Résumés
Julien
Beck (Université de Genève)
L’occupation
néolithique de Kataliondas-Kourvellos : état de la question
Les deux campagnes de fouille menées en 2010 et en 2011 à Kataliondas-Kourvellos par l’Université de Genève permettent de dresser un premier bilan relatif à
l’occupation néolithique du site, en regard des hypothèses formulées après la
prospection de 1972 d’une part, et des récents développements concernant le
Néolithique de Chypre d’autre part.
The question of the Neolithic
occupation of Kataliondas-Kourvellos
Preliminary results from the 2010 and 2011 excavation campaigns at
Kataliondas-Kourvellos by the University of Geneva shed a new
light on the site’s Neolithic occupation, regarding hypotheses made after the
1972 survey on the one hand, and recent developments in the Neolithic of Cyprus
on the other hand.
Luca Bombardieri (University of Florence), Caterina Scirè Calabrisotto ( INFN-Labec), Francesca Chelazzi ( University of Glasgow) Dating the contexts (or
contextualize the dating?): new evidence from the Southern Cemetery at Erimi-Laonin
tou Porakou (EC-LC I)The site area of Erimi-Laonin tou
Porakou (Limassol) has been systematically excavated from 2008 as
a joint research project of the University of Florence, in collaboration with the
Department of Antiquities, Cyprus. A focus investigation was dedicated to the
analysis of funerary evidences from the southern Cemetery area (Area E), where
a series of single chamber graves were excavated along a series of terraces
sloping from the top mound towards southeast. As far as the typology is concerned
all the tombs show single irregularly rounded chambers with a cave-like section
and highlight a wider dimensional variability.
The offering goods deposits display a
wide repertoire of ceramics and small objects. The small finds and ceramic
assemblages, with regards to their typology and decoration patterns, point to a
standard South Coast production, mainly ranging from the EC II/III to MC III/LC
I period, thus drawing a sequence of use contemporary with the stratigraphic
deposits evidenced on the top mound Workshop Complex (Area A). During the fieldwork seasons 2010-2011,
charcoal samples, from the Workshop Complex, and bone samples, from the
skeleton remains of two burials (Tombs 228, 230), were opportunely taken for
radiocarbon analyses. Radiocarbon dating was performed at the AMS beam line at
the INFN-LABEC Laboratory. The results can be compared with the archaeological
evidence, in order to outline a chronological sequence for the cemetery area at
Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou, thus collecting further data for the study of
development and pattern of occupation of Early to Late Cypriote period in the
Kourion area.
Aurélie Carbillet (Université Lumière-Lyon 2)
Naviguer vers l'éternité. Les modèles de bateau en terre cuite chypriotes et leur association à la navigation eschatologique Les modèles
de bateau constituent une production originale de la coroplastie chypriote au
sein de laquelle ils occupent une place non négligeable. On dénombre en effet plus
d’une centaine d’exemplaires dont la majorité a été découverte dans des tombes,
déposée auprès du défunt. Cette pratique semble attestée du Bronze Moyen jusqu’au
début de l’époque classique ; elle ne l’est cependant que sur un nombre
restreint de sites et particulièrement, pour l’Age du Fer, à Amathonte qui offre,
de loin, la plus forte concentration de découvertes.
Ces
artefacts sont généralement mis en relation avec les activités maritimes telles
que la navigation commerciale et la pêche ; leur présence dans des tombes aurait
ainsi pour vocation de refléter l’activité de marin et/ou de pêcheur du défunt.
C’est là, nous semble-t-il, minimiser la portée de ces objets. Bien qu’elle ne
soit pas à écarter, cette hypothèse est loin d’être satisfaisante au regard de
la multiplicité des modèles, de leur iconographie et des contextes dans
lesquels ils sont découverts. En effet, de l’époque archaïque à l’époque
classique, des modèles de bateau ont également été mis au jour en contexte
cultuel (Amathonte, Salamine) et palatial (Amathonte), suggérant leur association
à une divinité ainsi qu’au pouvoir royal, mais aussi le rôle tenu par ces
terres cuites dans certains cultes de ces cités.
