Ancient Mediterranean

Digital Project

Galley

Cat. No.

C38

Date

Cypro-Archaic

Findspot

Amathus West necropolis Anemos, unspecified tomb

Dimensions

L: 20.5 cm; H: 7.4 cm

Medium

terracotta boat model with bichrome decoration

Accession Number

AM. T. 722/36, A. M. 1972

References

Dolan 2023: 422-423, no. 42; Hadjisavvas 2002: 699, fig. 33

The extremities of both posts are missing. Slender hull with a vertical stempost. The ram is thick and rectangular, ending in a flat extremity. The sternpost rises gradually, extending above the gunwale. There is an open bulwark or railing running the length of the hull, formed by a horizontal plank supported by short stanchions. This rail is glued on the outside of the stanchions. Its execution is very similar to that observable on C 23 and C25. It is hard to be certain from the picture, but there appears to be a lightly moulded wale along the hull at the level of the waterline. This is the clearest depiction of a functional ram, and arguably the most detailed representation of an oared galley from Amathus.

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 Unpublished DPhil Thesis.

Hadjisavvas S. 2002. “Chronique des fouilles et découvertes archéologiques à Chypre en 2001,” BCH 126.2: 691-727.

  • copyright icon © Click for fullscreen