- 1 Bombardieri 2017; Falconer et al. 2023; Frankel, Webb 2006; Sneddon et al. 2022; Webb, Frankel 2013 (...)
- 2 Schiffer 1985; see also Hayden 2000.
- 3 Cameron 1993, p. 4.
- 4 Seymour, Schiffer 1987, p. 552.
- 5 Cameron, Tomka 1993; Deal 1985; Lange, Rydberg 1972; Schiffer 1972; Stevenson 1982.
- 6 Schiffer 1987.
- 7 Seymour, Schiffer 1987, p. 550.
1During the Middle Bronze Age or Middle Cypriot (henceforth MC, 1950-1650 BC) a number of settlements were abandoned.1 The majority of villages experienced planned and gradual abandonment processes, suggesting that various factors influenced the decision to leave them. Starting from this assumption, this paper proposes a preliminary methodological approach to analyse the abandonment processes which affected the MC site of Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou. Scholars emphasised how the distribution, location and the objects’ preservation are fundamental markers for understanding the transition of an artefact from the systemic to the archaeological context, and for distinguishing between discarded practices and voluntary depositions.2 Sites were abandoned in multiple ways and for different motivations; in the majority of cases the process was often planned and gradual.3 One of the aims of the archaeological research is to investigate periods of use, renovation and abandonment of a place as the result of actions made by the inhabitants which participated in the formation of the archaeological record. If we assume that the majority of the sites were abandoned in a planned and gradual manner,4 a higher percentage of the archaeological assemblages will be probably the result of discard and disuse processes. However, it is not always easy to define the transition of an artefact from the systemic to the archaeological context. Scholars demonstrated that the decision to transport or leave an object – when people abandon a place – is influenced by different factors, such as dimensions, weight, absence of damages or repairs, means of transportation, distance to the new settlement and ritual practices.5 Moreover, it is fundamental to bear in mind that almost all abandoned areas experienced intra‑site and post-abandonment processes (e.g. scavenging or reuse)6 which result in a loss of information related to the condition in which a room, a building or an entire settlement were left.7 The analysis carried out at Erimi reveals the absence of indications pointing to a rapid and unplanned abandonment (e.g. skeletal remains) suggesting that the site was abandoned in a planned process. The aim of this paper is to analyse the assemblages of six selected Units of the workshop (Area A), in order to reconstruct the conditions in which they were left. Starting from the analysis of the artefacts’ preservation, location and distribution, a database has been created to define which processes were involved in the formation of the archaeological record, and how the artefacts became part of the archaeological context. All analysed artefacts have been classified according to their degree of preservation.
- 8 Bombardieri 2017, p. 21.
- 9 Bombardieri 2017, p. 20. Additionally, another cluster of tombs was identified at Vounaros. See Chr (...)
- 10 At Erimi, roofed rooms have been conventionally named Units (Bombardieri 2017, p. 19).
- 11 Bombardieri 2017, p. 13.
- 12 Bombardieri 2017, pp. 54‑55, 68‑71.
- 13 Resettlement in abandoned areas it is always responsible for the alteration of the stratigraphy, or (...)
2The MC site of Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou (ca 1950-1650 BC) is located in the Kouris Valley (Limassol District), on the top of a hill located 250 m above sea level. The site is characterised by a hilltop surrounded by a series of lower terraces sloping southward and eastward. Area A – interpreted as a workshop –8 developed on the top of the hill, the residential area (B, B2 and T2‑T5) was located on the first lower terrace, whereas a wall (T1; w. 1,70 m) divided the settlement from the cemetery (area E).9 The investigated areas are organised in roofed Units,10 carved in the bedrock at a medium depth of 0.60‑0.70 m, semi-open and open spaces.11 During the investigations, two main phases of use (A and B) were recognised. It is important to point out the presence of some sub-phases of occupation, named B2, B1, A2 and A1, especially documented in the northern part of the workshop (Area A) and in the residential area (Area B).12 Because of the peculiar layout of the rooms, which are carved into the bedrock, most of the fragmentary materials discarded from the earlier phase (B), are concentrated in the installations that were disused at the beginning of phase A. Finally, no traces of resettlement in subsequent periods were identified.13
- 14 Bombardieri 2017, Bombardieri 2018, Bombardieri 2019 and Bombardieri 2021.
