Ancient Mediterranean

Digital Project

Ship model

Cat. No.

C34

Date

Cypro-Archaic

Findspot

Amathus, South West necropolis, tomb 183, no. 69

Dimensions

L: 18.5 cm

Medium

terracotta boat model with bichrome decoration in black and red paint

Accession Number

Limassol district Museum

References

Dolan 2023: 378-380, no. 26; Karageorghis 1987a: 12, 29, no. 136, pl. XXVII; 1996: 75, no.V(b):20, PL. XLIII: 2; Tygtat 1989: 99, no. 69

Slender crescentic hull with a slightly concave gunwale and near symmetrical posts ending in a flat, undecorated extremity. The posts project above the gunwale, with one of them curving inwards, while the other is straight and slightly inward slanting. There is also a vertical band on the incurving stem, from the top of the post to the keel.

Tomb 183 was pillaged and reused several times. It has two layers that do not however correspond to distinct phases, as both have pottery of various periods. The material has been dated to the Cypro Archaic II and Cypro Classical I. The chamber is oriented NO/SE, with a carved rectangular pit running from the stomion to the back of the chamber. In addition to local pottery, there were several fragments of alabaster vases, a bronze rod, an iron fragment (possibly of a knife), silver and carnelian beads, and a complete Phoenician amphora.

The ship model comes from the lower layer B, and was found in the center of the tomb along with six jugs of Bichrome IV-V, Plain White V-VI, and White Painted V type (nos. 70-73, 85, 100).

Dolan, M. 2023. Ceci n'est pas un bateau: Reassessing terracotta boat models in Late Bronze and Iron Age Cyprus. University of Southhampton. Unpublished DPhil Thesis.

Karageorghis, V. 1987a. “The terracottas,” in V. Karageorghis, O. Picard and C. Tytgat (eds.) La nécropole d’Amathonte: tombes 113-367. Vol III. Nicosia: Service des antiquités de Chypre, pp. 1-52.

―――. 1996. The coroplastic Art of ancient Cyprus. VI. Monsters, Animals and Miscellanea. Nicosia: A.G. Leventis Foundation.

Tytgat, C. 1989. "Les Tombes 110-385,” In: V. Karageorghis, O. Picard and C. Tytgat (eds.) La nécropole d’Amathonte: tombes 113-367. Vol I. Nicosia: A.G. Leventis Foundation.

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