Archaeolog No 9 June 1979

ISSN: 0143-0661 The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain

No 9

June

1979

Price

40 p

Contents Cover

Ne~ope of a Lapith & Centaur from the Parthenon

by Bert Crawshaw ARTIS* Editorial The Parthenon

by Brian Cook Sutton Who? letter Photographic Archive Conservation

by WE Nassau Programme '79 Book neviews

by Su Fox The Bronze Age Site of Acrotiri on Thera

by Professor Peter Warren Group Notes Rquipment for Archaeological Site Photoaraphy

by Betty Naggar LRPS * Front cover photograph of the Trustees of the

reproduced by kind British Museum

2

3

5 6 8 9 10

12

14

permission

Editorial Following

the popularity of our :t-Iiddle Eastern issue in February decided to devote this issue to the Aegean.

The articles

by Brian Cook, Keeper of Greek & Roman Antiquities at the British Museum, and P~ofessor Peter Warren of Bristol University follow excellent lectureato the Society in our Aegean Season of lectures last winter.

we have

their

Rumour has it that summer has arrived and it is time to take out our equipment and dust it down for the season to come. On page 14 Betty Naggar offers some advice on equipment for archaeological site photography, and on page 6 Willy Nassau relates his work in restoring the photographic archives of the Palestine Exploration fund in London in 1977.

While you are some interesting

with your camera you might like to look out for churches to photograph, and send us a print ofthem for our churches feature.

While you are in the churchyard why not take a look at the many fascinating gravestones and monuments, and record some of them, for they are disappearing fast from our landscape.

Please don't forget to send us some results.

Ye

look

forward

out

to

seeing

you at

ironbridgel

Next Issue The next issue copy date for

will be largely devoted to additional material is 31st

the City July.

of London

-

ARCHAEOLOGis produced by the Royal Photographic Society Archaeological Group at 7 Ladbroke Walk, London, v.11, and printed

by Chelsea Printing Services, Campden Hill Road, London. w.a.

Editorial Teams Michael Apted, Peggy Pearce, Tony Pearce.

Subscriptions1 Copyrights with the

Where aUfhor.

@) archaeolog 2

£2.SO the

per

(£1.50

year

article

MCMLXXIX

Su Fox,

is

Mary J.titchell, for

credited

students, to

a person

Jennifer

£2.00

for

copyright

Orsmond, RPS members) remains

The Parthenon

by Brian Cook On Honday 5th l•' ebru ary la s t Brian Coolc, Keeper of' Greek & Roman Antiquities at the British Huseum addressed a f'ull lecture hall at the Society's House in London.

He writes here on the subject of' this lecture.

The Parthenon is built on the highest point of' the Acro p olis, much of' it supported on an nrtif'icial terrace orieinally intended f'or a temple that wn s still unf'inished when it was burnt in the Persian sack of' the Acropolis in 480 BC. This was a large-scale inv as ion that f'ollowed the repulse of' a smaller Persian expedition at the Battle of' :Marathon in 490.

Af'ter the Persians were ag a in ex p elled f'rom Greece, many of' the maritime cities of' Greece joined Athens in a def'ensive alliance that was known as the Delian League since the members met and kept their common f'unds on Apollo's sacred island of' Delos.

Athens was always the dominant partner and took over the treasury in 454.

Following a treaty with the Persians in 449, Pericles, the leading statesman of' Athens at that period, initiated a programme of' public building in Athens using surplus f'unds f'rom the treasury of' the League, the other members of' which f'ound themselves powerless to resist the imperial decisions of' Athens.

One of' the f'irst f'ruits of' this programme was the Parthenon, built of' the f'inest available materials and to the hi~hest standards of' workmanship regardless of' cost.

It originally housed a colossal statue of' Athena veneered in gold and ivory, the work of' the sculptor Pheidias, who was also Pericles' artistic director f'or the whole project.

The architects of' the temple, Ictinus and Callicrates, were both men of' established reputation, but Pheidias must have had a hand at least in the choice 1 s decorative of' the subjects of' the Parthenon sculpture.

How f'ar he controlled the design and execution is hard to say, but it is inconceivable that a sculptor of' his eminence should not have had an important inf'luence.

1 s statue Pheidias of' Athena showed the goddess standing, armed with helmet, shield and spear, and holding a f'ie;ure of' Victory in her outstretched rieht hand.

Its f'rame and inner skin were of' wood, over which were sheets of' gold f'or the drapery and armour, ivory f'or the exposed f'lesh.

The statue was itself' decorated with subsidiary sculpture in relief': the battle of' Greeks and Amazons on the outside of' her shield, the battle of' gods and giants on the inside, the f'light between Lapiths and Centaurs on the ed ~ es of' the soles of' her sandals.

These subjects recur on the temple sculptured in hieh relief' (metopes) colonnade on all !'our sides of' the hardly be a coincidence.

itself' in the square panels that were placed above the bu i.l•i ing.

The repetition can

The popularity of' these subjects in the art of' Athens at this period sugeests that they had a p c.rticular me a ning, and it is not dif'f'icult to see in them an expression of' the patriotic pr i de that the Athenians f'elt f'or their part in the repulse of' tho Persian invasions.

'The Persians in f'act, like the Amazons in mytholoc-y,

had invaded Athens f'rom the east.

The battle between gorls and c-iants and the f'i~ht between Lapiths and Centaurs could both be interpreted as representative of' the struec-le between order nnd chaos, between Greek civilisation and oriental barbarism.

