Greek bronze vessels

One of the cities of Macedonia listed by Claudius Ptolemaeus (Geogr. III, 12, 23) and Pliny the Younger (NH. V, 10, 17) in the imperial age is Lete. Its location is about 12 kilometers NW of Thessaloniki. The city and its cemeteries sprawled over the hills of the Derveni pass and the western part of the fertile plain of Langadas. This strategic position on two main roads - leading from the Aegean into the central Balkans and linking the Thermaikos Gulf with eastern Macedonia - justifies the long, continuous habitation of the site, from the very early Neolithic period until the Roman era.
The two bronze oinochoai derive from the cemetery of Lete, a city of ancient Mygdonia in Macedonia. More specifically, the oinochoe no MTh 17244 (fig. 1-2) accompanied a male burial of the early 3rd century, while the oinochoe no MTh 22710 (fig. 3-4) accompanied a female burial dated to 270-260 B.C. The morphological characteristics of the two vessels allow for their incorporation in the Hellenistic version of type 9 of the bronze oinochoai, dated to late 4th-early 3rd c.B.C. The handle of oinochoe MTh 17244 ends to an ivy leaf, while the attachment of the handle of oinochoe MTh 22710 is decorated with two confronted heads of goats which frame acanthus leaves. This theme comprises a rare decorative motif on the handles of metal vessels, with the earlier example being the bronze trefoil oinochoe from Galaxidi. In early Hellenistic era the same motif is encountered on the attachments of the handles of the two-handled bronze oinochoe B 34 from the Derveni cemetery (fig. 5, 10 a), a bronze sheet with similar function from Region of Didymoteichon (fig. 6) and a bronze oinochoe from Nafpaktos (fig. 7a, b), related to a Macedonian workshop. Other examples, such as the bronze olpe in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the bronze hydria from Palazzolo demonstrate that the depiction is used until the early Roman times. The oinochoe MTh 22710 from Lete belongs to a burial assemblage where it is combined with clay drinking vessels, thus it comprised a symposium vessel. The emblematic depiction on the attachment of its handle refers to Dionysus as a god of wine and symposium, considering that the goat is included among the animals that accompany the god. Αlso, in the same context belongs the ivy leaf on the oinochoe MTh 17244.
The two oinochoai were possibly manufactured in the period between 330-300 B.C., while the MTh 22710 is a little later. They were undoubtedly already used vessels which were deposited as funeral offerings not much later than their production. The estimation that certain metal vessels from the cemetery of Derveni are creations of a metal workshop installed in Lete is further confirmed by the scarcity of the shape of the two bronze oinochoai. The stylistic similarities between the theme of the confronted heads of goats on the oinochoe and the crowning of grave stelae, which depict the same theme and are products of Attic workshops (fig. 9), allow for the verification of the influence of Attic art in their performance. Nevertheless, the influence of Attic workshops has been noted in other facets of local production activity in Lete.

The study analyses a series of bronze artefacts, mostly containers, found in graves dating back to the period ranging from 7th cent. until
3rd cent. B.C. and belonging to the indigenous populations settled in the territory of coeval Basilicata. The main scope of the paper is to
draw a distinction, based inter alia on the manufacturing methodologies, among imported items ( from Etruria, Greece and beyond),
metallurgical objects produced by colonial poleis (particularly Sybaris and Metapontion) and by some indigenous centers.

The publication is dedicated to a bronze vessel found in a robbed burial of the second half of the 4th century BCE in the Burial-mound no. 1 of the Chastye Kurgany group on the outskirts of Voronezh, excavated by the Voronezh Scientific Archive Commission in 1910. A vessel with a handle attachment in form of a mask under the edge on the outside and a gorgoneion-medallion at the bottom inside is a patera with a handle lost in antiquity. Such pateras with similarly shaped edges of the bowl and handles ending in a ram's head are known after a very small number of finds of the second half of the 4th century BCE almost all of which come from Macedonia and Thrace. Given the fact that lion's paws are depicted on the sides of the neck of the person shown on the mask, there is every reason for its attribution as the head of Herakles. A similar iconography is typical for vessel attachments from Northern Greece. The treatment of hair strands, in particular symmetrical curls over the forehead (anastole / ἀναστολή), resembles the hairstyle in the portraits of Alexander the Great and imitations of them. Taking into account this observation, it is hardly possible to date the patera from Chastye kurgans earlier than the last quarter of the 4th century BCE. In the North Pontic region, bronze vessels of this shape have not yet been known, despite the fact that the finds of bronze vessels of the Macedonian-Thracian circle of the 4th century BCE are represented both in Scythia and in the Bosporus. Taking into account the known finds of bronze vessels of the Macedonian types at the Elizavetinskoe fortified settlement and in its necropolis at the mouth of the Don, it can be assumed that such vessels could have reached the Middle Don in this way. At the same time, given the relative rarity of bronze (silver) pateras in Macedonia and Thrace in the second half of the 4th — early 3rd century BCE and their finds in very rich complexes, including in the royal burials in Vergina and Golyamata Kosmatka, one cannot exclude the possibility of a different way for the patera from Chastye Barrows. In Macedonia and Thrace, such pateras, together with the oinochoai, were part of the banquet sets, therefore, in this case, the patera, which, perhaps, originally had a pair (oinochoe) could also be a diplomatic gift. In any case, the patera from Chastye Burial-mounds fits into the circle of finds of Thracian horse-bridle pieces and Thracian and Macedonian toreutics found in the burials of the Scythian nobility in the Middle Don region.

