Chrysanthi Gallou

Contact

• workRoom B11 Humanities Building
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• work0115 9514836
• fax0115 951 4812
• chrysanthi.gallou@nottingham.ac.uk

Research Summary

1. The Mycenaean chamber tombs at Epidaurus Limera, Laconia

I am currently working on the study and publication of the major corpus of archaeological material from the Mycenaean chamber tombs at Epidaurus Limera in south-eastern Laconia, Greece, one of the few sites that flourished from the Late Helladic I (ca. 1680 BC) until after the collapse of the Mycenaean palatial administration (ca. 1060 BC). My research aims at 1) assessing aspects of trade and cultural interaction between Epidaurus Limera and other communities of the Aegean throughout the Mycenaean period, b) examining the creation and subsequent history of the new Mycenaean mortuary tradition in relation to the Middle Helladic past and the newly introduced elements, c) reconstructing the process of invention of tradition and identity in Early Mycenaean communities and d) frame a hermeneutic model for the archaeological study of the role of memory and tradition in the formation of cultural identity in prehistoric societies.

2. The prehistory of southern Laconia: settlement patterns and interaction

This project aims at a) investigating patterns of prehistoric habitation and settlement patterns in southern Lakonia, and b) at assessing trade and cultural interaction between southern Lakonia and other Aegean communities throughout prehistory (Neolithic to SubMycenaean). The project entails the (re)study and publication of the prehistoric material from the British Surveys (1907/ A.J.B. Wace and F.W. Hasluck, 1936-9/H. Waterhouse and R. Hope Simpson) on the Malea peninsula and of the British explorations at the submerged Bronze Age site at Pavlopetri (1968/ A. Harding, G. Cadogan and R. Howell).

Selected Publications

• GALLOU, C., 2005. The Mycenaean cult of the dead Oxford: Archaeopress.
• GALLOU, C., 2004. More than little perishers: child burials and the living society in Mycenaean Greece Ethnographisch-Archäologische Zeitschrift. 45(2-3), 365-375
• GALLOU, C., GEORGIADIS,M. and C. GALLOU, 2006. Ancestor worship, tradition and regional variation in Mycenaean Greece. In: C. GALLOU AND M. GEORGIADIS, ed., The Archaeology of Cult and Death Archaeolingua. 125-149
• W.G. CAVANAGH, C. GALLOU AND M. GEORGIADIS, ed., 2009. Sparta and Lakonia from Prehistory to Pre-modern times British School at Athens.

• View all publications

Past Research

The Mycenaean Cult of the Dead

Future Research

1. Prehistoric Arkadia Project: The prehistoric site of Sfakovouni.

I plan to study and publish with Dr M. Georgiadis (University of Nottingham) the material from the very important prehistoric (Neolithic to Late Bronze Age) site of Sfakovouni in Arcadia for which final permission is awaited by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The publication of the material from this site will be a significant milestone in the development of the archaeology of prehistoric Peloponnese.

2. Tiny Archaeologies: The nature of childhood in a long perspective

This interdisciplinary research project aims at advancing research on childhood in past societies. Given the vast volume of archaeological and historical data, the objectives and the methodology will be developed and tested upon the region of Greece in a long perspective -from prehistory to premodern (Neolithic to the Formation of the Modern Greek State, 5000BC-1829 AD). Incorporating interdisciplinary approaches from different research areas (archaeology, history, history of art, physical and cultural anthropology, sociology, developmental neuropsychology), a theoretical framework will be created, expanded and tested in order to enable a coherent analysis of childhood in the past. Assessment of evidence from excavation, representations and scientific analysis will contribute to the reconstruction of past children's material culture and life circumstances. The examination of historical and literary sources -in combination with archaeological research- will be vital for understanding the socio-political and economic status of children in Greek culture, e.g. 'education', 'age grades', child labour'.