The whole history of' Europe, and even of' the world, would have been dif'f'erent if' the .Athenio.ns and their allies had beon defeated at ?-:arathon.

The metopes were evidently the f'irst of' the to be completed.

The individual slabs were arooves in the edges of' the triglyph blocks them.

This process had to be complete before masonry, the cornice, could be put in place. had to be placed bef'ore the roof' was added, been complete by the Panathenaic festival in when the gold and ivory statue of' Athena was temple.

Parthenon sculptures slipped into vertical that alternated with the next course of' The cornice in turn a process that must have the summer of' 438 BC, dedicated in the

At that time, work on carvine the pedimental f'ic-ures had not yet begun.

This we know from the building accounts of' the Parthenon, parts of' which are still preserved.

They owe their survival to the system of' control of public funds practised by the Athenian democracy.

Many duties that would today be carried out by f'ull' time Civil Servants were undertaken in Athens by commissions of' citizens appointed :f'or a year.

At the end of' their year of' o:f':f'ice the members of' the commission presented their accounts :f'or audit, and the accounts were then:inscr-ibed on stone slabs as a permanent public record.

FraG'JI!entary remains of' the building accounts of' the Parthenon make it clear that the marble f'or the pedimental :f'ieures was quarried :f'rom 438 onwards and that the •last payments ¡ f'or setting the sculptures on the building were made in 432.

It is therefore certain that the pedimental sculptures were carved between 438 and 432 BC. From the surviving fragments of' the pedimental sculptures it would be difficult, if' not impossible, to determine the subjects represented.

Fortunately Pausanias, who wrote a guide-book to Greece in the 2nd century, tells us that the east pediment represented the birth of' Ath .ena, the west her contest with Foseidon :f'or the land of' Attica.

The eeneral ap :1earance of' the west pediment can be seen in drawings made in 1674, when it was still almost complete.

The central scene of' the east pediment had already been destroyed and many of' the figures cannot even now be identified with certainty.

Neither Pausanias nor the survivincr accounts mal~e any mention of' the frieze.

For the date we are reduced to guesswork.

The blocks themselves are part of' the structure of' the temple and must have been in position f'or some time be:fore its com p letion in 438.

The overlapping of' the :f'icrures f'rom one slab to the next, especially on the north and south sides, strongly suegests that the carving was done in place, althouc-h the blocks of' the east and west friezes were perhaps sculptured on the ground be:fore being hoisted into place.

The development of' the style of' the sculptures suegests that most o:f the metopes were :finished before the :frieze was begun.

The subject o:f the :frieze, not mentioned by any ancient author, was long thoueht to be sel:f-cvident: the Panathenaic ~rocession.

This procession took pltice every :f'ourth year when the Panathenaic :festival in honour o:f Athena's birthday was celebrated with particular splendour.

Among the extra ceremonies was the presentation to Athena's cult-statue of' a new robe, the Peplos, especially woven :for the occasion.

Although the Peplos is shown on th e east :f'rieze, being held or perhaps :f'oldecl by a child and an of':ficial there are several discrepancies between the details of'

the :frieze and what is known about the Panathenaic procession.

Professor John Boardman has therefore recently suggested that the traditional interpretation is wrong, and that the men riding in chariots and on horseback represent the heroes who were killed in the battle o:f Marathon.

They are being broueht in procession to the gods o:f Olympus, who are shown seated on the east :frieze.

A:fter the initial shock of' this new theory, the idea is gradually gaining acceptance.

Certainly a connection between the Parthenon :frieze and the battle o:f :Harathon f'its very well with the overall purpose o:f the temple.

The main purpose o:f the Parthenon, af'ter all, was not :for the actual cult o:f Athena: this was centred on the old olive-wood statue o:f the goddess that was kept in another temple.

The Parthenon was the embodiment in stone o:f the glory of' the city o:f Athens, of' her citizens• success in battle, and of' her leadership o:f a maritime empire.

It was a very expensive monument - paid f'or with the profits o:f imperialism.

NOTES ON COVER PHOTOGRAPHS On 14th 1."ebruary the Group spent 2f hours in the Parthenon Galleries of' the British :Museum f'ree to take photographs af'ter hours.

This usef'ul and interesting event followed the similar session in the Assyrian Galleries in November 1977.

It is hoped to organise a similar event next year.

The f'ront cover photograph was taken

by Bert with his Hasse1blad, ladders, lights, tripod, of' the most regular photographic contributors

Crawshaw, ARPS who, etc, has become one 1• to 1 archaeolog

The rear cover photoeraph of' the boxing boys f'rom Thera was taken in the National Museum in Athens, to where it has moved Thera.

The original was taken for Professor Spyridon Narinatos ~ IV plate 119.

:from 1

-

SUTTON WHO? With reference ·to Eric Houlder I s article entitled "SUTTON WHO" I must point out that Niss Mercie Lack cannot be credited with having taken the f'irst archaeological colour slides.

I remember archaeoloeical colour slides beine shown by a Leitz Lecturer in 1937 or 1938, and I myself' made quite a number of' experimental Kodachromes of' finds :from Nount Caburn in Sussex in an ef'f'ort to see whether it was possible to improve on the then customary line drawings of' excavation :finds.

The shots I made were of' bases and rims o:f pots, a ring and teeth.

I had to admit that Robert Gurd 1 s line drawings were f'ar superior records.

It must be remembered that the l~odachrome process came out in 16mm f'orm in 1935, :followed by 35mm slide f'ilm in 1936, and Ag:facolour came out in 35mm several months af'ter Kodachrome.