Ancient hydriai made from bronze or other precious materials occupy an important place within the field of toreutic studies. These vessels, in addition to their principal purpose of holding liquids, were also preferred as containers for the ashes of the deceased, and so were placed in the graves of ancient Greeks in significant quantities mostly in the Archaic but also in the Classical period.
Present-day Turkey, ancient Asia Minor, has supplied a vast assemblage of a range of toreutic vessels from various eras of antiquity. In 2012 a new addition was made to this assemblage with the discovery of an exceptional bronze hydria in the necropolis of the ancient Aeolian city of Kyme. Carefully produced and richly adorned with a relief plaquette of Dionysos and Silenus, this vessel was first published several years after its discovery. However, it has yet to receive a full treatment, including a detailed comparison with other examples. This paper aims to rectify this situation by “re-identifying” the Kyme hydria through a wide-ranging study. Firstly, the vessel will be re-evaluated in terms of its find context, including assessment of the other finds recovered from the same tomb. There follows a detailed typological analysis in which analogies are drawn with contemporary metal vessels. This will help both to challenge the previously suggested use, production technique and date and to identify the possible origin of this vessel. Last but not least, comments are made on how this exceptional hydria might have found its way to Kyme and the significance of this within the wider world of Greek toreutics.

Keywords: Kyme; hydria; Dionysos; Silenus; late 4th century BC

The paper presents a Late Archaic bronze hydria found in the vicinity of ancient Sinope, and kept in the Sinop Museum director. It is an exceptionally well preserved exemplar combining characteristics of various well established Peloponnesian series. The lion head on the top of the vertical handle links the vase to a series popular since the third quarter of the 6th century BC and until the middle of the 5th century. The style of the Gorgo-head-shaped lower attachment of the same handle brings it closer to a series traditionally ascribed to Corinth. More details, such as the body covered with a chiseled-tongues pattern, and the palmettes of the lateral handles, serve to refine its affiliation to a particular workshop and narrow down its dating. Given the main distribution of related hydriae in the Greek mainland and the Balkans, the exceptional presence of this exemplar in the Sinope area may have been related to specific historical circumstances, or/and the development of trade routes along the southern shores of the Black Sea during the late Archaic period.

Early Greek bronze vessels exported out of Greece among indigenous societies attest, together with the more diffused figured pottery, the spread of Greek cultural model and social practices. Found generally in funerary contexts from Southern Italy to the Black Sea, they represented wealth, power and identification with the Greek aristocratic culture and society and it is interesting trying to recognize the function, these objects could have in the indigenous contexts where they were found.

PLEASE, CONTACT ME, if you NEED the article: mikhailtreister@yahoo.de.  I am not entitled to place a pdf of my article in web-resources.

The present paper is to a certain extent a reaction to the recently published article by Chiara Tarditi, which is devoted to the analysis of Greek bronze vessels of the Archaic and Classical periods in the North Pontic area. In this article, the author unfortunately worked with an incomplete corpus of sources and overlooked groups of
finds, e. g. not taking into account finds from the Greek cities of the North Black Sea region and their necropoleis.

In my article, even if it is long, it is impossible to consider all the bronze vessels of the Archaic and Classical periods found in the North Pontic area, therefore I am forced to limit the scope of the study both chronologically, considering only the vessels of the late 6th–5th centuries BCE, and geographically. Since it seems promising to consider
both finds from Greek cities, settlements and their necropoleis, and Scythian burial mounds in one study, I have limited myself to the territory of Olbia and its chora and the Scythian kurgans of the Bug and Dnieper regions.

