Cyprus and Ugarit at the end of the Late Bronze Age : insights from Pyla-Kokkinokremos

Cyprus and the northern Levant with the kingdom of Ugarit were affected by drastic socio-cultural changes shortly after 1200 BCE, the causes and effects of which remain discussed. This paper summarizes some of the most recent research, taking both historical and archaeological sources into consideration. Within this supra-regional analysis, special attention is given to the settlement of Pyla-Kokkinokremoson the island of Cyprus. The site, located just to the east of Larnaca Bay on top of a naturally fortified plateau, has again been under archaeological investigation since 2014 by a joint mission of the UGhent (J. Bretschneider), the UCLouvain (J. Driessen) and the Mediterranean Archaeological Society (A. Kanta). Pyla-Kokkinokremos is exceptional because it was short-lived, established before the end of the 13th c. BCE, and suddenly abandoned early in the 12th c. BCE. As such, the settlement pepresents an informative “time capsule” of a critical phase (Late Cypriot IIC-IIIA) in the Late Bronze Age history of the island. The previously attested multi-ethnic character of the finds made in the Kokkinokremos settlement has been confirmed by the ongoing excavations, with objects that originate in Sardinia, Crete, Egypt, Anatolia, Mycenaean Greece (esp. the Argolid) and the Syro-Palestinian coast. Some questions such as who founded the settlement at this specific, strategic location and why it was abandoned suddenly relatively soon afterwards, cannot be answered definitely but remain important to understand the relationship between Cyprus and Ugarit at the twilight of the Bronze Age.

ISBN:9789042946927

Jaar van publicatie:2021

Toegankelijkheid:Open