Books by Natalia Poulou
Εἰκ. 3. Ἅγιος Γεώργιος στὸ Βουνὸ Κυθήρων. Τοποθέτηση καννάβων καὶ ὑποκαννάβων ἀνασκαφῆς. αἰώνα) κ... more Εἰκ. 3. Ἅγιος Γεώργιος στὸ Βουνὸ Κυθήρων. Τοποθέτηση καννάβων καὶ ὑποκαννάβων ἀνασκαφῆς. αἰώνα) καὶ πρώιμης ἑνετικῆς περιόδου (13ος−μέσα 15ου αἰ.). Τὰ ἐλάχιστα πρωιμό− τερα ὄστρακα, χρονολογούμενα κατὰ τὴ ρωμαϊκὴ περίοδο, παρουσιάζονται ἐπίσης στὸν κατάλογο.
Chapter in Book by Natalia Poulou
Δίκτυα και επικοινωνία στο Βυζάντιο / Networks and communication in Byzantium, 2022
Τhe paper deals with the networks, connectivity and supply infrastructure in the Aegean and Ionia... more Τhe paper deals with the networks, connectivity and supply infrastructure in the Aegean and Ionian Seas between the 7th and the 9th century. The development of island networks in the Aegean and Ionian Seas during the critical period leading up to the early Byzantine Middle Ages reflects the efforts made by Constantinople to safeguard naval routes from hostile invasions and to ensure the control of the production and circulation of goods, both intended for meeting the needs of the state as well as securing local supplies and wider trade, which, despite the recession, served the elite's consumer demands. The introduction (The formation of naval networks during the early Byzantine Middle Ages. Adaptation and state interventions) is followed by Part One (1. Networks and interconnections in the Aegean Sea) by Natalia Poulou which analyzes particular aspects of the communication networks enhanced by the needs of defense (A. Cities, settlements and fortifications in the Aegean), by the new modes of production and distribution of products in transport vessels (B. Agricultural production. Pottery workshops. New types of transport vessels), as well as by the imperatives to support the supply and storage system (C. Warehouses. State control. Marine networks). In Part Two (2. Networks and interconnections in the Ionian Sea) Maria Leontsini outlines the connection points of the interregional and local networks in the Ionian Sea and analyzes their importance for the communications between Constantinople, the Aegean Sea and the western Mediterranean.
Change and Resilience. The Occupation of Mediterranean Islands in Late Antiquity, 2019
The Aegean Sea connects mainland Greece with the western coast of Asia Minor and demarcates the m... more The Aegean Sea connects mainland Greece with the western coast of Asia Minor and demarcates the maritime routes leading from the Mediterranean (east and west) to Propontis (i.e., the Sea of Marmara) and through it to Pontus Euxinus (i.e., the Black Sea). In 324 Constantine the Great founded Constantinople and transferred there the capital of the Roman Empire, thus strengthening the eastern part of his empire, which progressively became Byzantium. After the fourth century the Aegean islands became political and economic foci in the Eastern Mediterranean under the influence of the new capital. Three centuries later the advent of the Arabs brought a series of changes in the Aegean with subsequent transformations in settlement patterns, sea routes, and in the overall dynamic of sea trade. In this contribution we examine the archaeological evidence reflecting the changes that occurred in the islands of the southern Aegean, with emphasis on major sites in the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, and Kythera, the latter situated on the sea route between the western and eastern Mediterranean. The issues addressed comprise changes in human activity and settlement patterns, contacts with neighboring and distant areas, and sea routes and trade networks during a period of transformation leading from the Late Roman period to the Early Middle Ages.
Feeding the Byzantine city. The Archaeology of Consumption in the eastern Mediterranean (ca. 500-1500), 2023
GLAZED WARES as Cultural Agents in the Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman Lands. EDITED BY NIKOS D. KONTOGIANNIS, BEATE BÖHLENDORF-ARSLAN, and FİLİZ YENİŞEHİRLİOĞLU, 2021
In the tenth century CE, Byzantium experienced a cultural reawakening known as the Macedonian Ren... more In the tenth century CE, Byzantium experienced a cultural reawakening known as the Macedonian Renaissance. It is exactly during this period that the production of the luxurious Polychrome Ware began. Found mainly in Constantinople, examples have been also unearthed in Asia Minor and Greece, although in rather limited numbers. In this paper,
I will present pieces found in Greece and examine the types of the decorative patterns, the milieu in which the makers produced these ceramics, and the influences affected the makers and patterns.