I well remember seeing the f'irst roll of' 16mm Kodachrome which reached En~lc.nd f'rom Eastman Kodak.

It was projected at a meetinR o:f the London Amateur Cinematographers Assn. and it was breath .taking · afterthe 16mm Kodak lenticular colour :film which was all the amateur had at that time.

The early Ag:facolour was poor compared to Kodachrome especially their 8mm Ag:facolour.

Somewhere up in the roof-space there is still one Ag:facolour :from that period, the remainder went west in three bombed :flats occupied by my sister.

Yours

sincerely, J.

"

Eric Houlder replies Radford; he bows to

that it is Mr. Rad:ford

Radford

ARPS

c-reat to superior

hear f'rom l-Ir. knowlede-e (Ed.)

1s

CONSERVATION WORK ON THE PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVES OF THE PALESTINE EXPLORATION FUND \VILLIAM

E.

NASSAU

During a short visit to England in February 1976, I had the opportunity to see the Archives of the Palestine Exploration Fund. As a photohistorian and an archaeologist, I was, of course, interested to see some of the negatives in the archives. Some of these negatives are now over one hundred years old and suffer from the common problems of chemical and physical destruction that plague most photographic archives. Even a superficial examination of some of the over 3,000 negatives revealed that only immediate action could preserve the sentimental and historic value contained in these negatives. \Ve know that many of the negatives were taken under great physical hardship by the original explorers, under Sir Charles \Nilson, R.E., Sir Charles \'\Farren, R.E., • fajor Conder, Lieutenant Kitchener, as well as many others. Since many of these photographs show famous archaeological and biblical sites as they appeared a hundred years ago, they are of special significance today. They show the sites free from the changes and additions that man and nature have imposed within that period. The preservation of the original appearance of these sites is of ever increasing value for the modern scholar and provides material for study and comparison that can hardly be obtained any other way.

I proposed to the P.E.F. that I would try lo restore and conserve this treasure as well as possible on a voluntary basis and write a monograph on my work to make the experience gained available to other archivists with similar problems. The P.E.F. granted me permission to undertake the project and offered to provide funds of ÂŁ600, for materials and expenses, while I would finance my own trip and accommodation in England during the time of the project.

The winter in Canada was spent with preliminary tests and the establishment of a methodology. Libraries were consulted and personal inquiries were made at such places as the George Eastman House in Rochester, The Smithsonian Institute in 'Washington and the >Iational Museums of Canada.

It emerged that the main effort would have to be directed to preserving the visual content of the negatives since a restoration to their original status would be impossible in some cases and most questionable in some others . It became a tragic but unavoidable fact, that some deterioration would continue into the future and that the best way to preserve as much as possible would be to make the best possible duplicates first, on the most stable material available.

These duplicates should not only preserve most of the details of the originals, but also, hopefully, be of superior quality than the original negatives. Besides the making of the duplicates, every effort would be made to improve the status of the originals.

On 16 April 1977, I arrived with 180 pounds of equipment in London and set up a temporary lab at Hinde Mews. A meeting was called for 19 April 1977 to review my proposed methodology. This meeting was attended by the following: Mr Brian Coe, Curator of the Kodak Museum in Harrow Miss Josephine Darrah, Conservation Department, Victoria and Albert Museum Mr John Matthers, Honorary Secretary, P.E .F. Mr William E. Nassau, Director of Audio-Visual, Wilfrid Laurier University Mr Robert Pitt, Chairman, Archaeological Group, Royal Photographic Society Dr N. Seeley, Chairman, Department of Conservation, Institute of Archaeology University of London, could not attend, and so he discussed the project with m; during a separate visit.

As the committee had agreed in principle, work commenced on the next morning .

Let us take a short look at some of the problems encountered on the negati ves. Almost all the negatives oflarge format, taken before 1885, were of the wet collodion process. While this ancient process gives a sharp negative of fine grain and good detail, the photographer had to prepare the plate on the spot in a darkroom tent, expose it in the camera while it was still wet and develop it instantly afterwards. One can imagine the problems that the photographer encountered with that delicate process in the wilderness of Palestine. Some of the faults of the negatives go right back to the times of their origin, as one can see when inspecting the original prints in the albums of the P.E.F. Later, however, some flaking and contamination had occurred and the brown paper that had been glued right on the surface of the negatives had caused some chemical damage.

The gelatine dry plates, used extensively by later photographers, showed discoloration progr~sing from the edges towards the centre, caused by the reaction of sulphuric air contaminants with the silver in the negative.

6

After the introduction of the Roll film, towards the end of the nineteenth century, some archaeologists would use this convenient material - which was easy to handle and transport and took advantage of smaller format cameras (quarter plate and even smaller). The film negatives in the collections were not only subject to the same tarnishing process as encountered on some of the glass plates, but also had suffered mechanical damage by handling. Some had actually separated their emulsion from the film base. Furthermore, all nitrate based films (celluloid) are subject to a slow process of self-destruction of the unstable nitrate base, that will not only affect the clearness of the negative, but also constitute a fire hazard as deteriorating nitrate negatives can easily self-ignite and burn fiercely.

Since the main emphasis of the project was to obtain the best possible copies of the original negatives, the choice of tools was a key issue. After experimen ting with other systems, an ARKAY AP 18 Contact Printer was modified to allow controlled piacing of short wave and long wave light onto distinct areas of the negatives to counteract the filtering effects of discoloration. The printer allows yellowish light through part of a negative, while the other part can be exposed to a bluish light, rich in ultraviolet rays.

