Base Ring Ware is one of the most distinctive and thereby important archaeological hallmarks of the Late Bronze Age in Cyprus. The technical ceramic standards achieved ·inthis ware coupled with its wide. distribution provided a valuable opportunity to study the technological skills of the ancient Cypriot craftsmen as well as to assess the degree of sophistication of their knowledge, and ability to manipulate the local ceramic material resources. By means of standardised macroscopic studies of a large sherd sample of the ware, the range and patterns of production methods were established. These data were then subjected to s ta tis tical clus tering procedures to discover any chronologi'cal, geographical or technical production patterns for the ware. In addition, geochemical analyses were performed on a representative set of sherds to provide a basis for characterising the ware's general geological composition and to determine whether any local variations in the fabric could be identified. For purposes of material comparisons, forty clay samples of various mineralogical types were collected from Cyprus from deposits near the Late Cypriot sites represented by the Base Ring sherds. These clays were also subjected to geochemical analysis and statistical procedures to determine whether any of them could provide useful compositional parallels to the materials of the archaeological samples. The sherds were then examined petrographically and by scanning electron microscopy, microprobe and X-ray diffraction analysis to provide complementary and corroborative data for the geochemical profiles. The Cypriot clay samples were used for manufacturing and firing experiments to compare with Base Ring production techniques, and were subjected to the same analytical procedures as were the sherds. The combined analytical and technical data were then considered for both sherds and clays to determine the degree to which they contributed to a consistent and overall geoiogical characterisation of Base Ring materials and fabrics, and the degree to which they provided important insights into the relative sophistication and regional nature of the Late Cypriot ceramic industry which produced .this remarkable ware

The Cypriot Bronze Age (c.2300-1075 BCE) is a widely researched chronological period. However, with long-term material elaboration receiving most attention, detailed studies have revealed a remarkable, yet insufficiently integrated amount of data. Based on these, and since the 1960’s, researchers proposed settlement pattern models to describe increasingly complex politico-economic mechanisms. Despite continuous excavations and detailed material studies, these models have only been slightly modified over the past 50 years. This raises questions on how integrative and representative currently employed settlement pattern models are, and if new approaches may support different relationships. This study is a spatial attempt to answer these questions via a comparative research of diachronic local/regional trajectories in three valleys from the south central coast of Cyprus: the Kouris, the Vasilikos and the Maroni. It examines the association between the valleys’ surveyed and excavated data with current large-scale interpretations, focusing on human-landscape relations in open (landscape), constructed (architecture) and concealed (burials) spaces. Underscoring a pattern between natural and cognitive landscape with materially expressed identities, this study offers a novel conceptualisation of multiple scales of relations throughout the Bronze Age. Consequently, it underpins the significance of a deep understanding of local histories, prior to the formation and/or use of any generalised settlement pattern models to describe any chronological period. Finally, it supports integrative methodologies for material evidence associated with groups of people that are hardly visible in large-scale reconstructions of politico-economic relations.