3To date, the rooms of the workshop complex yielded most of the objects recovered at Erimi, and the highest quantity of sherds recorded in the settlement. The assemblage is composed of large, medium and small vessels, ground stone tools, spindle whorls, loom weights, metal knives, small worked and unworked picrolites, animal bones, some shells, and chipped stones.14
- 15 Schlanger, Wilshusen 1993, pp. 91‑95.
- 16 See, for example, the pottery workshop at Ambelikou-Aletri: Webb, Frankel 2013.
- 17 Cameron 1990; Schiffer 1985, p. 29; Schlanger, Wilshusen 1993; Verhoeven 2000.
- 18 Amadio, Bombardieri 2019.
- 19 Frankel, Webb 2006; Frankel, Webb 2012.
- 20 Schiffer defines de facto refuse, as “elements which reach archaeological context without the perfo (...)
- 21 See Frankel, Webb 2006, p. 153.
- 22 Primary refuse refers to items left in their location of use or near the place where they were used (...)
- 23 Secondary refuse refers to artefacts discarded everywhere outside their place of use. These are oft (...)
4In the case of a gradual and planned abandonment, people had the time to organise the displacement and the transport of most of the still usable objects to the new settlement. As noted by Schlanger and Wilshusen, the distance, the means of transport and the possibility to return to the site are fundamental elements with a key role in the abandonment strategies.15 At Erimi, larger numbers of still usable artefacts were left inside a group of rooms subsequently engulfed by fire, while the unburnt spaces yielded few objects. The discovery of concentrations of still usable artefacts in burnt buildings has been often interpreted as the result of unforeseen events, which caused a rapid collapse of the structures, sealing the objects on the floors.16 In such cases, the majority of vessels was preserved, offering us ‘a moment in the life’ of a place, with artefacts still in phase of realisation and tools left in their primary context of use. Over the years, scholars recognised how the occurrence of fire is not always related to unforeseen events.17 The collapse of roofs and walls at Erimi sealed some artefacts on the floors, preserving them from cultural post-abandonment processes. At the same time, the grade of fragmentation and the peculiar location of some objects, suggest a possible closure practice carried out by the inhabitants, rather than an accidental destruction.18 Inspired by previous studies on the topic of abandonments of prehistoric sites on Cyprus,19 we divided the artefacts of our database in four groups, based on the degree of preservation: complete, preserved more than 2/3, more than 1/3, and less than 1/3. The first two categories represent artefacts that, despite being smashed by the structural collapse, can be reconstructed in the laboratory, indicating that objects belonging to these groups were restorable, almost complete or complete artefacts which were possibly intact at the time of the abandonment.20 In contrast, the remainder two categories include broken objects impossible to reconstruct.21 They were likely in a fragmentary state prior to the fire destruction and the abandonment. The last two groups represent artefacts not completely removed from the floors as primary refuse,22 or refuse concentrations at the end of the use of some spaces as secondary refuse.23
- 24 E.g. a quern reused in the eastern wall of Unit SA IV.
5Our initial focus was on the vessels. We considered all the diagnostic sherds, then we excluded all the finds consisting of a singular sherd or a maximum of three sherds of small dimension. Subsequently, we selected those vessels preserved from less than 1/3 to complete in order to furnish a ratio on the preservation of the artefact typology. The same methodology was adopted for the other classes of objects, and all the artefacts which were preserved more than 2/3 were selected (fig. 1). Due to the fragile nature of the loom weights, we decided to include, as potentially intact at the time of the abandonment, also those preserved from more than 1/3 to complete. Finally, we excluded all the almost complete or complete artefacts which appeared to have been defunctionalised.24 We therefore selected six roofed Units, with differences in their assemblages and stratigraphy, to explore the variability in the abandonment processes at Erimi.