Cette
communication entend ainsi revenir sur la fonction de ces artefacts et éclairer
la symbolique à laquelle ils se rapportent ainsi que les concepts qu’ils véhiculent.
Plus qu’un reflet de l’activité de marin, ces objets, déposés dans les tombes, renvoient
vraisemblablement à la navigation eschatologique, comme le suggère, par
exemple, la position adoptée par les personnages parfois représentés à l’intérieur
de ces bateaux. Nous le verrons, cette pratique et l’idéologie à laquelle elle se
rattache, semblent en outre trouver leurs origines dans les coutumes funéraires égyptiennes,
apportant ainsi un nouveau témoignage de l’influence de la Vallée du Nil sur certaines
populations de l’île et sur leurs croyances.
Sail to Eternity. Cypriot terracotta boat models and their association with the
eschatological sailing
Models of boat form an original production of the Cypriot coroplastic art corpus within
which they hold a significant place. In fact more than one hundred of pieces
are known, the majority of which was discovered in graves as a deposit for the
deceased. This practice seems to be attested from the Middle Bronze Age to the
beginning of the Classical period but only on a restricted number of sites and
particularly, for the Iron Age, at Amathous: this city offers by far the largest
concentration of discoveries.
These artifacts are generally put in connection with maritime
activities such as commercial navigation and fishing; as such their
presence in graves would reflect the activity of sailor and\or fisherman of the
deceased. To our opinion, this hypothesis tends to minimize the significance
of these objects. Although we cannot rule out this idea, it is far from being
satisfactory regarding the multiplicity of the models, their morphological
diversity, their iconography and the contexts in which they are discovered. From
the archaic to the classical period, models of boats were found in
religious (Amathous, Salamis) and in palatial (Amathous) contexts, suggesting
their association to a divinity as well as to the royal power, but also the
role they played in some cults of these cities.
This communication aims at going back to the
function and to the symbolism of these artifacts as well as to the concepts
which they convey. More than a reflection of the sailor activity, these objects
deposited in graves take us back to the eschatology and the concept of
funerary navigation, as suggested, for example, by the position adopted by the characters
sometimes represented inside these boats. As we will see, this
practice and the ideology with which it is connected seem to find their
origins in the Egyptian burial customs, so bringing new evidence of the
influence of the Nile Valley on certain populations of the island and on their religious
beliefs.
Bérénice Chamel (Université
Lumière-Lyon 2), Modwene Poulmarc’h (Université
Lumière-Lyon 2), Yasemin Yilmaz (Université
Bordeaux 1), Gaëlle Granier (Université
de la Méditerranée), Emmanuelle
Vila (Université Lumière-Lyon 2), Eftychia Zachariou (Department of Antiquities, Cyprus), Françoise Le Mort (Université Lumière-Lyon
2)
Apport de
l’anthropologie à la compréhension des pratiques funéraires aux époques
hellénistique et romaine : le cas de la tombe d’Ambeli tou Englezou à Polis Chrysochous (Chypre)
A l’occasion de la construction d’un complexe touristique dans la partie
ouest de l’île, en 1997, une fouille de sauvetage dirigée par E. Zachariou a
permis la mise au jour d’une tombe (MP 339) creusée dans la roche, au lieu dit Ambeli tou Englezou, sur le site de
Polis Chrysochous. Cet ensemble funéraire est daté des périodes hellénistique
et romaine. Les modes de traitement des défunts à ces périodes sont, à ce jour,
peu connues à Chypre car très peu d’études anthropologiques ont été effectuées. Cette tombe, qui a subi des pillages, comporte une chambre principale
rectangulaire orientée Ouest-Est de laquelle partent quatre chambres funéraires
secondaires (A, B, C, D) et cinq loculi (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). L’accès à la chambre
principale s’effectue par un dromos
incliné qui comporte un escalier taillé dans la roche. Les ossements recueillis
sont en très mauvais état. Néanmoins, le nombre minimum d’individus a pu être
estimé à 65 dont 47 adultes dont le sexe n’a pas pu être déterminé, 17 sujets
immatures tous âgés de plus de 2 ans et un individu d’âge indéterminé. Les
loculi contiennent chacun les restes d’un adulte tandis que le nombre minimum d’individus
contenu dans les chambres secondaires varie de 2 à 12. La chambre principale,
quant à elle, a livré au moins 26 individus. Les défunts étaient accompagnés d’un
mobilier funéraire abondant. Des restes fauniques ont également été retrouvés
dans les chambres funéraires. Une comparaison avec les résultats des analyses
anthropologiques effectuées sur les ensembles funéraires contemporains de
Chypre et des régions voisines est proposée.
