The September 2025 issue of Nestor (52.9) is available as a free download.
Latest
ISA 2026
Abstract submission is open for the 45th International Symposium on Archaeometry (ISA 2026), to be held on 18-22 May 2026 in Torino, Italy. Further information and the link to submit abstracts is available at https://isa2026torino.it/. The subjects of the symposium are grouped into the following sessions:
• Theme Session - Cultural heritage experiences and community engagement through archaeometry
• Field methods and remote sensing in archaeological science
• Dating methods
• Bioarchaeology and biomolecules
• Material Culture 1 - Stone, pigments, plasters
• Material culture 2 - Ceramic, vitreous materials
• Material culture 3 – Metals
• Human-environment interactions
• Digital tools for archaeometry
Lessons from the Past
On 27 October 2025 abstracts (300 words maximum) are due for an international hybrid conference entitled Lessons from the Past: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to be held on 23–24 March 2026 by the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology of the University of Liverpool, in partnership with the University’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Sustainability Research (ICSR) and the Victoria Gallery and Museum. Talks must result in a tangible recommendation to a specified body (e.g. a non-profit institution, local council, University, Government department, or even the United Nations). Presentations should explain how knowledge of the past supports the recommendation. Talks will be selected based on the feasibility of their recommendation and strength of linkage between the proposal made and the evidence used to support it. Poster submissions do not require a recommendation but should include relevant information linking knowledge of the past with a specific UN sustainability goal. Further information is available at https://lessonsfromthepast.info/.
In Poseidons Realm XXXI
On 31 October 2025 abstracts (250 words, plus 2 figures) are due for the conference In Poseidons Realm XXXI. Pontos Axeinos - Pontos Euxeinos: Underwater archaeology in the Black Sea, to be held on 4–10 May 2026 in Batumi, Georgia. As with all IPR conferences, contributions from all areas of research into underwater archaeology and cultural heritage are appreciated in addition to the main topic. Further information is available at http://www.deguwa.org/.
IIHSA
The lecture and seminar series of the Irish Institute of Hellenic Studies in Athens (IIHSA) has been announced for Autumn 2025. Topics of interest to Nestor readers will include:
23 October 2025: A. Dimoula, “Cooking practices in northern Greece during the Bronze Age”
13 November 2025: S. Hogue, “Palace of Nestor upper floor”
4 December 2025: B. Rueff, “Domestic technologies of fire: production and use of burning utensils in the Aegean Bronze Age”
11 December 2025: A. Papadopoulos, “Access and Control: Inequality and Economic Power in the Late Bronze Age Aegean”
EAA AM 2025
On 3-6 September 2025 the 31st Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA AM 2025) will be hosted virtually in Belgrade, Serbia. Further information and forms are available at https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2025. Papers and posters of interest to Nestor readers will include:
E. Gourgouleti, “Towards Re-Contextualizing the Early Cycladic II Human Cremation at Daskalio, Keros”
N. Papakonstantinou, E. Pappi, V. Papathanasiou, E. Stamataki, C, Snoeck, and S. Triantaphyllou, “Βurning the Dead in the Late Bronze Age Aegean: Osteoarchaeological Insights from Secondary Cremation Burials from Argos, Greece”
V. Papathanasiou, E. Stamataki, C. Snoeck, A. Lioutas, V. Missailidou Despotidou, and S. Triantaphyllou, “Osteoarchaeological Analysis of Early Iron Age Cremation Burials from Central Macedonia, Greece”
M. Grębska-Kulow and G. Vandeva, “The Valleys of the Struma and Vardar Rivers, Two or One Way of the Neolithization Process?”
