Enrico Regazzoni

Metal tableware of the first half of the 1st millennium B.C. between western Anatolia and the Aegean region (working title)

That contacts with areas of the eastern Mediterranean are reflected in the metalware inventory of the Aegean of the first half of the 1st millennium BC has long been considered certain in research. In recent decades, the discussion has focused in particular on the role of the populations of the Levantine coastal strip. Corresponding contacts, probably initiated partly by the Levantine, partly by the Aegean, must have been forced to take place by ship.

Although the Heraion of Samos, one of the most important sites of archaic metal ware, is located on the coast of Asia Minor, possible exchanges with the neighboring western Anatolia have not been investigated very much. This is all the more astonishing, since in the Greek literary tradition a fierce discourse about the adoption of allegedly excessive Lydian feasting culture is attested. Moreover, the Phrygian and Lydian monumental tombs now provide a rich source for a corresponding investigation.

What role, then, did the overland route play in the formation of the Aegean metalware inventory? In this regard, can different responses be observed among the Greek-speaking populations of the Asia Minor coast, the Aegean archipelago, and mainland Greece? And, what can be said about an adoption of, at best, commensal practices associated with the metalware?

With these questions in mind, this dissertation project will typologically examine a representative selection of metalware forms attested in western Anatolia. In addition to the collection and typologization of vessels published in existing literature, autoptic investigations may also be necessary. The results of the project will then be made available not only monographically, but also in the form of a freely accessible database.