Contribution of anthropology to the understanding of funerary practices
during the Hellenistic and Roman periods: the example of the tomb from Ambeli tou Englezou at Polis Chrysochous
(Cyprus)
In 1997,
during the construction of a tourist complex in the western part of the island,
a tomb (MP 339) carved into the rock had been revealed by a rescue excavation
conducted by E. Zachariou, in a place called Ambeli tou Englezou, at the site of Polis Chrysochous. This funerary
complex dates back to Hellenistic and Roman periods. Funerary gestures are so far little known in Cyprus for these periods as very few anthropological
studies have been performed. This tomb which has been
looted, includes a rectangular main chamber west-east oriented from which
extend four secondary burial chambers (A, B, C, D) and five loculi (1, 2, 3, 4,
5). Access to the main chamber is via a sloping dromos with a staircase carved in the rock. The state of
preservation of the skeletal remains is very poor. Nevertheless, the minimum
number of individuals could be estimated at 65, including 47
adults of indeterminate sex, 17 immature individuals more than 2 years old and
one individual of unknown age. Each loculus contains the remains of one adult
individual, whereas the minimum number of individuals in the secondary burial
chambers varies from 2 to 12. At least 26 individuals were recovered from the
main chamber. The dead were accompanied by a large number of grave goods.
Faunal remains were also found in burial chambers. Our results will be compared
with those from other anthropological studies performed on contemporary
funerary complexes from Cyprus and neighbouring areas.
Constantinos Constantinou (University of East Anglia)
7th to 5th millennium Eastern Mediterranean: Identifying Contacts between Cyprus and North Levant after the Break-down of PPNB Interaction SphereMy study will seek to investigate the extent of social
and economic behavior in the Eastern Mediterranean through the course of the
late Neolithic period (ca 7500 BC to 4000 BC). The area of focus is the island of Cyprus and the adjacent
Eastern Mediterranean littoral which is contemporary Syria. The reason for choosing this study is
partly due to previous research I did during my MA on the potential contacts
(cultural or anthropological) of Pre Pottery Neolithic societies of Cyprus with
the adjacent mainland. This research focused on the period immediately
preceding this present study and demonstrated that contacts existed between
Cyprus and the mainland as early as 9000 BC and continued to be observable in
the archaeological record until 7000 BC. This research was bolstered by the results of research published by
Peltenburg (2001, 2003, 2007), which concluded that Cyprus was colonized from
mainland Syria or south-eastern Anatolia during the late 10th or early 9th
millennium BC. The way in which
Cyprus was colonized and the subsequent ''naturalization'' of mainland
populations on the island is of tremendous importance for our understanding of
island colonisations generally and relationships between the Eastern
Mediterranean littoral and Cyprus specifically. With this in mind, my research
intends to investigate the ways in which contact continued into the later
Neolithic, specifically, whether similarities in economic and social behaviours
of the Cypriot and mainland populations can be documented after the initial
colonisation phase during the Pre Pottery Neolithic B.
Anna P. Georgiadou (Université de Provence - University of Athens)
À
propos de la production céramique géométrique d’Amathonte : essai de
caractérisation
Le corpus de la céramique
amathousienne s’est considérablement enrichi depuis ces dernières années
notamment grâce aux nombreuses fouilles de sauvetage et fouilles programmées effectuées
dans la région. Si des publications récentes ont permis de définir la
production céramique amathousienne de la période archaïque et de mettre en évidence
son originalité, on ne peut pas en dire autant pour la période géométrique qui
demeure mal connue. Par une étude du matériel céramique provenant de différents
contextes amathousiens (tombes, palais, dépôt) datés du Chypro-géométrique,
cette communication entend ainsi définir et caractériser cette production
locale tout en soulignant ses particularités – traits locaux qui la distinguent
sensiblement des productions contemporaines des autres régions de l’île.
