B 04: Search for Resources as an Incentive for 'Processes of Colonisation'? Causal Research Regarding the Foundation of Greek Settlements Between the Black Sea and the Western Mediterranean

Summary

This project is a comparative study of several selected regions of the ancient world, exploring the role played by resources of any kind in the migrations commonly labelled as the ‘Great Greek Colonisation’ between the 8th and 6th cent. BC. During this period of time Greek settlers entered into several areas up to then at the outer limits of their geographic knowledge. The de facto reasons and triggers for these dynamic processes leading to the founding of a large number of ‘colonies in the East and the West still remain unclear. Certainly the socio-cultural preconditions in the different areas varied significantly, but still it is a striking fact that intensive settlement activity took also place in areas (such as the coastal regions of the Black Sea) that were not considered to be especially favourable, be it because of their general conditions for living or because of their local population. Precisely in these cases convincing reasons must have existed for people to move into one of the rather unpopular newly founded cities, despite danger or climatic hardships. And this even if most of them never did manage to meet standards in relation to prestige or comfort.

Scientific Aims

By addressing this question and trying to answer it with an innovative approach the project pursues three clearly defined and closely connected aims:

1. First of all it has to be determined which of all the imaginable resources were available at the intended places for new settlements and whether these resources could be known to the Greeks because of their previous use by locals. It is a decisive aspect of the project, for the first time to link the ‘pre-colonial’ (and thus ‘prehistoric’) past of a specific place with the first phases of Greek settlement. Only by this it will be possible to reconstruct the situation that presented itself to the Greek settlers and shed light on the processes of decision finding.

2. Subsequently it has to be discussed whether the knowledge about certain resources or the demand for them actually was an important factor for the Greek ‘migrations’. And if so, what kinds of resources were considered to be relevant. This problem may imply the use of archaeometric methods of analysis in certain cases, but generally the compilation of an overall picture, by collecting and comparing a large number of disparately published new research results of recent years.

3. Finally a trans-regional comparison of different areas (apoikies in the East and in the West), taking into account the previously achieved results will be conducted, leading to a better understanding of the phenomenon of the ‘Great Greek Colonisation’ in general. Also the aspect of a possible reflow of exploited resources into the mother-cities should not be neglected, since it might for the first time definitely prove a decisive role of certain resources in this process. A focus must be on the intangible resources as well. By comparison with approaches applied in projects of collaborating disciplines (such as Prehistory, Ethnology, Economic Sciences, Geography) their significance can be identified and appreciated for the first time. In the end these research issues and aims will offer new perspectives for studies of recent migrations, thus linking past and presence.

Impact for the Collaborative Research Centre

This project, focussing on the interrelationship between migrations on one hand and the occurrence of and the knowledge about them on the other hand, is an important contribution to the central issues of the Collaborative Research Centre by studying the phenomenon ‘migration’ not only in economical context, but by including cultural and social dimensions as well.

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