Prehistoric figurines have long proven evocative objects, and those of Bronze Age Cyprus have captivated researchers for more than a century. Much of this attention, however, has focussed on appraising the aesthetic characteristics, particularly of human figurines and using them to ascribe names to Bronze Age Cypriot deities. Most studies ignore animal figurines and less visually appealing, fragmentary or schematic examples; socially-situated analyses have also been particularly rare. However, the potential of these enigmatic objects to illuminate the society which made and used them has not gone unnoticed by archaeologists and calls have been made for a comprehensive, contextual investigation. This thesis undertook to provide such a study, aiming not only to interpret the function and significance of the figurines themselves but to consider the implications of these interpretations for the nature of the Bronze Age Cypriot society. The project has collated a detailed database of all 1790 known figurines from this period, including representations of humans, animals and inanimate objects, depicted as independent figurines, figurative vessels and vessels decorated with miniature figurines. These are predominantly ceramic but those few stone and metal variations of established ceramic categories have also been included. This varied material has been organised into a transparent, comprehensive typology and subjected to rigorous iconographical and contextual analyses. The interpretations to which these analyses have led have been informed by a diverse theoretical basis drawn from art-history, philosophy and archaeology, and situated on a firm understanding of the socio-cultural context of Bronze Age Cyprus. Investigations into the symbolic connotations and practical use of each figurine type have proven fruitful. Significant new findings include the hitherto unrecognised importance of textile imagery in the Early-Middle Bronze Age, evidence for the ritual breakage of Plank Figurines and a complex interplay of homogenisation and variation within the Late Cypriot figurine record. Finally, diachronic transformations in the forms, meanings and usage of figurines have been carefully evaluated to consider their implications for the changing socio-cultural landscape of Cyprus throughout the Bronze Age. Alterations in the criteria chosen to display group identity, a combination of continuity and change in ritual practices and sustained, close contacts with a wide sphere of external communities are just some of the trends and issues which figurines have been able to elucidate. Principally, this study demonstrates that nuanced, systematic investigation of this rich body of figurines holds significant potential to inform interpretations not only of the figurines themselves but also of their dynamic and complex Bronze Age Cypriot context.

Utilising previously unpublished ceramic evidence from the important Late Cypriot settlement of Enkomi, this thesis focuses on the impact on Cypriot social organisation of increased involvement with the complex societies of the eastern Mediterranean at the beginning of the Late Cypriot period, c. 1650 BCE. The main focus is on one aspect of the material culture: the first appearances of wheelmade pottery and the relationship of the wheelmade ceramics to the remainder of the assemblage. The introduction of wheelmade pottery has long been seen as a component of the 'social complexity package' and considered to be indicative of highly complex societies, along with full-time specialisation and mass production. The ceramic and settlement evidence from Enkomi is addressed in detail to evaluate the degree of social complexity present for the initial stages of settlement transformation on Cyprus from MCIII-LCIIB, prior to the appearance of urban centres during LCIIC. The extent of excavation at Enkomi, compared to other sites of the period, and the wealth of finds from both mortuary and settlement contexts has led to assumptions about the site's relative importance to the processes of change occurring on Cyprus. The notion of Enkomi as a pre-eminent town or as an archaic state is questioned in relation to the evidence from other settlements. The thesis is divided into four parts. Part 1 discusses the theoretical background for social complexity and outlines the explanatory models which have been developed for the Late Cypriot. I address the importance of trade, and briefly outline the modes of contact and social organisation in the eastern Mediterranean region in order to provide a framework for the interaction of Cyprus within this sphere. I also discuss the significance that has been placed on the appearance of wheel made ceramics in archaeological assemblages. The identification of wheel made ceramics is more complex than is often assumed and an important distinction should be made between pottery with the superficial appearance of being wheelmade and pottery that is actually wheelmade. Part 2 assesses the evidence of ceramics and settlement from other early LC sites in order to investigate whether Enkomi may be considered to have played a dominant role on the island in terms of site hierarchy or control over resources. A brief summary of the evidence of the ceramic and settlement evidence for the EC-MC and the LCllC-lllA periods is provided for comparative purposes. In Part 3 the Enkomi settlement and ceramic evidence is considered in detail. The combined evidence indicates a more complex sequence of construction, occupation and abandonment than has been assumed. Additionally, the adoption of wheelmade pottery is found to be a sporadic and gradual process, with the handmade and wheelmade versions of the ceramic wares manufactured concurrently from LCl-LCIIB. The conclusions reached are presented in Part 4. The processes by which Cyprus came to play an important role within the trading networks of the Late Bronze Age are more complex and gradual than generally acknowledged. A combination of settlement and ceramic evidence indicates that social organisation during LCI remained small-scale with regional traditions persisting and limited influence between the emergent polities on the island. During LCllA-B, the degree of intra-island contacts increased and a uniform material culture is adopted, developing into a series of highly structured urban polities by LCIIC. It does not appear likely that any site or region exercised islandwide control during LCI and the autonomous polities of LCIIC therefore represent a continuation of the social organisation from the preceding periods, rather than a devolution of centralised control.