On the Geometric Pottery Production of Amathous The corpus of the
Amathousian pottery has been considerably increased during the last years due
to numerous salvage and systematic excavations conducted in the region. Even if
the recent publications have achieved to define clearly the pottery production
of the archaic period from Amathous and have revealed its original character,
it is difficult to claim the same about the Cypro-Geometric period, which still
remains not well known. The present paper, based on a study of the ceramic
material from different contexts of the Cypro-Geometric period (tombs, palace,
depository assemblage), aims to define and characterize the local pottery
production by indicating the particularities- regional elements that evidently differentiate
it from the contemporary productions of the other regions of the island.
Artemis Georgiou (Merton College, University of Oxford)
Settlement Histories of Cyprus in the twelfth century BC The
politically and economically powerful polities which flourished during the Late
Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean ended in crisis. At the end of the
thirteenth century BC, and by the beginning of the twelfth the palace-based
societies of the Hittite Empire and Mycenaean Greece collapsed, while most of
the prosperous Syro-Palestinian states suffered severe conflagrations and were
eventually abandoned.
Cyprus,
being located in the crossroads between the Aegean and the Eastern
Mediterranean, holds a focal point in discussions involving these so-called ‘Crisis
Years’. Early attempts to comprehend the island’s response to the
Mediterranean-wide crisis failed to take into consideration Cyprus’ individual
character: its first organisation in urbanised centres was much belated,
compared to the centuries-old state formation of the mainland polities, and was
evidently stimulated by the external demand for Cypriot copper. The Late
Bronze Age political geography of the island encompassed a number of polities,
as a rule located along the coast. These operated at a regional level and were
in control of the local resources and the trade of copper.
The impact
of the general ‘Crisis’ on Cyprus was neither devastating nor uniform over the
entire island. Enkomi and Sinda appear to have suffered some destructions,
while destruction-less abandonments are observed at Toumba tou Skourou, Maroni-Vournes,
Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios. The short-lived settlements of Pyla-Kokkinokremos and
Maa-Palaeokastro were newly founded during this period. Unlike the rest of
the Mediterranean, a significant number of sites, most notably Kition and
Palaepaphos, present an apparent political and material continuity from the end
of the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age. The aim of this paper is to
highlight the divergent and regional responses of the Late Cypriot polities to
the twelfth-century ‘Crisis’, and reproduce their individual settlement histories.
Jan-Marc Henke (University of Vienna)
New Evidences for the Definition of Workshops of Cypriote Terracottas at East Aegean Findingspots and its Chronological Background Archaic Cypriote terracottas are a very large group of finds at many
East Aegean findingspots. In the hitherto scientific research the
classification and dating of the terracottas still depends on the stilistical
and chronological system applied by Einar Gjerstad in the first half of the 20th
century. The system was challenged by Gerhard Schmidt in 1968. According to
stratigraphical evidence from the Heraion of Samos Schmidt proposed a higher
dating of the styles, so that the import of Cypriote terracottas reached the
East Aegean from about 670/60 until 560 B.C. for more than one century. Since
this time the scientific research goes on to conform both systems, while
Schmidt’s chronological order is being preferred. First of all Sabine Fourrier
declined both systems in 2007 and exposed Gjerstad’s different chronological
styles as contemporary regional styles on Cyprus. In consequence of new researches in the Heraion of Samos and in the
sanctuary of Aphrodite at Miletus the paper goes forward to show the possibility
of arranging the corpus of Cypriote terracottas in the East Aegean in a new
way. At first it can be shown that the origin of most of the terracottas
depends on a very small number of workshops, mostly located close to the area
of Salamis on Cyprus. Hitherto this was suggested for the Cypriote plaque
shaped figurines but can also be shown now for the plenty of hollow moulded
terracottas. By contrast to Schmidt's system, new evidence in Miletus allows to contain
the chronological limits of the import of most of the terracottas to a very
short period of about two or three decades in the 7th century B. C. According to this the results establish
a new perspective on the appearance of Cypriote terracottas in East Aegean
sanctuaries and raise new questions about the background of the offerings. So
there are some new clues for its dedication by the local East Aegean population
rather than by Cypriotes merchants. Although there never will be an incontrovertible
proof.