Every negative was renumbered with the accurate catalogue number , printed once on Kodak X-O-mat duplicating stock and also printed on Ilford Ilfospeed paper of the proper grade. The duplicate negati ves were processed in a special formula developer given to us by Mr Brian Tremain, F.R.P.s., and treated with utmost care to archive standards to assure the longest possible life expectancy . The same careful processing was given to the paper prin ts which will act as a special protection copy in the Archives.

Constant chemical quality controls were carried out to control the purity of the solutions and the thoroughness of the washing process. After drying in a specially prepared drying room, the new negatives were put into acid free envelopes that had been sent from the Hollinger Corporation in Arlington, Vir~inia and had been paid for by Wilfrid Laurier University.

The quality of the duplicate negatives exceeds in most cases the original negative quality.

Each negative carries a printed strip identifying it as a duplicate and stating its origin: P.E.F ., 1977.

The negatives taken after about 1890 were also copied in the same basic manner, but some had to be subjected to a cleaning process first, to remove the accumulated chemical tarnishing.

Special care had to be taken to copy the often very much damaged celluloid films, which had to be fastened to a straight glass plate before they could be printed.

To allow for some of the original negatives that were found beyond repair or had disappeared entirely, we photographed the collection of positives from the original Albums and in this way obtained a series of over 400 duplicate negatives on 35 mm. film, which are at this moment being printed at the laboratories of Wilfrid Laurier University and will be sent to the P.E.F. early in 1978, together with a set of Archive quality prints on toned paper.

Finally some 150 negatives were reconstructed by copying the glass lantern inter-negatives that had once been made from the originals . Some of the lantern slides were the only survivors of early photographs and had to be used, although their quality could of course not match the quality of the original negatives. An additional grant of ÂŁ300 from the British Academy allowed us to be a little more generous when repeating unsatisfactory duplicates and also allowed the Fund to hire additional assistance for the laboratory work.

By 8 June , over 3,000 original negatives had been duplicated and the work completed in principle. As this report is being written, we are still working on the reprints from the 35 mm. negatives and lantern slide duplicates. Mr Nassau spent about 450 hours on the project and we have really no statistics on the total hours put in by volunteers, P.E.F. staff and the additional assistants.

A detailed and illustrated monograph is in preparation, that will be available through the P.E.F. for interested scholars and conservators, giving a step by step description of the technology and all the chemical formulae of the treatments used.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the P.E.F. which gave me the opportunity to meet this challenge and I thank sincerely all my dedicated advisers and helpers without whom the project could have never been accomplished. While some work will continue on some of the negatives of later date, which are not yet as badly deteriorated, we believe that we could preserve at least the visual content of the oldest and most valuable negatives of the P.E.F. for the benefit of present and future scholars.

"

7

PROGRAMME 20 - 22nd

July

IROHlHIDGE

CONGRESS

Vth Annual Conference of' the Archaeological Group at Ironbridge and Wroxeter.

Lectures and practical instruction on the photography of' industrial and Roman remains led by Dr Brian Bracegirdle FRPS and Geof'f'rey Toms. There are still a f'ew places lef't for this excellent annual event so book now with l•lary Mitchell, 3 Lorraine Court, Talbot Road, Wembley, Middx, HAO 4UF. 8th

September

SINGL~TON

Visit to the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum where historic buildings have been saved and reconstructed. also go to the Fishb6urne Roman Villa.

Details from .5 Norris Court, Longrnearl, Windsor, Derks.

22nd

September

a collection of' The visit will Michael Gill,

UOODLAWN

Third annual visit to Woodlawn the home of' Mr & Mrs Hike Leonard.

This is not only a garden party and an opportunity to meet photographers and archaeologists f'rom the south-east, but also there will be visits local sites of' interest.

'Honday

1 st

October

The f'irst lecture I~llings-Jackson.

Saturday

13th

LONDON of' the

October

season

will

be on Jordan

given

by Mr.

& l•lrs.

An opportunity to photograph order in Kew Bridge

f'ive

LONDON

Visit to Kew Bridge Engines magnificent beam engines in

Trust. working

ADVANCE NOTICE - OVE~SE \S VISITS 1

- JORDAN & TU'U~EY

1st to 8th December - First RPS Visit to Jordan led by Peter Parr 19th to 26th January 1980 Second Visit to Jordan led by Derrick Knight.

Both visits will go to Amman, Gerash, Petra, Aqaba and desert castles.

Cost approximately £J.50 5th to 19th April 1980 Visit to Turkey led by Tony Pearce The .Great Warehoul>e.Coalhrc><>kdale. huilt in 11(111 tn house rhe in>n pn>dut•f~<>f the Compan~ and""'" to hecome the new Coalhmul..<lale'.\iu.,;eumuf lmn.

_,•• 11'11

111·· -~-- -·=-

to

Book Reviews by R.V.

1

)

SCHODER

Ancient

Greece

f'roni

the

Air.

Su Fox Thames

and

Hudson

1974

This book is a collection of' aerial photographs of' Ancient Greek sites, taken by the author, ,tith the aid of' the Greek Air Force.

The photographs are rather variable in quality, lareely because the author had only a limited amount of' time in which to take them, and could not always wait :for the optimum conditions to arise.

Nonetheless, this book provides an excellent introduction :for the student and general reader alike, to most of' the major Greek sites, :for next to the photograph, is a plan of' the site to enable the visitor to relate what he sees to the photograph, a key to the main structures, a short but inf'ormative commontary, und at the back a eood if' slir:htly out of' date bibliography.

