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PhD, Science Faculty, University of the Witwatersrand, 1998

Thesis--Munich, 1968. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 2-3).

The mirror appears frequently in funerary contexts in the Greek colonies Locri Epizefiri and Metaponto and this thesis endeavours to rebuild the contexts of these mirrors using the approach of contextual archaeology. To explore the mirror’s contemporary function and meaning within the burial record and to discern why mirrors appear within a funerary setting, a chain of contexts is followed from the archaeological material to iconographical analysis, to comparative archaeological data, widening the contextual circles step by step. In the first part, the appearance of the graves with mirrors in Locri Epiezefiri and Metaponto is examined. The result is then compared with the iconographical evidence and the comparative archaeological data. The thesis further examines the mirror’s female association and discusses how the colonies of Magna Graecia should be studied as a third culture in accordance with the middle ground. Based on the results from the analysis, the discussion argues for a connection between mirrors and the Orphic-Dionysiac-Pythagorean cult, especially pronounced in Magna Graecia during this period, but also possible ritualistic functions such as divination and the notion of “female knowledge”.

Les recherches précédentes sur la coroplathie de Métaponte ont abordé ce matériel comme un objet de culte circonscrit dans le sanctuaire. Face à l'abondance des données dont on dispose, ce travail cherche à actualiser nos connaissances en le considérant d'abord comme une production artisanale. L'étude se centre sur les VII0-VI° siècles avant J.-C., époque durant laquelle la polis structure progressivement son territoire et met en place ses lieux de culte. Le choix d'un corpus provenant de plusieurs sanctuaires a conduit à la définition de types techniques et à l'analyse de leur diffusion dans la cité. L'étude combine trois approches complémentaires visant à éclaircir les spécificités du matériel métapontin : en premier lieu, les chaînes opératoires et les espaces artisanaux qui introduisent la question des ateliers locaux et des moyens d'identifier leurs productions; ensuite, la diffusion du matériel dans le Métapontin et au-delà, mettant en évidence les réseaux de contacts ; enfin, les spécificités fom1elles de ce corpus et les dynamiques créatives qui s'inscrivent dans des courants à plus grande échelle. Les résultats obtenus sont placés en dernier lieux dans une perspective plus large à travers trois axes: la place de l'artisan, l'analyse iconographique et l'emploi de l'artisanat dans la définition de l'identité des ltaliotes. Cet exercice méthodologique ouvre de nouvelles perspectives en considérant la production d'une cité dans son ensemble. Il met en évidence l'intérêt d'analyser la globalité du contexte de déposition et de replacer le matériel à l'intérieur des dynamiques productives et communautaires qui lui sont propres. / Previous research on metapontian coroplastic material has focused on their ex voto dimension, circumscribed to the sanctuary. Given the abundant data that we have, this work aims to update our knowledge considering this material first of ail as a craft production. The study focuses on the VII1h-VI1h centuries B.C., period during which the polis progressively structured its territory and established its places of worship. The constitution of a corpus with material from different sanctuaries enables us to define technical types and analyse their diffusion within the city. The study combines three complementary approaches aimed at determining the specificities of metapontian materials: on the first place, the operational chains and craft spaces which introduce the question of local workshops and how to identify their productions; then, the diffusion of the material within Metaponto and beyond, highlighting the contact networks; lastly, the formal specificities of the metapontian corpus and the creative dynamics the city integrates on a larger scale. Finally, these observations are placed on a wider perspective from three different angles: the place of the craftsman, the iconographic analysis and the use of crafts in the definition of the ltaliote identity. This methodological exercise seeks to bring new perspectives by considering the city's production as a whole. JI brings out the appeal of analysing the entire depositional context and approaching the material through its own productive and communitarian dynamics.

