Yannis Lolos

Athens 2010,
pp. 48, ill. 35, dr. 8

ISBN 978-960-244-144-2

€ 12.00

The book by archaeologist Yannis Lolos on Hadrian’s Aqueduct in the prefecture of Corinth is a significant contribution to the study of the political solutions and technical methods used to supply urban centres with water during Roman times. This major engineering work, which originated at Stymphalia’s sources and ?after a trajectory of some 85kms? ended in the ancient city of Corinth, was carried out during the rule of Hadrian (117-138); the work is mentioned by the traveller Pausanias as early as the mid-2nd century. In all probability, the aqueduct ended in a central reservoir situated close to the city but at a higher level; it is also considered probable that an underground reservoir/summit pool existed so as to filter the water and ensure its proper distribution. The aqueduct’s elevated and underground sections included an arched conduit, ditches, tunnels, viaducts and water bridges, as well as settling tanks. The accompanying drawings and, more obviously, the photographs the book includes reveal, respectively, the initial picture and the state of the architectural remains in the early 1990s, when the archaeological field survey was carried out.

Philippos Katsigiannis - Andrea Bonetti
Plants in the area of Stymphalia
Athens 2009 (in Greek and English),
60 p., 74 ill.
ISBN 978-960-244-125-1 and 978-960-244-135-0
€ 10.00

The last of the four booklets by Ph. Katsigiannis and A. Bonetti describes the flora of the wider region around the lake of Stymphalia. It presents 50 of the most important plant species that proliferate in the lakeside ecosystem's local flora, among a total of at least 200 species that have already been inventoried in the region, but which have not yet been studied in depth. The authors' excellent photographs reveal not only the vegetation's diversity, but also the landscape's beauty.

Philippos Katsigiannis - Andrea Bonetti
Birds in the area of Stymphalia
Athens 2009 (in Greek and English),
59 p., 56 ill.
ISBN 978-960-244-126-8 and 978-960-244-136-7
€ 10.00

The rich wetlands of Stymphalia are home to many species of birds, while the lake used to be an essential stopover during migratory birds' autumn migration. Authors Ph. Katsigiannis and A. Bonetti inventory 50 species of birds that either visit or live permanently in this biotope. Among them are herons, ducks, coots and moorhens, waders, various birds of prey and other nocturnal birds, all of them with a description of their main characteristics. The heron family includes the little bittern, the white egret and the rare purple heron, possibly some of the most beautiful species in Europe. The authors warn of the increased danger of seeing many of these species disappear from the region as the natural habitat's balance has been upset by repeated droughts and the injudicious use of the lake's water.

Philippos Katsigiannis - Andrea Bonetti
Athens 2009 (in Greek and English),
36 p., 29 ill.
ISBN 978-960-244-127-5 and 978-960-244-133-6
€ 8.00

This booklet presents 20 species of mammals that live in the region around lake Stymphalia. These are mainly nocturnal animals, active at nighttime, for the most part bats. These mammals rely essentially on their sense of smell and only in a secondary capacity on their vision, with the exceptions of bats, which have a special sense of location using ultrasounds. The carnivorous mammals that are present comprise the fox, the beech marten, the badger, the otter, and the jackal, which had almost disappeared from the local fauna; the wild boar, extinct due to overenthusiastic hunting, was recently successfully re-introduced into the region.

Philippos Katsigiannis - Andrea Bonetti
Athens 2009 (in Greek and English),
36 p., 33 ill.
ISBN 978-960-244-124-4 and 978-960-244-134-3
€ 8.00

The 28 species of reptiles and amphibians that authors Ph. Katsigiannis and A. Bonetti recorded in the region around Lake Stymphalia form an important group in this habitat's fauna. Reptiles have a thick skin with scales, which is impermeable to water; on the contrary, amphibians have very thin, smooth skin ands no scales, while in order to reproduce they require fresh water. It should be noted that four endemic species of lizard live in this region. The amphibians are divided into frogs and toads (anurans), as well as salamanders and newts (urodels). The authors' observations about man's misconceived attitude towards snakes and their excellent photographs help re-establish the real dimensions of the herpetological world.

