Wine, oil, and knowledge networks across the Graeco-Roman Cyclades (Greece)

Abstract

This project assesses the wine and oil production of Cycladic islands over a broad chronological period to determine where, how and with what these commodities were produced, by whom, and how this production fits into networks of agricultural knowledge, ceramic production, and the landscape (including harbours and transport mechanica) of the Aegean and broader Mediterranean.1 It began in 2019 under the aegis of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens and the Greek Ministry of Culture and has now expanded into a larger multidisciplinary collaborative project with the BSR and British School at Athens. Recent articles (Dodd, 2021; 2022 in press) catalogued survey results with preliminary syntheses and discussion. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed some aspects of this work, with chemical residue analysis and lithic petrography rescheduled for May 2022. These analyses will test theories that have long depended on representation in art and literature: for example, were carved stone press beds only used for oil production, or also for wine, or both? Were facilities located in the fields nearby vines and groves as portable installations or were there more permanent, centralised installations? Through these methods, the project also hopes to shed light on smaller producers – not the typical villa-scale production visible elsewhere in the Mediterranean, but those historically overlooked — and how they fit into and evolve through antiquity. In September 2021, previously surveyed areas were reassessed on the island of Paros and new areas targeted on Naxos (Fig. 1). This complemented existing data already gathered in 2019–20 from surveys on Paros, Antiparos, Amorgos, Ios, Mykonos, and Tinos (Dodd, 2021). Reassessed areas benefited from the timing of this survey season, with much of the undergrowth cut back or dead allowing greater surface visibility and accessibility than in previous seasons which were undertaken in the winter. Surface and aerial survey methods largely followed those from previous campaigns with target areas based on the known existence of structures typically associated with wine or oil production (e.g., towers, churches, or farmsteads) and mention of material in archival documentation. Ethnographic observation complemented surveys, with material from Naxian pre-industrial olive oil mills at Koronos, Keramoti, and Damalas providing crucial comparanda to aid the reconstruction of ancient installations in this region.