The Troad, South Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean: Long-distance Connections during the Late Bronze Age
Abstract
In the Late Bronze Age, Troy and its likely harbour at Besik-Tepe on the north-eastern Aegean coast, were involved to varying degrees in inter-regional exchange networks in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, as demonstrated by the imported materials at Troy as well as exported Trojan pottery found in the Levant and on Cyprus. In most cases, raw materials cannot be detected as objects in the archaeological record, and therefore only non-recycled and non-perishable materials are taken into consideration here.
Northern Aegean islands (Samothrace and Lemnos), central Greece, the Argolid, central and south-western Anatolia, Rhodes, and other areas all played important roles in the distribution of goods to Troy. The first detectable contacts started in the Middle Helladic (MH) II period and kept changing partners and character, but Troy definitely became an active agent within the inter-regional network at the beginning of the Late Helladic (LH) IIIA period (14th cent.
BC). The last part of the paper addresses the communication routes and the organisation of exchange in which the inhabitants of the Troad were involved.
It is very likely that the local elites played a considerable role in the course of diplomatic communication and commercial actions (or both), but the participation of freelance traders cannot be completely ruled out. However, the lack of written sources concerning the north-eastern Aegean hampers more specific assessment