Particularly usef'ul are the photographs of' sites which are dif'f'icult to understand on the {!round, such as Delphi, wh:i.ch is on a steep hillside, and cannot really be seen as a complete site by the visitor, or Halieis, pnrt of' which is underwater.

The photographic :faults are largely compensated for by the archaeoloaical u s efulness of the pictures.

All in all, a very handy companion on your next trip to Greece.

H. ROBERTSON and

A. F::UU;TZ The

Parthenon

Frieze.

Phaidon/British :Museum Publications

1975

For all those who did not manage to get to the Group's photo session in the Duveen galleries, what better way to acquire excellent photographs of' these wonderf'ul sculptures, than to buy this book?

The book :follows the :frieze :from the South 1iest corner with continuous photographs, taken

by Niss Frantz of' a°ll the s.abs in the British :Museum and other museums, principally in Athens, and especially detailed views of' the central section, at the East end of' the Parthenon, where some ceremony is taking place.

All these pictures are accompanied by a descriptive commentary by l-lartin Robertson, one of' the :foremost authorities on all aspects of' Greek art, who provides at the :front of' the book a general discussion of' the Akropolis, th ·e Parthenon and it• s scuptural adornment, and an assessment of' the inf'luence of' the Parthenon :frieze on subsequent centuries.

The book ends with a selection of' closeups which reveal yet a{!ain what a master-piece the Parthenon must have been.

P.

WARREN The Aegean

A.W. JOHNSTON

Civilizations

The Emergence

of' Greece

} Both

publ.

Elsevier Phaidon

1976

1 The :Making These books are part of' a series entitled of' the Past•, 1 to which according to the publishers is designed provide a complete survey of' the early history of' the world as revealed by archaeology and related disciplines•.

These books seem to be aimed at the general reader, :for the bibliographies are very brief' and . they have a 'glossary of' terms 1 at the back.

The first deals with the Bronze Age Civilizations of' the Greek mainlands, islands and Crete, while the second covers the period when Greece emerged :from the Dark Ages which f'ollo,'(ed the collapse of' the 1-lycenaean civilization, and established herself' as an important centre of' artistic and political development.

The most interesting feature of' the series is the lavish use of' photographs, both in the text and in what are called 'visual stories'.

These are sections dealing in greater detail than the main text with some topic, of'ten a particularly important or typical site, largely throueh photographs of' the archaeological evidence.

For example the section on Euboea and it's colonies has pictures of' the general topography of' the Euboean sites and Fithekoussai, some of' the most important and rare :finds, includin~ the vase with one of' the earliest known inscriptions, and even of' a group of' tombs, some just excavated - the kind of' picture the eeneral reader usually does not see.

If' all the books in · the series are of' the same high standard as these two, we shall be very :fortunate "' •

The Bronze Age Site of Acrotiri on Thera, Greece

by Peter Warren The final lecture in our Aeeean Season was given

by Professor Peter Warren of Bristol University on :t,;omlay 5th Harch at the HPS House.

The capacity audience wns treated to an excellent visual presentation of the site of Acrotiri.

The island of Thera is the southernmost of the Cyclades, lying seventy miles to the north of Crete.

Its geological importance is a great as that of its archaeology.

Toa-ether with the ndjacent islands of Therasia and Aspronesi, it consists of the Cragmentary rim of a volcanic crater .

Orieinally a single volcano, the island suffered a cataclysmic ex p losion at some time in the Aegean Late Bronze Aae, around 1500 to 1450 BC. This enormous event caused the volcanic cone to collapse into its magma chamber and the surviving rim of the crater or caldera breached by the sea to form the three separate islands mentioned.

Since that time a new cone hns started to form in the centre of the caldera and this is the active centre of the volcano.

Huge quanties of pumice and volcanic ash were ejected in the crreat explosion.

Several Late Bronze At;e settlements were covered over, their remains preserved to the same deeree as Herculaneum and Pompeii, although one and a half-thousand years older than these Vesuvian towns.

The major preserved settlement lies south-east of Akrotiri village, very near the southern shore facing Crete.

Its excavation effectI s ively began in 1967 with the first of Professor Spyridon J.iarinatos campaigns.

He continued annually until his tragic death on the site in 1974.

Excellent and well illustrated reports were published each year in English(~ I - VII).

The Akrotiri site turned out to belong to one archaeological period (Late Minoan I A), c. 1550 - 1500 BC. This was the greatest period of Cretan palace civilization and Alcrotiri, like many places in the Aegean, enjoyed many 'Minoan influences.

The excavated buildinr.-s, which occupy about 9,500 square metres but do not rench the limits of the settlement in any direction, consist of large house blocl<:s and free - standing mansions fronting narrow streets and small piazzas.

The largest builc.linrr has about thirty rooms on the ground floor, and all houses rise to a second or third storey.

They are built either of unworked stones plastered over or with fine ashlar masonry of dressed blocks with stone string courses.

Doorways and windows, l n rge and small, have neat stone frames with wooden fittings.

Upper floors were mnde with wooden beams and stone slabs, reached by stone or wooden staircases.

As in Ninoan Crete entrances were never impressive.

One got into the e-reat block Delta from a little room for rrrinding grain, which opened on to the street.

The reason for this absence of grandiose portals may have been because the ground fl o ors were for the most part storerooms and workrooms.

The reception rooms, living and sleeping quarters and the bathrooms were on the up p er floors.

It is from these up~er rooms that the great masterpieces of Theran n.rt have come.