The finds of the fragments of bronze vessels of the second half, in
particular, possibly the third quarter of the 6th century BC, in the North
Pontic area: Berezan, Olbia, Pantikapaion and Mirmekion – are very rare
and are represented by the attachments of lebetes or basins of the types, widespread in Greece and South Italy, as well as a fragmented Etruscan infundibulum, which most likely found its way to Pantikapaion with Ionian colonists. In the late 6th – first half of the 5th century BC a series of bronze strainers and ladles reached Olbia and Scythian tumuli of the right bank of the Dnieper. Some of them were still in use, though being reworked, up to the second quarter of the 4th century BC. Being previously determined by Z.A.Bilimovich as the products of Etruscan workshops, these strainers were actually mainly manufactured by the workshops of Greece and South Italy. Only a small part of them could really be made in Etruria. In addition to the abovementioned categories of bronzeware, the Scythian burials of the first half – middle of the 5th century BC yielded albeit rarely, oinochoai, hydrias and hemispherical bowls, and in the second half of the century – podanipters. Noteworthy is almost lack of imported bronze drinking
vessels.

Against this background stands out due to its artistic qualities and
dimensions the bronze krater from Martonosha in the Middle Dnieper
basin, the burial-mound located about 300 km north of Olbia, but not far
from the sources of the South Bug, undeservedly forgotten by the modern researchers of the North Pontic area.

It is perfectly clear that the vessel from Martonosha is on a par with
such unique and expensive articles as kraters from Vix and Trebenishte,
which are considered by many researchers as diplomatic gifts, specially
made for the barbaric elite. Both in Gaul and in the Central Balkans, the
kraters found their way into burials not earlier than in the late 6th century
BC, after about half a century or even more of use, being already antique
objects. That means that either they were obtained as second-hand by their last owners, or they could be gifted to their predecessors, who had used them for a considerable time, before these antiquarian items were put into the graves of their descendants. We did not know how the matter was in the case of the burial from Martonosha (whether the krater was put in the burial at about the same time, in this case, shortly after manufacturing, or later), but a similar scenario cannot be ruled out.

Summary:  In a special storeroom of the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, the author stumbled upon a previously unpublished tripod leg of considerable art-historical importance among ancient bronzes once held in Berlin. The author also discovered a previously unknown sketch of this piece in the archives of the Collection of Classical Antiquities (Antikensammlung) in Berlin. According to a diary entry, the tripod leg was found in 1912 not far from the so-called Rhoicos Altar in the Heraion of Samos. The front of the massive, cast tripod leg, standing on a lion’s paw, is engraved with images of different animals and hybrid creatures. Among very rare archaic tripod cauldrons with figurative decoration, it is the best-preserved specimen. No other example of the combination of legs cast as a single piece and engraving is known. Stylistic parallels suggest that it was produced in a workshop in western Asia Minor or the Ionian islands, potentially Samos or Miletos, around the middle of the 6th century B.C. Besides the interpretation that the piece was a votive offering, comparison to other
pieces suggest that it may have been used as a ritual object.

Zusammenfassung: In einem Spezialdepot des Museums der Bildenden Künste A. S. Puschkin in Moskau stieß der Verfasser im September 2010 gänzlich unerwartet auf ein archaisches Dreifußbein von erheblicher kunsthistorischer Bedeutung. Gründliche Archivstudien führten ihn anschließend zu einer ebenso unbekannten Zeichnung in der Graphothek der Berliner Antikensammlung. Ulrich Gehrig ist der freundliche Hinweis auf eine Notiz im Tagebuch der älteren Samos-Grabung zu verdanken, nach der das Dreifußbein am 24. Mai 1912 bei den Ausgrabungen der Königlichen Museen zu Berlin im Heraion von Samos gefunden wurde. Vermutlich aufgrund der durch den Ersten Weltkrieg bedingten zehnjährigen Unterbrechung der Grabungstätigkeit unterblieb seine Veröffentlichung. Zunächst befand sich das bei der Auffindung noch 44 cm hohe, heute in zwei Fragmente zerbrochene und nur 39,8 cm messende Bein im Antiquarium der Königlichen Museen (heute: Antikensammlung – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Inv. Sa. 130 Br). Nach Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs gelangte es zusammen mit vielen anderen in die Sowjetunion verlagerten Museumsbeständen nach Moskau. Das voll gegossene, auf einer plastischen Raubtierpfote stehende und mit gravierten Bildern von Tieren und Mischwesen in untereinander angeordneten Feldern verzierte Dreifußbein war ursprünglich fast vollständig erhalten. Unter den außerordentlich seltenen archaischen Dreifußkesseln mit figürlichem Dekor ist es das am besten erhaltene Beispiel. Für die Kombination von voll gegossenen Beinen und graviertem Dekor ist bisher kein zweites Beispiel bekannt. Stilistische Vergleiche mit verwandten Darstellungen der frühgriechischen Flächenkunst legen eine Entstehung des Dreifußkessels in einer westkleinasiatisch- bzw. inselionischen Werkstatt und eine Datierung in das zweite Viertel des 6. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. nahe.