Nadia Macha-Bizoumi
Athens 2010,
71 p., 69 ill.
ISBN 978-960-244-143-5
€ 21,00
(Available in Greek only)

This book is in the nature of a catalogue of the collection of traditional costumes in the Silk Museum of Soufli, in Thrace, one of the most dynamic centres of sericulture and silk manufacturing in the late 19th and early 20th century. Its aim is to inventory, in full detail, all the accessories of the local dress system, male and female, with a particular emphasis on rendering the linguistic terms according to the region's local dialect. The dress code of Soufli was shaped by the needs of everyday life in this region, but was also influenced by European fashion, inasmuch as imported foreign fabrics were used for festive costumes. The accessories of women's dress comprise a fanella (vest), a poukamiso (chemise), a misofori (petticoat) and a misofoustano (underskirt); outer garments are usually composed of a kaftani, a long garment that swells out from the waist down, and a podia (apron) "embroidered" on the loom, one of the most masterful and beautiful pieces of popular weaving, as well as head coverings. Typical decorative elements include the belt with a buckle (called korona, or crown), the head ornaments and other pectoral jewellery. Male dress is, on the contrary, simpler and does not deviate from the typical Thracian dress code.

Georgia Kokkorou-Alevra, Irini Poupaki,
Alexis Efstathopoulos
Athens 2010,
48 p., 48 ill., 10 maps-plans
ISBN 978-960-244-145-9
€ 16.00

The fruit of a research programme of many years carried out by the University of Athens so as to establish a detailed catalogue of ancient quarries, the book offers an overview of the use of marble in antiquity and the functioning of open air and underground quarries. The historical framework of the use of stone is presented, both as a building material and a tradable commodity for making tools, as well as the process of mining local stone -mainly limestone- as of the 7th century BCE. The difference between calcareous rock and marble is analyzed as, also, the mining of white and grey marble. The most ancient mining sites are found in the Cyclades islands, among which the Naxos quarries occupy a particular place in terms of production even though, finally, it was marble from Mount Penteli and the island of Paros that predominated in Ancient Greek art. Separate chapters cover the functioning of open air and underground mines, the mining techniques and tools, the mechanisms used to transport the quarried stone, as well as the manner in which ancient quarries, the mining installations and their human factor, i.e. the owners and workers, were organized.

Alekos E. Florakis
Athens 2009
(in Greek and in English),
104 pp., 115 ill.
ISBN 978-960-244-139-8 and 978-960-244-140-4
€ 12.00

The Guide to the Museum of Marble Crafts on the island of Tinos has been written in such a way as to follow the progression of the museological modules presented in the museum; the fundamental concern of making the museum's visit a pleasant experience is achieved by recounting the story of marble-related crafts through time and linking it to the exhibits on show. The author, a folklorist and researcher, describes the historical course of marble carving by following the technology of marble crafts, from the pre-industrial period up to the 20th century. The quarrying process, the techniques related to it and the initial in situ hewing, the marble blocks' transportation, the use of specialized tools and the manner in which the slab-slitting installations function constitute the Guide's themes. An extensive chapter is also dedicated to the local marble workshops, as well as to the work of famous marble carvers who either worked on Tinos and neighbouring islands, or moved to Athens and other European capitals. Lastly, it contains a detailed presentation of the museum exhibits, metal tools, marble works of art and the rich archival material, which includes drawings and documents about the expenses incurred and the invoicing of orders for secular or ecclesiastical works.

Rooftile and Brickworks Museum N. & S. Tsalapatas. A Guide
Adaptation of texts of the research programme: Yannis Antoniou
Athens 2009 (in Greek and English),
48 p., 48 ill.
ISBN 978-960-244-131-2
and 978-960-244-132-9
€ 8.00

The Guide is a basic companion towards understanding the production stages presented at the Rooftile and Brickworks Museum N. & S. Tsalapatas in Volos (Thessaly). The detailed recording of this process and the accompanying photographs offer the visitor the possibility to easily explore the museum's premises and acquire a clear impression of the individual phases in brick and tile manufacturing, as well as of its evolution through time. More specifically, the Guide describes the transportation of clay earth with the Decauville steam engine, its processing in the grinding mills and clay silos, the material's pulping, the products' final moulding (roof tiles and bricks), as well as the drying process and firing of the end products in the Hoffmann kiln. The factory's original mechanical equipment, part of which remains intact, has been restored and returned to working order, so that museum visits take place in an unadulterated industrial environment.

