New Books by AIA Members

List and brief description of recent and forthcoming books authored by the AIA membership.

The Symposium in Context: Pottery from a Late Archaic House near the Athenian Agora
by Kathleen M. Lynch
This book presents the first well-preserved set of sympotic pottery which served a Late Archaic house in the Athenian Agora. The deposit contains household and fine-ware pottery, nearly all the figured pieces of which are forms associated with communal drinking. Since it comes from a single house, the pottery also reflects purchasing patterns and thematic preferences of the homeowner. The multifaceted approach adopted in this book shows that meaning and use are inherently related, and that through archaeology one can restore a context of use for a class of objects frequently studied in isolation.
The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (October 2011)
Histories of Peirene: A Corinthian Fountain in Three Millennia
by Betsey A. Robinson
The Peirene Fountain as described by its first excavator, Rufus B. Richardson, is “the most famous fountain of Greece.” Here is a retrospective of a wellspring of Western civilization, distinguished by its long history, service to a great ancient city, and early identification as the site where Pegasus landed and was tamed by the hero Bellerophon. Spanning three millennia and touching a fourth, Peirene developed from a nameless spring to a renowned source of inspiration, from a busy landmark in Classical Corinth to a quiet churchyard and cemetery in the Byzantine era, and finally from free-flowing Ottoman fountains back to the streams of the source within a living ruin. These histories of Peirene as a spring and as a fountain, and of its watery imagery, form a rich cultural narrative whose interrelations and meanings are best appreciated when studied together. The author deftly describes the evolution of the Fountain of Peirene framed against the underlying landscape and its ancient, medieval, and modern settlement, viewed from the perspective of Corinthian culture and spheres of interaction. Published with the assistance of the Getty Foundation in support of the Ancient Art and Architecture in Context series of which this is the second volume. Winner of the 2011 Prose Award for Professional and Scholarly Excellence in the category of Archaeology/Anthropology. The Prose Awards are given annually by the Professional and Scholarly Publishing division of the American Association of Publishers.
The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (July 2011)
Eternal Flame Numerology of Redemption
by Dr. Reese Powell PHD
Dr. Reese Powell Sr. is the author of The Eternal Flame Numerology of Redemption book published by Xlibris Corporation 03/31/2011, which is for sale online with Barnes & Noble’s Book stores, Amazon.com, Xlibris.com and Christian Book Distributors and over 200,000 other online bookstores in the Unites States and UK. Readers are saying this book will answer your questions about the phenomenal Bible Codes called (gematria), interpretive Jewish numerology, while revealing awesome New Code Discoveries, such as the Mystery of the Eternal Flame on Mt. Sinai, Numerology of Redemption, and the Gospel John 3:16 and My name is Legion, the possible day for dooms, and many others, hidden in the scriptures. This is one of those rare books that are interesting and profound, learned and readable. The wisdom and compassion of the author is evident in those subtle ways that do not intrude on the readers, but give them the satisfaction of knowing that a rich, warm, productive lifetime of experience is flavoring the text.
Xlibris Corporation (March 2010)
The Age of Titans: The Rise and Fall of the Great Hellenistic Navies
by William M. Murray
While we know a fair amount about naval strategies in the classical Greek and later Roman periods, our understanding of the period in between--the Hellenistic Age--has never been as complete. Thanks to new physical evidence discovered in the past half-century and the construction of Olympias, a full-scale working model of an Athenian trieres (trireme) by the Hellenic Navy during the 1980s, we now have new insights into the evolution of naval warfare following the death of Alexander the Great. In what has been described as an ancient naval arms race, the successors of Alexander produced the largest warships of antiquity, some as long as 400 feet carrying as many as 4000 rowers and 3000 marines. Vast, impressive, and elaborate, these warships "of larger form"--as described by Livy--were built not simply to convey power but to secure specific strategic objectives. When these particular factors disappeared, this "Macedonian" model of naval power also faded away--that is, until Cleopatra and Mark Antony made one brief, extravagant attempt to reestablish it, an endeavor Octavian put an end to once and for all at the Battle of Actium. Representing the fruits of more than thirty years of archaeological and historical research, The Age of Titans provides the most vibrant account to date of Hellenistic naval warfare. 
Oxford University Press (January 2012)
Describing and Interpreting the Past - European and American Approaches to the Written Record of the Excavation
by Catalin Pavel
Sixty case studies of archaeological recording are presented with commentary from methodological and epistemological perspectives. Procedures and pro forma used by teams from around the world, working at sites in the US, Europe and the Near East are compared with an aim to further the development of recording theory and inspire new standards for field practices. For the first time in one volume, one hundred context (locus), feature and burial sheets are illustrated and explained against the background of archaeology’s development as a humanistic discipline. Gary Lock, University of Oxford, Institute of Archaeology: “Recording is central to the process of archaeological excavation and for anyone interested in the history, theory, practice and ethics of recording this book is an essential read”. Reviews: Sveta Matskevich, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2011.08.19 (online here http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2011/2011-08-19.html): "[T]he book… makes an extremely valuable contribution to the topic of archaeological method and theory. It describes the state of art in the sphere of recording systems, and discusses important topics in their history and development… The book has a strong theoretical background and good raw data for future research. A reader can further link the two parts of the book, test the presented theory using the case-studies, or analyze the data in her own way. It invites scholars to continue Pavel’s research and to explore the topic further. It is of interest for a very wide audience: from students of archaeological method to theoreticians and historians of archaeology. The catalog of context sheets, along with brief descriptions of very diverse recording systems will serve as an invaluable source of inspiration for any field archaeologist inventing or improving an excavation recording system. The list of bibliographical references grouped by topics is useful for everybody studying subjects related to archaeological theory, recording methodology and history of archaeology."   Madeleine Hummler, Antiquity 85 (328), 2011, 690-2 (“New Books Chronicle”; also online here http://antiquity.ac.uk/Ant/085/0690/ant0850690.pdf): "The figures and commentary are the most useful part of the book… bringing to the attention of excavators the variety of systems used by institutions and companies, thus dispelling the idea that there is only one way (or adaptations of one system) to record deposits ‘properly’… He has done us a great service by reproducing all these forms in 100 pages of figures… the basis for an in-depth look at the written records produced on archaeological sites."   Mabel Fernández, Cuadernos del Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano 23/2011 “Este trabajo tiene como objetivos comparar la variedad de sistemas de registro de excavación utilizados en Arqueología, especialmente los desarrollados en Europa y en América, conocer su devenir histórico (historiografía), señalar las modificaciones que han sufrido para adaptarse a diferentes sitios y, finalmente, discutir la relación de los sistemas de documentación con los métodos, la teoría y la ética arqueológicas, con el fin de “promover el desarrollo de la teoría del registro e inspirar nuevos estándares para las prácticas de campo”. ... Sin duda, este libro constituye no sólo una colaboración muy importante para el conocimiento de los sistemas de registro arqueológico de campo, sino también una interesante reflexión sobre las bases conceptuales y epistemológicas que los sostienen.”
University of Bucharest Press (December 2010)