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Interaction and the end of the Late Bronze Age as displayed through neutron activation analysis of Late Helladic sherds: a case study on Asine in the Argolid, Greece

Interaction and the end of the Late Bronze Age as displayed through neutron activation analysis... This article discusses the results of neutron activation analysis made on a limited number of LH IIIB and LH IIIC period sherds from the Argive settlement Asine, Greece. The analysis indicates that the transformation from the palatial to the post-palatial period, on a local level of a village as Asine, was not signified by loss of contacts with the surrounding world. Rather continuity and interaction prevailed, although with other geographical areas as production and use of pottery in the LH IIIB period apparently had a more regional preponderance. The geographical dominance of pottery assigned to producers in north-eastern Peloponnese and distributed over the Mediterranean was terminated, but other operators may have responded to the demand for pottery. . . . . . Keywords NAA neutron activation analysis Asine Greece Late Bronze Age Interaction Continuity Introduction society visible in the archaeological record during LH IIIB experienced a radical change also in existing socio-economic A major puzzle in Mycenaean studies is the causes and impli- structures. cations of the destruction of settlements and in particular the Not everything was made subject to such dramatic change, palaces in about 1200 BC. Following a phase of apparent however. An increasingly voluminous literature argues that prosperity during Late Helladic IIIB, the complex administra- society beyond the palaces displayed a considerable amount tive system visible during this period is no longer to be seen. of resilience, opening up for new modes of exchange and less Linear B tablets, large-scale storage facilities and other ex- centralised control (Small 1998; Sjöberg 2004; Galaty and pressions of a centralised political power appear not to have Parkinson 2007; Crielaard 2011;Nakassis et al. 2011; survived. Several studies have tried to come to grips with the Parkinson et al. 2013;Pullen 2013; Shelmerdine 2013). nature and consequences of the disaster that struck (Drews Before long, many settlements were revived or can be seen 1993; Nur and Cline 2000;Maran 2009; Sjöberg in Weiberg to have continued to function across this momentous divide. If et al. 2010;Drake 2012;Middleton 2012; Knapp and the polity was heavily centralised, and the economy very de- Manning 2016;Lantzas 2016; Finné et al. 2017;Whittaker pendent on that central power, what were the sources of resil- 2017; Driessen 2018; Weiberg and Finné 2018). Scholars ience? Or is it simply an expression of our lack of knowledge who have devoted attention to this event are not necessarily about society beyond the palaces? One way of resolving the in agreement, yet it is widely held that the highly organised conflicting information available to us is to think of LH IIIB society and economy as being made up of distinct circles or activities, only some of which were controlled by the palaces (Halstead 1992; Sjöberg 2004). In their shadow, everyday * B. L. Sjöberg birgitta.sjoberg.2@gu.se activities continued without much interference from central powers, and, as a result, when the palaces fell on hard times, the rest of society was not as severely affected. Local produc- Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden tion and lateral exchange links would then have continued as in the past or were made to fill the gap. As has been shown Helmholtz-Institut für Strahlen- und Kernphysik, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany with respect to pottery production, for instance, there is little 127 Page 2 of 14 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 mention in the Linear B records of the industry or trade in its by hills and low mountains rising to 400–700 m above sea products (Galaty 1999;Knappett 2001;Whitelaw 2001); level. After the polar caps started to melt, the coastline shifted hence, as an industry, it can be assumed to have been of a position and at the east side of the Argive plain Tiryns came more decentralised character. As such, it may have weathered closer to the coast (Zangger 1991). The final deposit affecting the crisis better than would otherwise have been the case. the area seems to have taken place in the LH IIIB2 or early LH Even so, a dominant source of ceramics at least in the IIIC period caused by diversion of a stream close to Tiryns Argolid, the one characterised as belonging to the MYBE (Zangger 1994). The settlement of Asine is located in the group, disappears from the archaeological record outside the south-eastern ‘appendix’ of this geographically well-defined region as we move from LH IIIB to LH IIIC. Therefore, we plain. The location of the village on the coast will be of im- need to find a means to assess the changes, if any, that affected portance in evaluating the status of the site in a regional set- production, exchange and use across these two periods also tlement system as proximity to water, and harbour facilities, for industries and products that might have operated in a more give a settlement a natural advantage in extra-regional decentralised mode. exchange. Addressed to the exchange part of the equation, this article aims to analyse the provenance of sherds found in a decentralised context. It does so with a view to investigating Sample choice continuity or change, approaching the issue of exchange and more indirectly production in a manner partly along the lines The sherds in the analysis are all from the Lower Town of suggested by Gilstrap (2014). If it can be shown that intra- Asine, excavated by O. Frödin and A.W. Persson in 1926 and regional exchange does not change across the divide, it will published in 1938. The publication is rewarding in many provide an additional piece of evidence for the resilience of ways, but there are also some problems, notably the stratigra- Argive society also as the palaces collapsed. If, on the other phy, information on which is at times conflicting (e.g. exca- hand, there is no evidence for continued exchange, we will vated material does not always match excavation records). A have to assess the situation differently. For while the absence later re-examination of the houses located in the Lower Town of similar ware in LH IIIC as compared to LH IIIB cannot has established a clear dominance for LH IIIC remains. This is irrevocably be taken as a sign of disruption, it will force us to in contrast to evidence from the LH IIIA/B period, which is allow for that possibility, and we will therefore need to devote fragmentary; layers older than LH IIIC were not systematical- more effort to establishing the precise state of affairs. In either ly pursued (Sjöberg 2004). That said, there are other areas case, indications of inter-regional exchange (or its absence) attesting to LH IIIA/B habitation in the area of Asine, includ- serve to put any evidence of intra-Argive movements of pot- ing the Barbouna Area as well as the nearby village of Zafer tery in a wider context. Aga (Frizell 1978;Santillo Frizell 1980; Sjöberg 1996). Also For the purposes of this assessment of provenance and the chamber tombs add to our knowledge on the extent to distribution of ceramics as seen from the vantage point of which there is continuous habitation (Mountjoy 1996; localities away from the palaces and settlements immediately Sjöberg 2004). Although no larger and more detailed study adjacent to them, the paper will focus on Asine. A small set- on assemblage composition has been made on the material tlement at the margins of the Argive plain, it also had the from the Lower Town, we may note that similar to the potential to act as an entrepôt for the region. As a research Barbouna area (Santillo Frizell 1980), Lower Town pottery site, it combines the two useful traits of being peripheral and display a combination of decorated tableware, storage vessels being a potential gateway with the advantage of having been and coarse ware. the object of extensive archaeological investigations for about The archaeological material from the old excavations, a century. In order to leverage this to the benefit of our under- stored in the Historic Collections of Gustavianum, standing of ceramics provenance and exchange, against the Uppsala University Museum, Sweden, consists mainly background of the important prior contributions made by pot- of sherds kept in approximately 5000 boxes. The finds tery experts, we build our contribution on a strategic sample of and documentation from Asine are now available in the sherds from Asine on which neutron activation analysis is online database PRAGMATA (Nordquist and Lindblom performed. 2020). The pottery excavated in the Lower Town was cleaned and ‘usually washed in nitric acid’ (Nordquist and Hägg 1996, 14). Combined with a lack of whole Asine by the bay: geographical scope shapes and even good profiles, this makes identification of the study and dating problematic (Santillo Frizell 1980; Sjöberg 2004). The boxes usually provide information on the The Argive Plain, located in the north-eastern part of the excavation date, find context and sometimes depth of Peloponnese, is a coastal plain of about 243 km ,surrounded the layer. However, since the find context only refers Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Page 3 of 14 127 to rather broad areas, it is not always easy to collate The sherds are described (Table 1), when applicable, with excavation map and field diaries (Sjöberg 1997, by using FM and FS, the classifications assigned to 2004; Lindblom et al. 2018). Furumark (1941). A total of ten samples from the excavations in the Lower Town conducted in 1926 are analysed here. Visual inspection assessing decoration and fabric was The neutron activation analysis (NAA) used to select five sherds from each period, LH IIIB procedure and archaeometric results and LH IIIC (Figs. 1 and 2,Table 1). As mentioned, material from LH IIIB is infrequent in the predominant- The samples have been analysed by NAA in the Bonn ly LH IIIC context of the Lower Town, and material archaeometry laboratory that uses this method since about from the earlier period is spread out in boxes dominated 30 years. The resulting weight elemental concentration pat- by LH IIIC material. As the prime focus was the sherds terns comprise 30 minor and trace elements, if present above themselves rather than the detailed specificities of the the detection limit, measured often with uncertainties of only