INTRODUCTION

In 2001, during the installation of the sewage

system in Kato Pafos, a Roman vaulted tomb was

discovered in Icarus Street and excavated by Dr

Raptou, the District Archaeological Officer of the

Department of Antiquities (Raptou 2006).1 A

large proportion of the pottery in the tomb proved

to belong to secondary use in the Medieval peri-

od. The assemblage seems to comprise the com-

plete content of at least one household and pro-

vides a rare insight into everyday life of a house-

hold in Frankish Pafos. The glazed table wares

from the tomb are being studied by Holly Cook

from Sydney University, who dated the assem-

blage to the second half of the 13th century (Cook

pers. comm.) The present article is concerned

exclusively with the coarse wares (i.e. vessels

used for cooking, food processing and storage).

Apart from a group of Levantine imports, the

coarse wares found in the tomb are all hand-

formed and manufactured in dark, reddish-brown

fabric.2 This industry was still common in the

first half of the 20th century (cf. Hampe and Win-

ter 1962), but has gradually dwindled, and the

tradition is now carried on by only a few potters

in Kornos and Foini. As a comprehensive content

of a household, the material from Icarus Street

has a potential to contribute to a study of food

and foodways of Medieval Cyprus, and of pro-

duction of the cooking and storage vessels. This

article, however, shall concentrate on another

aspect, the contribution of the assemblage to

understanding the chronological sequence of

Medieval coarse ware.

The coarse ware of Medieval and post-

Medieval Cyprus shows a considerable element

of continuity in shapes, decoration and manufac-

turing techniques, from the 13th (and possibly

earlier) to the 20th century. When considered

against the ongoing development and change of

the glazed ware industry, this conservatism had

decisive effect on its study. The coarse ware of

Medieval and post-Medieval Cyprus was not

widely distributed outside of the island, and

therefore had no role in the study of the eastern

Mediterranean trade networks; coarse ware rep-

resents the mundane aspects of daily life which is

not often of intense interest to archaeologists

working outside prehistory; its apparent ineffec-

tiveness as a dating tool has therefore cancelled

the last reason for a dedicated study of this body

of material.

In 1999, when the author began a study of the

coarse ware of the 13th-19th centuries as part of

the excavation project of the University of Syd-

ney at the site of the ancient theatre of Nea Pafos

at the location known as Fabrika (Fig. 1), the

prevalent opinion was that there was little change

in the Cypriot coarse ware from the 13th century

to modern times (cf. Gregory 1993, 157). At the

time there was no dedicated study of the coarse

ware, though individual vessels were being pub-

Towards a Chronology - The Medieval coarse ware from the Tomb in Icarus Street, Kato Pafos

Smadar Gabrieli

____________

1. I am very grateful to Dr Raptou for his permission to study

and publish this assemblage, and to Professor Green, Direc-

tor of the Sydney University excavation at Nea Pafos for his

ongoing help and support.

2. There is another corpus of Medieval Coarse ware, manufac-

tured on the fast wheel in light-coloured fabric, which is the

product of a different industry. No example was, however,

found in Icarus Street, and it will not be considered here.

SMADAR GABRIELI2

Fig. 1. Plan of Nea Pafos, showing Icarus Street.

lished regularly as part of complete assemblages

(cf. Megaw 1939, 1971; Flourentzos 1994; Pro-

kopiou 1997; von Wartburg 1997; Papanikola-

Bakirtzi 1988(2)). A growing familiarity with the

pottery in the long-term sequence of the site at

Fabrika, however, increasingly revealed nuances

of change through time, and indicated that the

corpus of the 13th-14th centuries could be defined

as a distinct entity, different from later assem-

blages.3 The remarkable uniformity in details of

manufacture of the coarse wares of Icarus Street,

which comprises more than 80 vessels (see Table

1), made it possible to describe these common

lines of production and shape with some confi-

dence. When compared with deposits of the peri-

od from Fabrika and with other available short-

term deposits, these characteristics proved con-

sistent, and distinct from those of later assem-

blages. More than that, within the period of the

13th-14th centuries, a sub-division seems possible,

but mostly when complete assemblages rather

than individual vessels are considered (see below

p. ///).4

The first part of the article is a survey of the

assemblage from Icarus Street. The characteris-

tics which proved to be time sensitive shall be

outlined, and their subsequent development will

be briefly described. The second part places

Icarus Street in the context of other assemblages

of the 13th-14th centuries, and examines the dif-

ferences between them, to suggest possibilities

for sub-dividing the period.

THE ASSEMBLAGE

An overview

The composition of the assemblage of Icarus

Street is summed in Fig. 2 and Table 1. It com-

prises cooking pots, pans (or baking dishes), jugs

and jars with pinched spout, and small bowls/

cups which were probably multi-functional, used

for cooking as well as serving food, and possibly

had other uses. The range of shapes is limited,

and the individual vessels exhibit little variation

in morphological details or manufacturing tech-

nique.

Missing from the assemblage, when consid-

ered as an example of a functioning kitchen, are

deep bowls and basins used for pre-cooking

preparation such as mixing and kneading; mor-

tars; and the large storage pithoi. A glazed basin

of Spanish origin (Cook, pers. comm.), indicates

that at least some of the bowls used for prepara-

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 3

____________

3. It is not possible at the moment to determine the beginning of

this phase. There are only few vessels published from the 12th

century (von Wartburg 1997), and though they seem to con-

form to the characteristic of the 13th century, the sample is too

small to be considered representative. The 13th century is

therefore only a tentative starting date, and determination of

the early boundary awaits publicaiton of further excavations,

notably the Palaion Demarcheion in Lefkosia.

4. I am grateful to the following scholars for helping with my

work, whether by access to unpublished material, or by dis-

cussion of their finds: Pavlos Flourentzos, John Hayes, Mari-

na Ieronymidou, Nolwen Lecuyer, Peter Megaw, Eleni

Procopiou, Despo Pilides, Eustathios Raptou, Michael

Toumazou, Yiannis Violaris, Lucy Vallauri, Marie-Louise

von Wartburg and Eftychia Zachariou.

shape e.v.e (%) min. no.

Pans

Cypriot

unglazed, without a spout 102 2

unglazed, with a spout 71 2

glazed Cypriot, with a spout 20 1

Levantine

small 346 7

medium & large 193 4

Cooking bowls 80 1

Bowls/cups 290 7

Pots

globular pots 1668 43

pots with in-turned lip 18 2

Levantine pots 49 3

Jugs with pinched spout 338 9

Jars with pinched spout 124 3

TOTAL: 3299% 84

Table 1. Quantification of the Icarus Street assemblage,

using Estimate Vessel Equivalent and Minimum Numbers.

Fig. 2 shows that the results of the two methods are compati-

ble, though not identical.

tions were glazed. Others may have been made of

wood, or possibly metal. The same is true for

mortars which could have been produced in

stone, wood or metal. The absence of pithoi indi-

cates that the tomb was not used for long term

storage of large quantities of supplies. Another

curious but in no way unusual absence is that of

lids. Lids are very rare in Medieval and post-

Medieval sites, though the soot pattern on many

of the pots clearly shows that the lip was protect-

ed during cooking. Storage vessels could have a

variety of non-pottery covers —stone-slabs,

wood, fabric weighed around the edges, are some

of the means still used today— but the lack of

pottery lids for cooking pots is surprising.

The majority of the vessels in Icarus Street

are locally made and show a great uniformity of

manufacture. They are hand-formed, or possibly

shaped on a slow turntable, and the surface,

though carefully smoothed, retains traces of a

rough pattern of striations (Fig. 5 OI95). Similar

surface pattern in modern vessels is the result of

supporting the vessel with strips of fabric or

string tied around it during manufacture (see

Hampe and Winter 1962, pls 24-27, 31, and Yon

1976, 35 as examples of contemporary parallels;

nearly every ethnographic study of Cypriot pot-

tery production includes at least one similar pho-

tograph). Other manufacture-related features

which are common to all the vessels, are the

shape of the handles and of the pinched-spouts.

The handles are vertical and extend from the lip

to the point of maximum body diameter. The sec-

tion of the handles is thin and flat, or sometimes

slightly concave on its upper face, and with

squared edges (Figs 3-5, 8). This section suggests

a process of slicing and lifting strips of clay,

though this is by no means a firm conclusion.

The spouts of the jars and the jugs (Fig. 8) are all

pinched, and have pronounced finger-dimples at

their base. They are small, and flush with the

level of the lip. All these features are characteris-

tic to the assemblages of the 13th and 14th cen-

turies. The changes which occur in the later

shapes are detailed in the descriptions of the indi-

vidual types below.

In addition to the local vessels, there is a

group of Levantine imports in Icarus Street

which are easily distinguished by being wheel-

thrown and glazed. This group —comprising

deep pots and shallow pans (Cat. nos 29-33, 47-

55; Fig. 6)— will be discussed in detail below. It

is common in 13th-century sites in Cyprus, and in

the area of Pafos has been published by Megaw

SMADAR GABRIELI4

Fig. 2. Quantification of the coarse wares from Icarus Street according to function. On the left, e.v.e. calculations; on

the right minimum numbers.

(1971, 1972) and von Wartburg (1997, 2003).

The majority of the pans in the Icarus Street

assemblage are Levantine, but only four frag-

ments of the associated pots were found, and they

may represent only three vessels. The paucity of

Levantine pots in relation to pans is in contrast

with the finds at Saranta Kolones, where the

assemblages contain a large number of both pans

and pots.

The types

Throughout the following description of the

types, comparison will be made with the finds in

the 13th-14th centuries assemblages at Fabrika

and with those from Saranda Kolones dated to

the late 12th or early 13th centuries. Both sites are

within a distance of half a kilometre from Icarus

Street. This comparison should highlight any pat-

terns of similarity and difference which are

chronologically significant.

The discussion, and the catalogue below, are

organised according to function and origin. First

are the cooking vessels, beginning with the close

forms: cooking pots and bowls/cups, followed by

the open pans. Storage vessels, jars and jugs, will

conclude the discussion. In each category local

production will be followed by imports.

COOKING POTS

There are four types of cooking pots: two

locally manufactured and two Levantine imports.

Cypriot pots:

Globular pots

The overwhelming majority of the pots (43 out of

48 calculated minimum numbers)5 are globu-

lar, with round base, short neck, and two han-

dles that exte nd from the lip to the point of

maximum body diameter. The handles have a

flat section with squared edges, sometime

slightly concave on the upper face. A stretch

of the lip, covering about a third of the area

midway between the handles is sometimes

decorated with an indentation line (pie-crust

decoration). The pots can be sub-divided into

three shapes according to the profile of their

lip.