Hesperia Iliadou (Neapolis University, Cyprus), Philippe Trélat (Université de Rouen)
Tracing the Market
Place: commercial and artisan activity in Nicosia between the Latin and
Ottoman eras
This paper will draw
information from traveller’s accounts, chronicles, achive and archaeological
material related to the commercial and artisan activity of the city of Nicosia
during the Latin and Ottoman Periods.
The study will develop in
three parts; The first and second part will examine and present the different
trades and crafts that were flourishing in the city during the Latin and
Ottoman periods consequently. The paper in these two first sections will not
only refer to the different trades and craft shops but also attempt to present
the location of each within the city, tracing different areas devoted to
different trades or products. The interest the city of Nicosia bears spurs from
the fact that within its walls and surroundings a number of different crafts
were developed and a rich variety of products from all over the island were
sold in the city’s busy market streets and moreover, in time different areas
within the city that were devoted to different products.
The last section of this
study will conclude with a comparative presentation of how products found and
sold in the city may have changed, both in kind and in the location of their
place of trade between the Latin and Ottoman Period.
Localiser les marchés :
les activités artisanales et commerciales à Nicosie durant les périodes latine
et ottomane (XIIIe-XIXe siècles)
Cette communication
s'appuiera sur les récits de voyage, les chroniques, les documents d'archives
et les sources archéologiques en rapport avec les activités artisanales et
commerciales à Nicosie durant la domination latine et ottomane. L'étude sera
menée en trois parties ; les première et deuxième parties examineront et
présenteront les différents commerces et artisanats qui ont prospéré dans la
ville successivement au cours des périodes latine et ottomane.
Cette communication dans
ces deux premières parties se donne également pour objectif de proposer des
hypothèses de localisation des différents marchés, commerces et lieux de
distribution. L'intérêt que l'on peut porter à la capitale chypriote tient dans
la diversité des artisanats, la variété des produits provenant de toute l'île
et vendus dans les rues commerçantes et animés de la ville.
La dernière partie de cette étude sera consacrée à une présentation des
évolutions observées entre les périodes latine et ottomane concernant la nature
des produits qui circulent et leurs lieux de distribution dans la capitale.
Niki Kyriakou (Cyprus Institute)
Developing a GIS and Agent Based Modeling
simulation for identifying territories, settlement distribution patterns, sites
hierarchies and interrelations: the case study of the rural environment of
roman towns of Cyprus
Territorial boundaries, settlement distributions, sites
hierarchies and interrelations have always been the main emphasis areas of
landscape archaeology. The current paper is the initial layout of the authors
PhD project, which aims in the integration of Geographic Information Systems
site catchment analysis and Agent Based Modeling in order to develop a
simulation that can capture the environmental, economic and cognitive aspects
of the rural landscapes structures in Roman Cyprus. The proposed model attempts
to overcome the existing limitations of GIS, due to its environmentally deterministic
nature, and proceed a step forward using Agent Based modeling that can provide
an environment for simulating social phenomena. The aim of the current project
is to develop a GIS, ABM simulation for identifying the territories, the rural
extent of Roman towns, and decoding any settlement patterns, hierarchies and
interrelations found within each territory. In order to develop such a model
the case study of the rural environment of Roman towns on the island of Cyprus
was selected.
The aspects of the rural environment of Roman Cyprus that
will be modeled are: 1) the territorial extent of each town and the variables
that define each territory, 2) the absence or presence of settlement patterns
within the territory of each town's rural landscape, 3) the hierarchy and interrelations
of sites located in the periphery of the urban centers.
David Ian Lightbody (University of Glasgow)
Signs of
Conciliation: The hybridised ‘Tree of Life’ in the Iron Age City Kingdoms of
Cyprus
In this presentation I will outline how the motif of the
‘Tree of Life’ was adopted and adapted by the inhabitants of the Iron Age city
kingdoms of Cyprus.