a intra-site find context, this is not a major drawback. few percent. This pattern or elemental profile characterises the Fig. 1 LH IIIB sherds Asin 21– 25.Photo: B.L.Sjöberg 127 Page 4 of 14 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Fig. 2 LH IIIC sherds Asin 26– 30.Photo: B.L.Sjöberg composition of the clay paste used by the ancient potters to references therein). The important parameters are summarised produce their wares. It can be assumed to have a high proba- here: pottery sample size 80 mg, irradiations at the Research bility to be different for pottery workshops at different loca- Reactor Geesthacht, Germany, at a flux of about 5 × 10 tions or regions, even different for different paste recipes in a neutrons per cm and s during 3 h; 4 measurements at different single workshop. Pottery vessels or sherds having the same time intervals after the irradiation, Bonn NAA pottery stan- composition inside small uncertainty bars, therefore, can be dard (composition given in Mommsen and Sjöberg 2007)cal- assumed to have the same origin. This origin and therefore ibrated with the Berkeley pottery standard (Perlman and Asaro provenance of single vessels is established, if its elemental 1969). The comparison of the obtained elemental profiles is profile is similar to profiles known from measurements of done with a statistical filter procedure developed in Bonn so-called reference material of this origin. The NAA proce- (Mommsen et al. 1988a;Beier andMommsen 1994). Out of dure in Bonn has been described several times (Mommsen a large databank all samples statistically similar to a given et al. 1991; Mommsen 2011; Gilboa et al. 2017 and elemental composition can be filtered out to form a group of Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Page 5 of 14 127 Table 1 List of samples analysed and discussed in the paper Asine NAA Type Context Remark NAA inventory sample number number LH IIIB AS1712 Asin21 FS 284 deep bowl Area: Lower Town, Mycenaean Palace- Upper Frizell 1978, figs. 47, 48. 32. LH IIIB TheB FM 46 running spiral Mycenaean house, antae Santillo Frizell 1986,fig.26.235a French and Stockhammer 2009, fig.14.1. LH IIIB2 AS1712 Asin22 FS 284 deep bowl Area: Lower Town, Mycenaean Palace- Upper Frizell 1978, figs. 65b; 66. 107, LH IIIB. MYBE FM 58 chevron Mycenaean house, antae French and Stockhammer 2009,figs. 4.1; 13.8. LH IIIB2 AS2478 Asin23 FS 284 deep bowl Area: Lower Town. Trench: House N Mountjoy 1986, fig. 143.10. LH IIIB1 MYBE FM 75 panel with arrow fringe AS 1362 Asin24 FS 9 krater? Area: Lower Town, Mycenaean Palace-West of Frizell 1978, figs. 57. 64; 59 Single FM 23 whoorl-shell the palace. South room Mountjoy 1986, figs. 135; 156 AS1362 Asin25 FS 284 deep bowl, FS 305 Area: Lower Town, Mycenaean Palace-West of Santillo Frizell 1986, fig. 26. 234. LH MYBE stemmed bowl? FM 75 the palace. South room IIIB (krater or big deep bowl) panel with joining Mountjoy 1986, figs. 161.9; 165. LH semi-circle fringe IIIB2. French and Stockhammer 2009, figs. 6. 3; 12. 1; 19. 3. LH IIIB2 LH IIIC AS3664 Asin26 FS? FM 46 appears in LH IIIC Area: Lower Town, Lower Section, Myc. Palace, Mountjoy 1986 TanA on FS 284 deep bowl, immediately above palace floor LH IIIC kraters, FS 63 collar-necked jar AS5338A Asin27 Handle-body with splash Area: Lower Town, Mixed-Two contexts: 1. Santillo Frizell 1986, no. 410 AEGE round stub. FS63 Upper Mycenaean house, 240-260, 26/6-26; Mountjoy 1986 collar-necked jar, FS69 2. North-west of upper Mycenaean house, Figs. 171; 178 amphora or FS128 hydria? 220-240, 23/6-26 LH IIIC or Transitional? AS2945 Asin28 FS 282 krater? Area: Lower Town, Lower Section, Mycenaean Mountjoy 1986. KnoL/TheB FM53, a broad wavy line? palace, above the floor LH IIIC: M/L? Body banded AS2945 Asin29 FS 284 deep bowl? Area: Lower Town, Lower Section, Mycenaean Santillo Frizell 1986,fig.16. 119panel ChiA FM50 antithetical spirals, palace, above the floor zigzag, p. 76, LH IIIC panel framed by zigzag Mountjoy 1986, fig. 189. 2. LH IIIC:E AS5545 Asin30 FS? Area: Lower Town, East-Lower part LH IIIC Ul26 FM? Body banded samples of the same origin. During the filter process the ex- workshop(s) with this same profile assigned all members of perimental uncertainties of single samples or the standard de- the group MYBE to an origin of this site. But the Berbati viations of already existing groups are considered and also pottery workshop itself is known to have been probably not possible dilutions or elutriations of the clay paste are corrected in use after LH IIIA1, however although no additional kiln is by a best relative fit factor. These features cannot be included found wasters from LH IIIA2/LH IIIB periods suggest that in the often used principal component analysis or the different production continued (Åkerström 1987; Schallin 1997, cluster analyses producing dendrograms (Baxter 2003). 2015; Klintberg 2011). In addition, more recent NAA studies Comparing the Bonn databank of known pottery profiles, have demonstrated that this pattern must represent a general several of the 10 samples could statistically be matched to profile both geographically and chronologically assigned to already formed groups as indicated in Tables 2 and 3. Three also other regions and production centres than Berbati of the five samples from the LH IIIB period (Asin 22, 23, 25) (Zuckerman et al. 2010;Mommsen 2012). For example, have the composition MYBE that is very common in all sam- pieces with the MYBE profile are found in a set of samples ple sets from sites in the Argolid. It was seen already during from Corinth of the classical period (Mommsen et al. 2016). the first measurements of the laboratory in Bonn in samples As long as no other reference material with this profile at a from Mycenae and Tiryns (Mommsen et al. 1988b, called given site is analysed, we prefer to indicate the entire north- there MB) and ascertained by already existing NAA measure- eastern Peloponnese as origin for the profile MYBE. ments of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) One vessel Asin 21 from the period LH IIIB has the pattern (Karageorghis et al. 1972). Wasters from the Berbati TheB assigned to workshops at Thebes in Boeotia (Mommsen 127 Page 6 of 14 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Table 2 Asine, 5 vessels of the time period LH IIIB Asin21 Asin22 Asin23 Asin24 Asin25 AS1712 AS1712 AS2478 AS1362 AS1362 inside p. inside unp. red p. red p. Inside unp. C±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) As 8.55 1.1 6.32 1.3 21.9 0.5 6.26 1.4 3.33 2.5 Ba 474. 9.1 482. 8.6 388. 11. 415. 9.7 414. 10. Ca\% 8.27 2.4 10.5 1.7 9.72 1.8 7.30 2.4 7.84 2.2 Ce 63.5 0.8 56.9 0.9 63.8 0.9 57.5 0.9 63.0 0.9 Co 31.0 0.5 28.6 0.5 29.6 0.5 27.7 0.5 28.1 0.5 Cr 317. 0.4 223. 0.5 242. 0.5 265. 0.4 220. 0.5 Cs 5.97 1.5 9.28 1.1 9.90 1.1 7.82 1.2 9.19 1.1 Eu 1.11 2.0 1.03 2.1 1.11 2.0 0.93 2.2 1.09 2.1 Fe\% 5.17 0.4 5.07 0.4 5.62 0.3 5.09 0.4 5.36 0.3 Ga 21.3 7.9 21.4 7.0 23.6 6.4 19.4 8.6 25.1 6.8 Hf 4.11 1.5 3.65 1.6 3.25 1.8 4.41 1.4 4.10 1.5 K\% 2.80 0.8 2.44 0.8 2.87 0.8 2.48 0.9 2.76 0.9 La 29.9 0.3 27.5 0.3 31.6 0.3 26.6 0.3 30.5 0.3 Lu 0.45 3.2 0.41 3.4 0.44 3.3 0.42 3.2 0.44 3.3 Na\% 1.01 0.4 0.53 0.5 0.49 0.6 0.79 0.5 0.65 0.5 Nd 27.3 7.7 20.2 9.6 22.4 8.7 20.2 9.3 25.7 7.7 Ni 326. 12. 300. 13. 269. 14. 228. 16. 245. 15. Rb 129. 1.9 139. 1.9 156. 1.8 136. 1.9 161. 1.7 Sb 0.56 3.4 0.51 3.3 0.69 2.4 0.53 3.3 0.49 3.5 Sc 20.7 0.1 20.6 0.1 23.5 0.1 20.0 0.1 21.3 0.1 Sm 5.02 0.3 3.97 0.4 4.47 0.4 3.97 0.4 4.50 0.4 Ta 0.89 3.4 0.79 3.7 0.83 3.6 0.88 3.3 0.88 3.5 Tb 0.74 6.6 0.49 9.5 0.60 8.1 0.61 7.5 0.70 7.0 Th 10.7 0.6 10.1 0.6 11.1 0.6 10.4 0.6 11.0 0.6 Ti\% 0.58 9.9 0.58 9.9 0.64 9.1 0.54 10. 0.61 9.6 U 1.55 6.2 2.08 4.1 2.16 4.0 2.27 3.9 2.16 4.1 W 2.10 6.7 2.37 5.4 2.24 5.7 2.31 6.1 2.28 6.0 Yb 2.68 2.0 2.54 1.9 2.66 1.8 2.45 2.0 2.72 1.8 Zn 92.8 2.4 98.9 2.3 103. 2.2 95.8 2.3 110. 2.2 Zr 162. 16. 128. 20. 86.0 31. 128. 20. 121. 22. Group TheB MYBE MYBE single MYBE Factor 0.97 1.07 0.98 1.00 0.99 Concentrations C of elements in μg/g (ppm), if not indicated otherwise, and experimental uncertainties (error) δ in % of C. The sample is member of the group given below the elemental values together with its individual best relative fit factor with respect to this group. Single means chemical loner and Maran 2000–2001; Schwedt et al. 2006 [group B = The picture is different for the time period LH IIIC. None TheB]). The match to a very similar pattern KnoL assigned of the 5 samples has the concentration pattern MYBE. Sample to Central Crete can be excluded here because of amongst Asin 26 has the Boeotian pattern TanA assigned by a clay others mainly the Rb value of (129 ± 1.9) ppm that is higher sample to a workshop(s) at or near Tanagra (Mühlenbruch for Boeotia than for Central Crete Rb: (106 ±7.1) ppm (Gilboa and Mommsen 2011). A second sample Asin 28 has a com- et al. 2017). The sample Asin 24 has a chemical composition position that archaeometrically has to be assigned with nearly that is new to us and a single in our databank of now more than similar probabilities to Boeotia (group TheB despite the low 12600 samples from the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. It Rb value) and Central Crete (group KnoL, Gilboa et al. 2017). might represent the first sample of a still unknown pottery Sample Asin 27 has also a pattern AEGE already known and workshop or been contaminated in antiquity or in our times. indicating with high probability an origin from Aegina Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Page 7 of 14 127 (Mommsen et al. 2001). Asin 29 is according to its concen- to be Mycenaean imports. As demonstrated by macroscopic tration pattern an import from Chios (Demakopoulou et al. examination and later confirmed by NAA analysis, the major- 2017; Lis et al. 2020; Huy et al. 2020). With lower probability, ity had an Argive origin (Jung 2018). The corpus of pottery an origin in Attica is possible, nevertheless with deviating material on export from the Greek mainland and specifically lower Rb and K. The last sample Asin 30 has a profile Ul26, the Argolid has indeed expanded with the NAA method. with 15 members in the Bonn databank that is still not located Thus, pottery found in some tombs at Laish/Dan was imported with certainty (Forsén et al. 2017). from the Argolid (Gunneweg and Michel 1999). This study has since been followed by several others, including analyses of material from Tell el-Safi/Gath Israel (Mountjoy and Discussion Mommsen 2001;Ben-Shlomoetal. 