Shape 1 (Cat. nos 1-10; Fig. 3: OI117, OI135;

Fig. 4: OI117, OI120, OI143): The lip contin-

ues the line of the wall on the inside, thick-

ened and rounded on the outside. This is the

shape that is found in 13th and 14th century

deposits at Fabrika, and the lip profile pub-

lished in Saranta Kolones, where the pots

themselves are, however, deeper.

Shape 2 (Cat. nos 11-23; Fig. 3: OI121, 136;

Fig. 4: OI140): The thick lip is everted to the

horizontal, the lower edge often overhanging.

As with shape 1, there is often a limited pie-

crust decoration between the handles. Shape

2 is absent from Fabrika, and has not been

recorded by Megaw in Saranta Kolones.

Shape 3 (Cat. nos 24-25; Fig. 3:OI118): The

lip is upright and simple. In fragmented form

it is impossible to distinguish these pots from

the jugs with pinched-spout, and for lack of

better criterion, lips whose diameter was less

than 13cm. —the smallest size of the secure-

ly identified pots— were considered to be of

jugs.

In spite of the considerable standardisation of

these types in regards to both shape and man-

ufacture, and even though the large sample of

the Icarus Street assemblage shows a visual

division to large, medium and small pots, the

sizes are not standardised, but rather there is

an even distribution of internal lip diameter

between 13-22cm. (internal rather than exter-

nal diameter was used, to cancel the differ-

ences which are due to lip thickness), and

between 18-34cm. maximum body diameter.

The corresponding range of capacity is from

3-4 litres for the smaller pots, to above 20

litres.

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 5

____________

5. The nature of the assemblage, which resulted in near complete

retrieval, allowed for a secure estimate of minimum number

of vessels. Estimated Vessel Equivalent (e.v.e.) was also cal-

culated, as a measure of control. The results of the two meth-

ods (Fig. 2) show considerable similarity.

Later development

Only Shape 3 is found in assemblages of the 15th

century and later. The Late vessels are recog-

nisable by the section of the handle which is

a flattened oval.

Pots with in-turned lip (Cat. nos 26-28; Fig. 5)

Only three fragments were found of this type

whose shape is like a deep bowl, with a lip

that is thickened at its base and turns inwards,

and small vertical handles. The section of the

handles is the same as that of the globular

pots. A pie-crust design, similar to that of the

globular pots decorates the lip. The preserved

lip fragments are not large enough to judge

the extent of the decoration, but a pot from

Fabrika (Fig. 5: inv. 3403) has an uninter-

rupted pie-crust design around the edge of the

lip.

Later development

Rare in Icarus Street and contemporary assem-

blages at Fabrika and elsewhere, this type

becomes the dominant cooking vessel in the

15th century, when it develops into a series

that ranges from shallow and deep bowls

(similar to the present day ttavas), to pots

with upright walls. The later forms are easily

distinguishable however, by changes in out-

line and details. In particular the handles of

the 15th century and later are horizontal with

an oval section, and are attached to the upper

face of the lip (Fig. 5: inv. 1794), and the lip

itself, which is tilted upwards in Icarus Street

and in contemporary vessels at Fabrika and

Saranta Kolones later tends to turn strongly

in.

The use of these pots also changed with time.

The pots from Icarus Street and contempo-

rary vessels have varied use marks. The soot

on Cat. no. 26 (OI141) is patchy, and that on

Cat. no. 28 (OI142) covers the full surface,

including the lip. At Fabrika one pot which

was found in a sealed 13th century deposit has

lime deposit on the inside, thinning towards

the top, which suggests it was used for boil-

ing water. In later periods, on the other hand,

the soot pattern is quite uniform: the deposit

is very dense and extends to the lip where it

terminates in a sharp line suggesting cooking

in embers, with a lid covering the lip. No lime

deposit was found on later pots.

Levantine pots (Cat. nos 29-33; Fig. 6)

The Levantine cooking pots have a number of

shapes, for which there is an established

development from the 12th to the 13th centu-

ry (Stern 1997, 40-42; fig. 5: 23-36). Manu-

factured on the fast wheel and partially

glazed on the inside, they share a deep body

with only slight constriction of the lip, sag-

ging base and horizontal ribbon handles fold-

ed to a triangle. The changes between the 12th

and 13th century shapes are in the profile of

the lip, the thickness of the walls, and the

extent of the glaze applied on the internal sur-

face. These pots are well known on Crusader

sites. They were first described in Cyprus by

Megaw in the destruction levels of Saranta

Kolones, where they formed the majority of

the cooking pots (Megaw 1972, 334). Fol-

lowing chemical analysis, Megaw and Jones

(1983, 226) identified their origin as Levan-

tine. Analysis of material from Leptos walls

(Kato Pafos) and Kouklia, narrowed the area

of production to the surrounds of Beirut

(Waksman 2002). Analysis of the pots found

at Akko identified the coastal plain of Israel

as another area of production (Goren 1997,

73).

The early shape has a wide, low, concave shoul-

der, recessed from the body which narrows

from this point down (Fig. 6: OI167 and Avis-

sar 2005). The walls are very thin, the lip is

short, rounded, and slightly everted. Mid-way

between two folded ribbon handles on the

shoulder, there are vestigial lugs. The glaze is

restricted to a circle at the base, with addi-

tional decorative squiggles on the shoulder.

This pattern of the glaze establishes its func-

tion as a “non-stick” surface, as this is the

area of the pot most prone to have food burnt.

SMADAR GABRIELI6

The shape that becomes dominant in the 13th cen-

tury (Stern 1997, 40-42) has thicker walls, the

body is globular, the flange lip deeply con-

cave on its upper face (Fig. 6: OI107). The

body is nearly fully glazed on the inside and

over the lip, with a reserved band on the

shoulder, over which the glaze from the lip

dribbles. This consistent feature may be dec-

orative. Two horizontal ribbon handles, fold-

ed to form a triangle, hug the wall, but no

handles were associated with these pots at

Icarus Street.

Cat. nos 30 (OI164) and 29 (OI167) (possibly the

same vessel) are of the early type, which is

found in Saranta Kolones, while Cat. nos 31

(OI107) and 32 (OI108) are of the type that

becomes dominant during the 13th century,

and are the same type as the Levantine pots

found at Fabrika.

BOWLS/CUPS (Cat. nos 34-41; Fig. 7)

A shape which is related to the globular cooking

pots is that of the small bowls or cups. Their

outline is very similar to the pots with round-

ed lip, the only difference being that in spite

of a slight constriction below the lip, they are

in fact an open shape and not a closed one.

These bowls show a variety of use-marks.

Some have a seal on the inside surface, pos-

sibly pitch; others show soot deposit on the

outside surface, indicating their use in cook-

ing.

Though unevenly made, the size and proportions

of the seven bowls/cup of Icarus Street are

standardised, with maximum body diameter

11.5-13cm., and respective lip diameter 9.5-

11cm.; their height is ca 6-6.5cm. Their mea-

surements on other sites are comparable,

though not identical: In Pit A of the three pits

excavated by Megaw in Lefkosia (Megaw

1939, 150, cat. A25 Inv. 1937/X-11/8), and

dated to the second half of the 14th century,

the diameter is 9.1cm., the height 5.5cm. At

Garrison’s camp (Giudice 1993, 288, fig. 12:

1-3) their diameter is 8.2cm., their height

from 4.3 to 4.7cm. In the well deposit from

Lefkosia, excavated by Flourentzos

(Flourentzos 1994, 9) and dated to the late

13th or early 14th century, their diameter is

10.3 and 9.5cm., their height 6.5cm.

Later development

With time, the neck disappears and the walls

thicken, while the lip becomes flat, and the

handles tend to disappear.

PANS

The last type of cooking ware are the open, shal-

low pans or baking dishes. By far the majori-

ty of pans are the glazed Levantine ones

(Table 1). Cypriot pans exhibit a variety

which is unusual in the assemblages (Fig. 5:

OI90; Fig. 9: OI93; Fig. 10: OI194), but all

have the typical rough surface pattern.

Cypriot pans

Shape 1 (Cat. nos 42-43; Fig. 5): Shallow, with

in-turned lip, similar to the pan published by

von Wartburg (1997, fig. 11:12) from a pit

dated to the 12th or early 13th century.

Later development

Later pans with in-turned lip have thicker base,

and they often have the horizontal handles

typical of the pots with in-turned lip.

Shape 2 (Cat. nos 44-45; Fig. 9): Unglazed, with

pinched spout. Of the two pans, one is singu-

lar in that it slopes considerably towards the

spout. Its careful manufacture and finish pre-

cludes the possibility that the slope is unin-

tentional.

Shape 3 (Cat. no. 46; Fig. 10): Glazed, with

pinched spout. There is only one small frag-

ment of this type which (on display in the

Pafos Museum) is well known from other

sites, such as the well excavated by Flouren-

tzos in Lefkosia (Flourentzos 1994, pl.

XXIII: 48-49) and the basilica of Chrysopo-

litissa in Pafos. One could argue (see below

p. ///) that this is an early example of the type.

In most cases these pans have the vertical flat

handles with squared edges. Sometimes lugs

were found (e.g. in the Lefkosia well).

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 7

SMADAR GABRIELI8

Later development

The persistence of these pans into 15th century is

so far attested only in Lefkosia (e.g. the Cis-

tercian convent of St Theodore6), where they

have horizontal handles with oval section

typical of the period.

The frequent presence of spouts in Cypriot-man-

ufactured pans indicates that liquid was part

of the cooking process, whether gravy which

was produced during cooking, or sauce in

which the food was cooked. In this respect,

the function of the locally produced pans

seems to be different from that of the Levan-

tine pans below.

Levantine pans (Cat. nos 47-55; Fig. 6: OI97,

OI103; Fig. 10: OI97, OI102, OI103)

Manufactured, like the Levantine pots, on the

wheel in three standard sizes that nestle com-

fortably inside each other (lip diameter 16-

17cm.; ca 25cm. and ca 30cm.), the Levan-

tine pans are glazed on the inside, with slight-

ly sagging base, and with one exception (Fig.

6: OI97) have two small triangular handles

that hug the wall (Fig. 6: OI103; Fig. 10:

OI102).

With 11 imported pans and five local ones, there

seems to be a preference for glazed pans with

a non-stick surface. This is often an indica-

tion of cooking dishes that set, such as cakes

or quiches, but may well be an advantage

when frying. Most Levantine pans have small

handles which are barely useful for grabbing

the dish with both hands. This is certainly not

an optimal design for quick manipulating

over a hot fire, and suggests baking, roasting,

or slow simmering as their primary use. Nev-

ertheless, the one example of single straight

handle (Figs 6 and 10: OI97) indicates that

frying was an alternative use. A difference in

soot pattern reinforces the suggestion that

these pans had a variety of uses. Curiously,

the functional difference seems to be size-

related. The small pans have a thick, dense

soot pattern whether they have a single

straight handle or two small horizontal ones,

while the medium and large ones are barely

stained, suggesting only indirect contact with

fire.

