1,328 plates, comprising 1,931 illustrations, 10 in colour, together with 356 line drawings, maps and plans
This comprehensive handbook of archaeology covers two distinct geographical areas - the Aegean Sea with the lands bordering it, and Cyprus. The plate section comprises photographs of more than 1,900 sites and excavated objects, and there are also numerous line drawings in the text consisting of maps, ground-plans and sketches, making a total of well over 2,000 illustrations.
The text is divided into two parts, the first part being devoted to the Aegean and the second to Cyprus.
Each part begins with an introduction to the archaeology of the area and this is followed by sections dealing with the different categories of objects discussed: dwelling houses and religious shrines; palaces; tombs and burial chambers; tools and weapons made of stone, clay, bone, ivory and metal; clay vessels, arranged according to date and provenance; wall- painting; painted sarcophagi and stelae; metal and stone vessels; statuettes of gods, men and animals made of stone and clay; intricate ivory carvings; jewellery made of glass and precious metals; seals; and written documents. Every one of the objects is fully documented in a catalogue entry. An extensive bibliography completes the text.
The book as a whole, the result of eight years’ work by its two eminent authors, gives a well rounded picture of the period under review, which starts with the beginning of the Stone Age and finishes with the decline of the Mycenaean empire. The wealth of illustrated material is such that for the first time the reader has at his disposal all the necessary information for a proper understanding of the period in a compact and manageable form without needing to consult a variety of scholarly journals, excavation reports and specialized monographs.
Dr. Hans-Günter Buchholz is a lecturer at the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin and Dr. Vassos Karageorghis is Director of the Cyprus Department of Antiquities in Nicosia.