Nenrly every house was decorated with vivid wall paintings, as astonishing in their variety, no two as yet even re$8mbline each other, and their subject matter as in

their co1ours the pumice.

a n d their

preservation

under

the

kindly

sea1

of'

From B1oclc B we have two beje welled boy boxers (see back cover} and a series o:f mag n if ic e n t a nt elo ~ es painted in an outline technique of' b1ack on the whit e gr oun d, with crimson :for detai1s.

Another room in the same h ou s e had a p ain t i n g o:f blue monkeys 1eapineand climbing in a s ty 1 i ze d land sc ap e . The nrtist desi ~ned a continuous :frieze, t otall y d isregardineth e ri g ht-an c-1ed corners o:f the room.

From room 4 in the \{est House come th e :frescoes o:f a richly dressed lady, perhaps a priestess, and large-scale devices explained by the paintine in the adjacent room.

This was a continuous frieze above the windows, showing in the miniature style a sea-shore battle, raiding warriors, a winding river with many dif':ferent plants and anima1s on its banks, and a :fleet of seven mar;nif'icently detai l ed ships and all their crews and passengers, sai1ing peacefully :from a sea-shore town throuch a sea of' do1phins to what is probab1y their home port . The decorated stern cabins o:f these ships are what f'orm the devices on the wal1s of' the next room . Hence it was suggested

by Marinatos that this was the House o'f: the Admira1.

Further north another house produced a ¡:frieze of papyrus p1ants, almost life size, and a painting of' two richly dressed, bare-breasted 1adies facinein to a central figure, who is mo.st unfortunate1y not preserved.

She may have been a seated goddess.

Nearby Block Delta yie1ded, exceptionally in a tiny ground floor roam, the exquisite fresco o:f. red lilies growincr f'rom polychrome rocks like those of' the is1and itself', with singleton and pairs of' swa11ows flitting between the flowers in every imaginable pose.

This continuous, space-free painting, again oblivious of' corners, is one of' the love1iest creations of' Aegean art ¡, giving the essence of' an Aegean springtime.

Finally, if' we mention only the major preserved works, a mansion in the south-west area was adorned with a huge painting (over one hundred square metres have been estimated to survive) of' ladies gathering flowers in the countryside ~ Each lndy is dif':ferent from her companions but all wear the richest of' e1aborate dresses as we11 as neck1aces, bracelets, ear- ¡ rings and one a great hairpin, al1 painted go1d.

A1though comparable treasures have not been found among the movab1e artefacts of' the houses - the inhabitants had time to escape with their best be1ongings - thousands of' objects of' pottery, stone and metal have survived to reveal something of' daily lif'e.

The excavators' technique of' :fi1ling holes in the pumice and debris with plaster of' Paris has created casts of' beds and finely carved wooden furniture .

Other rooms contained bathtubs and domestic and municipal drainage was carefu1ly constructed with pipes and channels.

From even so brief' a sketch the reader wi11 appreciate what a wea1th of' new materia1 is bef'ore us f'or reconstructing the li:fe of' the peop1e.

But such riches as natural1y pose an abundance of' interesting problems.

How do we interpret Theran art, so complete, so startling in its colour and detail, and yet so enigmatic?

A f'ew pictures, like the monkeys, or the boy fisherman in the \vest House, may be purely decorative; but many surely conceal deeper purposes.

As f'or the town itself', so f'ar devoid of' a sine-le public bui1ding and comprising mansions alone, like Tylissos in Crete, what was its function, what was its status and wh a t was its relation to the great palace centres of' Crete a f'ew hours' sai1 to the south?

Fina1ly , what was its history?

Some have thought recently that . its destruction c. 1500 BC was caused by the rain of' ash and pumice f'rom the great explosion.

Others, the writer o:f this note among them, would stress an interval of' time between the destruction of' Akrotiri and the explosion, the former not caused by the latter.

For such an interva1 the evidence of' repairs to some of' the buildings

//

and the apparent formation here all bef'ore the total encapsulation witness.

and

there of' the

of' a natural earth level, remains, stand clear

We are at one of' the most splendid moments in the archaeoloffY of' the Aegean.

Th.era ranks alongside Knossos and Mycenae.

The undreamt of' preservation of its buildings and their treasures can only stimulate students of' the prehistoric ,\egean towar<.ls a f'uller understanding of' those artist-craf'tsmen an d the soci <"' l hierarchy to which they belonged in Thera and Crete, and of' wh ich their products remain the abiding testament.

*****************~*****

CJ Duncan It is with regret that we note the death of Hr. University o-£ Newcastle, a Group member o-£ long to extend deepest sympathy to his family.

C.J.Duncan standing.

of the i;e wish

Canterbury This visit has been people were interested late!

Reply slips

postponed till in going to must be returned

next summer.

Although Canterbury they let us early!

enough know too

Butser Ancient Farm Project On Saturday 16th June 2.5 people f'rom the Group visited Butser where they were shown round by Dr. Peter Reynolds.

Happily the weather was kind and allowed photography.

It was particularly interesting to see at -f:irst hand the site in its workine condition especially af'ter 1 no. reading Dr. Reynolds -f:ull description in 1 archaeolog 8.

We hope to see some of' the photographic evidence o-£ the Group's presence at this site in future editions of' 1 archaeolog•,

Clare Conybeare Congratulations to Clare Conybeare on gaining a place at Leicester University to take Nuseum Studies.

Her·departure thence represents a real loss to the Group, because her hard work and long hours have contributed signif'icantly to the Group's success in the last year.

Her task o-£ organisin~ the summer visits has been taken over by Nichael Gill, whose home address is: 5 l-lorris Court, Longmead, Windsor, Berks.