The article is devoted to the attribution of a fragmented bronze krater from a Burial–mound near the village of Martonosha in the Kirovograd region of Ukraine, looted in 1870. Particular attention is paid to the features of the treatment of the relief, depicting Medusa in a kneeling running pose on the only surviving handle of the krater. Analysis of bronze reliefs close in iconography, which served as feet or decoration elements of vessels, of the features of the treatment of the face of the gorgon, its posture, the position of its hands and wings, suggest the manufacture of a crater in the framework of the last quarter of the 6th century BC, i.e. significantly later than anticipated in the Russian literature. The arguments already made by various scholars in favor of the East-Greek manufacture of the krater are confirmed not only by the fact of discoveries of bronze volute-kraters in Asia Minor (including the closest parallel to the krater under discussion, supposedly from Cilicia), but also by the careful examination of the genesis of the Gorgo images, proving the origin of the motif in East Greek art.
It is perfectly clear that the vessel from Martonosha is on a par with such unique and expensive articles as kraters from Vix and Trebenishte, which are considered by many researchers as diplomatic gifts, specially made for the barbaric elite. Both in Gaul and in the Central Balkans, the kraters found their way into burials not earlier than in the late 6th century BC, after about half a century or even more of use, being already antique objects. That means that either they were obtained as second-hand by their last owners, or they could be gifted to their predecessors, who had used them for a considerable time, before these antiquarian items were put into the graves of their descendants. We did not know how the matter was in the case of the burial from Martonosha (whether the krater was put in the burial at about the same time, in this case, shortly after manufacturing, or later), but a similar scenario cannot be ruled out.

The finds of the fragments of bronze vessels of the second half, in particular, possibly the third quarter of the 6th century BC, in the North Pontic area: Berezan, Olbia, Pantikapaion and Mirmekion – are very rare and are represented by the attachments of lebetes or basins of the types, widespread in Greece and South Italy, as well as a fragmented Etruscan infundibulum, which most likely found its way to Pantikapaion with Ionian colonists. In the late 6th – first half of the 5th century BC a series of bronze strainers and ladles reached Olbia and Scythian tumuli of the right bank of the Dnieper. Some of them were still in use, though being reworked, up to the second quarter of the 4th century BC. Being previously determined by Z.A. Bilimovich as the products of Etruscan workshops, these strainers were actually mainly manufactured by the workshops of Greece and South Italy. Only a small part of them could really be made in Etruria. In addition to the abovementioned categories of bronzeware, the Scythian burials of the first half – middle of the 5th century BC yielded albeit rarely, oinochoai, hydrias and hemispherical bowls, and in the second half of the century – podanipters. Noteworthy is almost lack of imported bronze drinking vessels.
Against this background stands out due to its artistic qualities and dimensions the bronze krater from Martonosha in the Middle Dnieper basin, the burial-mound located about 300 km north of Olbia, but not far from the sources of the South Bug, undeservedly forgotten by the modern researchers of the North Pontic area.
It is perfectly clear that the vessel from Martonosha is on a par with such unique and expensive articles as kraters from Vix and Trebenishte, which are considered by many researchers as diplomatic gifts, specially made for the barbaric elite. Both in Gaul and in the Central Balkans, the kraters found their way into burials not earlier than in the late 6th century BC, after about half a century or even more of use, being already antique objects. That means that either they were obtained as second-hand by their last owners, or they could be gifted to their predecessors, who had used them for a considerable time, before these antiquarian items were put into the graves of their descendants. We did not know how the matter was in the case of the burial from Martonosha (whether the krater was put in the burial at about the same time, in this case, shortly after manufacturing, or later), but a similar scenario cannot be ruled out.

The bronze objects fragments from the archaic votive deposits in the sanctuary of Demetra Thesmophoros at Bitalemi (Gela, Sicily) have been studied in these last years preparing the complete edition of the old excavations. The direct analysis of the bronze objects and the research of comparison  made possible to understand how important was the practice of dedication of bronze fragments in this sanctuary, the different commercial route interesting the coasts of the Sicily in archaic time, the meaning of offering mostly just fragments and the rôle of the bronze heaps trade in the Mediterranean basin.

XXth International Congress on Ancient Bronzes, 17.04.–21.04.2018, Institute for Classical Archaeology Tübingen

Due to its archaeological record, the sanctuary of Olympia is an important find spot of archaic bronze vessels of different cultural backgrounds. In the paper, it will be tried to discuss possible contexts of use in feasting or sacrifice as well as processes of dedication and deposition.