LIQUID CONTAINERS

The coarse ware repertoire of Icarus Street con-

cludes with jars and jugs with pinched spout.

Jars (Cat. nos 56-58; Fig. 8: OI146)

The jars, of which there are only two, are the only

type of vessels with complex incised decora-

tion. On the shoulder and along the handles

there is an incised pattern executed with a

multi-teeth tool. The pattern comprises a

band of multi-line oblique strokes surmount-

ing a band of interrupted lines on the shoul-

der, and three wavy bands along the handle.

Along the lip opposite the spout, there is a

pie-crust design which continues along the

rear edge of the handles. Comparative assem-

blages show that hardly any vessels apart

from jars were decorated with incised pattern

before the 15th century, and that the motifs

described above, with one other —a straight

horizontal band— are the only ones used, in

varying combinations, up to the end of the

14th century.

Jugs (Cat. nos 59-65; Fig. 8: OI145, OI147)

The jugs have globular body, short neck, and a

simple lip with a pinched spout. The handle,

with a section as that of the globular pots,

extends from the lip to the point of maximum

body diameter. The small spout is well

formed, flush with the level of the lip, and has

pronounced rounded dimples at its base. It is

hard to judge the size of the jugs. Unlike the

pots, there is only one near-complete jug, and

the fact that the diameter of the lip of jugs and

jars is similar indicates that the lip-diameter

cannot be used as indicative of their size.

____________

6. I am grateful to Eftychia Zachariou for the opportunity to

study this material.

Soot marks on some jugs show that they were

also used in cooking.

Later development

Both shapes continue in use until today, but the

section of the handles changed to a flattened

oval during the 15th century, and the spout is

seldom flush with the level of the lip. The

dimples at the base of the spout disappear. In

later periods, a multitude of motifs were often

incised on jugs, and occasionally on pots.

Levantine jugs (Cat. no. 66; Fig. 9: OI168)

One small wheel-made and partially glazed jug is

clearly of the same manufacturing tradition

as the Levantine pots and pans. The body is

squat and sharply carinated, the neck upright

and glazed.

CATALOGUE

The organisation of the entries

The first line of each entry has details of height (ht);

diameter (d), preserved percentage (estimated vessel

equivalent, e.v.e.) of the lip or base, and maximum

body diameter when that was preserved, thickness

of the wall at breaking point (tk), and handle section.

Diameter readings are external unless otherwise

specified. In the case of Cypriot pots, both external

and internal diameter of the lip were measured, to

facilitate comparison of sizes between the shapes

that vary considerable in the thickness of their lip.

The internal diameter is in square brackets. Where

diameter could not be measured, width (wd) is

given.

The nature of hand-forming is that the lip is not

always a true circle, and diameter measurements

should be taken as approximate, within 2-3cm. The

smaller the e.v.e., the less accurate the diameter

measurement. When e.v.e. is over 25%, the mea-

surement can be considered accurate, when e.v.e. is

12% or more, the reading is fairly reliable. Below

e.v.e. 7% the reading should be considered an esti-

mate, but generally larger rather than smaller than

the measurement given.

All measurements are in centimetres.

After the measurements, a brief description of the

preserved part of the vessel is followed by a detailed

description of shape, manufacturing marks and use-

related marks. Condition of preservation was very

good for the whole group, and is not specified.

The fabric was described as seen through a 4 mag-

nifying glass. Munsell reading is preceded by a visu-

al colour description to give a more visual, if sub-

jective, idea of the colour. The shape of the inclu-

sions is rounded / sub-rounded, unless otherwise

specified. The term “mica-like” is used to describe

golden or silver flakes, with a schist-like sheering

surface.

Very small inclusions are up to 0.1mm. across, small

ones up to 0.5mm., medium 0.5-1mm., and large

ones are larger than 1mm. across.

Cypriot cooking pots

Globular pots, with round base, short neck and twohandles that extend from the lip to the point of max-imum body diameter. The handles have a flat sectionwith squared edges, sometime slightly concave onthe upper face. A stretch of the lip, covering about athird of the area midway between the handles issometimes decorated with an indentation line (pie-crust decoration). The walls are thin, between 0.2-0.4cm. at their thinnest point, and not above 0.5cm.at their thickest. The surface is well finished andsmoothed, sometimes retaining a pattern of stria-tions on the lower part.

Cf. Flourentzos 1994, cat. nos 46, 51-54, all glazed; Giu-

dice 2004, 307, fig. 1009, identified as Roman; von

Wartburg 1997, 191, fig. 15:25.

Shape 1The lip continues the wall on the inside, and is thick-ened and rounded on the outside.

1. OI117 (Figs 3-4). Ht: 7.6, d: (lip) 15; (max. body)

18, e.v.e.: 85%, tk: 0.2-0.4, handle: 2.8 0.7.

Four joining frr of body lip and square-edge handle.

The break is on the turn to the base, defining its

round shape.

Scrape marks and a fine pattern of pock-marks and

striations on the outside surface.

Heavy soot deposit on the outside surface; ingrained

soot and burnt deposit on the inside. This deposit is

thick, dark, and glossy on the upper wall and up to

the top of the lip, and can be peeled off as distinct

layer.

Fabric: Dark brown, 5yr2.5/1-2[B-DRBr] – proba-

bly use related; sandy/rough fracture, with very

small, and some small, brown and dark grey glisten-

ing inclusions. High quantity of mica-like inclusions

on the surface.

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 9

2. OI119. Ht: 11.7, d: (lip) 22 [18]; (max. body) 30,

e.v.e.: 100%, tk: 0.25-0.5, handle: 4.1 0.8.

Five joining frr of body, lip and square-edge handle.

The transition between the shoulder and body is

quite sharp, forming a carination rather than round-

ed.

Indentation decoration along the lip, extending over

about a third of the space in the centre between the

handles.

Soot deposit outside, dense under the shoulder,

patchy on the shoulder and above it. One handle

completely covered, the other partly. Dense burnt

deposit on the inside, thinning and partially disap-

pearing on the shoulder and lip.

Fabric: Brown, ca 7.5yr4/4[DBr]; rough, with medi-

um reddish-brown, dark brown, and grey glistening

inclusions; possibly some grog. Some of the brown

inclusions have a schist-like structure.

3. OI120 (Fig. 4). Ht: 11.8, d: (lip) 19 [16]; (max.

body) 22.5, e.v.e.: 100%, tk: 0.25-0.4, handle:

3.6 0.7.

Five joining frr of body, lip and square-edge handles.

Near complete vessel.

The transition between the shoulder and body is

quite sharp, forming a carination rather than round-

ed.

Five holes drilled at the level of maximum body

diameter are preserved (more may have been lost).

These holes were drilled post firing, but they are not

mending holes, as they are not related to the break

line.

Soot pattern as on OI119 above, but with a well-

defined soot ring around the lip, with the exception

of a small area near one handle. The handles are

covered with soot up to the top. The soot still black-

ens on touch.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr4/6[YR]; rough, with small and

medium white, brown and grey inclusions; the sur-

face is rich with mica-like inclusions.

4. OI122. Ht: 7.5, d: (lip) 19 [16]; (at break) 24.5,

e.v.e.: 73%, tk: 0.3-0.5, handle: 3.6 0.6.

Four joining frr of body, lip and square-edge handle.

The transition between the shoulder and body is

quite sharp, forming a carination rather than round-

ed.

This seems to be a one-handler, though there is still

a faint possibility that there is room for a second

handle in the missing part. The absence of soot

deposit may support a different use for this vessel

than for the others.

Vertical finger marks, smoothing the coils, are well-

preserved.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr5/8[YR]; rough, with small and

medium white, brown and grey (amphiboles?) inclu-

sions.

5. OI134. Ht: 9.3, d: (lip) 23.5 [22]; (at break) 34,

e.v.e.: 35%.

Two joining frr of body, lip, and square-edge handle.

The shoulder is sloping, rounding to the body. The

lip is thickened to a near-triangular section, and is

partially decorated with an indentation line. The sur-

face is wet smoothed.

The break is close to the point of maximum body

diameter.

Soot deposit on the outside surface, below the shoul-

der and on the lower half of the handle.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr5/8[YR], with dark-brown core;

rough, with very small and small white and brown

inclusions, and well rounded dark brown ones; occa-

sional black and grey (amphiboles?) inclusions.

6. OI135 (Fig. 3). Ht: 7.3, d: (lip) 15 [13]; (max. body)

19 e.v.e.: 40%, handle: 3.0 0.6.

Three joining frr of body, lip, and square-edge han-

dle.

Part of a drilled hole is preserved.

The break is below the point of maximum body

diameter.

Soot deposit on the outside, dense and partially

shiny. The soot covers the handle and reaches the

top of the lip, with reserved patches on the shoulder.

A cross is scratched through the soot on the upper

part of the handle. The inside surface opposite the

preserved handle is burnt in a diagonal line, from

under the carination and up to the lip.

Fabric: Brown, 7.5yr3/2[DBr]; rough, with less than

10% sub-rounded inclusions, most of them white,

and some brown. Very micaceous.

7. OI138. Ht: 3.5, d: (lip) ca 19 [16]; (at break) 22,

e.v.e.: 10%, tk: 0.55.

Fr of shoulder and lip.

Fabric: Reddish-brown, 2.5yr4/8 / 5yr5/8[R/YR];

rough, with very small white inclusions, medium

dull-brown and reddish-brown, and some grey ones

(amphiboles?).

8. OI139. Ht: 3.9, d: (lip) 21 [17]; (at break) 19, e.v.e.:

12.5%, handle: 3.0 0.9.

Fr of shoulder, lip and square-edge handle.

The lip is elongated rather than rounded.

No soot.

Fabric: Rough, Brown 5yr5/6[RBr] on the inside

and half the section, and dull dark brown

7.5yr3/2[DBr] on the outside; rough, with small and

medium white and dark brown inclusions.

SMADAR GABRIELI10

9. OI143 (Fig. 4). Ht: 13.5, d: (lip) 23 [19]; (max.

body) 33.5, e.v.e.: 32%, tk: 0-3-0.5.

Seven frr (four and two joining), of lip and upper

body.

The transition between the shoulder and body is

quite sharp, forming a carination rather than round-

ed.

A section of the lip is decorated with finger indenta-

tions as in OI119 above, and this decoration is

echoed on the shoulder, on the line of carination

with the body, where there is an applied ridge slight-

ly arching downwards and decorated with finger-

indentations.

There is a minor pattern of pock-marks and stria-

tions on the outside surface under the shoulder.