2008). Results from an analysis of pottery from Northern Israel, based on NAA, list The LH IIIB period 138 samples out of 183 vessels as sharing the MYBE profile. That study also identifies the complexity in trade patterns with As has been noted above, the MYBE concentration profile intra-regional distribution of imported pottery of the clay pro- was not delimited to the workshop(s) of Berbati only but file MYBE with Tell Abu Hawam acting as the main gateway points very probably to a number of different workshops in for the region (Zuckerman et al. 2010). The geographical ex- the region of the north-eastern Peloponnese so far not identi- tent of trade and the complexity of the operations are also fied. A larger number of Late Helladic sherds from Midea demonstrated in a sample from Tarsus-Gözlükule, Turkey, have this profile; according to Demakopoulou et al. (2017), as NAA assigns it to the north-east Peloponnesian group, the pottery was produced in specialised workshops intended MYBE (Mommsen et al. 2011). Similarly, in a recent study for the great Argive centres but also for export. Although set in by Spataro et al. (2019), Mycenaean pottery found at Amara another regional context, the kingdom of Pylos, in an early West (Nubia, Sudan) is attributed to the MYBE group. study, Whitelaw (2001) demonstrated the decentralisation of Combined, these recent studies give a hint of the magnitude pottery production with limited palatial involvement. As was of trade contacts during the Late Bronze Age IIIB, and, criti- pointed out by Whitelaw, in any attempt to extrapolate the cally, they help position the Argive economy as a partner in Pylos model to other regions, caution should be exercised, long-distance trade with external markets. It also suggests that but the results of the investigation are of interest for how we the palatial period in the Argolid may not have been depen- might understand the construction of regional economies in dent on one major palatial site (i.e. Mycenae), for the distri- the wider Late Helladic society. With an improved knowledge bution of goods. Instead, thanks to geographical location or concerning production and distribution of Argive pottery, the infrastructure, several sites may have functioned as nodes for commercial activity. Due to its position as a centre but also importance of adopting a regional lens for assessing the nature of the economy should not be neglected. with a port as favourable located close to the coast, Tiryns is As concerns Asine specifically (see Maps 1 and 2), the sam- likely to have been an important node for maritime contacts ples do not contradict observations to the effect that regionalism (Maran 2009; Stockhammer 2011; Kardamaki et al. 2016). in production and exchange may be at hand. This is so as three Yet there is nothing to suggest that Tiryns, to the extent it samples in this case study (Asin 22, 23, 25) show the well- served as the transhipment point at all, was alone and Asine known pattern MYBE, as expected in a LH IIIB Argive con- could be one of the alternatives available. It is simply not text. These samples and the sample Asin 21, originating in the possible to tell. What the samples analysed do demonstrate Boeotian source TheB, point to Asine either taking part in an is that Asine participated in an intra-Argive exchange, possi- inter-regional exchange system based on demand at the bly both as a local consumer of the regionally produced high- regional/local level or possibly, thanks to the favourable loca- quality pottery and conceivably also as a node for extra- tion on the coast, operating as a gateway for pottery distributed regional distribution of regional and non-regional products. to and from the Argive region or both. While we are in no Hypothesising for the region of Argolid such a position to discriminate between these potential explanations, decentralised pattern of pottery production and exchange, as it shows that Asine took part in a wider system of exchange. demonstrated by finds of sherds of the MYBE provenance, is That the system did at times extend beyond the shores of consonant with research that suggests that the view of the Late the Argolid is not in doubt. The issue here is rather when, in Helladic society as being under total palatial control needs to what period or periods. As recently pointed out by Jung et al. be revised (Small 1998;Sjöberg 2004; Galaty and Parkinson (2015), the mass export of fine Mycenaean pottery has long 2007; Crielaard 2011;Nakassis et al. 2011; Parkinson et al. been observed in the material from eastern part of the 2013;Pullen 2013;Shelmerdine 2013). Yet it does not in itself Mediterranean. There typological features have demonstrated tell us if this state of affairs also pertained to the period fol- a production directed towards local consumers across the sea. lowing the collapse of the palaces. At Tell Kazel, for example, a broad spectrum of types showed 127 Page 8 of 14 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Table 3 Asine, 5 vessels of the time period LH IIIC Asin26 Asin27 Asin28 Asin29 Asin30 AS3664 AS5338A AS2945 AS2945 AS5545 thick with handle reddish beige C±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) As 9.86 1.1 9.69 1.0 11.7 1.0 32.3 0.4 9.37 1.2 Ba 418. 11. 521. 8.1 484. 9.0 381. 11. 413. 10. Ca\% 8.22 2.7 9.79 2.0 7.91 2.6 8.65 2.2 5.76 3.2 Ce 59.4 0.9 55.1 0.9 59.9 0.9 63.5 0.9 64.3 0.8 Co 36.7 0.5 18.6 0.6 34.5 0.5 36.1 0.5 29.9 0.5 Cr 596. 0.4 386. 0.4 522. 0.4 478. 0.4 390. 0.4 Cs 4.84 1.8 7.01 1.3 5.46 1.6 11.3 1.0 5.40 1.6 Eu 1.10 2.0 1.03 2.1 1.03 2.1 1.17 2.0 1.13 2.0 Fe\% 5.00 0.4 4.46 0.4 5.28 0.3 5.24 0.4 4.90 0.4 Ga 17.9 13. 20.0 10. 25.1 9.2 20.6 11. 18.0 13. Hf 4.03 1.5 4.98 1.2 3.83 1.6 4.54 1.4 4.62 1.4 K\% 1.76 1.6 1.88 1.3 1.44 1.8 1.76 1.5 2.66 1.1 La 27.7 0.3 26.0 0.3 27.8 0.3 28.1 0.3 29.8 0.3 Lu 0.40 3.5 0.36 3.7 0.40 3.6 0.47 3.2 0.41 3.6 Na\% 1.77 0.4 1.11 0.4 1.44 0.4 1.04 0.5 1.17 0.5 Nd 24.2 8.7 19.1 10. 24.5 8.4 27.1 7.7 24.8 8.2 Ni 460. 8.6 280. 13. 391. 10. 413. 9.8 364. 10. Rb 86.3 2.5 93.2 2.3 103. 2.3 89.8 2.5 115. 2.1 Sb 0.63 3.3 0.67 2.7 0.57 3.5 1.32 1.6 0.56 3.4 Sc 19.1 0.1 17.4 0.1 20.7 0.1 22.4 0.1 19.5 0.1 Sm 4.72 0.4 4.36 0.4 4.68 0.4 5.13 0.4 4.76 0.4 Ta 0.82 3.6 0.82 3.5 0.89 3.5 0.89 3.5 0.91 3.3 Tb 0.62 7.4 0.61 7.2 0.62 7.7 0.64 7.7 0.67 7.2 Th 9.75 0.6 9.28 0.6 10.4 0.6 10.1 0.6 10.4 0.6 Ti\% 0.69 9.0 0.46 13. 0.48 13. 0.62 10. 0.40 15. U 1.64 6.5 1.85 5.0 1.72 6.0 2.18 4.4 1.74 5.6 W 1.90 9.0 1.57 9.5 2.13 8.0 2.01 8.0 2.49 6.8 Yb 2.60 2.3 2.35 2.1 2.43 2.3 2.94 1.8 2.69 1.9 Zn 99.3 2.3 89.7 2.3 95.4 2.4 125. 2.0 176. 1.6 Zr 120. 21. 148. 16. 111. 23. 159. 17. 139. 18. Group TanA AEGE KnoL/TheB ChiA Ul26 Factor 0.86 0.91 0.97/1.02 0.80 0.90 Concentrations C of elements in μg/g (ppm), if not indicated otherwise, and experimental uncertainties (error) δ in % of C. The sample is member of the group given below the elemental values together with its individual best relative fit factor with respect to this group. A membership of the 2nd group shown is statistically possible but with lower probability The LH IIIC period (Profitis Ilias), 1 from Lerna and also 1 from Aegina itself. The only published sample is from an Early Helladic sherd One of the samples conforms to a pattern named Ul26 collection from Asea, Arcadia. On typological grounds, it (Unlocated group no. 26). The pattern has 15 members is assigned to the so-called Talioti phase, named after the in the Bonn databank, mostly unpublished, found in di- valley Talioti located between Asine and Nauplion verse chronological and geographical settings; besides the (Forsén et al. 2017). sample here (Asin 30), it is found, for instance, in 6 other The remaining LH IIIC samples diverge as well from the pieces of Aeginetan Ware from Asine dated to the periods LH IIIB examples as there is no secured regional ware EH IIItoLHIA, in2piecesfromTiryns, 2fromKatsingri characterised by the MYBE pattern during this period at Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Page 9 of 14 127 Map 1 The Aegean region. Base map: d-maps, URL https://d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=3170&lang=en Asine. This is in contrast to sherds of the regional pattern these vessels were traded as late as the LH IIIC early period MYBE validated in LH IIIC samples from Midea and (Gauss et al. 2017; Lis et al. 2020). Although we still have Tiryns (Mommsen et al. 1988b; Mommsen and Maran limited knowledge about production centres, it is worthy of 2000–2001;Demakopoulou etal. 2017). As mentioned earli- note that the examination of pottery has indirectly demonstrat- er, it has until rather recently been assumed that there was one ed contrasting practises of manufacturing with also table ware single source for the MYBE production, one probably not in exchanged in the transitional LH IIIB–LH IIIC early period use after LH IIIA/B. However, recent NAA studies have dem- (Gilstrap 2014, 2016). The sample from Asine is perhaps one onstrated that the pattern may represent a general profile both of those vessels distributed outside Aegina in this transitional geographically and chronologically assigned to more regions period; also the mixed Mycenaean context could be of rele- and production centres (Zuckerman et al. 2010). Given the vance for dating. The vessel, a jug or hydria, may have been small sample examined the lack of an Argive regional pattern produced in the earlier part of the transitional period and still may of course be pure coincidence in the Asine case. used in the LH IIIC context of the Lower Town. Stockhammer The samples include TanA (Tanagra, Boeotia) a pattern (2009) has explained reintegration of earlier pottery material demonstrated in a LH IIIC sample, a skyphos, from Sirkeli, in the settlement context of LH IIIC in the Lower Town at Turkey (Mühlenbruch and Mommsen 2011). Another sample Tiryns, as connected to the social positioning of an elite fam- KnoL/TheB (Thebes) is also a clay paste used in Boeotia. ily. Also Maran (2015) has recently adopted this model of Interestingly, the pattern TheB/KnoL is identified in two LH palatial relicts in the LH IIIC context operating as former IIIC samples from Punta di Zambrone in Calabria, Italy (Jung symbols of power directly linking the past with the LH IIIC et al. 2015). Asin 27, with the composition AEGE, is most society. Similarly, Jung et al. (2015) has observed the phe- probably from Aegina. As concerns the production of the nomenon at many Levantine settlements, and not only in reli- well-known cooking pottery, this continued for long, and gious contexts, with Mycenaean vessels treated with care and 127 Page 10 of 14 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 A survey of the settlement has demonstrated that the time of expansion of Asine covers