Terrakottalar Işığında Antik Kıbrıslıların Gündelik Hayatı (Daily Life of Ancient Cypriots in light of Terracottas), III. Uluslararası Akdeniz Pişmiş Toprak Sempozyumu, Bedesten, (18.05.2015 - Lefkoşa). (original) (raw)
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The multifaceted significance of Cypriot terracottas has been acknowledged by the large corpus of published data, which addresses a series of interlinked issues, related to their typological, stylistic and chronological classification, the technology and techniques employed in their manufacture, their provenance, the mode of their production, the scale of their distribution, and their role as cultural artefacts in differing social contexts. However, despite the substantial studies on earlier Cypriot terracotta figurines, the Hellenistic and Roman material remains – with very few exemptions – highly neglected, and outside recent theoretical and scientific developments. The terracotta figurines from the House of Orpheus in Nea Paphos, excavated by the Cypriot Department of Antiquities between 1982-1992 and by the University of Cyprus since 2010, form part of a significant material assemblage that spans in time from the Hellenistic to the Roman periods. These high-quality terracotta figurines fall within the mainstream of Cypriot art and its associated ancient technological and cultural systems. This project, bringing together scholars from different backgrounds, aimed at a systematic and holistic assessment of this assemblage. Stylistic, analytical and theoretical methods of study were employed, tackling the aforementioned issues for these later periods of Cypriot Antiquity. Additionally, through comparative studies with other Cypriot and Mediterranean sites, the project examined continuing and changing patterns of production, distribution and function of Cypriot terracottas, as a result of the interplay between local structures and incoming Ptolemaic and Roman socio-political and socio-cultural impositions. More specifically, the project undertook: 1. a typological, stylistic and iconographic analysis of the figurines; 2. their compositional study focusing on fabrics, slips and pigments; 3. a systematic attempt to interpret the analytical data addressing issues related to chronology, technology of manufacture, provenance and distribution; 4. the study of the inscriptions incised on some of the figurines; 5. the contextualisation of the figurines within their individual depositional intra-site context, as well as their broader socio-cultural and socio-political Cypriot and Mediterranean contexts; and 6. the reconstruction and visualisation of specific fragmented specimens in their anticipated full shape and colour. The implementation of this project was achieved using a range of multidisciplinary approaches and methods, such as traditional examinations of style, statistics, social theory, chemical analyses, and drawing software.
Naukratis: Cypriot figures in terracotta and limestone (2015)
2015
The role of Naukratis as a significant eastern Mediterranean trade hub is confirmed by the numerous – over 250 – Cypriot alabaster, limestone and terracotta figures found in the site’s Greek sanctuaries. Indeed, it was the discovery of a Cypriot alabaster figure that led Flinders Petrie to Naukratis in the first place. The quantity of Cypriot figures found within the earliest layers of the Greek sanctuaries of Aphrodite, Apollo and to a lesser degree the sanctuary of Hera and the Hellenion is an indicator of the strength of trade relations between Egypt and Cyprus during the Late Period, particularly during the Saite period. This chapter introduces the range of Cypriot figures found as votive offerings within the Greek sanctuaries of Naukratis. Their production, use and deposition is discussed, highlighting their prominent role as dedications of visitors to Naukratis during the period when the settlement had a unique role as Egypt’s hub of Mediterranean trade.
The conference presented a wide variety of research topics related to Cypriot material culture. Young scholars presented twenty papers and two posters in sessions arranged by topic in order to enhance the discussion between the participants who are frequently confronted with similar methodological questions. All papers were of a very high standard and demonstrated that there is a new generation of young scholars keen to challenge long- held assumptions and to raise new questions. Some papers dealt with archaeometric data and interdisciplinary research which allowed to re-evaluate assemblages. Other papers departed from new-collected archaeological data and presented original contributions. Moreover, some papers clearly sought to understand how Cyprus interacted with its neighbours in different time periods. The first session set the tone of the POCA 2008 conference by presenting a variety of research topics from different periods: we started with a review on cultural heritage in Cyprus during the period of 1963-1974. Next, we went back until Chalcolitic times to examine the health status from the cemetery at Souskiou-Laona. A re-assessment of Middle Bronze Age evidence illustrated the need to consider this period preliminary to the opening of the Late Cypriot period, while the fourth paper concentrated on regional exchange in southeast Cyprus in that period. The second session grouped papers that presented long distance relations between Cyprus and other areas within the eastern Mediterranean: two papers dealt with the connectivity with Levantine areas in the Bronze and Iron Age —respectively Anatolia and Syria— whereas, a third paper concentrated on Cypro-Archaic and Cypro-Classical relations between Marion and Athens. In the third session, figurine traditions were put in retrospect: the technology of picrolite figurines was explained in order to better appreciate a very specific section within the Chalcolithic material culture. Bronze Age anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines were" "considered to shed light on how the social and political structure, tradition connections, expressions of individual and group identity changed over time. Specifically, the last paper sought to understand how to interpret the “goddesses with upraised arms” which bear strong similarities to the Cretan examples. The fourth session continued to explore the previous theme by examining Hathoric figures from Amathous and how this “Egyptian deity” was perceived in the Archaic city of Amathous. Statues of Roman emperors, their inscriptions and context were viewed in order to understand the roles that statues played in the imperial cult and imperial representation. Two more papers contributed by considering sculptural and architectural types of material culture: both the early Christian marble tables and Islamic Proskynitaria are significant for their time period. Pottery was the central theme of the fifth session: four papers dealt with archaeometric data in order to answer larger questions on ceramic production, technology and provenance determination. In addition, a few Cypriot finds from Carthage were presented. The sixth session grouped inscriptions, linguistic and epigraphical evidence from different periods in order to reconsider some of the long held views on the people and their society. The last session included the search of the Gymnasium of Nea Paphos, whose existence is corroborated by inscriptions. The last paper also concentrated on architecture, more specifically, on the political motivations of water control through a number of public works and aqueducts.
The Case of the Cypro-Phoenician Terracottas in Phoenicia
In scientific literature, one often hears about Cypro-Phoenician material culture. This terminology can indicate both artefacts produced by Cypriot craftsmanship and found in the Levant or artefacts of a particular category (ceramics, sculpture, metals, etc.) that present stylistic characteristics halfway between two cultures. In the past, this term was also arbitrarily assigned to material categories based on early archaeological finds, namely creating fictitious cultural labels. But what exactly are the Cypro-Phoenician terracottas in Phoenicia? These are part of a very small coroplastic group of Cypriot origin found in some locations along the Levantine coast at the beginning of the Persian period. In fact, starting from the 6th century BCE onward, some allochthonous coroplastic subjects began to appear in a few Levantine sites. These non-local figurines can be divided into two macro-groups: the Cipro-Phoenician and Graeco-Phoenician figurines. Both groups are frequently recovered together with the local production named the Phoenician II group. If for the Graeco-Phoenician group one can detect a particularly varied local development, the phenomenon of the imported Cypriot figurines instead does not seem to have a follow-up. This paper, therefore, aims to introduce this discrete coroplastic group in geographical, chronological, and cultural terms.