Very dense soot extends up to shoulder level, and

continues unevenly and lightly above it. It is only

partial on the lip, and stops near the (absent) handle.

Inside is a burnt deposit, thinning towards the lip.

Fabric: Reddish-brown, 5yr5/6[YR], with dark

brown core; rough, with small and medium reddish-

brown and very dark brown inclusions, some with a

schist-like fracture.

10. OI169. Ht: 3.4, d: (lip) 24 [21], e.v.e.: 13%, tk: 0.4.

Fr of shoulder and lip.

This is a very unusual pot in having incised decora-

tion on the shoulder. A wavy double line confined

between straight ones around the top of the shoulder,

and at the base of the sherd another wavy double

line.

Fabric: Not recorded.

Shape 2The lip is thick and elongated, everted to the hori-zontal, with the lower edge often overhanging.

11. OI121 (Fig. 3). Ht: 8.6, d: (lip) 17 [14]; (max. body)

21.5, e.v.e.: 100%, tk: 0.3-0.45, handle: 3 0.7.

Four joining frr of body, lip and square-edge handle.

The transition between the shoulder and body is

quite sharp, forming a carination rather than round-

ed; the lip rounded on its upper face.

Fine pattern of pot-marks and striations on the out-

side surface.

Soot deposit outside, dense under the shoulder,

patchy on the shoulder and above it. Ring of soot

around the lip.

Fabric: Brown, 7.5yr4/6[SBr]; rough, with small

and medium white and brown inclusions, and some

surface mica-like inclusions.

12. OI124. Ht: 5.3, d: (lip) 20 [17]; (at break) 24,

e.v.e.: 13%, tk: 0.15-0.45.

Fr of lip, shoulder and upper body.

The lip is slanted rather than horizontal, and slight-

ly concave on its upper face.

Some striations on the outer surface, just above the

break point. Finger marks inside.

No soot.

Fabric: Brown, R/Br 5yr5/8[YR]; rough, with small

white, small and medium brown, and dark brown

inclusions; occasional black ones; some surface

mica-like inclusions.

13. OI125. Ht: 4.8, d: (lip) 18 [15]; (at break) 20,

e.v.e.: 13%, tk: 0.3-0.45.

Fr of shoulder and lip.

The lip is slanted and flat on its upper face.

Dense soot deposit on the outside up to the lip.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr4/6 [YR]; rough, with white and

brown inclusions, and well rounded very dark

brown ones; mica-like flakes on the surface.

14. OI126. Ht: 5.8, d: (lip) 20 [17]; (at break) 23,

e.v.e.: 10%, tk: 0.35-0.5.

Fr of shoulder and lip.

Break close to maximum body diameter.

Half of a drilled hole is preserved.

No soot.

Fabric: Brown 5yr5/8[YR]; sandy/rough with small

white, small and medium brown and dark brown

(grog?) inclusions; occasional clear white ones.

15. OI127. Ht: 2.5, d: (lip) ca 22 [19]; (at break) 23,

e.v.e.: 12%, tk: 0.35-0.5.

Fr of shoulder and lip.

The lip is distorted, maybe the break is close to a

handle. The diameter is therefore unreliable.

Dense, smooth and shiny soot forming a ring on the

outside of the lip, and patchy just under it.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr5/6[YR]; sandy/rough, with

small white, small and medium brown and dark

brown (grog?) inclusions.

16. OI128. Ht: 3.0, d: (lip) 20 [17]; (at break) 22,

e.v.e.: 7%, tk: 0.4.

Fr of shoulder, neck and lip.

The lower edge of the lip has a slight overhang.

A dense, smooth and shiny soot deposit forms a ring

around the lip, and patchy just under it.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr4/3[RBr]; rough, with very small

white and brown inclusions, and medium dark

brown ones with schist-like structure; mica-like

flakes on the surface.

17. OI129. Ht: 3.5, d: 27 [22], e.v.e.: 12%, tk: 0.4.

Fr of shoulder and lip.

This is a variant on the shape, with the mouth wider

in proportion to the body. The lip is slanting and

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 11

SMADAR GABRIELI12

concave on its upper face. There is a line of regular

indentations around the lip. The surface is dense and

well finished, maybe self slipped inside.

No soot.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr4/6[YR]; rough, with small-

medium opaque-white and brown inclusions, and

small well rounded dark brown ones; dark grey

(possibly mica) inclusions, but no surface mica vis-

ible.

18. OI130. Ht: 7.0, d: (lip) ca 22 [18]; (max. body) 24,

e.v.e.: 10%, handle: 3.5 1.0.

Fr of body, lip and square-edge handle.

The lip is slightly rounded on its upper face.

Good execution, well finished surface, carefully wet

smoothed or self slipped.

Fabric: Brown 5yr4/8[YR]; rough, with small white,

brown and dark brown inclusions.

19. OI131. Ht: 3.3, d: (lip) 26 [22]; (at break) 26.5,

e.v.e.: 8%.

Fr of upper body and lip.

The lip is slanted and slightly concave on its upper

face.

Soot on lip.

Fabric: Brown 5yr4/6[YR]; fairly fine matrix, with

very small white inclusions, and very small and

small brown and dark-brown ones; occasional large

dull light brown inclusions.

20. OI132. Ht: 2.5, d: ca 20-23 (too small for accurate

measure), tk: 0.25.

Fr of shoulder and lip.

The lower edge of the lip is overhanging.

The surface was wet smoothed.

No soot.

Fabric: Brown 5yr5/8[YR]; rough, with 10-20%

white, brown, dark brown and occasional very dark

grey inclusions.

21. OI136 (Fig. 3). Ht: 4.7, d: (lip) 15 [12.5]; (at break)

18, e.v.e.: 12%, tk: 0.3-0.45.

Fr shoulder and lip.

The lip is rounded on its upper face, with an over-

hanging lower edge.

The break is on the point of maximum body diame-

ter.

Soot/burn deposit, dense and smooth, covers the

preserved surface outside. Similar deposit inside ter-

minates at the point corresponding to the turn

between shoulder and lip.

Fabric: Dark chocolate brown 7.5yr3/2[DBr]; fine

matrix with rough section. The inclusions are most-

ly very small and dark. Some mica-like surface

inclusions on the surface.

22. OI137. Ht: 0.032, d: (lip) 20 [17]; (at break) 22.5,

e.v.e.: 13%, tk: 0.5.

Fr of shoulder and lip.

The wall thickens just under the lip, creating a very

shallow, wide ridge; the upper face of the lip is flat,

the lower edge overhanging.

No soot, but this is a small piece.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr5/8[YR]; rough, with very small

and small dark brown inclusions, and considerable

amount of very small glistening inclusions.

23. OI140 (Fig. 4). Ht: 5.7, d: (lip) 17 [15]; (max. body)

19.5, e.v.e.: 15%, tk: 0.25-0.55, handle: 2.9 0.35.

Fr of body, lip and square-edge handle.

The lip is rounded on its upper face.

Heavy soot outside, dense around the lip and under

the shoulder, ingrained on the handle and the shoul-

der. Patchy soot just above the break on the inside.

Fabric: Brown, 7.5yr4/4 [DBr], with an even darker

core; rough, with small and medium white, brown

and dark brown inclusions.

Shape 3

The lip is upright and simple.

24. OI118 (Fig. 3). Ht: 8.5, d: (lip) 14; (max. body) 18,

e.v.e.: 85%, tk: 0.3, handle: 3.4 0.7.

Four joining frr of body, neck, lip and square-edge

handles.

Dense soot and burnt deposit on the outside, extend-

ing all the way up to the lip, with the exception of

part of the shoulder. Dense burnt deposit on the

inside, thinning towards the top, and only partial on

the shoulder and lip.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr5/8[YR], with grey core; rough,

with small white and brown (mainly dark) inclu-

sions.

25. OI133. Ht: 6.8, d: (lip) 20; (max. body) 22,

e.v.e.: 23%, handle section 4.1 0.7.

Many joining frr of body, lip and square-edge han-

dle.

The outside surface is dark, but obvious use-related

soot only on the shoulder.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr5/8[YR]; rough, with very small

and small white and brown inclusions, and well

rounded dark brown ones; occasional black inclu-

sions, and some grey ones.

Pots with in-turned lip

Deep pots, with a profile similar to a deep bowl,with a lip that is thickened at its base and turnsinwards, and small vertical handles, thin, flat, andwith squared-edges.

26. OI141 (Fig. 5). Ht: 6.8, d: 30 [25.5]; (max. body) 31,

e.v.e.: 11%, tk: 0.7-0.9.

Fr of upper body and lip.

The body is globular, the lip tilted up and thickened

at its base to a ridge which is decorated with a fine

running line of finger indentations; a double wavy

line is incised on the upper face of the lip.

Self-slipped, well made and well finished.

A patch of soot deposit on the outside wall, and a

corresponding but more limited one inside. This is

very different from the typical soot pattern for the

later hole-mouth pots.

Fabric: Brown, 7.5yr4/4[DBr], with thick core

10yr3/2[VDGrBr]; rough, with small white and

brown inclusions, medium red and dark brown ones,

and some elongated inclusions with schist-like frac-

ture.

The following two vessels are similar to modern dayttavas in the inclination of the wall. They are there-fore semi-open shapes, rather than closed shapes asthe rest of the cooking pots. They are neverthelessincluded here as pots because of their distinct rela-tion to the pots with in-turned lip, and their functionas cooking vessels, which is attested by the sootmarks.

27. OI95 (Fig. 5). Ht: 7.3, d: (lip) 19; (at break) 15,

e.v.e.: 80%, tk: 0.3-0.65.

Ten frr of base, body and lip.

Deep cooking bowl, with curved wall, continuing

directly to a rounded lip.

The outside surface has some striations.

Black dense soot concentrates on one area of the

wall and up to the lip, surrounded by a grey zone.

On the inside there is a black deposit that does not

correspond to the soot pattern out side.

Fabric: Brown, 7.5yr5/6[SBr], with thick dark grey

core; very small and small dark grey and brown

inclusions; some mica-like inclusions.

28. OI142 (Fig. 5). Ht: 4.0, d: (lip) 20 [18]; (at break)

17.5, e.v.e.: 7%.

Fr of lip and wall.

Gently curved wall; the lip is thickened at its base,

creating a ridged which is decorated with a continu-

ous line of finger indentations. Very petite in form,

yet quite wide.

Heavy soot deposit out side, creating a shiny black

surface. The section is fully black in parts.

Fabric: Fine matrix, but a rough fracture because of

the inclusions, with very small, small and medium

inclusions, all very dark, the colour probably use-

related.

