Jake Morton
Carleton College, Classics, Faculty Member
This paper argues that, throughout the process of Greek sacrifice, the leg and tail formed a single integrated unit that was both practical and deeply religious. It has long been accepted that thighs and tails were burned on altars in... more
This paper argues that, throughout the process of Greek sacrifice, the leg
and tail formed a single integrated unit that was both practical and deeply
religious. It has long been accepted that thighs and tails were burned
on altars in ancient Greece and that this act was where communication
with the gods took place, thus forming one of the most important elements
of ancient Greek sacrifice. However, up to this point the leg and
tail have not been treated as elements of a single holistic unit. Through reinterpretation of textual and iconographic evidence, combined with my
study of butchery and an extensive experimental archaeological project
involving the burning of thighs and tails, the thigh and tail are shown to
form a single sacrificial unit from the butchering of the sacrificial animal,
through being burnt on the altar, until they conveyed communication
with the divine.
and tail formed a single integrated unit that was both practical and deeply
religious. It has long been accepted that thighs and tails were burned
on altars in ancient Greece and that this act was where communication
with the gods took place, thus forming one of the most important elements
of ancient Greek sacrifice. However, up to this point the leg and
tail have not been treated as elements of a single holistic unit. Through reinterpretation of textual and iconographic evidence, combined with my
study of butchery and an extensive experimental archaeological project
involving the burning of thighs and tails, the thigh and tail are shown to
form a single sacrificial unit from the butchering of the sacrificial animal,
through being burnt on the altar, until they conveyed communication
with the divine.
Research Interests:
Livy’s narrative of the 169 b.c.e. invasion of Macedonia led by the consul Q. Marcius Philippus is of particular interest because his principal source here, Polybius, accompanied the Roman army (Polyb. 28.13.1–6). However, the text of... more
Livy’s narrative of the 169 b.c.e. invasion of Macedonia led by the
consul Q. Marcius Philippus is of particular interest because his principal
source here, Polybius, accompanied the Roman army (Polyb. 28.13.1–6). However, the text of Book 44 is based on a single lacunose, jumbled, and corrupt manuscript dating to the fifth century C.E. and known as the Codex Vindobonensis or V. In this article we address textual problems in the narrative, both those represented by cruces in Briscoe’s Teubner edition of Books 41–45 and others where currently accepted emendations seem to us capable of improvement.
consul Q. Marcius Philippus is of particular interest because his principal
source here, Polybius, accompanied the Roman army (Polyb. 28.13.1–6). However, the text of Book 44 is based on a single lacunose, jumbled, and corrupt manuscript dating to the fifth century C.E. and known as the Codex Vindobonensis or V. In this article we address textual problems in the narrative, both those represented by cruces in Briscoe’s Teubner edition of Books 41–45 and others where currently accepted emendations seem to us capable of improvement.
Research Interests:
The Ta tablets are a series of Linear B documents from the Palace of Nestor at Pylos that inventory vessels, fire implements, slaughtering paraphernalia, and furniture. This article argues that all the equipment documented on the Ta... more
The Ta tablets are a series of Linear B documents from the Palace of Nestor at Pylos that inventory vessels, fire implements, slaughtering paraphernalia, and furniture. This article argues that all the equipment documented on the Ta tablets pertains to a single large-scale ritual cattle sacrifice and was not equipment for the banquet that would have followed the sacrifice. The argument is rooted in a reanalysis of the tables listed on the Ta tablets that concludes that they were used for the slaughter and butchery of sacrificial cattle. Discussion proceeds from there to the sacrificial ritual use of the other items listed on the Ta tablets. Finally, speculative conclusions are drawn about the political ceremony that employed these objects and a possible smaller event taking place within the larger ceremony. This study draws on a wide range of sources, including other materials found in the same archival room, relevant iconography, archaeological comparanda, experimental archaeology, and a study of comparative butchery techniques.
Research Interests:
In this paper I present research through experimental archaeology into what kind of fat was used to wrap the thighbones in Homeric and Classical sacrifice. The textual, iconographic, and archaeological sources clearly indicate that an... more
In this paper I present research through experimental archaeology into what kind of fat was used to wrap the thighbones in Homeric and Classical sacrifice. The textual, iconographic, and archaeological sources clearly indicate that an important element of the ritual of sacrifice was the burning of thighbones twice wrapped in fat. Until now, the precise meaning of 'twice-wrapped fat' around these thighbones was not clearly understood. I burned 38 fat-wrapped thighbones in a reconstructed altar over 17 months to explore what fat was wrapped around the thighbone and why. The findings are then used to elucidate and clarify textual and iconographic sources.