P. Willett, E. Andoni, and J. Anvari, “Early Farmers in the Highland Dessaretian Lakes Region, Southeast Albania: Preliminary Results from the Korça Regional Neolithic Project”
K. Bacvarov, N. Nikolova, A. Tsurev, and G. Katsarov, “Taming a Riparian World: The Site of Nova Nadezhda and the Early Neolithic in the Middle Maritsa Valley”
N. Nikolova, A. Tsurev, G. Katsarov, and K. Bacvarov, “The Absolute Chronology and Stratigraphy of Nova Nadezhda and the Neolithization of the Middle Maritsa Valley”
A. Tsurev, N. Nikolova, G. Katsarov, and K. Bacvarov, “The Early Neolithic Ceramic Assemblage of Nova Nadezhda and Its Position within the Riverine Communication Networks in Thrace”
G. Apostolou, A. Mayoral, K. Venieri, S. Dimaki, M. Georgiadis, A. Garcia-Molsosa, and H. Orengo, “Lost in Translation: A Landscape Alternative to the Settlement Histories of Early Macedon”
T. Carter, “Defining Southern Aegean Early Bronze Age Communities of Practice Through ‘Thick Description’ Obsidian Characterization Studies”
N. Kolankaya-Bostanci, “Bronze Age Obisidian Trade Networks in Western Anatolia: Between Sea and River Valleys”
A. Chroni and V. Karathanassi, “Following the Obsidian Traces in the Mediterranean for Highlighting Trading Routes and Settlements’ Spatial Correlation in the Bronze Age”
E.-S. Kourti, “From Weeds to Remedies: Ethnographic and Archaeobotanical Perspectives from Neolithic Northern Greece”
A. Liveri, “Aromatic Plants Used for Perfumes’ and Cosmetic’s Creation in the Aegean Prehistory: Minoan and Mycenaean Periods”
A. Papadimitriou, “Exploring Community Perspectives on Maritime Cultural Heritage in Southeastern Laconia”
M. Hinz, A. Anastasi, M. Brunner, K. Anastasi, M. Yermokhin, A. Maczkowski, I. Gjipali, R. Ruka, S. Szidat, and A. Hafner, “Lin 3 in Transition: Extending Our View of the Long Neolithic Horizon on Lake Ohrid”
M. Brunner, A. Anastasi, A. Krist, A. Maczkowski, M. Bolliger, M. Hinz, S. Szidat, I. Gjipali, and A. Hafner, “Lake Maliq Revisited: Fresh Perspectives on Neolithic Submerged Settlements at Former Lake Maliq, Albania”
A. Anastasi and K. Anastasi, “Reinterpretation of Bronze Age Underwater Site ‘Prespa 1’: A Multidisciplinary Approach Based on Archaeological Data, Absolute Chronology, and Environmental Changes”
K. Ruebens, F. Tait, A. Wagner, and G. Smith, “Maximising Data from Fragmented Bone to Understand the Coexistence of Neanderthals and Early Homo Sapiens in Central and Southeast Europe”
M. Gori, B. Molloy, and M. Vander Linden, “No Fancy Title, We Do Serious Chronology. Radiocarbon Dating of the Bronze Age in the Balkans”
X. Jia, E. Skourtanioti, D. Heilmann, L. Bejko, M. Amore, S. Aliu, I. Pojani, J. Krause, P. Stockhammer, and H. Ringbauer, “New Archaeogenetic Insights into the Albanian Bronze and Iron Age”
B. Milic and M. Brandl, “Broken Patterns and Common Threads - Lithic Technologies at the Onset of the Neolithic from the Fertile Crescent to Balkans”
