Methone

Methone was a colony established by Euboeans from Eretria in the Thermaic Gulf, southwest of the modern city of Thessaloniki, at the site of a pre-existing settlement. Dr. Antonis Kotsonas is currently engaged in the study of a sizeable body of ceramic material, which comes from a single context of the late eighth to early sixth century BC and carries a variety of marks. The overall study is co-authored by the excavator M. Bessios, archeologist at the 27th Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, and Y. Tzifopoulos, professor at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
The study of Kotsonas, which commenced in October 2009, is primarily aimed at the ceramic analysis of the material, which numbers approximately 200 pieces, including transport amphorae, fine wares, coarse and cooking wares. Locally produced, regional and, particularly, imported pieces have been identified. Imported wares include pieces from Euboea, the homeland of the colonists, and the Greek mainland (Attica, Corinth), several sites in the East Greek world (including Lesbos, Chios and Samos), as well as Phoenicia. These pieces carry pre-firing and mostly post-firing marks, potter’s marks, trademarks and property marks.

The material in question raises a number of questions over a wide range of subjects, including: a) the typology of early Greek transport amphoras produced in several regions of the Aegean and beyond, and their distribution in the North Aegean; b) the habit of marking Greek vases and the different roles of the marks; c) early Greek trade of ceramic containers and the commodities stored in them; d) the role of imported versus local pottery in an early, colonial context; e) the introduction and diffusion of the Greek alphabet and its regional and local versions.

The final publication of the Methone project is available to download at:

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