Figure 1 — Artefacts analysed in this work.
By the authors.
6The analysis of the room assemblages included pottery, ground stone tools and small finds. In total, 101 artefacts were selected for their high grade of preservation, representing possible entire and still usable objects at the time of the abandonment: 29 vessels, 46 ground stone, 11 spindle whorls, 13 loom weights, one pendant in picrolite and one bronze knife (fig. 2).
Figure 2 — Distribution of complete or restorable artefacts in the selected Units.
By the authors.
7The Units of Erimi were abandoned in different processes (fig. 3). At present, 14 Units have been investigated in the workshop complex. Only four yielded a burnt layer, which covers the entire floor (SA I, III, V and XII), five are partially burnt (SA IIa, IIb, IV, XIII and XV) while the remaining five Units were not burnt (SA VI, IX, X, XI and XIV). The greatest amount of sherds and artefacts is concentrated in the rooms which are wholly or partially burnt. Unburnt Units yielded a lower quantity of artefacts when compared with the burnt ones.
Figure 3 — The workshop complex (Area A) with the location of the selected Units and the burnt areas.
Elaborated by the authors; Archive of the Missione Archeologica Italiana a Erimi (Cipro)/Erimi Archaeological Project.
8Units were divided into four groups according to the presence of an ashy layer and restorable vessels:
- SA III and SA XII (wholly burnt Units with restorable vessels)
- SA V (wholly burnt Unit without restorable vessels)
- SA IIa and SA IV (partially burnt Units with restorable vessels)
- SA X (unburnt Unit without restorable vessels)
- 25 Seymour, Schiffer 1987, p. 557.
9We decided to focus on the assemblage and stratigraphy of six selected Units, to show how the conditions of these spaces provide information defining gradual disuse and abandonment behaviours. Each room was analysed considering the distribution, composition, location, conditions and preservation of the material assemblage. Moreover, the division into four groups was determined by the presence of restorable vessels, since this specific feature could be interpreted as an indicator for particular abandonment processes (e.g. piled vessels from SA IV). As noted by Seymour and Schiffer “restorable vessels recovered from floors usually provide a good measure of whether houses contain de facto refuse”.25
- 26 Large numbers of ground stone were also found in SA IV, but in this case some of them were reused i (...)
- 27 Bombardieri 2017, pp. 48‑52.
- 28 Bombardieri 2017, p. 50, fig. 3.50.
- 29 Bombardieri 2017, p. 49.
- 30 In the room, a double quern was also discovered, but as this was reused to support the central post (...)
- 31 Amadio, Bombardieri 2019, p. 5.
- 32 A complete analysis of the ground stone artefacts from this room and a reappraisal of its function (...)
- 33 Bombardieri 2017, p. 47.
- 34 Bombardieri 2017, p. 52, fig. 3.57.
- 35 We cannot exclude a priori the presence of secondary refuse. The only spindle whorl suggests the di (...)
10The fire entirely engulfed Unit SA III (25.3 m2), accelerating the collapse of the roof which sealed and destroyed its rich assemblage. In this room, one of the largest collections of ground stone of the entire site was found,26 along with vessels, one spindle whorl, a group of loom weights and a goat-shaped askos.27 The room yielded almost complete objects only from its eastern part,28 mainly located close to the eastern wall. Other artefacts were recovered in the centre of the room, near the hole for a timber which should have supported a mezzanine.29 This room is quite interesting, given it contains the largest numbers of querns and rubbers found at the site so far (16).30 The presence of these artefacts is interpreted as “a layer of re‑used rubber stones and sterile sediment” used to intentionally seal the latest occupation level which yielded intact vessels and working tools.31 Further analysis of the ground stone assemblage, its distribution and conditions led us to hypothesise that the querns and rubbers were collected to be used but eventually left behind at the time of the abandonment. Therefore, the room or part of it could have been used to accumulate and store such artefacts.32 This hypothesis is reinforced by their location and distribution on the floor.33 In addition, only one of the vessels found in the middle of the room can be restored while the others are fragmentary. SA III is the only Unit of the entire workshop characterised by a double entranceway – which connect the room with the contiguous open spaces – respectively near the north-western and south-western corners, oriented towards the open-space WA II in the former case and the southern side of the workshop area in the latter.34 The concentration of ground stone in the eastern part of the space might explain its use as a passage as well, which would allow an easier retrieval of the stone tools in case of necessity. Most of the artefacts were left on the floor – as de facto or primary refuse –35 because of their weight or size; however, no functional reasons could justify the abandonment of the goat-shaped askos which is a unicum discovered at the site, suggesting how the decision to leave or take objects is not only influenced by functional motivations (e.g. dimension, weight, presence of repairs or breakages).
