Greek city walls of the Archaic period, 900-480 BC
By: Rune Frederiksen
Series: Oxford monographs on classical archaeology; Oxford monographs on classical archaeology
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 238
ISBN-13: 9780199578122; 9789780199579
Subjects: Stadtbefestigung; City walls; History
Description: In this fully illustrated study, Rune Frederiksen assembles all archaeological and written sources for city walls in the ancient Greek world, and argues that widespread fortification of settlements and towns, usually considered to date from the Classical period, in fact took place much earlier. Frederiksen discusses the types of fortified settlement and the topography of urban fortification, and also the preservation of structures from early settlements. He also presents an architectural history of Greek fortification walls before the Classical period, and makes the intriguing observation that early monumental architecture developed just as much in fortifications as it did in early temples. This underlines the importance of the secular sphere for the development of early communities across the Greek world.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.