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The roof tiles and covering joints of Laconian type discovered in an ancient workshop at Thasos between 1985 and 1988 can most likely be dated between the last quarter of the 6th cent. B.C. and the first quarter of the 5th cent. The presence of vase fragments at the site raises the possibility that both tiles and vases were produced in the same shop -- an apparent rarity for this period.

La céramique attique est, dès son apparition au Proche-Orient, un produit de demi-luxe qui fait l'objet d'échanges commerciaux réguliers. Ce matériel montre notamment l'originalité et la relative indépendance de chaque cité dans ses relations avec les Grecs. Il permet aussi de déterminer des périodes d'activité intense suivies de brusques ruptures. La période étudiée connaît de profonds changements dans l'organisation du commerce tant à l'ouest qu'à l'est.

Analyse des importations grecques, notamment de leur répartition géographique et quantitative.

The archaeological fieldwork conducted in Greece in 2019 and 2020 under the aegis of the Canadian Institute in Greece is reported here, based on the presentation given by the director at the Institute's annual Open Meeting in 2021.

Lors d’Expo 67, l'événement phare des célébrations du centenaire de la Confédération canadienne, trois différents sites exposant plusieurs aspects des héritages du colonialisme ont été inaugurés. Premier site à l'étude, le Pavillon des Indiens du Canada débordait des messages autochtones anticoloniaux, du vol des territoires aux critiques des pensionnats. Pourtant, le Pavillon du Canada, le deuxième site de l’étude, présentait un discours colonial qui incluait des représentations canadiennes et autochtones au sein d’un discours d’humanisme mondial. Au Pavillon Canadien, les représentations des peuples autochtones ont été utilisées en juxtaposition avec celles d’une société de colons présentée comme supérieure et mieux développée. Le troisième site à l’étude, l'auditorium Du Pont du Canada, a accueilli, lors des conférences Noranda et des Conférences internationales Maclean-Hunter, une cohorte internationale de délégués provenant d’une intelligentsia active à l’échelle mondiale. Les deux séries de conférences présentaient des discours néocoloniaux sur la meilleure façon de réorganiser les sociétés, les peuples et les cultures locales, nationales et internationales. Sur ces sites, les arguments coloniaux et néocoloniaux sur le « développement » s’opposaient à la rhétorique anticoloniale du pavillon des Indiens du Canada et des conférenciers tels que Karl Myrdal et Gabriel-Marie D'Arboussier. L’analyse de ces trois sites à travers le prisme dichotomique colonial/anticolonial démontre qu’Expo 67 était un lieu de discours localisé de l'humanisme colonial et du développementalisme. Les pavillons et les intervenants ont intégré leur propre perception du colonialisme et du développement à un éventail plus large de discours interconnectés sur la valeur des êtres humains.

Le bassin oriental de la Méditerranée à l’âge du bronze égéen est un ensemble hétérogène où s’entremêlent plusieurs cultures : Égyptiens, Hittites, Minoens et Mycéniens se côtoient et interagissent à divers degrés. Un examen méticuleux des sources archéologiques et épigraphiques permet de mettre un peu d’ordre à cette mosaïque chaotique afin de mieux apprécier les interactions entre ces cultures. La culture mycénienne est celle à laquelle s’intéresse particulièrement cette présente étude. Bien que son coeur soit unanimement localisé en Grèce continentale, la culture mycénienne se répand également de l’Italie jusqu’au Levant et de la Thrace à l’Égypte. Selon l’importance et la nature des vestiges, l’archéologie ordonne en trois catégories les régions où se retrouve la culture mycénienne, alors que les sources épigraphiques hittites et égyptiennes permettent de remettre en question la société mycénienne et de localiser les frontières politiques de cette culture.

For the last twenty years, a team of Greek and Canadian archaeologists have been excavating Argilos, the earliest known Greek colony in the area of the mouth of the Strymon river. An overview of research on what was one of the four colonies founded by Andrians after the abandonment of Zagora allows discussion of questions related to the origin of the settlers, the choice of location, the foundation date, and the reasons for the settlement. First occupied by Thracians, Argilos was settled by Greeks no later than the mid-7th cent. B. C. Some of these Greeks came from Andros ; however, one should not eliminate the possibility that Argilos may have been a joint venture between Andrians and Chalcidians. Cohabitation between Greeks and Thracians lasted until the mid-6th cent., when it is believed a wave of immigrants arrived, some of whom were from east Greece. Argilos remained affluent until the foundation of Amphipolis in 437, after which it suffered decline. Its capture by Philip II in 357 and the deportation of its inhabitants to Amphipolis put an end to its existence.