- 36 Bombardieri 2019, p. 11.
- 37 Bombardieri 2021, p. 17. In the stone box, a small perforated artefact made by chalk, was also disc (...)
- 38 Bombardieri 2019, p. 13.
11SA XII (ca 29.9 m2) was unearthed in the northern part of the workshop, and it represents the only room with a doorway on the eastern side.36 This Unit was interpreted as a storage room during phase A, and fragments of more than 100 objects were found in the interior. Particularly interesting for this analysis, is the distribution of artefacts on the floor and their high fragmentary state of preservation. Out of the 82 diagnostic vessels, 46 are composed of one or a few small fragments, 31 of various sherds – but their extent of preservation ranges from <1/3 to just >1/3 – and only five are characterised by a good preservation, which corresponds to at least 2/3 of their shape. Another striking observation is that while a considerable number of sherds belong to cooking pots, no one reaches 2/3 of its original volume.37 In addition, only one of the seven pithoi recovered here is almost complete. The southern part yielded a concentration of small artefacts – six loom weights, a bronze knife, a complete pendant in picrolite and six spindle whorls – which seemed to be left in situ. In particular, four of them were discovered inside a stone box near the western wall, while the others lay in the ashy layer. On the floor, the bone remains of a quadruped’s limb were also found.38 We noticed that even if the northern part of the roofed space, close to the limit of the terrace, was partially destroyed by the slope wash, this does not justify the high rate and percentage of the fragmented vessels. On the contrary, small finds recovered from the Unit are almost complete and most of them show traces of use. As in the case of SA III, also SA XII yielded a portable object of a particular type: a small anthropomorphic amphora, a unique find at the site. The vessel is almost complete and was found in the southern part of the room, between the only almost complete pithos and the group of well-preserved small finds.
- 39 Amadio, Boaretto, Bombardieri 2020, pp. 311‑312.
- 40 Bombardieri 2018, p. 10.
- 41 Bombardieri 2018, p. 9.
- 42 The most complete is a pithos (or jar) preserved only >1/3. Bombardieri 2018, pp. 9‑11.
12SA V is the largest Unit of the workshop complex (ca 54 m2) and was completely burnt at the time of the abandonment. Its layout differs from the others, given the absence of the characteristic cut carved in the bedrock on the western side and the lack of the threshold, present in the other roofed rooms, which suggests the possibility that the Unit was not completely surrounded by walls. In a recent paper, Amadio et al. stressed how the fire possibly started from the roof, destroying the inner space and causing the collapse of the structures.39 During the transition to phase A, SA V was refurbished with a new layout. All the basins on the floor were filled, with discarded objects and soil, before the creation of a new plaster floor.40 Relevant features of phase A are represented by a monolith of 2.30 m, a circular fireplace and two niches in the eastern cut of the bedrock.41 The burnt rooms of area A yielded lots of sherds and some complete or partially complete vessels, whereas no vessels in good preservation were discovered in SA V. Only a few almost complete objects, such as eight ground stone and one spindle whorl, were found in this room. Since the Unit yielded the minor ratio of sherds of the entire workshop between phase B and A, we suppose that if other rooms were affected by discard processes or by a reduction in the cleaning practices, Unit SA V was kept clean until the end of the settlement. In summary, the presence of the monolith in front of the circular fireplace, the particular layout and the absence of restorable vessels,42 as in the other entirely burnt Units, suggest a specific and unique function of this room which was abandoned with different modalities.
