This article examines the incised drawings of Early Phrygian Gordion, and in particular those of Megaton 2. Aspects of their iconographic and archaeological contexts are taken in to consideration, as well as literary sources and especially the story of the Gordian knot. The focus of the study is a series of incised labyrinths, which have hitherto not been recognized as such, but which are of particular interest for the analysis of this building. The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur in the labyrinth helps to throw light on both the images of Megaton 2 but also on the story of the Gordion knot, and how these are interlinked with each other. It is suggested that Ariadne's ball of thread and the Gordian knot are two different expressions of a similar concept; both represent sovereignty provided by a Goddess. Megaron 2 seems to have been a building that was intimately connected with both the king and the Phrygian Mother Goddess.

The material evidence left from the cult of Sabazios is meagre, apart from sculpted bronze hands dating to the Roman Empire. The hand is held in a certain pose, the so-called benedictio Latina gesture, and the hand was often covered with depictions of various objects and symbols. The bronze hands were probably attached to staffs and carried around in processions. This practice most likely spread via the channels of the Roman army during the Early Imperial period, but the gesture existed much earlier. The gesture is found on Attic black- and red-figured pottery, and is frequently associated with Hermes in his role as instructor and Psychopompos. From the beginning of the Hellenistic period the gesture was mainly used as an indication of speech, and for knowledge transmitted through speech. There are several examples of how the gesture was used to indicate the knowledge revealed through the initiations of mystery cults. Hermes is closely associated with Sabazios and is represented on the bronze hands, probably because of his role as instructor and Psychopompos; i.e. the position played by the mystagogue in the Sabazian mysteries. The gesture of the hands simply denoted the knowledge acquired through the initiation. The symbols on the hands are often associated with the Underworld, and it is suggested that knowledge acquired in the Sabazian mysteries dealt with life after death and the Underworld.

This paper discusses the results from recent archaeological investigations at the Monastery of St Antony in Egypt, including the remains of a number of building phases predating the current church, locally produced pottery, and manuscript fragments written in Coptic, Arabic, Hebrew, and Ge'ez.

The report presents a summary and preliminary discussion on the workcarried out by the Swedish Institute at ancient Kalaureia between 2015 and2018 in Area L. The excavations were focused on this area with the hopes ofgaining a better understanding of the settlement which was situated southof the Sanctuary of Poseidon in antiquity. The excavations show that a largebuilding was constructed probably around the middle of the 4th centuryBC in the western part of Area L. The full outline and functional use ofthe building has not yet been fully established but the building seems tohave been in use in several subsequent phases. The excavated remains further suggest that dining activities were carried out in the southern part ofthe building. A stone laid feature (Feature 3) excavated immediately to theeast, together with charcoal deposits, also provide indications of cookingin the 3rd century BC at least. The feature was, however, covered by the2nd century BC when a new wall was constructed which seems to connectthe building with a broader structural complex to the south. During thisperiod parts of Area L seem to have been used for olive oil production,identifiable through archaeobotanical remains, multiple pithoi, and a pressinstallation excavated in the central part of Area L. In the Late Hellenisticto Early Roman phase (either in the 1st century BC or 1st century AD)much of the building complex was again covered by a new construction fill,raising the level of the building.

In this article we provide a preliminary report of the work carried out between 2010 and 2012 as part of the Makralcomi Archaeological Landscapes Project (MALP). The programme of research is carried out in co-operation between the Swedish Institute at Athens and the 14th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities at Lamia. The interdisciplinary project started in the summer of 2010, when a pilot survey was conducted in and around the hill of Profitis Elias, in the modern municipality of Makrakomi, where extensive traces of ancient fortifications are still visible. Systematic investigations have been conducted since 2011 as part of a five-year plan of research involving surface survey, geophysical survey and small-scale archaeological excavation as well as geomorphological investigation. The primary aim of MALP is to examine the archaeology and geomorphology of the western Spercheios Valley, within the modern municipality of Makrakomi in order to achieve a better understanding of antiquity in the region, which has previously received scant scholarly attention. Through the archaeological surface survey and architectural survey in 2011 and 2012 we have been able to record traces of what can be termed as a nucleated and structured settlement in an area known locally as Asteria, which is formed by the projecting ridges to the east of Profitis Elias. The surface scatters recorded in this area suggest that the town was primarily occupied from the late 4th century BC and throughout the Hellenistic period. The geophysical survey conducted between 2011 and 2012 similarly recorded data which point to the presence of multiple structures according to a regular grid system. The excavation carried out in the central part of Asteria also uncovered remains of a single domestic structure (Building A) which seems to have been in use during the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods. The combined data acquired through the programme of research is thus highly encouraging, and has effectively demonstrated the importance of systematic archaeological research in this understudied area of Central Greece.

