Interdisciplinary study on the role of earthquakes in the eastern Mediterranean Does the “Minoan myth” still stand up to scientific scrutiny? Since the work of Sir Arthur Evans at Knossos (Crete, Greece), the romanticized vision of the Cretan Bronze Age as an era of peaceful prosperity only interrupted by the catastrophic effects of natural disasters has captured the popular and scientific imagination. Its impact on the development of archaeology, archaeoseismology, and earthquake geology in the eastern Mediterranean is considerable. Yet, in spite of more than a century of archaeological explorations on the island of Crete, researchers still do not have a clear understanding of the effects of earthquakes on Minoan society. This volume, gathering the contributions of Minoan archaeologists, geologists, seismologists, palaeoseismologists, geophysicists, architects, and engineers, provides an up-to-date interdisciplinary appraisal of the role of earthquakes in Minoan society and in Minoan archaeology – what we know, what are the remaining issues, and where we need to go. Contributors: Tim Cunningham (Université catholique de Louvain), Jan Driessen (Université catholique de Louvain), Charalampos Fassoulas (Natural History Museum of Crete, University of Crete), Christoph Grützner (RWTH Aachen University, University of Cambridge), Susan E. Hough (U.S. Geological Survey), Simon Jusseret (The University of Texas at Austin, Université catholique de Louvain), Colin F. Macdonald (The British School at Athens), Jack Mason (RWTH Aachen University), James P. McCalpin (GEO-HAZ Consulting Inc.), Floyd W. McCoy (University of Hawaii – Windward), Clairy Palyvou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), Gerassimos A. Papadopoulos (National Observatory of Athens), Klaus Reicherter (RWTH Aachen University), Manuel Sintubin (KU Leuven), Jeffrey S. Soles (University of North Carolina – Greensboro), Rhonda Suka (Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii), Eleftheria Tsakanika (National Technical University of Athens), Thomas Wiatr (RWTH Aachen University, German Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy).

In this lively survey, Guy D. Middleton critically examines our ideas about collapse - how we explain it and how we have constructed potentially misleading myths around collapses - showing how and why collapse of societies was a much more complex phenomenon than is often admitted.

Thoroughly researched, Rodney Castleden's Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete here sues the results of recent research to produce a comprehensive new vision of the peoples of Minoan Crete. Since Sir Arthur Evans rediscovered the Minoans in the early 1900s, we have defined a series of cultural traits that make the ‘Minoan personality’: elegant, graceful and sophisticated, these nature lovers lived in harmony with their neighbours, while their fleets ruled the seas around Crete. This, at least, is the popular view of the Minoans. But how far does the later work of archaeologists in Crete support this view? Drawing on his experience of being actively involved in research on landscapes processes and prehistory for the last twenty years, Castleden writes clearly and accessibly to provide a text essential to the study of this fascinating subject.

Knossos, like the Acropolis or Stonehenge, is a symbol for an entire culture. The Knossos Labyrinth was first built in the reign of a Middle Kingdom Egyptian pharaoh, and was from the start the focus of a glittering and exotic culture. Homer left elusive clues about the Knossian court and when the lost site of Knossos gradually re-emerged from obscurity in the nineteenth century, the first excavators - Minos Kalokairinos, Heinrich Schliemann, and Arthur Evans - were predisposed to see the site through the eyes of the classical authors. Rodney Castleden argues that this line of thought was a false trail and gives an alternative insight into the labyrinth which is every bit as exciting as the traditional explanations, and one which he believes is much closer to the truth. Rejecting Evans' view of Knossos as a bronze age royal palace, Castleden puts forward alternative interpretations - that the building was a necropolis or a temple - and argues that the temple interpretation is the most satisfactory in the light of modern archaeological knowledge about Minoan Crete.

