The AROURA Project: Discoveries in Central Greece, 2010-2014

by Michael F. Lane, Vassilis L. Aravantinos, Timothy J. Horsley and Alexandra Charami

Hesperia, Volume 89, Issue 3
Page(s): 413-474
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2972/hesperia.89.3.0413
Year: 2020
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ABSTRACT:

Archaeological Reconnaissance of Uninvestigated Remains of Agriculture (AROURA) consisted of field and laboratory research in the landscape around the Mycenaean (13th-century B.C.) fortress and storehouses of Gla in the Kopaic Basin, Boiotia, Greece. Central to fieldwork was the application of a topographical model of palace estates, based on the interpretation of Mycenaean landholding records. It was then possible to use geophysical technologies to detect the realities represented by the constituents of this model. The present article describes the archaeological and linguistic context of palace agriculture in which this model was developed. It then details the methodologies used, presents results, and draws conclusions about the trajectory of local social complexity compared with other parts of the Aegean.