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GUIDE D’AMATHONTE 15 x 22cm 224pp. 1 fold–out site plan, 21 plans, 92 figures Published by the Ecole francaise d’Athenes and the A.G. Leventis Foundation ISBN 9963–560–28–8 Paperback $17.60 / £C8.00 |
The site of Amathus lies on the southern coast of Cyprus 10km. ENE of Limassol. Discoveries have been made on the site since Lusignan times, and excavations were initially undertaken by British and Swedish archaeologists in 1893-94 and 1930 respectively. More recently, French scholars from the Ecole francaise d’Athenes resumed excavation in 1975 and these excavations are still continuing. Archaeologists from the Department. of Antiquities of the Republic of Cyprus have also been excavating various sectors since 1959. This volume summarizes all research undertaken on the site to date; more detailed specialist reports are listed below.
The area surrounding the site of Amathus is known from field survey to have been settled since the earliest Neolithic. Bronze Age remains are rare in the region. Following the initial settlement at Amathus itself ca. 1100 B.C., lengthy occupation has been attested by excavation in the Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods, lasting until the destruction of the city at the time of the Arab raids. The site consists of a walled acropolis with an associated lower town and port. Extensive necropoleis also exist adjacent to it. The six chapters of the guide are devoted to the geographical setting, the history of the excavations, the history of the town and the kingdom of Amathus, a detailed description of the architectural remains and the necropoleis, a summary of the history of settlement in the region and notes on finds from Amathus on display in the Limassol District Museum. Extensive bibliography, glossary and index.
LES NECROPOLES SUD-OUEST ET SUD-EST D’AMATHONTE 21 x 29.7cm viii + 203pp. Published by the Department of Antiquities, Ecole francaise d’Athenes and the Foundation A. G. Leventis ISBN 9963-560–09–1 Paperback $30.00/£14.00 |
This volume is the first in a series of reports on tombs excavated in the SE and SW necropoleis of Amathus. Tombs 110-25() were excavated by the Department of Antiquities, and their chronological span ranges from the Geometric to the Roman period. While some had previously been excavated or looted, others were found intact providing important chronological association between local Cypriot pottery and well-dated imports from Greece and the Near East. The form of the tombs ranges from simple subterranean chambers to complex funerary constructions. For each of the Tombs 110-250 information on the location of the tomb is followed by date of excavation, stratigraphy and description of the tomb, Limassol District Museum inventory number and a complete summary catalogue of all artifacts within the tomb. Illustrations are reserved for future volumes, as is the description of Tombs 251-385 for which only the provisional chronology is listed in an Appendix.
LA NECROPOLE D’AMATHONTE. TOMBES 113-367 21 x 29.3cm 58pp. XXXIII plates Published by the Department of Antiquities, Ecole francaise d’Athenes and the Foundation A. G. Leventis ISBN 9963–560–04–0 Paperback $17.60 / £C8.00 |
The five chapters within this volume cover the Phoenician pottery (P. M. Bikai), the Greek Geometric and Archaic imports (J. N. Coldstream), the Attic pottery (M. Robertson), the amphorae (J-Y. Empereur) and Roman pottery (C. Abadie-Reynal). The Phoenician pottery is discussed by Bikai in terms of the four horizons (Kouklia. Salamis, Kition and Amathus) originally proposed in her 1987 volume The Phoenician Pottery of Cyprus. A catalogue of approx. 200 vessels is included. Coldstream publishes 35 vessels (16 Geometric and 19 Archaic) excavated by the Department of Antiquities. The imported Aegean pottery forms a fairly continuous sequence from the late tenth down to the sixth century; Euboea is the chief supplier of Geometric imports. while the Archaic imports are mostly from the East Greek world. For the Attic pottery Robertson catalogues 24 black-figure vases and 22 red-figure. Four amphorae are listed by Empereur from two tombs. Roman vessels are more numerous, comprising fine wares, coarse ware jugs, unguentaria and lamps, frequently found in disturbed contexts.
LA NECROPOLE D’AMATHONTE. TOMBES 113–367 21 x 29.7cm 75pp. 40 figures LII plates Published by the Department of Antiquities, Ecole francaise d’Athenes and the Foundation A. G. Leventis ISBN 9963-560-08-3 Paperback $26.40 / £C12.00 |
Large numbers of terracotta figurines have been found in the tombs at Amathus, and 220 items are catalogued by Karageorghis (in English). These range in date from the Cypro-Geometric to the Graeco-Roman period. They comprise a wide variety of subject matter including human figures in scenes of everyday life, tambourine players, female figures with uplifted arms or hands on their breasts, carts, naiskoi, horse-and-rider figurines, models of furniture and boats and animal figures. All are illustrated in Pl. I-XLI and some are also illustrated in the figures with line drawings. The second part of the volume by Hermary (in French) is concerned with 29 stone objects including small human and animal figures, an anthropoid female marble sarcophagus and 18 other limestone sarcophagi and four complete and fragmentary funerary, stelae, including one with painted decoration.
