Cylinder Seal Impressions in Bronze Age Cyprus

During the Late Bronze Age (LBA) in Cyprus, a rare practice emerged involving the use of cylinder-seals to create relief friezes on large storage vessels known as pithoi. This rare phenomenon, when compared to the multitude of non-impressed examples, provides insights into the socio-economic and administrative aspects of LBA Cypriot society. This article explores the technical aspects, iconography, and interpretations of cylinder-seal impressions on storage vessels, with a focus on the examples excavated from the short-lived settlement of Maa-Palaeokastro.

Cylinder-seal impressions on pithoi were created by rolling a cylinder-seal on the vessel's surface before firing, resulting in a repetitive relief print of the carved scene. Unlike the more common stone cylinder-seals, the seals used for pithoi impressions were significantly larger, measuring up to 7 cm in height, and were likely made of wood.

The impressions were often placed on prominent positions around the shoulder, rim, or handles of the pithoi, suggesting their intended visibility. In some cases, the impressions were made on an added strip of clay of a contrasting color to enhance their distinctiveness.

Iconography

Figure 1: Cylinder-seal A

Figure 2: Cylinder-seal A Drawing (after Porada 1988: pl. B: 3)

The cylinder-seal impressions from Maa-Palaeokastro reveal two distinct iconographic themes. The first, depicted by Cylinder-seal A, portrays a hunting scene featuring a human figure riding a chariot pulled by two galloping horses, aiming a bow and arrow at various animals, including a stag, cow, and lion. The second theme, represented by Cylinder-seal B, illustrates a pair of goats feeding from the branches of an olive tree, with intricate details of the rocky ground and individually rendered leaves.

Figure 3: Cylinder-seal B Drawing (after Porada 1988: pl. B: 3)

These themes are not unique to Maa-Palaeokastro, as similar motifs have been found on impressed pithoi from other LBA Cypriot sites. Hunting scenes involving chariot hunts and combat scenes depicting figures slaying lions or griffins are prevalent, as well as bull-fights and animals flanking a tree. The iconography encompasses a rich vocabulary that becomes meaningful when integrated within the spatial and social context of the LBA cultural milieu.

Symbolism and Interpretations

The iconographic themes portrayed on the cylinder-seal impressions bear strong symbolic connotations related to power, dominance, and control. Scenes of combat, such as bulls fighting or humans slaying beasts, symbolize man's dominance over nature's disorder and the promotion of male prowess. The depiction of chariot hunting, an activity associated with the affluent members of society, constitutes an explicit reference to the elitist pursuits of wealthy and high-status individuals. The motif of goats feeding from a tree, particularly an olive tree, could have functioned as a marker for the vessel's contents.

Figure 4: Cylinder-seal with Chariot Scene

The messages conveyed by these impressed friezes converge on the concepts of power, dominance, and control, alluding to elitist pursuits, male social prowess, and the assertion of authority. The thematography strongly associates with that of 'luxury' artefacts found in mortuary contexts of social elites, making the cylinder-seal impressions on pithoi a unique case of high-status visual imagery in residential contexts.

Early publications considered the cylinder-seal impressions on pithoi to serve a purely decorative purpose. However, the conspicuous positioning, large size, and explicitly elitist thematology of the friezes suggest that the act of rolling cylinder-seals on storage vessels was intended to distinguish the marked vessels and their contents from the non-marked.

Figure 5: Cylinder-seal with Chariot Scene

In the context of the complex hierarchical system of LBA Cypriot polities, cylinder-seal impressed pithoi are interpreted as elements of an idiosyncratic visual communication system employed within a controlled system of regional administration and exchange. The impressed friezes possibly signified that the vessels and their contents were reserved for special groups within a settlement, such as administrative elites, particular classes of laborers or priests, or for special occasions of ceremonial, communal, or cultic character. The unequivocally elitist ideology associated with these depictions could insinuate that the impressions were used to mark ownership or control of the foodstuff by members of administrative elites.

Distribution and Local Variation

The inland settlement of Alassa-Paliotaverna has yielded the vast majority of storage vessels with relief friezes, amounting to approximately 200 fragments. Maa-Palaeokastro presents the second-largest accumulation with 26 fragments, followed by Episkopi-Bamboula with eight specimens. The association between Alassa and Episkopi, both situated along the Kourris River valley, is evident from the use of the same cylinder-seal at both sites, the only instance of such an occurrence.

Figure 6: Cylinder-seal with Chariot Scene

Other LC centers, such as Kition, Hala Sultan Tekke, Analiondas, and Athienou, have revealed only a handful of examples, while the extensively excavated metropolis of Enkomi has yielded only two impressed pithos fragments. The proliferation of cylinder-impressed pithoi at Alassa-Paliotaverna and the minimal distribution across the rest of the island may suggest that this practice was a regional mechanism associated with the southwestern part of Cyprus.

Comparison to Cypro-Minoan Script

The regional polities administered by the urban centers at Kalavasos and Maroni employed the indigenous LC scribal tool known as Cypro-Minoan for administrative purposes, as evidenced by inscriptions on storage and utilitarian vessels, terracotta cylinders, and gypsum pithos lids. Despite the script remaining undeciphered, these inscriptions are considered to have marked ownership, analogous to the postulated function of cylinder-seal impressed friezes on pithoi.

The sheer numbers of pithoi with cylinder-seal impressions at Alassa-Paliotaverna might account for the almost complete absence of writing in this otherwise highly urbanized polity. Some sites, such as Maa-Palaeokastro, utilized both mechanisms, considering the coexistence of impressed friezes and short inscriptions on storage vessels.

Conclusion

Figure 7: Cylinder-seal with Chariot Scene

Cylinder-seal impressions on storage vessels in Late Bronze Age Cyprus provide valuable insights into the socio-economic and administrative aspects of the island's segmented politico-economic landscape. The iconography, characterized by themes of power, dominance, and control, reflects the elitist ideology of the time and suggests that the impressed friezes served as a visual communication system within a controlled system of regional administration and exchange.

Figure 8: Two Bulls flanking standing person.

The regional variation in the distribution of cylinder-seal impressed pithoi and the differential use of Cypro-Minoan script underscore the differing administrative practices employed by the territorial polities of LBA Cyprus. The study of this idiosyncratic practice contributes to our understanding of the complex hierarchical systems and the assertion of authority by administrative elites in Late Bronze Age Cypriot society.