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Cultural History and Memory in the Stadium-Gymnasium Complex at Messene

Cultural History and Memory in the Stadium-Gymnasium Complex at Messene

This article considers the stadium-gymnasium complex at Messene, built in the third century BCE, as an architectural unity and as a vehicle for the assertion of civic identity among Messenians, both young and old. Through the published archaeological and epigraphical evidence, the discussion examines the complex’s situation in the landscape, the east and west stoas, and the propylon in light of this aspect of the gymnasium’s function. Special attention is paid to the monumental Hellenistic tombs on the west and to the extensive changes made to the west stoa in the Roman period. The results show how the remains of the gymnasium reflect dynamic processes of remembering and forgetting, and illustrate attempts by various elite families in the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods to position themselves at the center of official civic memory through changes to the building’s fabric.

Cultural History and Memory in the Stadium-Gymnasium Complex at Messene
By Nigel M. Kennell
American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 125, No. 4 (October 2021), pp. 505–533
DOI: 10.3764/aja.125.4.0505
© 2021 Archaeological Institute of America

Syrian Fashion, Assyrian Style: Clothing Syro-Anatolia in Ninth-Century BCE Assyrian Art

Syrian Fashion, Assyrian Style: Clothing Syro-Anatolia in Ninth-Century BCE Assyrian Art

The residents of Syro-Anatolia appear in heterogeneous costumes in ninth-century BCE Assyrian representations. People from the same city may don different accoutrements that include caps, hairbands, sandals, and shoes with upturned toes. A similar diversity characterizes contemporaneous self-representation of elites at Zincirli in the Outer Citadel Gate and comes to proliferate in eighth-century monuments from sites including Karatepe and Marash. I argue that Assyrian artists recognized heterogeneous costume as a culturally salient feature of Syro-Anatolian art and adapted it in their own representations of the region. This observation has implications for our understanding of Ashurnasirpal II’s well-known procession on the courtyard facade of his throne room. When the entire scene is viewed, the combination of accoutrements evokes Syro-Anatolia. However, because Assyrian representations of Syro-Anatolian fashion combine disparate elements that are otherwise characteristic of other regions, the figures can also be viewed individually as representatives from any number of kingdoms. The artists were thus able to harness the diversity of one area to create figures comprehensible to visitors from across the empire. This representational strategy encouraged individuals from different kingdoms to see themselves reflected on the palace walls, forever frozen in a posture of reverent submission.

Syrian Fashion, Assyrian Style: Clothing Syro-Anatolia in Ninth-Century BCE Assyrian Art
By Jessie DeGrado
American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 125, No. 4 (October 2021), pp. 479–504
DOI: 10.3764/aja.125.4.0479
© 2021 Archaeological Institute of America

A Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

A Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

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This is the last issue of the AJA for which I have editorial responsibility. It has been an honor and a pleasure to hold the position of AJA’s Editor-in-Chief for the last five years. I was most fortunate that my predecessor, Sheila Dillon, handed over a strong and distinguished AJA, and I leave the journal in the capable care of the new Editors-in-Chief, Emma Blake and Robert Schon.

There have been important changes in the last five years. Beginning with the October 2018 issue, color illustrations submitted by authors appear in color, in both the print and the digital versions of the journal, at no cost to the authors. The large increase in color has made the illustrations both more informative and more attractive. David Stone, the Book Review Editor, has restored greater visibility to the book reviews. For a decade, beginning in January 2010, all book reviews appeared online only, were not listed in the issue’s contents on JSTOR, did not have direct links on the home page of AJA Online, and were not individually linked in the AJA e-Update sent to subscribers. Through Stone’s efforts, in 2020 the book reviews began to be linked individually in the quarterly emails listing the contents of new issues, and, starting in January 2021, book reviews are now released each month and announced in a dedicated AJA e-Update. Since 2018, under the editorship of Josephine Shaya, museum reviews have again become a regular fixture, and Shaya introduced quarterly listings on AJA Online of current and upcoming exhibits worldwide that are relevant to the scope of the AJA. Most recently, the academic editors and members of the AJA’s advisory board composed a new statement of purpose for the journal (AJA 125.3:331–32, July 2021). 

In 2020, to comply with the reformulated AIA Policy on the Presentation and Publication of Undocumented Antiquities (www.archaeological.org/about/governance/policies/), the AJA revised its practices regarding the citation of objects in public and private collections (www.ajaonline.org/submissions/antiquities-policy). The guidelines now ask that citations of objects in collections include basic information about where the collections are and when the objects were acquired; in general, objects that are in a collection and cannot be documented before 30 December 1973 may not be cited. The implementation of this policy has caused us to rethink the citation of all ancient objects, not only those held in collections. Excavated objects, for example, may be stored in depots or reburied. Inscriptions, tomb monuments, and architectural members may be left in situ, and some of these inevitably disappear over time. Coins are usually cited as types, and some types may not be represented by examples that have an excavated provenance. It seems evident that the provenance and status of such objects should be as carefully documented as the provenance and status of objects in collections. The modern history of such objects, whether excavated, found by accident, or examined in situ, is as important as that of objects in collections. 

