Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1984 - 79

in the platform, a flat stone trough served
for crushing olives with the aid of stone
rollersfound nearby. Flanking the trough
on either side were two circular-mouthed
stone vats, hollowed out of large limestone blocks and also imbedded in the
platform.
The process of oil extraction presumably involvedthe collectionof the bruised
or crushed olives from the trough into
circular reed baskets for stacking above
the vats. Anchored on one end in the
courtyard wall nearby, a long wooden
beam with heavy stone weights (two were
found in the room) attached to its other
end applied a constant pressure on the
olive-"mash"-filled baskets. The oil collected in the stone vats which also served
as sediment chambers. From them the
fresh oil later could be dipped for sale (in
the adjoining shop) or for transport. The
oil press dwelling had another room on
the east and perhaps more rooms on the
south, beyond the excavated area. Like
its neighbor it had been destroyed by an
intense fire, and its floor was covered
with dozens of pottery vessels that subsequently have been restored.
Parts of three additional houses have
been excavated to the west. This series
of stone dwellingsappears to extend along
the entire northern wall of the eighthseventh-century towns, and provides a
superb example of city planning and of
private architecture during the Iron Age.
The rich collection of finds from these
dwellings has provided an opportunity
for detailed research of the material
culture of Timnah toward the end of the
seventh century b.c. The pottery vessels
belong to two main groups. One group
has characteristic features common in
the kingdom of Judah. The second group
includesshapes paralleledonly in Philistia
(particularly at Ashdod), or reflecting
northern features that suggest importation from Phoenicia and other regions
north of Israel (even Assyrian shapes
are represented).
The ceramics reflect Timnah's unique
position on the border between Philistia
and the kingdom of Judah. Since written
sources regarding the fate of the city
during this period are lacking, one can
only speculate that during Josiah's reign
(628-609 b.c.) Timnah was a part of the
kingdom of Judah. The conflagration
that destroyed the residential quarter
occurred a fewyears after Josiah's death,
perhaps during the fateful years following
609 b.c. when a series of Babylonian
invasions devastated many sites in the
coastal plain.
An impoverished settlement existed
on Tel Batash sometime during the Persian period (sixth to fourth centuries
b.c.). A poorly constructed passage in
the gate, small sections of walls and other
fragmentary elements, and a profusion
of pits gave evidence of a Persian period
presence- the final occupation of Tel
Batash.

The Bookshelf continued from page 68
cording to this method, the cultivable
land on the entire island would have been
necessary to support the population of
Phylakopi; ancient Melos was similarly
dependent on a substantial portion of
cultivated land outside its own territory
and at a considerable distance.
Part IV, "a diachronic study of intersystemic relations"- or a history of
trade, in familiar language- devotes over
40 pages to Melos' most prized resource,
obsidian. A vital corollary to this survey
is Robin Torrence's study of the obsidian
quarries on Melos and their implications
for prehistoric industry and exchange.
Previous claims have made obsidian the
key to the island's economy and to the
prosperity of Phylakopl. Instead, Torrence demonstrates that obsidian extraction was never systematically organized,
under intensive exploitation, or in monopoly control; this supports Renfrew's
hypothesis of "direct access" to obsidian
sources by off-island visitors.
The remainder of Part IV, including
chapters on prehistoric, Classical and
post-Classical exchange, repeats the
historical sequence of Part I but emphasizes imports and exports. Much depends
on disputed stylistic analysis, particularly the provenience of ceramic classes,
and on literary references (for example,
ancient sources on minerals from Melos,
although no evidence of Classical mining
is extant on the island). Only since
Ottoman times are some figures for
Melian production, export and import
available for correlation with data on
population and society.
Part V, "Integration," a stimulating
finale, returns to the hypotheses of the
introduction and its theoretical framework. Wagstaff and Cherry consider
Melian settlement patterns in terms of
central place theory and its variants.
What emerges is that Melos is too small
for central place theory (developed in
analysis of more substantial cultures in
Europe and America), and that the ambiguous data recommend a more qualitative evaluation of broad diachronic
trends.
Patterns observed earlier are restated:
alternation between nuclear and dispersed settlement, domination by a
"primary" settlement during nucleated
periods, and the presence of fortifications
at the primary site. This sustained
primacy, often at a site not anticipated
by central place or other theories, is a
response to outside factors rather than
to the interplay of internal socioeconomic
forces. Hence in the Bronze Age Minoan
Crete exercised the most important
influence on Phylakopi; in the last
decades, Athens has drained capital and
man-power from the island.
The ultimate paradox of the Melos
survey is Phylakopi, whose location fails
to satisfy any theoretical expectations.
The settlement occupies a cliff exposed
continued on page 81
June1984
May/

Archaeology Magazine - May/June 1984

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