Research Interests:
Paper presented at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting in 2024. This paper looks at addressing specific pedagogical questions in an experimental archaeology classroom using the case study of a lab with a group of 25... more
Paper presented at the Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting in 2024. This paper looks at addressing specific pedagogical questions in an experimental archaeology classroom using the case study of a lab with a group of 25 students from a variety of majors. The lab explores the development of three ancient Mediterranean military technologies that defeated and replaced each other over 350 years. The students first spend the two class periods preceding the lab reading and discussing ancient accounts of these military technologies and their attendant formations. As we are using proxy data – e.g., we are not using actual weapons but instead modify lengths of pvc tubing and plastic garbage cans and lids; we have small numbers; we are not in an actual conflict – the students are told to focus on three specific questions to see if we can address them: 1) How fast was the learning curve of each technology? 2) How does your personal feeling of safety differ between the three techniques? 3) How did each formation replace the other? During the lab, group discussions are held after each formation on the research questions. In the class period following the lab we also discuss how proxy data be useful to learn about the past.
Research Interests:
Paper presented at AIA 2023. This paper argues for a new location for the Thessalian Thetideion at the site of Ktouri hill, roughly 11 km northwest of Farsala. This new placement is based on personal autopsy conducted in March and August... more
Paper presented at AIA 2023. This paper argues for a new location for the Thessalian Thetideion at the site of Ktouri hill, roughly 11 km northwest of Farsala. This new placement is based on personal autopsy conducted in March and August 2022, alongside close reading of ancient texts. Locating the Thetideion is important for understanding Thessalian religious practice as well as locating the battles of Cynoscephalae (364 & 197 BC) and Pharsalus (48 BC). Scholars have previously placed the Thetideion in numerous locations further east and located the ancient town of Euhydrion at Ktouri. However, these placements are not secure.
The architectural remains at Ktouri are more suited to a sanctuary than a town. They consist of a Mycenaean circuit wall at the summit refitted with an Archaic monumental gate, a later circuit wall lower down the hill with no evidence of habitation between the walls, and the foundation for a temple that aligns with the placement of the gate at the summit. The shape of the gate and circumference of the circuit wall differ from regional hilltop sites that are understood to be village garrisons. During survey work, we found blocks that match the dimensions and fabric of the Archaic gate blocks in two local villages. A local man reported that these blocks had come from the vicinity of the temple before they had bulldozed the area to create agricultural land. These matching blocks suggest that the temple and the gate were part of the same building phase. As would befit an inland sanctuary to Thetis, there are significant springs coming from the western side of Ktouri hill that flow toward the temple site. The finds at the summit and at the temple include terracotta discs similar to dedications found at Delphi, loom weights, bobbins, and an absence of military equipment.
The architectural remains at Ktouri are more suited to a sanctuary than a town. They consist of a Mycenaean circuit wall at the summit refitted with an Archaic monumental gate, a later circuit wall lower down the hill with no evidence of habitation between the walls, and the foundation for a temple that aligns with the placement of the gate at the summit. The shape of the gate and circumference of the circuit wall differ from regional hilltop sites that are understood to be village garrisons. During survey work, we found blocks that match the dimensions and fabric of the Archaic gate blocks in two local villages. A local man reported that these blocks had come from the vicinity of the temple before they had bulldozed the area to create agricultural land. These matching blocks suggest that the temple and the gate were part of the same building phase. As would befit an inland sanctuary to Thetis, there are significant springs coming from the western side of Ktouri hill that flow toward the temple site. The finds at the summit and at the temple include terracotta discs similar to dedications found at Delphi, loom weights, bobbins, and an absence of military equipment.
Research Interests:
Paper presented at the Many Faces of War VII Conference, South Dakota State University, in 2022. This paper aims to understand Philip V's path of destruction through central Thessaly in 198 BC and to contextualize it by comparing it to... more
Paper presented at the Many Faces of War VII Conference, South Dakota State University, in 2022. This paper aims to understand Philip V's path of destruction through central Thessaly in 198 BC and to contextualize it by comparing it to patterns of agricultural destruction as a tool of ancient Greek warfare. After being defeated by the Romans at the Battle of the Aous in Albania, Philip chose to retreat through Thessaly rather than the more direct northern route. Philip devastated five towns on this route, taking the inhabitants and their supplies with him. This behavior confused ancient military historians and has been variously interpreted by modern scholars.