- 43 Bombardieri 2017, p. 46.
13Unit SA IIa lies on the southern part of the workshop between Unit SA I and SA III, and it is located on the northern side of Unit SA IIb. This space appears to have been burnt only near the room’s perimeter, where an ash concentration was recorded along the eastern and southern walls.43
- 44 This is one of the three knives discovered but, contrary to the others, it is preserved 1/3; Bombar (...)
- 45 Bombardieri 2017, pp. 44‑45.
- 46 Villani 2022, pp. 220‑222.
- 47 Frankel, Webb 2006, p. 153.
- 48 See Bombardieri 2017, p. 45 fig. 3.41.
- 49 Villani 2022, p. 222.
14The assemblage is composed of vessels, ground stones and a broken metal knife.44 Among them, we take into consideration three vessels, none of which is complete (though more than 2/3 are preserved), and three ground stone tools. There are a few objects that we interpret as primary refuse: a large quern on the bench near the north-western corner of the room and a pithos. Supposing that the largest vessels, due to their dimensions and weight, were left in their original position, it must be stressed that the pithos in SA IIa was already broken before the collapse of the structure, with the upper part in the centre of the Unit and the lower near the north-western corner.45 This considered, it is difficult to speculate on the activities that might have taken place inside this Unit. The objects’ preservation suggests the possible disuse of the room at an early stage of a gradual abandonment, and its function could have changed into a provisional discard space for objects in bad condition,46 but still usable in case of extreme necessity, what Frankel and Webb termed as ‘seconds’.47 The low degree of fragmentation of the artefacts, such as the upper part of the pithos,48 and the presence of a burnt layer only near the perimeter of the Unit allow us to hypothesise that the roof was probably dismantled after the disuse of the space.49 In addition, the room yielded one of the three knives discovered in the workshop but, while in the case of Unit SA XII and SA XIII they are almost complete, in this case only less than 1/3 is preserved.
- 50 Amadio, Boaretto, Bombardieri 2020, p. 316, fig. 11.
15SA IV is a Unit of 51 m2 – the second largest after SA V – and similarly to SA IIa, it is one of the five rooms only partially destroyed by the fire. While in SA IIa the burnt layer is concentrated near the perimeter walls, in this case the fire destroyed the southern part of the Unit. Most of the assemblage discovered was found concentrated in the northern half of the room, which was not destroyed by the flames. This room yielded one of the richest assemblages of the entire site and the largest number of well-preserved vessels (15) associated to phase A (five complete and ten preserved >2/3) discovered in the workshop. Most are medium-size or large vessels, probably left there due to the difficulties in the transport imposed by their size and weight. At the same time, four vessels were piled and left in front of the door.50 If it is possible to hypothesise any practical reasons behind the abandonment of most of the vessels – even if still usable (de facto refuse) – the presence of these four piled vessels in front of the door seems to suggest their deliberate deposition prior to the abandonment.
- 51 Villani 2022, p. 219.
- 52 Bombardieri 2018, p. 11.
16It is still difficult to accurately describe the functions of these spaces, given the scarce number of artefacts and the small size of the spaces concerned. SA X (ca 10,4 m2) was interpreted as an annex of SA V, and its abandonment completely differs from that of the other unburnt rooms within the complex. Indeed, the high concentration of bedrock blocks – more than 130 – discovered so far in the area suggests that the room was filled with them before the conflagration which partially destroyed the workshop.51 Artefacts found on the floor, three still usable ground stone tools and a spindle whorl, do not demonstrate the kind of activities that took place inside it. It is important to note that this room was furnished with a niche in the south-western corner, a post hole and a pit which were decommissioned and closed with small bedrock blocks. The presence of only one plaster floor,52 which does not cover the pit and the post hole, makes it very difficult to define when the room was disused. Concurrently, it is possible to hypothesise that, as for the other rooms, the renovation belongs to the transition from phase B to A. To conclude, the deliberate filling of the room with stones could be intended as a disuse process, while the absence of ash reveals that this event predates the workshop fire.
