Workshop on Parian and Cycladic Pottery

The Institute of Archaeology of Paros and the Cyclades (IAPC) and the Laboratory of Archaeology and History of the University of Rennes 2 (LAHM) held on July 8 & 9, 2017, in Paros, an International Conference – Workshop on the topic: Parian and Cycladic Pottery of the Geometric and Archaic Periods: New Archaeological Records and Research Perspectives on Production, Functions and Diffusion. The Conference was an initiative of the President of IAPC, Prof. Dora Katsonopoulou and the Director of LAHM, Prof. Mario Denti.

Special attention was given to the study of archaeological discoveries to shed ample light on the production of ceramics beyond the typological approach and classification to which the study of ceramics, in general, is usually limited. In this light, the results of the most recent excavations presented at the conference offered the possibility to better understand the functionality and use of the vessels, approaching in a new way a series of questions – which are still open – about the places of production, the distribution routes and the pottery dating. From this point of view, the Conference can become a point of reference for the ancient Greek world’s archaeological and historical studies, essentially an innovative initiative for research at the level of methodology and scientific data recovery. Of particular interest were the new data announced at the conference by the excavators in Southern Italy and Sicily about the presence in Magna Graecia of potters and vase painters from Paros and Naxos who collaborated with local artists and created one of the most essential workshops for Western Greek pottery.