Authored and edited by: Yannis Antoniou
Athens 2009,
183 p., 273 plates/plans
ISBN 978-960-244-123-7
€ 34.00

The volume presents the evolution of the Tsalapatas rooftile and brickworks firm in Volos (Thessaly), over the period 1917-1978, and constitutes a synthesis of the results produced by the research programme carried out by the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation. This programme’s objective was dual: on the one hand, the archival and scientific documentation of the Rooftile and Brickworks Museum and, on the other, the historical presentation of the technological evolution in the production of bricks and tiles.
The subjects covered in this volume concern the historical context of industrial production in Volos, the development of the Tsalapatas family’s enterprise system (factory, products, client networks, personnel), the supply of raw materials, as well as the structure and functioning of the Tsalapatas plant (new grinding mills, boiler-room, production floor, driers, Hoffmann kiln, Kiln loft). Lastly, the Appendix deals with the history of tile- and brick-making in Modern Greece and the use of bricks in the masonry work of Modern Greek architecture.

Kornilia Zarkia–Aspasia Louvi –Stefanos Nomikos –† Stelios Papadopoulos
Athens 2009 (Greek and English), pp. 48, figs 69

ISBN 978-960-244-129-9 και 978-960-244-130-5

€ 20

This guide, created by a group of specialised scientists, provides accurate and clear information about the Open-air Water Power Museum in Dimitsana, using popularised but not simple language. It contains an introduction that reflects the problems in creating a museum nucleus of pre-industrial workshops in the area.  Following the introduction, tours in the museum areas -open-air and covered- are given, following the thematic units “The watermill and the fulling-tub”, “Leather and tanning” and “The powder mill”.

Texts and selection of visual material by Alexandra Tranta
Athens 2008,
72 pages, 85 ill.
ISBN 978-960-244-116-9
€ 15,00

This book presents the cottage-industry procedure of producing silk in the region of Soufli, in Thrace, from the pre-industrial era to our times, on a now limited scale. The alternation of concise and intelligible texts with old and new photographs documenting sericulture's phases and the stages of silk production give the book a pedagogical and popularized dimension, making it useful as a learning tool also. The book describes sericulture; i.e. the rearing of silkworms, the book also describes the stages leading up to silk fabrics: the stifling (cooking) of the chrysalides and the sorting process, the cocoons' industrial or home reeling (filature), the dyeing of the silk yarns and their processing, the uses of silk fabrics and the traditional local costumes of Soufli and, lastly, the industrial production of silk.

Kornilia Zarkia
(co-funded with the General Secretariat of the Peloponnese Region)
Athens 1997 (Greek and English), pp. 46, figs 40
ISBN 960-244-045-7 and 960-244-044-9
€ 5

This guide presents tanning in modern times, and focuses on preindustrial tanning workshops, tanneries, and the phases and stages since its preindustrial puering.

Stefanos Nomikos
(co-funded with the General Secretariat of the Peloponnese Region)
Athens 1997 (Greek and English), pp. 35, figs 51
ISBN 960-244-047-3 and 960-244-046-5
€ 5

This guide presents the most widely spread form of power in Greece, water power and its better known uses: fulling-mill, water-saw, water-powered olive oil press, fulling-tub and the water-mill, which formed the most important water-powered preindustrial constructions.

Stelios Papadopoulos
(co-funded with the General Secretariat of the Peloponnese Region)
Athens 1997 (Greek and English), pp.  35, figs 26
ISBN 960-244-049-Χ and 960-244-048-1 
€ 5

This guide contains a brief presentation of the history of black powder production and its use in European wars and focuses on the production, trading and use of black powder in Greece and the Peloponnese in particular.