- 53 Bombardieri 2017, pp. 40‑41.
- 54 This vessel was found smashed in small fragments. Bombardieri 2017, p. 341, fig. 15.15.
- 55 Bombardieri 2017, p. 50, fig. 3.50.
- 56 Bombardieri 2017, p. 49.
17No restorable vessels were found in Units SA V and X; in all other rooms, 24 almost complete and five complete vessels were discovered. As described previously, SA IIa yielded an almost complete bowl that was mended in antiquity and a jug with a hole near the rim.53 Both artefacts document on the one hand their full use, with a case of repair in antiquity, and on the other hand the decision to deliberately leave them inside the room. A third artefact from room SA IIa is the largest jug found until now in the site which was possibly left behind because of its size and difficulty in the transport.54 SA III yielded six vessels, one of a large size, which may also have been left there because of its dimensions. The same room delivered five medium-size and small vessels. Among them, a cooking pot and a bowl were discovered close to the southern wall, while a jug was found near the northern wall. In addition, a jug (or tankard) smashed by the collapse of the structures, is the only almost complete vessel discovered in the middle of the room,55 located near various vessels preserved from less to more than 1/3. Another almost complete ceramic object discovered in Unit SA III is the goat-shaped askos mentioned above. The location is not exceptional, but its unique shape and small size differ from all the other objects found in the workshop. This room also yielded an almost complete spindle whorl, and a set of loom weights which, given the absence of perforation, were interpreted as symbolic artefacts.56 SA IV is certainly the most interesting context with regard to the preservation of the ceramic assemblage. This Unit produced 15 restorable vessels (five of them complete). Eight of them are of large size, and we may suggest that they were left in the room for functional reasons (e.g. difficulties in the transport). Moreover, the presence of four complete vessels, two small and two large ones, piled in front of the door cannot be explained a random act. It is interesting to notice that other vessels were discovered near the northern wall of SA IV, which, upon collapse, destroyed, sealed and preserved them from post-abandonment processes. Excluding the four piled vessels, we can assert that the almost complete vessels discovered in the Unit are de facto refuse in their primary context. Two spindle whorls were also left in the room even if still usable. SA XII is the Unit which delivered the highest number of diagnostic sherds. However, only three large and two small vessels are restorable. As already mentioned, the room was particularly affected by the slope wash, but the impossibility to restore the majority of the vessels cannot be justified only with natural formation processes. Close to the only restorable pithos, an anthropomorphic amphora was discovered. The vessel, very small, was almost completely restored. As for the goat-shaped askos, it is difficult to define why this object, easily transportable and possibly still usable, was left on the floor. All the small finds – the spindle whorls found in a leaning stone box against the western wall excluded – were discovered in the southern part of the room, left in an orderly manner and almost all still usable. In addition, near the loom weights one of the two almost complete knives of the workshop and a complete picrolite pendant were discovered.
18To conclude, it was possible to restore only 29 (30.2 %) of the 96 vessels discovered in the rooms under question (fig. 4). The majority of them (16) are large vessels probably left behind because of their large dimensions – excluded the two discovered piled with two bowls in front of the door of SA IV – while the others are medium and small size vessels. The four piled vessels represent a unique case at the site, suggesting a symbolic or ritual deposition before the final abandonment. Spindle whorls are one other category of objects that may be found clustered. Excluding the group discovered in the stone box, where they were probably stored, such small, movable tools were likely left behind either as de facto refuse or as misplaced objects during cleaning activities57 or the gradual abandonment of the site.
Figure 4 — Four degrees of preservation of the vessels found in the Units examined in this study and pie‑charts illustrating the percentages of degrees in the rooms.
By the authors.
