From the Foundations to the Legacy of Minoan Society

14th Annual Round Table, 29-31 January 2010

Organized by: Maria Relaki and Yannis Papadatos

The 14th Round Table was held in Honour of Professor Keith Branigan, the instigator of the Sheffield Aegean Prehistory Round Tables organised annually since 1995. Over the course of a career spanning 45 years, Keith Branigan’s remarkable contribution to archaeology has extended over a wide range of topics, including Iron Age and Roman Britain, the archaeology of the Outer Hebrides, ancient craft technologies, funerary archaeology, archaeological survey, ancient economies, and Bronze Age Crete – the latter the topic of this Round Table.

Participants were invited to discuss topics from four distinct areas of interest that have informed Keith’s work and have helped to shape the current picture of Minoan archaeology to a significant degree: a) General frameworks for understanding Minoan society; b) Regional analysis, Survey and Settlement; c) Technology and Craft Activity and d) Funerary archaeology. Keith has contributed to all these themes through major fieldwork and especially wide-influencing publications that still constitute the cornerstone of our knowledge of Minoan Crete during this period.

Keith Branigan was awarded the Medal of the Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP), which was presented by Professor Philip Betancourt, Director of INSTAP, at the Saturday evening reception (more details at: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/mediacentre/2010/1508.html and photos in the Round Table Image Gallery).