Transported Landscapes of Greek Mediterranean Colonisation

Project Information

TransMed

Grant agreement ID: 839650

DOI

10.3030/839650

Project closed

EC signature date 17 April 2019

Start date 16 September 2019

End date 15 September 2022

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 241 398,72

EU contribution

€ 241 398,72

Coordinated by

Institut Català d'Arqueologia Clàssica
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TransMed (Transported Landscapes of Greek Mediterranean Colonisation)

Reporting period: 2019-09-16 to 2022-09-15

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

TransMed focused its analysis on the development of the landscape in Greek colonies, which spread during a few centuries in most parts of the Mediterranean. Colonisation had been mainly a Greek and Phoenician phenomenon that appeared from the 8th to 6th centuries BC and affected almost all parts of the Mediterranean and reached the Black Sea as well. A result of this activity had been the interaction of the Greek culture with various local ones across this large area.

The study of Greek colonies has a long history, but most of them have explored various aspects of their material culture. However, there has been little attention paid to the culturally-determined landscape modifications that were made or sought by the colonists to their new lands. Furthermore, another issue that was addressed had been the character and intensity of cultural interaction between the colonists with the local communities.

The importance of this study for the society is associated with past and present issues of human movement and cultural interaction. It is becoming increasingly clear how important is the transported landscape as a significant aspect of moving groups. The blending of colonial ideas with local conditions and characteristics can be seen in several cases. The transported landscapes with their economic and sociocultural meanings and their contact with local practices and beliefs led to trans-Mediterranean cultural cross-fertilisation. These cultural interactions happened in the past, but their analyses are meaningful and important for current social issues. Cultural groups are still moving across the landscape.

The overall objectives of this action are to understand the historical evolution of landscape and its Tran-Mediterranean links. This was achieved by addressing three research objective/paths. The first was to trace the form and trends in the land use and organisation in the colonial and non-colonial areas. The second was the landscape impact that the colonial settlements had to the environment. The third was to evaluate the changes produced in the local communities from their interaction with the colonists.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The action addressed the objectives it had set by employing a number of techniques and methods. Their synthesis along with the multidisciplinary approach allowed better results.
Thus, we acquired numerous drone images of the microtopography of the areas under study, which allowed the understanding of landscape in the past and its diachronic evolution. The collection of satellite remote sensing and air-photography clarified the boundaries of areas, whilst in the case of Abdera it revealed the Classical period road system north of the polis. The multi-scale survey and their datasets were incorporated into the GIS system and allowed a thorough analysis of evidence and their dispersal in space. Archaeomorphological data provided a diachronic comprehension of changes around the city of Abdera. Furthermore, more recently acquired evidence will provide a focus on the formation of the port and the role natural and anthropogenic processes affected it in the past. The multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental analyses are in progress and will provide more datasets in the near future.
All of these provide good quality data that are employed to understand the research questions that have been set in this action. Their dissemination and exploitation has been made by using the data in papers in international conferences and articles that have been already published. Parts of the palaeonevironmental analyses have been presented in EAA 2022 at Budapest and 7th LAC 2022 at Iasi (Romania), while an article will be submitted in an international journal. The survey, GIS, drone, and remote sensing aspect have been presented in an IMS at Groningen (2019), EAA 2020 at Budapest (co-organised a session), 6th LAC 2021 (co-organised a session) and IMS at Montpellier (2021). The results have been published in the form of an article at AEMTh and at the Archaeological and Anthropological Science journals and one more will appear in AEMTh in one year. For the relations between different cultural groups an article has been published at a Conference (Aegis Series) and one more on landscape and the relationship between rivers and economy (Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Classical Archaeology). The analysis of antefixes and survey methodologies are two more articles in press as an edited book at Documenta, the series that ICAC publishes, following a workshop held at Athens (July 2022) and two papers presented there. A synthesis of technologies and methods employed in this action has been presented in a paper at a conference held in Athens on Computational Methodologies in Thrace (September 2022). Finally, a workshop as part of the Marie Sklodowska Curie grant that I have received will take place November 24th 2022 at Tarragona, which I am organising. The theme is landscape, display and economy, whose results will be published and I will be the editor of the volume. Overall, for the dissemination there have been nine oral presentations in conferences, four published articles, three more are in press and two further are in preparation, covering various themes of this action.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The study conducted during TransMed and the research outputs it has provided have significantly progressed issues related to human movement through economy and trade, landscape transformation and human impact, colonisation and intercultural relations. This study has affected various fields of archaeological research and promoted a synthetic outlook:
Methodological
• Use of a variety of non-intrusive archaeological methods like systematic surface survey, dataset analyses, remote sensing, drones, and geophysical, archaeomorphological and palaeoenvironmental analyses.
Interpretative
• Long-Term understanding of changes and human impact on the landscape.
• The various responses and ways landscape was exploited by contemporary different cultural groups (colonists and native groups).
Both our methodological and interpretative synthetic approaches can be employed as paradigms for future studies in similar archaeological and historical studies. The significance of this work has been that it addressed different types of research questions related to human movement and landscape providing a coherent understanding of processes and conditions during the Classical antiquity on a Mediterranean scale.
The datasets at the areas under study are available to the local archaeological authorities aiding them to protect their Heritage Management. New techniques and analytical methods have been implemented there enriching the tools they can employ in the field. The duality of colonists and local populations can be a theme on which regional archaeological and historical narratives can be promoted. Based on them relevant archaeological/historical paths connecting sites can be created by Heritage Agencies, explaining the various types of settlements and population groups as another form of touristic attraction/activity.
The conclusions of this project for the diachronic analysis of the landscape and intercultural interactions and coexistence are topics that transcend beyond archaeology, providing new opportunities for Heritage Management and address issues of current socio-political and environmental challenges.

The city and countryside of Abdera

The area where the Thracians lived