E. Weissensteiner and B. Horejs, “Tracing Patterns of Innovation and Tradition. A Comparative Study of Neolithic Stamps from the Balkans to Anatolia”
C. Burke, E. Stojanova Kanzurova, L. Shalamanov Korobar, Z. Rujak, P. Sinadinovski, D. Stojanovski, and B. Kitanovski, “Whose Boundary Is It Anyway? Crafting Choices, Techniques, and Connectivity of Neolithic Potters in North Macedonia”
S. Vakirtzi, “Early Neolithic Textile Craft at a Crossroads? The State of Research in North-western Greece and the Case of Mavropigi, Kozani”
G. I. Nikolovieni, “The Late Neolithic Dispilio Loom Weights: An Early Form of Piriform Weights in Northwestern Macedonia”
L. Donnellan, “The Plain of Gioia Tauro Survey: The Chora of Medma (2018-2024)”
A.-E. Stümpel and L. Donnellan, “Settlement History and Dynamics in the Plain of Gioia Tauro from Around 1000 to 250 BCE”
V. Linusson, “The Ceramics of the Plain of Gioia Tauro: Unravelling Economic Developments Under the 1st Millennium BCE”
M. S. Scaravilli and R. Brancato, “Mapping Ancient Medma: Surveys, Legacy Data Integration, and Remote Sensing for the Urban Topography”
Y. Dimitrova-Taseva, C. Burke, and E. Marinova, “Simple and Overlooked, But Unambiguous – Cooking Wares from the Late Bronze Age Settlement at Ada Tepe in Eastern Rhodopes”
J. Tzvetkova, G. Nekhrizov, N. Kecheva, N. Ivanova, V. Gencheva, and I. Kirilova, “What Does ‘Thracian’ Pottery Look Like? Studies of the Early Iron Age Ceramic Ensembles from Ancient Thrace, Bulgaria”
P. Plika, M. Manoledakis, T. Papadakou, E. Mentesidou, and A. Basakyrou, “Mundane Ceramics: A Case of Overlooked Handmade Pottery from Iron Age Northern Greece”
M. Bastide, “Cooking in Early Iron Age Thasos”
V. Vlachou, “Cooking in Cycladic Pots: Ceramic Traditions and Technological Innovations from the Early Iron Age to the Late Classical Period”
S. Gizzi, “Problems Caused by Climate Change and Increased Rainfall Acidity at Greek Archaeolog¬ical Sites Within Historic Centres”
A. Oikonomou, A. Sotiropoulos, P. Gourgouleti, and T. Bilis, “Climate Change and Cultural Heritage: A Case Study from Kalapodi Sanctuary in Central Greece”
S. Ruzza, “A Periphery Between the Mountains and the Sea? Some Reflections on Southern Phocis in LH IIIB”
T. Dzhanfezova, “Knowledge Transmission from Pottery Perspective: The Contribution of Early Neolithic Wares from the Eastern Balkans (Bulgaria)”
H. Murphy, “Unraveling Ceramic Production, Distribution, and Social Identity nn Neolithic Albania Using pXRF: A Case Study”
K. Christodoulou, D. Grigoropoulos, A. Von Miller, and A. Hein, “Elemental Composition of Ceramic Assemblages from the Sanctuary of Kalapodi: A Comparative Study Using pXRF Combined with Clayey Raw Material”
A. Tsoupra, P. Barrulas, E. Nodarou, I. Legaki, A. Aggelopoulou, P. Moita, and J. Mirão, “A Multi-Analytical Study on Archaeologic Ceramic Materials from the Excavation at Vasalakis Plot, Grotta Naxos (Greece)- Preliminary Data”
C. Marti, “Sacred Heights and Timeless Worship: Ritual Practices and Religious Continuity in Greek Mountain Sanctuaries”
