The Helike Society
Publications
To
broadly circulate the results of the Helike Project work, the Helike
Society has organized three International Conferences entitled Ancient
Helike and Aigialeia and has published the Proceedings volumes. The
results of the work carried out by the Helike Project from the time it
began in 1988 until 1995 were presented in the 1995 International
Conference (Helike II) and the results of the work conducted between 1995
and 2000 in the 2000 International Conference (Helike III) respectively.
The Proceedings volume of the 1995 Conference, entitled Ancient Helike and
Aigialeia, Helike II, edited by D. Katsonopoulou, S. Soter and D.
Schilardi, was published in 1998. The Proceedings volume of the 2000
Conference, entitled Ancient Helike and Aigialeia Archaeological Sites in
Geologically Active Regions, Helike III, edited by D. Katsonopoulou, S.
Soter and I. Koukouvelas was published in 2005. To present the finds from
the unique Early Helladic settlement at Helike, discovered by the Helike
Project in the plain of Helike in recent years, the Helike Society organized
in 2007 the Fourth International Conference dedicated to the Early
Helladic Peloponnesos.
The Proceedings volume of the 2007 Conference, entitled Ancient Helike and
Aigialeia, Helike IV, edited by D. Katsonopoulou, is now in press.
HELIKE
II, 568 pages
The
Helike II volume entitled Ancient
Helike and Aigialeia includes papers presented during the Second
International Conference on Ancient Helike and Aigialeia, organized by the
Helike Society and the
Municipality
of
Aigion
and held in Aigion from 1-3 December 1995. At this Conference were
presented the results of the Helike Project work in the area of Helike
between 1988 and 1995. The Helike II
volume includes 28 scientific papers listed under three entities.
Part
I entitled The Helike Project. Work
and Results: 1988-1995 includes 8 papers dealing exclusively with the
scientific research carried out by the Helike Project and collaborators in
the first phase of the work between 1988 and 1995. First, the new data on
the topography of the Helike area are discussed (Katsonopoulou).
The new picture emerging from the underwater sonar survey, the bore hole
drilling and geophysical exploration in the Helike plain are presented in
a synthetic paper (Soter and
Katsonopoulou) as well as the results of the first excavations in the
area (Katsonopoulou). The significant results of geophysical research in
the Helike plain
(Papamarinopoulos et al.) and the nearby hills (Soter and Katsonopoulou) are
presented in combination with the data of radio-carbon (Maniatis
et al.) and opto-luminescence dating (Lyritzis
and Galloway). Finally geochemical analysis of samples from Helike are
discussed (Varnavas).
Part
II entitled Aigialeia and the
Colonies of Helike includes 14 papers focusing on the region of
Aigialeia and colonization in South Italy and
Spain
. First, latest research in the area of the neighboring city of
Aigeira
east from Helike is presented (Bammer).
The reasons of Helike’s disappearance both physically and politically
are examined next (Faraklas)
and a different approach to the location of Helike is offered (Kourakis). The cult of Helikonios Poseidon under a new perspective (Katsonopoulou)
and in a more general context in Peloponnesos (Schilardi)
as well as its connections with
Ionia
(Schilardi) are discussed and
analyzed. The following papers deal with the Achaean colonization in the
West (Coldstream, Greco),
particularly
Sybaris
(Guzzo, Luppino), the coinage (Stazio)
and geological research (Cotecchia
and Pagliarulo). The last two papers of part II present research data
regarding connections of Greek Helike with the Iberian one (Fernandez)
and the Hellenization of Iberia (Espinosa).
Part
III entitled Geology of the
Aigialeia Region and the Helike Delta includes 6 papers on
catastrophic events in the area of Helike (Postma),
liquefaction (Sotiropoulos),
marine geology (Lykoussis et al.)
and seabed pockmarks (Hovland).
The last two papers deal with the 373 BC Helike earthquake (Papadopoulos)
and the most recent 1995 Aigion earthquake regarding macroscopic anomalies
(Soter).
HELIKE
III, 312 pages
The
Helike III volume entitled Ancient
Helike and Aigialeia, Archaeological Sites in Geologically Active Regions
includes the papers presented during the Third International Conference on
Ancient Helike and Aigialeia, organized by the Helike Society and the
Municipality
of
Diakopton
and held in Nikolaiika of Diakopton from 6-9 October 2000. The specific
aims of the Conference were to present (a) the results of the
multi-disciplinary work of the Helike Project in the Helike area between
1996 and 2000 (b) other geological and paleoseismological studies carried
out in the major area of Helike and (c) scientific work from other
geologically active sites of the ancient Greek world such as Ephesos in
Asia Minor and Lokris in Central Greece. The Helike
III volume includes 19 scientific papers listed under two entities.
