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Kevin D. Fisher, Monumentality, Place-Making and Social Interaction on Late Bronze Age Cyprus

Teresa Bürge
p. 519-522
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Kevin D. Fisher, Monumentality, Place-Making and Social Interaction on Late Bronze Age Cyprus, Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology 17. Equinox, Sheffield, 2023. XV + 394 pages, 72 figures, 13 tables – ISBN 978‑1‑84553‑404‑2.

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1Compared to other archaeological remains, the architecture of Late Bronze Age Cyprus has received less attention in past research – with a few exceptions, including Fisher’s own work. One reason for this is the relative scarcity of monumental buildings and the apparent absence of large palaces as are known from surrounding regions. The present volume therefore fills an important research gap with its aim to “develop an integrative approach to investigating the role of past built environments in social interaction and social change – an approach that can be used to provide insights into the social dynamics of any time period or region” (p. 7).

2In the first chapter, Fisher highlights the relationship between monumental buildings and power dynamics and the effects of monumental architecture in history with the examples of Hitler’s New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, designed by Albert Speer and completed in 1939 and, very briefly, the Neo-Assyrian palaces. As a means of understanding the relationship between peoples and their built environments, i.e. ‘place-making’, he highlights the focus on control of access to monumental architecture, as well as movement and interaction therein. As he argues, Late Bronze Age Cyprus (ca 1700–1100/1050 BCE) represents a compelling case study considering its increasing social complexity and its rapid urban development which is, inter alia, expressed in the first examples of monumental architecture.

3Chapter 2 offers an overview of the history of research. For a broader understanding of monumental architecture and its place in society, he touches, inter alia, upon the much-debated question of the island’s sociopolitical organisation, that is whether it was ruled by the king known from written sources or whether it was divided into regional polities, possibly governed by a primus inter pares. In contrast to traditional culture-historical and art-historical methods or processual-based perspectives on architecture, Fisher’s aim is to bring together different points of view, focusing on the interaction between humans and the built environment, considering “architecture as both product and producer of social life” (p. 55).

4Within this integrative approach, Fisher sets the theoretical framework in Chapter 3, which starts with another case study on modern workplace design, the concept of the so‑called open office. By this, he illustrates how walls, doors and other architectural elements shape social dynamics. To assess the effects of built environment on human behaviour and interaction, he borrows methodologies from environmental psychology, such as ‘proxemics’ which describes the degree of separation maintained between individuals, ranging from intimate and personal to social and public. These distances are very schematically indicated in metres (summarised in Table 2 on p. 71), but they may vary between individuals or specific circumstances and are shaped by cultural conventions.

  • 1 B. Hillier, J. Hanson, The social logic of space. Cambridge, 1984.
  • 2 A. Rapoport, “Levels of meaning in the built environment”. F. Poyatos (ed.), Cross-cultural perspec (...)

5The three main analytical methods of this study are detailed in Chapter 4. As a derivation of the space syntax approach by Hillier and Hanson,1 he illustrates how access analysis may reveal access and movement patterns within a building. The nonverbal communication approach established by Rapoport2 and applied to the built environment is based on the premise that architecture, decorative elements, and furniture encode ‘messages’ that are decoded by people interacting with the building. Most relevant for the following chapters are visual perception models referring to an area visible from a given location (isovists, isovist fields, and viewsheds). As Fisher argues, a combination of these methodologies contributes towards a distinction between spaces where public-inclusive social interactions may have taken place and those meant for private-exclusive activities.

  • 3 E.g. J. M. Webb, Ritual architecture, iconography and practice in the Late Cypriot Bronze Age, SIMA (...)

6Chapters 5 through 7 are dedicated to the reassessment and discussion of selected monumental buildings with the integrative approach described in the previous chapters. In his analysis of the famous Ashlar Building in Enkomi (Chapter 5) based on Dikaios’s documentation, Fisher identifies significant changes in social interaction that may have taken place in its various spaces across its use‑life of almost 150 years, specifically between its Level IIIA layout and its rebuilt state in Level IIIB. Various large rectangular spaces that may have hosted public-inclusive interactions were obliterated in Level IIIB by subdividing them, making them more suitable for private-exclusive activities. However, in contrast to previous research,3 he interprets the Level IIIB ‘Sanctuary of the Horned God’ as a public sanctuary with possible spaces for feasting, drinking and ritual performance (Rooms 45 and the adjoining court Room 35).

