A Diachronic Study of the Early Bronze Age Pottery from Heraion on Samos, Greece: An Integrated Approach

Heraion on Samos lies in a strategic position between the central Aegean and western Anatolia. Recent excavations have revealed an extensive settlement of the Early Bronze Age (EBA), a time characterised by increasing social differentiation, intensified interaction, and technological innovation. An integrated study of the rich ceramic assemblage from both new and old excavations, this thesis addresses fundamental questions about the position of Heraion in a changing EBA world, examining aspects of production, specialisation, connectivity, and technological transfer. Following an agent-centred approach, diachronic change in local ceramic production is investigated, the provenance of imports suggested, with insights into the circulation of pottery within Aegean-Anatolian exchange networks. This is achieved through typological study, phasing, and contextual analysis of three ceramic major deposits, with the integrated study by macroscopic analysis, thin section petrography and microstructural analysis. This is supplemented by consideration of the local geology, ceramic resources, and ethnography. A revised EBA sequence is produced for Heraion, with the secure characterisation of local pottery production on Samos. Following a chaîne opératoire approach, the stages of manufacture have been reconstructed from a „bottom-up‟ perspective. In addition to production in the environs of Heraion, several other locations of production over the island are suggested whose products were consumed at Heraion. The changes in these patterns reveal aspects of continuity but also marked changes in ceramic production on Samos from the Late Chalcolithic to EB III. Insights into ceramic provenance highlight connections with both the western Anatolian littoral, and the central Aegean from the Chalcolithic period, though with shifts in intensity and directionality of interaction. It is argued that the significance of Heraion goes beyond the geographical, that it is more than just a convenient stopover on routes to Anatolia, but rather comprises an active social and economic force in different networks of interaction