Roads and resources on Archaic/Classical Samos
Roads and resources on Archaic/Classical Samos
Dr Michael Loy - "Roads and resources on Archaic/Classical Samos"
Abstract: By the end of the sixth century BC, and particularly under the tyrant Polykrates, the island of Samos had grown into one of the most prominent naval powers in the East Aegean region. Ancient historians tell us that through maritime activities, Samos connected itself to all sorts of networks —Aegean, Anatolian, Egyptian— exporting into the wider region products like olive oil, wine and timber. Archaeologically, work on the island has naturally been centred on monumental sanctuary of Hera, with over 100 years of detailed and important work undertaken by the DAI; for the wider landscape and for an understanding of how the whole island contributed to these supra-regional networks, though, new work is currently being undertaken. This paper presents the first results from a BSA survey located in the west of Samos around the modern town of Marathokampos, considering in particular the island connections demonstrated through material culture provenance. This paper also considers the environment of west Samos more generally: about how the landscape both enables and restricts certain forms of physical connectivity.