I explore Philip V's past campaigns of destruction, as well as land use patterns in Thessaly during this period, to reveal the broader significance of this event, and how it points to Philip's political and strategic goals. Philip created an 'agricultural desert' to demarcate where he was, for the moment, ceding control of western Thessaly to the Aetolians, with whom he had been fighting for the past 30 years. This impeded Aetolian settlement while leaving the devastated towns ready for repopulation by Macedon, prevented invasion by making it impossible to live off the land to maintain a siege, and kept people scared to ally with Rome for fear of Macedonian reprisal. Furthermore, this was a form of economic warfare against Aetolia. Western Thessaly had been trapped in a pattern of changing extractive regimes which resulted in land use shifting from agriculture to less lucrative shepherding. However, the region Philip devastated in 198 BC was still agricultural, thus further diminishing Aetolia's ability to tax and exploit Thessaly.
For Philip, both in 198 BC and in general, the destruction of agriculture was continuation of politics by other means. Philip's destruction of agricultural land was as taboo as his destruction of as sacred sites and should be seen as a key component of his maintaining control over the Greek mainland.
I explore Philip V's past campaigns of destruction, as well as land use patterns in Thessaly during this period, to reveal the broader significance of this event, and how it points to Philip's political and strategic goals. Philip created an 'agricultural desert' to demarcate where he was, for the moment, ceding control of western Thessaly to the Aetolians, with whom he had been fighting for the past 30 years. This impeded Aetolian settlement while leaving the devastated towns ready for repopulation by Macedon, prevented invasion by making it impossible to live off the land to maintain a siege, and kept people scared to ally with Rome for fear of Macedonian reprisal. Furthermore, this was a form of economic warfare against Aetolia. Western Thessaly had been trapped in a pattern of changing extractive regimes which resulted in land use shifting from agriculture to less lucrative shepherding. However, the region Philip devastated in 198 BC was still agricultural, thus further diminishing Aetolia's ability to tax and exploit Thessaly.
For Philip, both in 198 BC and in general, the destruction of agriculture was continuation of politics by other means. Philip's destruction of agricultural land was as taboo as his destruction of as sacred sites and should be seen as a key component of his maintaining control over the Greek mainland.
Research Interests:
Paper presented at AIA in 2022. Linear B tablet Pylos Ta 715 documents two tables specified as a-ka-ra-no, a term usually translated as “headless”. However, what a “headless” table is has not been adequately explained. This paper argues... more
Paper presented at AIA in 2022. Linear B tablet Pylos Ta 715 documents two tables specified as a-ka-ra-no, a term usually translated as “headless”. However, what a “headless” table is has not been adequately explained. This paper argues that this type of table was similar to a modern cradle-table used for large animal slaughter and butchery. This new understanding is based on the reinterpretation of a glyptek from a corpus of Bronze Age images of large animals on tables, comparanda from modern butchery, and experimental archaeology.
The Ta Tablets document furniture used at a ritual banquet at Pylos, including eleven tables. Though some scholars have understood the tables as furniture for dining, I follow the interpretation that associates them with the ritual sacrifice of the animals for the banquet, serving as equipment for the successive acts of slaughter and butchery. I propose that the term a-ka-ra-no refers to a kind of table with no center to the top as appears to be shown on a LH II-IIIA1 seal (CMS-XI-258-1) which depicts a bull with its tied legs hanging down through the center of a table. I argue that this represents a bull about to be slaughtered on a modified table similar to a modern cradle-table, a style of table used to stabilize animals for slaughter, skinning, and butchery. To better understand why a cradle-table would be used, I have interviewed professional butchers and conducted my own experiments.
Ta 715.2a & 715.2b identify two of the tables as a-ka-ra-no in the position in the line of text where one expects the description of the table top or table top inlay material. The term a-ka-ra-no thus describes the most salient feature of the table top, namely the lack of most of the table top, or “head”, in a manner consistent with the descriptions of the other tables.
The Ta Tablets document furniture used at a ritual banquet at Pylos, including eleven tables. Though some scholars have understood the tables as furniture for dining, I follow the interpretation that associates them with the ritual sacrifice of the animals for the banquet, serving as equipment for the successive acts of slaughter and butchery. I propose that the term a-ka-ra-no refers to a kind of table with no center to the top as appears to be shown on a LH II-IIIA1 seal (CMS-XI-258-1) which depicts a bull with its tied legs hanging down through the center of a table. I argue that this represents a bull about to be slaughtered on a modified table similar to a modern cradle-table, a style of table used to stabilize animals for slaughter, skinning, and butchery. To better understand why a cradle-table would be used, I have interviewed professional butchers and conducted my own experiments.