Les fouilles reprises depuis 2000 par l'Université de Montréal ont dégagé des vestiges des 3e-6e s. Une chapelle médiévale succède ensuite à la basilique byzantine. À noter une plaque de marbre inscrite en grec et inédite, retaillée et remployée en placage

This thesis analyzes the identity of the tumular monuments designated as “Thracian”, discovered in the territory of present day Bulgaria and dated between the 5th and the 3rd centuries B.C. These monuments, built in ashlar masonry or in unprocessed stones, or a mix of different materials and building techniques, were invariably covered by earthen mounds (called tumuli) which have been used to varied ends by local populations from Antiquity until the present day. More or less detailed studies of these tumular monuments began to appear by the end of the 19th century, while the list of newly discovered structures continues to grow almost exponentially. These publications and discoveries revealed that the sample of known Thracian monuments is characterised by what has been described as a great variety of architectural forms. Overwhelmed by this apparent variety, and in an attempt to explain it, certain researchers have tried to categorise what they have perceived as different types of monuments. Many hypotheses bearing on the function of the latter have also been proposed, although they differ only in the details and can be categorised in two main groups: that arguing for a funerary function of the monuments, and that arguing for a cultual one. Through the years, a heated debate has developed between researchers adhering to one or to the other of these hypotheses – discussion which has been fueled by a constant discovery of new monuments. It is thus surprising to note that neither the hypothesis pertaining to the possible origins of these buildings, nor those attempting to explain their functions, have been based on tangible data – a situation which has resulted in the attribution to the monuments of dubious labels such as “tombs-temples-mausoleums-heroons”. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the hypotheses pertaining to the functions and, in more general terms, the identity of the Thracian tumular monuments. Its main objective is to explain the problems that these hypotheses have helped to identify, and which, ironically, they have contributed to sustain. It is noted that, despite the lack of precision in the accumulated empirical data relating to the Thracian monuments, most, if not all, researchers working in the field have tended to sink into an excessive positivism. This approach resulted in the implicit or explicit expression of the belief that that the inclusion of the maximum quantity of empirical data in a given analysis will necessarily result in a more complete understanding of a given archaeological context, which can then be inserted in a previously elaborated historical context, so as to paint a clearer picture of the past. Contrary to this tendency, and because of the lack of precise data, the present research focuses first, and foremost, on the publications bearing on the Thracian monuments and proposes a theoretically informed approach of the study of the latter. As described in Part I, this approach is based on current discussions concerning the methods and techniques of analysis in the fields of archaeology, anthropology and history, which have developed around similar circumstances defined by “incomplete” empirical data. The different hypotheses relating to the identity (or function) of the Thracian monuments have been based on specific archaeological elements (mainly of architectural nature), which are described and analysed in the second part of the thesis. The different interpretations of the Thracian monuments are then examined in the light of these analyses. Finally, in Part III of this thesis, the identities attributed to the Thracian monuments are scrutinised on the basis of these analyses and a restitution of the practices related to these monuments is proposed. The approach to the study of the Thracian tumular monuments that has been adopted in this thesis takes into account not only the methodological aspect of the research published by specialists in the field, but also the data on which the different hypotheses relating to these monuments have been based. Particular attention has been drawn to two aspects present in all publications on the subject: the “technical” and “theoretical” vocabulary implicitly or explicitly employed by the authors and the manner in which it affects their perception of the identity of the Thracian monuments. Part III analyzes and underlines the outcome of the different uses of the implicitly or explicitly defined vocabularies employed by thracologists, leading to a comparison between the already published perceptions of the identity of the Thracian monuments and the reconstitution of their function proposed by the author of this thesis. This comparison, as well as the application of the methodology presented in Part I, show that the restitution of the monuments as having had a funerary function is the most parsimonious and better founded in the material record than the cultual function for which some have argued. However, the function of the monuments, as reconstituted by the author of this thesis, differs from most of the “funerary” explanations of the monuments published to date – these tend to venture far beyond the inductions permitted by the available data. Furthermore, this (or any other) restitution of the monuments’ function as funerary does not automatically exclude the possibility of them having been used as cultual places/buildings. Despite the apparent similarity between such an argument with those that have been emitted towards the identification of the Thracian monuments as “temple-tombs”, the author expresses the opinion that the use of such labels is dubious and allows for unfounded critique and ineffectual comparisons between the classical Greek idea of the “temple” and Thracian cultual places. The result of the analysis of the different elements pertaining to the reconstitution of the Thracian monuments’ identity have led to the following conclusions: 1) none of the already published hypotheses arguing for a funerary or for a cultual explanation of the monuments can be validated because of the excessive recourse by their authors to extrapolations lacking proper argumentation; 2) the lack of precise data or, more importantly, of precisely excavated and reconstituted archaeological contexts, prohibits the elaboration of complex hypotheses such as those proposed by specialists in the field; 3) nevertheless, the current state of knowledge regarding the material culture related to the Thracian monuments, and the rigorous application of a methodical analysis of the data show that a reconciliation between the “funerary” and the “cultual” identities of the monuments is possible – however, this fact should not be perceived as a justification of the use of labels similar to “temple-tombs”, nor of the conclusions upon which such labels are based; 4) there is an urgent necessity for a re-definition of the methodological approaches used (or the lack thereof) in the theoretical analyses of the Thracian monuments, as well as those employed on the field, during excavations. A failure to take account of these facts and shortcomings by proceeding with such a re-definition would mean that the identity of the Thracian tumular monuments would remain a matter of opinion and could even be transformed into a matter of dogma. The analyses in this thesis can serve as a base for the re-evaluation of the identity of the Thracian monuments because of their theoretical and methodological soundness. However, such a re-evaluation must also be based on a reconstitution of Thracian ritual practices based on the archaeological record. Paradoxically, despite the impressive amount of publication on the subject of the Thracian tumular monuments as places of cultual practices, a systematic reconstitution of Thracian ritual based on Thracian material culture is yet to be proposed.