Good Luck,

/2

Clare.

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Equipment for Archaeological Site

Photography by

This paper archaeological

gives

suggestions for site photographer.

the

Betty

L. Haggar

necessary

L R PS

equip me nt o f a n

The first step in planning for equipment is, to meet the direc to r of the excavation to determine exactly what he requires.

Th is discussion should include how much money will be allocated to photography - a delicate matter and one which often receives the vaguest of answers.

The

choice

of

equipment

must

a) b) c) d)

what the photographer the type of site, i.e. the economy (as above) director's requirements

primarily

be governed

owns already size, climate,

length

by, of

stay

Cameras These 1)

should

include;

One 5/4 technical than a mono rail, the rough terrain

camera, this is lighter to carry an important point, particularly of the average site.

around over

I consider this camera a "must", as accuracy in difficult positions can only be achieved by ca~era movements; and although a lens for "rising front" can be purchased for some 35mm cameras and the Pentax 6/7, this movement alone is insufficient.

2)

Two single-lens two range-finder

reflex cameras, cameras, ditto.

Two cameras are needed, for monochrome, as the special shots intended I do not recommend format single lens 3)

of

the

one for colour 5/4 is generally for publication.

twin-lens reflex,

reflex owing to

same slides used

make, and only

or one for

cameras, nor large weight problems.

Polaroid camera, if there is sufficient money available for the rather expensive films, this cam .era is very useful for judging light, position of shot, etc. but it does not replace any other camera, owing to difficulties of reproduction, possible failure under certain climatic conditions, doubtful keeping properties, etc.

Lens 1)

The 5/4 camera requires; one 150mm lens (norma l) , and one 90mm lens (wide angle).

A wider angle lens t h a n this is not useful owing to distortion.

A l on e-foc u s is n e v er needed .

...

2).The reflex cameras require, between them, one 50mm lens (normal) which is not used very much; one 135mm lens which is helpful in photographing skeletons, and also for 'publicity' shots of personnel, working.

Two 28mm lens wide-angle lenses.

I stipulate two, because these lenses are used most often, and thus the continual changing of lens is obviated.

For the photography of small finds, one macro lens as I prefer not to use extension rings or extra bellows.

The former can only reproduce a limited number of mcgn:ifications.

The latter, are fiddly to use, not sufficiently stable, and therefore unsatisfactory.

Filters Filters are particularly important in archeological wor k , as often slight differences in the colour of the soil have to be maximized.

They should include; one light red; one yellow, one U.V. one dark red for use with infra-red film; one neutral density; one polarizing.

The neutral density filter is useful in very strong sunlight and for where flash has to be used at close quarters;i.e. in prehistoric tombs, narrow caves etc, where stopping down is insufficient.

The polarizing filter is for pictures of artefacts made of reflecting materials, and for photographing in museums, when permission cannot be obtained for the cases to be opened.

Stepping rings for transferring the filters to various lenses, should not be forgotten.

Meters The photographer should choose a meter which opens, and stays open, easily, ( some, require two hands to manipulate).

At least ~ should be taken, in case of failure, invacones are also necessary.

Batteries should be checked and replaced before leaving.

A flash - meter is useful, particularly for artefact photography, but not absolutely necessary now that censors are incorporated in most meters.

Flash Unless very large areas are to be photographed, should be contemplated. at. Two guns are better high.

underground such as caves, cisterns etc, electronic, rather than flash bulbs A fairly large output should be aimed than one, but the cost is generally

The photographer should only buy a gun which can run on batteries, as some types are solely chargeable on the mains.

This is feasible for England, but often, abroad, the plugs are small two pins which cannot be transformed, and in other cases do not fit the flash capacitors.

Tripods One really strong tripod is required for the 5/4 camera.

If possible a second, lighter tripod is useful, particularly if the flash-head can be screwed to it.

Camera Cases The Photographer has to decide what kind of case he prefers.

Some, like hard cases which can be used to stand on, and which are effective in protecting the cameras from knocks and jolts some, prefer soft cases which are lighter.

Separate small cases to hand round the neck are a nuisance when at work, but good for travelling.

I would suggest therefore, one very large hard/soft bag or case!! and two sling cases for the 35mm cameras.

The large ~ase should contain a plastic bag which can be changed daily, sealed with scotch tape, to keep out dirt and dust when its' contents are not in use.

Fresco c.1500 in the

of the boxing children, BC from Acrotiri, Thera National Museum, Athens

Copyright:

TAP Service,

Athens

supplement

IRONBRIDGE CONGRESS 20-22 July 1979

V th Ann~al Congress

IRONBRIDGE 20- 22 JULY 1979 This year the Group is joining the celebrations of the bicentenary of the Ironbridge Gorge industrial archaeology complex in Shropshire.

Without doubt, this congress will be rich•in photographic opportunities, and will be led by Dr Brian Bracegirdle FRPS, the acknowledged authority on the photography of industrial remains.

Here we will not be photographing shadows, but the things that cast the shadows.

Visits will be made to the museum of ironfounding, Coalport china works, Moore's tile works, Blists Hill, the ironbridge, and many other parts of the Gorge not open to the public.

Accommodation will be in Concord College, Attingham ·Park, Shrewsbury; accommodation is restricted to about 50 people, so early booking is recommended.

Programm .e Friday

20th

Saturday Sun day

July

21st 22nd

July July

7 pm Dinner at Concord College 8.30 Intoductory lecture by Brian Bracegirdle FRPS. All day in the Ironbridge Area.