Ta 715.2a & 715.2b identify two of the tables as a-ka-ra-no in the position in the line of text where one expects the description of the table top or table top inlay material. The term a-ka-ra-no thus describes the most salient feature of the table top, namely the lack of most of the table top, or “head”, in a manner consistent with the descriptions of the other tables.
Research Interests:
Invited lecture at the the Rutgers Classics Department Conference "Food and Drink in the Ancient World" in 2019.
Research Interests:
Presented at The Texas tech Annual Conference in the Humanities, "Food and ..." in 2018. This paper combines literary, archaeological, and experimental evidence to give new insight into how animals were butchered, cooked, and eaten in the... more
Presented at The Texas tech Annual Conference in the Humanities, "Food and ..." in 2018. This paper combines literary, archaeological, and experimental evidence to give new insight into how animals were butchered, cooked, and eaten in the ancient Aegean.
Homer, Aristophanes, and Athenaeus each portray, and have characters discuss, the preparation and eating of meat dishes. My ten years as a professional chef and butcher, as well as recent experimental research, point to the fact that these dishes require different cuts of meat for successful preparation. Discussions and representations of meat eating allow us to determine what cuts of meat were used and how they were prepared; the choice of cuts then helps us to understand how animals were butchered in the Aegean.
While these three authors represent a wide period of time, during this period there was no introduction of new cooking technology or new ingredients that would have dramatically altered dietary practices. On the other hand, these authors all write about different kinds of people who in turn had different diets (e.g. 'heroic' or low-brow), which gives us the opportunity to understand the social and cultural valences represented by the different cuts and cooking methods.
After a review of the literary evidence, this paper will then demonstrate the relationship of these recipes, cuts of meat, and their social and cultural valences to archaeological evidence for different cooking assemblages, both sacred and domestic.
Homer, Aristophanes, and Athenaeus each portray, and have characters discuss, the preparation and eating of meat dishes. My ten years as a professional chef and butcher, as well as recent experimental research, point to the fact that these dishes require different cuts of meat for successful preparation. Discussions and representations of meat eating allow us to determine what cuts of meat were used and how they were prepared; the choice of cuts then helps us to understand how animals were butchered in the Aegean.
While these three authors represent a wide period of time, during this period there was no introduction of new cooking technology or new ingredients that would have dramatically altered dietary practices. On the other hand, these authors all write about different kinds of people who in turn had different diets (e.g. 'heroic' or low-brow), which gives us the opportunity to understand the social and cultural valences represented by the different cuts and cooking methods.
After a review of the literary evidence, this paper will then demonstrate the relationship of these recipes, cuts of meat, and their social and cultural valences to archaeological evidence for different cooking assemblages, both sacred and domestic.
Research Interests:
Presented at AIA 2018. This paper offers a new, comprehensive analysis of the Macedonian defensive network in the southern Olympus range between Macedon and Thessaly, based on autopsy of the archaeological remains and their surrounding... more
Presented at AIA 2018. This paper offers a new, comprehensive analysis of the Macedonian defensive network in the southern Olympus range between Macedon and Thessaly, based on autopsy of the archaeological remains and their surrounding landscape taken alongside close readings of Livy, Polybius, and Plutarch.
This network was comprised of permanent forts, temporary field camps in pre-determined locations, and fortified communication outposts. These individual components worked together to defend an area of roughly 1600 km2 along Macedon's southern border. This network's control of specific, key points in the landscape to prevent invasion from the south is consistent with Macedon's similar strategy on its other borders.
The permanent forts controlled the main route through the Vale of Tempe and along the southern Pierian coast. The temporary field camps controlled the two main passes through Perrhaebia and the central Pierian coastal bottlenecks. According to Livy, the camps in Perrhaebia held up to 12,000 men, who could be rapidly deployed when the need arose, while the camps in Pieria held upwards of 40,000 men.
While the large fortified sites such as Gonnoi have been extensively studied, the two smaller fortified communication outposts above the modern villages of Karya and Rapsani have only been cursorily examined and have not been properly incorporated into the larger defensive network. These similarly constructed outposts each had a two-meter thick fortification wall built of local stone that faced only the direction of presumed attack, with traces of smaller buildings, presumably barracks, within.
While these outposts were only large enough to house a small garrison, each played the crucial roles of lookout and fire-signal station. Each outpost was strategically placed to have sightlines of anticipated enemy approaches, as well as of the larger components of the Macedonian fort system. Thus these two outposts served as the lynchpins linking the various defensive structures and positions, and the communications between these components made the defensive network stronger than the sum of its individual parts.