Θερμές ευχαριστίες για την παραχώρηση άδειας δημοσίευσης φωτογραφικού υλικού εκφράζονται στους πα... more Θερμές ευχαριστίες για την παραχώρηση άδειας δημοσίευσης φωτογραφικού υλικού εκφράζονται στους παρακάτω φορείς: Γενική διεύθυνση αρχαιοτήτων και Πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς, διεύθυνση Βυζαντινών και μεταβυζαντινών αρχαιοτήτων ύπουργείου Πολιτισμού (αθήνα), 13η εφορεία Βυζαντινών αρχαιοτήτων (ηράκλειο), 21η εφορεία Βυζαντινών αρχαιοτήτων (κέρκυρα), 28η εφορεία Βυζαντινών αρχαιοτήτων (Χανιά), Ινστιτούτο μεσογειακών Σπουδών (ρέθυμνο), Ιστορικό μουσείο κρήτης (ηράκλειο), μουσείο μπενάκη, αρχεία νεοελληνικής αρχιτεκτονικής (αθήνα), Βυζαντινό και Χριστιανικό μουσείο (αθήνα), Ashmolean Museum, Heberden Coin Room (οξφόρδη), Ι. μονή αγίου Ιωάννη (Πάτμος), Ι. μονή αγίας αικατερίνης (Σινά).
Papers by Natalia Poulou
ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΝΑ, 2023
The islet of Mochlos lies approximately 150 meters off the northeast coast of Crete, directly opp... more The islet of Mochlos lies approximately 150 meters off the northeast coast of Crete, directly opposite the modern village of the same name and 33 km west of the city of Sitia (area of Sphaka). Archaeological research in the wider area has traditionally focused on Minoan remains, but investigations have also brought to light important evidence of the Late Hellenistic period. Excavation on the southern slope of the islet revealed architectural remains and Byzantine-period pottery, part of which is examined in the present study. Two excavated spaces (Rooms 1 and 2) have been interpreted as belonging to a Byzantine house. The pottery assemblage from these contexts indicates at least three main phases of use, spanning from the 7th to the 16th century, with the bulk of the material dating to the 8th–10th and 12th–13th centuries. The amphorae and cooking vessels include both locally produced wares and widely distributed commercial types characteristic of the Mediterranean. These findings highlight once again the importance of Mochlos as a coastal settlement, now with its medieval history coming to the forefront.
12th Congress AIECM3 On Medieval and Modern Period Mediterranean Ceramics. Proceedings, 2021
The study of pottery assemblages from the Middle and Late Byzantine period such as those from the... more The study of pottery assemblages from the Middle and Late Byzantine period such as those from the Agia Anna cistern in Eleutherna, Herakleion town, and Pseira has provided important, though still tentative, evidence on local pottery production as well as off-island imports. This contribution concerns an integrated study combining stylistic/macroscopic and petrographic analysis of Middle-Late Byzantine pottery from Eleutherna. The in-depth analysis of pottery fabrics allows a better understanding of local pottery production and circulation on a local and intra-regional level but also a more secure identification of imported wares in the sites studied. This approach opens the discussion on the economy of Crete and its role in the globalized world of the 12th century.
Πρώτο Διεθνές Επιστημονικό Εργαστήριο, Θεσσαλονίκη 2016, Πρακτικά , 2021
BYZANTINA 2019/20, 2021
Philippi is amongst the most important archaeological sites in Northern
Greece and arguably the m... more Philippi is amongst the most important archaeological sites in Northern
Greece and arguably the most important in eastern Macedonia. For those researching Byzantine archaeology, the religious monuments of the city are their points of reference. Nevertheless, the city was not solely composed of public or religious buildings. Excavation has exposed part of the city's residential core. This paper examines the evidence from archaeological work carried out by the team of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki during the last decade (2012-2021). The latest archaeological data as well as evidences from the numismatics, the sigillography and the inscriptions found in or re-lated to the
site give us the opportunity to follow the evolution of Philippi from πόλις to κάστρον.