7.00 Formal dinner followed by a social evening either the opportunity to return to the Gorge for further photography, .2!: a programme centred on the Roman site of Wroxeter, (delgates may choose either)

!!.!.! (members and/or subscribers to "archaeolog") £10.00 (non-members and nonsubscribers to "archaeolog") £7.00 (student members and/or subscribers to "archaeolog") £25.00 including full board from Accommodation: Friday dinner to Sunday afternoono FULL PROGRAMMEDETAILS ARE INCLUDED IN A BROCHURE OBTAWABLE FROM MARY MITCHELL - FILL IN THE REPLY SLIP Conference

II

fee:

£8.00

AGM - 5th February1979 The following Annual General

is a brief resume of Meeting held at the

Chairman~s Report

the statements made RPS House on Monday

1978

'The report of the Chairman of this Group is brief, even if this is not in the • nature of the Chairman, because it is the duty pf the Secretary to give account ih more detail of the Group's activitie~ throughout the year.

Some of you will recall that at the beginning of the year I predicted that this would be a watershed year, That statement was correct because I ' saw two things happening.

First it should be recognised that the affairs of the Group had been run by a co1DD1ittee of busy people most of whom were deeply involved in other archaeological or photographic activities and so regarded the Group as less important~ A decision was taken to nominate a large committee made up of those who had shown a real interest in the work of the Group, This committee was elected by last years AGM and has proved to be all and more than was expected of it, The committee deserves the thanks of ' the Group, and certainly has my personal thanks.

Secondly there has been an influx of intelligent and . energetic young people into the life of the Group.

Many of these have worked hard on the Committee and in other activit .ies, Conspicuously, Tony Pearce, as Secretary, has pu t in an.effort that in energy and ability exceeds anything I have seen in voluntary work, The appearance of "archaeolog" has delighted us all, won us friends, increased our membership, and helped f'ulfill a long standing obligation to our overseas members.

We thank ~iss Angela Clarke for her fine and dedicated ; work. I could go on to name many others but I am sure to leave someone out, so I will simply thank all those youngsters who have Joined us.

So I was right; it has been a watershed year, and without a doubt the best we have had, When I say it has been our best year I do so believing that it will be the precursor of an even better one. Tbere is a growing momentum which nothing should stop, Robert Pitt Chairman 1 978

Secretary ·s Report Tony Pearbe as Secretary reported that during the year 'the membership had doubled and stood at 221 at the end of 1978, He reported on the 13 events · which had been organised, and on the activities of the committee throughout the year.

Treasure r 's Report The Treasurer, Hiss Mary 'Mitchell, reported on the Group's finances.

It was not yet possible to finalise the Group's financiat statement~ for 1978 since there were outstanding accounts to be settled with the Society, The year was unusual because of the new ventures, notably "archaeolog" and the summer projects, Poor pricing policy for events, and late publication of our advertisement in "Current Archaeology" for the Durham Conference resulted jn losses on all events.

These faults will be rectifiEkl in the coming year.

at the 5th February,

Elections The meeting, at which J1 people were present, then elected the officers and committee for 1979: Chairman: Tony Pearce Deputy Chairman Brian Tremain Secretary Michael Leonard Treasurer Mary Mitchell Editor of "archaeolog" Angela Clarke (A motion was passed making the Editor of the Group's periodical an Officer of the Group} Committee: Dr Michael Apted, Clare Conybeare, Michael Gill, Vic Heppelthwaite, Trevor Hurst, Derrick Knight, James Locke, and John Stubbington, Two vacancies were left, and the members to be co-opted were not specified.

Statement

by Tony Pearce

as . Chairman

Tony Pearce was welcomed into office as Cht by the President of the Society, Sir George Pollock, Bt, FRPS. On taking over the Chair ·Tony Pearce made the following _statement: "I am deeply moved by the honour you have bestowed on me; thank you, I would like the first thing I do as Chairman to be to thank Hob Pitt for six years hard and dedicated work for the Group.

Without that which he has done in setting up the Group, we would not be sitting here nov.

I would like you all to join me in thanking and congratulating Bob. "Secondly I would like to thank the Committee for its hard work over the recent years, especially in 1978.'

"It has become practice for the Chairman to commence the year by giving it a slogan or catch phase.

It seems to me significant that our year starts at the same time as the Chinese New Year, and so it would be appropriate to name the year after an animal.

This year, therefore is to be the Year of the Shark, because, like a shark we must keep moving forward in order to stay alive.

"What may you expect from me in the way of policies?

I want to direct the Group and its .committee to take a fresh look at 'its image.

There are many areas which we are interested and actively involved in which are not embraced in the title 'archaeological'.

With this new image, we may also have a new name, but we must have a ne.w constitution to reflect the realities of the way the Group is run, and to make elections more democratic.

I am obviously talking here about a postal voting system.

1 must "'archaeolog be expanded and made to pay, We doubled our membership last year, and I believe that we should do the same this year.

I ask all members to help us achieve this.

During the year your committee will provide a wide range of events throughout the country; these must be priced sensibly in order to pay for themselves.

"Our main event will be the Ironbridge Conference from 20 - 22 . July.

This will coincide with the bicentenary of Ironbridge, and since we will be led by Brian Bracegirdle FRPS, the acknowledged authority in this area, it will be an excellent weekend.

"Finally, from me personally you may expect a highly participative form of leadership, where you do not have one Chairman , but many people jointly leading.

"I ask you for your support in achieving these aims, which I think are worthy."

Ill

Coalport

IV

Pottery

(Ironbridge

Gorge

Museum Trust)