This study provides an abstract look at the movement of Greek religion into Magna Graecia with the arrival of Achaean settlers in Southern Italy. Through an investigation into the proliferation of sanctuary construction in the nonurban territory of the colonies, it is evident that the sanctuaries were not only used for religious purposes, and served as symbols of the authority of the city. Metaponto, Croton, Sybaris, and Poseidonia are the colonies in question, whose systematic development relied on the construction of these sacred compounds. This study takes a twofold approach; by investigating the physical placement of sanctuaries in various areas around the chora, their functions will be extrapolated. In the Achaean colonies in Southern Italy, sanctuaries in the nonurban territory did have a sacred significance, but more importantly they demonstrated ownership over the areas they presided over, and thus aided in the delineation of the chora. Nonurban sanctuaries also held the responsibility of sustaining order amongst the outlying populations, bringing together Greeks and indigenous and serving as a mediator amongst them. Furthermore, the sanctuaries positioned at the frontiers of the territory strongly demonstrated the identity of the Greeks, reinforcing their claim to the land. Thus, dissimilar to their counterparts on mainland Greece, the sanctuaries constructed in the nonurban territory of the Achaean colonies were part of a clearly defined development plan, and serviced the political necessities of the Greeks above all. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Missing from the discussion surrounding the use of coinage in select burials within southern Italian Greek necropoleis in the fourth and third centuries BCE is an attempt to reconstruct the ancient conception of the ritualistic function of coinage. It is through a chronological survey of epigraphical evidence for temple finances that we can trace the concurrent developments of the recognition of a fiduciary value to money, on one hand, and the acceptance of a ritualistic function to coinage on the other. Both occur simultaneously in Magna Graecia where the earliest coins in burial have been found. The case study of Metaponto, an archaeological site around the Lucanian Apennines, reveals a correspondence between an Oscan assemblage of funerary equipment and the presence of coinage. One tomb in particular contains an old coin’s ceramic impression, a clear representation of a value above that of its monetary model. Indigenous Italian agency ought therefore be considered when explaining, not just the ritualistic deposition of bronze coinage in Italy, but also a broader recognition of the sacred and fiduciary value to coinage which led to its deposition. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / When did humans start conceptualising the abstract notion of value which underpins modern paper money? The time of Socrates’ death was one of economic transition, when coins were first integrated into funerary rituals, used as religious dedicatory offerings, and minted in a new metal, bronze. These concurrent developments stemmed from the need for Greeks, using silver, to exchange with indigenous Italians who used bronze. This created a symbolic value for the bronze coins which was manifested in the contemporaneous acceptance of coinage in religious rituals. The case study of Metaponto, a Greek city founded in southern Italy, demonstrates the indigenous Italian impetus to include coinage in funerary assemblages, and by extension, their involvement in redefining the economic conception of money. A ceramic impression of an older coin found in one of these burials, is similar to paper money in that it represents a value abstracted from its silver model.

This thesis examines the water resource management in two Greek colonies in Magna Graecia, Akragas and Metaponto, and the relationship between resource management and political regimes. It asks how similar ancient urban theory was to the practical reality, and if different forms of government made different provisions for water management. Chapter 1 outlines urban and health theories found in the works of ancient theorists. It debunks the idea that Hippodamos was the inventor of grid planning, while introducing the concept of ‘total’ city planning. The focus of Classical scholarship on Athens necessitates discussions of several Athenian water systems and how resource management changed (or continued) through different governments in Athens as a point of comparison for Akragas and Metaponto. This chapter focuses on literary analysis and introduces the controversial Southeast Fountain House, with an in-depth consideration of the fountain’s naming and dating problems. Chapter 2 contains the case studies of Akragas and Metaponto and an exploration of the hydrogeology at the two sites, with an introduction to the hydrological phenomenon of karst activity. A discussion of their unique water features—the kolymbethra at Akragas and the canals in the chora of Metaponto—connects the deliberate planning that occurred in both cities to Hippodamos and the urban theorists. Chapter 3 more fully explores the role of tyrants and democracies in water management. Regardless of authorship, water resource management and water systems are necessary for any city, and so most tyrannical water infrastructure continued to be used and expanded and improved upon even under different governments. Even under tyranny water management is a provision of the state and is engaged with and managed by the citizens of the city. Water management is an essential part of siting and establishing a city, so that it is inseparable from urban planning. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)