Labouring with Large Stones : A Study into the Investment and Impact of Construction Projects on Mycenaean Communities in Late Bronze Age Greece.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boswinkel, Yannick.

Language:

Dutch

Subjects (All):

Civilization, Mycenaean.

Labor costs.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (198 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Leiden : Sidestone Press, 2021.

Summary:

This book explores the cost, expressed in labour, of constructing fortifications during the Late Bronze Age in Greece (ca. 1600 - 1050 BCE). The underlying question for this study is whether the cost of large scale constructions, built with large, unwieldy blocks, may have overstretched the (economic) capabilities of communities, leading to their collapse.In order to determine the labour costs, the building process is deconstructed and for each sub-process, the costs are determined. The costs for these sub-processes are based on the amount of material that is required and the speed with which the tasks associated with these processes can be performed. However, a simplistic number expressing the labour (in person-hours, for example), gives limited insight into the impact such building projects may have had on the communities. Hence, elaborate comparisons are made to put these labour costs into context. This involves, for instance, comparisons between different fortifications, different building styles, as well as between types of structures. It is in these comparisons where the true strength of labour cost studies lie. This study on its own cannot definitively answer the question whether these construction projects led to the downfall of the Mycenaean communities. However, based purely on the results of the labour cost analyses, it is shown that, despite the impressive nature of the walls, both due to their size as well as due to the size of the stones used, communities seem to have been able to cope with the stress it may have put on their economies. This study, therefore, provides insights into building processes, the impact of material and building styles on construction costs as well as the large varieties that exist within a context collectively known as 'Mycenaean'.

Contents:

Intro

English Summary

Nederlandse samenvatting

Acknowledgments

List of figures

List of tables

Glossary

Introduction

Late Bronze Age Greece

2.1 Chronological overview

2.2 Mycenaean society

2.2.1 Socio-political organisation of Mycenaean society

2.2.2 Social differentiation in the Mycenaean world

2.2.3 The role of the palace

2.2.4 The size of Mycenaean communities

2.3 The Mycenaean economy

2.3.1 Political economy

2.3.2 Subsistence economy

2.3.3 Trading economy

2.3.4 Religious economy

2.4 Collapse of Mycenaean centres

2.5 Concluding remarks on Mycenaean society

The fortifications of Mycenaean Greece

3.1 The practicalities of the fortifications: when, where and why

3.2 Perceiving architecture: the fortifications as tools for consolidating power

3.3 The building style of the fortifications

3.4 Constructing the fortifications

3.4.1 Quarrying

3.4.2 Transportation

3.4.3 Design of cyclopean stonework

3.4.4 Conclusions regarding the building processes

3.5 Concluding remarks

The case studies

4.1 Mycenae

4.1.1 General build-up of Mycenae

4.1.2 The fortification

4.2 Teichos Dymaion

4.2.1 General build-up of Teichos Dymaion

4.2.2 The Fortification

4.3 The size of the population at Mycenae and Teichos Dymaion

4.4 Concluding remarks

Methodology

5.1 Studying building processes: labour cost studies

5.1.1 The way labour cost studies are used

5.1.2 Critiques on labour cost studies

5.1.3 Justification for using labour cost studies

5.1.4 The use of labour cost studies within this research

5.2 Data gathering

5.2.1 Landscape data

5.2.2 The need for volumetric data

5.2.3 Photogrammetry / Image-Based Modelling

5.3 From model to measurement

5.3.1 Volume of individual blocks

5.3.2 Volume of the wall sections.

5.3.3 Volume of domestic structures

5.4 Concluding remarks

The data: measurements of blocks, fortifications and houses

6.1 Surface area analysis

6.2 From surface to volume

6.3 Measurements from domestic structures

6.4 Concluding remarks

Labour costs of fortifications and domestic structures

7.1 Material acquisition

7.2 Transport

7.3 Levelling the terrain

7.4 Dressing

7.5 Building a ramp for constructing

7.6 Wall assembly

7.7 Total labour costs of sections of cyclopean-style fortification

7.8 Labour costs of LH III domestic structures

7.8.1 West House, Mycenae

7.8.2 House 7-X, Kalamianos

7.9 Concluding remarks

Interpreting the results of a labour cost study

8.1 Comparison of labour costs

8.1.1 Comparing the total costs.

8.1.2 Magnitude of the sub-processes.

8.1.3 Comparison of the investment per cubic metre.

8.2 Implications of the calculated labour costs on communities

8.2.1 The duration of the building projects.

8.2.2 The number of people involved in construction

8.2.3 The impact of building

8.2.4 Implications for management and organisation

8.3 Discussion

8.4 Concluding remarks

Conclusions

9.1 Overview of the study and answering the research questions.

9.2 Evaluating the study and looking ahead

Bibliography

Curriculum Vitae

Appendices

Appendix 1 Overview of the calculated volumes of material for domestic structures

Appendix 2 Overview of the calculations of the volume of the blocks according to the scenarios used

Appendix 3 Overview of the quarrying calculations

Appendix 4 Overview of the transport calculations

Appendix 5 Overview of the assembly calculations

Appendix 6 Overview of the calculations of the total costs

Blank Page.

Notes:

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Other Format:

Print version: Boswinkel, Yannick Labouring with Large Stones

ISBN:

9789464280111

OCLC:

1285780633