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CLOSEAspects of Material Culture in Byzantium
Anastasia G. Yangaki
The project explores aspects of the material culture of Byzantium, amid the ever-increasing interest in the study of the latter, especially during the last decades. The interest is focused on the archaeological evidence, but at the same time the written sources are also explored. Emphasis is placed on the study of ceramics and metalwork. Questions of know-how, interaction and dissemination of practices, use of objects, commercial relations are all addressed, adopting theoretical directions that emphasize the social context of objects, based on theoretical approaches of ethnologists, anthropologists and archaeologists.
In the context of the project and with the aim of highlighting the circulation of imported ceramics in the Peloponnese and Crete, on the occasion of the publicly-financed projects Convex Grids and Anavathmis, a detailed database accessible from the digital application was created, on the topic: “Networks of trade contacts and economy in the Aegean during the Byzantine era, based on the study of pottery: the cases of the Peloponnese and Crete”. The latter was upgraded (“Upgrading the existing project: Networks of trade contacts and economy in the Aegean during the Byzantine era, based on the study of pottery: the cases of the Peloponnese and Crete”) and enriched through the Anavathmis project (https://aegean-pottery.anavathmis.eu/).
The project also integrates research conducted within the framework of the funded project Convex Grids, which focused on compiling references to Byzantine furniture in a dedicated database. This work forms part of the thematic area “EE2.11. Household Furniture from Antiquity to the Pre-Industrial Era” (https://kripis2.anavathmis.eu/db_2-11/) (I. Anagnostakis, M. Leontsini, 2013-2015).
For the needs of the project, a cooperation has been developed with relevant Ephorates of Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, with university bodies and scientific companies. The pertinent research is presented in papers at international conferences. Special scientific meetings are also organized.
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A. G. Yangaki, Εφυαλωμένη κεραμική από τη θέση «Άγιοι Θεόδωροι» Ακροναυπλίας (11ος-17ος αι. μ.Χ.), ΙΒΕ/ΕΙΕ, Ερευνητική Βιβλιοθήκη 7, Athens 2012 (with a summary in English).
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Proceedings of the 12th AIECM3 Congress on Medieval and Modern Period Mediterranean Ceramics, vols 1-2, eds. Petridis, A. G. Yangaki, N. Liaros, E.-Ε. Bia (IHR/NHRF Research Library 10), Athens 2021.
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Το Βυζάντιο χωρίς λάμψη. Τα ταπεινά αντικείμενα και η χρήση τους στον καθημερινό βίο των Βυζαντινών, eds. Α. G. Yangaki, A. Panopoulou, Athens 2018.
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Εκπαιδευτική Συλλογή Μεσαιωνικής και Νεότερης Κεραμικής. Κατάλογος, eds. A. Yangaki, O. Gratziou, Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Rethymnon 2012.
- A. G. Yangaki, “In Search of Standardization. The Case of a Globular Amphora Type from Crete”, in: H. González Cesteros, J. Leidwanger (eds.), Regional Economies in Action. Standardization of Transport Amphorae in the Roman and Byzantine Mediterranean. Proceedings of the International Conference at the Austrian Archaeological Institute and the Danish Institute at Athens, 16–18 October 2017 (Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut Sonderschriften Band 63), Wien 2023, 297-325.
- A. G. Yangaki, “A Beekeeper’s Kit of the First Byzantine Period in Eleutherna (Crete)”, Journal of Greek Archaeology 7 (2022), 298-324.
- A. G. Yangaki, “Changing Byzantium: The Thirteenth Century Viewed Through its Pottery. Summary of the Evidence, Main Trends, Thoughts for Future Directions”, in: J. P. Albani, I. Christoforaki (eds.), Πάντα ῥεῖ. Change in Thirteenth-Century Byzantine Architecture, Art, and Material Culture (Bυζάντιος. Studies in Byzantine History and Civilization 20), Brepols Publishers: Turnhout 2022, 277-318.
- V. Petrakis, D. Andrianou, I. Anagnostakis, “Verbal Representations”, in: D. Andrianou (ed.), Α Cultural History of Furniture, vol. 1, Antiquity, London 2022, 207-215.
- V. Petrakis, Μ. Leontsini, “Makers, Making and Materials”, in: Α Cultural History of Furniture, in: D. Andrianou (ed.), Α Cultural History of Furniture, vol. 1, Antiquity, London 2022, 45-73.
- Complex Realities: Medieval Pottery Contexts in the Eastern Mediterranean (7th-15th c. CE), organization: ΙHR, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 27 November 2024, Instituto Cervantes de Atenas (organization on behalf of IHR: Anastasia Yangaki, in collaboration also with A. Waldner and H. González Cesteros).
- Study and publication of ceramic material from the excavation at Eleutherna, Sector II, Crete (Excavator: Ch. Tsigonaki), and from Spinalonga (A. G. Yangaki).
- Study and publication of ceramics from the Middle Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman periods, based on surface archaeological survey in the area of ancient Aphidna, near Kapandriti, Attica. Conducted within the framework of the Kotroni Archaeological Survey Project (KASP) (https://afidna.org/) (A. G. Yangaki).
- 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2024: Workshop for the training and practical instruction of students from the Department of History and Archaeology, University of Crete (by invitation of the Department). The training material was drawn from the excavation in Sector II of Eleutherna (Excavation Director: Christina Tsigounaki, currently Assistant Professor). Each workshop lasted 4–5 days.
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Design and implementation of an educational programme entitled: ‘X[ρ]ώματα’ [Colours], in the context of the Researchers’ Night of 2017, 2018 and 2019. The programme is suited to children of 7 to 12 years old. The aim is to introduce them to the characteristics of Byzantine ceramics (A. Yangaki).
- “Upgrading the existing project: Imported pottery in the Peloponnese and in Crete (4th-16th c.)”, upgraded and enriched database of the earlier project: “Networks of trade contacts and economy in the Aegean during the Byzantine era, based on the study of pottery: the cases of the Peloponnese and Crete (4th-16th c.)”. Open access digital database in the framework of the programme Anavathmis (https://aegean-pottery.anavathmis.eu/?lang=en).
- “Networks of trade contacts and economy in the Aegean during the Byzantine era, based on the study of pottery: the cases of the Peloponnese and Crete (4th-16th c.)” Open access digital database in the framework of the Convex Grids-Kyrtou plegmata programme, 2013-2015. Project WP2.7 (responsible: A. Yangaki) (https://kripis2.anavathmis.eu/2-7/ ).
- “Household Furniture from Antiquity to the Pre-Industrial Era”
Contributors: I. Anagnostakis, M. Leontsini. Open-access electronic database developed within the framework of the Convex Grids project, under the KRIPIS Programme, 2013–2015. Project 2.11: https://kripis2.anavathmis.eu/db_2-11/
Department of History and Archaeology, University of Crete
Main page image: Colour schematic illustration of the impressed geometric decoration depicted on the red-slipped dish from North Africa found at Eleutherna, Crete (Sector I). / Illustration by Elizabeth Kelidou, as part of the project: “Imported pottery in the Peloponnese and Crete (4th-16th century AD)”, Anavathmis, from which the drawing is republished.