A. Belis, “Support Your Local Storm-God: Hymettos, Parnes, and the Dynamics of Ritual on Attic Mountaintops”
G. Karahan, “Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Dynamics in the Edremit Gulf: Acheulean Legacy and Hominin Mobility”
D. Mihailovic, T. Carter, D. Contreras, J. Holcomb, and C. Lahaye, “Middle Palaeolithic Mobility and Adaptation at Stelida, Naxos”
T. Strasser, A. Darlas, and M. Clinton, “The Excavation at Megalos Peristeres Cave (Crete). A Preliminary Report”
E. Karkazi, I. Efstathiou, and Y. Bassiakos, “Upper Palaeolithic Coastal Cave Use in the Maleas Peninsula: New Evidence from Southeastern Peloponnese, Greece”
T. Theodoropoulou, G. Carenti, and M. Ghilardi, “Where Did You Catch Your Fish? Assessing Marine Resources Utilisation and Shifting Seashores in Prehistoric Mediterranean”
B. Gaydarska, “Images of the Gendered Past? Contribution of Bulgarian Prehistoric Figurines”
V. Papagianni, E. Vika, E. Papafloratou, and G. Grigorakakis, “Lying Through Their Teeth? A Unique Case of Bilateral Tooth Rotation from LBA Kefalonia and the Half-Truths of Bioarchaeological Storytelling”
V. Petrova, “Transition from the Late Neolithic to Early Chalcolithic in Southeastern Bulgaria: The Case Hadzhidimitrovo, Yambol Region”
L. Bonga, “Exploring Diversity Within Tradition: Individual Expression and Innovation in Neolithic Greece”
D. Ilieva, “The Transition Between the 3rd and the 2nd Millennium BC: Case Study of Galabovo Pottery”
L. Nerling, “Transitioning to a Collective Ethos: The Cretan Sarcophagus as Illustrative of a Socio-Political Shift from a Heterarchy to Hierarchy”
L. Hüntemann, “The 5th Millennium BC in Thessaly. Rethinking the Transition from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic Period”
M. Semmoto, “Pottery Making and Mobility During the Early Bronze Age in Southern Bulgaria”
T. Krapf, “Mobility Along the Rivers in the Bronze Age Balkans: A Reassessment”
G. Recchia and F. Iacono, “Rules of Attraction: Increasing and Decreasing Mobility and Interaction Across the Adriatic Between the mid-3rd and the 2nd Millennia BC”
E. Vika, E. Papafloratou, and G. Grigorakakis, “Agrotown Economics: A Multimethod Approach to Landscape Management of Ecotones in LBA Kefalonia, Greece”
V. Klinkenberg, “Shared Traditions, Individual Lives: Rethinking Chalcolithic Roundhouses”
V. Haleva, “Everyday Lives Behind the Walls of a Chalcolithic Home at Tell Yunatsite, Southern Bulgaria”
S. Hilker, “Household, Community, and the Construction of Domestic Space in Late Bronze Age Non-Palatial Settlements of Mainland Greece”
T. Cunningham, “Coalescing Communities in Early Bronze Age Crete”
Y. De Raaff and R. Worsham, “Community Coalescence and Collective Action at the Early Mycenaean Settlement of Malthi, Greece (ca 1700 BCE)”
R. Worsham, “Coming Together, Leaving Behind: Abandonment and Coalescence in the Shaft Grave Period”
S. M. Valamoti, “Lathyrus Cultivation in Greece Through the Ages: Integrating Archaeobotanical, Ethno¬graphic and Textual Evidence”
