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The Roman mosaics of the Knossos Valley

Bibliographic Data

ID10964280
AuthorsRebecca Sweetman (0000-0003-2012-1021, University of St Andrews, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume98
Pages517-547
Publication date2003-11-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Annual of the British School at Athens (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0068-2454 • E-ISSN: 2045-2403
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0068245400016968
OpenAlexW2128724453
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited5

Thirty Roman mosaics are now known from the Knossos Valley. The Villa Dionysos, with eight mosaics thus far uncovered, forms the largest coherent group. Recent work undertaken at the nearby bath house has revealed a small group of three mosaics. For the most part the remainder are isolated examples, commonly found during rescue excavation and often not well preserved. The mosaics range in date from the late first to the late third century AD and they display a variety of styles from black and white to polychrome and themes from simple geometric to complex figured designs. This paper presents a catalogue of the mosaics followed by a synthetic analysis, providing cultural evidence for the hitherto not well-understood Roman period of Knossos and adding to the corpus of mosaics in Greece. Despite the limitations of such a study, imposed by the nature of the recovery of the material culture, it is possible, through an understanding of mosaic distribution, context and type, to make suggestions regarding the function of different areas within the city. An analysis of chronology and evidence for workshop production provides data for economic and cultural fluctuations and, importantly, a study of the mosaics helps to place Knossos within the broader context of the Roman Empire

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Chronology · Context (archaeology · Excavation · Mosaic · Period (music · Polychrome · Roman Empire · Visual arts · White (mutation · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classical Antiquity Studies · History

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Citations per year0.44
Citation span2010 - 2026 (17)
Highly citedNo

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