Ödemiş lies on a fertile plain 113 km south-east of Izmir, close to the range of Bozdağlar, classical Tmolus, which lies between the Hermus (Gediz) and Caystrus (Küçük Menderes) rivers in ancient south-western Lydia. The largest archaeological site in this area is Hypaepa (τὰ Ὕπαιπα; today Günlüce) which is some 70 km from Ephesus on the route of Sardis. During the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine periods this region in the hinterland of Ephesus and Sardis was densely populated with rural settlements and few cities.
The present-day local archaeological museum in Ödemiş was opened in 1983 in a building donated to the community by a local collector, Muhtar Başoğlu. Local finds, previously held in the museums of Izmir and Tire, were transferred to the new museum; some specimens were also brought from the Archaeological Museums of Istanbul as well as the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. Following refurbishments the new collection of the Museum of Ödemiş reopened in October 2015.
The bronze figurines in the museum’s collection, most of which on display, have never been published, yet deserve to be known. This brief article is the third in a series consecrated to the metal finds of Ödemiş. The fibulae and lead seals have already been published,2 and a fourth paper, on the inscribed metal objects, is in preparation. Unfortunately, it has so far not been possible to carry out archaeometric analyses of the metal.
Other bronze figurines from southern Asia Minor have already been discussed by M. Feugère and the present author. They provide useful information with regard to the religious and domestic life in western Asia Minor during the Roman Imperial era.

"This article deals with few Thracian finds discovered under unknown circumstances in the immediate vicinity of the town of Mezdra, district of Vratsa. These are 2 silver fibulae, a silver torque, a bronze belt buckle and a bronze vessel - aryballos. They probably originate from a flat or tumular grave dug by treasure-hunters. Now they belong to a private collection in the town of Vratsa. These so far unknown Thracian objects could be satisfactorily placed in the context of the 1st millennium BC Tribaloi area.
The two silver fibulae (Fig. 1 a-b) belong to the so-called "Thracian Type". They are made of round wire and the prolongations of their catches turn into an upside-down cones. Numerous parallels can be cited from the same region and they can be dated to the late 4th century BC.
The silver torque (Fig. 2 a-b) is made of wire, quadrangular in section, which ends in oblong plates decorated with cuts and bearing one opening each. We do not know about any other such torque of untwisted wire from Thrace. The decoration on its ends finds parallels in a silver torque from the region of Gabrovo, dated to the 4th-3rd century BC, as well as in two more from the Chaushevo treasure, region of Rousse (2nd century AD). The torque from Mezdra evidently marked a peculiar stage in the development of this type of jewellery and can be dated to the 4th-3rd century BC.
The belt buckle is cast of bronze (Fig. 3 a-b). An open-work animal image, probably of a dog, is placed on its front. It is represented with limbs and tail stuck to the body in a quite schematic manner, typical for the Thracian art. Such bronze belt appliques form a peculiar group that was spread in the 6th-4th century BC. The newly found buckle from Mezdra can be assigned generally to the 5th century BC.
The bronze vessel has the shape of an aryballos (Fig. 4 a-b). It is excellently manufactured and is certainly of import, probably Greek, origin. The handle and the bottom were cast separately and then soldered to the body, while the bottom was additionally shaped on a lathe. Without having an exact parallel, the aryballos-like vessel from the region of Mezdra can be dated to the late 5th and early 4th century BC.
This group of newly discovered archaeological materials from the region of Mezdra, originating probably from a disturbed burial, can contribute to the study of the Thracian culture in the present-day Northwestern Bulgaria."

I’d like to homage and remember the long friendship with Enzo Lippolis resuming a topic already studied many years ago thanks to his support, the presence of Athenian bronze vessels among Apulian funerary finds. Increased by recent attributions, these pieces make clear the importance of the bronze vessels among the Greeks imports on the coasts of the Peucetia and Messapia from the late 6th to the mid 5th century BC.

This article consists of an analysis of an imported bronze vessel, found in the East Catacomb of the Berdyansk Barrow – a funerary monument of one of the Scythian nomarchs in the region north of the Sea of Azov. The wide range of cited parallels from Scythian sites and sites of other cultures makes it possible to assume that the oinochoe and the basin from the Berdyansk Barrow belonged to one and the same set of imported metal vessels. ‘Services’ of this kind were used by representatives of the highest social stratum of various peoples of the Scythian period. The finds from the Berdyansk Barrow date from the 5th or early-4th century BC.