This defensive network eventually failed during the Third Macedonian War when Perseus did not send large enough garrisons to hold the field-camps at the key points at the passes through Perrhaebia, but instead concentrated his huge army at the Elpeus. As a result, the Romans were able to get behind Perseus and compel him to retreat from his strongly entrenched position. Proper use of the already established defensive network might have allowed Perseus to avoid this fate.
This network was comprised of permanent forts, temporary field camps in pre-determined locations, and fortified communication outposts. These individual components worked together to defend an area of roughly 1600 km2 along Macedon's southern border. This network's control of specific, key points in the landscape to prevent invasion from the south is consistent with Macedon's similar strategy on its other borders.
The permanent forts controlled the main route through the Vale of Tempe and along the southern Pierian coast. The temporary field camps controlled the two main passes through Perrhaebia and the central Pierian coastal bottlenecks. According to Livy, the camps in Perrhaebia held up to 12,000 men, who could be rapidly deployed when the need arose, while the camps in Pieria held upwards of 40,000 men.
While the large fortified sites such as Gonnoi have been extensively studied, the two smaller fortified communication outposts above the modern villages of Karya and Rapsani have only been cursorily examined and have not been properly incorporated into the larger defensive network. These similarly constructed outposts each had a two-meter thick fortification wall built of local stone that faced only the direction of presumed attack, with traces of smaller buildings, presumably barracks, within.
While these outposts were only large enough to house a small garrison, each played the crucial roles of lookout and fire-signal station. Each outpost was strategically placed to have sightlines of anticipated enemy approaches, as well as of the larger components of the Macedonian fort system. Thus these two outposts served as the lynchpins linking the various defensive structures and positions, and the communications between these components made the defensive network stronger than the sum of its individual parts.
This defensive network eventually failed during the Third Macedonian War when Perseus did not send large enough garrisons to hold the field-camps at the key points at the passes through Perrhaebia, but instead concentrated his huge army at the Elpeus. As a result, the Romans were able to get behind Perseus and compel him to retreat from his strongly entrenched position. Proper use of the already established defensive network might have allowed Perseus to avoid this fate.
Research Interests:
Paper presented at Uppsala University conference, "From Snout to Tail: Exploring the Greek sacrificial animal from the literary, epigraphical, iconographical, archaeological and zoo archaeological evidence," December 10th, 2016 This... more
Paper presented at Uppsala University conference, "From Snout to Tail: Exploring the Greek sacrificial animal from the literary, epigraphical, iconographical, archaeological and zoo archaeological evidence," December 10th, 2016
This paper argues that, throughout the process of Greek sacrifice, the leg and tail formed a single integrated unit that was both practical and deeply religious. It has long been accepted that thighs and tails were burned on altars in ancient Greece and that this act was where communication with the gods took place - thus forming one of, if not the, most important elements of ancient Greek sacrifice. However, up to this point the leg and tail have not been treated as elements of a single holistic unit. Through reinterpretation of textual and iconographic evidence, combined with my study of butchery and an extensive experimental archaeological project involving the burning of thighs and tails, the thigh and tail are shown to form a single sacrificial unit from the butchering of the sacrificial animal, through being burnt on the altar, until they conveyed communication with the divine.
This paper argues that, throughout the process of Greek sacrifice, the leg and tail formed a single integrated unit that was both practical and deeply religious. It has long been accepted that thighs and tails were burned on altars in ancient Greece and that this act was where communication with the gods took place - thus forming one of, if not the, most important elements of ancient Greek sacrifice. However, up to this point the leg and tail have not been treated as elements of a single holistic unit. Through reinterpretation of textual and iconographic evidence, combined with my study of butchery and an extensive experimental archaeological project involving the burning of thighs and tails, the thigh and tail are shown to form a single sacrificial unit from the butchering of the sacrificial animal, through being burnt on the altar, until they conveyed communication with the divine.
Research Interests:
Presented at CAMWS 2016 Locating the Battle of the River Aous: A New Analysis This paper presents my new interpretation of the Battle of the River Aous in 198 BC, the first major battle between the Macedonians and the Romans in the... more
Presented at CAMWS 2016
Locating the Battle of the River Aous: A New Analysis
This paper presents my new interpretation of the Battle of the River Aous in 198 BC, the first major battle between the Macedonians and the Romans in the Second Macedonian War. Livy (32.5.9 - 32.6.8; 32.9.6 - 32.13.5) and Plutarch (Vit. Flam. 3.4 - 5.1) both describe this episode in detail. Previous scholars, particularly Leake (1835), Kromayer (1907), and Hammond (1966), have attempted to locate the battleground. Based on fieldwork conducted between 2013 and 2015, including the initial season of the Vjosë River Valley Archaeological Project in southern Albania (2015), I propose a new location for the battlefield as well as a new understanding of the relevant troop movements and supply routes.