7The ‘Fortress’, the monumental building at Enkomi with by far the longest lifespan, is discussed in Chapter 6. Among the most striking discontinuities is the evidence of copper production during its earlier phase, as it seems to have mainly served as a residence to lower-order elites from Level IIIA on.

8Of highest relevance is the analysis and discussion of the monumental court-centred buildings at Kalavasos Ayios Dhimitrios (Building X), Maroni Vournes (Ashlar Building) and Alassa Paliotaverna (Building II) due to the author’s involvement in the ongoing projects at Kalavasos and Maroni and the fact that comprehensive descriptions of the monumental buildings at these two sites have not yet been finally published.

9Chapter 8 discusses various building materials, such as ashlar and rubble masonry, earth, plaster and wood. In terms of specific spatial elements, Fisher argues that thresholds often functioned as social boundaries. Furthermore, he analyses the meaning of hearth rooms in connection with rituals, commensality, and other social occasions. In this period of increasing social stratification and complexity, monumental buildings played an integral role for negotiating power and status.

10In the final, rather brief chapter, the evidence is set in a larger context by integrating other urban sites as well as the relation of mortuary practices and monumental architecture. In the concise epilogue, Fisher demonstrates the long-term mnemonic effects Late Bronze Age architecture had, as it often was incorporated into the new buildings of the ruling elites of the Iron Age.

11Appendix 1 provides crucial architectural properties of the buildings discussed. The volume is concluded with an index.

12The theoretical framework in Chapters 3 and 4 which also include mathematical formulas require particular attention from the reader. The illustrations are of great quality and very insightful, in specific the schematic floor plans with viewsheds, as well as the access and circulation graphs. Given the complexity of some sections of the text, the brief summaries after each chapter are not redundancies but rather an efficient way to emphasize his most important arguments and to follow the central themes. The author is to be commended for his critical examination of all theories and approaches by highlighting their potential and limitations. Some readers may disagree with some of Fisher’s hypotheses and reconstructions. However, the discussions are always sound, and it is clear on what material and theoretical basis his reconstructions are built.

13It would have been interesting to compare the Cypriot evidence with contemporary structures from neighbouring regions or to expand the brief overview of the integration of Late Bronze Age architecture into Iron Age buildings. On the other hand, the volume is very substantial and integrating additional regions and periods may have detracted from the intended breadth of scope. To summarise, Fisher’s study offers new and fascinating insights into the role monumentality played in an increasingly complex society. The meticulous analyses in combination with various theoretical approaches will certainly be of highest relevance for comparable monumental architecture in other periods and geographical areas.

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Notes

1 B. Hillier, J. Hanson, The social logic of space. Cambridge, 1984.

2 A. Rapoport, “Levels of meaning in the built environment”. F. Poyatos (ed.), Cross-cultural perspectives in nonverbal communication. Toronto, 1988, pp. 317‑336.

3 E.g. J. M. Webb, Ritual architecture, iconography and practice in the Late Cypriot Bronze Age, SIMA Pocket-book 75. Jonsered, 1999; G. Papasavvas, “Feasting, deposition and abandonment in the sanctuary of the Horned God at Enkomi”. J. M. Webb (ed.), Structure, measurement and meaning. Studies on prehistoric Cyprus in honour of David Frankel, SIMA 143. Uppsala, 2014, pp. 245‑260.

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Teresa Bürge, « Kevin D. Fisher, Monumentality, Place-Making and Social Interaction on Late Bronze Age Cyprus »Cahiers du Centre d’Études Chypriotes, 54 | 2024, 519-522.

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Teresa Bürge, « Kevin D. Fisher, Monumentality, Place-Making and Social Interaction on Late Bronze Age Cyprus »Cahiers du Centre d’Études Chypriotes [En ligne], 54 | 2024, mis en ligne le 30 octobre 2024, consulté le 18 janvier 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/cchyp/1557 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/12lsj

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Teresa Bürge

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