Jug with Scenic Decoration, 8th-6th centuries BC. Neues Museum, Berlin
Cypriot Bichrome ware is a type of Late Bronze Age, and Iron Age, pottery that is found widely on Cyprus and in the Eastern Mediterranean. This type of pottery is found in many sites on Cyprus, in the Levant, and also in Egypt. It was typically produced on a pottery wheel. A large variety of decorations and motifs are attested. This pottery is very similar to certain types of the Mycenaean pottery from various locations.
It was originally produced on Cyprus during the Late Cypriot I period. Comparison of the fabrics indicates that it was also imitated in the Eastern Levant and in Egypt.
Description
Cypriot Bichrome is characterized by its most common decoration: two black lines with a red line in between. Between those lines geometric, floral or zoomorphic decorations would often appear.
For a long time, Bichrome Ware was considered to be a key marker for the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. However, recent studies indicate a slightly earlier appearance.
A large amount of imported Cypriot bichrome ware was found at Tell Kazel, on the Syrian coast, during the excavations that began in 1985. This pottery was dated between the 14th and 12th centuries BC. The city was destroyed later during the Late Bronze Age, after which local Mycenaean ceramics, Handmade burnished ware and Grey ware, replaced the imported pottery.[1]
The Philistine city of Ekron is another location with large amounts of such pottery (Stratum VII), among many other places along the coast.
The Mycenaean Greek presence in Cyprus seems to have increased especially after 1400 BC. The fall of Knossos in 1380 BC contributed to this. From that time onwards, the ports of Salamis and Kition (Larnaka) in Cyprus became big centres of trade, from which many exports went into the Levant.[2]
The following periods are distinguished on Cyprus.
Cypro-Geometric Period (1050–750BC)
This is a wheel-made pottery featuring rich and symmetrical painted decoration of parallel lines, bands, concentric circles, rhombi, checked, meanders, rosettes, lotus flowers, papyruses and various other floral and geometrical motifs.
The Cypro-Geometric period is still not fully understood and is much debated. The main point of contention is the continuity between the end of the Bronze Age and the early Geometric period.
During the Cypro-Geometric I Period (1050–950 BC), the following types of pottery were produced on Cyprus other than the Bichrome: White Painted, Plain White, and Black Slip potteries.[3]
Archaic Period (750–475 BC)
This period is distinguished by the jugs of the free field style. They feature unique schematised bichrome type representations of bulls, birds, fishes and additional decorative forms.
Cypro-Classical Period (475–325 BC)
A type of Bichrome pottery (Bichrome VII) was produced as late as the Cypro-Classical Period.[4]
By this time, the artists of Cyprus were most heavily influenced by the art of mainland Greece, but Cypriot idiosyncrasies, such as the pitchers with figural spouts still existed. The human figure made more regular appearances in art than in previous ages, and sculpture became popular on large and minuscule scales.[5]
Scientific analysis
In the early 1970s, a noted nuclear scientist Isadore Perlman undertook the analysis of numerous Cypriot ceramics sent to him by the Swedish archaeologist, Einar Gherstad, when he pioneered high-precision methods of neutron activation analysis at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in the US. Neutron activation analysis helps to determine the origin of ancient pottery and other artifacts through the analysis of the clay from which they were made. He was helped in the project by another noted scientist Frank Asaro.[6]
Second millennium BC pottery from Cyprus was one of the first archaeological projects that Perlman and Asaro undertook. The project of the origin of the then assumed Second Millennium Palestinian Bichrome Ware was undertaken as part of the PhD thesis of Michal Artzy. This project was chosen because the archaeology for that period in that area was rather confused, and Perlman hoped to add some clarity to the matter.[7]
Aided by the Swedish archaeologist Einar Gjerstad, they obtained 1,200 pottery sherds excavated by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition in 1927-31. Up until that time, the distinctive type pottery called "Bichrome Ware," first found in Tel Ajjul in Palestine by the archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie, was believed to originate in Palestine. This pottery was very common all over the Levant. The Berkeley group showed that, in fact, the chemical composition of the pieces matched the composition of Cyprus-made pottery, which meant that these items were later exported to Palestine and other areas, a result that had extensive ramifications on the archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean.[8][9]
Thus, it was found that the fast wheel was used in Cyprus in the second millennium BC (which was not known before). Also, many types of pottery previously believed to have originated in Ras Shamra-Ugarit, now in Syria, had actually been made in Cyprus.
