From Food and Fuel to Farms and Flocks

The collapse of empire at Gordion in the transition from the Achaemenid to the Hellenistic world

“…A similar taste for imported vessels related to banqueting may be seen in the spectacular glass finds from Gordion (Janet Duncan Jones is publishing this remarkable corpus; I am grateful to her for sharing her detailed, thoughtful, expert manuscript with me and for discussing its implications; see also von Saldern 1959; Duncan Jones 1995;2009). This is a category of artefact that is exceptionally well represented at the site.…”

“…Environmental analysis shows that the land around Gordion was used with an emphasis on herding rather than farming during the time of the Achaemenid Empire, and with a decrease in the amount of land that was irrigated - a real change from pre-Achaemenid Middle Phrygian times (Miller 2010: 51-59, 63-71; see also Miller et al 2009). Indeed the land seems to have been overgrazed during the Achaemenid period, suggesting large numbers of animals roaming the landscape (fig.…”

“…15. Palaeobotanical and palaeozoological montage (Gordion Archaeological Project;after Zeder, Arter 1994;Miller 2010).…”

“…More common, apparently, were stylish imported vessels in a different medium. High-quality elaborate moulded glass vessels show the lasting cultural influence of Achaemenid control in the Hellenistic period, the continuing influence of Achaemenid style and its imperial associations (again I am grateful to Duncan Jones for sharing her work in progress with me; see also von Saldern 1959;Duncan Jones 1995;2009). These were primarily wide, shallow phialae and deep calyx cups, both decorated with various Achaemenidising combinations of rays, petals, almonds or grooves.…”

Provisioning the Early Bronze Age City of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: Isotopic Analyses of Domestic Livestock Management Patterns

“…While it is often lamented that economic specialisation is difficult to identify in the archaeological record of early cities (Maltby 1985;Miller et al 2009;Wapnish and Hesse 1988;Wattenmaker 1987a, b;Zeder 1988Zeder , 1991Smith 2004), the isotopic analyses presented here offer some new insights to this question with respect to food provisioning. The isotopic data from the Early Bronze III horizon at Tell es-Safi/Gath suggests the existence of a variety of caprine herds grazed across the landscape, but largely within the territory of this early urban centre.…”