PUBLISHED 2014. Please visit the publication's webpage.
This grant will be for the preparation of archaeological material for publication; it was excavated by the Cyprus Department of Antiquities in the area of Palaepaphos, an ancient kingdom in the southwestern part of Cyprus, during the years 1995-1999. It comes from tombs, as follows: Seven tomb groups from site Plakes, one from site Hadjiabdullah and one from siteXylinos. They range chronologically from the early 11th cent. B.C. to ca. the middle of the 7th cent. B.C. The total number of objects found in the nine tombs is 975; of these 732 are ceramics and 267 other objects, mainly bronze vessels, iron weapons and tools, a helmet, accessories of a shield, numerous gold jewellery scarabs, stone objects and four bathtubs. The pottery and bathtubs are kept in the Kouklia site museum (Palaepaphos) and all other objects in the Cyprus Museum, Nicosia.
The publication of this material will provide information relating to the topography of the Kingdom of Palaepaphos and its dependencies during the five hundred years covered by the tomb groups. It will enrich our knowledge about regional styles, especially of ceramics; the tombs of the Proto-Geometric period and the Geometric periods were particularly rich in metallic objects: there were 'wine sets', iron skewers (obeloi), weapons, armour, knives with ivory handles etc. Such burials, known as burials of warriors, relate directly to Homeric epic and are of importance, not only for archaeologists, but also for Homeric scholars. There are objects which are imports to Cyprus from the Levant and Egypt; many other objects betray influences from the Aegean, and confirm the strategic importance of Cyprus, between the Orient and the Occident.
The 11th century B.C. is a period of cultural innovations in Cyprus, which are linked with the settlement in the island of immigrants from the Aegean and coincides with the formation of the various Cypriote kingdoms (including Palaepaphos ). The burial customs and the material found in the tombs of this period illustrate the social stratigraphy in the various kingdoms particularly the role of the military aristocracy which formed the ruling class.
The pottery style (Proto-White Painted) betrays strong influences from the Aegean, particularly from Crete, but had also local characteristics and stylistic tendencies from the Levantine coast. Prominent among the metallic objects are the skewers ( obeloi), which are found in several other urban centres in Cyprus, but also in Crete and the Greek mainland. They were indispensable for roasting meat (a primarily 'Homeric' custom) for banquets, which were part of the lifestyle of the aristocratic elite.
During the 9th-7th centuries B.C. Cyprus was also in close contact with the Levantine coast. The tombs at Palaepaphos illustrate new cultural developments, with strong oriental characteristics, but also an equally strong local element, which betrays the independent character of the powerful kingdoms. Among the new ceramic styles we mention in particular the Black-on-Red and the Slip Burnished Ware with their fine ceramic qualities.
The director of the publication project is Prof. Vassos Karageorghis.