Levantine pots

The Levantine cooking pots are manufactured on thefast wheel and partially glazed on the inside. Thedevelopment of the shapes through the 12th and 13th

centuries is established (Stern 1997, 40-42, fig.5:23-36), all variants share a deep body with only aslight constriction of the lip, sagging base and hori-zontal ribbon handles folded to a triangle. Thechanges between the 12th and 13th century shapesare in the profile of the lip, the thickness of the walls,and the extent of the glaze applied on the internalsurface.

Cf. Avissar 1996, 136-37, fig. XIII:94-96; idem 2005,

64, fig. 2:18; Megaw 1972, 334; Megaw and

Jones 1983, 226; Pringle 1984, 99, cat. no. 24;

Stern 1997, 40-42, fig. 5:23-26; Waksman 2002,

67-77.

Shape 1 (12th-early 13th century)

Deep body, narrowing from the shoulder towardsthe sagging base. The wall is very thin. The wide,concave shoulder is recessed from the body, the lipis short, rounded, and slightly everted.

29. OI167 (Fig. 6). Ht: 2.5, d: (lip) 19; (max. body) 21.5,

e.v.e.: 16%, tk: 0.2.

Fr of shoulder and lip.

A wide shoulder; the lip is upright, thickened and

rounded on the outside. This is a petite fragment, in

spite of the wide diameter.

Soot on the outside surface starts just below the

shoulder.

Fabric: Orange, 2.5yr-5yr4/8[R]; rough, with 10/20%

predominantly small brown inclusions, and a few

medium black ones.

30. OI164.

Fr of body with a small ribbon-handle folded to

form a triangle.

A couple of drops of glaze are preserved.

Fabric: Orange, 2.5yr-5yr4/8[R]; rough, with 10/20%

predominantly small brown inclusions, and a few

medium black ones.

Shape 2 (13th century)

Globular body, with flange lip deeply concave onthe upper face.

31. OI107 (Fig. 6). Ht: 8.8, d: (lip) 23 [18]; (max. body)

24, e.v.e.: 26%, tk: 0.6.

Two non-joining frr, of body and lip, forming a near

complete profile.

The glaze is thick and without faults. The outside

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 13

surface is dense, hard and compact. It is well

smoothed with few small flecks of glaze.

No soot marks.

Fabric: Orange, 2.5yr-5yr4/8[R]; rough, with

10/20% with predominantly small brown inclusions,

and a few medium black ones.

32. OI108. Ht: 3.3, d: (lip) 15; (at break) 14.5, e.v.e.:

11%.

Fr of upper body and lip.

The glaze covers only the upper face of the lip, and

is not as lustrous as most Levantine vessels, but sim-

ilar to that of pan OI103.

Fabric: Dark orange, 2.5yr4/6[R]-3.4[DRBr]; rough,

with dark and very dark brown inclusions, and red-

dish brown ones, possibly grog.

33. OI109. Ht: 1.5, d: (lip) 13, e.v.e.: 12%.

Fr of upper body and lip.

Only the very top part of the body is preserved,

retaining glaze that extends over the upper face of

the lip. The glaze is similar in consistency to that of

OI108.

Fabric: Reddish-brown, 2.5yr4/6[R]-3.4[D.R.Br];

rough, with 20% inclusions, medium, mostly dark

brown, some rounded, reddish-brown (grog?).

Bowls/cups

In outline these vessels are very similar to the potswith rounded lip (Shape 1 above), but the constric-tion below the lip is slight, so that the shape is anopen one. These vessels show a variety of use-marks. The inside surface of some is sealed, possiblywith pitch; others show soot deposit on the outsidesurface, indicating their use in cooking.

Cf. Flourentzos 1994, cat. nos 44-45 (glazed inside);

Giudice et al. 1993, 288, fig. 12:1-3; Megaw

1939, 150, cat. no. A25 Inv. 1937/X-11/8;

Papanikola-Bakirtzis 1988(2), 247, cat. no. 12,

pl. LXXVI:4, 6 and fig. 1:5.

34. OI110; 110a (Fig. 7). Ht: 5.7, d: (lip) 9.5; (max.

body) 11, e.v.e.: 53%, tk: 0.2-0.5, handle: (width)

1.8.

Four joining frr, and a base which is probably part of

the same vessel (110a), forming complete profile.

Globular, squat body; the lip is uneven and roughly

finished, flattened diagonally on the upper face. Two

flat handles (wide, thin and slightly twisted) extend

from the lip to the point of maximum body diameter.

The inside surface is smooth and dense. The lower

body shows a fine pattern of pock-marks and stria-

tions. The base (110a) is roughly worked on the

inside, which is sealed, possibly with pitch.

Soot deposit on the inside, thinning towards the top,

and does not reach the lip. Soot outside, correspond-

ing in pattern.

Fabric: Dark brown, 5yr3/4[DRBr]; fairly fine

matrix, with somewhat less inclusions than is usual

(under 10%). The inclusions are brown and occa-

sionally white (lime?), very small and small; mica-

like flakes on the surface.

35. OI111 (Fig. 7). Ht: 7.3, d: (lip) 11; (max. body) 13,

e.v.e.: 72%, tk: 0.3-0.45.

Four joining frr, forming complete profile.

Globular, fairly deep body, turning sharply from the

point of maximum diameter to the base. The lip is

upright and rounded on its outer face. On the lip

there is a root of a handle, or possibly a very small

lug. The outside surface is smooth and self-slipped,

with smoothing striations under the point of maxi-

mum diameter. The inside is well finished, maybe

self-slipped.

Burnt deposit, or possibly a layer of pitch, all over

the inside, smooth and dense, and showing some

cracks; soot outside in patches down to the carina-

tion

Fabric: Dark brown, 5yr4/4[RBr]; fairly fine matrix,

with very small and small brown and occasional

white (lime?) inclusions; mica-like flakes on the sur-

face.

36. OI112. Ht: 5.4, d: (lip) 11; (max. body) 11.5,

e.v.e.: 15%, tk: 0.35-0.5, handle: (width) 2.1.

Fr of body, lip and handle.

Globular body, with upright neck/lip, flattened at the

top; flat, thin handle, extends from the lip to the

point of maximum body diameter. The surface is

smooth and self-slipped.

Soot outside, on the lower part of the handle and

next to it.

Fabric: Brown, ca 7.5yr4/4[DBr]; fairly fine, with

very small dark brown and white inclusions, barely

visible against the matrix.

37. OI113 (Fig. 7). Ht: 5.6, d: (lip) 11; (max. body) 11.5,

e.v.e.: 58%, tk: 0.25-0.35, handle: (width) 1.7.

Two joining frr, near full profile.

Rounded body, the lip considerably thickened and

rounded on its outer face; one flat, thin strap handle

preserved, extending from the lip to the point of

maximum body diameter. The lip is unevenly fin-

ished.

Burnt deposit inside, getting thicker towards the bot-

tom. No soot outside, but not much of the lower

body is preserved.

Fabric: Brown, 7.5yr4/6[SBr] with a darker core;

SMADAR GABRIELI14

fairly fine, with very small dark brown and white

inclusions.

38. OI114 (Fig. 7). Ht: 5.5, d: (lip) 11; (max. body) 13,

e.v.e.: 50%, tk: 0.25-0.6, handle: (width) 2.2.

Three non-joining frr of body, lip and handle.

Rounded body and short neck; the lip is thickened

considerably on the outside, and pulled nearly to a

triangular section, with a slightly concave upper

face. Flat, thin strap handle extends from the lip to

the point of maximum diameter. The outside surface

is roughly finished on the lower body, preserving a

pattern of striations, the upper body well finished;

self-slipped inside.

Uneven dark deposit on the outside, either soot or a

result of firing atmosphere. Burnt surface on one fr

inside.

Fabric: Reddish-brown, ca 5yr5/8[YR]; fairly fine,

with very small white inclusions, small reddish-

brown and dark brown ones.

39. OI115. Ht: 4.0, d: (lip) 10; (max body) 12, e.v.e.:

13%, tk: 0.4-0.5.

Fr of body and lip.

Globular body, lip thickened considerably and

rounded on outer face.

Very carelessly finished, the lip retaining marks

pushing downwards. Only the roots of the handle

are preserved, showing that it extended from the lip

to just above maximum body diameter.

Thick soot around the handle, and on the corre-

sponding area inside.

Fabric: Dark brown, 5yr3/3[DRBr]; fairly fine

matrix, with small brown and very dark grey glis-

tening inclusions. The surface shows mica-like

inclusions.

40. OI116 (a-b). Ht: 6.8 (a); 3.2 (b), d: too small to mea-

sure, tk: 0.2-0.5.

(a) Fr of lip and wall; (b) Fr of lower body and base.

The lower body is rounded, the shoulder sloping.

The lip considerably thickened considerably and

rounded on the outside.

The surface below the point of maximum body

diameter retains striations and pock marks. Rough

shaping marks are preserved on the inside surface of

(b).

The fragments are assumed to be of the same vessel

because their fabric is identical, and both have dark

surface-sealant on the inside, possibly pitch.

Fabric: Dark brown, 5yr3/4[DRBr]; fairly fine

matrix, with small brown and very dark grey glis-

tening inclusions. The surface shows mica-like

inclusions.

41. OI153. Ht: 3.3, d: (lip) 11; (max. at break) 13,

e.v.e.: 24%, tk: 0.2-0.4.

Fr of body and lip.

The body is globular, the lip continues the body line

on the inside, thickened and rounded on the outside.

The inside surface is lined, possibly with pitch, up to

the lip. Clean surface outside.

The vessel is self-slipped, with scrape marks out,

under the shoulder.

Fabric: Reddish-brown, 5YR5/8[YR] with thick

dark core; rough, with small and medium white and

reddish brown inclusions.

Cypriot Pans

Cypriot pans are all hand-formed and have the typ-ical rough surface pattern of the local manufacture.Glazed and unglazed, with and without spouts, andwith handles that can be vertical (not present in theIcarus Street assemblages) or lug, they exhibit avariety in morphological details.

Shape 1: non-glazed pans without spout

Shallow, with in-turned lip.

Cf. von Wartburg 1997, similar to fig. 11:12.

42. OI90 (Fig. 5). Ht: 4.2, d: (lip) 28; (max.) 29.5,

e.v.e.: 89%, tk: 0.4.

Eight frr (six joining) of shallow pan with in-turned

lip.

The wall leans out, the lip is thickened at the turning

point. The pan is well finished and evenly made; the

surface is compact, the inside is wet smoothed.

Patchy soot, dense but ingrained; mainly on the

base, and a little on the lip. Inside there are remains

of burnt deposit or soot.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr4/6[YR]; fine matrix but rough

section, with small and medium white and brown

inclusions.

43. OI91. Ht: 2.7, d: ca 28, e.v.e.: ca 9%, tk 0.4.

Fr of shallow pan with in-turned lip.

