special senate decisions. For instance, an article cites that a gold statue of Eros, a gift from Caesar, was stolen and taken to the temple of Artemis at Ephesus and then it was withdrawal. After the Christianization of the city, names of Aphrodite and Aphrodisias were engraved from these articles.
discovered in 1878 by Minos Kalokairinos, a Cretan merchant and antiquarian. March 16, 1900 Sir Arthur Evans, bought & started excavating. He coined the term Minoan, Palace, imagined the reconstructions...
The first Neolithic settlement was on the site circa 7000 BC, the palace building ran from 1900BC to the Roman era, when it was abandoned. Stone age through Bronze to the Iron age!