Interpreting the Seventh Century BC: Tradition and Innovation

This book has its origin in a conference held at the British School at Athens in 2011 which aimed to explore the range of new archaeological information now available for the seventh century in Greek lands. It presents material data, combining accounts of recent discoveries (which often enable reinterpretation of older finds), regional reviews, and archaeologically focused critique of historical and art historical approaches and interpretations. The aim is to make readily accessible the material record as currently understood and to consider how it may contribute to broader critiques and new directions in research. The geographical focus is the old Greek world encompassing Macedonia and Ionia, and extending across to Sicily and southern Italy, considering also the wider trade circuits linking regional markets. The book does not aim for the pan- Mediterranean coverage of recent works: given that much of the latest innovative and critical scholarship has focused on the western Mediterranean in particular, it is necessary to bring old Greece back under the spotlight and to expose to critical scrutiny the often Athenocentric interpretative frameworks which continue to inform discussion of other parts of the Mediterranean.