This article examines two groups of motifs in Roman visual culture: females modelled on kalathiskos dancers, and males modelled on pyrrhic dancers. Eclecticism is emphasized as a strategy which was used to introduce novelties that were appropriate within a Roman cultural context. The figures representing kalathiskos dancers and pyrrhic dancers were both changed in an eclectic manner and this resulted in motifs representing the goddess Victoria, and the curetes respectively.

Kalathiskos dancers and eclectic Victoriae figure on many different media at least from the Augustan era and into the 2^nd century AD. It is argued here that the establishment of these two motifs in Roman visual culture is closely related to the aesthetics which came to the fore during the reign of Augustus. Thereafter, both kalathiskos dancers and eclectic Victoriae lingered on in the Roman cultural context until many of the material categories on which they were depicted ceased to be produced.

Unlike the kalathiskos dancers, the male figures modelled on pyrrhic dancers are so rare within Roman visual culture that we can only assume they were, to some extent, perceived as an inappropriate motif. This can most likely be explained by the negative attitude, amongst the Roman elite, towards male dancing.

While studying a small-scale sculpture in the collections of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, I noticed that it belongs to a previously unrecognized sculpture type. The type depicts a paunchy, bearded satyr who stands with one arm raised. To my knowledge, four replicas exist. By means of stylistic comparison, they can be dated to the late second to early third centuries AD. Due to their scale and rendering they are likely to have been freestanding decorative elements in Roman villas or gardens.

The iconography of the satyrs of the type discussed is closely related to that of a group of fountain figures. These fountain figures are believed to refer to a motif well known in Roman times: the Marsyas in the forum. In this article I argue that the satyrs of the type discussed refer as well to this once famous depiction of Marsyas.

The aim of this article is to show that reputed restorations may have an unexpected impact on the study of ancient sculpture. During the 17^th-19^th centuries a number of restored antiques where held in exceptionally high regard. One of the consequences of their renowned was the production of copies and adaptations in different scales and media. Such reproductions did not distinguish between the ancient and the restored parts of the work.

Today these reproductions are centuries old, and in many cases their provenance has long since been forgotten. Therefore, such post-antique sculptures are easily misinterpreted as ancient. Subsequently, they are at times used as evidence of ancient sculptural production. Needless to say, this may cause flawed notions of Classical sculpture.

The complexity of this relationship, between the ancient and the restored, is here exemplified by tracing the impact that a restored motif – “satyrs with cymbals” – has had on the study of an ancient sculpture type – the satyr attributed to “The invitation to the dance”.

The main goals of the 2011 campaign were the excavation of the Kepez tower, the West Church and the necropoleis. The tower of Kepez was excavated and black-gloss pottery indicates a date in the 3rd century BC. The 2011 excavations in the West Church uncovered three Late Roman and Byzantine building phases. Among the finds from Late Antiquity was a well-preserved glass lamp with a Greek inscription and a marble figurine, possibly representing an apostle or a saint. The excavations in the necropolis uncovered eleven tombs in the Area 5B, located along the Sacred Way, completing the excavation initiated in 2010. New tombs were discovered in the territory east and south of the sanctuary. Finally, the three stone sarcophagi inside the Built Tomb were moved in order to facilitate complete excavation and the cleaning of all the interior space of this monumental tomb. The conservation of architectural marble was continued and included the conservation of an Ionic column capital and an anta capital from Andron B. Thomas Thieme and Pontus Hellström prepared the publication of the andrones.

The presence of dining-rooms in Greek sanctuaries shows that food was eaten and most likely also cooked on the premises. The study of both the preparation and the cooking of the food eaten in the sanctuaries would be too much, and this paper will therefore concentrate on the presence of cooking stands and braziers in Greek sanctuaries, their uses, and on other related means of carrying the pots. Cooking stands were meant to hold the cooking pots above the fire; they were open at the bottom and were placed in the fire or perhaps rather in the glowing embers of a fire. In Etruria, there were three types (types I-III): a cylindrical stand with a top plate with holes, a half-cylindrical stand with three supports attached to the inner side of the wall, and a barrel-like stand with a narrower top. Cooking braziers had, unlike the cooking stands, a closed bottom as well as the means to carry a pot.