Kourion is a city on the south side of Cyprus. The ruins are impressive and they have some very fine mosaics, this being one of them. Here you see one, from the late second century AD (House of the Gladiators), depicting two gladiators during a fight: Μαργαρειτης vs Ελλενικος (Margareites vs Hellenikos.
Humans can take very strange shapes in depictions, this is one of the strangest I've ever seen. The shape is called Oinochoe, here from the Cypro archaic period (i.e. 750-600 BC).
I have posted several Roman glass vessels from Cyprus lately. Here's something a little bit different, a glass figurine in the shape of a bird. The piece is dated to 30 BC-330 AD.
This is a painting from the church of all of Cyprus Saints, just below the Stavrovouni Monastery, a place where only men are allowed. I was, however, not able to get in, as the gates were closed between 12.00 and 15.00 hours.
I'm sure that you've heard about the very famous calf bearer from the Acropolis in Athens (if not, please google it) - here you have something very similar from Cyprus (archaic period ca 750-480 BC). Could there be some kind of connection, or is this just a coincident? It may be impossible to answer that question.
Talking about parallels and familiar shapes. I have already posted several White Slip II vessel (see here and here) and here's another one. The point is to show you how very standardized the antique pottery could be - something that makes dating very much easier.
It is easy to see parallels everywhere once you've begun. Be warned however, this is dangerous, you might run into something that look like something else by pure chance. This is one such object, it's probably a Syrian product in origin, wheel made and dating to the 15th century BC - it would however be easy to draw the conclusion (if unaware of the dating) that this piece is related to cypro geometric pottery, a ware that was to produced almost a half millennia later (as seen in this post).
Some finds are to be expected, but they still surprise you when you actually see them. Here's a piece from a Mycenaean Krater (wine mixing bowl), the late Bronze Age, depicting a deer in flight.
First of all, apologies for my irregular posting - the internet connection here is terrible.
Anyway, today's picture, yet another Roman glass vessel (30BC-330AD), as I want to give you an idea of how many different shapes and colours you might run into. You can compare it to the ones I posted a few days ago (one fish and one normal vessel)
Here's another piece of Roman glass (30 BC-330 AD). You can actually recognize the ancient shape, even as the colour and material is unfamiliar.
Anyone following this blog must have noticed that I post pictures of Roman fish from time to time. Here's one, dated to 30 BC-330 AD from Cyprus - it looks so modern, I could have walked right by it at a flee market.
You might want to compare it to any of these: fauces mosaic, sea monster fauces mosaic, marine style vessel, fish and squid, an ugly fish from Ostia, marine fresco, fish mosaic from the baths of Caracalla, a dophin from Ostia, fish painting from the Peirene spring at Corinth, a mosaic (prophetic fish) from Monte Martini and a fish from Nemea.
These are some of the many circular buildings within the neolithic, aceramic (i.e. without the knowledge of how to produce pottery), settlement of Choirokoitia. The site date from the 9th millennia and onward, and the largest houses are about 9 meters in diameter. Another interesting feature is the huge wall, designed to protect the site from an unknown enemy.
Horns of Consecration from Kition (limestone, 13th century BC)
This is something I did not expect to find at Cyprus, horns of consecration, a feature I, until not, thought unique to the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations.
A White Slip II vessel, dated to the late Bronze Age.
This is (if I am correct) a typical White Slip II vessel. It is easily recognizable by the decorations, the fact that it is not wheel made, the fine quality and the rather unique wish bone handle. You can also notice the shape, a bowl, that doesn't exist as White Slip I. For another example of the general type, look here.
I have mentioned strangely shaped vessels more than once on this blog. Here is another one from the Bronze Age Cyprus. I must admit that I have no idea what so ever what this item was used for - I can only imagine that it was hanging somewhere, due to the handle.
This is the sunrise over Hala Sultan Tekke, I will make sure to visit the mosque as soon as possible, I am very excited to see it.
Apologies for not posting as frequently as I usually do, the internet at the hotel I'm staying on is down every second day. I'm trying my very best.
This is a White Slip vessel from Cyprus. The type was popular during the late bronze age and is very important for dating other finds - it is also rather easy to recognize. This is one of the many objects types we want to find at the excavations I'm participating in at the moment.
I apologise for the very short posts lately, but I'm working at an excavation and I really don't have very much time to write anything.
Anyway this is a simply the head of a statue (perhaps a bust) with a wretch from Pergamos, dated to 550-500 BC. The style is what interests me here, as it's very much influenced by the near east- Cyprus is a mixed cultural sphere.
You might remember this Minoan bull-shaped Ryhton (Bronze Age) that I posted a while ago. Compare it to this one from Cyprus, or some of the finds that are to be found at the Cycladic museum at Athens - the bull shape is obviously popular in a larger are at this time.
I can unfortunately tell you very little about this piece - it's a Bronze Age vessel from Cyprus. The decoration was what caught my attention: a warrior, stabbing a man's shield with a spear and a sword, you could perhaps find a fitting quote from the Iliad? Too bad that I'm short on time.
You might remember that I talked about Eurystheus and how he used to hide in a huge storage vessel, called pithos (sing. pithoi) whenever Heracles would bring in a scary beast (as seen here). Here you see such a vessel, this one from Cyprus.
I must admit that I know almost nothing about per-historic bath tubs, but here is one from Pyla, dating to the 12th century BC. One thing is sure thou, people were very small back in the bronze age, or they simply enjoyed a very small tub - I could never fit into this thing.
This is the site where so called Sargon (II) Stele, dated to the late 8th century BC, was found during the mid 1840's (to be found in Berlin today). The find is important to us today as it record a list of seven kings on Cyprus that paid homage to the king of Nineveh.
Notice that I am going to Cyprus for an excavation later today, which mean that I might not be able to post anything for a while. Cross your fingers.
This is a Cyratid (ca 50-100 BC) from the lesser propylaia at Euleusis. You can find another cyratid for comparison here.
Here you have two shots of two remaining middle helladic (2000-1600 BC) tombs at Marathon. Now, the tombs them self are, of course, fascinating, but the project to preserve is what sparks my interest. I very much doubt that this much money would have been spent anywhere else but here - then again, there's always Bassae.
This statue, dated to 480-470 BC, is known as Leonidas and was found on the Spartan acropolis (sanctuary of Athena Chalkioikos, i.e. the copper house). Remember however that the name is a modern interpretation.
This is the odeon at Gortyn. The type is well known and you can easily make out the basic Roman features; the brick pillars and the scaena (scene). It's actually even more obvious when you take a look at it in situ.