Initial topographical analysis was conducted during four separate trips to the region, during which time I determined that the battle must have taken place in a part of the Vjosë river valley just north of the modern village of Peshtan, Albania. A formal architectural survey was then conducted, the primary goal of which was to determine whether there were any built remains of Philip's fortifications in the valley, and if the landscape aligned with the descriptions in Livy and Plutarch.
I co-directed the initial season of the Vjosë River Valley Archaeological Project between July 22nd and August 18th as a collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania and the Albanian Regional Directory of National Culture, Gjirokaster. We surveyed the valley to find and document all standing architectural features and cleared them of their extensive plant cover. A geological survey was conducted at the same time to determine how the landscape had changed since antiquity. The architectural elements, along with the natural features of the landscape including several river terraces, were recorded using photogrammetry along with more traditional methods of survey. Additionally, we conducted an ethnographic project, interviewing the many active shepherds of the region to record their understanding of the history and development of the valley.
The landscape of this valley aligns exactly with Livy's description of the battleground as well as the placements of Philip's and Flamininus' camps. The natural river terraces as well as the placement between the river and the sheer mountains is well suited for the system of defenses that Livy and Polybius describe Philip V using. This is further supported by an inscription (SEG 40.524) found near Amphipolis that transmits Philip's instructions on camp building.
While we didn't find any architecture that can be definitively assigned to Philip's camp, we did discover architectural remains indicating that this area was of military significance under Antonine rule, under Ali Pasha in the early 19th century, in World War II, and during Albania's Communist period, indicating the military importance of this area through time. Additional extensive hiking through the region, alongside proposed routes created through GIS modeling, has provided the basis for a new interpretation of the troop movements and supply routes related to the valley. Importantly, these routes are highly consistent with Livy’s narrative.
A better understanding of this battle and the campaign season of 198 BC enables us to better understand the aims and goals of the Romans as they began their eastward expansion, as well as how the Macedonians chose to respond to the Roman threat.
Works Cited
Hammond, N. G. L. (1966). The Opening Campaigns and the Battle of the Aoi Stena in the Second Macedonian War. The Journal of Roman Studies, 56, 39-54.
Kromayer, J. (1907). Antike Schlactfelder in Griechenland: Bausteine zu einer antiken Kriegsgeschichte. Zweiter Band. Die Hellenistisch-Römische Periode: von Kynoskephalae bis Pharsalos. Berlin: Weidmann.
Leake, W. M. (1835). Travels in Northern Greece. London: J. Rodwell.
Locating the Battle of the River Aous: A New Analysis
This paper presents my new interpretation of the Battle of the River Aous in 198 BC, the first major battle between the Macedonians and the Romans in the Second Macedonian War. Livy (32.5.9 - 32.6.8; 32.9.6 - 32.13.5) and Plutarch (Vit. Flam. 3.4 - 5.1) both describe this episode in detail. Previous scholars, particularly Leake (1835), Kromayer (1907), and Hammond (1966), have attempted to locate the battleground. Based on fieldwork conducted between 2013 and 2015, including the initial season of the Vjosë River Valley Archaeological Project in southern Albania (2015), I propose a new location for the battlefield as well as a new understanding of the relevant troop movements and supply routes.
Initial topographical analysis was conducted during four separate trips to the region, during which time I determined that the battle must have taken place in a part of the Vjosë river valley just north of the modern village of Peshtan, Albania. A formal architectural survey was then conducted, the primary goal of which was to determine whether there were any built remains of Philip's fortifications in the valley, and if the landscape aligned with the descriptions in Livy and Plutarch.
I co-directed the initial season of the Vjosë River Valley Archaeological Project between July 22nd and August 18th as a collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania and the Albanian Regional Directory of National Culture, Gjirokaster. We surveyed the valley to find and document all standing architectural features and cleared them of their extensive plant cover. A geological survey was conducted at the same time to determine how the landscape had changed since antiquity. The architectural elements, along with the natural features of the landscape including several river terraces, were recorded using photogrammetry along with more traditional methods of survey. Additionally, we conducted an ethnographic project, interviewing the many active shepherds of the region to record their understanding of the history and development of the valley.
The landscape of this valley aligns exactly with Livy's description of the battleground as well as the placements of Philip's and Flamininus' camps. The natural river terraces as well as the placement between the river and the sheer mountains is well suited for the system of defenses that Livy and Polybius describe Philip V using. This is further supported by an inscription (SEG 40.524) found near Amphipolis that transmits Philip's instructions on camp building.
