A Test of Time: The Volcano of Thera and the Chronology and History of the Aegean and East Mediterranean in the Mid Second Millennium Bc - Couverture souple

Manning, Stuart W.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1900188996 ISBN 13 : 9781900188999

Editeur : Oxbow Books, 2000

Synopsis

The great mid second millennium BC eruption of Thera has been the subject of intense popular and scholarly interest for many years. The effects of the eruption have been linked with the destruction of the Minoan palace civilisation of Crete, the legend of Atlantis and even the events described in the biblical accounts of Exodus. Scientists have studied the remains of the volcano, traced eruption products across the east Mediterranean, and sought evidence for a climatic impact in ice-cores and tree rings. At Akrotiri, archaeologists have unearthed a major prehistoric town which was buried by the erruption, finding multi-storey houses decorated with wonderful frescoes, full of ceramics and other finds linking this site with the contemporary civilisations of Crete, Greece, Anatolia, Cyprus, the Levant and Egypt. The eruption of Thera represents a special, clearly defined, moment in Aegean history. If the eruption could be precisely dated, it would offer a unique linchpin for the study and synchronisation of the history of cultures of the region in the mid-second millennium BC. Furthermore, it would provide a key test for the historical chronology of ancient Egypt (as determined by two centuries of scholarship) and the derived archaeological chronologies currently employed in the Aegean and East Mediterranean. But the date of the Thera eruption is the one question which has remained stubbornly unresolved: the subject of intense controversy for a generation in both archaeological and scientific publications. Dates differ in current scholarship by over 100 years. The book seeks a resolution of the Thera date, Sturt Manning presents a review of current data, and interpretations and understandings of the evidence for the eruption date, from tree-ring data, ice cores, pottery typologies, radiocarbon and relative dating techniques, and proposes a new 'early' chronology for the eruption. This is a wide-ranging and extremely detailed book.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

The eruption of the Thera (Santorini) volcano in the Aegean Sea in the mid-second millennium BC was a clearly defined, specific moment in Aegean and east Mediterranean prehistory that impacted on all the major cultures of the region. The effects of the eruption have been linked with the destruction of the Minoan palace civilisation of Crete, the legend of Atlantis, and even events described in the Biblical account of the Exodus. Scientists have studied the remains of the volcano and traced eruption products and far-flung climatic impacts throughout the east Mediterranean and in ice cores and tree-ring data. At Akrotiri, a major prehistoric town buried by the eruption, archaeologists unearthed the partially intact remains multi-storey buildings, painted frescoes and myriad objects of everyday life. The date of the eruption has long been a subject of importance and controversy since accurate dating would offer a unique linchpin for the study and synchronisation of the history and cultures of the region in the mid-second millennium. It would provide a key test both for the established historical chronology of ancient Egypt and derived archaeological chronologies. Yet the exact date remained stubbornly unresolved and varied in the literature by over 100 years. A Test of Time, first published in 1999, sought to resolve the issue through a critical review of the archaeological and scientific data, including the presentation of radiocarbon dates, which together suggested a new early chronology for the Aegean c. 17001400 BC. This edition comprises the original, unrevised text, together with a substantial new appended essay which critically reviews the continuing debate between 1999 and 2012 and presents a raft of new scientific data, including the Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates relating to a range of relevant archaeological sequences from Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Oxbow Books
• Date d'édition: 2000
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1900188996
• ISBN 13: 9781900188999
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 528
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible