The origins and evolution of Cypriot glazed ware productions during the thirteenth to seventeenth centuries CE

AbstractThis paper challenges the conventional characterisation of glazed ware productions in the eastern Mediterranean, especially the ones which did not feature the use of opaque or tin-glazed technology, as technologically stagnant and unsusceptible to broader socio-economic developments from the late medieval period onwards. Focusing on the Cypriot example, we devise a new approach that combines scientific analyses (thin-section petrography and SEM-EDS) and a full consideration of the chaîne opératoire in context to highlight the changes in technology and craft organisation of glazed ware productions concentrating in the Paphos, Famagusta and Lapithos region during the thirteenth to seventeenth centuries CE. Our results indicate that the Paphos production was short-lived, lasting from the establishment of Frankish rule in Cyprus in the thirteenth century to the aftermath of the fall of the Crusader campaigns in the fourteenth century. However, glazed ware production continued in Famagusta and Lapithos from the late thirteenth/fourteenth centuries through to the seventeenth century, using technical practices that were evidently different from the Paphos production. It is possible that these productions were set up to serve the new, local demands deriving from an intensification of commercial activities on the island. Further changes occurred to the technical practices of the Famagusta and Lapithos productions around the 16th/17th centuries, coinciding with the displacement of populations and socio-political organisation brought by the Ottoman rule.</jats:p

Transformative copper metallurgy in Chalcolithic Cyprus: a reappraisal

Archaeology of the Near Eas

Monte Romero (Huelva), a silver producing workshop of the Tartessian Period in SW Spain

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX192933 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

The origins and evolution of Cypriot glazed ware productions during the thirteenth to seventeenth centuries CE

AbstractThis paper challenges the conventional characterisation of glazed ware productions in the eastern Mediterranean, especially the ones which did not feature the use of opaque or tin-glazed technology, as technologically stagnant and unsusceptible to broader socio-economic developments from the late medieval period onwards. Focusing on the Cypriot example, we devise a new approach that combines scientific analyses (thin-section petrography and SEM-EDS) and a full consideration of the chaîne opératoire in context to highlight the changes in technology and craft organisation of glazed ware productions concentrating in the Paphos, Famagusta and Lapithos region during the thirteenth to seventeenth centuries CE. Our results indicate that the Paphos production was short-lived, lasting from the establishment of Frankish rule in Cyprus in the thirteenth century to the aftermath of the fall of the Crusader campaigns in the fourteenth century. However, glazed ware production continued in Famagusta and Lapithos from the late thirteenth/fourteenth centuries through to the seventeenth century, using technical practices that were evidently different from the Paphos production. It is possible that these productions were set up to serve the new, local demands deriving from an intensification of commercial activities on the island. Further changes occurred to the technical practices of the Famagusta and Lapithos productions around the 16th/17th centuries, coinciding with the displacement of populations and socio-political organisation brought by the Ottoman rule.</jats:p

Landscape and Interaction: The Troodos Archaeological and Environmental Survey Project, Cyprus. Volume 1: Methodology, Analysis and Interpretation

The fieldwalkers and specialists of the Troodos Archaeological and Environmental Survey Project investigated a wide variety of physical and cultural landscapes on the northern edge of the Troodos Mountains in central Cyprus over six field seasons. These landscapes range from the cultivated Mesaoria Plain in the north to the forested Troodos Mountains in the south, and from the rich and fertile Karkotis Valley in the west to the drier and narrower Lagoudhera Valley in the east. Across this physical topography lie the cultural landscapes of food and fibre production, natural resource extraction, water conveyance and industry, ritual and burial, and the structures assocated with villages, farms and copper mines. Our regional perspective and time span of at least 12,000 years mean that the research issues are inevitably wide-ranging. At the core is the complex and dynamic relationship between people and their landscape, as it was played out in resource extraction, communication, settlement, social organisation, and the manipulation of soils, plants and water. This conceptual focus opens out onto a wide range of case studies, both chronologically and thematically. Our stratified sampling strategy focused on six Intensive Survey Zones, which ensured representative coverage of the diverse landscape of our 165-km2 Survey Area. Our core field method consisted of fieldwalking in individual Survey Units. From each one the field teams recorded a variety of information and collected carefully controlled samples of artefacts. Specific features or locations were recorded as Places of Special Interest (POSIs), initially with a pro forma and subsequently, if required, by a variety of more intensive techniques. All this archaeological fieldwork was carried out under strict geomorphological control, and every field team included a geomorphologist. This core analysis was complemented by a wide range of work carried out by a large team of specialists. Volume 1 of this publication contains a full explanation of the project’s research context, research philosophy and methodology, and detailed analyses of the archaeology, material culture, architecture and environmental record of the Survey Area as a whole. This is followed by a series of period-specific analyses (Prehistoric, Iron Age, Hellenistic–Roman and Byzantine–Modern), and a conclusion which addresses our primary research goals and offers an evaluation of the project

