Classics Commons^™

Potmarks, Nicolle E. Hirschfeld

Classical Studies Faculty Research

Twelve potmarks have been recorded among the finds from Tel Mor (Fig. 6.1). They are all simple marks, and only one may possibly be part of a longer inscription. They are incised, mostly into handles. At present, we do not know enough about the potmarking practices of the Late Bronze Age Levant to ascertain whether the assemblage recovered from Tel Mor is typical or unusual.

Vases Marked For Exchange: The Not-So-Special Case Of Pictorial Pottery, Nicolle E. Hirschfeld

Classical Studies Faculty Research

Large, bold marks are painted or incised on the handles or bases of thirty-seven pictorial vases. These same kinds of marks and same patterns of marking are found on non-pictorial Mycenaean pottery. In general, marks on Mycenaean pottery are rare and the circumstances of their use are not yet fully understood. It is clear that they are associated with Cyprus, and it is most likely that they are associated with Cypriot traders. The marks do indicate that pictorial vases were handled through the same channels and documented in the same manner as the trade in linear and pattern-decorated Mycenaean pottery.

Caveat Emptor Collecting And Processing Pottery In Western Rough Cilicia, Nicholas K. Rauh, Richard M. Rothaus

Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project, 1996-2011

This paper furnishes a preliminary assessment of the field and laboratory procedures used to obtain ceramic field data by the participants of Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project in western Rough Cilicia (Gazipasha District, Antalya Province, south coastal Turkey). Between 1996 and 2004 the pedestrian team of the Rough Cilicia Survey conducted pottery collections and otherwise processed field pottery as its principal operation. Through nine consecutive field seasons the pedestrian team identified and processed an aggregate of 7313 sherds.

This is a self-archived copy of the paper that was presented in 2004 and published in 2006 as

Rauh, Nicolas K., and …

Die Zyprische Keramik Aus Dem Schiffswrack Von Uluburun, Nicolle E. Hirschfeld

Classical Studies Faculty Research

Mehr als 150 zyprische Gefäße Öllampen und Vorratsbehälter (Pithoi) wurden aus dem Schiff herausgeschleudert und auf dem Meeresgrund zerschmettert, als dieses Schiff in der Spätbronzezeit bei Uluburun unterging. Zyprische Keramik zählt zu den bekannten Exportprodukten der Spätbronzezeit. Sie wurde in zahlreichen Siedlungen des östlichen Mittelmeerraums angetroffen, einschließlich Sardiniens als westlichstem Punkt. Jedoch gibt die Entdeckung dieser Keramik in entlegenen Siedlungen Anlass zur Überlegung, wohin, in welchen Mengen und zu welchem Zweck sie exportiert wurde. Folgende Fragen wären zu beantworten: War dieser Exportartikel von Angebot und Nachfrage abhängig? Stellt diese Keramik ein Mittel im Geschenkeaustausch dar? Wurde sie durch private oder …

Eastwards Via Cyprus? The Marked Mycenaean Pottery Of Enkomi, Ugarit And Tell Abu Hawam, Nicolle E. Hirschfeld

Classical Studies Faculty Research

Based on her study of distribution patterns, Vronwy Hankey suggested that Cyprus or Cypriots played some role in the trade of Mycenaean pottery eastwards to the Levant. She also noted that some of the Mycenaean pottery which reached both Cyprus and the Near East carried marks incised on handles or painted on bases. This paper examines the possible relationships between the marks, Mycenaean pottery, Cyprus, and the trade in Late Bronze Age ceramics. Special reference is made to the evidence from the sites of Enkomi, Ugarit, and Tell Abu Hawam.

À partir de son étude sur les schémas de répartition, …

Marks On Pots: Patterns Of Use In The Archaeological Record At Enkomi, Nicolle E. Hirschfeld

Classical Studies Faculty Research

Marks scratched or painted on the Late Bronze Age (LBA) pottery of the eastern Mediterranean are often highly visible elements of the ceramic assemblage because of their bold rendering and prominent placement (fig. 1). Nevertheless, often they have been overlooked. In those instances where they have been noted, interest in them has been primarily epigraphical. Certainly some of the potmarks are connected somehow with contemporary writing systems. But all of them, signs of script or not, have some reason(s) for being painted or incised on certain vases. This paper begins the process of looking systematically for those reasons.

Aphrati And Kato Syme: Pottery, Continuity, And Cult In Late Archaic And Classical Crete, Brice L. Erickson

Dartmouth Scholarship

The analysis of ceramics from Aphrati sheds valuable new light on the history of this Cretan settlement and on its relationship with a nearby rural sanctuary at Kato Syme in the Late Archaic and Classical periods. It has long been held that Aphrati was deserted from ca. 600 to 400 B.C. A pottery deposit from the domestic quarter, however, now supports occupation of the city during this period. A ceramic classification system is presented and the morphological development and absolute chronology of several key shapes at Aphrati and Kato Syme are plotted. Historical implications of the ceramic evidence are also …

Cypriots To The West? The Evidence Of Their Potmarks, Nicolle E. Hirschfeld

Classical Studies Faculty Research

Three amphora handles (Fig. 1), of Mycenaean type, bear the only possible traces of Cypriot writing found in Bronze Age Italy, and they are the only known possible direct traces of Cypriot participation in trade with the western Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age. In this paper, I proceed first with a brief description of the marked handles and their provenience; second, I illustrate their Cypriot associations; and finally I discuss possible implications of this identification.

Cypriots In The Mycenaean Aegean, Nicolle E. Hirschfeld

Classical Studies Faculty Research

Many different types of evidence provide clues to the nature of commercial exchange among the regions of the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean. I approach this topic through the study of marks which were incised or painted on pottery traded between the Near East and the Aegean. Thanks to the kindness of many excavators and museum officials in Cyprus and Greece, I have been able to examine firsthand much of the marked pottery found in those regions.

Incised Marks (Post-Firing) On Aegean Wares, Nicolle E. Hirschfeld

Classical Studies Faculty Research

The practice of incising potmarks into LH and LM III vessels after firing is not only distinctive but also a peculiar and limited Cypriot phenomenon. A close examination of the types of vessels marked in this way and their distribution should provide some clues to patterns of trade between the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. The work I present here is still very much in progress, and I welcome suggestions and criticisms.

Cypriot Marks On Mycenaean Pottery, Nicolle E. Hirschfeld

Classical Studies Faculty Research

Most signs incised into Late Helladic/Late Minoan III pottery are related in form and method of application, as well as the types of vessels to which they are applied and the chronological range and distribution of those vessels. The signs are almost always incised after firing, generally into the handles of large transport/storage vessels : stirrup jars (both coarse and fine-ware varieties) or a particular piriform jar shape (FS 36). With few exceptions, the Aegean vessels with incised marks which can be closely dated by either ceramic typology or stratigraphical context fall within LH IIIA-B; of those which can be …