This is a new history of Greece in the seventh and sixth centuries BC written for the twenty-first century. It brings together archaeological data from over 100 years of 'Big Dig' excavation in Greece, employing experimental data analysis techniques from the digital humanities to identify new patterns about Archaic Greece. By modelling trade routes, political alliances, and the formation of personal- and state-networks, the book sheds new light on how exactly the early communities of the Aegean basin were plugged into one another. Returning to the long-debated question of 'what is a polis?', this study also challenges Classical Archaeology more generally: that the discipline has at its fingertips significant datasets that can contribute to substantive historical debate -and that what can be done for the next generation of scholarship is to re-engage with old material in a new way.

Employs experimental data modelling on archaeological data to reveal new patterns about the seventh and sixth centuries BC.

About the Author
MICHAEL LOY is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Faculty of Classics at the University of Cambridge. Previously he was Assistant Director of the British School at Athens (2019-2022). As a field archaeologist, he has over ten years of experience working on projects in Greece, Britain and Turkey. He is currently co-director of the West Area of Samos Archaeological Project (2021-2025).


Book Information
ISBN 9781009343817
Author Michael Loy
Format Hardback
Page Count 300
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 810g
Dimensions(mm) 250mm * 176mm * 20mm