LA NECROPOLE D’AMATHONTE. TOMBES 110-385 21 x 29.7cm xvii + 111 pp. 3 figures XXV plates (including 1 map) Published by the Department of Antiquities, Ecole francaise d’Athenes and the Foundation A. G. Leventis ISBN 9963-560-10-5 Paperback $26.40 / £C12.00 |
In this volume 700 of the better preserved small finds from Tombs 110-385 in the SE and SW necropoleis at Amathus are catalogued and discussed. Their date ranges from Geometric to the Roman period. Eleven chapters are devoted to bronze vessels, mirrors, strigils, small instruments and tools, various accessories such as harness trappings, a sceptre head and a variety of items of personal adornment. This last category includes 65 fibulae of various types. Numbers of stone, faience and terracotta spindle whorls of various shapes were also found in addition to a small number of bone and ivory artifacts and small stone objects including alabaster bottles and other vessel forms. The final chapter is devoted to a small number of glass objects. The chronology of each of the Tombs 110-385 is listed at the beginning of the volume. An extensive bibliography is also provided, together with a concordance between tomb/artifact numbers and catalogue numbers used in the volume, and a general index.
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LA NECROPOLE D’AMATHONTE. TOMBES 110-385 21 x 29.7cm 209 pp. numerous figures within text, XVI plates Published by the Department of Antiquities, Ecole francaise d’Athenes and the Foundation A. G. Leventis ISBN 9963-560-1S-6 Paperback $26.40 / £C12.00 |
The study of Aegyptiaca (in French) occupies the major part of this volume (pp. 1-157). It is divided into three main sections concerned with scarabs, scaraboids and seals, amulettes and vases. Details of 77 scarabs, scaraboids and seals are listed in a catalogue followed by conclusions to be drawn from their study. Amulets, numbering 184, of very varied types are also catalogued, followed by a lengthy discussion of their occurrence, distribution and significance in Egypt and elsewhere in the Near East. One faience vessel and two fragments thereof are discussed in the final section, Boardman deals with the non-Egyptian intaglios found in the tombs, the stones providing a good representative selection of the glyptic styles of Cyprus, mainly of the 6th century but with several earlier and later. Twenty one silver coins of the fifth century B.C. are published by Picard, and 62 coins of the Graeco-Roman period are discussed by Nicolaou. The final section is concerned with 42 inscribed objects from the various necropoleis. These are mainly funerary cippi, sometimes found in tombs which also contained other Roman artifacts.
LA NECROPOLE D’AMATHONTE. TOMBES 113-367 21 x 29.7cm 174pp. 20 figures, XXXVI plates Published by the Department of Antiquities, Ecole francaise d’Athenes and the Foundation A. G. Leventis ISBN 9963-560-17-2 Paperback $26.40 / £C12.00 |
This volume contains the following studies: "Bijoux et Orfevrerie" by Robert Laffineur, "The Iron and Bronze Weapons" by Colin F. Macdonald, "The Glass" by Andrew Oliver, Jr., "Shells and Animal Bones" by David S. Reese and "The Population of Ancient Amathus" by Melodie R. Domurad. The jewellery comprises ear-rings, spirals and hair ornaments, rings, bracelets, necklaces and beads, and funerary jewellery consisting of decorated bands mostly made of gold. More than 250 complete or fragmentary weapons were found in the tombs. These mainly date to the Geometric and Archaic periods. The term weapon here denotes all objects which could have been used for offensive and defensive purposes including objects appropriate for hunting. The majority of the weapons are knives, but swords and daggers, spearheads and spear butt-spikes and arrowheads were also found together with four iron axes and a mace-head. Of the more than four hundred glasses recovered from the tombs, flasks and unguent bottles are the commonest blown glasses; a small number of core-formed glass vessels was also found. The shells published by Reese derived mainly, as might be expected, from the Mediterranean, but a small number of Red Sea species are represented together with a few fresh-water shells which originated in the river Nile. A total of 33 human skulls (19 males, 13 females, 1 child) was recovered from the tombs. Lifespan was quite long and nutrition seems to have been moderately good. Injuries were notably frequent.
