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Reassembling the pieces, reassessing the picture: an analytical study of medieval pottery (mid. twelfth–sixteenth c.) from Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus

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Abstract

This paper presents the results of the analytical study of medieval pottery (mid. twelfth–sixteenth centuries AD), both glazed tableware and coarse wares, from a domestic structure uncovered at the site of Polis-Petrerades, Cyprus. A total of 50 samples were selected for scientific analysis, representing the main wares attested across the island from the Frankish (1192–1489) and Venetian (1489–1571) periods. This study follows an integrated approach to ceramic studies, which includes the classification of wares as well as petrographic and chemical analyses of selected samples, aiming to characterise ceramic bodies, slips and glazes. The results contribute to the reconstruction of production sequences that were, furthermore, interpreted within the archaeological and historical contexts of the period to address questions of ceramic production, potting traditions and distribution of medieval wares in Cyprus. Glazed tableware of different local workshops, namely Paphos and Lapithos, along with imports, reached that particular domestic building in the northwest of the island. Furthermore, local glazed and unglazed coarse wares were produced at different workshops than glazed tableware, the former showing a consistent preference for non-calcareous clays associated with the Troodos mountains. The heterogeneous character of the assemblage demonstrates the active participation of Polis Chrysochous within the regional and interregional trading routes of the period. At the same time, by focusing on a consumption context, this study reveals the potential that can be gained through the scientific analysis of both table and coarse wares from urban and rural sites of Medieval Cyprus.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Prof. Thilo Rehren, A.G. Leventis Chair in Archaeological Sciences at the Cyprus Institute, who provided access to the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Centre (STARC) laboratory facilities of the Cyprus Institute and the A.G. Leventis Foundation for funding part of analytical study. We would also like to thank a number of people that made this research possible: Assoc. Prof. Athanasios Vionis of the University of Cyprus for suggesting to study the material from Polis Chrysochous and helping with the typological identification of the ceramics under study, Dr Chris Doherty, Archaeomaterials Laboratory Manager of the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art of the University of Oxford, for supervising the thesis, the excavators of the site, Dr William A. P. Childs and Dr Joanna Smith, for allowing to study material from the Princeton University excavations at Polis Chrysochous, Dr Brunella Santarelli for the training in sample preparation and SEM-EDS analysis, Dr Maria Dikomitou-Eliadou for sharing her knowledge and expertise on ceramic petrography and Cypriot pottery, Anna-Maria Sdralia for the preparation of polished cross-sections, Dr Marina Solomidou-Ieronymidou, the former Director of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, for granting us permission to study the material, and Dr Lindy Crewe, Director of the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI), for providing us access to the microscope of CAARI for the photomicrographs.

Funding

The research presented in this paper was conducted as part of an MSc in Archaeological Science at the University of Oxford, supported by the Greek Archaeological Committee of the UK (Matti Egon II scholarship), the Sylvia Ioannou Foundation and the University of Oxford (Edward Hall Memorial Fund). The analyses conducted at the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Centre (STARC) laboratory facilities of the Cyprus Institute were supported by the A.G. Leventis Foundation, through their grant to the Cyprus Institute.

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  1. School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3TG, UK

    Christiana Kelepeshi

  2. Division of Geology, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200 E – bus 2411, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Christiana Kelepeshi

  3. The Cyprus Institute, 20 Konstantinou Kavafi Street, 2121, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Jelena Živković

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  1. Christiana Kelepeshi
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Christiana Kelepeshi: conceptualisation, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writing-original, writing—review and editing, visualisation.

Jelena Živković: methodology, formal analysis, validation, writing—original, writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Christiana Kelepeshi.

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Kelepeshi, C., Živković, J. Reassembling the pieces, reassessing the picture: an analytical study of medieval pottery (mid. twelfth–sixteenth c.) from Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 16, 8 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01909-y

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