On the occasion of his retirement, Brent Davis and Robert Laffineur have put together a Festschrift to honour the life and career of Aegean archaeologist John G. Younger. Josho discusses the book and highlights some of his favourite chapters.

The modern island of Thera is actually the rim of an old volcano. This volcano had erupted during the Bronze Age. What effect did this massive eruption have in the Aegean, and on nearby Crete in particular?

About 8 km south of Rethymno, along the road to Spili, lies the well-signposted archaeological site of Armenoi. It is a cemetery with more than 200 chamber tombs dated to the Late Bronze Age.

Our ideas of the past are often based on mere scraps of evidence. Nowhere is this more literally true than when it comes to reconstructing ancient wall-paintings, such as the “Saffron Gatherer” from Knossos.

In Early Iron Age Kommos, joint participation in religious activity by Cretans and Phoenicians may have fostered a shared identity and ensured peaceful collaboration and coexistence.

The Archaeological Museum of Iraklion has a terracotta rhyton of an equid carrying two vessels. Over time, the interpretation and date for this object have changed. Let’s take a closer look.

Located about 30 km east of Rethymno is Gerontospilios (“Old Cave”), more commonly referred to in English as the Melidoni Cave, an underground site of great historical significance.

Located on the southern coast of Crete, Matala is a modern beach-side resort with a history that stretches back to ancient times. The only visible remains of the distant past are the artificial caves near the beach.

A dead swordfish in Agia Galini. The name of the species, Xiphias gladius, incorporates the ancient Greek word for swordfish (xiphias), still used in modern Greek, and the Latin word for sword (gladius).

During the Early Iron Age, people dwelled among the ruins of the palace at Knossos in what we may refer to as a “landscape of memory”, one imbued with the collective memories of a bygone era.