the middle and late phases of the LH IIIC period; this can be seen in Houses G, H, I and K located in the Lower Town (Sjöberg 2004). As described by the excavators (Frödin and Persson 1938) and reported in field diaries, Houses H and I both had kilns; there are also some photos of the col- lapsed constructions. The kiln in House H is described as a potter’s kiln of ordinary type, and burnt clay pieces and sherds exposed to high temperature were found in the corresponding boxes. However, analyses have not been made of the material, so firing temperatures are not confirmed. House I is reported to have a more complex construction, but unfortunately no related finds have been found. The extent to which the two possible kilns may have had importance for the household as a supplement to other sources of subsistence can therefore not be established (Sjöberg 1997). Indeed, the LH IIIC kilns set in a house context should not be compared with the earlier larger units in use, such as that at Kolonna, Aegina, that probably was intended for production of greater quantities of pottery (Karkanas 2019). Further, as concern Asine, the accumulation of LH IIIC material in the Acropolis area demonstrates the extension of the settlement (Santillo Frizell 1986; Penttinen 1996). Another case relatively close by is that of Tiryns, where the Map 2 The Argolid. Base map: d-maps, URL https://d-maps.com/carte. palatial architecture was replaced by a village-like occupation php?num_car=3170&lang=en with houses arranged around courtyards and with an extensive in use for long. The sample Asin 29 with pattern ChiA is settled area and a post-palatial culture (Maran 2002–2003, assigned to the island of Chios (Lis et al. 2020; Huy et al. 2006, 2009; Maran and Papadimitriou 2006, 2016; 2020). This particular pattern has also been found elsewhere Mühlenbruch 2007; Stockhammer 2011). According to in the Argolid, namely, in a LH IIIB2 floor deposit at Midea in Stockhammer (2011,209),Tiryns ‘became the new paramount the form of a transport stirrup jar (Demakopoulou et al. 2017). representative center’, this later flourishing of the settlement As a parallel to MYBE and AEGE, in both LH IIIB and LH being ‘the result of the earthquake of 1250 BCE’.Also herea IIIC periods, ChiA may possibly be understood as an instance probable LH IIIC kiln has been reported (Kilian 1981, 1982; where the island of Chios for a long period supplied a wider Rahmtorf 2015). Maran (2005, 2009) observed the presence of geographical area with pottery. The pattern ChiA has also foreign objects found at Tiryns, indicating that long-distance been identified in two samples of LH IIIC material from the trade relations resembling trade structures in the palatial period chamber tombs at Perati (Lis et al. 2020). were resumed after the destruction at the end of LH IIIB. Also In sum, the Asine samples illustrate the existence of exten- at Midea, another major Argive LH IIIB settlement, the LH IIIC sive geographical networks also in the LH IIIC period. This is period sees continuity, for instance, as demonstrated in building in line with existing research. It has been suggested for Achaia activity and finds of pottery (Walberg 1999; Demakopoulou (Arena 2015) that due to the presence of imported goods in the 2007b, 2015; Demakopoulou et al. 2017). LH IIIC period, the region probably benefited from the col- What all of this demonstrates is that activity continues lapse in the end of LH IIIB. As argued by Demakopoulou across the divide LH IIIB to LH IIIC. In some important (2007a, b), the period LH IIIC Middle saw a flourishing in respects, though, it is different. This goes both for Asine and most regions of the Aegean. An interesting settlement is for the Argive region, including the role of Asine in it. The Elateia-Alanoki in Central Greece as according to S. Deger- most important indication is the few reported finds of ware of Jalkotzy (2007) imported vases indicate the geographical MYBE provenance in the region as a whole; in that sense, the range of the external contacts during LH IIIC Middle and absence in our sample from LH IIIC is true to form. Yet the Late periods. Against this background, it is worthy of note small size of the sample does not allow for any clear conclu- that the reported abandonment of the cemetery at Elateia- sion on this score: the fact that it is not represented in a sample Alanoki in the LH IIIC Early was followed by an increase in of five sherds does of course not preclude presence as such. use in the subsequent phases. The same pattern of reuse of Combining this inconclusive observation with the parallel ob- tombs and dominance of LH IIIC Middle and Late vases has servations that the MYBE pattern seems to disappear from also been found at Asine (Mountjoy 1996;Sjöberg 2004). locations further east and that other extra-Argive links can Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Page 11 of 14 127 be traced in the material at Asine, however, suggests a conti- material only was marshalled for the purposes of this study, we nuity in the sense that extra-site exchange did not grind to a submit that Asine and its hinterland was part of exchange net- halt. Rather, exchange networks were either maintained, works in the LH IIIC period, potentially also complex ones that established anew or developed to fill the gap where others included extra-Argive contact. As such it answers our original ceased to operate. This happened despite the fate of the question on the resilience of Argive communities beyond the palaces, to an extent perhaps also as a result of the collapse. palaces and their continued participation in regional and extra- After all, beyond maintaining or re-establishing pre-existing regional exchange. patterns of exchange, it could also include realignment as part of the need or possibilities for filling voids that materialised. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University, and Anne Ingvarsson Sundström curator, for permis- sion to analyse and publish the material from the Asine Collection. A Concluding remarks special thanks to professor em. Gullög Nordquist, Uppsala University, for all help and interesting discussions in the archive. We also acknowledge, with gratitude, the staff of the research reactor in Geesthacht for their This case study based on a limited number of Late Bronze Age technical support. We are most grateful to the two anonymous referees sherds from the settlement of Asine demonstrates the need to for all valuable comments. include local settlement material in analyses of interaction on regional and inter-regional level. It also shows that Gilstrap’s Availability of data and material Applicable. Code availability Not applicable. (2014) ‘indirect’ method could prove fruitful. In addition, such a research strategy will provide us with possibilities of Author contribution H Mommsen contributed the ‘The neutron activa- discussing the socio-economic structure in a non-palatial con- tion analysis (NAA) procedure and archaeometric results’ part in article. text. As concern the presence of mostly regional pottery from B L. Sjöberg contributed in all other parts. the LH IIIB period, this can be interpreted as for local use (on use, consumption, Jung 2012). This must not be construed as Funding Open access funding provided by University of Gothenburg. We wish to thank the Selma Andersson donation, Uppsala University, Asine having served as an entrepôt. The type of evidence mus- for generosity with funding, which made it possible to analyse the mate- tered here does not allow for that. Despite a favourable location rial from Asine, stored at the Uppsala University. that could have implied it serving as a gateway for distribution of high-quality pottery from the Argive region, the demand in Declarations Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean area falls away as LH IIIB turns LH IIIC (Badre et al. 2005; Jung 2006, 2015, 2018; Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests. Mommsen 2011). For now, although evidence of MYBE is Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons locally present in LH IIIC (e.g. at Midea; Demakopoulou Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adap- et al. 2017), we are compelled to note that extensive export of tation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as MYBE seems to have ceased after LH IIIB. you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, pro- With this in mind, the natural or other calamities that appear vide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included to have occurred at the end of LH IIIB was not of such a nature in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a so as to having prevented exchange of widely used products credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's such as ceramic ware of different kinds. Hence, our original Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by question can be answered in the affirmative: albeit of perhaps statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this a slightly different profile, exchange as such does not disappear licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. as Asine moves into LH IIIC. As recent literature suggests for the Argive region as a whole, the recovery was faster and stron- ger than previously believed, and also the inhabitants of Asine succeeded in maintaining exchange networks either as References established earlier or to be replaced by new contacts and sites of production. Thus, while for LH IIIC no ware of the MYBE Åkerström Å (1987) Berbati 2: the pictorial pottery. 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Am J Archaeol 98:189–212. https://doi.org/10.2307/506635 Shelmerdine CW (2013) Crafts, specialists, and markets in Mycenaean Zuckerman A, Ben-Schlomo D, Mountjoy PA, Mommsen H (2010) A Greece. Economic interplay among households and states. Am J provenance study of Mycenaean pottery from Northern Israel. J Archaeol 117:447–452. https://doi.org/10.3764/aja.117.3.0447 Archaeol Sci 37:409–416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.10.005 Sjöberg BL (1996) Five Mycenaean vases from Zafer Aga, 1924. In: Hägg R, Nordquist G, Wells B (eds) Asine III. Supplementary stud- Publisher’snote Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdic- ies on the Swedish excavations 1922–1930. ActaAth-4° 45:1, tional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Svenska Institutet i Athen, Stockholm, pp 101–110 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences Springer Journals

Interaction and the end of the Late Bronze Age as displayed through neutron activation analysis of Late Helladic sherds: a case study on Asine in the Argolid, Greece