A Companion that examines together two pivotal periods of Greek archaeology and offers a rich analysis of early Greek culture A Companion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean offers an original and inclusive review of two key periods of Greek archaeology, which are typically treated separately—the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. It presents an in-depth exploration of the society and material culture of Greece and the Mediterranean, from the 14th to the early 7th centuries BC. The two-volume companion sets Aegean developments within their broader geographic and cultural context, and presents the wide-ranging interactions with the Mediterranean. The companion bridges the gap that typically exists between Prehistoric and Classical Archaeology and examines material culture and social practice across Greece and the Mediterranean. A number of specialists examine the environment and demography, and analyze a range of textual and archaeological evidence to shed light on socio-political and cultural developments. The companion also emphasizes regionalism in the archaeology of early Greece and examines the responses of different regions to major phenomena such as state formation, literacy, migration and colonization. Comprehensive in scope, this important companion: Outlines major developments in the two key phases of early Greece, the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age Includes studies of the geography, chronology and demography of early Greece Explores the development of early Greek state and society and examines economy, religion, art and material culture Sets Aegean developments within their Mediterranean context Written for students, and scholars interested in the material culture of the era, ACompanion to the Archaeology of Early Greece and the Mediterranean offers a comprehensive and authoritative guide that bridges the gap between the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Winner!

The truss adopts the rational configuration of the non-deformable triangle, optimizing the exploitation of the wooden members’ resistance resources. It is an extremely efficient structural typology that has gone through the centuries in its almost primitive configuration without substantial modifications, for which finding comparisons in the history of construction is difficult. But when was the truss born? This is the first general-interest book to address this question. Using scant but precious ancient literary documentation, the archaeological finds and the iconography of the figurative products that reproduce roofs, the book traces the gradual evolution process of the roof carpentry that led to such an invention. New hypotheses are advanced on the technical achievements of the main Mediterranean civilizations – Egyptian, Minoan and Mycenaean, Phrygian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman – in a broad and ambitious excursion that crosses the whole of Antiquity. The book is accompanied by a rich illustrative apparatus that includes historical and original photographs as well as numerous explanatory drawings.

This volume offers a groundbreaking reassessment of the destructions that allegedly occurred at sites across the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Late Bronze Age, and challenges the numerous grand theories that have been put forward to account for them. The author demonstrates that earthquakes, warfare, and destruction all played a much smaller role in this period than the literature of the past several decades has claimed, and makes the case that the end of the Late Bronze Age was a far less dramatic and more protracted process than is generally believed.

Designed to meet the curriculum needs of students from grades 7-12, this five-volume encyclopedia explores the history and civilizations of the ancient world from prehistory to approximately 1000 CE. Organized alphabetically within geographical volumes on Africa, Europe, the Americas, Southwest Asia, and Asia and the Pacific, entries cover the social, political, scientific and technological, economic, and cultural events and developments that shaped the ancient world in all areas of the globe. Each volume explores significant civilizations, personalities, cultural and social developments, and scientific achievements in its geographical area. Boxed features include Link in Time, Link in Place, Ancient Weapons, Turning Points, and Great Lives. Each volume also includes maps, timelines and illustrations; and a glossary, bibliography and indexes complete the set.

Covid-19, disastrous series of earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria... How well prepared are young people to understand such catastrophic events and their impact upon societies? Since the beginning of recorded human history, pandemics and natural disasters have highly impacted the historical narratives of mankind. Each time, they remind humans how fragile they are and how limited their knowledge is. Despite their impact, these events are given little attention in history education. The first thematic report of the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe (OHTE) analyses how pandemics and natural disasters are taught across different levels of education. It gives a detailed overview of the teaching of the two topics in OHTE’s 16 member states, along with a cross country analysis – combining information provided by educational authorities and by history teachers themselves. The report refers to important areas of concern such as the inclusion of pandemics and natural disasters in history curricula, teachers’ pedagogical decisions about their teaching, multiperspectival approaches but also the use of scapegoating during these times of crises. The observatory’s mission is to provide a clear picture of the state of history teaching in Europe. Within the countries that are party to the observatory, this is done through OHTE reports on the state of history teaching and thematic reports, which explore particular areas of interest and how they are handled in history lessons. The observatory’s vision is embodied by its motto: “Teaching history, grounding democracy”. In practice, this means that it promotes quality history education in order to improve the understanding of democratic culture among young people. The Observatory on History Teaching in Europe is a Council of Europe enlarged partial agreement.