From the 8th century BC onwards, Greek colonists established many colonies between the Thermaic Gulf and the Evros river. Often located on hostile territory where the land is a very important source of wealth, these new cities have ensured their safety and stability by quickly establishing defense systems around their settlements. Throughout the periods, several powers have also taken interest in the northern Aegean territories and marked the military landscape of the region by fortifying their own urban centers. This research project concerns the systematic study of these fortifications. If some researchers, mainly Yves Grandjean, Dimitrios Lazaridis and Alexander Cambitoglou, have shown interest in the fortifications of specific cities (Thasos, Amphipolis and Torone), no synthesis covering our region, yet very rich in military architecture, has been undertaken, hence the interest of this project. More specifically, we pursue the following objectives: 1) to study the geography and demography of the region in order to better understand the distribution of the territory and the way it was defended by the settlers; 2) to contextualize the defensive structures within the politico-military history of the region. Apart from the monumental work of N.G.L. Hammond (but focusing mainly on Macedonia), the one of Benjamin Isaac (whose chronological scope is relatively limited) or that of Angelos Zannis (which focuses only in the country between Strymon and Nestos) there is no real analysis of the military history of northern Greece. Therefore, our objective is to analyze the effects of political and military movements (Persian presence, Macedonian advance, Athenian interference, Thasian expansion, Thracian conflicts, etc.) on the development of the military architecture. 3) The aim is also to catalog, locate, describe, date and illustrate (photographically and topographically) all the defensive works of northern Greece. 4) Finally, we will analyze and argue on the different defense methods, the construction techniques and the stylistic features and forms of the fortifications. The objective here is to have a better appreciation of the cultural heritage and the regional influences in the establishment and construction of defense systems. The analysis of techniques and styles will provide a better understanding of the links between new settlements and mother-cities, it will also allow to address the question of artisanal mobility and the effects of migration on military architecture.

