A Test of Time and A Test of Time Revisited: The Volcano of Thera and the Chronology and History of the Aegean and East Mediterranean in the mid Second Millennium BC - Hardcover

Manning, Sturt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1782972196 ISBN 13: 9781782972198

Publisher: Oxbow Books, 2014

Synopsis

The eruption of the Thera (Santorini) volcano in the Aegean Sea in the mid-second millennium BC was a clearly defined, specific moment in Aegean and east Mediterranean prehistory that impacted on all the major cultures of the region. The effects of the eruption have been linked with the destruction of the Minoan palace civilisation of Crete, the legend of Atlantis, and even events described in the Biblical account of the Exodus. Scientists have studied the remains of the volcano and traced eruption products and far-flung climatic impacts throughout the east Mediterranean and in ice cores and tree-ring data. At Akrotiri, a major prehistoric town buried by the eruption, archaeologists unearthed the partially intact remains multi-storey buildings, painted frescoes and myriad objects of everyday life.
The date of the eruption has long been a subject of importance and controversy since accurate dating would offer a unique linchpin for the study and synchronisation of the history and cultures of the region in the mid-second millennium. It would provide a key test both for the established historical chronology of ancient Egypt and derived archaeological chronologies. Yet the exact date remained stubbornly unresolved and varied in the literature by over 100 years.
A Test of Time, first published in 1999, sought to resolve the issue through a critical review of the archaeological and scientific data, including the presentation of radiocarbon dates, which together suggested a new ‘early’ chronology for the Aegean c. 1700–1400 BC. This edition comprises the original, unrevised text, together with a substantial new appended essay which critically reviews the continuing debate between 1999 and 2012 and presents a raft of new scientific data, including the Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates relating to a range of relevant archaeological sequences from Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean.

Table of Contents

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Approaches and viewpoints: relativity and objectivity in the Thera/Santorini debate
3. A Test of Time Revisited: The State of the Debate and Key Evidence as of December AD 2012
a. Note concerning WWW document on developments AD 1999 to AD 2006
b. Note concerning discussion to AD 2004, and then to AD 2012
c. State of the Debate (AD 2012)
(I) What we can put aside at present
(II) The archaeological connections between the Aegean, east Mediterranean and Egypt
(III) The radiocarbon (14C) evidence
(IV) Approximate Chronology to use AD 2102 versus Manning (1999: 340 and Fig.62)?
4. Response to, and critique of, Bietak (2004)
5. Corrections/mistakes in Manning (1999) – (a) as regards Aegean dendrochronology,
and (b) typos and other minor errors previously noted in AD 1999
6. Revisit Essay Appendix: Details on Egyptian New Kingdom chronology results following Aston (2012) and re-running the Bronk Ramsey et al. (2010) radiocarbon model
7. References (for the Revisit Essay)

Note: Figures in the Revisit Essay are labeled as Figure RE1 to RE28.
Tables in the Revisit Essay are labeled as Table RE1 to RE12.
References cited in the Revisit Essay are listed at the end of the Revisit Essay

About this title

About the Author:

Sturt Manning is currently the Goldwin Smith Professor of Classical Archaeology, Director of the Malcolm and Carolyn Wiener Laboratory for Aegean and Near Eastern Dendrochronology at Cornell University, and Director of the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies. He was previously a Lecturer, then Reader at the University of Reading, UK, following a PhD at Cambridge and earlier study in his native Australia (MA Hons, Macquarie University, BA Hons, Australian National University). His research interests cover Mediterranean archaeology (especially the Aegean, Cyprus and east Mediterranean), and archaeological science (especially dendrochronology, radiocarbon, and climate). For more information on publications, see http://cornell.academia.edu/SturtWManning

Review:

“As with the first book, this new edition is bound to generate significant debate, which in time may lead to consensus on dating this decisive eruption. Until then, Manning has once again provided a rich source of material that will impact the application of both absolute and relative chronologies in the Mediterranean region.” (Dora Constantinidis Vol. 4 No. 4, 2016)

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1782972196
• ISBN 13: 9781782972198
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 672