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Abstract

This article discusses the results of neutron activation analysis made on a limited number of LH IIIB and LH IIIC period sherds from the Argive settlement Asine, Greece. The analysis indicates that the transformation from the palatial to the post-palatial period, on a local level of a village as Asine, was not signified by loss of contacts with the surrounding world. Rather continuity and interaction prevailed, although with other geographical areas as production and use of pottery in the LH IIIB period apparently had a more regional preponderance. The geographical dominance of pottery assigned to producers in north-eastern Peloponnese and distributed over the Mediterranean was terminated, but other operators may have responded to the demand for pottery. . . . . . Keywords NAA neutron activation analysis Asine Greece Late Bronze Age Interaction Continuity Introduction society visible in the archaeological record during LH IIIB experienced a radical change also in existing socio-economic A major puzzle in Mycenaean studies is the causes and impli- structures. cations of the destruction of settlements and in particular the Not everything was made subject to such dramatic change, palaces in about 1200 BC. Following a phase of apparent however. An increasingly voluminous literature argues that prosperity during Late Helladic IIIB, the complex administra- society beyond the palaces displayed a considerable amount tive system visible during this period is no longer to be seen. of resilience, opening up for new modes of exchange and less Linear B tablets, large-scale storage facilities and other ex- centralised control (Small 1998; Sjöberg 2004; Galaty and pressions of a centralised political power appear not to have Parkinson 2007; Crielaard 2011;Nakassis et al. 2011; survived. Several studies have tried to come to grips with the Parkinson et al. 2013;Pullen 2013; Shelmerdine 2013). nature and consequences of the disaster that struck (Drews Before long, many settlements were revived or can be seen 1993; Nur and Cline 2000;Maran 2009; Sjöberg in Weiberg to have continued to function across this momentous divide. If et al. 2010;Drake 2012;Middleton 2012; Knapp and the polity was heavily centralised, and the economy very de- Manning 2016;Lantzas 2016; Finné et al. 2017;Whittaker pendent on that central power, what were the sources of resil- 2017; Driessen 2018; Weiberg and Finné 2018). Scholars ience? Or is it simply an expression of our lack of knowledge who have devoted attention to this event are not necessarily about society beyond the palaces? One way of resolving the in agreement, yet it is widely held that the highly organised conflicting information available to us is to think of LH IIIB society and economy as being made up of distinct circles or activities, only some of which were controlled by the palaces (Halstead 1992; Sjöberg 2004). In their shadow, everyday * B. L. Sjöberg birgitta.sjoberg.2@gu.se activities continued without much interference from central powers, and, as a result, when the palaces fell on hard times, the rest of society was not as severely affected. Local produc- Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden tion and lateral exchange links would then have continued as in the past or were made to fill the gap. As has been shown Helmholtz-Institut für Strahlen- und Kernphysik, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany with respect to pottery production, for instance, there is little 127 Page 2 of 14 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 mention in the Linear B records of the industry or trade in its by hills and low mountains rising to 400–700 m above sea products (Galaty 1999;Knappett 2001;Whitelaw 2001); level. After the polar caps started to melt, the coastline shifted hence, as an industry, it can be assumed to have been of a position and at the east side of the Argive plain Tiryns came more decentralised character. As such, it may have weathered closer to the coast (Zangger 1991). The final deposit affecting the crisis better than would otherwise have been the case. the area seems to have taken place in the LH IIIB2 or early LH Even so, a dominant source of ceramics at least in the IIIC period caused by diversion of a stream close to Tiryns Argolid, the one characterised as belonging to the MYBE (Zangger 1994). The settlement of Asine is located in the group, disappears from the archaeological record outside the south-eastern ‘appendix’ of this geographically well-defined region as we move from LH IIIB to LH IIIC. Therefore, we plain. The location of the village on the coast will be of im- need to find a means to assess the changes, if any, that affected portance in evaluating the status of the site in a regional set- production, exchange and use across these two periods also tlement system as proximity to water, and harbour facilities, for industries and products that might have operated in a more give a settlement a natural advantage in extra-regional decentralised mode. exchange. Addressed to the exchange part of the equation, this article aims to analyse the provenance of sherds found in a decentralised context. It does so with a view to investigating Sample choice continuity or change, approaching the issue of exchange and more indirectly production in a manner partly along the lines The sherds in the analysis are all from the Lower Town of suggested by Gilstrap (2014). If it can be shown that intra- Asine, excavated by O. Frödin and A.W. Persson in 1926 and regional exchange does not change across the divide, it will published in 1938. The publication is rewarding in many provide an additional piece of evidence for the resilience of ways, but there are also some problems, notably the stratigra- Argive society also as the palaces collapsed. If, on the other phy, information on which is at times conflicting (e.g. exca- hand, there is no evidence for continued exchange, we will vated material does not always match excavation records). A have to assess the situation differently. For while the absence later re-examination of the houses located in the Lower Town of similar ware in LH IIIC as compared to LH IIIB cannot has established a clear dominance for LH IIIC remains. This is irrevocably be taken as a sign of disruption, it will force us to in contrast to evidence from the LH IIIA/B period, which is allow for that possibility, and we will therefore need to devote fragmentary; layers older than LH IIIC were not systematical- more effort to establishing the precise state of affairs. In either ly pursued (Sjöberg 2004). That said, there are other areas case, indications of inter-regional exchange (or its absence) attesting to LH IIIA/B habitation in the area of Asine, includ- serve to put any evidence of intra-Argive movements of pot- ing the Barbouna Area as well as the nearby village of Zafer tery in a wider context. Aga (Frizell 1978;Santillo Frizell 1980; Sjöberg 1996). Also For the purposes of this assessment of provenance and the chamber tombs add to our knowledge on the extent to distribution of ceramics as seen from the vantage point of which there is continuous habitation (Mountjoy 1996; localities away from the palaces and settlements immediately Sjöberg 2004). Although no larger and more detailed study adjacent to them, the paper will focus on Asine. A small set- on assemblage composition has been made on the material tlement at the margins of the Argive plain, it also had the from the Lower Town, we may note that similar to the potential to act as an entrepôt for the region. As a research Barbouna area (Santillo Frizell 1980), Lower Town pottery site, it combines the two useful traits of being peripheral and display a combination of decorated tableware, storage vessels being a potential gateway with the advantage of having been and coarse ware. the object of extensive archaeological investigations for about The archaeological material from the old excavations, a century. In order to leverage this to the benefit of our under- stored in the Historic Collections of Gustavianum, standing of ceramics provenance and exchange, against the Uppsala University Museum, Sweden, consists mainly background of the important prior contributions made by pot- of sherds kept in approximately 5000 boxes. The finds tery experts, we build our contribution on a strategic sample of and documentation from Asine are now available in the sherds from Asine on which neutron activation analysis is online database PRAGMATA (Nordquist and Lindblom performed. 2020). The pottery excavated in the Lower Town was cleaned and ‘usually washed in nitric acid’ (Nordquist and Hägg 1996, 14). Combined with a lack of whole Asine by the bay: geographical scope shapes and even good profiles, this makes identification of the study and dating problematic (Santillo Frizell 1980; Sjöberg 2004). The boxes usually provide information on the The Argive Plain, located in the north-eastern part of the excavation date, find context and sometimes depth of Peloponnese, is a coastal plain of about 243 km ,surrounded the layer. However, since the find context only refers Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Page 3 of 14 127 to rather broad areas, it is not always easy to collate The sherds are described (Table 1), when applicable, with excavation map and field diaries (Sjöberg 1997, by using FM and FS, the classifications assigned to 2004; Lindblom et al. 2018). Furumark (1941). A total of ten samples from the excavations in the Lower Town conducted in 1926 are analysed here. Visual inspection assessing decoration and fabric was The neutron activation analysis (NAA) used to select five sherds from each period, LH IIIB procedure and archaeometric results and LH IIIC (Figs. 1 and 2,Table 1). As mentioned, material from LH IIIB is infrequent in the predominant- The samples have been analysed by NAA in the Bonn ly LH IIIC context of the Lower Town, and material archaeometry laboratory that uses this method since about from the earlier period is spread out in boxes dominated 30 years. The resulting weight elemental concentration pat- by LH IIIC material. As the prime focus was the sherds terns comprise 30 minor and trace elements, if present above themselves rather than the detailed specificities of the the detection limit, measured often with uncertainties of only a intra-site find context, this is not a major drawback. few percent. This pattern or elemental profile characterises the Fig. 1 LH IIIB sherds Asin 21– 25.Photo: B.L.Sjöberg 127 Page 4 of 