• C. GALLOU AND J. HENDERSON, 2012. Pavlopetri: An Early Helladic Harbour Town in southern Laconia Pharos. Journal of the Netherlands Institute in Athens. (In Press.)
• J. HENDERSON, C. GALLOU, N.C. FLEMMING AND E. SPONDYLIS, 2011. The submerged prehistoric town at Pavlopetri in southern Greece. In: J. BENJAMIN, CL. BONSALL, C. PICKARD AND A. FISCHER, ed., Underwater Archaeology and the Submerged Prehistory of Europe Oxbow. 207-218
• C. GALLOU AND M. GEORGIADIS, 2010. Funerary games and the Mycenaean cult of the dead Groniek. 185, 383-393
• C. GALLOU, 2010. Children at work in Mycenaean Greece (ca. 1680-1050 BC): A brief survey. In: L. BROCKLISS AND H. MONTGOMERY, ed., Children and Violence from the Greeks to the Present Oxbow. 162-171
• C. GALLOU, 2009. Epidaurus Limera: The tale of a Laconian site in Mycenaean times. In: W.G. CAVANAGH, C. GALLOU AND M. GEORGIADIS, ed., Sparta & Lakonia: From Prehistory to Pre-modern times British School at Athens.
• W.G. CAVANAGH, C. GALLOU AND M. GEORGIADIS, ed., 2009. Sparta and Lakonia from Prehistory to Pre-modern times British School at Athens.
• C. GALLOU, 2008. Arcadian theriomorphic deities and their Mycenaean echoes. In: Y. PIKOULAS, ed., Stories for ancient Arcadia. International Symposium in honor of James Roy.: International Symposium in honor of James Roy. Horos Publications. 91-104
• C. GALLOU, 2008. Between Scylla and Charybdis: Vatika in Mycenaean times. In: C. GALLOU, M. GEORGIADIS AND G.M. MUSKETT, ed., Dioskouroi.: Studies Presented to W.G. Cavanagh and C.B. Mee for their 30-year joint contribution to Aegean Archaeology BAR IS-1889. Archaeopress. 292-321
• C. GALLOU, M. GEORGIADIS AND G.M. MUSKETT, ed., 2008. Dioskouroi. Studies Presented to W.G. Cavanagh and C.B. Mee for their 30-year joint contribution to Aegean Archaeology Archaeopress.
• C. GALLOU AND M. GEORGIADIS, 2007. The cemeteries of the Argolid and the South-eastern Aegean during the Mycenaean period: A landscape and waterscape assessment Opuscula Atheniensia. 31-32, 171-182
• GALLOU, C., GEORGIADIS,M. and C. GALLOU, 2006. Ancestor worship, tradition and regional variation in Mycenaean Greece. In: C. GALLOU AND M. GEORGIADIS, ed., The Archaeology of Cult and Death Archaeolingua. 125-149
• M. GEORGIADIS AND C. GALLOU, ed., 2006. The Archaeology of Cult and Death Archaeolingua.
• GALLOU, C., 2005. The Mycenaean cult of the dead Oxford: Archaeopress.
• GALLOU, C., 2004. More than little perishers: child burials and the living society in Mycenaean Greece Ethnographisch-Archäologische Zeitschrift. 45(2-3), 365-375
• GALLOU, C., 2004. Tomb design and the Cult of the Dead in Mycenaean Greece In: Cult and Death. Proceedings of the Liverpool Interdisciplinary Symposium in Antiquity.. 17-28
• C. GALLOU, 2002. Ες Hλύσιον πεδίον και πείραηα γαίης: The Mycenaean sea journey to the Underworld. In: M. GEORGIADIS AND G.M. MUSKETT, ed., The Seas of Antiquity University of Liverpool. 18-33
• M. GEORGIADIS AND C. GALLOU, ed., The Past in the Past: The significance of memory and tradition in the genesis and transmission of culture Archaeopress.
• Tomb Design and the Cult of the Dead in Mycenaean Greece. In: M. GEORGIADIS, G.M. MUSKETT AND D. NAOUM, ed., Cult and Death. Proceedings of the Liverpool Interdisciplinary Symposium in Antiquity Archaeopress. 17-28