The documentation of the evidence used in archaeological research is a basic responsibility of the AJA and its authors. The studies and reports published in the journal should provide enough documentation about the material evidence cited so that readers can assess the nature of the evidence used and pursue additional information. We have, therefore, begun to ask that citations of excavated objects provide documentation about where, when, and by whom the objects were excavated. We request that citations of inscriptions include the find context and present location (if known) of the stones. The citation of a coin type should include one example with a legitimate provenance. 

As we have worked to develop standard procedures for citing objects that are not in public or private collections, we have repeatedly realized that the circumstances through which ancient objects have become known and in which they presently exist are almost as varied as the objects themselves, and we have adjusted the procedures from issue to issue. It is our goal to develop efficient and reasonable citation guidelines for most kinds of ancient objects, and we truly appreciate the cooperation and patience of AJA authors in this process.

I am very grateful to the many people who have participated in the editing and publication of the AJA over the past five years. The sequence of editorial assistants with whom I have worked, Elizabeth Baltes, Michael McGlin, Christine Johnston, Bethany Simpson, and Anne Duray, have helped identify appropriate reviewers for submitted material and have checked (and rechecked) the style and formatting of accepted articles. The members of the Editorial Advisory Board have contributed their wisdom and experience about matters of policy as well as many peer reviews. Book Review Editor David Stone and Museum Review Editor Josephine Shaya have garnered and edited excellent reviews. Madeleine Donachie and now Meg Sneeringer, Elma Sanders, and the freelance copyeditors and proofreaders have unfailingly produced issues that are virtually error-free. 

Finally, the AJA would not exist without the scholars who submit their work and the experts who evaluate it, and I have been most privileged to work with the AJA’s authors and reviewers.

Jane B. Carter
Editor-in-Chief

A Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
By Jane B. Carter
American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 125, No. 4 (October 2021), pp. 477–478
DOI: 10.3764/aja.125.4.0477
© 2021 Archaeological Institute of America

The Neo-Assyrian Empire in the Southwest: Imperial Domination and Its Consequences

The Neo-Assyrian Empire in the Southwest: Imperial Domination and Its Consequences

Only a few years ago, the archaeology of empire in the ancient Near East in general and that of Assyria in particular could have been characterized as underdeveloped. Thus, paradoxically, one of the cradles of empires in the ancient world, and the transformative empire of Assyria, often dubbed the first “world empire,” was poorly investigated and understood. The Assyrian empire was described by M.

Beyond Thalassocracies: Understanding Processes of Minoanisation and Mycenaeanisation in the Aegean

Beyond Thalassocracies: Understanding Processes of Minoanisation and Mycenaeanisation in the Aegean

Based on a collection of papers presented at the 114th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America (Seattle, 3–6 January 2013) and augmented by four specifically commissioned contributions, this volume promises to take us beyond traditional explanations of cultural interaction in the Middle and Late Bronze Age Aegean that have often been grouped under the modern categories of “minoanization” and “mycenaeanization.”

Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond

Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond

In the third and longest of four hefty volumes of the Trans-Saharan Archaeology project, an outgrowth and expansion of the work undertaken by Mattingly and his collaborators in the Garamantian Fazzan, Sterry, Mattingly, and 25 other contributors explore the history of urbanization in the broader Saharan region.

Re-imagining Periphery: Archaeology and Text in Northern Europe from Iron Age to Viking and Early Medieval Periods

Re-imagining Periphery: Archaeology and Text in Northern Europe from Iron Age to Viking and Early Medieval Periods

The archaeology of Iron Age (400 BCE–800 CE) and Early Medieval (800–1200 CE) Scandinavia continues to attract considerable attention, with novel approaches and data challenging previous interpretations about the far north of Europe. This is illustrated by the present volume, which has two main aims as outlined by the editors in the introduction: to reimagine the concept of periphery and to honor the work of Frands Herschend, professor emeritus at Uppsala University.

Reassembling Religion in Roman Italy

Reassembling Religion in Roman Italy

Graham’s first book, a self-described New Materialist approach to ritual assemblage in Roman religion, revolves around several central questions: What kinds of agency do material things possess, and under what circumstances do they acquire it? What is the effect of interacting with embodiment that is both like and unlike one’s own body? Is it possible for the “more-than-human” (often used in reference to divinity, e.g., 7) to have a material manifestation that does not require human manipulation or participation?

The Phantom Image: Seeing the Dead in Ancient Rome

The Phantom Image: Seeing the Dead in Ancient Rome

The first sentence of this volume is deceptively simple: “This a book about seeing and depicting ghosts in Roman art” (1).

Ursprung und Frühzeit des Heraion von Samos. Part 1, Topographie, Architektur und Geschichte

Ursprung und Frühzeit des Heraion von Samos. Part 1, Topographie, Architektur und Geschichte

Since 2019, the Samos series issued by the German Archaeological Institute (DAI), which is dedicated to conclusive publication of the site’s excavation results, has been enriched by no fewer than six recent additions in a sequence that now contains 32 hefty volumes. Several more are in progress, indicating the great strides that the publication project is making.

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