19Beyond vessels, we selected a total of 13 loom weights. Six among them – four preserved for more than 2/3 or complete – were found grouped close to the south-western corner in SA XII, while, in SA III, seven loom weights (but only three of them almost complete) have been found grouped near the vessels. We can therefore assert that while they were probably still usable, the collapse of structures partially destroyed them. The reasons for their abandonment could be related to their fragile nature.
- 58 Webb 2006, pp. 98‑119.
- 59 On the difference between curated and expedient ground stone tools see Webb 1995, Webb 1998 and Web (...)
- 60 Webb 2006, p. 113.
- 61 Bombardieri 2017, p. 215.
- 62 Webb 2006, p. 102.
- 63 Webb 2006, p. 114.
- 64 Bombardieri 2017, p. 42.
- 65 Bombardieri 2017, pp. 48‑49.
20This analysis partially embraces the approach advanced by Webb for the ground stone study at Marki-Alonia.58 Some key points of the discussion on the Marki assemblage will be therefore deliberately reserved for a later examination (such as the issues of curated vs expedient tools, breakage patterns etc.), since they cannot be included in this paper for reasons of space. Each one of the ground stone was classified into 12 parameters, the first four of which concern the morphological characteristics of the artefact (e.g. object type or rock type), while the others take into consideration the types of human treatments and their uses (e.g. secondary use or macro use wear traces). In relation to the abandonment phase of SA X, we discuss here a hammerstone, a quern and a pecking stone. The hammerstone is pecked all around its circular edge and shows circular areas of pitting at the centre of both sides. The quern is very large and heavy and it shows little evidence of use, indicating that it was either not used or in the early stage of use. We conjecture that the quern was discarded in the room despite it was not an exhausted tool. Another hypothesis is that it could have been thrown inside the room because it did not fulfil the requirements of its intended tasks, or that its weight made its reuse or transport more difficult upon the abandonment of the site. The abandonment of a hammerstone and a pecking stone could be related to their expedient use.59 It is also worth mentioning a large quern still in place located on a bench, a special installation made of limestone, on the north side of SA IIa. A macro use-wear analysis was adopted to provide insight into its use from a macroscopic perspective. According to the classification introduced by Webb, the large quern is in its “early and medium use”.60 We should add to this discussion two lithic tools: one pestle, for more than 2/3 of its entirety, which may have been used as a pounder too, as it shows extensive damage correlated with its heavy use. The second is a relatively heavy cobble used as a pounder showing some pitting traces in one terminal.61 With regard to the large quern, it was proposed that it is in its primary depositional context, which should be intended as a place where materials were deliberately placed or discarded.62 The ground stone assemblage from Marki showed that 30 % of the querns were no longer used, even though still usable.63 At Erimi in particular, the quern and its bench denote this part of the Unit as a grinding-station;64 the fact that it was left there may be due to its weight and obvious difficulty in carrying it. In the case of SA III, it is possible to shed some light on specific activities that took place in the Unit, by analysing the ground stone belonging to the last phase. In this respect, it is important to mention a small rectangular bench that supported a large quern associated with a limestone rubbing stone.65 We may suggest that the rubbing stone could be used for grinding and rubbing, even though particular striations cannot be documented. The general ground stone assemblage of SA III includes one pounder, one pecking stone, four querns and ten rubbers. Most of the querns and rubbers were pecked and grounded, therefore suggesting an initial intention to their use. However, only a few display clear use wear traces. The presence of reused ground stone as building material, as in the case of the exhausted double-quern used to support a timber, may suggest that this room had been used as a storage and production space for ground stone tools. Examination of the ground stone assemblages in SA IV and SA V reveals a distinct arrangement compared to the previous Units. These assemblages are mostly made up of limestone weights, pounders, hammerstones, gaming stones (one of which was reused in a wall structure), and one axe. Most of these ground stone artefacts show use wear marks and signs of reuse. The complete quern found in SA V is one of the largest and heaviest examples, which was almost exhausted or in its final stage of use. We can therefore suggest that this quern was deliberately left behind because it could not be used any longer. At the same time, again because of its dimension and weight, it is difficult to hypothesise that it was discarded in the room as a secondary refuse. The particular condition in which the room was abandoned suggests that the quern could be left in its original context or in close proximity to it.