While we didn't find any architecture that can be definitively assigned to Philip's camp, we did discover architectural remains indicating that this area was of military significance under Antonine rule, under Ali Pasha in the early 19th century, in World War II, and during Albania's Communist period, indicating the military importance of this area through time. Additional extensive hiking through the region, alongside proposed routes created through GIS modeling, has provided the basis for a new interpretation of the troop movements and supply routes related to the valley. Importantly, these routes are highly consistent with Livy’s narrative.
A better understanding of this battle and the campaign season of 198 BC enables us to better understand the aims and goals of the Romans as they began their eastward expansion, as well as how the Macedonians chose to respond to the Roman threat.
Works Cited
Hammond, N. G. L. (1966). The Opening Campaigns and the Battle of the Aoi Stena in the Second Macedonian War. The Journal of Roman Studies, 56, 39-54.
Kromayer, J. (1907). Antike Schlactfelder in Griechenland: Bausteine zu einer antiken Kriegsgeschichte. Zweiter Band. Die Hellenistisch-Römische Periode: von Kynoskephalae bis Pharsalos. Berlin: Weidmann.
Leake, W. M. (1835). Travels in Northern Greece. London: J. Rodwell.
Research Interests:
Paper presented at the Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting, 2014. This paper discusses my research through experimental archaeology into what kind of fat was used to wrap the thighbones in Homeric and Classical... more
Paper presented at the Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting, 2014.
This paper discusses my research through experimental archaeology into what kind of fat was used to wrap the thighbones in Homeric and Classical sacrifice.
An important element of the ritual of sacrifice in Homer is the burning of thighbones twice wrapped in fat (Il.1.460-1, 2.423-4; Od. 3.457-8, 12.361-2). We know from later texts (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Middle and New Comic poets) that this practice continued in the Classical period. That thighbones were burned on altars is archaeologically attested in excavations of sanctuaries and altars (e.g. the ash altar on Mt. Lykaion and the altar of Aphrodite Ourania in Athens) however we know very little about the 'twice-wrapped fat' around these thighbones. To know which fat was used to wrap the thighbones for sacrifice is important for our understanding of the realia of sacrifice, including ancient butchery practices and the sensory experience for direct participants such as the priests and the butchers.
There is a limited body of textual and iconographic evidence for this fat and scholars have interpreted it to mean the layer of fat hanging below the stomach called the omentum. However, this conclusion is based heavily on one corrupted fragment of Euboulos, a 4th c. Athenian comic poet, and ambiguous vase imagery. Believing that this evidence is less conclusive than it has been taken up to this point, I have approached this question in a new way. I used experimental archaeology to explore two possibilities: first, following the current scholarly consensus, that the fat was the omentum; second, exploring my own hypothesis, that the layer of fat from the top of the thigh itself was used to wrap the thighbone.
I removed the thigh bones from whole lamb legs, wrapped them in either omentum, thigh-fat, or both, and then burned them over a wood fire imitating the altars pictured in vase paintings. I examined and compared the behavior of the omentum and the fat cap of the thigh during each of these stages.
Based on a data set of 25 fat-wrapped thighbones, I conclude that the omentum should still be included as a possibility for the fat in question, however for different reasons than have previously been cited. More importantly, I argue that the evidence indicates that the fat cap of the thigh should be included as a possibility for the fat twice-wrapped around the thighbones in ancient sacrifice.
This paper discusses my research through experimental archaeology into what kind of fat was used to wrap the thighbones in Homeric and Classical sacrifice.
An important element of the ritual of sacrifice in Homer is the burning of thighbones twice wrapped in fat (Il.1.460-1, 2.423-4; Od. 3.457-8, 12.361-2). We know from later texts (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Middle and New Comic poets) that this practice continued in the Classical period. That thighbones were burned on altars is archaeologically attested in excavations of sanctuaries and altars (e.g. the ash altar on Mt. Lykaion and the altar of Aphrodite Ourania in Athens) however we know very little about the 'twice-wrapped fat' around these thighbones. To know which fat was used to wrap the thighbones for sacrifice is important for our understanding of the realia of sacrifice, including ancient butchery practices and the sensory experience for direct participants such as the priests and the butchers.
