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TOWARDS A MULTI-SCALAR, MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THE CLASSICAL GREEK CITY: THE OLYNTHOS PROJECT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 October 2017

Lisa C. Nevett ,
E. Bettina Tsigarida ,
Zosia H. Archibald ,
David L. Stone ,
Timothy J. Horsley ,
Bradley A. Ault ,
Anna Panti ,
Kathleen M. Lynch ,
Hannah Pethen  and
Susan M. Stallibrass
...Show all authors
Lisa C. Nevett*
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
E. Bettina Tsigarida
Affiliation:
Greek Archaeological Service
Zosia H. Archibald
Affiliation:
University of Liverpool
David L. Stone
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Timothy J. Horsley
Affiliation:
Northern Illinois University
Bradley A. Ault
Affiliation:
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Anna Panti
Affiliation:
Greek Archaeological Service
Kathleen M. Lynch
Affiliation:
University of Cincinnati
Hannah Pethen
Affiliation:
University of Liverpool
Susan M. Stallibrass
Affiliation:
University of Liverpool
Elina Salminen
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Christopher Gaffney
Affiliation:
Bradford University
Thomas J. Sparrow
Affiliation:
Bradford University
Sean Taylor
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
John Manousakis
Affiliation:
Elxis Group, Athens
Dimitrios Zekkos
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
*
lcnevett@umich.edu
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Abstract

Research on the cities of the Classical Greek world has traditionally focused on mapping the organisation of urban space and studying major civic or religious buildings. More recently, newer techniques such as field survey and geophysical survey have facilitated exploration of the extent and character of larger areas within urban settlements, raising questions about economic processes. At the same time, detailed analysis of residential buildings has also supported a change of emphasis towards understanding some of the functional and social aspects of the built environment as well as purely formal ones. This article argues for the advantages of analysing Greek cities using a multidisciplinary, multi-scalar framework which encompasses all of these various approaches and adds to them other analytical techniques (particularly micro-archaeology). We suggest that this strategy can lead towards a more holistic view of a city, not only as a physical place, but also as a dynamic community, revealing its origins, development and patterns of social and economic activity. Our argument is made with reference to the research design, methodology and results of the first three seasons of fieldwork at the city of Olynthos, carried out by the Olynthos Project.

Προς μια πολυεπίπεδη και πολυεπιστημονική προσέγγιση της ελληνικής πόλης των κλασικών χρόνων: “το Πρόγραμμα της Ολύνθου”

Η έρευνα των πόλεων της κλασικής Ελλάδας για μεγάλο διάστημα επικεντρωνόταν στη χαρτογράφηση της οργάνωσης του αστικού χώρου και στη μελέτη των σπουδαιότερων δημόσιων και λατρευτικών κτιρίων. Τα τελευταία χρόνια, σύγχρονες τεχνικές, όπως η επιφανειακή έρευνα και η γεωφυσική διασκόπηση, διευκολύνουν την εξερεύνηση των ορίων και του χαρακτήρα ευρύτερων περιοχών μέσα σε οικισμούς με αστικό χαρακτήρα, εγείροντας ερωτήματα σχετικά με τις κοινωνικές και οικονομικές διαδικασίες. Συγχρόνως, η λεπτομερής ανάλυση των κατοικιών μετέφερε την έμφαση στην κατανόηση κάποιων λειτουργικών, κοινωνικών και μορφολογικών πτυχών του δομημένου περιβάλλοντος. Αυτή η εργασία προβάλλει τα πλεονεκτήματα της ανάλυσης των ελληνικών πόλεων μέσα σε ένα πολυεπιστημονικό και πολυεπίπεδο πλαίσιο, που αγκαλιάζει όλες αυτές τις προσεγγίσεις και προσθέτει περισσότερες αναλυτικές μεθόδους (ιδιαίτερα μικρο-αρχαιολογία). Πιστεύουμε ότι αυτή η στρατηγική οδηγεί σε μια πιο ολιστική άποψη της πόλης, όχι μόνο ως φυσικό τόπο, αλλά και ως δυναμική κοινότητα που αποκαλύπτει τις ρίζες της, την ανάπτυξή της και τα πρότυπα κοινωνικής και οικονομικής δραστηριότητας. Το επιχείρημά μας στηρίζεται στον σχεδιασμό της έρευνας, τη μεθοδολογία και τα αποτελέσματα των τριών πρώτων περιόδων των εργασιών πεδίου στην αρχαία Όλυνθο, που διενεργείται από το Πρόγραμμα της Ολύνθου (Olynthos Project).

Type
Articles
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 112 , November 2017 , pp. 155 - 206
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2017 

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