The 'Tree of Life' was a central element of Cypriot ritual
and belief during the Iron Age. Although it has been studied before as an
artistic motif, it has not been considered within a contextualised archaeology
that evaluates why it was so significant, how it developed and what it meant to
the Cypriots. My research uses a multi-scalar analysis, based in postcolonial
theory, to carefully interpret and understand the symbol, and the ways in which
it was used in sanctuaries and mortuary contexts of the Cypriot city kingdoms.
The way in which items carrying the motif were used within
the Iron Age landscape reveals what their ritual significance was, beyond their
value as prestige decorated items. Evidence associating these symbols and
artifacts with the East Mediterranean fertility goddesses and with the concepts
of life and rebirth will be judiciously evaluated.
Finally, I will argue that cultural variations were
reconciled through the hybridisation of different iconographic traditions that
incorporated this symbol. The different expressions of the symbol therefore
correspond to the unique cultural identity of each polity.
Paul Nowakowski (University of Warsaw)
The family of Titus Flavius Glaukos, procurator of βυθίη Κύπρος
We only know four procuratores provinciae Cypri
from the Roman period. They were listed by T.B. Mitford in his famous article The
Roman Cyprus in Aufstieg and Niedergang der römischen Welt. One of
them, called T. Flavius Glaukos, is attested by a poetic inscription set up by
his daugther in Athens. Here he is described in the following way: ἄριστος ἐτύχη ἱππήων βυθίην
Κύπρον ἐπιτροπέων (IG II2 3662: he was the best of all the equites, who held
the office of the procurator of Cyprus flowed by deep waters). Mitford
dated his post between the years 180 and 220 C.E. and provided a set of sources
attestating this person.
In my opinion, however, the renowned scholar mistook
Flavius Glaukos, the procurator for his homonymous son. Thus the list of
attestating sources should be slightly different and the date should also be
changed: most probably 150-180 C.E.
The family of Glaukoi from the Marathon was rich in
sophists and hierophants of the Eleusinian mysteries. They were related to the
most powerful families of Attica in the Roman period. An aboundant family tree was
depicted by J.H. Oliver in his article Two Athenian Poets in “Hesperia”,
vol. 8 (1949). Unfortunately it does not include direct ancestors of the
procurator of Cyprus. In my opininon the epigraphic sources from the
Athenian agora can provide us enough data to complete this family tree up to
the fourth generation before our procurator, reaching back to the beginning of
the 1st century C.E., the time before the family gained the Roman citizenship.
Charalambos Paraskeva (University of Edinburgh)
Middle/Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age Cyprus: New Perspectives in
Archaeological Theory and Techniques - An Introduction The paper to be presented here serves as
an introduction to a PhD research project that has recently been started at the
University of Edinburgh in regards to the operation, interactions and
transformations of social structures and formations during the Middle/Late
Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age on the island. It is observed that up to the
present time a plethora of spatio-temporally and oftentimes theoretically limited
and frequently incongruent or even conflicting theories have been proposed regarding
the form, historical trajectories and transformations of the social groupings
inhabiting Cyprus in the aforesaid periods. Nevertheless a comprehensive,
island-wide overview of the socio-political and cultural systems of the periods
in question is still lacking, while the issue of the transition from the Late
Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age is still under heated debate. In this
short presentation I do not intend to critique the aforementioned theoretical
propositions, nor present final findings, as the project is still at an
incipient stage of data collection and assessment. However I aim to firstly
outline research goals and working hypotheses, secondly present the theoretical
substratum of the project, which aspires to fuse concepts from complexity
theory, social networks analysis and cultural transmittance theory; and thirdly
to delineate the methodological approach to be employed, which aims at a
synthesis of archaeological research techniques ranging from pottery studies to
spatial analysis and robust social networks statistics.
Anna Paule (Université de Provence)
La parure protohistorique de Chypre : une recherche de traces sur le continent grec
L’apparition de parures
de style phénicien (autrefois dit « oriental ») sur des sites
chypriotes et grecs entre le XIIe et le VIIe s. av.
