Mycenaean Pottery from the Cypriot Hinterland: Luxuries, Commodities or Oddities?

Steel, Louise (2023) Mycenaean Pottery from the Cypriot Hinterland: Luxuries, Commodities or Oddities? Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici (new series), 8 (3). ISSN 1126-6651

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Abstract

Mycenaean decorated pottery has been found in significant quantities on Cyprus and was clearly the focus of a sustained trading endeavour between the island and the Aegean, particularly during the 14th and 13th centuries BC (LH IIIA2-LH IIIB). The bulk of these imports have been found at the urban centres that fringe the island’s coastline, these being the primary mediators of maritime trade; rather less has been found in the hinterland, at the primary production centres ‒ farming, mining and pottery production ‒ although there are concentrations at some of the specialised religious or ceremonial centres such as Myrtou Pigadhes and Athienou. I have previously argued that this apparent disjuncture in the distribution of Mycenaean pottery in part reflects the greater emphasis of excavation at the coastal sites, rather than necessarily a Late Bronze Age reality. Certainly, recent excavations at the inland settlement of Aredhiou have demonstrated that the smaller inland production sites did have sustained access to imported pottery from the Aegean, Egypt and the Levant. This paper reviews the consumption of Mycenaean imported pottery in Late Bronze Age Cyprus, focusing specifically on the hinterland. It provides a comparison between the better-known religious sites of Athienou and Myrtou Pigadhes and the small farming community at Aredhiou Vouppes to allow for a better understanding of the integration of the imported commodities within ritualised practice in the smaller communities situated away from the hustle and bustle of international mercantile trade.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Festschrift in honour of Penelope Mountjoy, edited by A-L d'Agata and P. Pavuk
Uncontrolled Keywords: Myceneaean pottery, Cyprus, cult sites, commodities
Subjects: A General Works > AZ History of Scholarship The Humanities
C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CB History of civilization
C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology
D History General and Old World > DE The Mediterranean Region. The Greco-Roman World
H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Institutes and Academies > Institute of Education and Humanities > Academic Discipline: Humanities and Social Sciences
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Depositing User: Louise Steel
Date Deposited: 12 Jan 2023 10:48
Last Modified: 14 Jul 2023 12:47
URI: https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/2218

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