1/ An opportune way to understand the unstable and often dangerous conditions of everyday life of the Aegean populations during the Late Bronze Age Collapse is to look back at recorded archaeological incidents that took place in other turbulent periods of Antiquity. 2/ SW Argolid - Late 6th century AD: A group of about 50 people, consisting of young women, teenage boys and children, are hurrying towards the foothills of Mount Zavitsa. They are terrified but they know very well where they are going. They arrive at the Andritsa cave, 👉

1/ Many theories have been expressed about the collapse of the Mycenaean palatial system. Personally, I believe that it was a combination of factors, which accelerated developments through various isolated events, which have not survived to us as historical documents.#Mycenaeans 2/ I'd like to dwell, however, on certain conclusions that emerge from the examination of archaeological data from the Argolic palatial centers and specifically during the LH IIIB2 phase (final palatial period). All the evidence points to the emergence of a new palatial ideology.

1/ The Citadel of Tiryns is one of the most impressive fortified sites of the LBA Aegean. The initial construction phase appears to have taken place around 1400 BC, but in the mid-13th century BC an extensive expansion was implemented that maximized its defensive capabilities. 2/ Huge walls were erected made of carved limestone blocks according to Cyclopean masonry, turning Tiryns into one of the best-protected sites of the Mycenaean world. Similar monumental fortification projects took place during the same period in Mycenae and Midea. 👉

1/The Mycenaean texts have always aroused my great interest, for the simple reason that studying a small piece of well-fired clay, which contains only a few strange engraved symbols, allows you to see before you a real snapshot of life 4000 years ago.
#Mycenaeans #Pylos #LinearB 2/ One such case is the sealing label PY Wa 197, which was found in Room 7 of the palace of Pylos, the main storage area for local palatial documents. The sealing labels were clay balls impressed on the front of wicker archive-spaces (baskets or boxes), 👉

1/ The archaeological evidence indicates that Tiryns and Midea were inhabited during the Middle Helladic, but it seems that they were two settlements without particular importance in contrast to the settlement at Aspis of Argos, which was one of the most important MH settlements.
2/ The founding of Mycenae took place during the late MH III period and probably stemmed from the relocation of a faction that was expelled from Aspis of Argos due to social conflicts. The members of this faction were the shapers of Mycenaean civilization, as they broke with 👉

1/ Klymenos was an important Mycenaean official of the kingdom of Pylos shortly before the destruction of the palace. His historical presence is mentioned on the tablets PY Aq 64 and PY An 654, while the same personal name is recorded in Knossos and Thebes. #mycenaeans

https://twitter.com/WanaxTV/status/1894416905982693583

2/ In PY Aq 64 two important characteristics of Klymenos are presented. He is recorded as a morópas, that is, as a provincial nobleman who held a private plot of land, and as a koretēr, that is, as a provincial governor of the kingdom of Pylos, having important duties as the👉

1/ The Bible describes the Philistines as the greatest enemies of the Jewish people during the early period of the formation of the kingdom of Israel. Recent archaeogenetic studies has confirmed that the Philistines trace their origins to the Aegean.
#Philistines 2/ But could the examination of additional parameters differentiate this conclusion? Maybe should archaeogenetic data be combined with archaeological and written evidence to have a more complete view of who the Philistines ultimately were?

1/On the western side of the Pyrenees live the most enigmatic European people, the Basques. Coming from ancient times and living in a difficult mountainous environment, they have a special culture with an ethnological and linguistic background distinct from the rest of Europeans. 2/ Their distinct identity and proximity to powerful Indo-European peoples (French, Spanish), who have attempted several times in the past to assimilate them, has forged them with the idea of constantly striving to preserve their own cultural characteristics.

1/ Rhaetic, like Etruscan, are two non-Indo-European languages, which were spoken in two neighboring regions, surrounded by Indo-European Celtic and Italic languages. Together with Lemnian, they belong to the same linguistic family called Tyrrhenic.
#Rhaetians 2/ The study of epigraphic texts of the three languages has demonstrated that they share common features in phonology, morphology and syntax. Their lexical correspondences are rare, which is probably due to a very early separation from the common protolanguage.

1/My view is that initially the Mycenaean world was divided into scattered, interconnected, autonomous communities. During the 16th century BC,a process of emergence of powerful centers and absorption by these new regional centers of the secondary settlements began. @StefanT2005
2/ Mycenae played an important role in the transformation of the Mycenaean world, as it evolved into a leading power in Argolid and mainland Greece in general. The warlords of Argolid were the protagonists in the conquest of Crete, the islands of the Archipelago and Miletus.