J.-C., dans des contextes surtout funéraires, est un phénomène bien attesté. La
présente communication voudrait s’écarter des clichés sur les fameux « Âges
obscurs » en proposant un réexamen d’une sélection de parures
significatives. Le but sera notamment de mettre en évidence les signes de
contact effectifs entre Orient et Occident que traduisent ces pièces faites en
or ainsi qu’en d’autres matières. Outre cette analyse critique du matériel
provenant de divers sites renommés à Chypre comme en Grèce, il s’agira d’évaluer
quels autres moyens pourraient confirmer ou infirmer nos hypothèses sur l’appartenance
culturelle des parures. À cet égard, la céramique venant du même complexe est
considérée comme la preuve la plus parlante quant aux relations ayant existé
entre les deux pays.
En fin de
compte, les résultats, obtenus principalement par des analyses visuelles,
indiquent des découvertes moins isolées qu’on pourrait le supposer. En même
temps, il faut se garder de l’idée préconçue de découvrir d’anciennes voies
commerciales à partir des modèles de diffusion des objets de parure :
outre cette hypothèse des intérêts commerciaux, ces points de contact se
laissent en effet expliquer par d’autres facteurs à étudier, tels que les
intermariages avec les populations indigènes, la « colonisation invisible »
(phénomènes de migration) ou encore l’activité d’artisans itinérants.
Protohistoric
jewellery from Cyprus: a search for clues from mainland Greece
The appearance of
Phoenician (or « oriental ») jewellery at Cypriot and Greek sites,
especially those relating to a funerary context, is a well-known phenomenon
which we meet also from the 12th to the 7th century BC. However, the aim of the
present paper is to avoid any cliché about the famous “Dark Ages” by a careful analysis
of some significant pieces with regard to signs of contacts between Orient and
Occident. For this analysis not only gold jewellery but also pieces made from bronze,
etc., can be quoted. In addition to this study of material found at well-know
sites in Cyprus and Greece, one should consider further evidence which could
bear witness to our hypotheses on cultural interactions by going beyond the
mere documentation of jewellery. In this respect, the pottery, which generally is
regarded as the most convincing evidence for long-distance contacts, seems to
be most suitable.
Following
this approach which is primarily dependent on visual analyses, it is evident that
such discoveries seem to be less sporadic as one might suppose. At the same
time, care must be taken to avoid the preconceived idea of discovering the
former trade routes by studying the given diffusion patterns of jewellery. Aside
from hypotheses about long-distance trade, a variety of suggestions have been
put forward concerning the visible points of contact which were rather caused
by different factors such as intermarriages with the indigenous population, phenomena
of migration, or wandering craftsmen.
Anja Ulbrich (Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford)
Sculpture from ancient Idalion: the earliest provenanced find-assemblage in the Ashmolean's Cypriot Collection In 1874, thirteen limestone heads and
one headless limestone figure were registered in the Ashmolean inventory books
as having been acquired by Mr Henry Christy in the village of Dali, the site of
the ancient city-kingdom of Idalion. They are the earliest provenanced
find-assemblage from Cyprus reaching the Ashmolean, which had started its Cypriot
collection by buying 28 pieces of gold jewellery from an unrecorded source only
one year previously, i.e. in 1873. The Idalion sculptures were part of a donation
of more than 400 mostly Egyptian, but also Greek antiquities, presented to the
Ashmolean by the Trustees of the Christy Collection, dispersed and sold off
after the death of the banker, ethnographer and antiquities collector Henry
Christy (born in 1810) in 1865. The sculpture from Dali, exclusively depicting
women and dating to the Late Classical and Hellenistic period, can certainly be
identified as votive sculpture. They must have come from one, or perhaps
several, of the various sanctuaries in and around the ancient city of Idalion.
This paper will present and interpret those unpublished pieces in the light of
current research. Moreover, it attempts to re-contextualise the sculptures by
investigating which sanctuaries of Idalion were in use during these periods and
which of those were explored or robbed, and by whom, prior to 1865. Thereby, the
paper also addresses the issues and problems of the early history of collecting
Cypriot Antiquities before Cypriot archaeology became a more systematic and
scholarly discipline.
Yannick Vernet (Université d'Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse)
L’Apollon chypriote : De la nature et des animaux
L’Apollon célébré à Chypre
possède une personnalité très particulière qui le différencie, par bien des
aspects, du modèle classique du panthéon grec. L’une de ces particularités
concerne le rapport du dieu avec la nature et les animaux, composante essentielle
de la personnalité d’Apollon ; mais cet aspect de la divinité dans l’île
comporte également des spécificités.