Eriksson, K.O., 1995, Egyptian amphorae from Late Cypriot contexts in Cyprus, in Trade, Contact, and the Movement of Peoples in the Eastern Mediterranean. Studies in Honour of J.Basil Hennessy, Mediterranean Archaeology Supplement 3, (eds. S. Bourke and J.P.Descœdres), 199-205, Meditarch, Sydney
Frankel, D., and Webb, J.M., 2012, Pottery production and distribution in prehistoric Bronze Age Cyprus. An application of pXRF analysis, Journal of Archaeological Science, 39 (5),1380–87
Hadjicosti, M., 1988, Part 1: "Canaanite" Jars from Maa-Palaeokastro, in Excavations at Maa-Palaeokastro 1979–1986, (eds. V. Karageorghis and M. Demas), 340-86, Department of Antiquities, Nicosia, Cyprus
Knapp, A.B., and Cherry, J.F., (eds.), 1994, Provenience Studies and Bronze Age Cyprus, Production, Exchange and Politico-Economic Change, Monographs in World Archaeology 21, Prehistory Press, Madison, Wisconsin
Merrillees, R.S. 1970. Evidence for the Bichrome Wheel-made Ware in Egypt. Australian Journal of Biblical Archaeology 1/3: 3-27.
Mommsen, H., Beier, Th., and Åström, P., 2003, Neutron activation analysis of six Mycenean sherds from Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus, in Archaeology and Natural Science, Vol. 2, (ed. P.Åström), 5-10, Sävedalen
Renson, V., Coenaerts, J., Nys, K., Mattielli, N., Åström, P., and Claeys, P., 2007, Provenance determination of pottery from Hala Sultan Tekke using lead isotopic analysis: Preliminary results, in Hala Sultan Tekke 12. Tomb 24, Stone Anchors, Faunal Remains and Pottery Provenance, Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, 45 (12), (eds. P. Åström and K. Nys), 53-60, Paul Åströms förlag, Sävedalen.
Renson, V.; Coenaerts, J.; Nys, K.; Mattielli, N.; Vanhaecke, F.; Fagel, N.; Claeys, P. H. (2011). "Lead Isotopic Analysis for the Identification of Late Bronze Age Pottery from Hala Sultan Tekke (Cyprus)". Archaeometry. 53: 37–57. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2010.00535.x.
Tschegg, C., Hein, I., and Ntaflos, T., 2008, State of the art multi-analytical geoscientific approach to identify Cypriot Bichrome Wheelmade Ware reproduction in the Eastern Nile delta (Egypt), Journal of Archaeological Science, 35, 1134-47.
Tschegg, C., Ntaflos, T., and Hein, I., 2009, Integrated geological, petrologic and geochemical approach to establish source material and technology of Late Cypriot Bronze Age Plain White ware ceramics, Journal of Archaeological Science, 36, 1103–14
Yellin, J., 2007, Instrumental neutron activation based provenance studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with a case study on Mycenaean pottery from Cyprus, Archaeometry, 49 (2), 271-88
The term Greek Dark Ages refers to the period of Greek history from the end of the Mycenaean palatial civilization, around 1100 BC, to the beginning of the Archaic age, around 750 BC. Archaeological evidence shows a widespread collapse of Bronze Age civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean world at the outset of the period, as the great palaces and cities of the Mycenaeans were destroyed or abandoned. At about the same time, the Hittite civilization suffered serious disruption, as cities from Troy to Gaza were destroyed. In Egypt, the New Kingdom fell into disarray, which led to the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt. Following the collapse, fewer, smaller settlements suggest extensive famine and depopulation. In Greece, the Linear B script used by Mycenaean bureaucrats to write the Greek language ceased, with the Greek alphabet not developing until the beginning of the Archaic Period. The decoration on Greek pottery after about 1100 BC lacks the figurative decoration of Mycenaean ware and is restricted to simpler, generally geometric styles (1000–700 BC).
Mycenaean Greece was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland Greece with its palatial states, urban organization, works of art, and writing system. The Mycenaeans were mainland Greek peoples who were likely stimulated by their contact with insular Minoan Crete and other Mediterranean cultures to develop a more sophisticated sociopolitical culture of their own. The most prominent site was Mycenae, after which the culture of this era is named. Other centers of power that emerged included Pylos, Tiryns, Midea in the Peloponnese, Orchomenos, Thebes, Athens in Central Greece and Iolcos in Thessaly. Mycenaean settlements also appeared in Epirus, Macedonia, on islands in the Aegean Sea, on the south-west coast of Asia Minor, Cyprus, while Mycenaean-influenced settlements appeared in the Levant, and Italy.
The Prehistoric Period is the oldest part of Cypriot history. This article covers the period 10,000 to 800 BC and ends immediately before the documented history of Cyprus begins.
Einar Nilson Gjerstad was a Swedish archaeologist. He was most noted for his research of the ancient Mediterranean, particularly known for his work on Cyprus, as well as his studies of early Rome.