14 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Fig. 2 LH IIIC sherds Asin 26– 30.Photo: B.L.Sjöberg composition of the clay paste used by the ancient potters to references therein). The important parameters are summarised produce their wares. It can be assumed to have a high proba- here: pottery sample size 80 mg, irradiations at the Research bility to be different for pottery workshops at different loca- Reactor Geesthacht, Germany, at a flux of about 5 × 10 tions or regions, even different for different paste recipes in a neutrons per cm and s during 3 h; 4 measurements at different single workshop. Pottery vessels or sherds having the same time intervals after the irradiation, Bonn NAA pottery stan- composition inside small uncertainty bars, therefore, can be dard (composition given in Mommsen and Sjöberg 2007)cal- assumed to have the same origin. This origin and therefore ibrated with the Berkeley pottery standard (Perlman and Asaro provenance of single vessels is established, if its elemental 1969). The comparison of the obtained elemental profiles is profile is similar to profiles known from measurements of done with a statistical filter procedure developed in Bonn so-called reference material of this origin. The NAA proce- (Mommsen et al. 1988a;Beier andMommsen 1994). Out of dure in Bonn has been described several times (Mommsen a large databank all samples statistically similar to a given et al. 1991; Mommsen 2011; Gilboa et al. 2017 and elemental composition can be filtered out to form a group of Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Page 5 of 14 127 Table 1 List of samples analysed and discussed in the paper Asine NAA Type Context Remark NAA inventory sample number number LH IIIB AS1712 Asin21 FS 284 deep bowl Area: Lower Town, Mycenaean Palace- Upper Frizell 1978, figs. 47, 48. 32. LH IIIB TheB FM 46 running spiral Mycenaean house, antae Santillo Frizell 1986,fig.26.235a French and Stockhammer 2009, fig.14.1. LH IIIB2 AS1712 Asin22 FS 284 deep bowl Area: Lower Town, Mycenaean Palace- Upper Frizell 1978, figs. 65b; 66. 107, LH IIIB. MYBE FM 58 chevron Mycenaean house, antae French and Stockhammer 2009,figs. 4.1; 13.8. LH IIIB2 AS2478 Asin23 FS 284 deep bowl Area: Lower Town. Trench: House N Mountjoy 1986, fig. 143.10. LH IIIB1 MYBE FM 75 panel with arrow fringe AS 1362 Asin24 FS 9 krater? Area: Lower Town, Mycenaean Palace-West of Frizell 1978, figs. 57. 64; 59 Single FM 23 whoorl-shell the palace. South room Mountjoy 1986, figs. 135; 156 AS1362 Asin25 FS 284 deep bowl, FS 305 Area: Lower Town, Mycenaean Palace-West of Santillo Frizell 1986, fig. 26. 234. LH MYBE stemmed bowl? FM 75 the palace. South room IIIB (krater or big deep bowl) panel with joining Mountjoy 1986, figs. 161.9; 165. LH semi-circle fringe IIIB2. French and Stockhammer 2009, figs. 6. 3; 12. 1; 19. 3. LH IIIB2 LH IIIC AS3664 Asin26 FS? FM 46 appears in LH IIIC Area: Lower Town, Lower Section, Myc. Palace, Mountjoy 1986 TanA on FS 284 deep bowl, immediately above palace floor LH IIIC kraters, FS 63 collar-necked jar AS5338A Asin27 Handle-body with splash Area: Lower Town, Mixed-Two contexts: 1. Santillo Frizell 1986, no. 410 AEGE round stub. FS63 Upper Mycenaean house, 240-260, 26/6-26; Mountjoy 1986 collar-necked jar, FS69 2. North-west of upper Mycenaean house, Figs. 171; 178 amphora or FS128 hydria? 220-240, 23/6-26 LH IIIC or Transitional? AS2945 Asin28 FS 282 krater? Area: Lower Town, Lower Section, Mycenaean Mountjoy 1986. KnoL/TheB FM53, a broad wavy line? palace, above the floor LH IIIC: M/L? Body banded AS2945 Asin29 FS 284 deep bowl? Area: Lower Town, Lower Section, Mycenaean Santillo Frizell 1986,fig.16. 119panel ChiA FM50 antithetical spirals, palace, above the floor zigzag, p. 76, LH IIIC panel framed by zigzag Mountjoy 1986, fig. 189. 2. LH IIIC:E AS5545 Asin30 FS? Area: Lower Town, East-Lower part LH IIIC Ul26 FM? Body banded samples of the same origin. During the filter process the ex- workshop(s) with this same profile assigned all members of perimental uncertainties of single samples or the standard de- the group MYBE to an origin of this site. But the Berbati viations of already existing groups are considered and also pottery workshop itself is known to have been probably not possible dilutions or elutriations of the clay paste are corrected in use after LH IIIA1, however although no additional kiln is by a best relative fit factor. These features cannot be included found wasters from LH IIIA2/LH IIIB periods suggest that in the often used principal component analysis or the different production continued (Åkerström 1987; Schallin 1997, cluster analyses producing dendrograms (Baxter 2003). 2015; Klintberg 2011). In addition, more recent NAA studies Comparing the Bonn databank of known pottery profiles, have demonstrated that this pattern must represent a general several of the 10 samples could statistically be matched to profile both geographically and chronologically assigned to already formed groups as indicated in Tables 2 and 3. Three also other regions and production centres than Berbati of the five samples from the LH IIIB period (Asin 22, 23, 25) (Zuckerman et al. 2010;Mommsen 2012). For example, have the composition MYBE that is very common in all sam- pieces with the MYBE profile are found in a set of samples ple sets from sites in the Argolid. It was seen already during from Corinth of the classical period (Mommsen et al. 2016). the first measurements of the laboratory in Bonn in samples As long as no other reference material with this profile at a from Mycenae and Tiryns (Mommsen et al. 1988b, called given site is analysed, we prefer to indicate the entire north- there MB) and ascertained by already existing NAA measure- eastern Peloponnese as origin for the profile MYBE. ments of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) One vessel Asin 21 from the period LH IIIB has the pattern (Karageorghis et al. 1972). Wasters from the Berbati TheB assigned to workshops at Thebes in Boeotia (Mommsen 127 Page 6 of 14 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Table 2 Asine, 5 vessels of the time period LH IIIB Asin21 Asin22 Asin23 Asin24 Asin25 AS1712 AS1712 AS2478 AS1362 AS1362 inside p. inside unp. red p. red p. Inside unp. C±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) As 8.55 1.1 6.32 1.3 21.9 0.5 6.26 1.4 3.33 2.5 Ba 474. 9.1 482. 8.6 388. 11. 415. 9.7 414. 10. Ca\% 8.27 2.4 10.5 1.7 9.72 1.8 7.30 2.4 7.84 2.2 Ce 63.5 0.8 56.9 0.9 63.8 0.9 57.5 0.9 63.0 0.9 Co 31.0 0.5 28.6 0.5 29.6 0.5 27.7 0.5 28.1 0.5 Cr 317. 0.4 223. 0.5 242. 0.5 265. 0.4 220. 0.5 Cs 5.97 1.5 9.28 1.1 9.90 1.1 7.82 1.2 9.19 1.1 Eu 1.11 2.0 1.03 2.1 1.11 2.0 0.93 2.2 1.09 2.1 Fe\% 5.17 0.4 5.07 0.4 5.62 0.3 5.09 0.4 5.36 0.3 Ga 21.3 7.9 21.4 7.0 23.6 6.4 19.4 8.6 25.1 6.8 Hf 4.11 1.5 3.65 1.6 3.25 1.8 4.41 1.4 4.10 1.5 K\% 2.80 0.8 2.44 0.8 2.87 0.8 2.48 0.9 2.76 0.9 La 29.9 0.3 27.5 0.3 31.6 0.3 26.6 0.3 30.5 0.3 Lu 0.45 3.2 0.41 3.4 0.44 3.3 0.42 3.2 0.44 3.3 Na\% 1.01 0.4 0.53 0.5 0.49 0.6 0.79 0.5 0.65 0.5 Nd 27.3 7.7 20.2 9.6 22.4 8.7 20.2 9.3 25.7 7.7 Ni 326. 12. 300. 13. 269. 14. 228. 16. 245. 15. Rb 129. 1.9 139. 1.9 156. 1.8 136. 1.9 161. 1.7 Sb 0.56 3.4 0.51 3.3 0.69 2.4 0.53 3.3 0.49 3.5 Sc 20.7 0.1 20.6 0.1 23.5 0.1 20.0 0.1 21.3 0.1 Sm 5.02 0.3 3.97 0.4 4.47 0.4 3.97 0.4 4.50 0.4 Ta 0.89 3.4 0.79 3.7 0.83 3.6 0.88 3.3 0.88 3.5 Tb 0.74 6.6 0.49 9.5 0.60 8.1 0.61 7.5 0.70 7.0 Th 10.7 0.6 10.1 0.6 11.1 0.6 10.4 0.6 11.0 0.6 Ti\% 0.58 9.9 0.58 9.9 0.64 9.1 0.54 10. 0.61 9.6 U 1.55 6.2 2.08 4.1 2.16 4.0 2.27 3.9 2.16 4.1 W 2.10 6.7 2.37 5.4 2.24 5.7 2.31 6.1 2.28 6.0 Yb 2.68 2.0 2.54 1.9 2.66 1.8 2.45 2.0 2.72 1.8 Zn 92.8 2.4 98.9 2.3 103. 2.2 95.8 2.3 110. 2.2 Zr 162. 16. 128. 20. 86.0 31. 128. 20. 121. 22. Group TheB MYBE MYBE single MYBE Factor 0.97 1.07 0.98 1.00 0.99 Concentrations C of elements in μg/g (ppm), if not indicated otherwise, and experimental uncertainties (error) δ in % of C. The sample is member of the group given below the elemental values together with its individual best relative fit factor with respect to this group. Single means chemical loner and Maran 2000–2001; Schwedt et al. 2006 [group B = The picture is different for the time period LH IIIC. None TheB]). The match to a very similar pattern KnoL assigned of the 5 samples has the concentration pattern MYBE. Sample to Central Crete can be excluded here because of amongst Asin 26 has the Boeotian pattern TanA assigned by a clay others mainly the Rb value of (129 ± 1.9) ppm that is higher sample to a workshop(s) at or near Tanagra (Mühlenbruch for Boeotia than for Central Crete Rb: (106 ±7.1) ppm (Gilboa and Mommsen 2011). A second sample Asin 28 has a com- et al. 2017). The sample Asin 24 has a chemical composition position that archaeometrically has to be assigned with nearly that is new to us and a single in our databank of now more than similar probabilities to Boeotia (group TheB despite the low 12600 samples from the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. It Rb value) and Central Crete (group KnoL, Gilboa et al. 2017). might represent the first sample of a still unknown pottery Sample Asin 27 has also a pattern AEGE already known and workshop or been contaminated in antiquity or in our times. indicating with high probability an origin from Aegina Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Page 7 of 14 127 (Mommsen et al. 2001). Asin 29 is according to its concen- to be Mycenaean imports. As demonstrated by macroscopic tration pattern an import from Chios (Demakopoulou et al. examination and later confirmed by NAA analysis, the major- 2017; Lis et al. 2020; Huy et al. 2020). With lower probability, ity had an Argive origin (Jung 2018). The corpus of pottery an origin in Attica is possible, nevertheless with deviating material on export from the Greek mainland and specifically lower Rb and K. The last sample Asin 30 has a profile Ul26, the Argolid has indeed expanded with the NAA method. with 15 members in the Bonn databank that is still not located Thus, pottery found in some tombs at Laish/Dan was imported with certainty (Forsén et al. 2017). from the Argolid (Gunneweg and Michel 1999). This study has since been followed by several others, including analyses of material from Tell el-Safi/Gath Israel (Mountjoy and Discussion Mommsen 2001;Ben-Shlomoetal. 