Part
I entitled Archaeology and
Topography, includes 9 papers dealing with archaeological and
topographical studies of Helike and the areas of Ephesos and Lokris. For
the first time, archaeological evidence from the Helike area possibly
associated with the earthquake of 373 BC is presented and all available
literary evidence on the major catastrophic event is analyzed (Katsonopoulou).
The archaeological finds from the first excavations carried out in
the Helike plain in 2000, covering a broad chronological range from the
Early Helladic to the Late Byzantine times, are presented and discussed (Katsonopoulou).
A reconstruction of the Helike landscape in the Venetian period is
attempted on the basis of cartographic analysis and study of other
Venetian documents including the inland site of Mamousia (Wagstaff,
Chrysochoou), the area of Diakopton and Vostizza (Chrysochoou). The interesting landscape similarities between Helike
and Ephesos are examined (Bammer)
and the cult relations of Ephesos with the Ionian migration originated
from Helike are presented (Muss).
Finally, new evidence on destruction of ancient monuments in Lokris as a
result of earthquakes is presented (Dakoronia).
Part
II entitled Geoarchaeology and Geomorphology, includes 10 papers focusing on
geological, geophysical and geomorphological studies conducted in the
major Helike area, the neighboring region of Aigion and the area of Lokris
across the
Corinthian
Gulf
. First, the results of the combined geoarchaeological work of the Helike
Project in the Helike Delta between 1991 and 2000 are discussed (Soter
and Katsonopoulou) and microfaunal evidence from the Helike Delta is
presented (Alvarez-Zarikian et al.).
The location of the lost Helike site is proposed on the basis of gravity
evidence from the plain (Dimitropoulos
and Noutsis) and geological scenarios of the disappearance of Helike
following the 373 BC earthquake are presented (Ferentinos
and Papatheodorou). The interesting results of paleoseismological
trenching in the Helike area regarding the Kerynites river course (Koukouvelas et al.) and the history of the eastern Helike Fault (McNeil
et al.) are presented and discussed. Finally, is discussed geological
evidence regarding the paleogeography and geoarchaeology of neighboring
regions such as Aigion (Maroukian
et al.), the Aliki lagoon (Kontopoulos
and Avramidis) and Ano Diakopton (Trikolas
and Kourtesi). The last paper of Part II refers to geophysical results
of a magnetic survey carried out at the Bronze Age site of Mitrou in
Lokris (Soter et al.).
HELIKE
IV (Abstracts volume), 48 pages
The Helike IV abstracts volume entitled The Early Helladic
Peloponnesos includes the abstracts of 25 papers presented during the
Fourth International Conference on Ancient Helike and Aigialeia, organized
by the Helike Society and the
Municipality
of
Diakopton
and held in Nikolaiika of Diakopton from 1-3 September 2007. The specific
aims of the Conference were to present (a) the results of the excavations
and preliminary studies of the rich finds from the newly discovered Early
Helladic settlement at Helike (b) most recent excavation results from
other Early Helladic settlements of Peloponnesos and (c) geological and
environmental evidence from Early Helladic sites.
The possibility that the beginning of the Bronze Age in
Greece
was linked to broader events in SE Europe and NW Anatolia is explored by John
Coleman and a review of radiocarbon dates from Early Helladic sites
toward the establishment of an absolute chronology of the prehistoric
Aegean
is offered by Yorgos Facorellis. Recent work in the
Sparta
Basin
is presented by Christopher Mee et al., on monumental buildings
from Akovitika by Petros Themelis and on Early Helladic burial
mounds from
Thebes
by Vassilis Aravantinos and Kyriaki Psaraki. The
excavation results and general conclusions on the Early Helladic
proto-urban settlement at Helike are described by Dora Katsonopoulou and
first studies on the EH finds are presented by the Helike Project
associates: pottery by Stella Katsarou, lithics by Nicholas
Thompson, malacological material by Lilian Karali, animal bones
by Melanie Fillios. The distribution of settlement in Early
Helladic I at the Corinthian Gulf is examined by Eva Alram Stern
and Erika Weiberg studies connections between topography and
settlement in the EH period. Early Helladic III phases in Aigina Kolonna
are described by Walter Gauss and Early Helladic II pottery by Lydia
Berger. The Early Helladic shipwreck off the Dokos island and the
pottery types of its cargo are analyzed by Giorgos Papathanassopoulos
while Giorgos Papatheodorou et al. present the geomorphology of the
shipwreck area. Eleni Konsolaki describes and analyzes the Early
Helladic habitation on the
island
of
Poros
and Martha Wiencke presents new thoughts on the Lerna sealings.