A significant part of bronze cauldrons found in Asian Sarmatia is cast and was made by local craftsmen, whereas those from the nomadic burials, dating from the 2nd century BC to the 3rd century AD, with hammered bodies and cast handles, belonging to western imports, are discussed in this paper. In addition to a rare example made in the 4th – 3rd centuries BC in Macedonia or Epirus, found in the Middle Don basin in the complex of the late 2nd – 1st century BC in the late 2nd – 1st century BC nomads received cauldrons, probably made in the workshops of Asia Minor or the Bosporan kingdom, including those with Greek ownership inscriptions. The hypothesis put forward by B.A. Raev that bronzeware was not manufactured in the Black Sea workshops, and imported vessels were brought either from Italy, or from Thrace, or were made in workshops of the North Caucasus or Transcaucasia, does not stand up to criticism. Significantly more complex picture in comparison with those drawn in previous publications emerges with the distribution of bronze hammered cauldrons in the 2nd – 3rd centuries AD. Most widespread were the cauldrons of the so-called Debelt and Rovnoe groups, which according to B.A. Raev and S.V. Demidenko were manufactured in Italian, and then in Provincial-Roman workshops or in North Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Our analysis shows with a high degree of probability their possible manufacturing in the Bosporan workshops. Such a preponderance of presumably Bosporan products does not exclude that certain pieces could find their way from the Roman provinces, as evidenced by the find in the Lower Volga area of a vessel with a Greek inscription pointing to Thrace as the place of its manufacture.

This is the article, which was prepared in 2009/2010 after I studied the vessels from Ryzhanovka in Kiev in 2007, 2008 and 2010. The finial versions in Russian and English has been sent to Sergei Skoryi in July 2010. When finally the book was rushed prepared in summer 2018 I had no time to make any update of the article. The article appeared as an Appendix in the book by S. Skoryi and J. Chohorowski and only in Russian version. Therefore I enclose the English translation, which I have done in 2010. Of course, there should be mistakes. Anyhow, I hope this translation will be helpful for those, who cannot understand Russian.

Summary: During the excavations carried out in the early 20th century by the Royal Museums of Berlin at the Apollo sanctuary of Didyma, three unusual attachments of Greek bronze cauldrons of the Archaic period (Didyma 7; Didyma 52; Didyma 66) were found, according to the finds book. While one (Didyma 52) has been lost since the destruction of the excavation house in the First World War (1916), the other two (Didyma 7; Didyma 66) were first transferred to the Antiquarium, today's Antikensammlung - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, and after 1945 by "war-related transfer" to the State Museum A. S. Pushkin in Moscow, where the author was able to identify them in 2009 and 2010, respectively, and study them in detail thanks to the kind cooperation of the then museum director, Irina Antonova, and her responsible assistant, Ludmilla Akimova. All three attachments, which were probably made in the 7th century BC, were originally characterised by three 'buttons' pointing upwards, a form for which no other parallel has yet been found despite a thorough search.

Zusammenfassung: Bei den im frühen 20. Jahrhundert durch die Königlichen Museen zu Berlin durchgeführten Ausgrabungen im Apollonheiligtum von Didyma wurden nach Auskunft des Fundbuchs drei ungewöhnliche Attaschen archaischer Bronzegefäße (Didyma 7; Didyma 52; Didyma 66) gefunden. Während eines (Didyma 52) seit der Zerstörung des Grabungshauses im Ersten Weltkrieg (1916) verschollen ist, kamen die beiden anderen (Didyma 7; Didyma 66) zunächst in das Antiquarium, die heutige Antikensammlung – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, und nach 1945 durch „kriegsbedingte Verlagerung“ in das Staatliche Museum A. S. Puschkin nach Moskau gelangten, wo sie der Verfasser in den Jahren 2009 bzw. 2010 identifizieren und dank des freundlichen Entgegenkommens der damaligen Museumsleiterin, Irina Antonova, und ihrer verantwortlichen Mitarbeiterin, Ludmilla Akimova, eingehend studieren konnte. Alle drei wohl noch im 7. Jh. v. Chr. entstandenen Attaschen zeichneten sich ursprünglich durch drei nach oben weisende ‚Knöpfe’ aus, eine Form, für die sich trotz gründlicher Suche bislang keine weitere Parallele finden ließ.

In recent decades, the research on the sacred space in ancient Greece has experienced a significant increase, resulting in a decisive advancement of the state of the art in the field of ‘cult archaeology’, also thanks to the remains brought to light by the excavations carried out in Greek sanctuaries, to the fruitful reflections on ancient Hellenic religiosity and to the review of data and information derived from previous investigations. Thanks to these results, is it now possible to offer a meeting opportunity to update the scientific debate on a specific class of materials from the sacred areas, the metal artifacts, widely attested through archaeological findings, epigraphs and literary sources. There is a wide range of types of products, entailing different purposes and levels of expense, from the everyday objects (vessels, instrumentum related with the banquet), to actual and miniaturist weapons, from full-size and colossal statues to small statuettes, from big cauldrons to tripods; and coins, working tools, sportive items, jewels, etc. If for objects made of precious metals, such as gold and silver, it is above all the study of literary and epigraphic sources that allows us to reconstruct what their diffusion was, well attested are the bronze, iron and lead artefacts, widespread in the various religious centers of the Hellenic world (mainland Greece, Magna Graecia and Sicily) from the Proto-Geometric period until the Hellenism.
The seminar aims to provide to scholars an update and to promote a scientific debate on several important issues related on more or less known sanctuaries, such as the analysis of the different classes of the offered metal objects; their possible use in the sanctuary life; the relationship, if one,  between these dedications and the worshipped deities; their location within the consecrated boundaries; the relationship between the richness of these gifts and the city, in whose territory the sanctuary is located (both urban and extra-urban); their financial significance to foster forms of hoarding; the cult actions performed in association to their dedication and finally the methods of disposal of the metal votives, when they were damaged, obsolete or simply too many.

