Naukratis: Greek Diversity in Egypt

This volume has its origin in a workshop on Naukratis and East
Greek pottery held at the British Museum in December 2004 as
the 28th British Museum Classical Colloquium, the result of a
collaboration between the British Museum and members of the
Naukratis Project of SFB 295 at the Gutenberg-Universität
Mainz. Made possible by the generosity of the Gerda-Henkel-
Stiftung and the Caryatid Group of the British Museum’s Greek
and Roman Department, to whom we extend our gratitude, the
workshop brought together archaeologists, historians and
scientists with the aim of generating a fruitful discussion and
exchange of ideas and knowledge to further our understanding
of the site of Naukratis in its wider, Eastern Mediterranean
context. As it emerged, the scientific analysis of pottery samples
taken both at the British Museum and elsewhere proved
particular vital for many results presented here. To a large extent
this was made possible by subsidies from the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft, by the personal interest of Professor
Hans Mommsen of the Helmholtz-Institut, Friedrich-Wilhelm-
Universität Bonn and the various other individuals, excavations
and institutions that allowed material in their care to be
analysed, and by the generous help of the staff of the
Department of Conservation, Documentation and Science of the
British Museum, notably Mike Cowell and Duncan Hook.
As editors, we have greatly enjoyed working with such
knowledgeable, reliable and responsive colleagues as have come
together for the present volume. The collaborative spirit that
pervades the volume has its roots in the stimulating discussion
and collaborative ambience of the workshop, which led to
further exchanges well beyond the confines of the actual
gathering. We are grateful to all participants, who made it such
an exceptionally productive experience. The contributions
assembled in this volume reflect this ongoing research and
discourse, which has helped the volume to be, we hope, not just
a gathering of individual papers but more a thematically linked
whole.