Overview

This volume complements Lerna V: The Neolithic Pottery of Lerna, by K. D. Vitelli, and completes the primary publication of the results of the Neolithic remains retrieved during the excavations conducted by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens from 1952 through 1958 at Lerna in the Argolid. It presents the buildings and other features of the Neolithic settlement with listings of related pottery, minor objects, lithics, fauna, and a catalogue of the minor objects. The study reveals a small agricultural community of Middle Neolithic date with houses of mud brick on stone foundations and various storage and thermal installations with a few burials scattered among them. A small Final Neolithic presence is documented by two graves and a group of ""ash pits"" of uncertain use. A catalogue of the minor objects includes mostly utilitarian objects of typical forms in stone, bone, and terracotta, and a few objects of decorative (e.g., ear studs) and symbolic significance (terracotta ""tangas"" and figurines). Appendixes include lists of walls and pottery lots, the inventory/lot numbers of the lithics published elsewhere by J. Kozlowski et al. (1996), and a summary of the fauna by D. S. Reese that clarifies and amplifies the earlier faunal study by N.-G. Gejvall (Lerna I).

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9780876613078

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Reviews

Banks, having taken on the burdensome task of organising and publishing material from an old but emblematic excavation, has done so with competence and a welcome directness. This handsomely produced book is an invaluable contribution to the history of the poorly known Neolithic of southern Greece. -- Nikos Efstratiou Antiquity

Despite the inherent shortcomings of the volume (so freely admitted to by Banks and which are not her fault), this long-overdue volume is essential for placing the finds from Lerna in their proper stratigraphical context and for the publication of the architectural remains. Lerna is now the best documented open-air settlement in the Peloponnese. This book is an essential volume for those working on the Neolithic period in Greece, although it may not be of much use to a wider audience.--Lily A. Bonga Bryn Mawr Classical Review (11/01/2016)

Author Information

Elizabeth C. Banks is Associate Professor Emerita of the University of Kansas.

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