There is a limited body of textual and iconographic evidence for this fat and scholars have interpreted it to mean the layer of fat hanging below the stomach called the omentum. However, this conclusion is based heavily on one corrupted fragment of Euboulos, a 4th c. Athenian comic poet, and ambiguous vase imagery. Believing that this evidence is less conclusive than it has been taken up to this point, I have approached this question in a new way. I used experimental archaeology to explore two possibilities: first, following the current scholarly consensus, that the fat was the omentum; second, exploring my own hypothesis, that the layer of fat from the top of the thigh itself was used to wrap the thighbone.
I removed the thigh bones from whole lamb legs, wrapped them in either omentum, thigh-fat, or both, and then burned them over a wood fire imitating the altars pictured in vase paintings. I examined and compared the behavior of the omentum and the fat cap of the thigh during each of these stages.
Based on a data set of 25 fat-wrapped thighbones, I conclude that the omentum should still be included as a possibility for the fat in question, however for different reasons than have previously been cited. More importantly, I argue that the evidence indicates that the fat cap of the thigh should be included as a possibility for the fat twice-wrapped around the thighbones in ancient sacrifice.
Research Interests:
Paper presented at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki conference on "Science/Fiction/History: The Literary in Classical Historiography," 2014. This paper uses close readings of Polybius and Livy to give new insight into each... more
Paper presented at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki conference on "Science/Fiction/History: The Literary in Classical Historiography," 2014.
This paper uses close readings of Polybius and Livy to give new insight into each author's narrative and moralizing goals in their individual telling of a single historical episode.
Following his victory over the Macedonian army at Pydna in 168 BC, the Roman consul Lucius Aemilius Paulus famously made a tour of Greece. Starting at Delphi, he continued through Boiotia and Attica before making a clockwise tour of the Peloponnese ending at Olympia. Both Livy and Polybius use Paulus' tour to examine the question of 'what is Greece?'. However, the two authors use this same story to lead the reader to dramatically different conclusions.
Paulus' tour is first described in Polybius, and exists today in 6 fragments. Reconstructing these fragments reveals that Polybius' account follows a distinct narrative arc that addresses two issues: 1) For Polybius, 'Greece' is neither where the Third Macedonian War was just fought nor where any of the parties involved in that war were from. 2) Paulus' tour reveals the effect that 'Greece' has on him, namely an increase in religiosity and appreciation of the humanities in direct relation to a decrease in interest in war and political strife. Polybius thus implies that 'Greece' would have this effect on anyone who encountered her.
Livy's version of Paulus' tour derives from Polybius, retains his overall narrative, and even addresses the same two issues. However, Livy changes important details to lead the reader to quite different conclusions: 1) Polybius' 'Greece' was in steep decline in 167 BC but is in even worse decline in Livy's day. 2) Being in 'Greece' had no tangible effect on Paulus, religious or otherwise.
It is in the dialogue between Livy's and Polybius' versions of the same story that the moralizing goals that underlie each historian's narrative are revealed.
This paper uses close readings of Polybius and Livy to give new insight into each author's narrative and moralizing goals in their individual telling of a single historical episode.
Following his victory over the Macedonian army at Pydna in 168 BC, the Roman consul Lucius Aemilius Paulus famously made a tour of Greece. Starting at Delphi, he continued through Boiotia and Attica before making a clockwise tour of the Peloponnese ending at Olympia. Both Livy and Polybius use Paulus' tour to examine the question of 'what is Greece?'. However, the two authors use this same story to lead the reader to dramatically different conclusions.
Paulus' tour is first described in Polybius, and exists today in 6 fragments. Reconstructing these fragments reveals that Polybius' account follows a distinct narrative arc that addresses two issues: 1) For Polybius, 'Greece' is neither where the Third Macedonian War was just fought nor where any of the parties involved in that war were from. 2) Paulus' tour reveals the effect that 'Greece' has on him, namely an increase in religiosity and appreciation of the humanities in direct relation to a decrease in interest in war and political strife. Polybius thus implies that 'Greece' would have this effect on anyone who encountered her.
Livy's version of Paulus' tour derives from Polybius, retains his overall narrative, and even addresses the same two issues. However, Livy changes important details to lead the reader to quite different conclusions: 1) Polybius' 'Greece' was in steep decline in 167 BC but is in even worse decline in Livy's day. 2) Being in 'Greece' had no tangible effect on Paulus, religious or otherwise.
It is in the dialogue between Livy's and Polybius' versions of the same story that the moralizing goals that underlie each historian's narrative are revealed.
Research Interests:
Paper presented at the University of Colorado Graduate Conference on Slavery in the Ancient World, 2009.
Research Interests:
American School for Classical Studies at Athens Tea Talk, 2015
Research Interests:
American School for Classical Studies at Athens Tea Talk, 2014.