2008). Results from an analysis of pottery from Northern Israel, based on NAA, list The LH IIIB period 138 samples out of 183 vessels as sharing the MYBE profile. That study also identifies the complexity in trade patterns with As has been noted above, the MYBE concentration profile intra-regional distribution of imported pottery of the clay pro- was not delimited to the workshop(s) of Berbati only but file MYBE with Tell Abu Hawam acting as the main gateway points very probably to a number of different workshops in for the region (Zuckerman et al. 2010). The geographical ex- the region of the north-eastern Peloponnese so far not identi- tent of trade and the complexity of the operations are also fied. A larger number of Late Helladic sherds from Midea demonstrated in a sample from Tarsus-Gözlükule, Turkey, have this profile; according to Demakopoulou et al. (2017), as NAA assigns it to the north-east Peloponnesian group, the pottery was produced in specialised workshops intended MYBE (Mommsen et al. 2011). Similarly, in a recent study for the great Argive centres but also for export. Although set in by Spataro et al. (2019), Mycenaean pottery found at Amara another regional context, the kingdom of Pylos, in an early West (Nubia, Sudan) is attributed to the MYBE group. study, Whitelaw (2001) demonstrated the decentralisation of Combined, these recent studies give a hint of the magnitude pottery production with limited palatial involvement. As was of trade contacts during the Late Bronze Age IIIB, and, criti- pointed out by Whitelaw, in any attempt to extrapolate the cally, they help position the Argive economy as a partner in Pylos model to other regions, caution should be exercised, long-distance trade with external markets. It also suggests that but the results of the investigation are of interest for how we the palatial period in the Argolid may not have been depen- might understand the construction of regional economies in dent on one major palatial site (i.e. Mycenae), for the distri- the wider Late Helladic society. With an improved knowledge bution of goods. Instead, thanks to geographical location or concerning production and distribution of Argive pottery, the infrastructure, several sites may have functioned as nodes for commercial activity. Due to its position as a centre but also importance of adopting a regional lens for assessing the nature of the economy should not be neglected. with a port as favourable located close to the coast, Tiryns is As concerns Asine specifically (see Maps 1 and 2), the sam- likely to have been an important node for maritime contacts ples do not contradict observations to the effect that regionalism (Maran 2009; Stockhammer 2011; Kardamaki et al. 2016). in production and exchange may be at hand. This is so as three Yet there is nothing to suggest that Tiryns, to the extent it samples in this case study (Asin 22, 23, 25) show the well- served as the transhipment point at all, was alone and Asine known pattern MYBE, as expected in a LH IIIB Argive con- could be one of the alternatives available. It is simply not text. These samples and the sample Asin 21, originating in the possible to tell. What the samples analysed do demonstrate Boeotian source TheB, point to Asine either taking part in an is that Asine participated in an intra-Argive exchange, possi- inter-regional exchange system based on demand at the bly both as a local consumer of the regionally produced high- regional/local level or possibly, thanks to the favourable loca- quality pottery and conceivably also as a node for extra- tion on the coast, operating as a gateway for pottery distributed regional distribution of regional and non-regional products. to and from the Argive region or both. While we are in no Hypothesising for the region of Argolid such a position to discriminate between these potential explanations, decentralised pattern of pottery production and exchange, as it shows that Asine took part in a wider system of exchange. demonstrated by finds of sherds of the MYBE provenance, is That the system did at times extend beyond the shores of consonant with research that suggests that the view of the Late the Argolid is not in doubt. The issue here is rather when, in Helladic society as being under total palatial control needs to what period or periods. As recently pointed out by Jung et al. be revised (Small 1998;Sjöberg 2004; Galaty and Parkinson (2015), the mass export of fine Mycenaean pottery has long 2007; Crielaard 2011;Nakassis et al. 2011; Parkinson et al. been observed in the material from eastern part of the 2013;Pullen 2013;Shelmerdine 2013). Yet it does not in itself Mediterranean. There typological features have demonstrated tell us if this state of affairs also pertained to the period fol- a production directed towards local consumers across the sea. lowing the collapse of the palaces. At Tell Kazel, for example, a broad spectrum of types showed 127 Page 8 of 14 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Table 3 Asine, 5 vessels of the time period LH IIIC Asin26 Asin27 Asin28 Asin29 Asin30 AS3664 AS5338A AS2945 AS2945 AS5545 thick with handle reddish beige C±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) C ±δ(%) As 9.86 1.1 9.69 1.0 11.7 1.0 32.3 0.4 9.37 1.2 Ba 418. 11. 521. 8.1 484. 9.0 381. 11. 413. 10. Ca\% 8.22 2.7 9.79 2.0 7.91 2.6 8.65 2.2 5.76 3.2 Ce 59.4 0.9 55.1 0.9 59.9 0.9 63.5 0.9 64.3 0.8 Co 36.7 0.5 18.6 0.6 34.5 0.5 36.1 0.5 29.9 0.5 Cr 596. 0.4 386. 0.4 522. 0.4 478. 0.4 390. 0.4 Cs 4.84 1.8 7.01 1.3 5.46 1.6 11.3 1.0 5.40 1.6 Eu 1.10 2.0 1.03 2.1 1.03 2.1 1.17 2.0 1.13 2.0 Fe\% 5.00 0.4 4.46 0.4 5.28 0.3 5.24 0.4 4.90 0.4 Ga 17.9 13. 20.0 10. 25.1 9.2 20.6 11. 18.0 13. Hf 4.03 1.5 4.98 1.2 3.83 1.6 4.54 1.4 4.62 1.4 K\% 1.76 1.6 1.88 1.3 1.44 1.8 1.76 1.5 2.66 1.1 La 27.7 0.3 26.0 0.3 27.8 0.3 28.1 0.3 29.8 0.3 Lu 0.40 3.5 0.36 3.7 0.40 3.6 0.47 3.2 0.41 3.6 Na\% 1.77 0.4 1.11 0.4 1.44 0.4 1.04 0.5 1.17 0.5 Nd 24.2 8.7 19.1 10. 24.5 8.4 27.1 7.7 24.8 8.2 Ni 460. 8.6 280. 13. 391. 10. 413. 9.8 364. 10. Rb 86.3 2.5 93.2 2.3 103. 2.3 89.8 2.5 115. 2.1 Sb 0.63 3.3 0.67 2.7 0.57 3.5 1.32 1.6 0.56 3.4 Sc 19.1 0.1 17.4 0.1 20.7 0.1 22.4 0.1 19.5 0.1 Sm 4.72 0.4 4.36 0.4 4.68 0.4 5.13 0.4 4.76 0.4 Ta 0.82 3.6 0.82 3.5 0.89 3.5 0.89 3.5 0.91 3.3 Tb 0.62 7.4 0.61 7.2 0.62 7.7 0.64 7.7 0.67 7.2 Th 9.75 0.6 9.28 0.6 10.4 0.6 10.1 0.6 10.4 0.6 Ti\% 0.69 9.0 0.46 13. 0.48 13. 0.62 10. 0.40 15. U 1.64 6.5 1.85 5.0 1.72 6.0 2.18 4.4 1.74 5.6 W 1.90 9.0 1.57 9.5 2.13 8.0 2.01 8.0 2.49 6.8 Yb 2.60 2.3 2.35 2.1 2.43 2.3 2.94 1.8 2.69 1.9 Zn 99.3 2.3 89.7 2.3 95.4 2.4 125. 2.0 176. 1.6 Zr 120. 21. 148. 16. 111. 23. 159. 17. 139. 18. Group TanA AEGE KnoL/TheB ChiA Ul26 Factor 0.86 0.91 0.97/1.02 0.80 0.90 Concentrations C of elements in μg/g (ppm), if not indicated otherwise, and experimental uncertainties (error) δ in % of C. The sample is member of the group given below the elemental values together with its individual best relative fit factor with respect to this group. A membership of the 2nd group shown is statistically possible but with lower probability The LH IIIC period (Profitis Ilias), 1 from Lerna and also 1 from Aegina itself. The only published sample is from an Early Helladic sherd One of the samples conforms to a pattern named Ul26 collection from Asea, Arcadia. On typological grounds, it (Unlocated group no. 26). The pattern has 15 members is assigned to the so-called Talioti phase, named after the in the Bonn databank, mostly unpublished, found in di- valley Talioti located between Asine and Nauplion verse chronological and geographical settings; besides the (Forsén et al. 2017). sample here (Asin 30), it is found, for instance, in 6 other The remaining LH IIIC samples diverge as well from the pieces of Aeginetan Ware from Asine dated to the periods LH IIIB examples as there is no secured regional ware EH IIItoLHIA, in2piecesfromTiryns, 2fromKatsingri characterised by the MYBE pattern during this period at Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Page 9 of 14 127 Map 1 The Aegean region. Base map: d-maps, URL https://d-maps.com/carte.php?num_car=3170&lang=en Asine. This is in contrast to sherds of the regional pattern these vessels were traded as late as the LH IIIC early period MYBE validated in LH IIIC samples from Midea and (Gauss et al. 2017; Lis et al. 2020). Although we still have Tiryns (Mommsen et al. 1988b; Mommsen and Maran limited knowledge about production centres, it is worthy of 2000–2001;Demakopoulou etal. 2017). As mentioned earli- note that the examination of pottery has indirectly demonstrat- er, it has until rather recently been assumed that there was one ed contrasting practises of manufacturing with also table ware single source for the MYBE production, one probably not in exchanged in the transitional LH IIIB–LH IIIC early period use after LH IIIA/B. However, recent NAA studies have dem- (Gilstrap 2014, 2016). The sample from Asine is perhaps one onstrated that the pattern may represent a general profile both of those vessels distributed outside Aegina in this transitional geographically and chronologically assigned to more regions period; also the mixed Mycenaean context could be of rele- and production centres (Zuckerman et al. 2010). Given the vance for dating. The vessel, a jug or hydria, may have been small sample examined the lack of an Argive regional pattern produced in the earlier part of the transitional period and still may of course be pure coincidence in the Asine case. used in the LH IIIC context of the Lower Town. Stockhammer The samples include TanA (Tanagra, Boeotia) a pattern (2009) has explained reintegration of earlier pottery material demonstrated in a LH IIIC sample, a skyphos, from Sirkeli, in the settlement context of LH IIIC in the Lower Town at Turkey (Mühlenbruch and Mommsen 2011). Another sample Tiryns, as connected to the social positioning of an elite fam- KnoL/TheB (Thebes) is also a clay paste used in Boeotia. ily. Also Maran (2015) has recently adopted this model of Interestingly, the pattern TheB/KnoL is identified in two LH palatial relicts in the LH IIIC context operating as former IIIC samples from Punta di Zambrone in Calabria, Italy (Jung symbols of power directly linking the past with the LH IIIC et al. 2015). Asin 27, with the composition AEGE, is most society. Similarly, Jung et al. (2015) has observed the phe- probably from Aegina. As concerns the production of the nomenon at many Levantine settlements, and not only in reli- well-known cooking pottery, this continued for long, and gious contexts, with Mycenaean vessels treated with care and 127 Page 10 of 14 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 A survey of the settlement has demonstrated that the time of expansion of Asine covers the middle and late phases of the LH IIIC period; this can be seen in Houses G, H, I and K located in the Lower Town (Sjöberg 2004). As described by the excavators (Frödin and Persson 1938) and reported in