Landscape and Interaction: The Troodos Archaeological and Environmental Research Project, Cyprus. Volume 2: The TAESP Landscape

The fieldwalkers and specialists of the Troodos Archaeological and Environmental Survey Project investigated a wide variety of physical and cultural landscapes on the northern edge of the Troodos Mountains in central Cyprus over six field seasons. These landscapes range from the cultivated Mesaoria Plain in the north to the forested Troodos Mountains in the south, and from the rich and fertile Karkotis Valley in the west to the drier and narrower Lagoudhera Valley in the east. Across this physical topography lie the cultural landscapes of food and fibre production, natural resource extraction, water conveyance and industry, ritual and burial, and the structures assocated with villages, farms and copper mines. Our regional perspective and time span of at least 12,000 years mean that the research issues are inevitably wide-ranging. At the core is the complex and dynamic relationship between people and their landscape, as it was played out in resource extraction, communication, settlement, social organisation, and the manipulation of soils, plants and water. This conceptual focus opens out onto a wide range of case studies, both chronologically and thematically. Our stratified sampling strategy focused on six Intensive Survey Zones, which ensured representative coverage of the diverse landscape of our 165-km2 Survey Area. Our core field method consisted of fieldwalking in individual Survey Units. From each one the field teams recorded a variety of information and collected carefully controlled samples of artefacts. Specific features or locations were recorded as Places of Special Interest (POSIs), initially with a pro forma and subsequently, if required, by a variety of more intensive techniques. All this archaeological fieldwork was carried out under strict geomorphological control, and every field team included a geomorphologist. This core analysis was complemented by a wide range of work carried out by a large team of specialists. Volume 2 presents the results of our fieldwork and research, area by area. The analysis of this material is organised geographically, thematically and chronologically, and focuses on explicit research questions: the volume is data-rich but not merely descriptive. The emphasis throughout is on the integration of the work of our field teams and interdisciplinary specialists: this integration began in the field and was carried through the analysis and into the publication

Decadal-scale variations in geomagnetic field intensity from ancient Cypriot slag mounds

© 2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Geomagnetic models based on direct observations since the 1830s show that the averaged relative change in field intensity on Earth's surface over the past 170 years is less than 4.8% per decade. It is unknown if these rates represent the typical behavior of secular variations due to insufficient temporal resolution of archaeomagnetic records from earlier periods. To address this question, we investigate two ancient slag mounds in Cyprus-Skouriotissa Vouppes (SU1, fourth to fifth centuries CE, 21 m in height), and Mitsero Kokkinoyia (MK1, seventh to fifth centuries BCE, 8 m in height). The mounds are multilayered sequences of slag and charcoals that accumulated near ancient copper production sites. We modeled the age-height relation of the mounds using radiocarbon dates, and estimated paleointensities using Thellier-type IZZI experiments with additional anisotropy, cooling rate, and nonlinear TRM assessments. To screen out ambiguous paleointensity interpretations, we applied strict selection criteria at the specimen/sample levels. To ensure objectivity, consistency, and robust error estimation, we employed an automatic interpretation technique and put the data available in the MagIC database. The analyses yielded two independent subcentury-scale paleointensity time series. The MK1 data indicate relatively stable field at the time the mound accumulated. In contrast, the SU1 data demonstrate changes that are comparable in magnitude to the fastest changes inferred from geomagnetic models. We suggest that fast changes observed in the published archaeomagnetic data from the Levant are driven by two longitudinally paired regions, the Middle East and South Africa, that show unusual activity in geomagnetic models

Integrated Geophysical and In-situ Soil Geochemical Survey at Dromolaxia-Vizakia (Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus)

The combination of geophysical and geochemical methods in archaeological prospection has the potential to enhance the information relating buried archaeological features, as well as to develop a better understanding of how the setting of a site may affect geophysical and geochemical datasets (Cuenca-García et al. 2013; Dirix et al. 2013). The nuanced data interpretation and technique reappraisal capabilities of this integrated approach are based in the complementary information provided by these two disciplines. In spite of their potential, the requirements of multi-disciplinary teams as well as the lack of established, proven and integrated survey strategies are some of the reasons why these studies are not frequent in archaeological prospection. This presentation will show the results of a combined survey using non-destructive geophysical methods and minimally-invasive soil chemical survey carried out at the site of Dromolaxia-Vyzakia between 27th October and 7th November 2014. The fieldwork was undertaken by a multi-disciplinary team integrated by researchers from the University of Cyprus, the STARLAB Project (STARC- The Cyprus Institute), GeoSat ReSeArch Lab (IMS-FORTH, Greece) and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The aims of the investigation were two-fold. Firstly, to map and characterise possible buried archaeological features and activity areas beyond the excavated areas, as well as to assess the extent of the site at several directions. Secondly, and from a more methodological perspective, to assess the performance of the geophysical and geochemical techniques and strategies used at the site, with particular attention on the use of in-situ soil chemical analysis