1/ The ship that sank at the end of the 14th century BC near the coast at Uluburun (SW Anatolia) is not a simple case of another wrecked merchant ship that was making a typical voyage sailing the sea routes of the Eastern Mediterranean of the Late Bronze Age.
#Uluburun
2/ Its cargo testifies to a special purpose sea voyage. It included a large quantity of copper ingots, numerous vessels and mainly exotic - precious objects intended for a very specific elite audience (carved ivory vessels and jewelry made of gold and semi-precious stones), 👉

1/ Preclassical Lemnos is shrouded in the mist of myth, constituting a special case for the ancient Greek world due to the presence of a strong pre-Greek population. Thus, mythological Lemnos is associated with various peoples.
#Lemnos #Sintians #Minyans 2/ The first inhabitants of Lemnos were the Sintians, a people of Thracian or Phrygian origin, who, according to legend, cared for and raised Hephaestus, who was exiled from Olympus. More generally, the Sintians are related to the Neolithic inhabitants of Poliochni and Myrina.

1/ In the past, there was a strong belief among members of the scientific community that the appearance of Minoan palaces was a "sudden" event in which various "ancestral" palatial patterns of the Near East, such as those at Mari and Alalakh, played an important role. #Minoans
2/ On the other hand, there were some scholars who argued that the appearance of the Minoan palaces was the creative result of a native genius craftsman. On a more logical basis, other scholars seek the emergence of palaces through the evolution of local architectural structures.

1/ The Aegean was a marginal area for the Egyptians of the Bronze Age, but nevertheless they had very good relations with its inhabitants. Archaeological and textual evidence demonstrates close trade, diplomatic and cultural contacts between the two lands, even royal marriages. 2/ However, where the close relationship between the two peoples is most vividly commemorated is in the representations of Aegean emissaries with offerings for the Egyptian king, which adorned the tombs of officials in the cemeteries of Thebes. The motif of the representations 👉

1/ Ancient Greek texts refer to a mythical king of Crete with divine origins and extraordinary abilities, Minos. Thucydides reports that Minos was the most ancient king of Crete, who dominated the entire Aegean with a powerful fleet (Minoan Thalassocracy). #Minoans 2/ He had the perspicacity to colonize the Aegean islands and defeat the pirates who "polluted" the seas, promoting peace and trade. However, he also had another aspect: he is presented as a wise legislator, gaining great fame and becoming after his death the judge of the dead.

1/ In 1903, during his excavations at Knossos, and specifically in a palatial area to the south of the Throne Room, Arthur Evans brought to light two elaborate Minoan figurines of a clearly ceremonial nature. He named the site of the figurines' discovery "Temple Repositories".


2/ Evans believed that he had discovered a Minoan palatial sanctuary with the two figurines, being made of faience, the larger of which represented a "Snake Goddess" and the smaller a priestess (he called her "Snake Priestess"), considering them to be votive objects.

[PART TWO] CHG/IRF-related ancestry. From the plateaus of the Caucasus and NW Zagros to the Aegean Archipelago.
#Caucasus #Aegean #Dimini 1/ Around 6200 BC the first signs of Neolithicization appear in the Caucasus, marking a new era for local human presence. Thus, domesticated animals and plants appear and technological innovations, such as pottery, are introduced. All of these elements have a foreign character.

[PART ONE] Caucasus Hunter-Gether / Iran Neolithic Farmer lineage: When, where and through what processes did its formation take place. 1/ In 1976, a local Soviet archaeologist carried out excavations in the Satsurblia cave (western Georgia), bringing to light various layers of human habitation, the oldest of which date back to the Upper Palaeolithic (27 kya). The cave was a seasonal camp for mobile groups of 👉

1️⃣ The conclusions of a new archaeogenetic research confirm the theory of the descent of Proto-Indo-European speakers of an early form of the Greek language around 2250 BC (ΕΗ II / III). However, it is likely that their descent into the Helladic area took place a little earlier. 2️⃣ The earliest Helladic samples of steppe origin indicate this early descent (Theopetra - 2312 BC), in combination with the characteristics of the Proto-Greek language (centum). The Neolithic peoples are directly descended from the Yamnaya culture and passed into northern 👉

1/ In 1903, the Italian archaeologist Roberto Paribeni discovered inside an elite chamber tomb (Tomb 4) in the area of the royal Villa of Hagia Triada, Crete, one of the most important artifacts of Aegean art: the Hagia Triada sarcophagus. It is dated to around 1400 BC. #Minoans 2/ The sarcophagus was made of limestone and there are holes in its bottom. Its construction cannot be considered as something extraordinary and its shape is very irregular. However, its importance lies in the fact that it is decorated on all four sides 👉

1️⃣"Son of Laertes-what a fine, faithful wife you won! What good sense resided in your Penelope - how well Ikarios' daughter remembered you, Odysseus, the man she married! The fame of her great virtue will never die. The immortal gods will lift a song for all mankind, a glorious👉 👉song in praise of self-possessed Penelope. Not on this wise did the daughter of Tyndareus devise evil deeds and slay her wedded husband, and hateful shall the song regarding her be among men,and evil repute doth she bring upon all womankind, even upon her that doeth uprightly."