In Mediterranean archaeology, the term “Aegean” refers to the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of the lands that borders the Aegean Sea, and the Aegean islands, lands now belonging to modern Greece and Turkey (Figure 7.1). These cultures first came to scholarly attention in the second half of the nineteenth century, especially with the discoveries of Heinrich Schliemann, a businessman interested in ancient history. Determined to discover historical truth behind the Greek legends of the Trojan War, Schliemann excavated some of the important towns participating in the drama, Troy, Mycenae, and Tiryns (see also Chapter 8). On Crete, large-scale excavation became possible by 1900 when the island was newly freed from the Ottoman Empire; within a decade the main characteristics of the distinctive Bronze Age culture of Crete were clear. This culture was dubbed “Minoan” by Arthur Evans, the excavator of Knossos, after Minos, the
Figure 7.1 Aegean Bronze Age towns, second millennium BC
Legendary king of the island. On mainland Greece, the Late Bronze Age culture that flourished in its southern and central sections is called “Mycenaean,” after the city of Mycenae. A spectacular new chapter in Aegean prehistory was opened in 1967 with the first large-scale excavations at Akrotiri, a settlement on the Aegean island of Thera, well preserved under the volcanic debris from the eruption of the island that may have taken place around 1520 BC.
Although the names of many Bronze Age cities are well known, thanks to the literature of the later Greeks, the nature of Aegean urbanism is not well understood. With a few notable exceptions, excavations have focused on certain monumental elements of the city, such as palaces, villas, and citadels, or on tombs, their design and their contents. Moreover, the textual evidence is limited: the written documents surviving from the Bronze Age Aegean, when they can be clearly understood, record a limited range of subjects. However, if we consult Childe’s definition of a city (see Introduction), it seems likely that the main settlements were indeed cities. All criteria from his list are clearly met, with the one possible exception of the practice of exact and predictive sciences, as yet unconfirmed. Our look at Minoan, Theran, and Mycenaean cities and towns will follow the lead of traditional research concerns. Nonetheless, we will want to keep in mind that future investigation has much to reveal about how these striking structures and finds relate to the overall settlements of which they form a part.
World History