R. Pierini, “Mycenaean Dye Plants: The Many Lives of ka-na-ko ‘Safflower’ (Carthamus Tinctorius L.)”
E. Stavridou, E. Gkatzogia, A. Mavromati, N. Psonis, D. Vassou, N. Poulakakis, P. Madesis, K. Sbonias, and K. Athanasiou, “Tracing Plant Diversity at the Prehistoric Settlement of Koimisis in Thirasia - An Interdisciplinary Approach”
E. Holt, “The Subaltern Nuragic: Studying Bronze Age Social Dynamics on a ‘Small’ Island”
K. Boyadzhiev, “The Standard, the Strange and the Beautiful: Chalcolithic Ovens from Tell Yunatsite, South Bulgaria”
C. Scott and C. Luke, “Sweating the Details: Digital Documentation and Reconstruction of Combustion Features from 2nd Millennium BCE Kaymakçı, Western Anatolia”
A. Mercogliano and E. Borgna, “Fire Installations and Social Dynamics in Middle and Early Late Bronze Age Greece: The Case of Trapeza (Eastern Achaea)”
S. Souvatzi, “Intra-Settlement Burials, Kinship, Identity and Social Incorporation (or Not)”
M. Vaxevanopoulos and A. Kapetanios, “Lavrion Metals Database: A Key to Decipher Ancient Silver Production in Southeast Attica”
M. Wittenberger, “The Silver Bracelet from Buza (Transylvania) in European Late Bronze Age Context”
H. Aleksandrova, N. Ivanova, T. Popova, P. Leshtakov, and Y. Ilieva, “Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of Subsistence and Plant Processing at the Early Chalcolithic Open-Air Site Near Chirpan, Southern Bulgaria”
N. Andriopoulou, E. Apostolaki, and C. Galanaki, “Impact of Fire and Thermal Alteration on Phytolith Preservation at the Protopalatial Settlement of Agriana, Crete, Greece: Insights from OLM”
M. Blanz, G. Grabner, D. Grujić, A. Galik, and B. Horejs, “Animal Husbandry Practices at the Beginning of the Neolithic: Stable Isotope Ratio Insights from Southeast Europe and Anatolia”
A. Samouris, S. Andreou, and S. Triantaphyllou, “Mudbrick Architecture and Production from the Prehistoric Settlement at Thessaloniki Toumba, Greece: An Archaeological and Experimental Approach”
D. Berger, S. Herdt, P. Pfälzner, A. Wittke, and E. Pernicka, “Unveiling Origins of Bronze Age Copper and Tin: Chemical and Isotopic Insights from the Palace and Royal Tombs of Qaṭna”
M. Giannakopoulou and A. Nikolopoulou, “The Crucible of Fire: The Development of Metallurgical Ceramics in the Bronze Age Aegean”
T. Valchev, “Nondestructive SEM-EDS Analysis of Silver and Gold Hair-Rings from the Early Bronze Age from Yambol Region, Bulgaria”
C. Chang, “Ethnoarchaeological Realities and Scientific Facts for the Pastoralisms of the Past”
Y. Papadatos, T. Kalantzopoulou, and G. Ntzoufras, “Transhumance Practices in Bronze Age Crete: The Evidence from the Uplands”
E. Aloupi-Siotis, “Crafting Colour in Ceramic and Glassy Pigments. Decoding the Alchemy of Fire”
M. Kaparou, “Shades of Blue and Green in Mycenaean Glass Firing: The Case of Voudeni”
K. Nikita, “Glass Technology at the Service of the Dead? Blue Glass Jewellery and Ornaments in Mycenaean Burials”
N. Kladouri, V. Orfanou, and A. G. Karydas, “Metallurgical Technology and the Aesthetics for Ritual Deposition in the Sanctuaries of Tegea, Greece (9th–7th Centuries BCE)”
G. L’Her, “Did Linen Mean Linen in the Linear B Tablets from Crete and Mainland Greece During the IInd Millenium BC?”
F. Di Biase, “The Role of Education in Equipping Cultural Heritage Professionals for the Digital Era”
F. Roussos, “Martial Masculinities: Reassessing Warriorhood in Early Iron Age and Archaic Crete”
New York Aegean Bronze Age Colloquium
On 17 September 2025 Sarah Murray will address the New York Aegean Bronze Age Colloquium on “Perati, Porto Rafti, and the End of the Aegean Late Bronze Age.” Registration is available at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/cb-VEWVVRSmHs_lSqXFEmw#/registration.
The August 2025 summer communications from Nestor (52.8) are available as a free download.
ScapeCon 8
On 1 November 2025 abstracts (~250 words in English) are due for the ScapeCon 8 – No Escape: Timing, to be held on 28–29 May 2026 at the University of Catania. Further information is available at https://scapecon8.sciencesconf.org/. Contributions are invited drawing from archaeology, iconography, bioarchaeology, epigraphy, and innovative interdisciplinary approaches (e.g., ethnoarchaeology, energetics, legacy data integration) that explore the temporal rhythms of Aegean societies from the Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age, with a focus on:
• Economic activities and seasonality
• Settlement and architecture in response to climatic cycles
• Daily life and biorhythms
• Rituals and sacred time
• Astronomy and calendrical systems
• Symbolic representations of time