Tag Archives: Athens

Piccoli dischi in ceramica o pietra da Kyme Eolica. Sprazzi di vita quotidiana nel mondo greco in età geometrica e arcaica

Author: C. Colelli

Download articole as .pdf: Piccoli dischi in ceramica o pietra da Kyme Eolica. Sprazzi di vita quotidiana nel mondo greco in età geometrica e arcaica

From two excavation pits in the lower part of the Agorà of Aiolian Cyme (Izmir, Turkey) an undisturbed late 8th – half of 7th century B.C. stratigraphy was recovered. During the excavation, a small group of disks (few centimeters diameters large), made of both pottery and stone, were found. Similar disks occur at several Mediterranean archaeological sites and were manufactured starting from prehistoric periods. These objects were largely produced during the Geometric and the Archaic period, as mostly attested at Athens. Abundant archaeological literature, mainly in English, considers these disks as pawns for board games (pessoi according to ancient Greek writers). The Greek literature provides also many examples of game activities related to these artifacts and, in some cases, we know the main game rules. The very simple shape and making of the small disks suggest that they could have been reused in other functions, as suggested by literary and iconographic documentation.

Norme sulla tutela dell’ambiente nelle poleis greche di età pre-ellenistica

Author: R. Sammartano

Download article as .pdf: Norme sulla tutela dell’ambiente nelle poleis greche di età pre-ellenistica

This paper offers a study of fifth- and fourth-century BC epigraphical and literary documents pertaining to what we may call ‘ancient ecology’. Even though documents are not many, there is proof of laws governing cleanness and decorum of Greek cities’ public space. From the evidence it is possible to state that city institutions intervened on this matter only in few and ‘exceptional’ cases, with the aim of preventing that some particular areas of the city, which were of primary importance for the community life, got dirty. Citizens were subject to fines, if they threw in public spaces (i.e. streets) animal and human waste, or craftwork activities’. In particular, inscriptions from Athens and Thasos show that rules on health and safety of streets, squares, and river water (like the Ilissus’ water) originated from religious exigences; these rules overlapped extant ritual norms that were issued to ensure cleanness and decorum of spaces intended for public cult or processional routes. There is just a case where a law was intended to solve controversies arousing between private citizens over the cleaning of the space in front of their houses. This kind of cleaning usually was duty of the landlord. This example comes from an inscription found at Gortyn, whose interpretation is however controversial.

Calculating reinforcement for fragmented architectural members. A three dimensional approach

scarica l’articolo in formato pdf: Calculating reinforcement for fragmented architectural members. A three dimensional approach

In the Acropolis of Athens restoration project it is very often to come across significant fractures on the architectural marble members. The common practice of the restoration work is to join the marble fragments together with threaded titanium bars, inserted into drilled holes inside the marble and fixed into place with cement mortar. The estimation of the design loads of structures such as the Acropolis monuments is a very difficult task especially when the seismic response is concerned. For this reason elaborate and accurate methods and analytical tools have been used with very good results. At the recent times discrete elements analysis seems to predict accurately enough the response of these structures and provides a time effective method as opposed to the use of finite element analysis. But the use of such methods for calculating the required reinforcement in each fracture is not yet feasible in a large scale, thus simplified methods are still used to facilitate the work on the site. The methodology of calculating the required reinforcement so far consisted of simplified two dimensional analogies of the fractures and the reinforcement as well as the loading conditions. This article presents a concise and simplified methodology for the calculation of the required reinforcement for fragmented architectural members taking into account the effects of the three spatial dimensions (geometry of the fracture, geometry of the reinforcement and geometry of the loading). In this approach the problem of calculating the expected tension of the reinforcement in complicated spatial forms of fracture is dealt with. The important features and requirements meant to be kept by this project was that the final product should maintain the character of an easy to use and accessible tool that would respond in real time to facilitate the work of the civil engineers on the site.

Criteri di reintegrazione strutturale nel restauro dei monumenti dell’Acropoli di Atene. Problemi metodologici e scelte progettuali

scarica l’articolo in formato pdf: Criteri di reintegrazione strutturale nel restauro dei monumenti dell’Acropoli di Atene. Problemi metodologici e scelte progettuali

With the paper “Criteria of structural supplementation in the restoration of the monuments of the Athenian Acropolis. Methodological problems and design choices” there will be a discussion of the criteria on the basis of which the procedure of supplementing the architectural members is decided. After a brief historical presentation of the previous restoration projects and a brief examination of the restoration principles followed today, these criteria are grouped in five main categories taking as an example the Propylaia restoration. These categories are illustrated with characteristic examples from the interventions at the Propylaia in the last ten years, through which both the methodological problems and the design choices emerge.

The recent intervention programs on the monuments of the Athenian Acropolis

scarica l’articolo in formato pdf: The recent intervention programs on the monuments of the Athenian Acropolis

An extended restoration program of the Athenian Acropolis monuments has been in progress since 1975. The project is carried out by the Hellenic Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports in order to alleviate the effects of serious problems due to natural causes (i.e. earthquakes) or human activities (i.e. fires, bombardments or earlier restorations). The interventions are complied with the spirit of the “Charter of Venice” and follow the principle of reversibility. Effort focuses on keeping the original construction form of the monuments. New marble is used for supplements only to ensure the structural stability of the buildings, while iron clamps and dowels are being replaced by reinforcements made of titanium. The authentic reliefs and sculptures are removed and transferred to the Acropolis Museum and replaced by casts in artificial stone. Scattered architectural fragments recognized as belonging to the monuments are reset in their original or a corresponding position. The paper focuses on the recent intervention programs on the projects underway at the Propylaia and the Parthenon.

Culti primari e secondari nel santuario urbano di Metaponto

download article as .pdf: Culti primari e secondari nel santuario urbano di Metaponto Continue Reading

In case of several major temples located inside the same sanctuary, difficulty arises with regard to the identification of the deity each of them was dedicated to. Although archaeological researches traditionally attempt to refer each temple to a different divinity, many examples of sacred buildings dedicated to the same god or goddess and situated in the same sanctuary can be found throughout the Greek world.

Notwithstanding the widespread presence of Hera cult in Achaean colonies, the analysis of the archaeological, epigraphic and philological documentation concerning Metaponto urban sanctuary seems to indicate that, probably, both temple A and B were consecrated to Apollo, as no conclusive element actually proves the presence of the goddess. In this perspective, the sacred area can be regarded as the place where Apollo – whose cult is testified since the beginning by argoi lithoi distributed in the whole temenos – was worshipped as the principal god and the owner of both the two major temples, while different secondary cults were hosted in other edifices of the sanctuary.

Edifici pubblici e pasto rituale in Attica

download article as .pdf: Edifici pubblici e pasto rituale in Attica Continue Reading

This paper was presented at the International Conference Cibo per gli uomini, cibo per gli dei. Archeologia del pasto rituale, Piazza Armerina, 5-8 of May, 2005. This is now an updated version. The article concerns the issues related to ritual meal in Attica, especially by analyzing the function of several buildings showing an array of cases that has not been properly assessed yet. Each case’s specific features lead to the hypothesis that banquet building rooms’ plan and furniture, as well as the overall number of available seats, point to the existence of different usage methods reflecting coherent social and religious structures. Athens, Eleusis and Brauron are taken into account as examples of a functional system that autonomously organizes its own spaces on the basis of social and institutional needs.