Natural environment in EH cultural change of the Argive plain is
the subject of the paper by Christine Shriner et al., environmental
changes in the SW Peloponnesos are examined by Helmut Brueckner et al.
and in NW Peloponnesos by Asimakis Koutsios and Nikolaos
Kontopoulos. Active tectonics in the Helike area is presented by Ioannis
Koukouvelas and recent geological studies in the same area are
examined by Kostas Trikolas. The
geoenvironmental evolution of Helike and her colony
Sybaris
are studied by Franco Ortolani and Silvana Pagliuca. An
overview of palaeoearthquakes and palaeotsunamis in the
Gulf of Corinth
is offered by Gerassimos Papadopoulos.
HELIKE
IV, 336 pages
The
new volume Helike IV was recently published by the Helike Society, edited by
the Society President Prof. Dora Katsonopoulou. In the new volume, under
the specific title PROTOHELLADIKA-
The Southern and Central Greek Mainland, are included 18 papers of
well known Greek and foreign scholars regarding results of studies and
research in Ancient Helike and other Early Helladic sites of the southern
and central Greece.
In
the first paper of the volume, an important issue of the Greek prehistory
is discussed, namely the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in Greece and
its possible connection with broader migration movements of Indo-European
speakers in SE Europe and NW Anatolia (J.
Coleman). Then, the role of local topography in supplying boundaries
for EH settlements is examined, using examples from the Peloponnese and
central
Greece
(Ε. Weiberg). The next group of papers refers to the recent
discovery of a proto-urban EH II-III settlement in the area of Helike in
Achaea
. First, a synthesis of all finds from the excavations carried out between
2000-2007 is presented suggesting a high level of urbanization for the
settlement which seems to have functioned as a central coastal settlement
in the area of eastern
Achaea
in the third millennium BC (D.
Katsonopoulou). Next, the rich in quantity and quality pottery is
presented, its morphology is analyzed and its use and distribution inside
the settlement is discussed (St.
Katsarou-Tzeveleki). The study of the pottery is further illustrated
by the presentation of the first results of petrographic assessment of
houseware and storage pithoi from the settlement (I.
Iliopoulos et al.). The products of a small scale flake industry in EH
Helike relying primarily on local sources of raw material are presented (N.
Thompson) and important data on dietary habits and specific activities
of the settlement are discussed based on studies of representative
assemblages from malacological (L. Karali) and faunal remains (M.
Fillios). Lastly, environmental changes in the area of the EH
settlement are discussed based on geoarchaeological research of the Helike
Delta (A. Koutsios and N.
Kontopoulos).
In
the next session, the EH I period is examined in the area around the
eastern
Corinthian
Gulf
focusing on the EH I site of Aigeira in
Achaea
(E. Alram-Stern). New evidence from the neighboring Derveni in
Korinthia suggests the existence of an EH II coastal settlement
continuously inhabited from early to late EH II period (Δ.
Σαρρή). The impressive sealings from Lerna are re-examined in the
light of new ideas (M. Wiencke),
while sea rise and climatic changes are suggested as the factors of Early
Helladic cultural change on the Argive plain (C.
Shriner et al.). The late
EH II pottery from the site of Kolonna on
Aegina
is analyzed next (L. Berger).
The recently found EH sites on the
island
of
Poros
are also presented and discussed (Ελ.
Κονσολάκη-Γιαννοπούλου).
In the last part of the volume, are discussed monumental buildings of the
Early Helladic period such as the EH burial mounds of
Thebes
(Βασ. Αραβαντινός
και Κ. Ψαράκη), and corridor houses discovered in the
southern and central
Greece
(Π. Θέμελης). Based on
the results of geoarchaeological work in Akovitika of Messenia, the
relationship between environmental changes and desertion of sites is
examined (M. Engel et al.).
The
volume Helike IV as well as
volumes II and III can be ordered at Mrs.
Maria Karvela (Secretary General of the Helike
Society) and/or at www.andromedabooks.gr
.