21SA XII does not differ much from the assemblages of the other units. Worth mentioning is a complete quern broken in two pieces. It is a quern that may have been left in an early phase of its use, more probably associated with a roughly pecked rubber. The particular location of the quern, found near the rubber and with a mortar toppled on, suggests that they may have fallen on the floor from a mezzanine. Most of the assemblage, 31 of the 46 artefacts, is represented by big ground stone used as rubbers, weights, querns and gaming stones. Most of the ground stone were found in the wholly or partially burnt Units. We noticed therefore, that there are some similarities with the assemblage of Marki. The great majority of querns and rubbers was either discarded in proximity of their context of use or just recycled for other tasks. The largest and the heaviest ground stone count for 77 % of the whole assemblage, against 23 % for the other lithic tools, which are smaller in size (fig. 5). The discard or abandonment in situ of certain objects, such as querns, rubbers and weights could be related to the difficulty of transport to the new settlement. This interpretation is also supported by the fact that some of these objects were left with a considerable potential use‑life.66
Figure 5 — Percentage occurrence of ground stone objects by type in the Units analysed in this study.
By the authors.
22In room SA XII a complete picrolite pendant and an almost complete (>2/3) bronze knife were discovered. These objects were found in the ash layer, close to the south-western corner, near the group of loom weights and the animal limb. As for the other small finds, they seem to be still usable. Although the majority of the vessels found in this room are fragmentary, the presence of a group of small and easily transportable artefacts, suggests the decision to leave them despite still usable and easily transportable.
23Excavations in recent years have shed light on how Erimi experienced a planned and gradual abandonment. The analysis of stratigraphy and of the material assemblages allows to comprehend which abandonment processes affected the site and the conditions of the gradual and planned disuse of the area characterised by a possible closure made by the inhabitants. Most of the still usable objects were found in burnt and partially burnt Units, suggesting that artefacts were concentrated in rooms possibly still in use during the gradual abandonment. In addition, the majority of sherds from phase B were found into the decommissioned features, like basins and pits in open and roofed spaces alike (e.g. SA V and SA XII), suggesting that during the ancient phase existed designated areas for the refuse outside the inhabited rooms. The layers of phase A, marked by a concentration of sherds belonging to unrestorable vessels, provide evidence to support the idea that some rooms lost their original functions and became provisional discard spaces or were affected by dismantling and closure practices. The majority of the almost complete or complete artefacts discovered are ground stone, followed by vessels and small finds. Ground stone and large vessels are characterised by large size and heavy weight, suggesting that functional motivations influenced the decision to leave them in their primary context or to discard them in disused spaces. Moreover, other aspects such as the presence among the material left behind of some still usable small finds, or of vessels characterised by a particular shape (i.e. askos and anthropomorphic amphora), as well as the four vessels found piled in front of the door of Unit SA IV, suggest the deliberate decision to leave them behind despite easily transportable and still usable.
- 67 Webb, Knapp 2021, p. 205.
- 68 Webb, Knapp 2021, p. 204.
24The social and economic changes at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, and the island’s involvement in broader Mediterranean economic and political network during the Late Bronze Age, have been widely discussed by scholars.67 Conversely, the MC period received little attention, but recent investigations provided important information to suggest how internal developments and external interactions created the conditions for the internationalism of Cyprus in the Late Bronze Age.68 At Erimi, the different disuse of some rooms, the physical conditions and preservation of artefacts, and finally the possible closure practices suggest a gradual and planned abandonment of the settlement. Future investigations – and analysis on the artefacts assemblages from the residential area – will be fundamental to deepen the motivations behind the decision to take or leave artefacts and provide new data to suggest which factors played a key role in the final abandonment of the site.