A picture is worth a thousands words: Pictorial pottery as a marker for socio-economic entanglements between the coast and hinterland. The case of Hala Sultan Tekke and Klavdhia in South-East Cyprus

An in-depth analysis of Late Bronze Age bull protome imagery in the Tremithos river valley in south-east Cyprus can shed light on the socio-economic entanglements between sites with different positions within the local site ranking. The material assemblage and the topographical position of Klavdhia, a hinterland site, reveal a less hierarchical relationship with its coastal centre at Hala Sultan Tekke. Our aim is to provide insights in the complexity of their socio-economic relations and their involvement within the East Mediterranean exchange networks. More specifically, we apply a methodological framework drawing on visual anthropology and sociology, in which we will compare iconography, production, use, consumption, and the materiality and agency of bull protome paintings on imported Late Helladic III ceramic vessels deposited in tombs at Hala Sultan Tekke and Klavdhia. Additional interpretations will be derived by confronting the patterns observed from the visual research with a topographic and settlement pattern analysis in the Tremithos area.

ISBN:978-2-87558-512-7