The wall leans out; on the lip there is a partial inden-

tation pattern (two notches preserved). Self-slipped

inside, and wet smoothed on the lip out.

Little soot outside, ingrained and of light colour;

inside there is a dark and fairly dense burnt area.

The partial indentation pattern may indicate that this

is a pan with pinched-spout.

Fabric: Reddish-brown, 2.5yr4/6-8[R]; rough, with

small dark grey and dark brown inclusions. Some

elongated voids, some mica-like ones.

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 15

Shape 2: non-glazed pans with pinched spout

This type is not well-defined, since the two pansfound have significant morphological differences.They are grouped together because of their similar-ity in the criteria currently identified as significantfor function and chronology – glaze and spout. Ofthe two pans, one is singular in that it becomes con-siderably shallower towards the spout. Its carefulmanufacture and finish precludes the possibility thatthe slope of the lip is unintentional.

44. OI93 (a-b) (Fig. 9). Ht: (a) 4; (b) 4-4.9, d: (lip) 19;

(base) 14.5, e.v.e.: 44%.

Four frr (two joining) of a pan with pinched-spout.

Slightly rounded wall leaning out, with an in-turned

lip, flat base, and lug handles attached to the lip. The

spout (a) does not join the main body of the pan, but

the manufacture style which is unusual in the assem-

blage, the fabric, and the measurements, identify it

as part of the same vessel. The spout is small, well

rounded, and with dimples at its base.

The pan is considerably shallower at the spout-end.

It is well made and well finished, and the slope is

intentional. Scraping marks are visible outside on

the base.

Dense, black soot outside. It concentrate on the wall

opposite the spout —where it reaches the lip— and

around the spout, but not near the lug. The colour of

the fabric is altered, as if it soaked oil or resin from

the outside surface to about half its depth. Inside

there is a burnt deposit.

Fabric: Brown, 7.5yr4/4[DBr] with dark brown core

10yr3/2[DBr]; very brittle, fine matrix, with very

small and small brown, white and glistening inclu-

sions; large amount of mica-like flakes on the sur-

face.

45. OI96.

A fr forming complete profile with pinched-spout.

Cruder than OI93, the level of the lip is uneven; the

lip thins considerably on the spout, which is small

and well rounded, with a shallow shaping depres-

sion at its base. Diameter measurement was not pos-

sible because of the distortion caused by the spout,

but this pan may be slightly larger than the previous

one.

The outside surface retains some pock-marks and

striations, the inside is well smoothed.

Soot covers the outside surface; the inside is also

completely blackened, either by a sealant-layer, or

an extremely smooth burnt deposit. The colour of

the fabric is altered, as that of OI93, as if it soaked

oil or resin from the outside surface to about two

thirds of its depth.

Fabric: Dark brown, 5yr3/2[DBr]; fine matrix, with

very small white, and small white and brown inclu-

sions; considerable amount of mica-like flakes on

the surface.

Shape 3: Glazed with pinched-spout Only one fragment was found from this form, whichdiffers from the previous in being glazed. The shapeis known however from other sites, where it haseither vertical or lug handles.

Cf. Flourentzos 1994, pl. XXIII: 48-49.

46. OI94 (Fig. 10). Ht: 4.5, tk: 0.3-0.45.

Fr of a glazed pan with pinched-spout, complete

profile.

The wall leans out, turning to the flat base at a sharp

angle; the lip turns in slightly, and is thickened and

rounded on the outside. Little is preserved of the lip

apart from the spout itself, which is small, well

rounded, and with dimples at its base. The inside is

glazed up to the lip and just over it. The glaze is

mottled white, grey and brown. The pan is precisely

made and well finished, but scraping and smoothing

marks, as well as some striations, are visible on the

outside.

A narrow band of heavy soot deposit outside, just

under the glaze-line. Some soot is trapped within

cracks in the glaze inside, but the effectiveness of

non-damaged glaze as a ‘non-stick’ surface is

demonstrated by a pristine dribble of glaze within

the sooted area.

Diameter measure was not possible, but this pan

seems to be larger than OI93 above.

Fabric: Dark rich brown, 5yr4/3[RBr]; with plenty

of mica or mica-like inclusions which show grey

facets when not in the light, and occasional small

brown ones.

Levantine pans

Thrown on the wheel and glazed on the inside, theLevantine pans are manufactured in three standardsizes that nestle comfortably inside each other (lipdiameter 16-17cm.; ca 25cm. and ca 30cm.). usual-ly they have two triangular handles that hug thewall. The exception in Icarus Street is OI97.

Cf. Avissar 1996, 145, fig. XIII:106, type 19; Pringle

1984, 143, fig. XIII; Megaw 1971, 125, fig. 2:7;

von Wartburg 2003, fig. 12.

47. OI97 (Figs 6, 10). Ht: 4.5, d: (lip) 16; (base) 13,

e.v.e.: 100%, tk: 0.8.

SMADAR GABRIELI16

Three frr, near complete pan with a single straight

handle and rounded lip.

This is the only small pan with a handle preserved.

The handle is short, of round section, attached to the

lip and rising above it, and is stepped to a thin end.

There are rough marks of addition of clay on the

base. The thick glaze terminates in an uneven line on

the lip, and covers most of the upper face of the

handle.

Dense soot deposit, uneven on the base, in alternat-

ing thick patches and ingrained ones. The soot rises

all the way to the lip, apart from an area near the

handle, where the side of the handle is also

unmarked.

Fabric: Orange, 2.5yr5/8[R]; rough/sandy, with

under 10% small black, brown and white inclusions.

48. OI98. Ht: 4.5, d: (lip) 17; (base) 12.5, e.v.e.: 24%.

Four joining frr, complete profile.

The lip is rounded; the glaze is thick, and terminates

in uneven line on the lip.

The soot pattern is the same as that of OI97 above,

but more of the wall is reserved. Rough marks of

addition of clay on the base.

Fabric: Orange, 2.5yr5/8[R]; rough/sandy, with

under 10% small black, brown and white inclusions.

49. OI99. Ht: 4.0, d: (lip) 17.5 (base) 13.5, e.v.e.: 36%.

One fr, complete profile.

The lip is rounded; the glaze is thin, has a gap, and

does not reach the lip. Rough marks showing addi-

tion of clay on the base.

Soot pattern as OI97 above, but no reserved area.

Fabric: Orange, 2.5yr5/8[R], with dark chocolate

brown in places, that could be use-related; rough/

sandy, with under 10% small black, brown and

white inclusions.

50. OI100. D: 12.5, e.v.e: 48%.

Fr of base.

Splash of glaze on the underside of the base, and

spacer-mark on the glaze inside.

Dense soot deposit, uneven on the base, in alternat-

ing thick patches and ingrained ones.

Rough marks of addition of clay are visible.

Fabric: Orange, 2.5yr5/8[R]; rough/sandy, with less

than 10% small black, brown and white inclusions.

51. OI101. Ht: 5.1, d: 16.5, e.v.e.: 53%, tk: 0.4-0.45.

Ten frr (eight joining + a pair).

The wall is upright, the lip rounded and thickened

on the outside; there is a root of at least one, and

maybe two handles, which would be horizontal and

hugging the wall. The pan is evenly made, the out-

side and the base are well smoothed. Yellowish-

brown glaze, up to the lip and in places extending to

the outside surface. The glaze is lumpy with some

bubbles.

This pan is different from the other glazed pans in

glaze, fabric, and quality of manufacture. It may not

be Levantine, but is included in this section because

it is glazed and manufactured on the fast wheel.

Heavy soot deposit forms a more consistent layer

than on the other pans, with charred lumps in places.

The soot covers the full surface outside, up to the

lip.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr4/3[RBr]; rough, brittle, with

very small and small white inclusions, and occa-

sional small-medium brown one.

52. OI102 (Fig. 10). Ht: 6.6, d: (lip) 30; (base) 22,

e.v.e.: 96%, tk: 0.8-0.9.

Seventeen frr (sixteen joining), a nearly complete

pan.

The wall leans out, rounding at a fairly wide angle

to a flattened base; the lip is thickened both in and

out, and is very uneven. Small triangular flat han-

dles, which are barely more than a clay pellet. The

glaze rises to the lip, which is partly reserved. Flecks

and dribble of glaze outside.

No soot marks.

Fabric: Orange-reddish-brown, ca 7.5yr4/4[SBr] but

redder; rough/sandy with under 10% dark brown,

reddish brown, and a few white inclusions; maybe

grog.

53. OI103 (Figs 6, 10). Ht: 4.9-5.4, d: 25, e.v.e.: 44%,

tk: 0.4-0.7.

Six frr (five joining) of a Levantine glazed pan,

complete profile.

The wall is leaning out and somewhat concave; the

base is completely flat, and shows cheese-wire

marks, with an excess ridge along the edge where it

was pushed when flattened; the lip is thickened out

just enough in to create an overhang. Small handles

folded to triangles are attached fully to the wall.

Dribbles and flecks of glaze on the outside.

This pan is much more carefully made than the nor-

mal Levantine pans, but the glaze is not as thick and

lustrous. The lip undulates, and it may deep towards

one end, as hand made pan OI93.

No soot, but maybe some traces of burnt deposit on

the base itself.

Fabric: Variegated orange and chocolate-brown,

5yr3/3[DRBr]; nearly 20% inclusions, extremely

limey, the lime inclusions are small and medium

with an occasional very large one; small dark and

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 17

reddish-brown inclusions, which may be grog.

54. OI105. D: 16.

Fr forming complete base.

Flecks of glaze outside, thick and lustrous.

No soot, some burning on the edge.

Fabric: Orange, 2.5yr5/8[R]; rough/sandy fracture,

with very very small white inclusions, and

small/medium red-brown and dark brown ones.

55. OI106. D: 28, e.v.e.: 30%.

Four frr (two joining) of a Levantine pan, complete

profile.

As OI102, including the glaze pattern.

Only very limited soot deposit, on one fr.

Fabric: Orange-brown; with small and (mostly)

medium light-opaque brown and dark brown inclu-

sions, and some white ones.

In addition to the catalogue items above, there areseven fragments which can be counted as two pansfor the purpose of minimum number calculations.

Jars with pinched spout

The only type to have complex incised decoration atthis period, the jars with pinched spout have wideshoulder and two vertical handles with squarededges extending from the lip to just above the shoul-der/body transit. The rear part of the lip is flatterthan the front, and often decorated with indentationsor notches. When only handles are preserved, it maybe possible to distinguish jars from jugs by these twocharacteristics.

Cf. Vallauri 2004, 225, pl. 5.

56. OI146 (Fig. 8). Ht: 14, d: (lip) 11.2/ (at break) 29,

e.v.e.: 100%, tk: 0.25-0.7.

Two joining frr of body, lip and handle, with incised

decoration.