ΚΥΔΑΛΙΜΟΣ. Τιμητικός Τόμος για τον Καθηγητή Γεώργιο Στυλ. Κορρέ, τ. 3, 2020
ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΝΑ, Feb 2020
TWO BYZANTINE BATH-HOUSES AT PHILIPPI The research work carried out by the Aristotle University E... more TWO BYZANTINE BATH-HOUSES AT PHILIPPI The research work carried out by the Aristotle University Excavation at Philippi has brought to light two very interesting bathing establishments. The first was identified as a Roman balneum. To its south was constructed the Christian Octagon whose expansion to the north with the addition of a baptistery took over some parts of the balneum, which was reconfigured to accommodate these changes. Careful examination of the structural remains in the balneum’s area led us to a completely different interpretation of its history and its consecutive building phases. We thus propose that the balneum was replaced by a radically different bathing establishment. This new bathing complex we call bath A. In contrast to the previous opinion that saw a gradual alteration of balneum’s several spaces, we discern a radical shrinking of the original functional area together with a restructuring of its warm spaces. These transformations were part of its restructuring resulting from the creation of the nearby Octagon’s baptistery. Nevertheless, the warm spaces of bath A, as seen today, belong to a later building phase, when it had shrunk even more. It is probable that the building of the balneum came under the ownership of the Christian Octagon. The construction of the baptistery diminished but did not eliminate the bathing complex. In its place and adjacent to it a new bathing complex was created (bath A). Both were provided with water from cisterns that were created in the balneum’s former lukewarm spaces. Bath A was accessed not directly from the street (like the balneum). In a later phase, when it shrunk even more, access to it was through a door opening directly into the Octagon’s north porch, itself a later addition. Therefore, dating this later transformation of bath A, depends on the date of the Octagon’s northern atrium, which is put to the 9th century. Thus, we get a view of the time span of bath A’s function that extends well into the Middle Byzantine period. A second bathing establishment was unearthed in the area explored by the Aristotle University Excavation in the southern part of the insula known as that of the Hippodrome or that of the Glass Kiln. Initially the insula was covered by a building in the type of an urban upscale house with an atrium. Its structural history is quite complex and is connected to the overall transformations that altered radically Philippi’s cityscape. To its south a bathing complex was unearthed that we named bath B in order to distinguish it from that in the area of the balneum. Bath B is a relatively small structure with an ample apodyterium/cold space, which confirms its public character. Its scale, its layout and the findings in its area suggest a date for its construction at the end of the 7th/ early 8th century. In bath B we discern a second important building phase with only minor changes in the building’s function. The most important change was raising its floor surface (nearly 1 m. higher), a change we find in other parts of the area. The floor’s raising didn’t alter significantly the bath B. Other minor changes are the addition of a hot bathing tab and possibly the placing of the furnace’s opening (praefurnium). Moreover, the entrance to the bath’s apodyterium/ cold space was altered, a feature that reveals a significant alteration both for the bath itself but also for the space around it and the way they interacted. Dating this second phase is based on several finds that define the chronological context and the span of the function of bath B, that seems to extent as far as the 10th century: more specifically, a lead seal of an imperial horrearius (vasilikos horrearius) called Samonas in the 9th cent. and the ceramic finds that date to the same period (end of 8th / 9th cent.) and lead us to date this second phase to the beginning of the 10th century. We get a similar idea for the life span of bath A. The data of both establishments permit us to rethink the established notions for the continuation of life in the city. Philippi’s cityscape although transformed, retained its urban character well into the Middle Byzantine period, as attested by the continuous use of functions like the bathing complexes we have examined.
LAND, 2018
The article examines the context of a recently discovered double bath-house complex in Loutres, a... more The article examines the context of a recently discovered double bath-house complex in Loutres, a site near Mochlos on the north shore of eastern Crete. The excavators explore the broader questions posed by the finding, in connection to both its immediate surroundings and its wider periphery. Its relation to the site's geography, a ravine on the shore, forms the starting point to address issues regarding its original use as well as its later transformations. The enquiry leads into considering similar structures with different fates in the area and the connotations regarding their relationship to both the landscape and the settlements to which they belonged. The article goes on to discuss the general issues of the historic context of medieval Crete concerning both the archaeology and the information from the sources. It seems that long-held concepts about the abandonment of seaside settlements due to the so-called " Arab threat " are no longer valid. On the contrary, archaeology proves the continuity of the settlements of eastern Crete, both in Loutres and elsewhere. Moreover, the later use of the bath-houses in the area provides evidence for social changes after the 13th century impacting on both the landscape and its settlements.
N. Poulou-Papadimitriou, The Lamps, in P.P. Betancourt, N. Marinatos et al., The cave of Amnissos: the 1992 research, AE 2000, 214-227/Ν. Πούλου-Παπαδημητρίου, Οι Λύχνοι στο P.P. Betancourt, N. Marinatos et al., Το Σπήλαιο της Αμνισού: Η έρευνα του 1992, ΑΕ 2000, 214-227.
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Books by Natalia Poulou
Chapter in Book by Natalia Poulou
I will present pieces found in Greece and examine the types of the decorative patterns, the milieu in which the makers produced these ceramics, and the influences affected the makers and patterns.
Papers by Natalia Poulou
Greece and arguably the most important in eastern Macedonia. For those researching Byzantine archaeology, the religious monuments of the city are their points of reference. Nevertheless, the city was not solely composed of public or religious buildings. Excavation has exposed part of the city's residential core. This paper examines the evidence from archaeological work carried out by the team of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki during the last decade (2012-2021). The latest archaeological data as well as evidences from the numismatics, the sigillography and the inscriptions found in or re-lated to the
site give us the opportunity to follow the evolution of Philippi from πόλις to κάστρον.