Hala Sultan Tekke or the Mosque of Umm Haram is a mosque and tekke complex on the west bank of Larnaca Salt Lake, in Larnaca, Cyprus. Umm Haram was the wife of Ubada bin al-Samit, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and foster sister of Muhammad’s mother, Aminah bint Wahb.
Marion was one of the Ten city-kingdoms of Cyprus. It was situated in the north-west of the island in the Akamas region, close to or under the present town of Polis. Both Strabo and Pliny the Elder mention the city in their writings.
Pottery and ceramics have been produced in the Levant since prehistoric times.
Tall al-Ajjul or Tell el-'Ajul is an archaeological mound or tell in the Gaza Strip. The fortified city excavated at the site dates as far back as ca. 2000-1800 BCE and was inhabited during the Bronze Age. It is located at the mouth of Wadi Ghazzah just south of the town of Gaza.
Mycenaean pottery is the pottery tradition associated with the Mycenaean period in Ancient Greece. It encompassed a variety of styles and forms including the stirrup jar. The term "Mycenaean" comes from the site Mycenae, and was first applied by Heinrich Schliemann.
Philistine Bichrome ware is an archaeological term coined by William F. Albright in 1924 which describes pottery production in a general region associated with the Philistine settlements during the Iron Age I period in ancient Canaan. The connection of the pottery type to the "Philistines" is still held by many scholars, although some question its methodological validity.
A stirrup jar is a type of pot associated with the culture of Mycenaean Greece. They have small squat bodies, a pouring spout, and a second nonfunctioning spout over which the handles connect like a stirrup. During the Late Bronze Age, they were used in the export of oils, and are found in large numbers at sites around the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond. The term "stirrup-jar" is a translation of German "Bügelkanne", the name assigned to them by Heinrich Schliemann who found the first instances during his excavations at Troy.
Paul Åström was a Swedish archaeologist and classical scholar. He was a professor at the University of Gothenburg and director of the Swedish institutes in Athens and Rome. He is mostly known for his achievements in the prehistoric archaeology of Cyprus.
Peter M. Fischer is an Austrian-Swedish archaeologist. He is a specialist on Eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern archaeology, and archaeometry. He belongs to the University of Gothenburg and is associated with the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Sweden. He is the founder and director of the Swedish Jordan Expedition, the Palestinian-Swedish Expedition at Tall al-Ajjul, Gaza. He became the director of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition in 2009 and carried out excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke since 2010. He is member/corresponding member of The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg, Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. and The Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Frank Asaro was an Emeritus Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory associated with the University of California at Berkeley. He is best known as the chemist who discovered the iridium anomaly in the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary layer that led the team of Luis Alvarez, Walter Alvarez, Frank Asaro, and Helen Michel to propose the Asteroid-Impact Theory, which postulates that an asteroid hit the Earth sixty-five million years ago and caused mass extinction during the age of the dinosaurs.
Tell Kazel is an oval-shaped tell that measures 350 m × 325 m at its base, narrowing to 200 m × 200 m at its top. It is located in the Safita district of the Tartus Governorate in Syria in the north of the Akkar plain on the north of the al-Abrash river approximately 18 km (11 mi) south of Tartus.
Isadore Perlman was an American nuclear chemist noted for his research of Alpha particle decay. The National Academy of Sciences called Perlman "a world leader on the systematics of alpha decay". He was also recognized for his research of nuclear structure of the heavy elements. He was also noted for his isolation of Curium, as well as for fission of tantalum, bismuth, lead, thallium and platinum. Perlman discovered uses of radioactive iodine and phosphorus for medical purposes. He played a key role in Manhattan Project's plutonium production.
Larnaca District Museum is a museum in Larnaca, Cyprus that has displays that show the "historical development of the city of Kition and the District of Larnaka in general." It was inaugurated in 1969. and was formerly named Larnaca District Archaeological Museum. It is controlled by the Department of Antiquities.
The pottery of ancient Cyprus starts during the Neolithic period. Throughout the ages, Cypriot ceramics demonstrate many connections with cultures from around the Mediterranean. During the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, it is especially imaginative in shape and decoration. There are also many early terracotta figurines that were produced depicting female figures.
Grey ware is pottery with a body that fires to grey. This type of pottery can be found in different archaeological sites around the world.
Ancient Cypriot art refers to all works of visual art originating from Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean from c. 10,000 BC to c. 330 AD. During this period, various types of objects were produced such as domestic tools, weaponry, jewellery, and decorative figurines. This range of art attests to the blend of both native and foreign influences of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome as they successively occupied the country. Artworks produced in ancient Cyprus incorporate almost all of the mediums of visual art worked on in ancient history including terracotta, stone, metals, glass, and gemstones.
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