Volume 77, 2002

The artifacts fortcoming from Palestinian excavations are rarely aesthetically impressing. But since the ‘Peleset’, who are linked to the biblical Philistines, settled down in this region, the interest rose. Ramses III fought against these ‘People of the Sea’ in 1175 BC (low chronology). Other sources describe them as an ethnically homogeneous group. But how where they really like? And where exactly did they settled down? This geoarchaeological article, tries to find out settlements patterns and their political background(s).

Did the Greeks knew the use of the Golden Section? The analysis of some Greek temple plan reveal a very accurate implementation of the number. But was this meant to be? Or was it a mere approximation of 5:8? This paper deals with the progression of Pythagoras laid down on the steps of the archaic temple, thus widening our knowledge of mathemathical history. Altough the use of ‘number mysticism’ was common, there is no evidence that the architect based his design on this ratio to deal with the aesthetic form of the temple. The paper is superficial on the mathematical implications and focuses on the archaeological meaning of the phenomenon.

Votive plaques are often studied individually, but not as a type of dedication in a systematic way.Only few plaques were found in the Greek main land, but recently a large amount was discovered in Magna Graecia, more precise in Lokroi. As the Lokrian plaques are not published yet, the author focuses on organising the Greek main land plaques in a new typology. In addition she pays some more attention to the terracotta plaques, as the survived commonly in the archaeological record.

Although not well known, the archaeological collection of Ghent University (Belgium) is very valuable. For a while this collection was exhibited in the precinct of the university. A few years ago, however, the entire collection was removed to the University’s depot, waiting for a part of the collection to be exhibited in Het Pand in Ghent. In 2002 the museum Het Pand opened its doors and it is there that the larger part of the collection is displayed nowadays. There too one can admire the remarkable Faliscan stamnos, which Ghent University holds in its possession. This articles deals on this particular stamnos.

The Potenza Valley Survey project, is an prospective project searching archaeological remains through aerial photography. The project’s survey area is the ca. 80 km long valley of the river Potenza in Adriatic Central-Italy (Marche). The program focuses on Late Antiquity (3rd-7th century). Nevertheless the original aim to measure long term evolutions and changes between 1000 BC and 1000 AD is generally sustained. As this allows to contextualize the Late Antique period. Other periods are not ignored either, as archaeology is about the whole period of human settlement. This report gives the results of the 2001 field campaign.

The Nemrud Dag is one of Turkey’s most important archaeological sites. It has not been studied profoundly yet, because of its specific character, blending, as the original excavator Theresa Goell states, Graeco-Roman and Persian influences. In 2001 the University of Amsterdam started a project recording all the materials of the Nemrud Dag with an interdisciplinary team in order to create a exhaustive Site Information System (SIS) (comparable to a microtopographical Geographic Information System (GIS)). The first research showed the necessity of renewed studies as the excavation report were delayed and vital information was missing. This first interim reports provide the first detailed information on the site. Obviously, only at the final publication final conclusions will be formulated.

The excavations of the Via Imperiale in Rome revealed many tombs and funeral buildings, following the notes of Massimo Pallotino on the 1941 excavations of Mussolinis sopraintenza. Renewed research and reexcavations were done in order to get a clear view of the remains within the current archaeological research. In the margine of these excavations the mosaics of the S. Balbina church were uncovered. For the first time since the church was restored in 1928, the mosaics could be seen and exhaustively examined.

If you want to have a good picture on how Romans lived during the first century AD, your research should start in Ostia. The materials used in Ostia are more homogeneous and, in a relative sense, more ample than those found in Rome. Therefore it is logic to examine first the pictures that where revealed in the capital city, in order to obtain a better knowledge of the materials used in Ostia. This paper discusses some apects linked to the Ostian settlement from the 2nd century BC until the end of the forth century AD. The focus is on the murals and the actual status of the research. The author presents a new chronology based on architectural and epigraphical examples.

Starting from the studies of Symonds and Künzl on dark colour-coated pottery from Trier of the third and fourth centuries AD, the author discusses the drinking mottoes listed on them and their meaning towards their typology and use. Adding unpublished materials from Late Roman cemeteries in Nijmegen (Netherlands), the author tries to elaborate and evaluate the interpretations of the mentioned scholars.

When H.W. Böhme published the fifth-century woman’s grave known as Nijmegen Nieuwstraat 46 in 1974, he was not able to discuss three identical bronze sheet pendants found at the feet of the deceased: no drawings or photographs were available then. Since then, the pendants have been both restored and drawn twice. This is their first publication.