Sloping wall carinating to a wide shoulder, upright

neck and everted simple lip, diagonally flattened on

its upper face. The body is still widening at breaking

point. The slightly elongated pinched spout is very

precisely made, with two clear dimples at its base.

Two flat, thin handles with sharply squared edges

extend from the lip to just above the body/shoulder

carination.

The mouth is wider than it is long (unlike in later

periods); the spout is somewhat elongated, but at the

level of the lip, and is very well made, the dimples

deep and clear and slightly lopsided as for thumb

and forefinger.

The rear edge of the lip, between the handles, is dec-

orated with a fine line of indentations. The incised

decoration consists of three interrupted bands made

with 4-teeth comb along the handles, and on the

body another such band just below the handle, sur-

mounted by a band of oblique strokes made with the

same comb.

Inside there are strong finger marks.

Fabric: Rough, reddish brown, 5yr5/8[YR], the sur-

face is mottled black and reddish-brown; very small

and small white inclusions, small and medium very

dark brown and brown ones.

This jar is an indication that not all the pinchedspouts of the early phase are rounded, and otherconsiderations should be taken into account, such asthe size of the spout, the quality of manufacture, andthe dimples at its base.

57. OI152. Ht: 6.1, wd: 7.1.

Fr of shoulder.

A trapezoid sherd of a shoulder of a large vessel,

most probably storage jar. The break is on the shoul-

der/body transit which is marked by a plastic ridge

decorated with a line of indentations. Incised deco-

ration consists of two wavy double-lines.

There is a smooth layer of lime on the inside.

Fabric: Reddish-brown 5yr5/8[YR]; rough, with

small and medium white, reddish-brown and dark

brown inclusions.

58. OI159. Ht: 6, d: 10; 17 (at break), e.v.e.: 25%.

Fr of widely sloping shoulder, neck and lip. The lip

is slightly thickened and rounded on the outside.

One edge shows the beginning of a pinched-spout,

the other a handle root.

This is an unusually small jar.

Fabric: Orange-red; fine matrix.

Jugs with pinched spout

The jugs with pinched spout differ from the jars inhaving one handle and not two, and in the absenceof decoration. Otherwise the shape is the same:wide shoulder, with a rounded or carinated transit tothe body, sagging base, and upright lip with apinched spout that has finger-dimples at its base. Infragmented state the jugs cannot be distinguished inshape from pots with upright lip, unless the spout ispreserved. The criterion chosen here was the lipdiameter, so that when the diameter is smaller thanthat of the smallest pots found in Icarus Street(13cm.), the fragment is identified as a jug.

59. OI145 (Fig. 8). Ht: 9.7, d: (lip) 9; (at break) 15,

e.v.e.: 33%, handle section: 3.2 0.8.

Two joining frr of body, lip, and square-edged

handle.

SMADAR GABRIELI18

Fabric: Red, 2.5yr4/8[R]; rough, with small white

inclusions, small and medium reddish-brown ones

and fuzzy dark brown.

60. OI147 (Fig. 8). Ht: 10, d: (lip) 9.5, e.v.e.: 100%,

handle section 3.8 1.0.

Five joining frr of body, lip and handle.

Good condition.

Well finished, self-slipped in and out. The handle is

flat and thin, with squared edges.

Soot on the under side of the handle, around the

spout on the outside, and a patch under the shoulder.

The soot marks on many of these jugs in the Icarus

Street assemblage is an indication of their use as

cooking vessels.

Fabric: Brown, 5yr4/4[RBr]; rough, with small

white, brown and dark brown inclusions.

61. OI149. Ht: 12.4, d: (lip) 8; (body max.) 14.5,

e.v.e.: 52%, handle section: 3.3 0.6.

Four joining frr of body, lip and handle.

The handle is thin and wide, with squared edges.

Only a small part of the spout is preserved, but it

preserves part of a finger-dimple. The surface is

smoothed and slipped all the way down, inside and

out. A hole on the side of the body seems to be use-

or wear-related rather than drilled.

Fabric: Dull brown, 5yr5/3[RBr]; rough, with small

and medium white and very dark brown inclusions;

very micaceous.

62. OI150. Ht: 8, d: (lip) 8; (body max. at break), 15.5,

e.v.e.: 32%, tk: 0.25-0.35.

Two joining frr of body, lip and handle; the spout is

not preserved. The shoulder-body transition is cari-

nated, and the body widens slightly below the shoul-

der. Short concave neck and an everted simple lip,

flattened diagonally outward. The thin wide handle

is flat and thin, with squared edges.

The surface is mottled black and reddish-brown as

that of jar OI146.

Fabric: Reddish-brown, 5yr5/8[YR]; rough, with

very small and small white and light brown inclu-

sions, medium very dark brown and ones, and some

long and narrow, similar in structure to schist.

63. OI151. Ht: 8.8, d: (lip) 8; (body max. at break),16.5

e.v.e.: 33%, tk: 0.3.

Three frr (two joining) of body, lip and handle. The

shoulder-body transition is rounded. The neck/lip is

nearly upright, slightly leaning outwards. The

handle is wide and flat with squared edges.

Soot on the handle and on the body under the right

part of the handle, and probably continuing towards

the base. The inside surface has a dense, dark layer,

either an intentional seal, maybe pitch, or a heavy

burnt deposit.

Fabric: Dull brown, with the inner half of the section

darkened by a substance that soaked in; fine matrix,

rough section, with small white and inclusions; large

quantity of mica-like flakes.

64. OI154. Ht: 5.8, d: (lip) 9; (at break) 15.5, e.v.e.:

25%, tk: 0.15-0.25.

Fr of shoulder and lip. The shoulder is rounded, the

neck/lip slightly leaning outward; the lip is flattened

diagonally outwards, with a slight ridge at its base.

Fabric: Brown-black, the colour probably use relat-

ed; fine matrix, sandy section, with very small white

and glistening inclusions.

65. OI156. Ht: 13.5, d: (base) 13; (max. body) 18, e.v.e.:

100%, tk: 0.2-0.4, Handle section: 3.2 0.7.

Fourteen frr (eight joining) of base and body, up to

the neck. The base is sagging, the transition from

shoulder to body is carinated. The handle is flat and

thin, slightly concave on its upper face, and with

squared edges.

Well finished on the outside, but rough inside, show-

ing the potter’s finger marks. The inside surface has

a dense black layer, probably coated with pitch or

bitumen.

Soot on the handle and one side of the wall down to

the base, and to a lesser extent on the opposite side

of the base.

This vessel was identified as a jug rather than a pot

because the base is sagging rather than round.

Fabric: Brown, 7.5yr4/6[StBr] with thick core

10yr4.4[DYBr]; very rough, with small and medium

white and brown inclusions.

Levantine jugs

There is only one Levantine jug, identified as suchby the fabric and glaze which are as those of theLevantine cooking pots.

66. 168 (Fig. 9). Ht: 4.2, d: (neck) 6; (base) 3.3; (max.

body) ca 9, e.v.e.: (neck) 25%.

Four joining frr of body, and a fr of neck.

Globular, squat body, with small flat base. Pro-

nounced fine wheel marks on the inside surface, out-

side roughly finished. The long neck is slightly con-

cave, with a simple lip.

The neck is fully glazed on the outside surface, the

glaze terminating unevenly inside; on the body there

are sporadic small drops of glaze. A partially glazed,

small (1cm. diameter), round, possibly vertical han-

dle, may be part of it.

Fabric: Orange, 2.5yr5/8[R]; rough/sandy, with less

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 19

than 10% small inclusions, black, brown and white,

with some lime.

ICARUS STREET IN CONTEXT

At the current state of study, there are only a

few sites that can be compared with Icarus Street.

Two large, well-dated sites provide the evi-

dence for the coarse ware of the late 12th and

early 13th century: Kouklia (von Wartburg 1997,

1998), and Saranta Kolones (Megaw 1971,

1972). The material from Saranta Kolones is that

of the destruction levels, and therefore repre-

sents, at the latest, the early 13th century.7 The

shapes published are Levantine cooking pots

(Megaw 1972, 334, fig. D, pot type A) of a shape

that is typical of the 12th and early 13th century

(Stern 1997, 41-42) and locally hand-made cook-

ing pots (Megaw 1972, 334, fig. E, pot type B).

The contexts also contain 13th century amphorae

with high handles (Megaw 1972, 334, figs 23 and

27). The Kouklia material was found in two pits

that were dated, according to the fine-ware, to the

late 12th or early 13th century. The shapes are a

flat pan with up-turned lip and very thin base

similar to Shape 1 above (von Wartburg 1997,

fig. 11:12), Levantine cooking pots of the 12th-

early 13th century (von Wartburg 1997, fig.

15:22), and globular Cypriot pots (von Wartburg

1997, figs 15:25, 11:11). Levantine frying pans

and pots were also found in a salvage excavation

near the Church of Agia Theoskepasti in Kato

Pafos (Leptos Walls). A coin dated to the turn of

the 13th century provides terminus ante quem for

this context. Excavated by Michaelides, the

material has a preliminary publication by von

Wartburg (2003, 160, 162, fig. 12).

There is no publication of coarse ware of the

13th century which post-dates the destruction of

Saranta Kolones. Once the excavation of the

Chrysopolitissa basilica is published, it will pro-

vide invaluable information for the 13th and the

14th centuries. So far, only two coarse ware ves-

sels were published from 14th-century Pafos.

Both are from Chrysopolitissa, and they were

published by Papanikola-Bakirtzis (1988(2)): a

hemispherical bowl with simple lip (cat. no. 10,

inv. no. Chr.P. 94/2; pl. LXXVI:2), and a

bowl/cup (cat. no. 12, inv. no. Chr.P. 94/4; pl.

LXXVI: 4, 6, fig. 1:5).

In the meantime, the assemblages from Icarus

Street together with a well deposit from the exca-

vations of the University of Sydney at Fabrika,

Pafos, are important in bridging this gap. The well

deposit at Fabrika relates to the destruction, prob-

ably by earthquake, of an industrial complex that

produced glass, possibly metal, and most con-

spicuously, sgraffito and slip painted ceramics, as

part of the Pafos-Lemba ceramics industry. The

well deposit is dated to the last years of the 13th

or the first years of the 14th century. Unlike the

Icarus Street assemblage, the well deposit

includes decorative motifs that are absent from

Akko, and therefore most likely post-dates the

destruction of this last Crusader principality in

1291 (Stern, pers. comm.). The well assemblage

has only a small number of cooking/storage ves-

sels, but they exhibit the same characteristics as

the Icarus Street assemblage (cf. Fig. 5: inv.

3403; Fig. 8: inv. 3390).