Discussed are the possible evidences which may lead to the interpretation of Greek, Macedonian and Roman bronze vessels found in Scythia and Sarmatia as second-hand objects. The signs of repair on the vessels may in rare cases, when this type of repair is unusual for the local metalwork and typical for those of Greek/Roman origin, give hints which suggest that the vessels found their way to the nomads in an already repaired format. The most valuable information is provided by a complex of 15 bronze vessels found near the village of Peschanoe, in the valley of the River Supoy in the Dnieper basin; its owner was designated by W. Fuchs (1978) as a trader of old metalware. The significant chronological dispersion of the vessels of this complex (ca. 150-170 years) makes us cautious about the idea that this was an ordinary trade cargo. The analysis of the vessels’ traces of repairs and of their missing fragments show that some of the defects were adjusted during the manufacturing process, while others lost fragments, or were repaired during their use. The latest vessels from this find, dated no earlier than the middle/third quarter of the 4th century BC, of Macedonian or Thracian origin, have no traces of missing fragments or repairs. In general, mostly contemporary new vessels were received by the nomads and quite often, in the course of durable usage, lost some of their elements. One should also take into account that the nomads appreciated the imported vessels, considering them as objects of prestige – their fragments were used often as amulets, or were even given a secondary use, changing their function.

Aim of the paper is to define the role of the metal vessels in defining the relation between Greek and Scythian world from the VI to the IV century BC. The finding of many pieces of metal vessels, mainly bronze, in different sites of the Caucasian area, more or less close to the Greek colonies around the Black Sea, can be examined as expression of the well-established commercial trade, probably related with exchange of grain or slaves; and the appreciation by local elites reflects their role as status symbol together with the acceptance of the forms and the ways of self-representation of the Greek aristocracy.

XXth International Congress on Ancient Bronzes, 17. 4. – 21. 4. 2018, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

Abstract
Sanctuaries of ancient times are both, places of cult and sacrifice as well as spaces of social processes, for example feasting, political negotiations or construction of collective identities. So one perspective of contextualizing bronze vessels is directed at ritual and representation.
What is documented through excavations in sanctuaries like Olympia, has a lot more to do with uses or deposition of things, after being regarded as more or less monumental offerings or dedications, after being part of ritual implements. It is tried to focus on bronze vessels from Olympia with regard to changes of status as sacred things.

As Gorgons, complete or represented only by the head, are among the most common decorations on Greek bronze vessels from the Archaic period, it is interesting to examine examples on bronze vessels fragments from the Athenian Acropolis, defining some local characters in the Gorgoneion shape.

