The Late Bronze Age Hoard of Stephani in Preveza, Epirus, NW Greece

Abstract

The hoard of Stephani, a remarkable assemblage, was found in 1985 at the head of the Ambracian gulf in Epirus. It consists of seventeen artefacts: ten bronze double-edged axes, three bronze spearheads (one leaf-shaped), two unidentifiable bronze cylindrical and pointed rods and two large stone tools, probably whetstones. The items of the hoard are mainly dated to the final phases of the Late Bronze Age, when the phenomenon of hoarding has yielded similar depositions in the wider Balkan and European regions. Macroscopic observations on typology, manufacture and other matters are combined with metallographic, chemical and lead isotope analysis. This data is used to explore aspects related to the production or manufacture, consumption or use, recycling or deposition of the items, as well as the trading of artefacts and raw materials. The examination of the hoard of Stephani within the geographical and cultural contexts of Epirus in the Late Bronze Age assists the better comprehension of the social structures of the day and the exchange networks of ideas, products and know-how then in operation.