The present study on the colonies of Andros is driven by the need to increase our knowledge of the northern colonies as a whole. Northern Greece is the least well documented of the regions which were reached by the 8th and 7th c. B.C. Greek colonists. Not only does the study of the Andrian colonies augment the available documentation on the northern Greeks, it also provides an opportunity to examine one mother-city's overall colonization process. Through the sum of ancient sources and archaeological data pertaining to the four Andrian colonies, the study attempts to lay out the socio-economic history of the colonies as a whole and as separate entities. Such aspects as: 1) The foundation dates; the colonization process; 2) the relations with the indigenous populations; and 3) the economic relations with the other Greek colonies in the region, as well as the major centers of the Greek mainland, are examined. There is first question of the colonizing enterprises undertaken by Eretria, Chalcis, and Paros so that a general understanding of the overall colonization of the northern Aegean coast can be obtained. The resulting synthesis helps fill in the gaps in the history of the Andrian colonies caused by the lack of primary sources for the latter, whether they be literary or archaeological. The socio-economic history of the colonies from the time of their foundation to the end of the 5th c. B.C. which is based on the analysis of the preliminary study of the Parian and Euboean colonization in the north, the ancient sources, and the archaeological remnants, taken in conjunction with what is known of the indigenous population, is the end result of the study. Though literary sources date the foundation of the colonies to 655/54, based on the archaeological evidence available, it is established that the colonies were founded within the 3rd quarter of the 7th c. B.C. An orderly pattern of colonization seems to have prevailed in that the colonies were established successively in accordance with the previous colonization efforts by the city-states of Euboea and the pre-established sea route the geographical emplacement of Andros imposes. Therefore, Sane, situated on the isthmus of Acte, and apparently colonized with the help of the Chalcidians, was the first to be settled, then came in order, Akanthos, Stagira, Argilos, and perhaps Tragilos. It is concluded, with relative probability, That Tragilos was also an Andrian colony established in the lst half of the 6th century. It has also been deemed highly probable that the colonies, after the initial foundation of Sane, were in part settled by land and that Thracian tribes, residing at both extremities of the Andrian periphery, undoubtedly contributed in the actual colonization process. The 6th and 5th centuries witnessed the gradual increase of commercial importance of the northern colonies reflected, in the lst half of the 6th c. by the influx of Corinthian pottery, no doubt due to the foundation of Potidaea, and of Thasian pottery. The trend of growing commercial interactions is characterized in the 2nd half of the 6th c. with the marked presence of Athenian pottery and the start of coining at three of the four colonies. Spurred by the Persian and general eastern demand for silver, Stagira and Akanthos began to mint coins around 530 B.C. while Argilos, which never seemed to have direct access to silver mines, only began around 510 B.C. The fact that Sane seems to have remained coinless throughout its existence suggests that it was primarily a settlement of an agricultural nature and that Akanthos may actually have exerted a hegemony of sorts over it. Strong bonds with the east meant that the Akanthian coin production was dominant in the area as of the end of the last Persian War until their production ceased in 380 B.C., ousting Stagira out of the picture during the course of this period. Argilos ceased production as of the middle of the 5th century which is to be attributed to a shift in Athenian interest in the region represented by the drop of the tribute to be paid to Athens by Argilos from 10.5 talents to 1 talent in 116/5, the increase from 3 talents to 30 talents in the Thasian tribute for the same year, the foundation of Amphipolis, and the Athenian presence at Berge which has been closely linked to the minting of coins at Tragil os. As the Athenian empire began to dwindle following the Peloponnesian Wars, the history of the colonies becomes intertwined with that of the growing Macedonian power which, by the middle of the 4th century would control the entire region. Overall, it would seem that Sane was commercially inactive throughout its existence, Stagira was able to exploit and profit from the nearby silver mines from the middle of the 6th c. until about 480 when it gradually started to lose importance to Akanthos, which remained a strong and independent city well into the 4th century, while Argilos, though probably more important than Akanthos for part of the 5th c., regretfully became insignificant, especially after the foundation of Amphipolis in 437 B.C.

Cette étude porte sur la présence phénicienne en Syrie du Nord uniquement pendant la première moitié de l’Âge du Fer, i.e entre 1000 et 500 av. J.C. Elle est fondée sur l’analyse des données archéologiques et littéraires des principaux sites côtiers de cette région, al Mina, Ras el Bassit, Tell Kazel, Tell Soukas et Amrit. Après une présentation des caractéristiques culturelles de la civilisation phénicienne, j’aborde l’analyse de ces sites. Les données qui permettent de prouver une présence phénicienne dans la région s’avèrent nombreuses et j’en conclus que les Phéniciens devaient constituer une minorité importante de la population de ces sites, au même titre que les Grecs ou les Chypriotes, la majorité étant d’origine syrienne. Mais dans certains cas, notamment sur les sites les plus proches des grandes capitales phéniciennes, il n’est pas impossible qu’ils aient été majoritaires. L’étude illustrera par ailleurs l’importance du rôle des cités de la Syrie du Nord dans les échanges commerciaux et culturels avec les autres cultures du Sud-Est du bassin méditerranéen, notamment celles de la Grèce, île de Chypre, de la Cilicie et de la Syrie intérieure.