Ainsi, Apollon Hylates sera
l’élément central de cette réflexion. Cette divinité bien connue et liée au monde animal et au cycle de la nature n’a cependant
jamais réellement été étudiée en profondeur, tant au
niveau de ses caractéristiques cultuelles que des schémas iconographiques qui lui sont
rattachés.
De même, dans cette étude,
seront évoquées d’autres facettes de l’Apollon chypriote comme Melanthios ou Myrtates, dont le possible rapport avec
les plantes laisse entrevoir un aspect curatif du dieu.
De plus, il peut être
constaté que le culte et/ou l’iconographie de ce dieu à Chypre sont souvent en
rapport avec divers animaux. Ainsi, les interactions entre Apollon et le
taureau, le serpent ou encore le cerf seront présentées au cours de cette
recherche, tant au niveau des différentes symboliques qu’impliquent ces
relations qu’à celui de l’iconographie qui leur est associée.
Ainsi, de nouvelles caractéristiques
de l’Apollon vénéré à Chypre seront mises en lumière, apportant de nouvelles précisions
sur le culte bien particulier dont faisait l’objet ce dieu sur l’ile.
The Cypriote Apollo : On the nature and animals
This paper aims at presenting the specific personality of the
Apollo worshipped in Cyprus, different on several aspects from the classical
model of the Greek pantheon. One of these special characteristics concerns the
relation of the god with the nature and animals, essential components of the
Apollo character.
In order to define these
specificities, the god Apollo Hylates will be the central element of this
reflection. This well-known divinity, linked with the realm of animals and the cycle
of the nature, its worship characteristics and the iconographic representations
related to it, have never really been fully studied.
In the same way, some other
aspects of the Cypriote Apollo will be mentioned like Melanthios or Myrtates,
of which the possible link with some plants let us have a glimpse on the curative aspect
of the god.
Moreover, it is possible to
notice that the cult and/or the iconography of Apollo in Cyprus are very often
related to various animals. This relation is expressed through the interactions
between the divinity and the bull, the snake or the deer. The above notions will
be explored in this paper, in the context of both the different symbolism that
they are implying and their interrelation and their associated imagery.
Based on these results, the paper will conclude in drafting the particular, even in some aspects unique,
character/image and substance of the God Apollo and its worship on the island of
Cyprus.
Christian Vonhoff (German Archaeological Institute - Athens)
The Phenomenon of Feasting in Early Iron Age Cyprus – Bronze and Iron Obeloi from Cypriot Tombs as Evidence for Elite Self-Conception, Social Networks and Trans-Mediterranean Cultural Exchange
This paper concentrates on the numerous manifestations of bronze
and iron obeloi from Cypriot burial contexts of the Early Iron Age (CG/CA),
deriving from famous findspots such as the cemeteries of Amathus, Palaepaphos,
Patriki, Salamis or Tamassos. Besides the chronological framework, the
materials and techniques used or the formal distinction of different types of obeloi,
a diachronic approach towards the social significance and cultural meaning of
the institution of the aristocratic banquet, whose appearance on Cyprus is
attested through various burial gifts and which probably has to be addressed as
an indigenous Greek habit, is undertaken.
Therefore the preserved repertoire of Early Iron Age obeloi from Cyprus is
complemented by finds from other regions of the contemporaneous Mediterranean world, more precisely from the Aegean (e.g. Knossos,
Eleutherna), Sardinia and the Atlantic Bronze Age. Those are embedded in the archaeological
examination of the “Cypriot” obeloi mentioned above to gain a wider perspective
on the cultural offspring and the geographic distribution of these prestigious
artefacts, in such an extent putting the spectrum of obeloi from Cyprus in a Trans-Mediterranean
context.
This Trans-Mediterranean setting then leads over to final considerations
regarding the cultural meaning of feasting in Early Iron Age Cyprus, which
according to the archaeological record can exclusively be connected with
individuals of high social rank. The final outcome of this is that a direct
connection between aristocratic habit, intercultural exchange and burial
practice can be established.
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