The cemeteries of ancient Troezen were mostly explored through rescue excavations conducted by the Archaeological Service in the years 1979-2007. Excavation brought to light a total of 54 graves, ranging in date from the Proto-Geometric to the Roman period. Moreover, the remains of three poorly preserved funerary buildings of the Roman era, similar to those surviving above ground at some places outside the city walls, were uncovered during these investigations. The excavated graves testify to systematic and diachronic burial activity in two areas, one to the west and another to the east of the city walls. The archaeological evidence to date shows that the cemeteries of the Geometric and Archaic periods were located near the area where the ancient city developed, whereas the Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman cemeteries extended to a greater distance (at least 700 m.) from the city, presumably because a gradual increase in population necessitated their expansion.
Seven locations excavated in the area of the western cemetery yielded a total of 25 graves: eight cist graves, twelve tile-covered graves, two pyres for primary cremation, two pot burials, and one pit burial. This burial ground appears to have been in use from late Archaic to Roman times, as no geometric graves have been attested there as yet. In the eastern cemetery, a total of 29 graves were investigated in seven locations. Those included eleven cist graves, five tile-covered graves, six pot burials, one pyre for primary cremation, three pit burials, one pithos burial, one marble sarcophagus, and one clay larnax. The use of this cemetery started in the 10th c. BC and continued until the Roman imperial period.
Funerary steles or pillars, dating to Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman times, were found as well in either cemetery. Burial gifts included mainly vases of bronze or clay, figurines, strigils, weapons, mirrors, and jewellery.
Most of the Classical and early Hellenistic graves contained groups of bronze vessels and utensils; with the exception of two bronze vessels found in a tomb dating to the early Roman period, similar finds were lacking in burials of late Hellenistic and Roman times. The bronze vases from Classical and early Hellenistic tombs were mostly of small size and represented open shapes only. Their frequency in funerary deposits and their high quality come in contrast to the small number and poor quality of pottery vessels from the same contexts. As it appears, during those periods there was a wide availability of bronze vessels at Troezen, probably because of the presence of a local metal workshop. This hypothesis seems to be supported by the vases in themselves, given that some of those display morphological peculiarities that may be assigned to local artistic sense and indigenous inspiration. The total absence of bronze artefacts in graves of the late Hellenistic period apparently indicates that local production ceased after the 3rd c. BC. The two bronze vessels from a tomb dating to the early Roman era were in all probability imported.
The pottery found in the tombs of Troezen included primarily Attic and Corinthian imports, along with local products. In the Proto-Geometric and Geometric periods Attic imports prevailed; Corinthian imports appear more frequently in the first half of the 7th c. BC. The Classical
pottery includes a large quantity of Attic imports, whereas Corinthian imports constitute a minor component, probably because vases of Corinthian type were then locally produced. From Hellenistic times onward the pottery came as a rule from local workshops, which reproduced types already known and well-established throughout the entire Greek mainland.
Some Classical and Hellenistic graves contained terracotta figurines, usually deposited in groups. Their repertoire comprised the following categories: male figures, female figures, figures of Eros, dolls (plaggones), animals, and birds. In addition to bronze vessels, other metal artefacts, such as weapons, strigils, mirrors, bells, diadems, rings, and pins, were also recovered in the tombs of Troezen.
In the western cemetery the orientation of the graves is generally E-W, with the deceased’s head placed on the east. In the eastern cemetery the graves are sometimes oriented E-W with the deceased’s head on the east, and sometimes N-S, with the deceased’s head on the south. In the Proto-Geometric and Geometric periods pot burials and inhumation in built cist graves appear as the predominant burial practices. In the Classical era tile-covered and cist graves were the norm; sarcophagus burial, pit burial and cremation occur as isolated cases. During Hellenistic times tile-covered graves seem to have prevailed, as the examples of cist graves, pit graves, or pot burials are to date very few. In the Roman era cist graves, usually built of fired brick or of re-used building materials, tile-covered graves and pot burials were customarily used for the interment of ordinary people. During that period certain elite families of the Troezenian society buried their dead in free-standing funerary buildings of brickwork, erected outside the city walls; those had the form of a large chamber with a vaulted roof and arched recessions in the interior.
The furnishings of the deceased varied with the period. The finds retrieved from two Proto-Geometric burials were restricted to few metal objects (one bronze ring and two iron pins). Geometric graves normally contained small-size pottery vases, although in one exceptional case
(a cist grave excavated by Stais in 1889) the deceased was furnished with two large amphorae and a gold diadem. In the Classical period the most popular burial gifts were bronze vases and utensils, pottery drinking vessels, lekythia, strigils and mirrors. Hellenistic burials display a preference for kantharoi, lagynoi, oinochoai, unguentaria and miniature skyphoi. In Roman times vessels intended for daily use were mostly deposited in graves. A special feature of the funerary deposits excavated at Troezen is that in all periods the prevailing vase types were related to liquid offerings, such as water, wine, and aromatic oils. Some of the burial gifts found in Classical and Hellenistic graves have strong Dionysian connotations and may be proposed to reflect common beliefs about life after death.
The objects deposited in tombs are not always associated with the earthly life of the deceased, as in some cases they are more probable to allude to a desired afterlife. Perhaps certain funerary gifts, such as bronze vessels, weapons and strigils, were not meant to serve any practical purpose, but they were assigned a symbolic significance and were used to create an idealised image of the deceased as symposiast, hero, or athlete.

The short paper illustrates a rare bronze pendant complete with suspension chain. From a context of the late eighth century BC, the pendant is distinguished by its configuration: a miniature cut-away- neck oinochoe. The form is relatively recurrent in the repertoire of pendants of the class conventionally called the "Macedonian Bronzes". It was found inside Building 10 (Excavations 2001) together with 6 bronze pearls in prevalence - only one "button" shaped - biconical also belonging to the aforementioned class. However, unlike the pendant they have been widespread since the Iron Age in Sicily in both indigenous and colonial contexts. Its rarity in the West - only two significantly specimens from Pithecusae and Cumae - together with the resemblance to a specimen from Zagora support the hypothesis that the pendant may be an imported artefact.