Over the past decades, the zooarchaeological research in the Macedonian region of Northern Greece, has mostly focused on materials from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. Thus, the available data render our understanding of animal husbandry in the Early Iron Age, Archaic and Classical periods in this area rather fragmentary. This doctoral research aims to address these gaps, investigating – for the first time as a whole – the issue of animal husbandry, a crucial domain of the primary economy, in the region of Macedonia from the Early Iron Age to the Classical era. The study is based on primary datasets of animal bones remains recovered from three well- excavated settlements, two in the mainland (Argilos, Karabournaki) and one in the island of Thassos (Kastri). The analysed data provide an opportunity to explore the animal exploitation in these three settlements, investigating animal management; cooking techniques; consumption and discard strategies, having first disentangled all potential depositional pathways to the formation of the sample assemblage. Additionally, the data are compared to the available published data from the Macedonian region in order to enlighten the peculiarities of each assemblage in relation to the management of domestic and wild fauna. Moreover, relevant paleoenvironmental and isotopic analyses have triggered a vivid discussion regarding the extent to which the environment affected the animal herding and feeding strategies in this area. The management strategies of the main domestics in the area under study, suggest a rather heterogenous profile between the settlements, most probably due to the economic priorities, the regional environmental conditions, and the geomorphological restrictions. The nutritional and the raw material needs were complemented by the exploitation of the wild fauna, including a variety of both terrestrial and marine species. Similar carcass and discarding practices were observed within all settlements, revealing aspects of intra-communal organization. Moreover, during the Archaic and Classical era, common practices in animal burials suggest the existence of somehow common perceptions among the local societies, however, in terms of ritual sacrifices, seemed to be a distinct differentiation between the population groups. The results are discussed in the frame of the Aegean basin, contributing to the ongoing discussion regarding animal management, the mobility of livestock husbandry, the degree of integration between herding and arable farming, the Olympic sacrifice, and the exploitation of natural resources during the first seven centuries of the first millennium BC.

Cette étude porte sur l’analyse des céramiques de style à bandes – mieux connues dans la littérature anglo-saxonne sous le nom de waveline pottery – produites dans le nord de l’Égée aux périodes archaïque et classique. Cette catégorie de récipients, dont les formes et l’ornementation s’inspirent principalement des productions issues des ateliers micrasiatiques des VIIe et VIe siècles av. J.-C., jouit d’une vaste distribution en Thrace et en Macédoine orientale. Elle regroupe une importante variété de vaisselles d’usage courant utilisées pour le service et le stockage des denrées. Cette recherche propose de dresser le portrait de la production et de la diffusion de ces céramiques en Égée du Nord par le biais de l’étude de céramiques recueillis sur sept colonies grecques établies entre le Strymon et le golfe de Maronée et six sites de l’arrière-pays thrace. Elle vise à rassembler, au moyen de données archéologiques et archéométriques, des informations sur les milieux de production, les réseaux d’échanges et les habitudes de consommation de la clientèle à l’égard de ces céramiques. Le volet archéologique vise d’abord à définir le répertoire des formes, des décors et des pâtes argileuses, puis à déterminer l’étendue et le cadre chronologique de la production. Le volet archéométrique porte sur des analyses physico-chimiques en laboratoire (spectrométrie de fluorescence par rayons X) visant à caractériser et à déterminer l’origine de 200 des 540 céramiques recensées. Le corpus est principalement constitué d’échantillons mis au jour sur les sites d’Argilos, de Thasos, de Bergè et de Phagrès, en Macédoine orientale. L’inédit de la recherche réside dans l’opportunité qu’elle offre aux archéologues de dater et d’identifier l’origine des céramiques à bandes, entraînant des répercussions directes sur les discussions portant sur les milieux de production, les réseaux de circulation, les relations interrégionales et les habitudes de consommation à l’égard de ces céramiques. dans le nord de l’Égée entre les VIIe et IVe siècles av. J.-C.

Ce mémoire examine les relations complexes et mutuellement influentes entre l'Empire achéménide et les civilisations occidentales, en particulier la Grèce et l'Anatolie, dans les domaines de la politique, de l'économie, de la culture, de la religion, de l'art et de l'architecture. À travers une analyse détaillée des sources publiées et des preuves archéologiques, la recherche remet en question les interprétations biaisées occidentales, en soulignant le rôle significatif des échanges culturels dans la formation des dynamiques entre ces civilisations. En mettant l'accent sur les sources iraniennes et en offrant une nouvelle perspective, cette étude réévalue l'influence achéménide sur l'art et l'architecture occidentaux, démontrant que l'empire n'était pas seulement une puissance militaire mais aussi un moteur d'interactions culturelles dynamiques. Il examine également comment l'art et l'architecture des Achéménides ont été influencés par d'autres civilisations et dans quels domaines ces influences se sont manifestées. Cette étude souligne la nécessité d'une approche plus équilibrée, intégrant les perspectives perses pour parvenir à une compréhension plus approfondie et nuancée de ces interactions historiques et de leur impact durable.