For the 14th century there are also two well-

dated contexts: the well from Lefkosia (Flourent-

zos 1994), which provides a rich assemblage in a

sealed context that has been dated to the late 13th

or early 14th century, and a pit group from

Lefkosia (Megaw 1939, Pit A), which dates to

the second half of the 14th century.

SMADAR GABRIELI20

____________

7. Though there have been doubts expressed concerning

Megaw’s dating of the destruction to 1222 (von Wartburg

2001), Hayes (pers. comm.) is of the opinion that the evi-

dence does not warra0nt revision, as are Rosser and Metcalf,

on the basis of the stratigraphic and numismatic evidence

(Rosser, pers. comm.). The Levantine cooking pots in Saran-

ta Kolones are of the type dated to the 12th and first half of

the 13th century (Stern 1997, 40-42; Avissar 2005, 63). While

I am not in a position to judge the matter, even if the date is

revised, it is likely to remain within the first half of the 13th

century. Such a revision is significant for the development of

Cypriot Medieval glazed pottery and of various types of

imported glazed ware, but at the present state of knowledge

of Coarse ware, a range of half a century is sufficient.

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 21

The coarse ware from the Lefkosia well

seems to comprise a full household content and is

therefore of particular significance when com-

pared with Icarus Street. The cooking pots are of

the globular type, as those from Icarus Street, but

are glazed inside (Flourentzos 1994, pls

XXII:51-52, XXIV:54). Levantine imports are

absent from the deposit,8 but there is a large

quantity of glazed pans with pinched spout

(pl. XXIII:47-50) of which only one spout was

found at Icarus Street. These pans have in-turned

lip, which relates them to the pots with in-turned

lip, that become, as mentioned above, the domi-

nant cooking vessel in the 15th century. They

show the same style of partial pie-crust decora-

tion on the lip as the vessels from Icarus Street,

and mostly have the same flat vertical handles

with squared edges, though sometimes they have

lugs instead. The small bowls /cups are also

found in the well, and their dimensions are simi-

lar to those in Icarus Street. Like the pots, they

too are often glazed inside.

Nicosia Pit A is dated to the second half of the

14th century by imported Syrian painted bowls

(Megaw 1939, 147). It contains globular cooking

pots glazed inside (A18, p. 150, fig. 7), a mini-

bowl/cup (A25, p. 150, fig. 7) and a sagging base

with round knob-foot (A19, Inv. 1937/X-11/8,

fig. 6). Interestingly, it also contains a squat jug

(A21, inv. 1937/X-11/8: p. 150, fig. 7) with wide

flat base, narrow neck and flaring lip. This jug

has a thick handle attached to the lip and the

body, and incised design on the upper part of

body and on the handle. A shape which is

increasingly found in 15th-century sites, this is

the only example that the author has found so far

from an assemblage which is securely dated

before the 15th century. Though the material from

Pit A was not accessible, the illustrations indicate

that the handles of all vessels but jug A21 have

the thin, flat section with squared edges. Apart

from this jug, the assemblage is clearly of the

same tradition as Icarus Street. Other contexts in

which jugs with narrow neck and round handle

are found in association with pots with thin han-

dles with squared edges have recently been exca-

vated in Lefkosia (e.g. in the Cistercian convent

of St Theodore), and a preliminary study sug-

gests that a 14th or 15th century date is appropri-

ate.

A bowl/cup from Garrison’s Camp, Pafos,

was also attributed to the 14th century (Bruno

1996, 252). This find is, however, less secure.

The context is predominantly 14th century, but

contains material up to the 16th century. The dat-

ing of the vessel itself is based on comparison

with Megaw’s Pit A.

On the cusp between the 14th and the 15th

centuries is a jar with pinched spout and incised

decoration excavated in the foundation level of

the Manor House at Potamia (Vallauri 2004, 225,

fig. 5) [the date on the figure is 16th century; the

text, however, has the correct date of the late 14th

century (Vallauri, pers. comm.)]. This jar has flat

handles with squared edge. The spout is pulled

forward, with well-formed dimples at its base.

This survey shows that the assemblage of

Icarus Street, though limited in types, represents

the full range of the shapes of coarse wares man-

ufactured in reddish-brown fabric during the 13th

and most of the 14th centuries, and that the typi-

cal attributes of the Icarus Street assemblage hold

true throughout the assemblages of the period. In

later assemblages, for example Pit B (Megaw

1939), Zik-Zak street (Prokopiou 1997), Fabrika

(Gabrieli 2006), and St Theodore (unpublished),

the section of the handles changes to a flattened

oval, the dimples at the base of the pinched-

spouts disappear, and the spouts themselves are

pulled forward, and are seldom level with the lip.

The limited repertoire of incised-decoration

motifs may already extend towards the end of the

14th century, but a more complete study of St

Theodore is necessary before this assumption can

be confirmed.

____________

8. I am grateful to Dr Flourentzos for giving me access to the

complete assemblage from his excavation.

In view of the above survey, it can be sug-

gested suggest that in spite of the overall similar-

ity in assemblages of the 13th-14th centuries, the

presence of pans with pinched-spout and the use

of glaze on Cypriot cooking wares in general can

be used to sub-divide the coarse wares of this

period. No glazed pots were found at Saranta

Kolones or Icarus Street, and only a small frag-

ment of a pan with pinched spout was found in

the latter. Glazed pots are found, on the other

hand, in Megaw’s Pit A, and many of the pots in

the Lefkosia well are glazed, as are the bowls/

cup. Pans with pinched-spout are also common at

the well, while the imports from the Crusader

Levant are absent in both these sites. The evi-

dence from Fabrika is less clear. The site under-

went a major destruction episode at the begin-

ning of the 14th century, a little later than the date

of Icarus Street. Glazed pots were found at Fab-

rika, but no pans with pinched spout. This evi-

dence for a 14th century starting date for the man-

ufacture of pans with pinched-spout and the use

of glaze on cooking wares in general is not con-

clusive, but is certainly suggestive.9

CONCLUSIONS

The coarse wares which are manufactured in

reddish-brown fabric show a remarkably strong

tradition of technology and style from the 13th

century onwards. The industry is not, however,

without development, and a chronological

sequence can be outlined (Gabrieli 2006, 2007).

More particularly, there are common characteris-

tics that distinguish the material of the 13th and

14th centuries from later one.

The size and composition of the assemblage

from the tomb at Icarus Street indicates that it

contains the full content of a household. When

compared with other assemblages of the 13th-14th

century, it is possible therefore to formulate com-

mon characteristics and highlight differences that

suggest some guidelines for sub-division within

this period.

This article focused on the chronological

aspect of the assemblage. This was considered to

be of primary importance, because it could make

other assemblages more readily available for

study. Chronology is, however, only a tool, and

there are other aspects of the pottery from Icarus

Street that should be investigated, in particular

food and foodways of Frankish Cyprus, and local

and regional production.

SMADAR GABRIELI22

____________

9. It should be noted here that the so-called glazed Cypriot cook-

ing pots published by John, from the 13th century deposit of

the Pilgrims Castle in Atlit (John 1934), were found on

inspection to be Levantine pots. The Cypriot cooking pots

from the same site, including the one whose photo was pub-

lished, showing clearly the typical handle with the squared

edge (pl. LVII, fig. 3), are not glazed.

AVISSAR, M. 1996: “The Medieval pottery” in A.

Ben-Tor, M. Avissar and Y. Portugali,

Yoqne’am I (Qedem Reports 3) (Jerusalem),

75-173.

— 2005: Tel Yoqne’am. Excavations on theAcropolis (IAA Reports 25) (Jerusalem).

BRUNO, G.A. 1996: Ceramica Medievale. Catal-ogo in F. Giudice et al., “Paphos, Garri-

son’s Camp. Campagna 1991”, RDAC,

171-267.

FLOURENTZOS, P. 1994: A Hoard of MedievalAntiquities from Nicosia (Nicosia).

GABRIELI, R.S. 2006: Silent Witnesses: The Evi-dence of Domestic Wares of the 13th-19th

centuries in Paphos, Cyprus, for LocalEconomy and Social Organisation (Un-

published PhD thesis, University of Syd-

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— 2007: “A Region Apart: Coarse Ware of

Medieval and Ottoman Cyprus” in B. Böh-

lendorf-Arslan, A.O. Uysal and J. Witte-Orr

(eds), Late Antique and Medieval Potteryand Tiles in Mediterranean ArchaeologicalContexts (Proceedings of the First Interna-tional Symposium on Late Antique, Byzan-tine, Seljuk, and Ottoman Pottery and Tilesin Archaeological context) (Çanakkale, 1-3June 2005) (Istanbul), 399-410.

GIUDICE, F.G. et al. 1993: “Paphos, Garrison’s

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GIUDICE, F.G. and E. 2004: “Pafos, Garrison’s

Camp. IXa campagna”, RDAC, 271-314.

GOREN, Y. 1997: “Excavations of the Courthouse

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analyses of the ceramic assemblage”,

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GREGORY, T.E. 1993: “Byzantine and Medieval

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und toepferinnen” in Kreta Messenien undZypern (Mainz).

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PAPANIKOLA-BAKIRTZI, D. 1988(2): “ - µ µ 14 π ”, RDAC, 245-48.

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PROKOPIOU, E. 1997: “ µ . - . π µ - 1993”, RDAC, 285-

323.

RAPTOU, E. 2006: “The built tomb in Icarus

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SMADAR GABRIELI24

E PI H H

…

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 25

Fig. 3. Globular cooking pots. Shape 1: OI117, OI135; Shape 2: OI121, OI136; Shape 3: OI118.

OI117

OI135

OI136

OI118

OI121

SMADAR GABRIELI26

OI120

OI140OI117

OI143

Fig. 4. Globular cooking pots. Shape 1: OI117, OI120, OI143; Shape 2: OI140.

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 27

Fig. 5. Vessels with in-turned lip.

OI90

OI142

OI95

OI141

inv. 3403

inv. 1794

SMADAR GABRIELI28

Fig. 6. Imports from the Levantine coast.

OI167

OI107

OI103

OI97

Avissar 2005, fig. 2:18-1

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 29

Fig. 7. Bowls / cups (1:2)

OI110

OI113

OI111

OI114

SMADAR GABRIELI30

OI146

Inv. 3990

OI147

OI145

OI147

Fig. 8. Storage vessels.

TOWARDS A CHRONOLOGY - THE MEDIEVAL COARSE WARE FROM THE TOMB AT ICARUS STREET, KATO PAFOS 31

Fig. 9. Jug from the Levantine coast (OI168), and pan with pinched spout and sloping wall (OI93). The bottom right hand frag-

ment of OI93 clearly shows the slope of the wall.

OI146

OI168

SMADAR GABRIELI32

Fig. 10. Glazed pans. OI94 is Cypriot; the others are imports from the Levant.

OI102, OI97, OI103

OI102

OI94OI97