field diaries, Houses H and I both had kilns; there are also some photos of the col- lapsed constructions. The kiln in House H is described as a potter’s kiln of ordinary type, and burnt clay pieces and sherds exposed to high temperature were found in the corresponding boxes. However, analyses have not been made of the material, so firing temperatures are not confirmed. House I is reported to have a more complex construction, but unfortunately no related finds have been found. The extent to which the two possible kilns may have had importance for the household as a supplement to other sources of subsistence can therefore not be established (Sjöberg 1997). Indeed, the LH IIIC kilns set in a house context should not be compared with the earlier larger units in use, such as that at Kolonna, Aegina, that probably was intended for production of greater quantities of pottery (Karkanas 2019). Further, as concern Asine, the accumulation of LH IIIC material in the Acropolis area demonstrates the extension of the settlement (Santillo Frizell 1986; Penttinen 1996). Another case relatively close by is that of Tiryns, where the Map 2 The Argolid. Base map: d-maps, URL https://d-maps.com/carte. palatial architecture was replaced by a village-like occupation php?num_car=3170&lang=en with houses arranged around courtyards and with an extensive in use for long. The sample Asin 29 with pattern ChiA is settled area and a post-palatial culture (Maran 2002–2003, assigned to the island of Chios (Lis et al. 2020; Huy et al. 2006, 2009; Maran and Papadimitriou 2006, 2016; 2020). This particular pattern has also been found elsewhere Mühlenbruch 2007; Stockhammer 2011). According to in the Argolid, namely, in a LH IIIB2 floor deposit at Midea in Stockhammer (2011,209),Tiryns ‘became the new paramount the form of a transport stirrup jar (Demakopoulou et al. 2017). representative center’, this later flourishing of the settlement As a parallel to MYBE and AEGE, in both LH IIIB and LH being ‘the result of the earthquake of 1250 BCE’.Also herea IIIC periods, ChiA may possibly be understood as an instance probable LH IIIC kiln has been reported (Kilian 1981, 1982; where the island of Chios for a long period supplied a wider Rahmtorf 2015). Maran (2005, 2009) observed the presence of geographical area with pottery. The pattern ChiA has also foreign objects found at Tiryns, indicating that long-distance been identified in two samples of LH IIIC material from the trade relations resembling trade structures in the palatial period chamber tombs at Perati (Lis et al. 2020). were resumed after the destruction at the end of LH IIIB. Also In sum, the Asine samples illustrate the existence of exten- at Midea, another major Argive LH IIIB settlement, the LH IIIC sive geographical networks also in the LH IIIC period. This is period sees continuity, for instance, as demonstrated in building in line with existing research. It has been suggested for Achaia activity and finds of pottery (Walberg 1999; Demakopoulou (Arena 2015) that due to the presence of imported goods in the 2007b, 2015; Demakopoulou et al. 2017). LH IIIC period, the region probably benefited from the col- What all of this demonstrates is that activity continues lapse in the end of LH IIIB. As argued by Demakopoulou across the divide LH IIIB to LH IIIC. In some important (2007a, b), the period LH IIIC Middle saw a flourishing in respects, though, it is different. This goes both for Asine and most regions of the Aegean. An interesting settlement is for the Argive region, including the role of Asine in it. The Elateia-Alanoki in Central Greece as according to S. Deger- most important indication is the few reported finds of ware of Jalkotzy (2007) imported vases indicate the geographical MYBE provenance in the region as a whole; in that sense, the range of the external contacts during LH IIIC Middle and absence in our sample from LH IIIC is true to form. Yet the Late periods. Against this background, it is worthy of note small size of the sample does not allow for any clear conclu- that the reported abandonment of the cemetery at Elateia- sion on this score: the fact that it is not represented in a sample Alanoki in the LH IIIC Early was followed by an increase in of five sherds does of course not preclude presence as such. use in the subsequent phases. The same pattern of reuse of Combining this inconclusive observation with the parallel ob- tombs and dominance of LH IIIC Middle and Late vases has servations that the MYBE pattern seems to disappear from also been found at Asine (Mountjoy 1996;Sjöberg 2004). locations further east and that other extra-Argive links can Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2021) 13:127 Page 11 of 14 127 be traced in the material at Asine, however, suggests a conti- material only was marshalled for the purposes of this study, we nuity in the sense that extra-site exchange did not grind to a submit that Asine and its hinterland was part of exchange net- halt. Rather, exchange networks were either maintained, works in the LH IIIC period, potentially also complex ones that established anew or developed to fill the gap where others included extra-Argive contact. As such it answers our original ceased to operate. This happened despite the fate of the question on the resilience of Argive communities beyond the palaces, to an extent perhaps also as a result of the collapse. palaces and their continued participation in regional and extra- After all, beyond maintaining or re-establishing pre-existing regional exchange. patterns of exchange, it could also include realignment as part of the need or possibilities for filling voids that materialised. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Museum Gustavianum, Uppsala University, and Anne Ingvarsson Sundström curator, for permis- sion to analyse and publish the material from the Asine Collection. A Concluding remarks special thanks to professor em. Gullög Nordquist, Uppsala University, for all help and interesting discussions in the archive. We also acknowledge, with gratitude, the staff of the research reactor in Geesthacht for their This case study based on a limited number of Late Bronze Age technical support. We are most grateful to the two anonymous referees sherds from the settlement of Asine demonstrates the need to for all valuable comments. include local settlement material in analyses of interaction on regional and inter-regional level. It also shows that Gilstrap’s Availability of data and material Applicable. Code availability Not applicable. (2014) ‘indirect’ method could prove fruitful. In addition, such a research strategy will provide us with possibilities of Author contribution H Mommsen contributed the ‘The neutron activa- discussing the socio-economic structure in a non-palatial con- tion analysis (NAA) procedure and archaeometric results’ part in article. text. As concern the presence of mostly regional pottery from B L. Sjöberg contributed in all other parts. the LH IIIB period, this can be interpreted as for local use (on use, consumption, Jung 2012). This must not be construed as Funding Open access funding provided by University of Gothenburg. We wish to thank the Selma Andersson donation, Uppsala University, Asine having served as an entrepôt. The type of evidence mus- for generosity with funding, which made it possible to analyse the mate- tered here does not allow for that. Despite a favourable location rial from Asine, stored at the Uppsala University. that could have implied it serving as a gateway for distribution of high-quality pottery from the Argive region, the demand in Declarations Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean area falls away as LH IIIB turns LH IIIC (Badre et al. 2005; Jung 2006, 2015, 2018; Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests. Mommsen 2011). For now, although evidence of MYBE is Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons locally present in LH IIIC (e.g. at Midea; Demakopoulou Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adap- et al. 2017), we are compelled to note that extensive export of tation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as MYBE seems to have ceased after LH IIIB. you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, pro- With this in mind, the natural or other calamities that appear vide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included to have occurred at the end of LH IIIB was not of such a nature in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a so as to having prevented exchange of widely used products credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's such as ceramic ware of different kinds. Hence, our original Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by question can be answered in the affirmative: albeit of perhaps statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this a slightly different profile, exchange as such does not disappear licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. as Asine moves into LH IIIC. As recent literature suggests for the Argive region as a whole, the recovery was faster and stron- ger than previously believed, and also the inhabitants of Asine succeeded in maintaining exchange networks either as References established earlier or to be replaced by new contacts and sites of production. Thus, while for LH IIIC no ware of the MYBE Åkerström Å (1987) Berbati 2: the pictorial pottery. ActaAth-4 36.2, pattern was represented in our small sample, it appears that Svenska Institutet i Athen, Stockholm Asine was involved in exchange networks of some geographi- Arena E (2015) Mycenaean peripheries during the Palatial Age: the case of Achaia. Hesperia 84:1–46. https://doi.org/10.2972/hesperia.84.1. cal reach, albeit focused on neighbouring parts of Aegean Greece. This attests to a measure of resilience of the settlement Badre L, Boileau MC, Jung R, Mommsen H, Kerschner M (2005) The and its place in Argive society. Indeed, combined with the provenance of Aegean- and Syrian-type pottery found at Tell Kazel results of excavation at the Lower Town and the reuse of the (Syria). Ägypten und Levante XV:15–47. https://doi.org/10.1553/ chamber tombs, we may submit that a measure of affluence was AEundL15s15 Baxter M (2003) Statistics in archaeology. Wiley, London enjoyed also at Asine. 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Journal

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences – Springer Journals

Published: Jul 2, 2021

Keywords: NAA neutron activation analysis; Asine; Greece; Late Bronze Age; Interaction; Continuity

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